This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
When it comes to romantic sub-plots, certain pairings are obvious. But others are a lot less certain. In King of the Hill, one of the most enduring sub-plots involved Bobby and Connie.
From the original series and into the 2025 revival, these two have shared a unique bond over the years. Sometimes, it’s romantic. Sometimes, it’s pure friendship. But overall, what’s their endgame? Are they destined to be?
I honestly don’t know, but I try to break it down in this video. Enjoy!
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
After 15 years, King of the Hill is back! Hank, Peggy, Bobby, and the rest of the gang have returned in yet another revival of a beloved series. But unlike other revivals, this one works on a level that I found genuinely surprising. It feels different than other efforts, but in the best possible way. That’s certainly were celebrating and exploring. Enjoy!
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
There’s no need to debate this.
There’s no point in arguing this.
The Naked Gun is the perfect comedy. That’s it. There’s no way to claim otherwise. It is perfect in every conceivable way and deserves to be celebrated as such.
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
In the spirit of America and all it stands for, I made this video to celebrate a very special movie that truly captures the essence of patriotism. That movie is Team America: World Police.
Yes, it has puppets, profanity, and barfing. But it is the most genuine, honest portrayal of American patriotism in the history of cinema. And that makes it worth celebrating. Enjoy!
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
In this video, I highlight a remarkable new show called Common Side Effects. It’s rare for a show to come along and really impress me after just one season. But this show, which debuted on Adult Swim, really raised the bar for just how great adult animation can be. And I highly encourage everyone to check it out for themselves. Enjoy!
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
In this video, I once again revisit 90s MTV gem, Daria. And this time, I focus on the evolution and (partial) redemption of her younger, super-shallow, super-popular sister, Quinn.
Now, I freely admit that Quinn Morgendorffer was the character I hated most on this show. For the first two seasons, she was insufferable. But towards the end, she went on an interesting arc. And while I won’t say she completely redeemed herself, her evolution is worth exploring. Enjoy!
And when you have a bad day, you often find yourself doing dumb, irrational things to make it less bad.
And when you do too many dumb, irrational things, you find that it’s too late and you’ve somehow made your day worse.
I promise that what you just read was not a direct quote from an episode of “Bojack Horseman,” although when you read it again, it sure sound like it ought to be. These admittedly bleak musings are just a byproduct of anyone navigating life, in general. I guarantee that anyone who has lived past the age of 24 has experienced this sort of thing more than once.
We all have bad days. They’re unavoidable.
Even if you’re rich, beautiful, and well-connected, you’re just going to go through periods where you feel like the universe wants to throw your soul into an industrial furnace. But even if these kinds of days are unavoidable, there are ways we can deal with it. And not all of them have to involve potent drugs or expensive therapy.
As someone who has had his share of bad days, I’ve uncovered numerous little ways to make them better over the years. Some are simple, common sense that most people with functional brain cells can figure out. Others are more personal that I prefer not to share.
I also understand that what makes my day better isn’t going to be the same for everyone. I can immediately make myself feel better by simply getting fully naked, reading some of my favorite comic books, and putting on a playlist that’s loaded with every song by AC/DC and Nirvana. That does plenty to boost my spirits, but it’s not for everyone.
But as unique as we all are as human beings, I also believe we all share certain commonalities that bind us. I also believe that through those commonalities, we can all find ways to make our bad days feel a little less awful. And in that spirit, I’d like to share a video I discovered a while back that has had an uncanny ability to put me in a better mood, no matter what kind of day I’m having.
It involves the comedy of the late, great George Carlin.
It also involves the iconic and beloved children’s show, Thomas The Tank Engine.
I promise I’m being completely serious. This is real. This is not a product of AI. This is actually something George Carlin worked on while he was still with us. And while the kid-friendly version of Thomas The Tank Engine is beloved by generations of kids and adults, Carlin found a way to give it his own special/vulgar/hilarious twist.
And thanks to talented video editors and the wonders of YouTube, there’s a 45-minute video of George Carlin voicing numerous characters from Thomas The Tank Engine while mixing in the kind of brilliantly glorious comedy that still gives everyone who works at the FCC night terrors. I’ve made it a point to save this video and memorize the URL. Because it’s not just delightfully funny. It is the ultimate medicine for any and all jaded souls.
