NPR: A Brief History of Caveman-Related Comedy

A Brief History of Caveman-Related Comedy

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Listen to the classic Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner routine, "The 2000 Year Old Man"

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Cavemen have been a core ingredient of great comedies for generations, as evidenced by this still from a silent film circa 1925.

Everyone's a critic, especially when the target is so apparently ripe. Latest on the firing line? ABC's new TV show "Cavemen," based on those brilliant Geico ads and almost universally panned by crowds and critics alike, even before a single episode was made.

You want to know why there's so much mediocre (or worse) programming on TV? Because the networks aren't the only ones liable to discourage risk-taking. Now I'm not going to defend the show itself, yet. The jury's still out after one episode. But I will defend the idea of it.

When the news came that "Cavemen" would be created, everyone from bloggers to my friends at the bar thought the idea was terrible. I thought it was brilliant. What would people prefer? A TV show about a single gal trying to make it in the big city? Two guys with a kid trying to make it in the big city? Perhaps you prefer six friends trying to make it in the big city? A man and a robot? A family and an alien? I'm quite sure that every imaginable combination of characters has already made it in the sitcom world's version of the big city, or been cancelled trying. Except cavemen.

After the jump, check out video of Phil Hartman as "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer."

The truth is, the sitcom world is the last frontier for caveman-based humor, which has a long and proud comedic history rooted in the brilliant use of anachronism. Wikipedia explains:

Comedic works of fiction...may use anachronism for a humorous effect. One of the first major films to use anachronism was Buster Keaton's The Three Ages, which included the invention of Stone Age baseball [emphasis mine] and modern traffic problems in classical Rome.

Of course, the golden era of caveman-based humor came in the early 1960's, first with the debut of "The Flintstones" in 1960, and next with the classic 1961 Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner routine, "The 2000 Year Old Man."

The original "2000 Year Old Man" routine is available for your listening pleasure at the top of this post. Take a listen...

I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. It truly is amazing how well that routine stands the test of time. But by the mid 1970's, after several "2000 Year Old Man" sequels, caveman-based humor had entered its dark ages. Then, in 1992, the form took another step forward with the advent of Phil Hartman's classic SNL character, "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer." Behold the limitless potential of the genre:

So caveman-based humor has been at the root of a classic film, cartoon, stage routine, comedy sketch, and series of commercials. Why then should a sitcom seem so outlandish? Some say the joke gets old, but that ignores the success of "The Flintstones." What made the Flintstones so great was the combination of caveman-based humor with great characters to whom the audience become inextricably attached.

When you see that hapless Geico caveman in therapy, you want to root for him and laugh. And if ABC's "Cavemen" can find a way to fuse the tried-and-true ingredients of caveman-based humor with characters worthy of our affection, before the naysayers completely bury it, there's no reason why it can't join the pantheon, right next to Messrs. Keyrock and Flintstone.

Dan Pashman

2:43 PM ET | 10- 4-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

in joba, pashman and caveman we trust...

Sent by jay | 7:50 PM ET | 10-04-2007

You and another friend of mine have tried to defend this show, but to what end? Does this show really need your support? Besides the premise of this show being based on a car insurance spot, they neglected to hire the guys from those spots that made it work in the first place. That's like having a character on a show played by Phil Hartman and then replace him with Jon Lovitz.

If you want to support a great show support Journeyman. It's Quantum Leap meets The Time Traveler's Wife.

Sent by Kris | 9:22 AM ET | 10-10-2007

What no mention of Ringo Starr? "Dark Age" my left foot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DmqpFfjXBI

Sent by David | 10:25 AM ET | 10-10-2007

There's mediocre (AND worse) programming on NETWORK television, where advertisers and the FCC are the real power brokers, and thus major shapers and decision-makers. Cable television, by contrast, do not take their creative cues from the advertisers, do not have to defer to the FCC--at least not in the same (stifling) capacity as ABC and NBC. It shows, too: The writers and creators at HBO and Showtime have truly raised the bar for TV drama--so high that it's not even worth pursuing a comparative analysis with the networks (which, in fact, may render this posting obsolete). It may, however, be worthwhile considering the stark contrasts in standards, content and quality between network and cable programming. I will let the audience decide for themselves what they find more fulfilling: sitting through a (half?) hour of commericals and the vignettes of a
Cro-Magnon, or watching the Sopranos.

Sent by Mike | 10:35 AM ET | 10-10-2007

The Geico caveman commercials are compelling and well conceived, and I like watching them, even though I hate most other commercials. But the ABC TV show was off the mark. The concept of a person placed into a totally new context can only work when there are sharp distinctions drawn between the two. The TV show did little or nothing with the idea that the cavemen are now in a completely new world. Too bad the writers and directors of the Geico commercials were not the ones to do the TV show. Now THAT would be something exciting.

(Have you seen my satirical Hillary video "Crush" at http://www.youtube.com/sketchgrrl ?)

Sent by Judy Pokras | 10:09 AM ET | 05-30-2008

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