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Worst Episode Opinion

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Offline Dunrobin

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I can't help but notice that you have a Besser icon. Had you not said that, I would've still thought you were a Besser fan. Very rarely do I see someone use the stooge they hate and add it as their icon. :D

IIRC, sickdrjoe used to use a Besser avatar (I think it was from "Quiz Whiz", with Besser dressed in that 'Buster Brown' outfit) even though he hated the Besser shorts.  Of course, that was several years ago now.   ;)


Offline Single-O

Some people choose their avatar for people they like, I choose mine for someone I don't like.  I mean, look at his face??  What a dope.


AmalgamatedMoron

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Aren't some of you guys beating a dead horse here?  Leave poor Joe alone.  He stepped in and helped the boys finish their contract, for that alone he deserves some credit.  By the sheer fact that he was a "replacement" makes him unpopular with many, but as some have already pointed out, to his credit he did not try to imitate Curly or Shemp but made his own character. 

He was certainly unique, effeminate, but NOT gay!  Please bear in mind this distinction.  I personally think he was interesting for this very reason.  His unique character was refreshing because of the very reason that he had to step in and do the unenviable job of replacing Shemp.  I find some of his shorts with the boys very amusing and unique, as someone already mentioned, his UFO shorts for example. 

I really like Muscle Up a Little Closer, though I know many don't care for it.  I love the warehouse scene where Joe drops the eggs then Moe makes him clean it up.  He pours salad oil all over the mess then "cooks" it with a torch.  Moe replies: "A frustrated short order cook.  This guy must of come from outer space". 

That's hilarious in my humble opinion, and I will be purchasing the Besser shorts when Sony releases that volume next year.  True Stooge fans respect all of the boys work and will purchase the complete collection, even if that means buying some of the shorts that are not your favorites.  I'm just happy to see Moe and Larry being able to work later on in their lives.  For that reason alone I admire Joe's contribution.



Offline Sadistic Stooge

you are so right about Muscle Up a Little Closer the gag with the eggs is the best ...


stoogeophile

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Some people choose their avatar for people they like, I choose mine for someone I don't like.  I mean, look at his face??  What a dope.

OOhhh you crazy!


Offline FineBari3

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Some people choose their avatar for people they like, I choose mine for someone I don't like.  I mean, look at his face??  What a dope.

I love that picture of Joe! That is my favorite of him!

What a cutie-pie!

I like Joe just fine.
Mar-Jean Zamperini
"Moe is their leader." -Homer Simpson


Offline locoboymakesgood

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I like Besser. I actually enjoy some of his shorts moreso than the sick-era Curly's.

Sue me.

Oh, and as an aside, I can not believe I missed all the drama a few weeks back. Where the hell was I?
"Are you guys actors, or hillbillies?" - Curly, "Hollywood Party" (1934)


Offline curlysdame

Oh, and as an aside, I can not believe I missed all the drama a few weeks back. Where the hell was I?

Oooh, you mean 'the Besser incident'?  LoL, yeah, where were ya?  We could've used your input. [cool]  As I was re-reading all that stuff a few days ago, I realized how funny and over dramatic it all was.  It got to a point where Diane sent me a less-than-friendly email. 
"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)


Offline Bammer

Nyuk Nyuk is right, I didn't care for that short either. Especially when they were singing. I just didn't care for it. 'Dunked in the deep' wasn't so hot either.  'Some more of Samoa'  could be added to that list. I kinda like 'Heavenly Daze' when they were using a mixing bowl and put a pen in it to make it write under whipped cream was pretty good.  I read where the pen that stuck in Larry's forehead ACTUALLY HAPPENED.


Offline Lefty

I think my favorite Joe scene was from "Rusty Romeos" where he shot the tacks into Connie Cezon's derriere at the end.  That's what made the remake better than "Corny Casanovas," minus the Shemp picture in RR.


Offline Dr. Belch

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Besser did what he did, and did it well. You can't really fault him for the lackluster scripts he was given, such as his debut short "Hoofs and Goofs". I mean, a horse giving birth in a bed? Eww. Those sheets would be unuseable, and likely the frame and boxspring would have to be replaced as well. Even wierder was the "sequel" of that short a year later, despite the first being a dream sequence...a human-turned-horse falling in love with a male horse? I'm not even sure how to catagorize that abomination.... Also, Joe not wanting to be hit with a "solid" prop, opting for a casserole instead? Odd...I'd have opted for the rolling pin, because that prop casserole (which I always thought was salad) looked terribly messy....


