Nokamura n.— «“A Nokamura”: When a large number of jokes are all predicated on a single, earlier joke. This can entail great risk. Based on a Cheers episode. A day-player was named “Nokamura.” A vast chunk of the second...
flip joke n.— «“the Gilligan cut”: When you cut directly from a character declaring there’s no way he’s going to do something, to him doing it, for comedic effect. Also called “the flip joke,” but I’ve heard this usage...
gilding the matzah
n.— «“Gilding the Matzah”: Over-writing a joke, so it’s no longer funny.» —“Writing: Jargon Preservation” by John Rogers Kung Fu Monkey Apr. 15, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Gilligan cut n.— «“the Gilligan cut”: When you cut directly from a character declaring there’s no way he’s going to do something, to him doing it, for comedic effect. Also called “the flip joke,” but I’ve heard this...
Van Dyke n.— «“a Van Dyke”: leaving a scene, usually a party scene, early and then starting the next scene with a phone conversation which elaborates and expands the previous scene while also introducing new information. A nice bit...
rake bit n.— «“The Rake Bit”: Something that’s funny, goes on too long so it’s not funny, then goes on so long that it becomes INCREDIBLY funny. Goes under a couple different names, but of writers my age, this seems to be the most...