Michael Jackson un-personing – Lister says Wacko Jacko

[By Jove its holmes]

Lister says to Kryten that something is “completely Wacko Jacko”. Now, when that episode was made, that phrase was in common use and derived from MJ.

Sooo, will that episode be edited or redubbed, now that MJ has been exposed?

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Only if they edit out all the references to Hilter too

[Dave]

That’s not so offensive – it’s more like a 1989 Michael Jackson joke.

The one in Skipper is more like a 2017 Michael Jackson joke.

[Taiwan Tony]

It’s the thing I think about a lot. Stuff in context that was once okay is now completely unacceptable. The Major’s “cricket” speech in Fawlty Towers being the most prominent example. I used to think it was fine to leave it in – as I had a comedy nerd, completist side of me. In the last couple of years I’ve rewatched some early Fools and Horses with my wife, and winced at Del’s references to “birds.” So fuck knows how I’d feel about toxic racial epithets. Having said that, we shouldn’t all live with our woolly liberal heads in the sand. So perhaps it should probably be an option on the DVD. Play with racism, play without racism.

[Taiwan Tony]

>”Perhaps it should probably…”
I’m unflinching, aren’t I.

[Ben Saunders]

Re-writing history is so boring. Fuck off. What happened happened, let everything stand as a cultural artifact. (Within reason)

[clem]

> Play with racism, play without racism.

Always thought this was a good way of addressing this kind of thing: https://youtu.be/HCT1clqci3I

[pi r squared]

I thought that even in the mid-70s, the purpose of the Major’s speech is to demonstrate how out of date his views are rather than to be an hilarious gag. Even the audience response to it at the time is the lukest of warm. As a mixed-race person I do not find the lines offensive but neither particularly funny.

I don’t know if John Cleese has ever made comments about the inclusion of the N-word and whether he stands by its use or would remove them if writing again (a bit like Steve Coogan’s regret at using a particular word in I’m Alan Partridge).

[Plastic Percy]

Nevermind that, there’s still that issue of the Smegazine that proclaims Craig Charles as the Gary Glitter of outer space.

[Taiwan Tony]

The Major’s speech definitely WAS that. But now it’s shocking to hear things like that said aloud outside of a rap record or a Tarantino film.
I watched all of In Sickness and In Health recently and there were words in it I hadn’t heard for twenty years. I’d suggest if you watch IS&IH you’re going to have to expect that type of thing. So it’s fine to leave it in there. With things that are labelled “timeless” it’s probably another matter. Like the bits in the Young Ones that were used to highlight prejudices. (The copper in dark glasses and the Grange Hill nickname.) Then learning that those words that were used ironically in the context of the show were yelled unironically as insults in the playground. It depends, dunnit.

[Dax101]

The Wacko Jacko line is fairly subtle since its not a straight out obvious acknowledgment of MJ.

[Dave]

To be honest I think the whole issue of everyone suddenly remembering Michael Jackson’s misdeeds due to the documentary is a bit strange. It’s similar to the R Kelly thing. It’s not like a lot of incriminating detail hasn’t been in the public domain for years, even decades at this point.

So it would be weird to, say, remove the gag from Skipper just because the documentary has aired in the meantime.

[RamesesNiblickTheThird]

Edit out John Wayne whilst your at it as well.

#Woke.

[Warbodog]

Fawlty Towers is alright I think, the point was always to show the generation gap and changing attitudes, plus the Major’s weirdness generally.

The Young Ones less good, it made its satirical point but it’s very harsh and probably lent itself to playground repetition, so I wouldn’t mind not seeing that again.

The Peep Show where Mark tries out some of the casual racism he’s heard his friend use to see how it goes down is one of my favourites, because some pricks still talk like that and need to be told it isn’t alright. At one of my early jobs, a young woman was telling someone a fascinating anecdote from her day and glanced at the Muslim co-worker sitting next to her before whispering “p*** shop.” She didn’t have other vocabulary for a corner shop, just had to go with that.

[By Jove its holmes]

the modern DW is happy to be revisionist – e.g. Rose barging into 19th century Wales and starting 21st century feminist consciousness raising, with no regard for Gwyneth and Sneed’s different circumstances.

[si]

I just prefer to think of the phrase ‘wacko jacko’ as being used as just a general rhyming slang term for crazy, as opposed to it being attached to any particular person.

[clem]

Wasn’t there a trailer where it’s edited so that Lister says “don’t give me the Star Trek wacko jacko”? Almost sure that’s on one of the DVDs and not just some fan-made thing I’ve seen on YouTube.