Offline Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum

I don't know what I would consider to be the worst episode, but I know there are ones from all eras that I don't care for. "Woman Haters" may be the one I'm least interested in watching, if not the actual worst. Some of the obvious Joe shorts ("Horsing Around," "Sweet & Hot," "Sappy Bullfighters") are definitely at the bottom, but not necessary because of Besser.

I for one will be buying the Besser set, even while leaving many others unbought. I find his episodes fascinating for some reason; they're different & rare. In fact, I got into the Stooges originally just to see what the deal was with this supposedly poor era of their history.

I also don't think Joe was a bad Stooge, at least not as bad as the scripts, budgets, etc., made him seem. His performance in "A Merry Mix-Up" is one of the best things about it, and strikes me as quite Stooge-worthy. It's just a shame he didn't get to deliver more like it.
"Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day." -- Samuel Goldwyn

The people who have your best interests at heart...
...are generally not the ones telling you whatever you want to hear.


Offline Ectahoozis

sorry to bump this old topic, but had to speak my mind.  The only episode I can't watch is "Violent is the word for Curley".  How can a Stooge fan not cringe when everyone starts singing?  bleh!  Sorry, I like Curley and all, but I can't see Shemp having any part in that one.  Honorable mention may be "Men in Black" ... I guess they weren't in character yet.


Offline OldFred

sorry to bump this old topic, but had to speak my mind.  The only episode I can't watch is "Violent is the word for Curley".  How can a Stooge fan not cringe when everyone starts singing?  bleh!  Sorry, I like Curley and all, but I can't see Shemp having any part in that one.  Honorable mention may be "Men in Black" ... I guess they weren't in character yet.

I like 'Violent', I think it's a fun short. I enjoy the singing segment, it's a nice little musical moment and one of the few where we hear Moe and Curly singing separately instead of in barbershop harmony and their individual singing voices I find very pleasant to hear. I also like when the Stooges sing in barbershop style, they were actually very good singers when they weren't fooling around.


Offline curlysdame

I enjoy the singing segment, it's a nice little musical moment and one of the few where we hear Moe and Curly singing separately instead of in barbershop harmony and their individual singing voices I find very pleasant to hear. I also like when the Stooges sing in barbershop style, they were actually very good singers when they weren't fooling around.

I agree, OldFred.  It's always been noted that Curly had a nice singing voice.  'Too bad we didn't hear more of it.  The only other screen appearance he made (that I can think of off the top of my head) where you get a small sample of his actual solo singing voice was in 'Turn Back the Clock' at the wedding reception scene.



"Imagine five things like us in one room??  I can't stand it!" - Curly (Time Out For Rhythm 1941)


Offline RICO987



I am glad this post came to my attention.  I joined this site about 2 years ago and I have been amazed at the great dislike of Joe Besser and/or the shorts he appears in.   I do agree that the Besser era was not the Stooges in their prime, but much of why these shorts fall short can be attributed to what others on this site have already pointed out: Small budgets, weak story lines, older Stooges.  But, in my estimation, the weakness in these shorts cannot be attributed to a lack of stooging ability in Joe Besser. 

Demond, you hit the nail on the head: "different & rare"  I also look forward to buying the Besser era shorts.   

One more thing, if Besser stays through the 60s, I bet we have better Stooges product than we had with De Rita.


Offline Ectahoozis

agree with the above post.  Besser was in a no-win situation after the death of Shemp.  He seemed like a nice guy (funny in his own way if not as much in a Stooge way) and always spoke highly of his association with the stooges, unlike DeRita who didn't even consider them funny (ala 3 Stooges Scrapbook).  Speaking of the "Post-Shemp era", I was always amazed at Moe's "The Show Must Go On" attitude.  After losing two of his brothers in a relatively short period of time, he still performed at a high level...especially when he had to refference Shemp during the Shemp Palma era shorts...a real trouper!


Offline McSnuff20

That's right they were pretty good singers and I think they sang "You'll never know just what tears are til you cried like you made me cryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" in A Duck'in They Did Go, Half Shot Shooters and Horse Collars. I love Violen is the Word for Curly and enjoy B A BAY.....i like when Curly adds in Hey meet me in the gymnasium over by the dumb bells you'll know me I'll have a hat.


