What happened to the sitcom?

[funKYcat75]

Have they changed, or have we?

I tried watching Undateable because it stars a couple of comedians that I find really funny, but it was horrible. Whatever garbage game after it about a man, wife and their lesbian friend who is carrying his baby, was even worse (obviously can't remember the name) This was an actual line from the show. "Ugh. Straight people ..." *shoulder shrug*

Have they always been this bad, but we just had fewer options?

It's sad, because I remember so many good ones growing up and in my 20s.

I think Will and Grace might have killed them. Four completely over the top characters mugging and sniping their way through a show. That seems to be most sitcoms now.

 

[HossCat73]

Originally posted by funKYcat75:
Have they changed, or have we?

I tried watching Undateable because it stars a couple of comedians that I find really funny, but it was horrible. Whatever garbage game after it about a man, wife and their lesbian friend who is carrying his baby, was even worse (obviously can't remember the name) This was an actual line from the show. "Ugh. Straight people ..." *shoulder shrug*

Have they always been this bad, but we just had fewer options?

It's sad, because I remember so many good ones growing up and in my 20s.

I think Will and Grace might have killed them. Four completely over the top characters mugging and sniping their way through a show. That seems to be most sitcoms now.

Undateable was ok first few shows last year and it made the dvr rotation but havent watched the new ones. That show after it, the only drawing card would be Alisha Cuthbert but she's a dyke..

Sitcoms have been going downhill since John Ritter passed, imo. I'll switch over to OTA and watch MeTv or AntennaTV if I need a sitcom fix.

What's really missing is a good cop drama. They took Southland away, but thankfully the Audience channel on DirecTV runs NYPD Blue reruns...

 

[DSmith21]

Originally posted by HossCat73:

Undateable was ok first few shows last year and it made the dvr rotation but havent watched the new ones. That show after it, the only drawing card would be Alisha Cuthbert but she's a dyke..

There are two other "drawing cards" on that show and they belong to British model Kelly Brook. Unfortunately, that doesn't make the show (One Big Happy) funny. Kelly can't act and is only famous for having dated Jason Statham for seven years (along with showing her ample curves in lads mags).

This post was edited on 3/25 11:37 AM by DSmith21

 

[UKGrad93]

It is cheaper and easier to produce reality TV. As I understand it, the good writers have all gone to the drama shows that are on cable channels. Add in political correctness and the things that can be made into jokes are just more limited.

 

[-LEK-]

They dont make em like night court anymore.

 

[Mashburned]

lollll

Wings, ftw, imho.

 

[Willy4UK]

I wonder if that is the same Kelly Brook that I yanked it to in that movie where she was on a lost boat at sea.

 

[ram1955]

IMO, sitcoms went to the crapper when cbs decided to drop Green Acres, the Beverly Hillbillies, Get Smart, etc.. in favor of more urban fare: All in the family, jeffersons, etc.....

Further, IMO, the few watchable sitcoms since then include Married With Children, Bernie Mac, Night Court, Cheers, and some of the Big Bang Theory episodes. Most of the rest are geared for less than high school grads.

 

[B Rax]

So black people ruined the sitcom. Got it. Thx ram

 

[weused2luvhim2]

Just watched Fresh Off the Boat on ABC. It's got some potential. Also if you are not watching New Girl you are missing out IMO.

 

[thabigbluenation]

so many options out there now. 300 some odd channels on different carriers competing for the same viewership. the internet, other options for entertainment i guess. "back in the day" we only so many channels to choose from, so the ratings had to go somewhere, well unless the president had to talk to us, then you were screwed for an hour.

 

[maverick1]

Originally posted by B Rax:
So black people ruined the sitcom. Got it. Thx ram

Hey BRax, you still writin' fan-fiction for Full House?

 

[Willy4UK]

Originally posted by maverick1:

Originally posted by B Rax:
So black people ruined the sitcom. Got it. Thx ram

Hey BRax, you still writin' fan-fiction for Full House?

 

[anon_l8pbkn96tg3j6]

How often did you actually laugh at sitcoms? I think there are just a lot more channels, and you have to make better TV. I'd rather watch House Hunters International for the thousandth time than a sitcom. I'd rather turn off the TV and listen to a podcast than watch a sitcom. There are just too many options for my entertainment to wait 30mins for Al and Peg Bundy to say something I could potentially chuckle at.

 

[UKStoops81]

Try watching Last Man on Earth, pretty solid. Also, New Girl has some pretty solid episodes. Modern Family, Big Bang both pretty good.

 

[LineSkiCat]

I'm not sure I would call shows like "Fresh off the Boat" a sitcom. Shows like that (Modern Family, New Girl, etc.) are single-camera format. These shows don't have a laugh track, and despite only being "one camera" there are essentially countless angles to choose from.. basically whatever the director wants you to see of Phil Dunfey's house on Modern Family.

