# Funniest moments in sff



## Jo Zebedee (Oct 9, 2014)

Branching out from an earlier conversation, wondering what scenes stand out in genre books/films/television as funny. My favourites are (in no particular order) -

Nanny Ogg having a bath. I cry with laughter at the first bong, bugger it, bash of the bath tub (Lords and ladies, anyone know?)
The Butterbug scene in Vorkosigan (A Civil Campaign). The build up to it, the whole comedy of manners around it and the pacing is fabulous.

On films, I love the 'Don't stop me now' scene in Shaun of the Dead. I also loved loads of the humour in Guardians of the Galaxy, and thought they used pacing and timing well.


And for a skit, Eddie Izzard's Death Star Canteen makes me laugh every time.


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## Ray McCarthy (Oct 9, 2014)

Granny infecting the vampires
(Carpe Jugulum)

Many escapades of Cohen the Barbarian or the entire Silver horde (3 books)

*The truth* shall make you fret
Going Postal

Most of the Discworld books
Animated Soul Music and Wierd Sisters
Film versions


Possibly it's the start of _Aurian_* or *_The Heart of Myrial_ by Maggie Furey where the rider is lamenting what leather gear is like in the rain. I forget which. I can't remember where I put them. Or maybe someone else. 

Not SFF, but in films
Better Off Dead   -- throwing out perfectly good White boy
Dangerous Creatures  (John Cleese)
Uncle Buck  (John Candy)


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## Alex The G and T (Oct 9, 2014)

Sir Terry uses a certain phrase to describe a number of different characters within several of his books.

It's not so much LOL funny; but it amuses _me_ immensely, because it describes _me _perfectly. Because I do not suffer gods gladly.


"If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards!' "


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## Grimward (Oct 9, 2014)

Zelazny's the best.



> While I had often said that I wanted to die in bed, what I really meant was that in my old age I wanted to be stepped on by an elephant while making love.


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## thaddeus6th (Oct 9, 2014)

The moose joke in Red Dwarf X was a nice return to form.

One of my favourite episodes of comedy is from Blackadder II (Money, I think), where the baby-eating Bishop of Bath and Wells, manager of the Black Bank, is after a debt from Blackadder.


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## Boneman (Oct 9, 2014)

Galaxy Quest. Nuff said. But particularly the bit where Tim Allen is trying to convince the kid to help them, using the communicators, and the kid is saying 'it's okay, I know I'm a nerd, etc' and Tim says "It's all real." and the kid says "I knew it!"


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## Zoe Mackay (Oct 9, 2014)

_Sir Alexander Dane_: You're just going to have to figure out what it wants. What is its motivation? 
_Jason Nesmith_: It's a rock monster. It doesn't have motivation. 
_Sir Alexander Dane_: See, that's your problem, Jason. You were never serious about the craft.

In terms of books, the translation scene in Diana Wynne Jones' "A Tale Of Time City" always makes me cry with laughter.


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## AnyaKimlin (Oct 9, 2014)

Mines a Magrat moment - now I know it is in Wyrd Sisters the play but honestly can't remember if it is in the book as well.  "Anyone would just think we are old hags in green blusher."

And can I go for a really popular one - Captain Kirk covered in tribbles?  And I love the I, Mudd Episode at the end when his wife droid has number 500 on her forehead.


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## HoopyFrood (Oct 9, 2014)

There are parts in Scott Lynch's book that crack me up. In the first book it's at the end when all manner of shiz is going down and everyone's deciding who'll go sort it out and Locke is all "great, we'll all go, it'll be a party!" Laugh every time. And in the newest book, when Jean has been taking out Sabetha's spies so she replaces them with old women and Jean has no clue what to do!

Anything Red Dwarf. Especially anything that involves Rimmer. But also when the shape-shifting thingie goes up Lister's boxer shorts 

Love the Marvel films, consistently make me laugh. Especially love the unexpected moment in Captain America when a kid gets thrown into a river by a bad guy but the kid's just all "I can swim, go after him!"

In Firefly when River pops out of her box and scares the bejesus out of Mal.

I'll keep thinking, there are many more


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## Vince W (Oct 9, 2014)

Red Dwarf always makes me laugh.

That scene in Aliens when Gorman announces he's coming in, Hudson and Vasquez's comments always gets a chuckle out of me.

