(no subject)

Had some ginger tea. I'm thinking about running gags in cartoons and which ones work and which don't. I used to love the Simpsons but I stopped watching them mostly because they're not funny anymore. They overdo too many running gags that weren't good in the first place. Gil is not funny. Whining desperation is not intrinsically funny in any way whatsoever. The writers must love him, he's in way too many episodes. That bit where characters either pull at their collar or stick their hands up like the kid in Spirited Away and make that "bluegh" noise like Charles Nelson Reilly (whom very few people remember anyway!) is really annoying, not funny.
Want an example of a good running gag in a cartoon? ANY running gag in Moral Orel. The whole show is a hilarious spoof of religious extremism. Just one example is Doughy's parents, who don't pay any attention to him at all and act like horny teenage kids (they even look like Archie and Betty, which I'm willing to bet is NOT a coincidence.)