Ever since 1965, when theatre critic/known sado-masochist Kenneth Tynan uttered the word “f**k” on “BBC-3,” one of George Carlin’s seven words you can’t say on TV has been, well, said on TV. It’s an easy word to overuse, and it’s only used effectively in two situations: 1) in an unexpected live moment, and 2) by skilled professionals. My current favorite cuss artist is Susie Greene on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which returns to HBO this Sunday for its eighth and possibly final season. Played by Susie Essman, Greene has unleashed numerous toxic tirades at her “fat f**k” husband, Jeff, and his “four-eyed f**k” client, Larry David, since the show began in 2000. In honor of Susie, and for all those who don’t mind dropping an F-bomb (I’m sorry for using that phrase, I really am) every so often — or constantly if you’re on one BBC comedy — here are ten great moments of the F-word on TV.
Robert Klein Drops HBO’s First F-Bomb
In 1975, less than three years after launching, HBO aired its first comedy special, “On Location: An Evening with Robert Klein.” Best known for his “I Can’t Stop My Leg” routine, Klein was one of the top observational comics of the 1970s, but he could also sing and dance without embarrassing himself, making him a perfect candidate for HBO’s foray into comedy. In “On Location,” Klein further made history: he dropped HBO’s first F-bomb — a word that would, in a way, allow HBO to become the most respected channel on TV years later, paving the way for in the final item on this list and every line of dialogue from “Deadwood.”
The Sex Pistols and the F**king Rotter
Host Bill Grundy and the rest of Thames TV’s “Today” crew had to know something was going happen; after all, their guests, the Sex Pistols, had just released their first single, “Anarchy In the U.K.,” which begins with the line, “I am an Antichrist.” Nevertheless, the Pistols — who were a last-minute replacement for Queen and given drinks before filming — were allowed on live TV for an interview with Grundy.
Things quickly grew awkward between the host and the young punks. Siouxsie Sioux, a friend of the group, was present for the interview, and after she told Grundy she had always wanted to meet him, he responded, “We’ll meet afterward, shall we?” Guitarist Steve Jones took offense and replied, “You dirty sod. You dirty old man.” Jones and Grundy, who later claimed he was drunk, kept trading witticisms before the Pistol effectively ended the conversation by calling Grundy a “f**king rotter.” [Editor’s note: No idea what that is.] The next day, the Daily Mirror ran a front-page article about the incident, under the headline, “The Filth and the Fury.”
Twenty-nine years later, the band’s ex-bassist, Glen Matlock (replaced by Sid Vicious in 1977) complained about the prevalence of swearing on TV. He said, “It’s pathetic when people just swear for the sake of it.” He probably wouldn’t be too happy, then, that the footage from “Today” is now the most requested TV clip ever.
David Brent Tells Finchy Where to Go
One of David Brent’s finest and most honest moments came near the end of the final episode of “The Office.” In “Christmas Special Part 2,” David, played by Ricky Gervais, meets his blind date, Carol, and the two quickly hit it off. He brings her to the office and after she departs, outside sales representative Chris “Finchy” Finch makes a joke about her appearance. Without even a fake laugh, David looks at his supposed friend and says, “Chris, why don’t you f**k off?” He walks away a bigger man.
“Fox News, Go F**k Yourselves” on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
In April 2010, but what could have been any month of any year since 1996, Jon Stewart pointed out the hypocrisy of Fox News’ coverage on “The Daily Show.” Stewart mentioned that it’s more than a bit hypocritical for the cable news giant to complain about liberals generalizing Tea Party members when Fox generalizes liberals, too. He singled out commenter Bernie Goldberg, who had recently said that unlike Sarah Palin, “liberals don’t have five kids, one of them has Down Syndrome,” and left Fox News with the following message: “Go f**k yourselves.” Goldberg responded soon after, criticizing the segment, which led to one of Stewart’s finest moments. First, he said, “I know that I criticize you and Fox News a lot, but only because you’re truly a terrible, cynical, disingenuous news organization” before breaking into song with a full gospel choir telling Fox News, “Go F**k Yourselves.”
“What is F**k?”
The category on “Jeopardy” is “Oscar Youth.” The clue: “Before getting an Oscar nomination, this actress won hearts as Queen Amidala.” First off, that’s a trick question: no one actually liked Queen Amidala. Secondly, Stephen — who answers “Who is Kidman?” and then mutters “Oh, f**k” when Alex tells him he’s wrong — is an idiot. The only person I feel more embarrassed for is the girl who answers the question correctly and now, if she wants to see the clip, has to see that the video’s most liked YouTube comment is, “that girl is not that hot. jesus what type of people go on youtube nowadays.” Who is perverts?
Bono at the 2003 Golden Globes
I hate Bono. You hate Bono. Where the streets have no name, they hate Bono, too. But he’s occasionally okay. For instance, I can’t discredit Achtung Baby or War, because those are both quality albums. I also appreciate a world-famous celebrity who isn’t afraid to use the F-word when winning an award, like Bono did in 2003 at the Golden Globes when accepting the Best Original Song statue for Gangs of New York’s “The Hands That Built America.” The Golden Globes are the Pro Bowl of the award season—a lot of famous people there, but you really don’t care—so it was nice to see a celebrity acting like a human who’s happy about something. And now that statue is on Bono’s mantle next to U2’s totally undeserved 2002 Record of the Year Grammy (“Walk On” over “Ms. Jackson,” really?) and the head of Paul Theroux, who once dared criticize the front man in THE NEW YORK TIMES.
Every Episode of “The Thick of It”
Armando Iannucci’s “The Thick of It,” a satirical look at the British government, is not only one of TV’s funniest shows, it’s also one of the few sitcoms that’s had a successful film spin-off (2009’s In the Loop, the only post-“Sopranos” role of James Gandolfini’s worth checking out). A large chunk of the BBC show’s humor comes from its vulgarity, particularly out of the rapid-fire mouth of Peter Capaldi’s character, Malcolm Tucker. Among other poetry-like rants Tucker has given over the years, I’m particularly fond of “You’re so back-bench, you’ve actually f**king fallen off. You’re out by the f**king bins where I put you.” But the crown jewel is when he responds to someone knocking on his door with “Come the f**k in or f**k the f**k off.”
“I F**kin’ Love You for That”
This week’s entry of Things or People That Josh Enjoys That No One Else on Warming Glow Does is Jenny Slate (for reference, see here), who was fired from “SNL” after only one season. [Deservedly so. –Ed.] But she did have one talked about moment: in a terribly unfunny skit called “Biker Chick Chat,” rather than saying “frickin’,” Slate accidentally said the word it was replacing instead. In Slate’s defense, it was her first night on the show and her first major skit and it’d be tough for anyone, with the exception of Kristen Wiig, to consistently say “frickin’” instead of the Other Word over and over again. Although “Biker Chick Cat” was awful, Slate was still funnier than Charles Rocket, who said the same word on “SNL” in 1981.
“A Big F**king Deal”
On March 23, 2010, deadbeats and freelance writers everywhere were overjoyed when President Obama signed House Resolution 3590, which paved the way for near-universal health care for Americans. But our enthusiasm felt muted, curbed even, compared to the joy Obama and Vice President Biden must have been feeling. Introducing Obama at a televised press conference on CNN, Biden hugged the President and attempted to whisper, “This is a big f**king deal,” but he spoke loud enough that the microphone picked what he had said. Thus a meme was born. And oh yeah:
Hours later, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs tweeted, “And yes, Mr. Vice President, you’re right…”
“The Wire”
F**k.
