On Ghastly Guffaws

You know how it is. You watch something funny, but nowadays, the bulk of it isn't a) that funny or b) funny at all. You certainly do not break out into an uncontrollable laugh that can be heard for miles around. But, occasionally there is a moment of great writing, great acting, or (to adopt an Irish-ism) great craic as someone tells a story. Let me show you what I mean with the best writing, acting and story telling...

Of course, Only Fools and Horses has so many of these moments. I chose that one because it's one of the lesser remembered moments, apart from the fact Trigger refers to Rodney as Dave.
Then of course, you get a moment that is so out of the box that it's shocking. You watch with horror or disgust, and find yourself almost hysterical at the comedy. A lot of bad horror films did that to me in the 80s, and certainly you'll know what I mean if you watch any comedy spoofs like the Scary Movie range. But, they're not side-splittingly funny. The one that springs to my mind is a certain bloke off of Mock the Week and Outnumbered, talking about yoghurt.

And finally, there's my example involving 'Great Craic.' A few years ago, on a talk show, a guest had to tell the story about his first foray into comedy. It didn't go to plan, and to be honest, the story is ok. What makes you guffaw uncontrollably is the reaction of the other guests. Watch how John Cleese (a master of comedy if ever there was one) and Martin Clunes almost leave puddles as Lee Mack tells the story of how he got the sack from a holiday camp.
Enjoy. (Oh, and have a tissue or two ready to mop up spillages)