BUFFYVERSE

A 'The Zeppo' Poll

POSTED BY: BATMARLOWE
UPDATED: Thursday, June 8, 2006 10:42
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 16873
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Saturday, July 2, 2005 5:20 PM

BATMARLOWE


Something I've always been curious about and you guys can help me out:

Cordelia calls Xander "The Zeppo" of the group. I've always wondered how many viewers got the reference.

So I'd really like to know if you:

A) Got it.
B) Thought you got it but you were wrong and what you thought it meant.
C) Knew you didn't get it and came up with your own plausible explanation.
D) Didn't get it and somebody explained it to you correctly.
E) Didn't get it and somebody explained it to you incorrectly.
F) Didn't get it and didn't think too much about it.

And your age. Please. Thank you for your kind participation.





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Saturday, July 2, 2005 5:42 PM

CAITHNESS


I got it and I'm 21.

"I'm very much of the 'make it dark, make it grim, make it tough,' but then, for the love of God, tell a joke." - Joss Whedon

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Saturday, July 2, 2005 6:20 PM

HELL'S KITTEN


I got it, but I don't remember what year it aired, so I don't know how old I was.

无 党派 人士

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Saturday, July 2, 2005 7:25 PM

STARBERRYGIRL


23 and I got it, but then I watch a lot of old movies.

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Sunday, July 3, 2005 2:10 AM

MIKEYMO


I didn't get it, got annoyed that I didn't get it, looked Zeppo up on the internet, and THEN I got it.

I'm 26.

"Be ashamed to die before you have scored some victory for humanity." -- Horace Mann

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Sunday, July 3, 2005 3:08 AM

MANWITHPEZ

Important people don't do field work.


30, and got it right away..

Kaylee: "What's so damn important about being proper? It don't mean nothing out here in the black."
Simon: "It means more out here. It's all I have..."

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Sunday, July 3, 2005 4:05 AM

DARKJESTER


41, and I got it (but had to think a minute or two)

MAL "You only gotta scare him."
JAYNE "Pain is scary..."

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Sunday, July 3, 2005 4:18 AM

THESOMNAMBULIST


Quote:

Originally posted by batmarlowe:
Something I've always been curious about and you guys can help me out:

Cordelia calls Xander "The Zeppo" of the group. I've always wondered how many viewers got the reference.



Yeah got it. I guess I was about what 27/28 when I saw the episode. But I've know about the Marx Brothers since I was a kid.

Great episode by the way.

The
Somnambulist

www.cirqus.com

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Monday, July 4, 2005 7:31 AM

FALLENBLACKROSE


well i was 15 when that episode first aired and i got the reference

Oh, gawd! What could it beee? We're dooomed! Who's flyin' this thing? Oh. Right. That'd be me. Back to work
I hope she does the soup thing. It's always a hoot, and we don't all die from it

http://wiltedrose.deviantart.com - My DeviantArt
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Tuesday, July 5, 2005 11:28 AM

CHRISISALL


I got it instantly when she said it (saw all the Marx bros. movies). And I'm 35. Uh, I mean 45. I sometimes forget.

Almost as young as Tom Cruise Chrisisall

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Tuesday, July 5, 2005 12:41 PM

ZEEK


F for me.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2005 2:49 PM

BIKISDAD


I got it right away, but I was in my early 40's when I first saw it (47 now), so I should have gotten it.

The one I didn't get was from "The Puppet Show" where Xander asks, "So, does anyone else think we've been Kaiser Sosay'd?". It was several years before I saw the movie that that reference came from and I finally understood it.

The other really obscure one was from season four (sorry, I forget which episode) when Buffy says, "I'll pull a William Burroughs on him... Wasn't anybody else awake in English that day?" That one I had to look up on the internet...

And the piece de resistance was from season 7's "Empty Places" when Giles, while claiming not to be trying to put Spike's life in danger, sends him on a mission to a Mission in Gilroy, CA - one of the funniest in-jokes they ever did on the show. Look up Gilroy on the internet and you'll understand why.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2005 4:22 PM

MER


I still don't get it. Unless the injoke is the garlic festival in Gilroy.

I got the Zeppo joke, but I don't see how Zeppo is useless...but then again, I've always been more of a Laurel and Hardy girl than the Marx Bros.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2005 4:38 PM

BIKISDAD


Yes, sending a vampire to "The Garlic Capital of the World", while claiming not to be doing anything to endanger him... Oh, well. I thought it was hilarious. Just me, then...

