The pre-med debate. The weird bunny mascot. Columns endorsing cocaine usage. In all our 27 years of existence, no decision the Daily has ever made - EVER - has been as controversial as the managing board's choice this semester to publish the popular Web comic "Married to the Sea."
Before going any further, we hope that our readers will be sympathetic to the dire situation in which we began this semester.
Last fall, we ran Doonesbury, Non Sequitur, Dilbert and Foxtrot. Unfortunately, early this semester we learned that Dilbert was not in our comics subscription, and that Foxtrot's author had decided to switch to a weekly, instead of daily, format. The Daily was thus left with a gaping, humorless black hole on our comics page. And that's just no good. (We know it's the only page you guys read, anyway.)
To fill this hole, we turned to Married to the Sea. Though its daily, zany dose of humor brings a smile to our face and a laugh to our heart (and sometimes a tickle in our naughty places), we are saddened that some in the Tufts community claim that they just "don't get it." Never fear, loyal Daily readers: we would be remiss in our duties if we concluded the semester without explaining its wacky style (especially because it'll be back next semester).
To properly appreciate "Married to the Sea," one must remember that its ingenious authors, Drew and Natalie Dee, start with a Victorian-era lithograph to which a caption is then added (according to the fountain of knowledge that we call Wikipedia). One must read the comic in this style - as if the authors were trying to come up with the funniest (and often most random) caption that could possibly accompany said lithograph.
To better illustrate this point, let's take a look at a few of our favorite "Married to the Sea" installments. One classic entails a quartet of babies, playing instruments and looking at sheet music. To their left, a branch extends from the comic's frame, on top of which an owl is perched. The caption reads "No, no, no. Baby orchestra, start at section THREE and D.C. al capo. And you! Harp baby! Pull your wig on straight. Have some dignity. This is a baby orchestra."
Though we too did not quite understand what we were reading at the first glance, a bit of reflection soon reveals the humor hiding beneath. The authors looked at the whimsically Victorian picture - who knows for what purpose it was originally created - and decided that it appeared as if the babies playing instruments (the "baby orchestra," if you will) were being lectured by the arbitrary owl, who is sternly reminding them that their lack of skill in reading sheet music and their unpolished appearance is in no way appropriate for the high standards a baby orchestra must meet.
Another installment depicts the traditional "Last Supper" of Jesus and his apostles. Imagining a droll comment that could be made in this situation, Drew and Natalie Dee added a caption that reads "What? You didn't bring any bread? Nobody brought any bread at all?! Do you guys not understand that this is going to be the LAST TIME I EVER HAVE DINNER?" Of course, Jesus (probably) wouldn't have said this, which is precisely what makes it so funny.
Because everyone's tastes are different, a few to whom we have explained Married to the Sea still just don't find that it tickles their respective fancies. Still, many fellow Jumbos have gained a greater enjoyment of the comic after this explanation, which we usually give as we're accosted standing in line to buy delicious Brown and Brew carrot cake. We hope that this editorial will further your enjoyment of today's - and the rest of the semester's - Married to the Sea. And if it doesn't ... there's always Sudoku.
