 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
October 25, 2005
Greetings T-Boners. It’s been a busy week or so, especially with my folks
in town for my brother’s birthday. I can’t believe my older brother is 30. I
never think of my parents as old, but now they have a son who is 30. I really
hope that what they say is true about age being a state of mind. If that's the
case, I’ll be a kid my entire life. Anyway, I didn’t have too much time to
gather my thoughts, so I thought I’d give some insight into what sitcoms I
have liked over the years and how they rank in my book.
Just for a little background here, these are a few ground rules I set for this
list. After a little research, I realized that I liked A LOT of sitcoms over the
years. So this needed to be narrowed down a bit. First rule, there will be no
animated sitcoms. My second rule, the show can only be qualified if I was a
regular watcher of it. “Coach” is automatically disqualified by this rule. I
liked the show, but not enough for me to sit down and watch it whenever it
was on TV. The third and final rule goes with the second, if the show is so
old there’s no way that I could watch it, it’s DQ’d. “Taxi” is a perfect example
of the third rule.
15 - Perfect Strangers - I loved this show the first time it came on. I
recognized Bronson Pinchot from Beverly
with many get rich scams. Balki is more down to earth and brings out the
better side of Larry. They also work in a mail room together. The elevator
operator is Harriet Winslow, which leads to a spin-off show, Family Matters.
This is not an obvious pick, but I’m sticking to it.
14 - Beverly Hillbillies - Yes, the Hillbillies were great before Hollywood
Nevertheless, the Hillbillies always prevailed. And we’ll always remember the
ending “Ya’ll come back now, ya hear!”
13 -Just Shoot Me - This somewhat short lived sitcom
12 - Friends - Oh my God! I put everyone’s beloved Friends outside of
sexier, even with a kid. Joey was a great character, but he’s a supporting
character. I can’t bring myself to watch his new show. Friends was good
and it was enjoyable to watch, it just doesn’t break MY top 10.
11 - WKRP in Cincinnati - This is an older one that I
10 - The Drew Carey Show - Something about this show had my interest
9 - Three’s Company - Generally, I don’t
to hook any of the characters up. The show was kept fresh for many
seasons and when replayed today, it withstands the test of time.
8 - That 70’s Show - Two words: Red Foreman. This is the same guy who
7 - The Andy Griffith Show - This would rank as
6 - Head of the Class - HOTC was a show about the characters meshing
5 - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - I was skeptical about a show with a
young rapper as the main star. I was wrong. This is a great show. It
introduced us to the Carlton Banks dance. I
the show where it dragged or the comedy was forced. There was no
overexposure of any character. Each of the many characters had
something to offer. It also allowed us to see that Will Smith would become a
Hollywood star for good reason.
4 - The Wonder Years - This was my favorite show growing up. Everyone
my parents had experienced when they were growing up. Oh, and Paul is
NOT Marilyn Manson. And Winnie Cooper is still hot.
3 - Frasier - Best spin-off ever. Niles
thinks he’s got it all together because he’s a radio psychologist, but he
learns something about himself every episode. It’s really a well put together
show.
2 - Cheers - I was pretty young when it was going strong, but Cheers is still
Then, final jeopardy comes around and he bets it all and gets it wrong. Poor
Cliffy. Great show. Great characters. Only second to one show…
1 - Seinfeld - You knew I was going to say it. I’ve told you before that this
get at the end of it? A death. What’s that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is
all backwards. You should die first and get that out of the way. Then you go
live in an old age home. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect
your pension, then, when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first
day. You work forty years until you’re young enough to enjoy your
retirement. You drink alcohol, you party, and you get ready for high school.
You go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, you have no
responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back, you spend your last
9 months floating with luxuries like central heating, spa, room service on tap,
then you finish off as an orgasm!! Amen.”
As hard as it was to leave off My Two Dads, I just had to do it. Seriously,
these just missed the cut Diff’rent Strokes, Mr. Belvedere, The Cosby
Show, Roseanne, Laverne and Shirley, and Married with Children. I
never liked M.A.S.H.