And Zeppo was the fourth Marx Brother - the less talented one. The ones that were usually in the movies were the other three - Groucho, Chico, and Harpo.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2005 6:32 PM

MER


Actually, I find it funny. I wonder how I'll react once I see that episode again. I hope I can hear over my screaming of a Spike & Andrew roadtrip.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2005 6:46 PM

JOEMO


Just a couple of questions since its been some time since I have watched a lot of Buffy. I don't ever recall them validating the vampires hate garlic thing. And I vaguely recall them explaining the Zeppo reference in the Zeppo.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2005 7:12 PM

BIKISDAD


Check out season two, when Angel "changes" and Buffy has garlic hanging all over her room - you know, when Willow comes over. It's probably not there because she likes the smell.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 7:35 AM

ODDNESS2HER


A, I got it. I was 34/35 at the time.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 7:51 AM

CALLMESERENITY


I was
G) Don't remember it and don't remember if I cared at the time.

But I do get the reference, and I feel a bit bad for Zeppo. If you read a bit about him, you find that he was the understudy for most of the brothers and supposedly did a better "Groucho" than Groucho himself. And also I think he was the best looking. He deserves some credit.

Also, I remember laughing my head off at that William Burroughs line.

And I'm 27.

"Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us." ~Jerry Garcia

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 7:52 AM

CAPTBAGGYTROUSERS


A, got it, was probably in my mid-twenties at the time.

Does this make Dawn the Gummo?

History repeats the old conceits

http://topshelftvshow.com
Updated! Improved! Shiny!

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 7:56 AM

ODDNESS2HER


And Wesley the Margaret Dumont?

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 8:26 AM

CAPTBAGGYTROUSERS


Quote:

Originally posted by oddness2her:
And Wesley the Margaret Dumont?



Wow. Oddly appropriate.

History repeats the old conceits

http://topshelftvshow.com
Updated! Improved! Shiny!

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 8:35 AM

ODDNESS2HER


That's what I figured.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 8:39 AM

BATMARLOWE


I hope this doesn't come across as condescending but I'm very impressed that someone in their mid-twenties actually knows there was a Gummo Marx much less knew who Zeppo was. But I guess all us Whedonites are just more up on these things :)

That's not to say I got or understood every single reference myself. Like the William Burroughs one. I mean, I know who he was but I didn't get the joke in the context in which Buffy said it.

And yes oddness2her Wes is the Margaret Dumont. Good call.

Maybe it's just me but I always felt that a 17-18 year old Cordelia Chase would have no idea who Zeppo Marx was. Not that it really matters, it's a great episode and a funny reference.

And in defense of Zeppo they say that offstage he was the funniest one of the lot. And I like the ones with Zeppo better than the ones without (except for A NIGHT AT THE OPERA).

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 8:51 AM

CAPTBAGGYTROUSERS


As Cordelia once said "What, I can't have levels?"

It's amazing what people pick up by osmosis. I could believe Cordy would know the Marx Brothers, if for no other reason than she dated Xander who's likely be familiar with them.

And Cordy would probably kick herself for having picked up more than a few cultural tidbits like that from dating the big geek.

History repeats the old conceits

http://topshelftvshow.com
Updated! Improved! Shiny!

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 8:59 AM

BATMARLOWE


Yeah I can buy that. Think she and Xander made-out during a Marx Bros. fest? And when they came up for air he said, "Ooh that's Zeppo!"

And I don't mean that sarcastically in case it came off that way.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 9:07 AM

CAPTBAGGYTROUSERS


Oh, I can imagine that all too clearly.

What I love about these characters is that after a while they can practically write themselves. That's a great example.

History repeats the old conceits

http://topshelftvshow.com
Updated! Improved! Shiny!

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 9:08 AM

BOBSTER


I was 39 when I saw it (am still 39 now, a coupla years later) and totally got as I am pretty huge Marx Bros. fan -- Groucho was my first real hero.

Two points of interest -- a former boss of mine actually played Zeppo in B'way musical that was kind of a high profile flop called "Minnie's Boys." And speaking of being eternally 39, after one out-of-town performance Jack Benny stopped and talked with him for about an hour. Benny and Zeppo were close friends and I think Zeppo had died the year or two before.

The other point of interest. I've been to Gilroy and the whole town smells like garlic, apparently all year long. (It wasn't during the festival!)

