Sitcoms - From "The Bill Cosby Show" to Today

[Lochaber Axe]

Sitcoms have changed a lot since that show. It definitely showed an equality that is rare in the media today.

Except for a few like "9 Simple Rules", the father/husband figure as become cheapened for the sake of laughs. These days the father is cast as either a weakling or utter buffoon. What happened to the wise and confident father? Is that the ideal for a man? You answer...

... Or you can talk about Sitcoms in general, old or new. Just stick to the clean ones, please?

[Ashley]

I really like some of the new ones like "According to Jim" and "Less than Perfect". The bald guy in LTP cracks me up quite a bit.

And while it toes the line on "clean"....I did like Seinfeld a lot.

[andyroo]

I like "Everybody Loves Raymond".

I watched some Seinfeld. Not much of an opinion on it.

I don't really watch a whole lot of sitcoms; I tend to stay away from the lower channels (1-20 mostly).

[Bobtheduck]

Sitcoms are to the English speaking world what Mecha is to Japan... They are all essentially the same... Some have better twists, some are edgier, but they're pretty much the same... Of course, like Mecha, people keep eating it up, so they won't be going away for a long time...

[Locke]

9 simple rules was great but i stoped wathchin because of John Ritters untimely passing and i didnt want to pity the show....

seinfeld is alright i rather watch his stand up comedie

[Ashley]

I heard the other day they actually made a sitcom about "my big fat greek wedding"... did anyone ever see this? I mean really, to borrow from one comedian:
"I'm greek, he's not, we're getting married, and let's do it twice a week for a whole season! Yeah, that'll work"

/end rant. Honestly, sometimes hollywood is run by some true morons.

[Technomancer]

I've most sitcoms to be pretty vapid. I liked Night Court, M*A*S*H and Chef, and that's about it really.

[ShiroiHikari]

Oohh, The Cosby Show is like, my favorite sitcom. It's clean without being too squeaky.

Another favorite is Mary Tyler Moore. That was a good show (although most of you youngsters have probably never seen it ). Nick @ Nite used to be really cool.

Also, I kinda like Frasier sometimes but it's not always so clean. Definitely for adults.

For the most part I don't like recent sitcoms. They're just...meh. People on sitcoms are just so dumb anymore. Take Friends. I can't stand that show. I don't like any of the characters. Period. So even if it is funny, it gets on my nerves pretty quick.

I didn't really like Seinfeld a lot either...I dunno why, I just never really got into it.

BTW, as for the father figure question...I'm kind of torn on this. Kind of.

With the portrayal of fathers as...<.<...imperfect, they're being pretty realistic. I mean, not every man is a good father, and it's sad. Look at how many men dodge responsibility, or what-have-you. This isn't meant to be insulting to men-- sometimes guys are alright ^_~ --but I'm just saying that's what real life is like.

However, I think it's great to have a father character that you could truly look up to, were he a real person. I think people need role models. Of course, it would be kind of sad if the only role models available are fictional characters o.O

< /rant >

[cbwing0]

I watched sitcoms until a few months ago, when I found that I no longer had time.

If you're counting animated sitcoms, then I like The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Otherwise, I liked Malcom in the Middle, Seinfeld, and Titus in the past.

[shooraijin]

The Simpsons is the only current sitcom I even attempt to follow.

Otherwise, I prefer my reruns. I have lots of Hogan's Heroes on tape, and some Sanford and Son sitting around somewhere.

[righteous_slave]

MASH is my favorite show of all time. There was a depth to the characters that IMHO has never been duplicated. The Cosby Show was great until about the last two seasons when the kids grew up. None of the attempts to inject new life into the show (Olivia, the cousin moving in) worked very well. Latley I've been watching Family Matters reruns and gaining a lot more respect for the show then I had way back when. Catch WKRP and Welcome Back Kotter now and again.



I agree 100% with Axe, men on sitcoms are protrayed as idiots, not just fathers. Kids are growing up without any male role models in the home, and on TV all they see are men who are either violent or stupid or both. Wise and confident men are seen as throwbacks to the horrible days of male repression, so to make up for centuries of patriarchy, men must be shown as insensitive clods who need to be lead around by thier women OK I feel better now

[ShiroiHikari]

Ah, I forgot about Welcome Back Kotter ^_^ That show was kinda cool.

[DrNic]

Sitcoms...I kinda spend most of my time watching them if Im infront of the tv. The best is definatally 'Blackadder', series 3rd was the best, not as rude as the 2nd series but with a better standard of gag than the 1st and the 4th.
Red Dwarf was good aswell but I watched that to death...

[Ashley]

Oh man, I forgot about MASH! That show was great. Radar is my favorite character, right up there with Hawkeye. Heh, I don't know if this counts, but I have seen countless episodes of ER via my mother the nurse (go Doc Carter! And Doc Greene!) And Dr. Romano has got to be one of the most entertaining, irritating "villians" I've ever seen.

