To really take the Michael out of someone you need a few things. First and foremost you need a witty sense of the ridiculous so you can highlight those elements in every kind of profession and life that can be made funny. Along with a sense for the ridiculous you need am apposite target. There are a couple of things with choosing your target: the first is you have to go along with public opinion because the public of one generation will gladly make fun of those the previous generation thought untouchable. There are always boundaries. The second is you need to make sure there is something funny to be said.
Slapstick lampooning is of course ancient and to pretend that the great and famous slip on banana skins is always hilarious – it is what made the silent movie industry work. Then you may need a quick one liner as with the soaps in America although they lack the depth of a great lampoon. For there is a moment when making fun of something becomes satire and when it reaches those heights it almost becomes an art form.
To make people laugh at one thing whilst they know it is about something else, and that is what makes it even funnier, takes great skill. Of course some of the finest examples have been people who lampoon themselves. This goes beyond wit, into the sublime realms of laughter so well demonstrated by Spike Millighan.