Also got/laughed uproariously at the Burroughs joke...compulsary reading back in the punk rock era...

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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 9:25 AM

BLACKSHAMROCK5


I got it and I was around 13/14

Shamrock

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 3:43 PM

VISITINGMYINTENTIONS


Quote:

Originally posted by batmarlowe:
I hope this doesn't come across as condescending but I'm very impressed that someone in their mid-twenties actually knows there was a Gummo Marx much less knew who Zeppo was. But I guess all us Whedonites are just more up on these things :)

That's not to say I got or understood every single reference myself. Like the William Burroughs one. I mean, I know who he was but I didn't get the joke in the context in which Buffy said it.

And yes oddness2her Wes is the Margaret Dumont. Good call.

Maybe it's just me but I always felt that a 17-18 year old Cordelia Chase would have no idea who Zeppo Marx was. Not that it really matters, it's a great episode and a funny reference.

And in defense of Zeppo they say that offstage he was the funniest one of the lot. And I like the ones with Zeppo better than the ones without (except for A NIGHT AT THE OPERA).



(Sorry to dig up an old thread like this.)

I think it does come off a bit condescending. The Marx brothers made movies through the thirties and fourties. My mother is too young to have seen them in theatres. So there is nothing stranger in a 17-18 year old knowing them than there is with you knowing them (unless you're in your eighties, I guess). Old movies show on TV, and also, there are these places called ...libraries! and video rental stores! Those are where the majority of the movies I watched growing up came from. Thus I am equally as likely to know Charlie Chaplin as Julia Roberts. The invention of the video made a big difference in how movies are watched. Like how many of us on this site only saw Firefly after it was off the air. There's nothing odd about it at all. Remember how whatsisface who dates Buffy for about 3 episodes in Season 3 invites her to a Buster Keaton film festival? Keaton is much more obscure today than the frikkin' Marx brothers.

---------------------------------------------------
Early: Where'd she go?

Simon: I can't keep track of her when she's NOT incorporeally possessing a spaceship, don't look at me --

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 6:08 PM

URSULA


Got it, 44 next week.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 6:31 PM

BATMARLOWE


Sorry, didn't mean to offend.

It doesn't strike me as "strange" that a 17-18 year old would know who Zeppo was but rather impressive. But my comment was specifically about Cordelia and not any 17-18 old.

Scott Hope seemed more the type to be into Buster Keaton (same with Xander), whereas Cordelia doesn't come off as being interested in anything that occurred before she existed. Therefore, I have to respectfully disagree in this case--I do believe it is "stranger" for a 17-18 year-old Cordelia Chase to know who Zeppo Marx is than it is for me to know who Zeppo Marx is.

My intent was to compliment rather than insult. As far as my other comments go, I'm impressed that anyone of any age knows about GUMMO Marx because he did not appear in any of the Marx Brothers' movies. And the younger the person who knows who Gummo is/was the more impressed I'm going to be because as time goes on Gummo becomes increasingly obscure.

Chaplin is such an iconic figure that his image is universally known whether someone actually knows the origin of that image or not.

So let's go with Keaton. Because of all the outlets you mentioned you have the equal POTENTIAL to know who both Julia Roberts and Buster Keaton are. But since JR is a contemporary A-list movie star you'd have to live under a rock not to know who she is. It requires no effort. To know who Buster Keaton is requires openess and curiosity even though it's almost as easy to rent "The General" as it is "Pretty Woman".

So when someone demonstrates the openess and curiosity to find out about pop culture, art, music, or anything that occured before their time--it impresses me.

I used to work with a woman named Laura who was close to 15 years younger than I. I was talking to her about the song "Laura". She dismissed it as something she couldn't know about because it was before her time (as if it weren't before mine). This is my experience with people in general--"If it didn't happen before I was born how could I be expected to know about it?".

Why does it impress me when people demonstrate the openess and curiosity to find out about things that occurred before their time? Because to paraphrase Inara--so few people do.

Glad you stumbled across this thread--it's a pleasant surprise that someone dug it up.

P.S. Happy birthday, Ursula.


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Thursday, November 3, 2005 5:36 PM

VISITINGMYINTENTIONS


Quote:

Originally posted by batmarlowe:
Sorry, didn't mean to offend.



Oh, I'm not really offended, just slightly put off by what I saw as implied criticism towards the younger folk. If I wanted to be offended, I could wander over to one of those delightful flame wars/whining matches going on in the FF Gen. Disc. forum. An intelligent discussion is a welcome change of pace.

