The
Funny 115 - The Third One
The Intro
Hello! And welcome to the third version of the Funny 115. Or, as I like to call it, The Third One.
I
don't have a whole lot to say in my intro to this one. If
you followed the first two versions of the Funny 115, you pretty
much know what you're in for. The only difference is that this
time around, I'm specifically focusing on seasons 21 (Nicaragua)
through 30 (Worlds Apart), which means you won't see a lot of the
old recurring characters and jokes from the last two versions.
Oh, I'm sure you'll see some. But don't expect me to beat
you over the head with Coach stuff or Clay Jordan references.
This time I intend to beat you over the head with all new running
gags that I'm sure I can quickly make you sick of.
The only
thing I really want to say about this version of the Funny 115 is that
it was a bit more challenging to put together than the past two
versions. Mainly because the show really isn't all that funny
anymore. Whereas you used to get tons of character based scenes
or running joke storylines in every Survivor season, nowadays most of
those scenes have been replaced with immunity idol hunts or endless
scenes of the players standing around discussing how to split the vote.
Which, naturally, makes my job a lot more difficult.
Because a lot of my entries specifically depend on those
character scenes.
But never fear. Even though a lot of the
character development has been removed from the show, the editors have
tried to make up for it by inserting more and more "editor's jokes"
into the episodes the past couple of years. These are usually
quick little insert shots or clever little dissolves or moments of
irony that a lot of viewers (including me) don't even catch the first
time they watch an episode. And this is why I love to tell people
that you need to go back and rewatch a Survivor season later to catch
all the jokes that you missed. The editors have been throwing
TONS of them into the episodes the past couple of years. And this
is why I am specifically dedicating this version of the Funny 115 to
the true geniuses behind Survivor, the editors. Those guys do a
ton of great work, they never get rewarded for it, and I am proud to be
able to highlight some of their craft that they otherwise would never
get credit for. This countdown is for you guys, Survivor editors.
That's
about it for me. Hope you guys enjoy the countdown and that you
aren't too annoyed by how slowly I write them. Remember, in five
years nobody is going to care that I only wrote an entry or two each
week. In five years, people are only going to care that I wrote
it at all. I just want to make sure I do it right and that I
produce a countdown I am proud of.
As always, if you are having
a bad day, I hope something on the Funny 115 made you laugh
and made your day a little bit better. That's why I write
these things.
Enjoy The Third One. :)
-Mario Lanza
Ontario, California
September 15, 2016
P.S.
By the way, if you are a fan of the Funny 115 and if you want to
support it, I have created a sponsor page called The Friends of the Funny 115.
This is where you can purchase a tile for $15 and help me pay
for my web hosting costs. I have never actually made a cent off
of the Funny 115, and it costs me an arm and a leg to keep it up and
running every year because of how much storage it uses and because of
how many hits it gets. So if you would like to buy a tile and
help support the page, please drop me an email.
Membership in The Friends of the Funny 115 will also get you
access to my personal secret Facebook page called Zoe's Lobster Shack,
where we discuss the Funny 115 entries before I post them and where I
work with people to put together a lot of the screencaps. If you
would like a little bit of behind the scenes view into how I make this
website, and how I put together the entries, that would be the best way
to do it. Thank you!
Alternately, you can also support me by buying my book. When It Was Worth Playing For
details my history with Survivor and how I got into writing about it,
and it does a good job of chronicling what it was like to follow the
show for the first three seasons. It is also part one in what I
expect to be a series of books about the history of Survivor. You
can get it through Amazon.
If you want to hear more about the
history of the show, and what it was like to be a fan of Survivor along
the way, you can also listen to my podcast, The Survivor Historians. That one is completely free.