I’d love to hear your opinions on the shows I’ve listed.
Until next time, throw up a “T’ for…
T-BONE!
“No Soup for you…come back one year!”
|
|
|
|
Ranking Sitcoms
The Bone Pile
Hills Cop, but this was a totally different
character. Balki comes to America from a
Greek-like country called Meepos. His
cousin Larry is moving to Chicago from
another big city and they end up being
roommates. They’ve never met each
other and it’s a cultural clash. Larry is a
bit greedy and has plans to make it big
decided to make a pathetic movie about the
show. Jethro was stupid, but not over the top.
Granny was vicious, but not over the top. Jed
was perfect in his role. Ellie May... she was just
hot. Of course there has to be a conflict, and
that usually came in the way of Mr. Dreisdale,
their banker. He was always trying to get more
bang for his buck at the expense of his richest
clients, who he though were just dumb hicks.
had me laughing hard during every episode. David
Spade was the king of sarcasm during that time. He
was the best known actor on the show, yet he wasn’t
really the focus. The show was about a magazine and
the people who put it together. The cast had very
different characters and they molded nicely. I was sad
to see that they pulled the plug on the show.
the top 5, even the top 10. It’s my list, and I
was never just fascinated with the show like
everyone else. It was ok, which is why it’s
here on the list. But Ross got on my nerves
too many times. Phoebe’s character kept
pushing the weird, not sexy envelope.
Chandler started off as one of the greatest
characters of all time, but his marriage to
Monica ended that. Rachel kept getting
got to watch in syndication when I was younger. This
one was about a radio station and the different DJ’s
and producers in the station. It was kind of like News
Radio, but way ahead of its time. I’m not sure this
one was as appreciated for what it was, but it earned
its spot on this list.
from the first episode. The character dynamic
was great, including Mimi. The show started to
veer off the path of funny in the end, but it
provided plenty of laughs along the way. When
it comes down to it, why does a show that is
widely popular start to fail? The main guy and
the main girl hook up. No more tension, it’s
happened. Now what? The viewers have seen
it and they aren’t looking for it anymore. That’s
what happened to Drew and Kate in this show.
Bad call writers, bad call.
like slapstick. But John Ritter does it right
in this show. Add Don Knotts and its
greatness. Although, I liked Mr. Roper
better, because he was always trying to
prove something bad about Jack (Ritter).
The show was a bit unconventional at the
time, being it was about two women
rooming with a guy. And they never tried
was the bad father in Dead Poets Society that
everyone hated. Now, he’s the greatest
sitcom dad in history. Everytime he calls his
son, or any of his son’s friends, a dumbass, I
hit the floor laughing. How long will Fez be an
exchange student, though? Who is he staying
with? I need answers. Most of the cast is
getting opportunities to make movies. They all
support each other well, and given a chance,
they can all break out onto bigger things.
#1 on my dad’s list. That's why I’ve seen so many
episodes. The show was easy to watch and had
tons of great moments. My favorite thing about
this show, was that it gave us a spin-off in the form
of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. I loved that show.
Surprise, surprise, surprise!
together well. There was no clear star
to this show, although Robyn Givens
might say differently. The show had
characters representing the computer
geeks, the fat kid, the pretty girl, the
hoodlum wannabe, and the braniac.
The best 2 episodes were the ones
when they did plays of Grease and
Little Shop of Horrors.
can’t hear Tom Jones and not be tempted to
do the CB dance. I loved seeing Jazz get
thrown out of the Banks mansion every time
he came over. Uncle Phil is perfect as the
protective dad. This show also had that
“extra element”. I think it came from the
sarcastic butler, Geoffrey. Because of that
extra element, there was never a letdown in
knew Fred Savage was the child star of
the 80’s. I somehow caught the first
episode and my family and I were
hooked from then on. I’m glad my
brother didn’t pick up on the Wayne
mentality and call me butthead all the
time and thrash me with noogies. Not
only was the show humorous, but it also
gave me a little window into the time that
Crane is Frasier’s brother and he’s
infatuated with his dad’s caretaker. He’
s married to Marris, who we never
see. In fact, nobody is ever casted to
be Marris. It’s just somebody that Niles
talks about all the time. Frasier and
his brother are the ultimate snobs.
