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Sitcoms are probably the most underrated TV show format. They get misrepresented online a lot too. With the rise of single camera comedies, it's not uncommon for people to claim that all the laughter in sitcoms is just canned (not really - producers want actual laughs since they'll always sound better), and then talk about actors pausing for laughs, ignoring the fact that the actors are on stage in front of an audience. And it's not as if single camera comedies don't pause for laughter either, they just do it in a different way. But for good sitcoms: Cheers - You talked about Frasier, why not watch the prequel series and see where it all began! Cheers is one of the sharpest sitcoms out there. And James Burrows, who directed most of the series, would sometimes do some pretty interesting things, like that opening shot in the first episode. The show was able to get a lot of mileage out of the bar, and they had a fantastic cast to boot. There's a lot of wit and intelligence to the writing, and for a show pushing 40, it's aged pretty well. Newsradio - Watch the pilot, and you understand the energy that a 3 camera sitcom can bring. It's just constantly moving, and everybody is just running around. The first four seasons were the best, where the show did a great job staying on that line where everything was about to fall apart but never quite did. In season 5, the show's quality drops pretty significantly, but there were a lot of things going on in that would have made it hard for the show to be a success. But the first 4 seasons were blessed with a perfect cast, and it's a lot of people you probably know from elsewhere. And really, the only reason why the show kept getting renew was because of Phil Hartman - NBC thought he was going to break out, and they knew if that happen, the show could blow up. Sadly, between season 4 and 5, he was murdered. But it was a breakout moment for Maura Tierney, Stephen Root, Andy Dick, and Joe Rogan. Yeah. Those last two - and the show is still amazing. I think that speaks for itself. And the show itself was a vehicle for Dave Foley, and when he was on screen with Phil Hartman, there were sparks. The two of them just played into each other so well comedically. Nobody does crazy quite like Dave Foley, and nobody drives people crazy quite like Phil Hartman. Everybody Loves Raymond - This show was consistently funny, and it was blessed by a great cast. Funny enough, Ray Romano was often the least funny person on screen. But he knew enough to let the rest of the cast shine. In the standard family sitcom affair, Everybody Loves Raymond stands out because of the quality of its writing and its cast. Wings - Another show that's made by a lot of the same creative minds behind Cheers and Frasier, and even features two Cheers crossovers - in one episode, Cliff and Norm are on a flight in the cold open, and another episode features Frasier holding a seminar (he was still married to Lilith, which makes it a Cheers crossover... I take my Frasier lore VERY SERIOUSLY thank you very much). MTM comedies - Mary Tyler Moore's production company put out some great sitcoms in the 70s - namely the Mary Tyler Moore Show and the Bob Newhart Show. Some of the office dynamics in Mary Tyler Moore haven't aged as well, but pretty much, up until the last 3 episodes or so, the show was really good. Betty White shows up in Season 4, and she's fantastic. The Bob Newhart Show is another really good show that just has a lot of sharp writing. One of the things that saved the Bob Newhart show is that he never had kids on the show - he didn't think kids were funny, and he didn't want to add that dynamic to the show. The other one to watch that is borderline a sitcom would be M*A*S*H. But you have to get it on DVDs, since whenever they put it up on streaming, they only use the versions with the laugh tracks. Which is completely dumb - the show wasn't supposed to have a laugh track, and it's actually much funnier without one, because the laugh track seems to be placed at the worst points in time. And it's also not present during the surgery scenes - which means that you're being told that these scenes aren't funny, when really, they're pretty funny. You're right though - a lot of sitcoms are crap, but that's because 80% of anything is crap. It takes a lot of talent to make a show that's good and interesting, and willing to be funny. The problem is that a lot of these shows can end up being cookie cutter, to the point where you wonder exactly what's being added. It also doesn't help that when they're bad, they tend to be really bad. Part of it is that the style of the show can feel very broad and very big. The shooting style requires for large open spaces that makes it easy for cameras to track the movement of characters and for people to move through, and also allowing space for some dynamics. And then the laugh track - even with a live audience, it can feel inauthentic. And there's nothing worse than finding something not funny at all, and hearing people howling like hyenas (looking at you, BBT). And the problem can become worse when a show gets more popular. Ken Levine, who wrote for Cheers (and M*A*S*H, and Frasier, and Wings, and two episodes of the Simpsons) - talked about how towards the end of its run, audiences would just be delighted to see their favorite characters that they would laugh even if something wasn't particularly funny. Compare a bad sitcom to a bad single camera comedy, and you'll probably see what I'm talking about. A bad single camera comedy isn't funny, but it might not be completely unwatchable either. Too often, they settle for quirky or clever, maybe at best amusing, but they never hit funny. But at least, you feel like you're watching a mediocre drama, not being reminded that the show isn't funny with every joke.
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Feb 14, 2021 15:47
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| # ¿ Mar 26, 2025 15:57 |
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NikkolasKing posted:I appreciate all the recommendations and I will definitely try to find and check them out as best as i can. Eh, they are just as formulaic as anything else. How many superhero shows are on right now? What about doctor shows? What about family dramas? What about police procedurals? What about talent shows? I think because sitcoms have a heighten nature, like soap operas, it's easier to pick up on the elements you see all the time and call them out.
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Feb 19, 2021 01:36
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