Of course Galaxy Quest is priceless.

The Coronetto Trilogy has a lot of laughs to offer, especially Shaun of the Dead. And Spaced.

David Jason as Rincewind. 

Genre media has a lot to offer in the way of humour.


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## AnyaKimlin (Oct 9, 2014)

I forgot my favourite from Torchwood:
Rhys: If you stopped and asked me what I saw in there instead of showing off round the place.
Jack: Do I show off?
Ianto: Just a bit.
Rhys: You'd know I got out by telling them I wanted a job. As a delivery man. So rather thank cock things up I found you a way to get in. But if you can't handle that Big Boy you can stuff it.
Jack: This rather homoerotic.
Gwen: Oh No.


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## TheDustyZebra (Oct 9, 2014)

This is a bit from a book by one of our newer members, AmyCook, who is the wife of one of my coworkers (WordSpinner). I was reading it at lunch the other day, and laughed so hard I cried at this part. It's just so real. The book is called *Edge of Instinct: Rabids Book 1*.

(Background: MC's brother is dead, and she has been called mysteriously to a bank and given a briefcase that her brother left for her. It had a touch-pad scanner that she had to press her hand to, in order to open it, and inside was an envelope and some other things, and this note.)

"_Baby Girl.
Did you enjoy the brief case bit? I found it in an abandoned military base on one of our missions and knew I had to get it for you. Technically, the print scanner is busted and it would have opened for anyone, but I thought you might get a kick outta being all James Bond-like.

Now, onto the serious stuff. If you are reading this, it means that I am dead. (I always wanted to say that...you know, except for the whole having to be dead to say it part.)_

..."


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## alchemist (Oct 9, 2014)

It won't work out of context, but the Star Trek film where Data gets emotions and the Enterprise crash lands on a planet. As the ship pierces the atmosphere and the horizon looms, Data goes "ohhhh s***!"

It's funny cos it's Data


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## alchemist (Oct 9, 2014)

I also have to say Tyrion in GOT is hilarious. He IS the series.


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## Vertigo (Oct 9, 2014)

The four rider's of the apocalypse scene from Good Omens; gets me every time I think about it! Somewhat abridged:



> It did not escape their notice that all four strangers had HELL'S ANGELS on their jackets. And they looked dead dodgy as far as the Angels were concerned: too clean for a start; and none of the four looked like they'd ever broken anyone's arm just because it was Sunday afternoon and there wasn't anything good on the telly.
> "You're Hell's Angels, then?" asked Big Ted, sarcastically. If there's one thing real Hell's Angels can't abide, it's weekend bikers.
> The four strangers nodded.
> "What chapter are you from, then?"
> ...


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## Venusian Broon (Oct 10, 2014)

Going a bit back in the Pratchett oeuvre to _The Light Fantastic _I think I literally did piss my myself laughing at the footnote on Olaf Quimby II, a past patrician of Ankh-Morpork who




> was noted for his interest in honest and accurate descriptions as well as proper standards for everything, particularly metaphor. As Patrician, he used his power to enforce laws against creative exaggeration in writing. For example, no bard was allowed to say of a hero that "all men spoke of his prowess" on pain of death; he should instead add that some people spoke ill of the hero and that still others did not know of him at all. Similarly, the phrase "her face launched a thousand ships" could only be used to describe a beautiful woman if relevant shipyard records were produced or, failing that, evidence that the woman's face resembled a champagne bottle.
> 
> As far as standardization was concerned, Quimby instituted the Ankh-Morpork Bureau of Measurements, in which is kept the standardized Blunt Stick (originally a Sharp one was on display as well, but very few things were found worse than a poke in the eye with it), the recipe for the Pie that It May be As Nice As, Two Short Planks and the stone used in the original Moss-Gathering Trials. This Bureau is maintained by the current Patrician, Lord Havelock Vetinari, on the grounds that the sort of people whose minds work like this ought to be kept busy, or they might do _anything_.
> 
> Quimby's reign ended when he was killed by a disgruntled poet during an experiment to test the truth of the saying  "The pen is mightier than the sword". In his memory, it was amended to read: "The pen is mightier than the sword only if the sword is very small and the pen is very sharp".


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## Mouse (Oct 10, 2014)

I'm reading Good Omens at the mo...

