Response to Ashly's Main Blog


I love the Impractical Jokers.  Their show is pretty much the only thing that has kept TruTV afloat as a channel.  You can change to TruTV at almost any time of the day or night and end up watching the Impractical Jokers.  The group is just as good at standup as they are at the ridiculous challenges in the show.  I was lucky enough to go see them in Durham, NC a few months ago.  My family and I laughed for hours after the event was over. 
            One of my favorite things that they do is pose as receptionists and call out a list of incredibly fake names while trying not to laugh.  The names alone are funny, but I think one of the main reasons that I laugh at the show is because of the guys’ reactions to the names and then to each other attempting to make it through the list.  Another favorite of mine was the time that Joe had to dress as a manager and then go around a crowded restaurant jumping on tables to see which ones were decoy tables set up by the other guys.  It was funny enough to see him break through a fake table full of actors, but even better to watch him jump on a real table full of unsuspecting people’s food.  In the most recent season, the Jokers did what I think was their best challenge yet.  They each took turns to see who could check out with the same receptionist in the greatest number of disguises before being called out. 
            In all of these scenes and really anything from the show, the superiority theory best explains the cause of our laughter.  Whether we feel superior to the guys, the made-up people with hilarious names, the receptionist who is fooled by goofy costumes, or maybe all three at once, the result is the same.  In the end, it is the sheer ridiculousness of the pranks along with the way that the Jokers continue to create new games that have caused the shows continued success.

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