Easy Aces
Easy Aces (Gylic transcription: Izi Esis) was a Gylian radio comedy series, which aired from 1940 to 1955. Anchored by the low-key comedy of couple Goodman Ace and Jane Ace, it became one of the most successful radio series of the Free Territories, and a notable influence on Gylian comedy.
Background
The show was created by Gerhard Auer (1909–1992) and Jana Krämer (1907–1984), better known by their English stage names, Goodman and Jane Ace. He worked as a journalist and drama critic in Alscia, and began doing radio broadcasts after Alscia joined the Free Territories.
Its origin was largely by accident: one night in 1940, Goodman was forced to fill 15 minutes of air time after the show that followed his slot failed to come through. Having accompanied him that night, Jane joined him and the couple had an impromptu chat about a local news story and their last bridge game. Their witty impromptu brought such a favourable reception they were offered their own domestic comedy show, despite neither having acted before.
Format
Easy Aces was a situational comedy, performed mainly in English. Goodman played a put-upon realtor but loving husband, and Jane his scatterbrained, language-mangling, good-natured but meddlesome wife. Other actors played various characters who were either family, friends, or acquaintances of the Aces.
The show was known for its low-key, conversational style. The Aces' inexperience as actors helped them develop a naturalistic style that contrasted with the fast-paced, screwball tendencies of previous Alscian comedy. It was recorded in an isolated studio, with microphones embedded beneath set tables instead of on them to avoid performance anxiety.
While there were single- and multi-episode stories that would lead to a steady unfurling of absurdities, the main attraction of the show remained the dynamic between the deadpan Goodman and language-mangling Jane. She had a knack for malapropisms that still made perverse sense, exemplified by famed quotes like "I am his awfully-wedded wife", "I don't drink, I'm a totalitarian", "Now, there's no use crying over spoiled milk", or "I'm completely uninhabited".
The show even ventured into political humour on occasion, lampooning various aspects of the Free Territories and ongoing Liberation War, including rationing, communal assemblies, the jockeying for influence of various factions, the tense "alliance of convenience", and the absurdity of the understaffed People's Army having to protect vast, often uninhabited territory.
Easy Aces' low-key style, consistent character humour, and cheerful absurdity helped make it one of the Free Territories' most successful radio programs. Many listeners found it a reassuring presence and an amusing way to cope with the challenges of the war.
The show ended in 1955.
Legacy
After the show ended, Goodman continued working as a writer and broadcaster, while Jane mostly retired to a quiet life. Goodman found additional fame on television as a panelist on What Do I Do?; Jane was offered a spot as well, but declined, arguing it would merely be a retread of Easy Aces.
Easy Aces earned consistent critical acclaim during its lifetime, and its conversational, deadpan absurdities have been a notable influence on subsequent Gylian comedy. Contemporary Niní Marshall, herself famed for her inventive language-mangling, praised Jane by saying "nobody scrambles a cliché quite as skilfully as [her]", while later double acts such as Kay and Windsor and Chikageki acknowledged inspiration from Easy Aces in devising their own styles.