Jokes Should Fit Within Their Premise

It's often said that comedy is about the unexpected. That's pretty accurate, too. But it's not really the whole story. Because unexpected things can result in a lot of feelings: happiness, shock, horror, depression, confusion.

Comedy has rules that make it funny, much like every genre has it's own rules. And of those rules is that the punchlines of jokes should fit within their premises.

For example, if somebody asks your favorite hero, expecting a response like Superman, but you say "turkey, cheese and lettuce with no onions." That is a solid joke. Your response technically answers the question because it was vaguely asked and open to interpretation. If, however, you said "wool argyle sweaters," it would be equally unexpected, but not funny whatsoever. The difference is that the latter has nothing to do with the premise, so it just leaves us confused.

Certainly there is something to be said for random comedy. It's a genre that does have it's uses and merits, but it is a specialty to pull off. By and large, if you want to make people laugh, make your joke make sense, even if it's a twisted path to get there.