"Undateable", which I really want to like but can't, is a multi-camera sitcom, which is the same format we all grew-up with. Even though there are multi-cameras, they are generally fixed. So with Undateable, you really only see 4-5 angles of the bar, and never the rear 180 degrees. There's also the laugh-track which actually kills a lot of comedic timing. Things just don't feel as natural when you have to wait for an audience to not only start laughing, but then commence laughing. It feels fake.

So the sitcom is all but dead. CBS really tries to hold on to it, but single-camera comedies are killing it. They are just funnier, edgier, and feel more real. I think the BEST sitcom right now (unless I'm forgetting one) is Mike & Molly, which while funny, would maybe be the 8th funniest show if you put it up against the Single-Camera Comedies.

 

[funKYcat75]

I did try Last Man on Earth and really liked it. Keep forgetting to DVR it, doh. (That sounds damn near as old as forgetting to VHS tape it ....)

 

[B Rax]

Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Usually write an episode once a month or so. And yes I have plenty of African American characters in the episodes sorry ram but they are a huge part of my series. They take place in modern times. DJ is married to taye diggs and works as a successful artist who designs sculptures of pets (dogs, cats etc). They still live at home with Danny and Jessie. Joey died of pneumonia shortly after 9/11 (unrelated to the events of that day) (or was it). Anyway you guys will be happy to know the family is doing great! Except Joey lol but yeah man I still keeping up with it. Thanks for asking

 

[ram1955]

Uhhhh....Bernie Mac was black ....unless he had a great make-up person. Personally, I believe it was the "Archie Bunker" type characters that began the decline of sitcoms. Wasn't one of the main writers for Married With Children a black guy?

 

[funKYcat75]

Originally posted by ram1955:

Uhhhh....Bernie Mac was black ....

But he's dead, so obviously not a threat now.

 

[humperk12]

Originally posted by UKStoops81:
Try watching Last Man on Earth, pretty solid. Also, New Girl has some pretty solid episodes. Modern Family, Big Bang both pretty good.

I agree with this.

I watched about 15 minutes of Undateable. Thought that it has some interesting and generally funny characters, but seems to be a bit disjointed.

Anyone watch Last Man Standing? I find it reasonably entertaining. Kind of a flipped version of Home Improvement.

 

[maverick1]

Originally posted by ram1955:

Uhhhh....Bernie Mac was black ....unless he had a great make-up person. Personally, I believe it was the "Archie Bunker" type characters that began the decline of sitcoms. Wasn't one of the main writers for Married With Children a black guy?

Damn dude don't try to build up your pro-African-American bona fides now -- you made your bed, sleep in it.

 

[DSmith21]

If you grew up during the 1980's, the Goldbergs is pretty funny.

 

[electricdreammachine]

To me Arrested Development was the best sitcom since Seinfeld went off the air and it was initially canceled after 3 seasons. My only explanation to why some of these aweful shows are still on and getting decent ratings are that people in general are getting dumber. Some of these shows I'll turn on for a few minutes and wonder, who the hell watches this slop and how can anyone find this funny. When Big Bang Theory is considered one of best sitcoms on TV then you know we are at a low point in television. One more complaint, I don't watch Modern Family but have seen a few episodes, can anyone explain why the characters talk to a camera? I don't get it, I know The Office, which was actually pretty good the first few seasons, started this style but at least they gave the audience an explanation as to why they were being filmed and would look and speak to the camera.

 

[JonathanW]

I think there are still some good ones. Not as many as in the 70's or 80's, but that makes sense since fewer are being made due to more reality shows being on because they are cheaper to make. I think the biggest change is that our tastes have changed, as well as our attention spans, over the decades.

I know some of you make fun of it (maybe it offends the nerd in you), but Big Bang Theory is pretty original and funny. Modern Family is good. The Goldbergs is too (basically a remake of the Wonder Years theme). There are a couple others too that aren't bad.

 

[argubs2]

Chuck Lorre

Chuck Lorre

Chuck Lorre

Chuck Lorre

Chuck Lorre

 

[argubs2]

Originally posted by JonathanW:
Big Bang Theory is pretty original and funny.

People like JonathanW happened to the sitcom.

This is how low the bar has fallen in this country. You have people like this who have such awful taste that they buy into the evil and propagate it.

Chuck Lorre is like the Pied Piper. With the powers Satan blessed him with, he's able to write television so despicably bad, that some people aren't sure whether it's bad or good.

People with good inside of them see it for what it is....the unholy byproduct of evil copulating with human ignorance. Those with vacant, empty souls.....they look to his writing as genius.

We unfortunately must look to the apocalypse for relief. I, for one, welcome the warm and cleansing fires that will blanket this world and free us from the shame and misery brought by the wrath of the whore-demon Lorre.

 

[BigBlue1121]

Single camera comedies got big this century, especially when "Scrubs" came out. Ever since "Scrubs", multi-camera sitcoms have become a dying breed. You might get a few that really hit like Big Bang or How I Met Your Mother, but for the most part, people (especially younger people) aren't tuning in anymore.

