After witnessing Bobby playing a lumberjack in a beer commercial, the guys are inspired to go camping and rough it in the woods for a week. They opt for a hunting cabin 100 miles away from civilization in the middle of winter, and their guide is justifiably concerned they won't make it, but they reassure him that they're fine and to come back for them in a week. They soon regret their decision when they learn that there is no electricity in the cabin. To keep their food from spoiling, they put their groceries outside in the cold, but animals eat them during the night. Somehow they make it through a week, starving, unshaven, and barely coherent, but due to a snowstorm, their guide doesn't come back for them. They decide that they'll need to hunt for food to survive any longer, but the guys can't bring themselves to shoot anything. Finally when a wild turkey walks into their cabin, Alex rises to the occasion and shoots it. Jim says a prayer over the turkey dinner, which consoles Alex, up
Deadpan understatement carries a middling episode through 39 jokes in tight succession.
Directed by James Burrows · Written by Katherine Green
WAR
27.9
Wins Above Replacement
“The Call Of The Mild” ranks #91 of 114 Taxi episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 73.8 — Solid. The episode packs 39 scored jokes at 1.9 per minute, averaging 6.9 on craft and 6.5 on impact, with Bobby landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Alex: If it was so great, why'd you leave?
Jim: Well, one day the commune needed a new tractor, so they traded me to the next farm over.
Jim: And so we thank you for this bounty, and forgive us for our gluttony...
Jim: Amen.
Alex: Amen.
All: *immediately scramble for food*
Alex Tony Escalation Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Jim: We gather here to honor this noble bird, who gave his life so that we might feast upon his flesh.
Alex: Actually, I didn't hunt it. I bought it at the supermarket. But if it makes you feel better, I did say a little prayer when I was choosing between the name brands.
Jim Escalation Dark/Subversive Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Bobby: Just us men against the elements.
Louie: I got twenty bucks says the elements win.
Louie Deadpan/Understatement Observational ★ Rewatch Tony: I've got it all organized. Monday, Wednesday, Friday - that's my fish bone days. Tuesday and Thursday I switch to chicken bones. Sunday I rest my gums.
Tony Dark/Subversive Cringe/Discomfort All Jokes — 39 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Louie: Bobby, that commercial was terrific. You were great.
Bobby: Thanks, Louie. That means a lot coming from you.
Louie: Yeah, well, I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about your friends. They gave a great performance pretending to be proud of you.
Louie: What exactly are we doing on this mountain?
Bobby: Well, we're going up it.
Louie: I know that. But why?
Bobby: Because it's there.
Louie: That's not an answer!
Bobby: Sure it is. The mountain is there, we go there, we're on the mountain. It all makes sense.
Bobby: Just us men against the elements.
Louie: I got twenty bucks says the elements win.
Louie Deadpan/Understatement Observational ★ Rewatch Bobby: I want to find a really primitive place. You know, no electricity, no running water, no modern conveniences.
Jim: You should see my apartment.
Alex: If it was so great, why'd you leave?
Jim: Well, one day the commune needed a new tractor, so they traded me to the next farm over.
Bobby: I yearn for open spaces, Louie. Wide open spaces where a man can breathe free.
Louie: Yeah, well you got plenty of open space already—between your ears.
Bobby: Women just don't understand these things.
Elaine: You're right, Bobby. It's amazing I can even tie my shoes without a man there to guide me through it.
Alex: It's so peaceful and quiet here.
Jim: Yeah, that's because there's nobody here.
Alex: I know.
Jim: So where is everybody?
Alex: They're all out.
Jim: Out where?
Alex: Out... out there. Doing things.
Jim: Oh. So when they come back in, it won't be quiet anymore.
Alex Jim Setup/Punchline Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Bobby: Wait a minute... we're looking for a refrigerator?
Bobby: Without any power?
Bobby: That's just a box.
Bobby Observational Character Comedy Bobby: We have no refrigeration? We're all going to die! All of us! Without a refrigerator, food spoils, bacteria multiplies, we'll get food poisoning, our organs will shut down, and we'll be dead within weeks!
Bobby: This is it. This is how it ends. Not with a bang, but with spoiled milk and botulism.
Bobby Escalation Character Comedy Bobby: You know that great feeling?
Alex: Yeah, from when we climbed that mountain?
Bobby: No, from not sleeping on the floor anymore.
Tony: I couldn't sleep all night. There was this animal growling outside my window.
Jim: An animal? What kind of animal?
Tony: I don't know, but it sounded like it hadn't eaten in weeks.
Jim: Did you call the police?
Tony: I was about to, but then I realized—it was you snoring from the next apartment.
Tony Jim Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Jim: Where am I? This isn't the garage.
Alex: You're in a cab, Jim. We're driving through the mountains.
Jim: Mountains? That's dangerous. Cab drivers in the mountains have to watch out for cliffs, hairpin turns, and rocks falling from above.
Alex: Yeah, so?
Jim: So? The one place cab drivers shouldn't be is in a cab in the mountains.
Jim Alex Character Comedy Observational Bobby: The refrigerator's broken? All the food's gonna spoil!
Bobby: We're all gonna die.
Bobby Escalation Running Gag ★ Rewatch Callback Alex: What would pioneers do in our situation?