Quote:

It doesn't strike me as "strange" that a 17-18 year old would know who Zeppo was but rather impressive.



Same diff, love, same diff. It's patronizing, either way.

Quote:

But my comment was specifically about Cordelia and not any 17-18 old.



Well, that being the case, I'll second what Captbaggytrousers posted:

Quote:

As Cordelia once said "What, I can't have levels?"

It's amazing what people pick up by osmosis. I could believe Cordy would know the Marx Brothers, if for no other reason than she dated Xander who's likely be familiar with them.

And Cordy would probably kick herself for having picked up more than a few cultural tidbits like that from dating the big geek.



The girl does know how to woo her geeks, which she does in one of the episodes where she's campaiging for prom queen or somesuch. Knows about a wider range of things than you'd think she would.

Quote:

My intent was to compliment rather than insult. As far as my other comments go, I'm impressed that anyone of any age knows about GUMMO Marx because he did not appear in any of the Marx Brothers' movies. And the younger the person who knows who Gummo is/was the more impressed I'm going to be because as time goes on Gummo becomes increasingly obscure.


I'll grant you that. It's easier to know something your parents know than something your grandparents know.

Quote:

So let's go with Keaton. Because of all the outlets you mentioned you have the equal POTENTIAL to know who both Julia Roberts and Buster Keaton are. But since JR is a contemporary A-list movie star you'd have to live under a rock not to know who she is. It requires no effort. To know who Buster Keaton is requires openess and curiosity even though it's almost as easy to rent "The General" as it is "Pretty Woman".


Actually, you remind me of yet another point to back up your argument (ow, I hate being honest): it isn't as easy to rent "The General" as "Pretty Woman". Luckily the library in my area and the local video chain are very good, but not every library system is so well stocked, and I wouldn't go placing my faith in Blockbuster. (Also...don't go knocking us rock-dwellers ;) )

Quote:

This is my experience with people in general--"If it didn't happen before I was born how could I be expected to know about it?".

Why does it impress me when people demonstrate the openess and curiosity to find out about things that occurred before their time? Because to paraphrase Inara--so few people do.



If it isn't an age issue, why, then, did you ask for people's ages? Was it to see if the media's right: kids are getting shallower as time goes on?

But it's true that some people don't want to know anything that happened before their time. It's a pity, because with such a small ratio of good works to dreck, if you stick to only the most recent, you can't watch too many movies at a time. You have to sit around waiting desperately for new good things to come out. It's a sad state of affairs, and some of us like our passive entertainment too much to be passive about it.

Quote:

Glad you stumbled across this thread--it's a pleasant surprise that someone dug it up.



Oh, good! I always worry I'm upsetting the natural order of the universe when dredging up old threads. I'm glad to hear otherwise.

---------------------------------------------------
Early: Where'd she go?

Simon: I can't keep track of her when she's NOT incorporeally possessing a spaceship, don't look at me --

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Friday, November 11, 2005 3:34 PM

BATMARLOWE


Okay VMI, you got me thinking. Why did I ask for age when creating the poll?

It's because I jumped to a conclusion. When I first saw "The Zeppo" and Cordelia called Xander the Zeppo, my immediate reaction was "There is no way in hell a girl like Cordelia Chase knows who Zeppo Marx is!"

I realize that's a stereotype of "a girl like Cordelia Chase" but she is fictional and my gut reaction was that it was out of character that she would know who Zeppo was.

And it always kind of nagged at me. So when 7 or so years later someone else at this site started a thread about that episode it inspired me to try and find out if I my conclusion was or wasn't off the mark.

So the reason why I asked for age was an attempt at a hem-semi-demi-quasi scientific way of testing a hypothesis, which was "Did fans of BUFFY and specifically younger ones know who Zeppo Marx was?"

In other words--I jumped to this conclusion, maybe I'm wrong.

I'm taking these computer classes at night and they're given at a local high school. We have a teacher and two interns named Any (pronounced Ah-nee) and Joe. They're both 17 and very intelligent and all-around impressive people. If all teenagers were like Any and Joe--I'd be a teacher.

So I asked them. Showed them the name "Zeppo Marx" and asked if they had ever heard of this person. Any said she had never heard of that guy in her life. Joe made a vague connection to the name Marx but he realized he was thinking of Karl Marx (the 6th Marx brother).

