Talk:Double act

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Contents 1 ultramodern 2 Dharma and Greg 3 Straight man and comic foil in a comedy troupe 4 history? 5 Definition of a Double Act

[edit] ultramodern

i think a good clear exemplary modern instance is Jon Stewart vis-a-vis the satirist correspondents on The Daily Show. it's very formulaic and usually very funny. jon stewart, as the straight reasonable man, sets up the correspondents to make their arrogant and half-baked opinionations and reports. (usually half-baked and arrogant, rather than "dumb" or the other forms listed in the wiki)

the fact that steve colbert became an expert straight man during at least one of jon stewart's absences from the show emphasized the formal nature of it. in other words, his persona/"character" wasn't static or consistent, but took on whatever role the scripted Double Acts required.

if anybody decides to stick in something about these, obviously feel free to use any of my wording. i'm not doing it myself because some JERK will probably delete the contributions immediately. that's the way it goes. 128.119.236.46 00:52, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

I can't add about double ats I don't know. Btw, I've seen entries in the list that I don't think they fit. Specially of the animated ones, Bugs Bunny ad elmer Fud? They are an example of antagonism between two characters but they certailny don't fit into the Abot & Costello formula, I need to obtain consensus about this issue before starting deleting them. So is it me or Bugs Bunny doesn't belong to the list about double acts? Funny thing, Daffy & Porky fill in the stereotype more fittingly. This concept is not getting clearly understanded enough... --Requiem the 18^th_(email)

Wasn't Laurel and Hardy a knockoff of the danish double act Fyr & Bi?

I'm not too sure mork and Mindy could be described as a double act.--Crestville 00:45, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

You're better off than me, I have no idea who the heck they are, thu I know who Robin Williams is. If you have seen the movie/series/whatever it is. You should know better. I'd said, talk with the original contributor and discuss it, if sie(I mean the original contributor) doesn't respond delete it. If the it was an IP address delete it and wait for sie to come back and discuss. I'll try to locate the revision number, if you give me time. Requiem the 18^th_(email) 03:01, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

UPDATE Got it. the user is User:Kchishol1970, post in sier talk page or wikimail siem, I can't talk about a movie I have not seen so I'm counting on you. Requiem the 18^th_(email) 03:53, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

Why not? I'd say M&M were a classic double act, with Mindy as the "comic foil" and Mork as the comic. Darguz Parsilvan 11:49, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dharma and Greg

Shouldn't they be some kind of Double Act? Emily ^{(Funtrivia Freak)} 02:12, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

They are no more a double act than Frasier and Niles or Joey and Chandler. They are simply two characters in a sitcom, there has been no attempt to recreate the dynamic of a double act, unlike, say, Steptoe and Son.--Crestville 13:00, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

I disagree. Dharma is the wacky, free-spirited one, while Greg is the uptight, straight-laced one. Seems to be almost a classic example of the concept. Also, the show itself revolves primarily around those two characters (hence the name of the show). Conversely, Frasier and Niles are very similar in personality and temperament -- and the show isn't called "Frasier and Niles". Likewise, Joey and Chandler are merely two characters out of a roster of six. They're not intended to be a comedy duo.

There's no critera that one member be wacky and one be straight laced, nor is there a criteria that they have equal billing, be the main focus or interact soley with each other. They do not fit the general dynamic as the "comedy" (what there is of it in D&G depends on situation, rather than interaction, routines or any other dynamic of a double act. Conversely, Godber and Fletcher in "Porridge" (for example) spent entire episodes without any real sitiuation, just talking to each other, playing off of each others reactions, character trates and jokes. This happend more often in Fraiser or Friends than D&G--Crestville 20:11, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Straight man and comic foil in a comedy troupe

Straight man disambiguates to double act, and comic foil is apparently about to be merged into this article. However, I would say that the terms "straight man" and "comic foil" are not restricted to comedy duos as they would equally well apply to comedy troupes (e.g. Zeppo Marx as a straight man for the other Marx Brothers etc.). What do other wikipedians think? --Tobias Bergemann 08:50, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

That as may be, this article is not about comedy troupes. The three weaker articles need to be strengthend rather than leech off of this one.--Crestville 19:18, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

My point exactly. --Tobias Bergemann 06:31, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure about a comedy troupe, but I can have a crack at "straight man". It's distinct from a "comic foil", so should they both go under one broad umbrella article or do you think they are distinct enough to warrent their own articles?--Crestville 22:05, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

I am not even sure about the difference between "straight man" and "comic foil" (other than that a comic foil need not be male...). I have been changing my mind five times in about as many minutes about this. Right now, my preferred solution would be to merge straight man, comic foil and double act into a single appropriately named article about the mechanics of comedian performances. However, that would probably make a mess out of "double act". On the third hand, "double act" reads (to me) more like an elaborate list/comparison of comedy duos and could be renamed as such. — Tobias Bergemann 22:24, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

Oooh, ahhh, eeeh - I wouldn't like to change that. Maybe do a page for straight man (and maybe one for "funny man" or whatever) and comic foil can re-direct. Do you reckon we can do a history of double acts?--Crestville 22:43, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

(I am beginning to regret that I even asked.) I like "double act" as it is right now. I think I like your proposal about "straight man". A history of double acts would be really nice, but I am way outside my realm of expertise with this. — Tobias Bergemann 07:26, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] history?

Surely this type of humour (i.e. straight man/comic) did not originate with Laurel and Hardy as this article claims. My memory is vague about this (so I'm unable to pick out specific examples) but is there no example in pre-twentieth century comedic drama? Nothing in Plautus or Shakespeare (with all those bumbling fools) or Restoration comedy that fits this paradigm?--Ibis3 21:18, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

Never fear, I have the information for a history section and intend to write it up soon. The dynamic with which this article deals originated in vaudaville (USA) and music halls (UK).--Crestville 21:37, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Definition of a Double Act

I'm afraid a number of the 'acts' mentioned in this article don't meet my definition of a double act by a country mile. Some of them are merely dramatic characters who sometimes interact: Marge & Homer? Kermit and any of the other Muppets? Come off it! Both the (Two) Ronnies always denied they were a double act and Steptoe and Son were characters played by actors. By this criteria, why not include Vladimir and Estragon or even Rhoda and Carlton the doorman? So, some suggested guidelines: (1) Characters in a drama don't count (so not Steptoe & Son nor, for instance, Felix & Oscar (The Odd Couple). After all, they could (and have) been played by different actors. (2) Unless the pairing in some way transcends the characters. So Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, maybe. (3) The double act should be what the pair is mostly known for - at least while the act is in force (but not necessarily for their entire career). (4) Er, there is no 4.217.154.66.11 13:44, 8 December 2006 (UTC)