A 'The Zeppo' Poll
POSTED BY: batmarlowe
UPDATED: Thursday, June 8, 2006 20:42
VIEWED: 21956
PAGE 5 of 7
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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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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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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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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ShinyGeeket: 12, huh? Pretty cool, no matter how you came to know it.
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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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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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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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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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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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