But then I asked them if they heard of the Marx Brothers and they were like "oh yeah, sure, of course". The Marx Brothers were a no-brainer for them as were the names Harpo, Chico, and Groucho.

So what does this prove? Absolutely nothing!

It was not my intent but I guess it came across that I was implying that there's no way any (not to be confused with Any) 17 year-old circa 1998 would know who Zeppo was.

But on the bright side, I do now have a sample size of exactly two 17 year olds who know who the Marx Brothers are but did not know there was a fourth (or a fifth or a sixth).

There are many responses above that provide plausible explanations as to how Cordelia could know who Zeppo was. But still in the case of Cordelia not only knowing the name Zeppo Marx but also knowing that he was kind of a fifth wheel so that she could make the metaphorical connection to insult Xander...I still ain't buyin' it. I just think it was out of character for her.

More importantly, it's a great episode, a great title for an episode and the line works in terms of the effect Cordelia's insult has on Xander.

Now let's see if anybody knows who the Ritz Brothers were!

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Friday, November 11, 2005 5:38 PM

URSULA


Quote:


Now let's see if anybody knows who the Ritz Brothers were!



The cracker dudes?


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Friday, November 11, 2005 10:02 PM

BATMARLOWE


Didn't expect an actual guess. Al, Jimmy, and Harry--a comedy team of brothers who were contemporaries of the Marxes. They were pretty much a poor man's Marx Brothers. Even though they didn't have the same kind of impact, they were featured in a few movies and starred in some of their own. They didn't achieve "greatness" but they were definitely survivors.

Just imagine Cordelia saying: "Xander, you're the useless part of the group. You're the Harry". Not nearly the same resonance.

So, did you have a happy birthday?

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Monday, November 14, 2005 8:07 PM

WORKEROFEVIL


I got it. I'm 23. I'm also a huge fan of what the title references.

Hail, hail Freedonia!

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Monday, November 14, 2005 10:05 PM

BATMARLOWE


Land of the free and brave!

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Monday, November 14, 2005 10:56 PM

ZOOT


I got it, but then I'm a 32 year old geek with a black and white movie fetish ...

***************************************

Okay, I'm lost, I'm angry, and I'm
armed.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2005 1:28 PM

JUUL


i guess i was like 19.
and i didn't get it.
no one here (denmark) knows the marx brothers (well very few).

i got the Gilroy one though, but only because my van broke down while passing the Gilroy exit and i had to walk several miles to a mexican garage, then give directions to the tow truck guy who didn't understand english. so i spent a day, a night and about $300 in parts in Gilroy.

good garlic chips though.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2005 1:40 PM

BATMARLOWE


Yeah, I didn't get the Gilroy one at all. Bet when I watch that ep again, I'll notice a little something extra in Tony Head's line delivery.

At least you got neat story out your Gilroy adventure although I'm sure it didn't seem that at the time.

The situation that provided me the opportunity to see the original BUFFY movie is a similar story.

And I'm still don't get the William Burroughs reference mentioned in the posts above. Anyone want to explain it to me?

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Tuesday, November 29, 2005 10:22 PM

MICKEY6


I was 27, I think, and I got it.

But when I was younger, living with my family that didn't have cable, I watched pretty much any off-network channel the translator happened to pirate (Sci-Fi was my favorite, but when they got caught stealing it, the translator of course had to remove it, and never again got something so cool. But I digress), including an old and often obscure movies channel. I was familiar with the Marx bros that made it to film, Buster Keaton, and a whole range of cowboy actors nobody remembers anymore, even before I took History of Film in college.

Like Batmarlowe, I doubted at first that Cordelia would know about him. Not because of her age, but because of her personality at the time. But then I realized, it is possible to be an old film buff, like I was, without mentioning it in your daily life. Cordy's time away from school and friends was not deeply explored, after all.

As a side-note, I used to work with a woman whose ex-husband is the grandson of a Marx brother. Since nobody ever specified which one, I'm thinking maybe Zeppo (or Gummo). Her children are (of course) the great-grandchildren and stand to inherit millions when they turn 18. It'll be quite a culture-shock when that happens, after a lifetime of living off mom's Wal-Mart salary and waitressing tips.

.....
It takes a village to raise a child, and an army to raze a village.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2005 10:36 PM

SHINYGEEKET


I got it, and I think I was about 12 when that episode first aired.
In all fairness though, I got the zeppo reference as a result of something else I saw that referenced it

"We will rule over all this land, and we will call it... 'This Land'."

