Patricia Abbott (pattinase): Why Didn't We Learn From Sitcoms of the Past?

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Why Didn't We Learn From Sitcoms of the Past?

There was this brief moment in time when a few brave sitcoms were able to come up with plots that did not involve teaching its viewers a lesson. I am thinking of SEINFELD, FRIENDS, FRASER, THE OFFICE (early on) and a few others. The writing can be good, clever, funny without a huge lesson being learned and summed up countless times. Now that idea is gone and every sitcom is full of lessons. MODERN FAMILY has a lesson for every character in every episode. I watched THE NEIGHBORS the other night because a critic told me it had really improved, but it was just one big lesson set to music. Ugh. THE NEW NORMAL and THE MIDDLE are chock full of life advice too. PARKS AND RECREATION is one big morality play. So I really don't watch sitcoms anymore. Some of them are funny, but I don't need TV to teach me how to be good. To me, it is lazy writing.

What do you think? Any comedies out there that avoid this trap?

23 comments:

Anonymous said...: Don't ask me - there are no current sitcoms that I watch, partly for that reason.

What happened to comedies that were just meant to be funny? to entertain?

Jeff M.; 10:58 AM
Erik Donald France said...: Californication -- I guess it's a sort of raunchy sitcom. Several cable shows like that.; 11:44 AM
pattinase (abbott) said...: Guess GIRLS too.; 12:03 PM
George said...: Like you, I'm not watching any sitcoms either. The classic sitcoms were character-based. There was delight when Frasier would explode. All of today's sitcoms are lame.; 12:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Third Rock From the Sun was funny. How I Met Your Mother is not.

Jeff M.; 12:11 PM
Jerry House said...: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT is coming back for 14 new shows via Netflix. I may have to bite the bullet a resubscribe.; 12:41 PM
Ron Scheer said...: I've never thought about this. What you're talking about, I think, is comedy of manners, in which people are laughable for their foolishness. I recall reading that Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld aimed for that from the start. The characters weren't meant to have redeeming qualities.

I find reruns of ROSEANNE enjoyable for that reason. The writing makes a mockery of sentiment and is still sharp and fresh after 20 years. To me anyway.; 12:56 PM
pattinase (abbott) said...: I am scrambling to figure out how to stream netflix in time. Roseanne was a very good show. Although she was fairly unlikable the show managed to use that well.; 1:30 PM
Todd Mason said...: Before Roseanne decided that any of her whims was hilarious, it was a good series. From THE COSBY SHOW onward, every Carsey/Werner sitcom and quite a few others were ruined by letting the star's masturbation take over.

Sadly, the networks have found that lectures such as MODERN FAMILY (or GIRLS, to only a slightly lesser extent) reach larger audiences than actually clever farces such as, say, NEWSRADIO (for the first four seasons, before Phil Hartman's murder and the original producer forced by NBC to walk away).

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, ARCHER, THE VENTURE BROS. all tend to be surreal, but this doesn't bother me. PARKS & REC was mostly good in previous seasons, but I haven't caught up with it recently; COMMUNITY is also diminished in much the same way that NEWSRADIO was, in its current season. THE LEAGUE, LEGIT, and LOUIE are clever enough, and the somewhat comedic SHAMELESS is something I always catch (the comic bits in the likes of THE GOOD WIFE also usually fine).; 1:45 PM
Todd Mason said...: And do look at THIS AMERICAN WIFE's shortform videos, beginning with the one I posted the other day.; 1:50 PM
pattinase (abbott) said...: LOUIE is definitely the exception. I must rent ARCHER. I don't know how I missed it.
THE NEW NORMAL is one long lecture as is GO ON. MINDY started out okay but ran out of ideas other than Mindy dating anyone in sight. THE NEW GIRL would be better if they eliminated the new girl.; 1:51 PM
Todd Mason said...: Well...if you like LOUIE and now ARCHER as much as you do, you perhaps should take up my standing recommendation on some of these others, at least for a trial...LOUIE isn't actually That unique.

It is striking how much better Adult Swim's comedies are than Comedy Central's. Despite some dull ones, FX is doing well for itself on balance.; 1:54 PM
Todd Mason said...: I should say, the good Adult Swim comedy series. There are any number of those not at all to my taste. While Comedy Central defaults to fratboy bland.; 1:58 PM
Charles Gramlich said...: I think the writers of most sitcoms think they're doing us a service by including this stuff. It irritates me too. Modern Family is the best one out now, I think.; 2:06 PM
pattinase (abbott) said...: I am looking for things I can watch on the regular TV at night mostly. I am not so big at sitting at this computer anymore than I do.
I haven't seen ARCHER yet. Planning to rent from library.
Modern Family is funny but too many moral lessons.; 2:07 PM
Todd Mason said...: Ah. Well, the Adult Swim series do tend to air in late night, so you'd have to record them.

All my suggestions save THIS AMERICAN WIFE are cablecast or broadcast. (TAW is short enough...BURNING LOVE, a parody of "reality" shows such as THE BACHELOR, has been Yahoo's primary web-series success, is hilarious and the first season is being repeated by the cable channel E!...); 2:44 PM
Anonymous said...: It's interesting. If you check back I think you'll find that ROSEANNE was at its best in the Tom Arnold years. Once they split up and she did as Todd says, it became unwatchable.

Jeff M.; 4:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Loved NEWS RADIO, as long as Phil Hartman was on it. I could never stand Andy Dick in anything. Others: BARNEY MILLER, WKRP.

Jeff M.; 4:43 PM
Randy Johnson said...: Big Bang is the only new comedy I make any effort to catch.

Sadly, Jeff M,. I have a great nephew that thinks How I Met Your Mother is the "greatest comedy ever!"; 10:41 PM
Cap'n Bob said...: Roseanne? Pardon me while I ralph. The whole idea of every comedy having a warm fuzzy ending turns me off. I can't think of any I watch today, although I catch The Middle once in a while because my wife likes it.; 2:29 AM
pattinase (abbott) said...: Oh, THE MIDDLE is one of the best. Forgot that one.
HIMYM had some hopeful signs the first year or two. But it is too narrowly focused for me.; 6:33 AM
Thomas Pluck said...: Just dropped in to thank you for explaining why I am tired of Modern Family already.
Tell a damn story and have some laughs, go screwball... enough with the damn life lessons. They're all rich successful dingbats, we're not watching for the "epiphanies."; 1:18 PM
pattinase (abbott) said...: Epiphany-less TV-a dream to share.; 7:54 PM