[Warbodog]

“Well done, Mr Spock.”

[Ben Saunders]

What a trip that ad is. Constant Star Trek references despite it having nothing to do with the set, Holly’s ears, the way the announcer says “and Red Dwarf” as if that’s actually a negative, and the way Rimmer saying “Mr. Spock” sounds to me nothing like how he says it in where I assume it’s from – “urine should only be green….”

[Dave]

It feels like there’s infinite possibilities for misleading Red Dwarf VHS ad voiceovers that could be constructed by chopping up unrelated lines from the series.

“Marilyn Monroe… What a bastard!”

[clem]

Ah, thanks Warbofrog.

“I’ve never seen one before, no-one has, but I’m guessing it’s a banana.”

[Warbodog]

“D’you think Hitler’s sexy?”

[By Jove its holmes]

“all in all a one hundred percent going to do something sissy now!”

[Dave]

Where do all the calculators HAVE TO GO!

[clem]

“F-I-S-H. That’s how you spell chicken.”

[Taiwan Tony]

“Will you stop saying everything’s crypto-fascist. You make me sound like a racist slag.”

[Dave]

“Everybody’s dead, Dave… April Fool.”

[Ben Saunders]

Look out Earth, the slime’s a drug crazed transvestite

[si]

WAAAA-(The End)-AAAAAAW!!!(Back In The Red part 3)

[Dave]

“You’ll bonk anything, won’t you Gandhi!”

[Nick R]

“Full of goodness. Full of vitamins. Full of singing potatoes.”

[Dave]

“This is an SOS distress call from the mining ship Red Dwarf. The crew are dead. Killed by Felicity Kendal’s bottom.”

[bloodteller]

“Smoke me a kipper, I’ll be back for Lister’s buttock crevice.”

[Warbodog]

“Seventeen years old and he used to snog his daddy.”

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

“She’s not jail bait, she’s twelve. Twelve years old”

[Dave]

“Imagine making love to… a sheep and a cow.”

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Not wanting to turn this into a misheard lines thread, but the way Craig says “breed” I always thought he said three … which made Rimmer’s follow up line a bit confusing.

Once I was older I twigged what it was and it all made sense.

“Now why do you think that happened? What were you thinking of at the time? an ugly, lungless marine animal with galloping senility! A putrid amphibious gillbreather with less brains than a mollusc”

[clem]

“Your explanation for anything slightly peculiar is Cliff Richard, isn’t it? You lose your keys – it’s Cliff Richard. A picture falls off the wall – it’s Cliff Richard. That time we used up a whole bog roll in a day – you thought that was Cliff Richard as well.”

[Warbodog]

“Well, the thing about a black hole, its main distinguishing feature, is it’s purple. And the thing about space, the colour of space, your basic space colour, is red. So how are you supposed to unicycle?”

“Well, thankfully Holly’s unaffected.”

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

“I’m going to be a woman”

taken from “i’m going to be an uncle” and “imagine making love to a woman”

I’m series VIII’ing because it feels more obscure. Sorry, bye.

[Dave]

“I’ve discovered stuff in there that’ll make your hair stand on end.”

“What stuff?”

“Dog’s milk.”

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

” Wait! Before you go! There is one question; an important one! The others will have to know! …. what’s an iguana?”

[Warbodog]

“Garbled, confusing and quite frankly duller than Beyond a Joke.”

[Warbodog]

“Yes mother, I’m just packing my satchel… and then, I’m going to have you.”

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

“That is why in our society we only believe in salad cream in the fridge”

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

“Yes mother, I’m just packing my satchel… and then, I’m going to have you.”

Hall of Fame

[bloodteller]

“I remember…I remember wishing a couple more people would die so I could squeeze my buttocks together to make one juicy giant peach.”

[si]

We’re on a mining ship, 97 minutes into deep space. Can someone explain to me where the smeg I got this traffic cone?

[Jonsmad]

RIMMER: If we’re talking about famous firsts — my first french kiss. It’s gotta be a killer story. Fourteen years old. We went on holiday with my Uncle Frank and his daughters. Sixteen. Twins.
Blonde. Now I knew that Sarah fancied me (Sniggers from others), but I wasn’t too sure about Alice. Anyway, middle of the night, I wake up with this tongue stuck down my throat. Wide awake now — I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a 1993 Michael Jackson.”

[Jonsmad]

Listers attempt to sing “She’s out of my life” in Marooned by Micheal from the 1979 album Off the wall
Is up for the next chop then, or he sings it so badly that no music identifying software will pick up on it?

[Author]

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