 

[ymmot31]

dick jokes.

 

[gamecockcat]

Don't understand the hate for Big Bang Theory - it's consistently funny, imo. Not as funny as the laugh track would have you believe but funny. It's not as funny as Cheers was or Seinfeld but it's hardly embarrassing to laugh at the show. Being an engineer by education, I worked with a lot of folks who remind me of the main characters. I find them funny.

Modern Family is very inconsistent imo. There are some episodes that are hysterical and others that are just plain dull. Too many of the characters have become cliches - the overly flamboyant gay man, the crazy Latina, the superdumb but pretty girl, the stressed out Mom. Pretty much all other sitcoms I've seen in the past few years have just not been nearly funny enough to watch. I honestly can't believe How I Met Your Mother stayed on as long as it did. Every so often on a Saturday morning I'll catch an episode on WGN and I'm not sure I've ever really laughed at a single episode. It's not awful, just a waste of time and mislabeled as a comedy. It's more like Friends Lite.

Sitcoms are too expensive to produce, evidently, and the networks can make a bundle with yet another mind-numbing 'reality' show. Have never watched one nor do I ever care to watch one. Several of them I find insulting and basically all of them I find to be the realization of the prophesy spoken by George Castanza when pitching their show to NBC: 'Why am I watching it?' 'Because it's on TV!' Evidently, most people want to watch SOMETHING regardless of the quality of the show. Hence the popularity of reality TV.

 

[argubs2]

gamecockcat:

 

[argubs2]

"....and the day will come...the Morning Star, perched on his Thrown of Pain and Despair, will sendeth a Beast upon the world. The Beast will possess powers of scribe...powers that the foolish of mind and destitute of this very world will admire. Witheth those powers....the Beast willeth enact the Morning Star's ultimate design...."

- Revelations 66:99

 

[ram1955]

Okay. Time to fess up. I do, I do, I do like one sitcom...The Middle. Sue the sister is hot. IMO, she ranks right up there with the wife in the Jake from State Farm commercial and the "Silence" girl in the All-state commercial.

She's not Ellie Mae, Jeanie, Betty/Bobbie or Billie Joe, but she's hot.

 

[ukalum]

I did watch a silly sitcom called "Selfie" until it got cancelled. It wasn't that terrible. I watched because it starred former Dr. Who companion Karen Gillian who I think is smoking hot and had the most darling Scottish accent. Unfortunately, they suppressed that accent and replaced it with an American "Kansas" accent.

 

[JonathanW]

Originally posted by gamecockcat:
Don't understand the hate for Big Bang Theory - it's consistently funny, imo. Not as funny as the laugh track would have you believe but funny. It's not as funny as Cheers was or Seinfeld but it's hardly embarrassing to laugh at the show. Being an engineer by education, I worked with a lot of folks who remind me of the main characters. I find them funny.

Modern Family is very inconsistent imo. There are some episodes that are hysterical and others that are just plain dull. Too many of the characters have become cliches - the overly flamboyant gay man, the crazy Latina, the superdumb but pretty girl, the stressed out Mom. Pretty much all other sitcoms I've seen in the past few years have just not been nearly funny enough to watch. I honestly can't believe How I Met Your Mother stayed on as long as it did. Every so often on a Saturday morning I'll catch an episode on WGN and I'm not sure I've ever really laughed at a single episode. It's not awful, just a waste of time and mislabeled as a comedy. It's more like Friends Lite.

Sitcoms are too expensive to produce, evidently, and the networks can make a bundle with yet another mind-numbing 'reality' show. Have never watched one nor do I ever care to watch one. Several of them I find insulting and basically all of them I find to be the realization of the prophesy spoken by George Castanza when pitching their show to NBC: 'Why am I watching it?' 'Because it's on TV!' Evidently, most people want to watch SOMETHING regardless of the quality of the show. Hence the popularity of reality TV.

It's simple. Some like to think they are above others. It's called being elitist. I see it all of the time from UNC people. There is no factual basis, they simply need to think they are better than others and fnid whatever difference they can to do that.

 

[Wall2Boogie]

You can thank shows like the gang bang theory and mike and Molly for that. I do think the goldbergs is funny.

 

[MrHotDice]

Laugh tracks

 

[Big Blue 1977]

Watching CBS games makes me feel like I must live on another planet when they advertise their primetime programming. Big Bang Theory is the #1 comedy on television? How in the hell is that? It blows my mind that people not only think that this show is funny, but that it's also witty and smart. Same with Two and a Half Men. Those shows are/were pieces of unfunny, predictable garbage.

The only good comedies in the last 20 years are Seinfeld and Arrested Development, and the first few seasons of The Office and Parks and Recreation. I'd rather do chores and other menial crap around the house than watch most TV comedies.

Raking leaves or shoveling snow>Watching Big Bang Theory

Breaking down boxes and taking out recycling>Mike and Molly

Vacuuming>Modern Family