- "Zooty zoot zoot!"
- – The Machine
Rebo & Zooty are a comedy/magic team from Earth.
The team consisted of two men, Rebo, who is tall with long brown hair and dressed in a black suit with a matching black hat, and Zooty, a shorter silent man carrying a small machine shaped like a bobblehead that speaks his thoughts. They perform everything from jokes to physical comedy and magic. Their trademark line was the infamous "Zooty zoot zoot." Apparently, their humor is not limited to humans, for they have studied alien humor as well. This was demonstrated in 2262 when they came to Babylon 5 with Zooty telling a Minbari joke spoken in their language. The duo were immensely popular throughout the Earth Alliance, guest starring on many popular shows. Even during the Morgan Clark regime, the duo said things on their show that other people would not dare to say in public.
By the time they visited Babylon 5, they claimed to have become tired of the usual routine and be considering entering politics. Rebo even remarked that politics would be no different from what they do now and that the real comedy is in the Senate, where they do one idiotic thing after another. It was not clear if they were being serious.[1]
Notes
- John Sheridan, David Corwin, G'Kar, and a few aliens were very fond of the duo.
- Londo Mollari did not like them, saying in the episode "Rumors, Bargains and Lies" that he did not "get" their routine but later told them he would watch all their shows and requested them to perform at his coronation. He later gave them advice on making Centauri laugh.
- Captain Elizabeth Lochley was not particularly fond of them, finding a snarky way to get around President Sheridan and away from their live show.
- Zooty is quoted as having said only two things without "The Machine." To Rebo he once said, "Why?" (a reference to the twentieth century comedy team Abbot and Costello) and to Sheridan he whispered, "Because it tells me to."
- They were mentioned several times throughout the series, but their sole appearance was in the episode "Day of the Dead."
- During one comedy bit, Rebo asks Zooty, "For you, fifty thousand years of Human evolution was something that happened to other people, wasn't it?" This mirrors a joke about the Renaissance in the UK television comedy Blackadder, which was a "small tip of the hat to my friend Richard Curtis," as noted by Neil Gaiman in the book containing the script for this episode.
- Upon Rebo's entrance, he informs the customs officer on duty, "I have nothing to declare, my dear sir, except my genius!" This is a quotation traditionally attributed to Oscar Wilde (who in turn took the quote from Victor Hugo). In response, Zooty (via The Machine) states, "And I have nothing to declare except Rebo's genius either! Ha ha ha! Zooty zoot zoot zoot."
Behind the Scenes
- Rebo and Zooty were played by the well known comedy/magic duo Penn & Teller.