They drive their father crazy. Frasier
in syndication and I watch episodes
here and there. I could watch this show
for two characters alone: Norm Peterson
and Cliff Clavin. Norm gave us “The
Buffalo Theory” of drinking Beer. And
Cliffy told us the wonders of the postal
system. My favorite episode is when
Cliff goes on Jeopardy. All the
categories have to do with drinking and
the Post Office. He is killing everyone.
is the greatest sitcom of all time. The
birth of the T-BONE! nickname spawned
from a particular episode of Seinfeld.
My favorite character is George. I’d like
to quote George just to sum up his
attitude and what he brought to the
show:
“The most unfair thing about life is the
way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It
takes up a lot of your time. What do you
A sitcom or situation comedy is a
genre of comedy performance
originally devised for radio but today
typically found on television. Sitcoms
usually consist of recurring characters
in a format in which there are one or
more humorous story lines centred on
a common environment, such as a
family home or workplace.
The situation comedy format seems
to have originated in the old time
radio era of the United States, but
today they are produced around the
globe. Many countries, such as
Britain, have embraced the form and
so sitcoms have become among the
most popular programmes on the
schedule.
History
The situation comedy format
originated on radio in the 1920s. The
first situation comedy is often said to
be Sam and Henry which debuted on
the Chicago, Illinois clear-channel
station WGN in 1926, and was
partially inspired by the notion of
bringing the mix of humor and
continuity found in comic strips to the
young medium of radio. The first
network situation comedy was Amos &
Andy which debuted on CBS in 1928,
and was one of the most popular
sitcoms through the 1930s.
According to the 11th edition of the
Merriam-Webster Collegiate
Dictionary, the term sitcom was
coined in 1951, making I Love Lucy
the first sitcom to be called a sitcom.
Situation comedies have been a part
of the landscape of broadcast
television since its early days. The
BBC in the United Kingdom
broadcast Pinwright's Progress from
late 1946 until early the following
year. The first in the United States
was probably Mary Kay and Johnny, a
fifteen minute sitcom which debuted
on the DuMont Television Network in
November of 1947.
This type of entertainment seemed to
originate in the United States, which
continues to be a leading producer of
the genre, but soon spread to other
nations.
Ensemble cast structure
Many sitcoms reuse a common
mixture of character archetypes to
achieve reliable comedic situations
from week to week. The most
common archetype appearing in
sitcoms is the naive fool. Typically,
this character accepts events and
statements at face value, and often
misunderstands situations in ways that
create conflict in the plot. Examples
of the naive fool character in
sitcoms include:
Roseanne in Roseanne
Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls
Gilligan in Gilligan's Island
Coach / Woody in Cheers
Latka Gravas in Taxi
Steve Urkel in Family Matters
Joey in Friends
Father Dougal in Father Ted
Herman Munster in The Munsters
Walter (Radar) O'Reilly in MASH
Kramer in Seinfeld
Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show
Mork in Mork and Mindy
Baldrick in Blackadder
Uncle Fester in The Addams Family
Kelso in That 70's Show
Chrissy Snow in Three's Company
Tim Taylor in Home Improvement
The Sage is another
frequently-occurring archetype in
sitcoms. In the standard sitcom
ensemble, this character usually has
either an elevated intellect,
advanced age, or "outsider"
experience. The Sage frequently
comments wryly on the situation into
which the other characters have
placed themselves, and often
suggests solutions to resolve the major
plot conflict. Examples include:
Niles in The Nanny
Chandler Bing in Friends
Professor Roy Hinkley Jr. in Gilligan's
Island
Mike Brady in The Brady Bunch
Jeffery in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Dr. Frasier Crane in Cheers
Wilson in Home Improvement
Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith
Show
Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable in The