Bobby: They'd build civilization.
Alex Bobby Setup/Punchline Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Jim: I'm going to forage for food.
Bobby: Forage? What does that mean?
Bobby Character Comedy Reaction Beat Tony: I couldn't find any animals to hunt.
Tony: They must be avoiding the area because of my reputation.
Tony Deadpan/Understatement Bobby: So how'd you do at fishing, Alex?
Alex: Great! I caught a whole bunch.
Bobby: Let me see.
Alex: Here they are.
Bobby: Alex, these aren't fish. These are bait.
Alex: No, those are fish.
Bobby: You're supposed to use these to catch fish, not bring them home as your catch.
Alex: This little minnow here, he put up quite a fight. Had to wrestle him for about twenty minutes.
Alex: Nearly drowned me. I'm lucky to be alive.
Alex Deadpan/Understatement Irony/Sarcasm Bobby: We're going to die again.
Bobby: You know, I just realized... nobody's disagreeing with me.
Bobby Meta/Self-Referential Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Tony: We're gonna freeze to death out here. When they find us, they're gonna have to use a snowplow to scrape us off the street.
Tony Dark/Subversive Escalation Bobby: It starts snowing heavily. Bobby immediately imagines their corpses being sledded down the mountain.
Bobby Dark/Subversive Escalation Callback Alex: They might be poisonous berries. Blue berries. Not blueberries.
Jim: What's the difference?
Alex: Well, these are berries that are blue. Blueberries are a specific fruit.
Jim: So if they're blue and they're berries, aren't they blueberries?
Alex: Not necessarily. These could be poisonous blue berries.
Jim: But blueberries are blue berries, right?
Alex: Not all blue berries are blueberries!
Jim: Now you're just making things up.
Alex Jim Wordplay/Pun Absurdist ★ Rewatch Jim: Alex, you're having a stroke.
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Observational ★ Rewatch Tony: This is your fault, Bobby! If you'd just gotten that Hawaiian commercial, we'd have money for food right now.
Bobby: My fault? I auditioned for that!
Tony: Yeah, and you blew it. Now we're all starving because you couldn't convincingly pretend to enjoy a luau.
Tony Escalation Character Comedy Tony: I've got it all organized. Monday, Wednesday, Friday - that's my fish bone days. Tuesday and Thursday I switch to chicken bones. Sunday I rest my gums.
Tony Dark/Subversive Cringe/Discomfort Jim: I'm not thinking about a big juicy steak.
Jim: I'm not thinking about a lobster tail with melted butter.
Jim: I'm not thinking about a crispy French fries.
Jim: I'm not thinking about a hot fudge sundae.
Jim: I'm not thinking about pizza.
Jim: I'm not thinking about anything food-related.
Jim Escalation Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Jim: I'm not thinking about a nine-course Italian dinner with fresh pasta, veal piccata, and zabaglione for dessert.
Jim: I'm not thinking about a thick, juicy steak with a baked potato and sour cream.
Jim: I'm not thinking about lobster, shrimp, and oysters.
Jim: Whew! I'm stuffed!
Jim Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Alex: Yeah, let's just wait. Maybe a turkey will walk through that door.
Alex: A turkey!
Alex Setup/Punchline Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Jim: His name is Ernie.
Alex: Ernie? How do you know his name is Ernie?
Jim: He looks like an Ernie.
Bobby: Jim, it's a turkey.
Jim: So? Ernies come in all shapes and sizes.
Tony: I'm not shooting that! I was expecting to hunt something more macho.
Tony Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Alex: You know, Jim was right to name this bird 'Mighty Joe Young.' Even while I'm preparing to kill it, I have to admit—it's got presence.
Alex Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Jim: Lord, we thank you for this turkey and all the blessings you've bestowed upon us. We are grateful for our health, our friends, and this food before us.
Jim: But Lord, we must also acknowledge the suffering of this bird. Raised in captivity, never knowing freedom, living a life of confinement and fear, only to meet its end on this very table.
Jim: We are complicit in its death, Lord. Each of us sitting here, about to consume its flesh, are murderers. Murderers of an innocent creature who never asked to be born into this cruel world.
Jim: Forgive us, Lord, for our sins. Forgive us for the blood on our hands. Let us eat in shame and remember what we have done this day. Amen.
Jim Cringe/Discomfort Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Jim: Your Honor, we thank you for this food...
Jim Character Comedy Escalation Jim: We gather here to honor this noble bird, who gave his life so that we might feast upon his flesh.
Alex: Actually, I didn't hunt it. I bought it at the supermarket. But if it makes you feel better, I did say a little prayer when I was choosing between the name brands.
Jim Escalation Dark/Subversive Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Jim: And so we thank you for this bounty, and forgive us for our gluttony...
Jim: Amen.
Alex: Amen.
All: *immediately scramble for food*
Alex Tony Escalation Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Elaine: Do you have my phone number?
Louie: Honey, I know it by heart.
Elaine: Do you have my number?
Louie: Oh, I got your number alright. And a few other things too.
Alex: What did I say? What did I say?
Alex: I only mentioned eating Ernie!
Alex Reaction Beat Visual Gag ★ Rewatch Callback