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 5:43 AM

BATMARLOWE


Mikey6: Glad to see that somebody had the same gut reaction I did. Which was Cordelia's personality and age was straining credibility that she would know who Zeppo Marx was. It just wouldn't be an "in" thing. Hard to believe Cordy would be a real film buff, though. I was, but if there at been a crowd like Cordelia's at my high school, I wouldn't have been a part of it.

Hope those kids get a buttload of money--sounds like they deserve it (if they share it with Mom).

I'm wondering who those obscure cowboy actors are now. You're probably not talking about people like Ken Maynard and Tom Mix.

Another "fun Marx Brothers fact"--Gracie Allen and the brothers were (I'm pretty sure) first cousins. They were cousins of some kind. Although her side of the family spelled it "Marks".

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 5:48 AM

BATMARLOWE


ShinyGeeket: 12, huh? Pretty cool, no matter how you came to know it.

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 8:28 AM

SHINYGEEKET


Thanks batmarlowe. I blame my mother, lol. She used to make me watch all these old movies when I was younger. Of course I love all that stuff now, and I'm actually more into it than she is

"We will rule over all this land, and we will call it... 'This Land'."

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 8:51 AM

MICKEY6


Well, the 'uncool' factor of being an old movie fan would be a reason Cordy never brought it up, except in this one instance of insulting Xander.

The movie cowboys I was thinking of are guys like Rory Calhoun and G.M. "Bronco Billy" Anderson, but yeah, Tom Mix and Tex Ritter and Ken Maynard are in there, too.

.....
It takes a village to raise a child, and an army to raze a village.

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 2:47 PM

VISITINGMYINTENTIONS


Quote:

Originally posted by batmarlowe:
Mikey6: Glad to see that somebody had the same gut reaction I did. Which was Cordelia's personality and age was straining credibility that she would know who Zeppo Marx was. It just wouldn't be an "in" thing. Hard to believe Cordy would be a real film buff, though. I was, but if there at been a crowd like Cordelia's at my high school, I wouldn't have been a part of it.



Yes, but she manages to wow the geeks in, I believe, the Homecoming Queen episode. She has more going on than her 2d little clique. Also remember she scored really well on her SAT's, I believe at one point she claimed to like English class, so it's not unreasonable to ask us to believe she's familiar with the Marx Brothers. I think your take on this depends on how 2d you're willing to see her character as. I like to imagine more, as otherwise she's a waste of screen time.

"it has some sweet character deaths -- I mean moments!" - Joss Whedon

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005 10:58 PM

BATMARLOWE


She did indeed wow the geeks in the Homecoming Queen episode. But that's the only time we see her doing it. And I would imagine Cordelia wowed the geeks (and all the other guys) every time she walked past them. So I don't think her geek-wowing abilities support the case she would know who Zeppo Marx was. The fact that she was talking to them would win them over. She didn't need to know how to "speak geek".

She did do well on the SAT's and of course there's her "What, I can't have layers? line" So yeah, it turns out Cordelia has a lot more going on upstairs than we were lead to think.

And I am now convinced that it is not rare at all that a 17 year old would know who the Marx Brothers were...if you're talking Harpo, Chico, and Groucho.

I'm just hung up on the Zeppo thing.

Y'see she's arguing with Xander and she's telling him how useless he is to Buffy and the Scoobies, so she's trying to find the words that express that and she's looking for a metaphor. And she says: You're like...the Zeppo! I just wasn't quite swallowing that that would be the first thing that popped into her head.

It's funny, it's clever and it works as a line, as a title for an episode, as an idea for an episode (what if we make the demon fighting the back story and make Xander the "A" story) and it's an excellently executed episode (try and say that three times fast). And the line needed to come from Cordelia in order to work. But that she instantly came up with a Zeppo Marx reference? Just always kind of nagged at me.

And from now on, whenever I watch this episode, I will always think of this thread.

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Tuesday, January 31, 2006 12:20 PM

XENOPROBE


got it... I'm 33 now... I watch a lot of old movies... Even the one Buffy and Joyce are watching at the end of Surprise.

"Goodnight my love
The tired old moon is descending
Goodnight my love
my moment with you now is ending..."

Gotta love early great cinema!

~*~*~*~*~

Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng. Shiny.

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