Cosby Show
Debra Barone in Everybody Loves
Raymond
Steven Hyde in That 70's Show
Other recurring archetypal characters
that appear in sitcoms include:
The meddling or nosy neighbor
The wisecracking curmudgeon
The well-meaning blue collar worker
The lovable loser (the
always-second-best)
The acerbic servant/worker
The cutesy moppet
The Honeymooners is a 1950s
situation comedy and one of the
most-loved (and most-imitated)
television comedies of all time. In the
early 1950s, Jackie Gleason hosted a
variety show, originally titled
Cavalcade of Stars and airing on the
DuMont Television Network. On the
show (which moved to CBS in 1952 as
The Jackie Gleason Show), Gleason
enacted a number of recurring
characters in comedic skits; the most
popular of these involved featured
Gleason as a Brooklyn bus driver
named Ralph Kramden; Pert Kelton
(and later Audrey Meadows) as his
long-suffering wife, Alice; and Art
Carney as Ralph's sewer-worker pal,
Ed Norton. The skits became so
popular that CBS offered Gleason an
opportunity to produce and star in a
half-hour sitcom with the characters,
titled The Honeymooners. Meadows
and Carney (along with Joyce
Randolph as Norton's wife Trixie)
followed Gleason to the new show,
and the first episode aired on October
1, 1955. In all 39 episodes were
created by the time the series ended
in 1956. Gleason retained the rights
to the reruns, which became
extremely popular with an almost
cult-like following. He later sold the
series to CBS for a reported sum of $1
million.
In the 1980s, Gleason released a
number of so-called "lost episodes"
(never lost, in reality - just sitting in
Gleason's vault for decades), which
were kinescopes of Gleason's live
shows for CBS during the 1950s.
These episodes were released on
home video and sometimes show up
in syndication alongside what are
known as "The Classic 39". In
September 2004 another "lost"
episode (this time one that had
indeed been misplaced years ago)
was reported discovered, with plans
for video release pending. This
episode, "Love Letter", aired on cable
television in October 2004.
Notable episodes: "TV or Not TV"
(where Ralph and Ed share a TV set,
not having the money to get each
their own) and "Better Living Through
Television" (where Ralph and Ed try
to sell a household appliance on live
TV and make a mess of the
proceedings).
As it debuted on Cavalcade of Stars,
The Honeymooners can be
considered television's first spin-off.
In 1960, the animated sitcom The
Flintstones debuted; many critics and
viewers noted the close resemblance
of that show's premise and characters
to that of The Honeymooners.
In 2005, The Honeymooners was
remade as a full-length feature film.
I Love Lucy is a classic and the most
popular American sitcom from the
1950s, starring comedienne Lucille
Ball, her husband Desi Arnaz, Vivian
Vance and William Frawley. The
series ran from October 15, 1951 to
May, 1957 on CBS (180 episodes,
including the "lost" Christmas
episode). Keith Thibodeaux (credited
as "Richard Keith") played "Little
Ricky" in the last two seasons. The
program was filmed at Desilu, the
production studio jointly owned by
Ball and Arnaz.
The sitcom was based on a radio show
starring Lucille Ball and Richard
Denning called My Favorite Husband.
Denning was enthusiastic to continue
his role as Ball's husband, but Ball
wanted her real-life husband,
Cuban-born musician Desi Arnaz, to
play her onscreen spouse. Studio
heads were worried that American
audiences would not find such a
"mixed marriage" to be believable,
and were concerned about Arnaz's
heavy Cuban accent. But Ball was
adamant, and they were eager to
have her in the part. To help sway
their decision, Ball and Arnaz put
together a vaudeville act featuring his
music and her comedy, which was
well received in several cities. In the
end, CBS agreed, but refused to let
Desi Arnaz' role be part of the show's
title (as in "Lucy and Ricky"). After
lengthy negotiations, Arnaz relented
and agreed to "I Love Lucy",
reasoning that the "I" would be his
part.
Lucille Ball was the last main cast
member still living. She died on April
26, 1989. The only remaining living
cast member is Richard Keith who
played Lucy and Ricky's young son,
Little Ricky.
