The Holy Trinity. The Three Musketeers. Easy as 1, 2, 3.
There’s something very special about the number 3.
Years and years ago, I saw a fabulous documentary on comedy that featured the writers of the Sid Ceasear show, with the old funny men sitting around chewing the fat about the good ol’ days. In passing, they described the magic of the number 3 — that most of the time funny comes in threes: in a classic joke the 3rd man who walks into a bar is the funniest, in a sitcom the 3rd speaker in an exchange is the funniest, in a stand-up narrative the 3rd thing to happen is the funniest.
And ever since seeing that documentary, I “count” any comedy I see or hear, at least on a subconscious level.
1 2 ha ha ha. 1 2 ha ha ha.