One of the only true sitcoms I watch anymore is The Big Bang Theory (aka TBBT). From the first notes of its Barenaked Ladies theme song ...
... to the final punchline of its stinger scene, the geniuses of Pasadena never fail to entertain. And for a show that began with a central foursome of men, Bill Prady and his dauntless team have created some fabulous female characters to balance the gendering of the show.
A running joke in TBBT is that when someone is sick, according to Dr. Sheldon Cooper, they get to have "Soft Kitty" sung to them like his MeeMaw did when he was young. My friend Lesley found this t-shirt for me on ThinkGeek (see, everyone I know shops there eventually) and it's one of my favourite shirts to wear to bed or on a do-nothing-feeling-sick-read-a-book-or-hope-for-a-TBBT-marathon day. Today was the first day of the first "Spirit Week" of the school year - PJ Day. Since I rode transit to work today, I split the difference and wore this as a salute to sleep shirts.
What I left at home, silent and deadly, on its shelf with my other talking toys, is my singing Soft Kitty Doll. Press its paw and you are immediately regaled by a full volume, slightly off-tune, low-quality recording of Kaley Cuoco's Penny singing the lullaby. Merchandising, thy will be done...
So, reader participation time! Topic: SITCOMS
What qualifies as a sitcom in this day and age of television? What criteria, if any, would you set? Does it have to have a "live studio audience"? A catchy theme song? A token ethnic minority? Does it have to be funny? endearing? moral? surreal? What is your favourite sitcom memory? Mine is probably watching "Three's Company" with my mom. And I'll argue that the most brilliant season finale ever was Newhart which managed to create a running joke between TWO completely different sitcoms, from totally different decades. Any takers on that debate? And while we're on this generalist topic? Does M*A*S*H count as a sitcom? or Modern Family even (that one hour format eliminates it for me)? Where are the parameters today?
When I say I don't watch many sitcoms, I'm talking about today. I've watched plenty over the years (yes, that Newhart finale was the best!), and loved them, going back to I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners, the Norman Lear era, and Cheers. The problem for me now is that single-camera TV comedies make "normal" sitcoms look so dated that I can't watch them. I know there are good ones out there; I'm just talking taste preferences. So, without getting to the point of whether these are sitcoms, I watch and love 30 Rock and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and liked Ricky Gervais' series. Some of my favorite recent memories come from his Extras series, especially the Kate Winslet and David Bowie episodes, and the final screed when Gervais' character rips the entire world, including himself, for creating such vile popular culture.
ReplyDeleteTo me, MASH and Modern Family are sitcoms. I suppose you could use Larry David as a marker: Seinfeld was a sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm is a TV comedy. Not sure there's a difference, but it feels that way.
That difference is definitely there. It's why I asked the question about Modern Family. I enjoy the show. I laugh. It actually IS still a half-hour format but something about the show feels longer than the 22 minutes it is. It's not that the characters are any deeper than classic sitcom characters (Archie Bunker was an incredibly multi-faceted individual after all and All in the Family was still a sitcom) or that the story lines are more involved. It may come down to the fact that sitting down with the Bunkers for dinner would've been awesome while dinner with any of the Modern Family households would just feel awkward.
DeleteModern Family totally qualifies (and it's only a 30 minute show here?). MASH, too. In fact, I think MASH is one of the all-time greats.
ReplyDeleteSeinfeld will always be the benchmark for me, and the reason I don't think sitcoms have to have an endearing component to be watchable. It's also my favorite memory, since my dad and I constantly quote it together.
But of course it has to be funny. The trick is finding what's funny for a majority of people. Or enough of a majority to keep you on the air. Good post!
Thanks, Trisha! Your input is fabulous!
DeleteOne of the reasons I think I thought Modern Family was an hour long comedy was that there's a channel up here that runs a rerun ahead of the new episode which all blends into one long episode in my mind.
When I consider M*A*S*H, I remember the serious moments more than the laughs so that even though I know, intellectually, that I found/find it funny, it doesn't tickle my sitcom funny bone. My parents were very serious about war dialogues so, although they laughed at scenes, they often viewed M*A*S*H in a sombre light. And when I first saw the motion picture... ack! You can never un-hear those lyrics...
I didn't follow Seinfeld the way most people did but your comment about not needing an endearing element carries over to "It's Always Sunny..." in which Jeff finds every character completely repugnant. And yet he laughs. My, my, my how he laughs. But, again, "It's Always Sunny..." doesn't scream SITCOM either.
Maybe my dilemma is that, to me, "sitcom" funny has a levity that modern-day tv comedies doesn't always play on. There are days when I just want silly. A prat fall, a meaningless social faux pas, a stupid animal trick. I think today's comedies take themselves a little too seriously to fall into the sitcom category, even if they WANTED to be in that category.
I think there are plenty of sitcoms out there -- by sticking to the half-hour format and having set-ups leading to punchlines, most of the comedies out there count. It's just a case of evolution.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with the "traditional" sitcom (with a laugh track and all) is that few shows have bothered to innovate when necessary. So they just seem like the same thing we watched back in the '80s and '90s. Big Bang is one of the few old-school sitcoms that even gives it a try. The others... what's the point?
New and inventive comedy has been coming from shows like Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, Community, etc. They could have laugh tracks. That's not the key factor. It's the style of comedy -- something that necessarily evolves over time.