[Spencer]

Cheers! Where everybody knows your name! Doy. Surprised no one mentioned it. The Cosby Show is great, and the one about the radio station in Cincinatti (sp?) is okay.

[madphilb]

I've seen sitcoms for years.... of the older ones I usually liked WKRP, MASH, Cosby and such...

of the newer ones, 8 Simple Rules (that's an 8, not 9) is based off the writings of a guy who's writing style is in the frame of people like Dave Barry, though his writings are based his family and his kids. (______ Cameron). I've watched it off and on (I don't have cable and I have to adjust to record off ABC compared to NBC for FOX).

Less than Perfect and According to Jim are two others I watch when I can, and I like Yes Dear and Still Standing.... never been a Friends person myself, and while I've watched Seinfeld from time to time, I"ve never been a follower of the show.

I used to watch Grounded for Life till it moved to the WB, I don't get that station in very well so I don't usually watch it... bummer really, I had started watching Smallville when it came on and liked it, but that's another thread

Simpsons are still a trip, I usually don't get to see the new ones, but when I'm around in the evening I'll have on the re-runs on my local UPN station.

Several of the sitcoms are a bit too predictable, and I find I don't pay as close attention to them (I'm usually on the PC at the time, such as now, watching Enterprise while posting here).... Still Standing and King of Queens tend to follow the same pattern (more so King than Standing).

Oh, some of the British stuff is really good... Red Dwarf is one series I've really liked but I have a similar problem with my local PBS stations that I have with the WB... and the programming on University of South Florida's PBS station is sparatic at best (Red Green is a great show, but I never know if or when it'll be on it seems).

Ok... I've rambled on enough.

[Kite]

I love the cosby show and red green. DUCT TAPE!

[Rev. Doc]

I like a lot of the British comedies also. Fawlty Towers, Mr. Bean, Good Neighbors, Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister just to name a few.

I guess one of my all time favorite American sitcoms would be Home Improvement. And of course one could never go wrong with The Andy Griffith Show.

[Lochaber Axe]

Its 8 Simple Rules, huh? Never am good with math. I myself have never really paid much attention to British sitcoms. Maybe I might look into what you were talking about.

Tim Allen was perfect on Home Improvement. I just wonder something... What ever happened to his rival, Bob Vila? Do any one of you ever still watch that sitcom about that alien, you know the one in long distance service commercials now. The alien who like to munch on kitties (no offense intended Ink), or that he was an underwear model for his home planet? You guessed it... ALF!!!

I have a real question though, what was that sitcom in which Micheal J. Fox started in?

[Ashley]

*sniff* I miss ALF...I had Alf slippers when I was little. They still show reruns on the Hallmark channel, though.

And who can mention sitcoms without mentioning Growing Pains?

[Shinja]

i havent watched sitcoms in years but my favs had to be the british ones. most notable were fwalty towers, monty python, and red dwarf

[Rev. Doc]

I have a real question though, what was that sitcom in which Micheal J. Fox started in?

That would be Family Ties. They are showing episodes of that now on Nike At Nite.

[TheMelodyMaker]

Boy Meets World and Perfect Strangers, two of my favorites that haven't been mentioned yet. (I'll think of more later.)

[righteous_slave]

I loved Perfect Strangers, but it's not on anywhere (at least not that we get)
Tack on ALF, Full House, Fresh Prince of Bel Air,Family Ties(I loved that the son of two hippies rebels by turning Republican)

[shooraijin]

Man, I miss ALF. That was a good (and original!) sitcom. I think E! is giving ALF his own talk show, though, so we should be getting more Gordon Shumway goodness soon.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

For me: I don't get or enjoy much American humor. I think as an Australian I can relate more to British humor.

(Some) Monty Python
Ripping Yarns
8 Simple Rules
My Wife and Kids
Fawlty Towers
Blackadder
Mr Bean
Family Guy
Simpsons
Futurama

[Jeikobu]

All the sitcoms I like are over. M*A*S*H completely rules every sitcom ever IMO. After that I like Home Improvement, then Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Third Rock From the Sun and Three's Company were good, and the Cosby Show wasn't bad (not wow-wow but alot better than most stuff now-a-days). The only ones today that come to mind that I'd even give a look are Two and a Half Men and maybe My Wife and Kids. I can't stand Everybody Loves Raymond. I see way too much of it (it seems to always be on and my parents watch it alot, especially during dinner when I can't leave), and all it is IMO is a show about idiots being idiots, which obviously isn't appealing. Stuff like Yes Dear, Still Standing, Listen Up, King of Queens, 8 Simple Rules, etc. don't do anything for me either.

[Nate]

The Simpsons is the only current sitcom I even attempt to follow.

Otherwise, I prefer my reruns. I have lots of Hogan's Heroes on tape, and some Sanford and Son sitting around somewhere.

Sir, you have impeccable taste in TV shows.

I prefer Simpsons and Family Guy to any real-life sitcom out there. And Sanford and Son...now that's REAL comedy. It's genuinely funny...funnier than any of the garbage sitcoms Hollywood churns out these days. That's just my opinion, though.