Warehouse 13 Artifact Database Wiki
Advertisement
Warehouse 13 Artifact Database Wiki
Dan Rowan and Dick Martin's Joke Wall
"Sock it to me!"

Origin

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Type

Studio Set Wall

Effects

Makes amusing, sometimes humiliating, skits for entertainers to participate in

Downsides

Will randomly teleport famous figures for a laugh

Activation

Recording

Collected by

Warehouse 13

Section

Thalia-171J

Date of Collection

June 16, 2004

[Source]


Origin[]

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (often simply referred to as Laugh-In) is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comedians Dan Rowan (straight man) and Dick Martin (comedic foil), originally aired as a one-time special on September 9, 1967, and was such a success that it was brought back as a series, replacing The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on Mondays at 8 pm (ET). It quickly became the most popular television show in the United States.

The title of the show was a play on the 1960s Hippie culture "love-ins" or the Counterculture "be-ins", terms derived from the "sit-ins" common in protests associated with civil rights and antiwar demonstrations of the time. Laugh-In had its roots in the humor of vaudeville and burlesque, but its most direct influences were Olsen and Johnson's comedies, the innovative television works of Ernie Kovacs, and the topical TV satire That Was the Week That Was. The show was characterized by a rapid-fire series of gags and sketches, many of which were politically charged or contained sexual innuendo. The co-hosts continued the exasperated "straight man" (Rowan) and "dumb guy" (Martin) double act that they had established as nightclub comics. Several of their recurring sketches included a celebrity cocktail party, a bikini viewing segment, dunk tank antics (which Richard Nixon guest starred at one point) and countless silly gags to rouse audiences.

he show started with a batch of sketches leading into Gary Owens' introduction segment, in which the cast and announced guest star(s) would appear behind open doors of the show's iconic, psychedelically painted "Joke Wall". Owens would also insert offbeat lines in his monotone, deadpan style, in the introductions and occasionally throughout the episode, generally facing a microphone to his side with one hand cupped to his ear (Owens's character loosened up and became "hipper" in later seasons).

After more short sketches leading into and out of the first commercial break, Rowan and Martin would walk in front of the show's homebase set to introduce the show and have a dialogue, generally consisting of Martin frustrating Rowan by derailing his attempt to do a proper introduction via misunderstandings or digressions.

Effects[]

Lightens up any set it is placed on as a comedy venue, filled with class acts of stage theater, punny wordplay, physical comedy to absurdist scenarios and minigames. Causes some of the participating members to behave under specific mindsets such as serious versus airheaded, even when not their usual demeanor. Most of the events requiring multiple people such as the events require a leading host or two per segment and to direct the overall flow of the show.

Alas, most of the players end up in compromising positions that make them feel uncomfortable or humiliated from the nonsensical acts they perform. Recordings of their actions become difficult to separate to any viewer outside the crew, so most continue being nagged as a constant joke afterwards. It also has a secondary annoyance of randomly teleporting in famous figures for a quick spell on the show, often to their laugh-track induced befuddlement. Artie especially dislikes the forced character it makes him assume while maintaining it, often at his expense. The extra effort of also Teslaing Ryan Seacrest and co. then flying them back with a reason for their sudden disappearance is also a hassle.

Advertisement