Great thoughts, Laurel! Thanks very much!
DeleteThat need to innovate is key to the development from the classic sitcom to the modern comedy, I think. There's also the spirit or world view that the shows exhibit. There's something comforting about the squeaky cleanness of Growing Pains and Full House versus the dysfunction of Shameless or Just Call Me Fitz. The awkward pause is downright discomfiting in the modern comedy.
Someone once convinced me that non-physical comedy is largely cultural. "Humour" is a construct that reflects the audience's values, permissiveness, and interests. Think about progression of television representation of the LGTB community from the days of Billy Crystal's conflicted and isolated Jody on Soap to the same-sex family units in Modern Family and New Normal. Serious cultural taboos of the 50s-70s, even 80s are now acceptable and welcomed sources of entertainment. Could it be that the pendulum that has swung comedy's arena to the mundanely absurd will swing back again? Or is it a one way snowball effect?
It's Tobey, Heart O'Darkness :)
ReplyDeleteMy most endearing sitcom memory is from 'Designing Women,' about a hundred years ago (in the 80's) It was when Charlene was in the hospital having her baby, and one of the other women (I can't remember who) was talking to an elderly patient who was talking about growing up in the South and racism, and she said, "We're not what we could have been, and we're not what we should have been, but thank God, we're not what we were."
That's always stayed with me. I thought it was beautiful.
Hi Tobey!!! *waves*
DeleteMy mom and I LOVED Designing Women! Thank you for sharing your memory of a great line from a thoughtfully written show. Annie Potts starred in a series called "Any Day Now" in the 90s that your line reminds me of. Wish I could find it on DVD. In my mind, Potts is always the quintessential Southern woman. She was my favorite part of GCB, which I would consider a soapy sitcom.
Sitcoms have been great sources of information/trivia throughout my life. "Golden Girls" taught me the most flattering angle to be photographed from (looking up at the camera slims the face and widens the eyes!) and that cheesecake solves every problem (even though, apparently, Bea Arthur, HATED cheesecake).
One thing classic sitcoms did really well was the "touching moment". Of course, you had to care about the characters for that emotion to come across to the audience which may be the flaw in the chemistry of modern comedies. Despite the presence of Betty White, I have yet to really empathize with anyone on "Hot in Cleveland"
I loved "M*A*S*H*" and "Family Ties". I also watched "Spin City" while Michael J. Fox was on it and I enjoyed "Third Rock from the Sun". Of course I also loved "Happy Days", "Laverne & Shirley" and "Mork & Mindy". I was never a fan of "All in the Family", "Cheers" or "Seinfeld" although I watched them all on occasion. Nowadays the only one I watch regularly is TBBT, which I don't want to miss and will often rewatch early episodes at 7:30 on CTV. I occasionally catch part of "Mike & Molly", another Chuck Lorre show, but mostly I stick to drama these days.
ReplyDeleteOooh, so many classic sitcoms! Do you remember "Soap" or "Growing Pains"? Is it wrong for me to wonder if maybe you (and me too, sistah!) stick to dramas nowadays because modern comedies are, to overgeneralize, more "mean"? Or jaded? Or celebrate/spotlight the nastier aspects of human personality versus the innocent foibles of human folly?
DeleteI'm with you on TBBT, obviously, and recently I've started looking for Go On and The New Normal because although they deal with modern situations that would never have been broached on 70s or 80s sitcoms, they have a positive outlook at their core, an optimistic view on people and how they behave. I went through a phase where I watched a lot of half-hour shows that made me laugh but, ultimately, taught me that human nature is selfish and narrow-minded. It's hard to live life feeling that way, dontcha think?
I love my dramas but I think I'll always be on the lookout for a good-natured laugh too.
Yes, I watched "Soap" - have the first two seasons on DVD and I'm chagrined to think I forgot "Designing Women". I have a DVD of several episodes - and I've kept some of my favourite episodes on my PVR from recording over the past year. Some of the episodes are a bit off, but overall most of them still hold out.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about a lot of modern sitcoms (and some dramas) being jaded or mean. I find that if the characters are stupid or mean or ones I wouldn't care to spend time with in real life, I don't want to waste time with them virtually.
I also don't like shows where embarrassment plays a large role. It's one of the reasons I never really liked "Seinfeld". These people were in their late 30s or even early 40s by the end of the show and they were making decisions and doing things that would have made 20-somethings cringe in real life!
I forgot that I also watch "Suburgatory". I started watching because Alan Tudyk was in it, but kept watching because it usually is funny and Jane Levy as the teenage daughter/star is wonderful.
I think Alan projects a lot of his own personality on his Suburgatory character... :) At least his character's still married. Hehe, I enjoy the show although I don't seek it out.
DeleteI was talking with Jeff about core worldview and how that comes out in a show. Funny shows can be negative and nihilistic but, like most guilty pleasures, they leave you less than you were before. Shows with a positive core grow with you.
My favorite sit-com line comes from Murphy Brown. It was an election year and Jim (the crusty news guy) was talking about knowing how his wife votes.
ReplyDelete"There are two things about my wife that I don't know. One is how she votes. The other is why she calls our shower head 'Steve'".
Brilliant.
Love it! Thanks, Rita!
DeleteI always equated Jim with Sam the Eagle from the Muppets. Is that just me?