Offline Lefty

The famous "imdb.com" thinks very lowly of Joe as well.  For him, Larry, and Moe, there are no listings for "A Merry Mix-Up," "Quizz Whizz," or "Fifi Blows Her Top."  The other 13 shorts are listed for the boys.


Offline LoU fRoM pRiSoN

One more thing, if Besser stays through the 60s, I bet we have better Stooges product than we had with De Rita.

I'm new here and this is my first post, but I have been a Stooge-ite since 1963 and over all that time, man is the above a thought that had never occurred to me!!!


Offline Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum

One more thing, if Besser stays through the 60s, I bet we have better Stooges product than we had with De Rita.
Hmmm... I don't know if we can say that for sure.

What I think I can say for sure is that '60s features with Besser would have been worse than shorts with Besser, and shorts with DeRita would have been better than '60s features with DeRita.
"Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day." -- Samuel Goldwyn

The people who have your best interests at heart...
...are generally not the ones telling you whatever you want to hear.


Offline RICO987

No we do not know for certain what Stooge product quality would be like with different third stooges.  But your post prompted another thought.  With Mr. Besser in the Stooges, might have TV executives have given more thought to a weekly series - you see, I lived through that era as a kid and my memory from the 1960s of Joe Besser  just does not jive with much of what I see posted on this site.
 
My childhood friends and I all picked Curly as our top Stooge.  But nobody berated Besser.  In fact, maybe I was in a weird group of kids, but we all thought Besser was funny on his own as well as with the Stooges.  When Besser turned up on Joey Bishop, my friends and I watched that show whenever the parents allowed it.  When my friends and I would see a TV ad that Besser was about to appear as a guest on one show or another, each of us would notify the other that former Stooge Besser would be on the show.  Even back then, unless my memory is playing tricks on me, my friends and I wished that Besser was in the Stooges instead of De Rita.  None of us ever gave Joe the same credit as Curly or Shemp – that would have been sacrilegious!   But we did think Joe was funny in his own way and we liked him.  In my San Jose, CA grammar school in the early 1960s, the words, “not so hard” could be heard at the appropriate funny moment quite often.

Returning to my speculation in the first paragraph, my memory of Joe combined with what I know of the 1960s TV landscape makes me believe there were plenty of TV decision makers that thought Joe Besser was funny and/or a likable character for TV audiences.  The evidence for that is Joe was on so many shows in that era.  If Besser stayed with the Stooges through the 1960s, maybe an offer might have come for them to do the “shorts” format as a weekly series.  I suspect DeRita was looked at by everyone except Moe in the 1960s TV industry as being washed up.  Thus no offer of a weekly series was ever thought about, let alone offered to our boys.
 
Finally, as long as Moe and their producers/directors of their 1960s movies were willing to kowtow to the PTAs and others that wanted the violence toned down in their projects, you are correct – Besser would have made little difference to their movies.   Unless a different sort of comedy was written for the team due to the presence of a third stooge with a personality – Besser.  I cannot even detect what sort of a personality DeRita had.  With DeRita, the writers tried to recreate the Curly era, but without the talent of Curly nor the will to do the hard slapstick (or farcical comedy as Moe apparently put it).  The presence of Besser might have prompted a different approach to the scripts because I suspect the movies writers would not have tried to peg Joe into the Curly mold the same way they tried to peg DeRita.

Anyway thanks to the people who maintain this site.  It is great to have a forum like this where we can appear serious, but remain light hearted, about our not so serious objects of our affection, The Three Stooges.


Offline Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum

Wow... interesting & insightful thoughts there.

I never thought of Stooge-fan Besser-bashing as being a relatively new phenomenon, but from what you're saying that seems to be the case.
"Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day." -- Samuel Goldwyn

The people who have your best interests at heart...
...are generally not the ones telling you whatever you want to hear.


Offline metaldams

As a kid in the 80's, I rarely saw Besser shorts, maybe 3 or 4 times.  I don't remember being offended by them the very few times I did and thought they were interesting because they were so rare. 

When I first saw HOOFS AND GOOFS on AMC years later, I was shocked at how awful it was.

Besser himself is funny and had the occasional moment as a Stooge, but he was better solo.
- Doug Sarnecky