If you don’t believe me, watch for yourself. It may very well ruin your childhood to some degree if you’re a fan of Thomas The Tank Engine, but I promise you it’s worth it.
To this day, I still can’t get through this video without laughing so hard that my throat hurts. I’ve also watched this video, in part or in full, during some of the worst days I’ve ever had. It never fails to make me feel better. It’s like medicine for my mind, body, and soul.
It requires no prescription.
It has no side-effects.
You can even take it with alcohol and various other intoxicating drugs.
I don’t know how big the universe is or how vast the multiverse might be. I just know that I’m grateful to live in a plane of reality where a mash-up of George Carlin and Thomas The Tank Engine exist.
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
In this video, I highlight one of the best episodes of Bob’s Burgers, The Plight Before Christmas. It’s not just the best Christmas episode of the series. It’s a textbook example in what makes this show and Christmas episodes, in general, truly special. Enjoy!
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
In this video, I make the case that the 2003 movie, Bad Santa, is the perfect anti-Christmas Christmas movie. It’s also a movie that we need during the holidays, if only to add a little dark humor to our holiday cheer. Enjoy!
These days, it’s easy to look back on old movies and TV shows you once found funny and cringe. Sometimes, it’s just part of changing trends. Sometimes, it’s just part of getting older. What you found hilarious when you were 10-years-old isn’t going to be as funny when you’re 40. It’s just a sad fact of life.
But then, there’s a movie like “Airplane!” And I submit that, in terms of comedies that have aged like the finest of wines, this movie is the gold standard.
I certainly understand that comedy and tastes are objective. I also don’t doubt that some people will watch a movie like this, not get the jokes, or take offense to it. But I would also argue that, while you can levy those kinds of criticisms about many comedies from that era, you can’t reasonably apply it to “Airplane!“
This movie isn’t just a classic comedy gem from the early 1980s. It’s one of those rare movies that takes a simple, but effective approach at being funny. It doesn’t try to be too smart for its own good. It doesn’t try to be too crude, so as only to appeal to a specific demographic and/or stoners. It just uses the basics of what makes good, endearing comedy and runs with it.
The story itself is not really that complicated. A traumatized ex-fighter pilot, Ted Striker, tries to win back his stewardess girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson, before she moves away and leaves him for good. He follows her to the airport, ends up on a plane with her to Chicago, and just happens to be there when disaster strikes and the flight crew falls ill. Along the way, some truly remarkable comedy gold ensues.
In essence, this movie is largely a parody of common tropes from that era regarding romance, war, and disaster movies. It also used the premise of a far more serious, less funny movie from 1957 called “Zero Hour!” But you don’t have to have seen that movie to appreciate plot, jokes, and comedy of “Airplane!” You just have to have the smallest semblance of a sense of humor.
It does get crude at times, but not so crude as to be juvenile.
It does get quirky with recurring gags, but it never overuses them.
It also gets more than a little suggestive at times, but not to the point where it needs to be rated R.
This movie came out before I was born. However, it was a movie my parents loved. Every time my mother watched it, she would keel over and laugh. I was only around nine-years-old when I first saw it. And even though some of the jokes flew over my head, I still found it funny.
Years later, when I rewatched it, I laughed even harder once I actually got the jokes. To this day, I can re-watch the movie any time of year and still find it hilarious. I still crack up at the scenes that involve speaking Jive. I still laugh every time Leslie Nielson says “And don’t call me Shirley!” And the autopilot steals the show every time.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to call “Airplane!” my favorite movie or even my favorite comedy, I can’t recall a single movie or TV show that has consistently made me laugh over the years. And at a time when so many other TV shows and movies are aging poorly, it just makes me appreciate “Airplane!” that much more.
So, for that, I thank David and Jerry Zucker, and all those involved in making this movie, for giving the world this timeless comedy gem. And if you haven’t seen it yet and are in the mood for some quality comedy, give “Airplane!” a watch. If laughter truly is good for the soul, this movie should give you plenty of nourishment.
Jack Fisher's Official Publishing Blog 