Firefly and Red Dwarf are hilarious. Guardians of the Galaxy had some funny bits. Agree about the Cornetto trilogy too. And... what else? Neverwhere made me laugh out loud - the Croup and Vandemar bits.


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## HareBrain (Oct 10, 2014)

No-one mentioned Futurama yet? Most of my favourite moments involve Zap Brannigan or Zoidberg (or Bender of course).


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## TheDustyZebra (Oct 11, 2014)

I did the "Arthur and the bulldozers" bit of HHGG as a humorous piece for speech tournaments in school. It took a lot of effort to stop cracking up at the "beware of the leopard" part.

Now I have to read Good Omens again.


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## Cat's Cradle (Oct 11, 2014)

HareBrain said:


> No-one mentioned Futurama yet? Most of my favourite moments involve Zap Brannigan or Zoidberg (or Bender of course).



Futurama is amazing, HB! At its best, I believe Futurama was as funny as any comedy ever on television. SO many LOL moments, and often clever, touching storylines (and then there is Bender!). And I love the look of this future, throughout the series. (Zap Brannigan was brilliantly silly, too!)

And from Fringe, John Noble's 'Walter Bishop' had some of the funniest, quirkiest lines I've ever heard. Wow, Noble is a truly amazing actor, one of the best out there, I think.


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## Foxbat (Oct 15, 2014)

HareBrain said:


> No-one mentioned Futurama yet? Most of my favourite moments involve Zap Brannigan or Zoidberg (or Bender of course).


 My favourite Futurama moment -  where Bender grows a civilisation on his behind (next to his nuclear pile)


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## BAYLOR (Nov 23, 2014)

*Red Dwarf    *When Kryton  defends Rimmer from the charges that he caused the  demise of the whole crew of Red Dwarf.  

Then there's episode with the Arnold Rimmer song.


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## Ice fyre (Nov 25, 2014)

I always found Neil Gainmans work to be on a par with Mr pratchett's for humour. I love a scene in one of his book when an extremely nervous young man is meeting his mother in law. The descriptions are along the lines of baracudas circling its wounded prey! Anazai boys was a lovley read! The rivers of London series has a dry humour which I love.


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## BAYLOR (Nov 26, 2014)

Ice fyre said:


> I always found Neil Gainmans work to be on a par with Mr pratchett's for humour. I love a scene in one of his book when an extremely nervous young man is meeting his mother in law. The descriptions are along the lines of baracudas circling its wounded prey! Anazai boys was a lovley read! The rivers of London series has a dry humour which I love.




Good Omens.


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## BAYLOR (Dec 7, 2014)

*Quark   * the 1978 one hour premier , they did a hilarious spoof of Star Wars .


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## Balthagor (Jan 8, 2015)

I've found Jim Butcher's humor in the Dresden files to be excellent.  One of my most recent LOL moments was the bit with the donut at the of Small Favor.


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## Deep Space Nina (Jan 9, 2015)

I think it was so funny when everyone was stressed after making it to the ship last minute after the bank robbery, just River stays calm and said: "I swallowed a bug."


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## Balthagor (Jan 9, 2015)

Firefly has lots of great moments, we could have a thread just for those.


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## Deep Space Nina (Jan 9, 2015)

Sure, this was just the one I remembered in the most vivid way.


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## Grimward (Jan 10, 2015)

I agree about Serenity.

"Let's go back to the part where Jane gets knocked out by a ninety pound girl 'cause I don't think that's ever gonna get old."


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## Deep Space Nina (Jan 10, 2015)

Oh yes, that is great! *lol*


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## J-Sun (Jan 11, 2015)

Balthagor said:


> Firefly has lots of great moments, we could have a thread just for those.



We do. 

I'll have to give the general thread topic more thought. Like most everybody, I love _Firefly_ and _Galaxyquest_ and so on. Whenever I think funny lit SF/F, I always think Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat and Leiber's "Lean Times in Lankhmar" but it's hard to pin down exact "moments".


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## Cascade (Jan 11, 2015)

It's been a very long time since I read it, but towards  the climax in Terry Pratchet's - Pyramids, and the gods come to life there is a scene in which the various sun/ sky gods, fight to carry the sun across the sky commentated by a watching priest like its a six nations rugby match. I am smiling just thinking about it.


