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Originally posted by batmarlowe:
Something I've always been curious about and you guys can help me out:

Cordelia calls Xander "The Zeppo" of the group. I've always wondered how many viewers got the reference.

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Originally posted by oddness2her:
And Wesley the Margaret Dumont?

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Originally posted by batmarlowe:
I hope this doesn't come across as condescending but I'm very impressed that someone in their mid-twenties actually knows there was a Gummo Marx much less knew who Zeppo was. But I guess all us Whedonites are just more up on these things :)

That's not to say I got or understood every single reference myself. Like the William Burroughs one. I mean, I know who he was but I didn't get the joke in the context in which Buffy said it.

And yes oddness2her Wes is the Margaret Dumont. Good call.

Maybe it's just me but I always felt that a 17-18 year old Cordelia Chase would have no idea who Zeppo Marx was. Not that it really matters, it's a great episode and a funny reference.

And in defense of Zeppo they say that offstage he was the funniest one of the lot. And I like the ones with Zeppo better than the ones without (except for A NIGHT AT THE OPERA).

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Originally posted by batmarlowe:
Sorry, didn't mean to offend.

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It doesn't strike me as "strange" that a 17-18 year old would know who Zeppo was but rather impressive.

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But my comment was specifically about Cordelia and not any 17-18 old.

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As Cordelia once said "What, I can't have levels?"

It's amazing what people pick up by osmosis. I could believe Cordy would know the Marx Brothers, if for no other reason than she dated Xander who's likely be familiar with them.

And Cordy would probably kick herself for having picked up more than a few cultural tidbits like that from dating the big geek.

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My intent was to compliment rather than insult. As far as my other comments go, I'm impressed that anyone of any age knows about GUMMO Marx because he did not appear in any of the Marx Brothers' movies. And the younger the person who knows who Gummo is/was the more impressed I'm going to be because as time goes on Gummo becomes increasingly obscure.

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So let's go with Keaton. Because of all the outlets you mentioned you have the equal POTENTIAL to know who both Julia Roberts and Buster Keaton are. But since JR is a contemporary A-list movie star you'd have to live under a rock not to know who she is. It requires no effort. To know who Buster Keaton is requires openess and curiosity even though it's almost as easy to rent "The General" as it is "Pretty Woman".

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This is my experience with people in general--"If it didn't happen before I was born how could I be expected to know about it?".

Why does it impress me when people demonstrate the openess and curiosity to find out about things that occurred before their time? Because to paraphrase Inara--so few people do.

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Glad you stumbled across this thread--it's a pleasant surprise that someone dug it up.

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Now let's see if anybody knows who the Ritz Brothers were!

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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.

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