You know the principle of interweaving: you watch a movie in which the characters watch a movie, in which other characters watch a movie and presto, there are several levels of reality that make a hell of a mess. If this principle is often used in short scenes, it can become much more interesting, for example when certain series show us series that the fictional characters watch and which are of good quality. You necessarily know some and we decided to classify them. Because it’s mainly the basic thing we do at Topito to classify stuff.
1. Itchy and Scratchy – The Simpsons
Quite simply the best series in a series and for good reason there are downright whole episodes (even if they are very short) scattered in episodes of the Simpsons and it’s just the best parody of Tom and Jerry never done. Gory, cartoony and funny, I don’t know what more you need to come out on top (especially when there’s Poochy).
2. Terrence et Phillip – South Park
Quite logically this one is placed on the second step of the podium, because it is very funny, very vulgar but above all because it happens to be even more stupid than the basic series which was already enormously so. An inexhaustible well of punchline for the children of the 2000s who brought out the cult phrases in the playground.
3. Inspector Space Time – Community
The first three seasons of Community are small masterpieces of comedy that we can only advise you. If the series plays with excessive TV codes, its parody of Doctor Who takes on much more importance when Troy and Abed begin to reproduce it on a daily basis. This show looks amazing.
4. All my circuits – Futurama
For fans of the adventures of Bender and Fry, watch an episode of the telenovela All my circuits and emotions of the Calculon robot is always an undisguised pleasure. Because it plays cleverly with the clichés of these kinds of programs and it’s completely stupid. Ok it’s not at the level of Itchy et Scratchy but it’s worth a look.
5. Johnny Bananas – Entourage
The thing with the series Johnny Bananas is that she manages to gain prominence in the real series over time, until creating an intrigue in the last season. Beyond that, it’s also a quality thing with good designs for a cartoon and it clearly makes you want to see more.
6. MILF Island – 30 Rock
If 30 Rock showed us several fake television shows, one of the best is undoubtedly the fake reality TV show of the “Island of Temptation” type, the aim of which is to bring together daronnes of 50 years old and teenagers, a cocktail incredible which gives quite funny scenes in a series which is already enormously.
7. Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. – Friends
Yes, Friends is a overpriced series (this will piss off the fans again but it’s true sorry) but the character of Joey the failed actor gives some nice fake series moments, like with Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. where he plays a cop who teams up with some kind of rotten Robocop. That was funny.
8. Jerry – Seinfeld
Seinfeld was probably the first series to use mise en abime in this way, to make a series with the same characters in the original series. What’s interesting is how much the writers don’t give a damn about the process of creating the product, something well done that has clearly inspired other series to do it.
9. Forbidden Love – Arrested Development
What could be better than a fake Hispanic telenovela with a 40-year-old actor wearing freckled makeup to play the role of an eight-year-old kid? Nothing, it’s the best thing in the world. Besides, if you’ve never watched Arrested Development I recommend it to you, even if my worst colleague hasn’t decided to put it in the funniest series of all time.
10. The Wall – Solar Opposites
Okay, it’s not really a series within a series, but it’s a completely secondary story that takes on an importance of phew and especially which often manages to become even more interesting than the main plot. What happens between the humans who inhabit the “vivarium” in the wall is a brilliant idea that only the creator of Rick et Morty could have.