BoJack Horseman. While the character is known for constantly making mistakes, the show itself gets a lot right, one of those things being comedy. It’s done a great job at remaining consistently funny throughout all six seasons which is an amazing feat considering the serious direction the show can sometimes take with its subject matter.
BoJack has one of the largest catalogs of running gags to pull from that make the show incredibly unique. Lots of the show’s humor comes from the distinctive world the writers have been able to construct due to the creative freedom the show possesses by being animated. The show’s conclusion in January came the end of some of the funniest running gags that make the show stand apart from the rest. So, here are the 10 best running gags of BoJack Horseman.
Todd’s Hijinks
Todd wears many hats, which is ironic considering we usually see him wearing his iconic yellow beanie. Over the course of the series, Todd has been the governor of California, a fashion icon, a prince, and most recently, a nanny.
This is something the show pokes fun at in the final season when Todd is seemingly offered the keys to Wesleyan University by the school’s founder, later revealing the man is just a subject who was part of an LSD test in a nearby room. The writing for the character is only made better by Aaron Paul’s incredible voice acting. Watching Todd get himself in and out of unbelievable situations has been one of the strongest elements of the show which is why every time he proposes an idea, the audience knows they’re in for a ride.
Hollywoo
In the episode “Our A-Story is a “D” Story,” BoJack wakes up to the news to see someone stole the D from the Hollywood sign. He then looks out onto his balcony to see the letter in his pool, revealing he was the one who stole it in a drunken state for Diane out of jealousy of her and Mr. Peanutbutter’s relationship. Ever since then, Hollywood has only been referred to as “Hollywoo” rather than it’s original name.
It seemed that Mr. Peanutbutter was going to unveil the restoration of “D” during a press conference in the show’s finale. However, when the sheet was removed, it was instead revealed to be a “B” that was accidentally sent due to a miscommunication, renaming the city once again, this time to “Hollywoob”
Honeydew
BoJack’s hatred for Honeydew is no secret since the character would often delve into heated rants at the mere sight of the fruit. The most memorable one coming in the episode “Hank After Dark,” when BoJack notices the fruit and angrily shouts, referring to it as “canteloupe’s dumb friend”
This small but hilarious running gag gave us insight into BoJack as a character and serves to make him just a tad bit more relatable, even though it’s something as simple as food preference. The gag got a nice payoff in the series finale when BoJack tries a piece of honeydew only to respond “Huh! Not bad,” marking a small but noticeable change in the character from the beginning of the series.
Margo
Ever since her first appearance in “Zoes and Zeldas” character actress Margo Martindale has quickly become a fan-favorite character. Despite her only doing cameos, she has become an integral part of the show.
The real-life Margo Martindale said she originally turned down Will Arnet’s request for her to appear on the show due to her busy schedule until he revealed that the role was for the character of herself, a part that we’re sure no other actor could play as well as she does. While she admits she doesn’t watch BoJack, her character’s appearances are certainly one of the best aspects of it.
Banners
You can never find a sign that is properly typed in the show. They usually don’t have spelling or grammatical errors but one could argue that whoever is making them isn’t giving it enough thought, often writing verbatim what the person requesting the sign says. Giving us signs like “Happy Birthday Diane and Use a Pretty Font” or “Welcome Home Little Bro! Oh, Also I Have a Groupon”
The signs are also never really addressed or mentioned by the characters and rather just sit in the background as an added bit of humor for those who notice. While it has to be annoying for the characters in-universe, it does provide viewers, especially those who pay attention to detail, a few extra laughs.
Animal Puns
Since BoJack takes place in a world inhabited by humans and personified animals, animal puns are ingrained into the DNA of the show. It’s universe has fictional celebrities like Sextina Aquafina, Courtney Portnoy, and Zack Braff but every once in awhile we will get animal-bent versions of real-life celebrities with characters like Quentin Tarantulino, Ethan Hawke, or Cindy Crawfish.
Often times instead of names, the gag will be used in relation to character occupations. A great example is in the episode “BoJack Hates the Troops” when BoJack finds himself in a standoff against a Navy “Seal.” This is one of the things that sets it apart, not only from most animated shows but most shows in general. Gags like these are done in so many different ways that it doesn’t even come close to feeling stale.
Animal Gags
Visual animal gags also play a large part in the show with the majority of them taking place in the background. They often play on the animal’s physical attributes, features, or stereotypes. Sometimes they’ll be integrated into scenes like the dog valet fetching Princess Carolyn’s keys when she repeatedly throws them as she argues with BoJack.
In season 6 we got finally one that was thought up early in the shows run in the form of a cat with a briefcase stuck in a tree apologizing to the firefighter below attempting to get him down. While some could view the jokes as too easy, to many, that’s part of their appeal. The fact that there are so many animals makes it so they have an endless supply of visuals to use without having to repeat any.
Tongue Twisters
In an early episode, Tom Jumbo-Grumbo says the line “there is nothing the least bit funny about stealing a meal from Neal McBeal, the Navy SEAL.” Since then tongue twisters have become frequent on the show with the characters often delving into hilarious bouts of nonsense alliteration and rhymes, all expertly performed by the BoJack voice actors.
The majority of which go to Amy Sedaris’ Princess Carolyn which showrunner Raphael Bob-Waksberg admitted was due to the actress’ hatred of them, which in turn only made them funnier. In the shows’ final season, the bit gained some plot relevance when Princess Carolyn realizes the complex word avalanches help calm her daughter, Ruthie, who seemingly finds the silly phrases just as hilarious as we do.
Erica
Erica is a recurring character on the show who has been around since the first episode and is even present in the last. What makes her so interesting is that she was never actually shown on screen despite being mentioned and referenced by others. We don’t know much about the character aside from her being a friend of Mr. Peanutbutter and she is often the cause of his attention being taken away from a conversation or task. While it’s not clear what she looks like, based on the humorous descriptions of her given, it’s safe to assume that she’s extremely disfigured which could be why we’ve never seen her.
Flashbacks
Whenever BoJack does flashbacks, they make it extremely clear which year it’s taking place in by having the characters mention it. Rather than attempt to subtlety reference it, characters will not only say the year by name but they will also make laughably outdated references to things that were popular around that time. In the episode “The BoJack Horseman Show” which was clearly set in 2007, things like the sign for the “2007 T-shirt outlet” and the radio playing “generic 2007 pop song” make the heavy-handed exposition that would usually be seen as poor writing, hilarious.
