The Funny 115 - version 2.0



#29.  Getting clotheslined by the clothesline
Samoa - episode 4






I swear to God, the "Shambo and the chickens" subplot in Samoa is the pretty much the comedy gift that keeps on giving.

Seriously, do you know how many Shambo/chicken entries I have had so far on the Funny 115?  I swear I must have written at least four or five of them already.  And they weren't really all even the same entry either.   What happens is that the minute the Galu tribe wins chickens in episode four, funny things start to happen around the Galu camp.   There is just something inherently funny about the combination of Shambo being an idiot, Galu having a bunch of over the top wild cards, and chickens running around all willy nilly like they are fricking Rupert in a candy store.









"Dots!!! They have Dots!!!"








Well, my friends, I am proud to say that this is the last of the Shambo and the chickens entries.  

Oh, it doesn't actually feature Shambo and the chickens.  This is just another one of those entries that crops up because of the legendary moment when Shambo met the chickens, and the chickens were the smarter ones.  Like I said, that little meeting of the minds was pretty much the Survivor comedy gift that kept on giving.  And out of all the greatness that eventually developed out of it, this one is the best..

This entry is short, sweet, and simple.  But it almost made the top 25 for a reason.

It is a personal favorite.










The Ultimate Warrior - clothesline enthusiast








Have you ever watched professional wrestling and run across a wrestling term called "a clothesline"?   Well of course you have.  Come on, we all know that more people watch pro wrestling these days than go to church.  Let's stop trying to kid ourselves.

However, if you are living under a rock and have never actually heard the term before, here is the definition of a "clothesline", as provided by the Oxford-English dictionary*:

* not true


Clothesline (noun):  A combat sports move in which one person runs towards another and extends his/her arm out from the side of the body and parallel to the ground, hitting the opponent in the neck or chest and knocking him/her over.  See Foundation, Hart or Brown, Chris.



Want a visual example of a clothesline?  Well here you go:







Why do you hate my trachea?








So anyway, there you go.  A clothesline is a move where some dude gets blasted across the throat and knocked backwards.  

Which leads us to one of the simplest and more pure moments on the Funny 115.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy.  

The comedy in this scene pretty much writes itself.










It is the fourth episode of Survivor: Samoa, and Father Erik Cardona is spending the day saying blessings around camp Galu










Until?  Tragedy strikes!











Brer Chicken just tricked Shambo via the old "Please don't throw me into that wide open clearing" maneuver











"Shit!  Why do I always fall for that?"










The very reverend Erik immediately springs into action.  He races across camp to go catch the rogue poultry









And luckily for us, we have Danger Dave Ball on hand to narrate the action.










"So her and Erik go running around chasing it."









"And it's like Tweedledee and Tweedledum."










One of the Tweedles








And now, a Survivor moment I will always treasure.









Erik sneaks up on the chicken









And there he goes!  He's making a break for freedom!









The Galus run after him









And here comes Erik!  Entering from stage left!  He is running as fast as he can!









Only... uh oh... I don't think he sees that rope tied between two trees right there...










Clotheslined!









He crashes to the ground










And rolls










Fail










And here is the magic in real time








Now, on paper, this is just a quickie little slapstick moment like we have seen hundreds of times before on Survivor.  Some dude is running, he hits something, and he falls down.  On paper, it is really nothing special.  On paper, this could have just been one of a hundred moments of Bubba trying to pick up spaghetti with a spoon.

But what sets this particular moment apart from the others, and what gives it such a high entry on the Funny 115, is the comment that follows immediately afterwards.

Yes, it is time to go back to Danger Dave Ball for the punchline.

You see, only a man like Danger Dave would have been able to identify ironic comedy serendipity when he sees it.  Only a man like Danger Dave would have been able to put the awesomeness of this moment into its proper comedic context.

So now, instead of me writing about it any further, I will just leave it to the professional.

Dave Ball, was there something you particularly enjoyed about this moment?










"Erik, he's runnin' after the chicken..."









(excitedly) "And he gets clotheslined."









(pause)










(giddily) "By the CLOTHESLINE!"










I figured if there was one thing that could bring back the Danger Dave O Face, it is somebody being clotheslined by the actual clothesline.











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