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## BAYLOR (Feb 8, 2015)

*Dark Star*  1974 . The  most important  lesson leaned from that  film. Never teach a self aware bomb about philosophy.


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## Venusian Broon (Feb 8, 2015)

Cascade said:


> It's been a very long time since I read it, but towards  the climax in Terry Pratchet's - Pyramids, and the gods come to life there is a scene in which the various sun/ sky gods, fight to carry the sun across the sky commentated by a watching priest like its a six nations rugby match. I am smiling just thinking about it.



Is _Pyramids _the one where they try and build a really big pyramid. So big that it starts to warp space and time really badly around it, so that one of the characters is forced to invent quantum accountancy just to pay the workforce?


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## BAYLOR (Feb 8, 2015)

Venusian Broon said:


> Is _Pyramids _the one where they try and build a really big pyramid. So big that it starts to warp space and time really badly around it, so that one of the characters is forced to invent quantum accountancy just to pay the workforce?



Anything by Pratchett.


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## Cascade (Feb 8, 2015)

Venusian Broon said:


> Is _Pyramids _the one where they try and build a really big pyramid. So big that it starts to warp space and time really badly around it, so that one of the characters is forced to invent quantum accountancy just to pay the workforce?


 Yep thats the one.

I still think it is my favourite of his stand alone Disc world books.


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## michaelhall2007 (Mar 27, 2016)

Jo Zebedee said:


> Branching out from an earlier conversation, wondering what scenes stand out in genre books/films/television as funny. My favourites are (in no particular order) -
> 
> Nanny Ogg having a bath. I cry with laughter at the first bong, bugger it, bash of the bath tub (Lords and ladies, anyone know?)
> The Butterbug scene in Vorkosigan (A Civil Campaign). The build up to it, the whole comedy of manners around it and the pacing is fabulous.
> ...


*GALAXY QUEST
[the crew is on a shuttle descending to an alien planet]
Guy Fleegman: I changed my mind. I wanna go back.
Sir Alexander Dane: After the fuss you made about getting left behind?
Guy Fleegman: Yeah, but that's when I thought I was the crewman that stays on the ship, and something is up there, and it kills me. But now I'm thinking I'm the guy who gets killed by some monster five minutes after we land on the planet.
Jason Nesmith: You're not gonna die on the planet, Guy.
Guy Fleegman: I'm not? Then what's my last name?
Jason Nesmith: It's, uh, uh - -I don't know.
Guy Fleegman: Nobody knows. Do you know why? Because my character isn't important enough for a last name, because I'm gonna die five minutes in.
Gwen DeMarco: Guy, you have a last name.
Guy Fleegman: DO I? DO I? For all you know, I'm "Crewman Number Six"! Mommy... mommy...
*


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## WaylanderToo (Mar 27, 2016)

No-one mentioned "The Iron Druid" series yet? Oberon's observations (especially on sausages) are great fun

The Uranus trilogy are also fun in a school-boy humour sort of way 

But for me Tripping the Rift is pure quality (note though that this is NOT a child-friendly series!!!!!)


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## BAYLOR (Apr 10, 2016)

*Bill The Galactic Hero *by Harry Harrison .  lots of funny moments. One that sticks out The Bloater Star Drive .  To travel in space rather then have a convectional FTL drive. in which you trade from point a to point B, instead  With the bloater drive  causes the ship and crew to expand to their destination and then de expand when they get there. In other world you expand to get from point A to point B. Ive never seen this concept of space travel and quite frankly  wished id never had.


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## Droflet (Apr 11, 2016)

Star Trek TOS:
"Spock, what just happened?"
"Captain, we appear to have passed through a barrier."
"What kind of barrier?"
"Unknown." 
"Well, a barrier between what and what?"
"A barrier between where we were and where we are."
Kirk narrows his eyes. "Are you trying to be funny, Mister Spock?"
"Captain, the thought would never occur to me." 

Ka zing. Well, it worked for me.


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## Lew Rockwell Fan (Apr 21, 2016)

Most of L. Sprague de Camp's fantasy. His very proper, well meaning, and rather British seeming demon, is a scream. Gorax, I think his name was.

Poul Anderson's van Rijn tales may be the funniest decent SF I can think of. I think they are collected in one volume now, the title of which escapses me atm. But in one, our hero says something like:

"You are beatiful damsel in distress. I rescue you.

Waste not, want not."


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