I received a lot of feedback from people about my last blog post. While everyone seemed to like it, there were some complaints about it being a little too sad. Well, here is news for you people: life can be sad sometimes. Sometimes you are the better half of a set, and you just get pulled down because your partner is holding you back. Off the top of my head, it occurs to me that it's the plot of that new Marky Mark/Christian Bale joint, so don't pretend like it doesn't happen.
Despite this blog's commitment to bringing you the Hard Facts of Life, I figured I'd lighten things up around here anyway! And what better way to do that than by talking about sitcoms?
Once upon a time, I wrote for an independent gaming publication, and I wanted to do a "Top 10" feature. I was told by our editor that doing Top 10 features are shameful and pander only to the lowest common denominator. But guess what, this is my blog, and we're doing one!
That editor was sort of a douche anyway.
So without further ado, my favourite classic sitcoms! (To keep things interesting, let's leave my obvious favourite-- Seinfeld-- out of the mix this time. It would take the top spot naturally otherwise.)
10. All in the Family | 1971-1979
I know what you're thinking: "Isn't John a little young to have watched All in the Family?" You're not wrong; All in the Family ended a full eight years before I was even born. But thanks to the magic of syndicated repeats and a brother who would settle for just about anything they aired growing up, I sure watched my share of it. Crotchety old father, timid-yet-strong mother, hot daughter, and meathead son-in-law-- it was a winning formula that was emulated for years to come.
9. Perfect Strangers | 1986-1993
Perfect Strangers may seem like your typical "odd-couple" sitcom formula-- which it certainly is-- but it pulled it off with flying colours. The grand saga is depicted every episode in the show's intro: "Cousin" Balki leaves distant Mediterranean island Mypos, and naturally heads to Chicago, wherein he rooms with loosely-defined relative Larry Appleton (much to Larry's disdain). Antics ensue, and despite Balki's social faux-pas, Larry and the audience learn to love him. And the series ends with one of the greatest montages set to Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" that this blogger has ever seen:
8. Who's the Boss? | 1984-1992
It was the '80s, and Tony Danza could do no wrong. I think my favourite part of this show was its terrible/amazing intro, so why don't we just watch that?
7. Three's Company | 1977-1984
I always liked this show, but it wasn't until about a year ago that I really started getting serious about my Three's Company viewing. I'm talking Three's Company, twice daily, on the reg. John Ritter was a brilliant physical comedian, and thank goodness he was, because it was mostly those antics that got this show by. Cooking school student Jack Tripper moves in with two girls (who rotate a few times throughout the series to keep things fresh), and all that sexual tension results in undeniable hilarity.
6. The Steve Harvey Show | 1996-2002
Wow, did this show really go till 2002? I guess so. Steve Harvey plays black music school teacher in a school also populated by Cedric the Entertainer and loveable tag-team student duo, Romeo and Bullethead (the only white person in this high school, and perhaps in the entire universe The Steve Harvey Show existed in). The show is unforgettable for moments where Romeo and/or Bullethead say something stupid, and Steve stares blankly while the studio audience collectively loses their shit.
5. Family Matters | 1989-1998
Speaking of black sitcoms, Family Matters! The Winslows are your standard middle class family, plus the zany addition of next-door-neighbour-turned-part-of-the-family, ubergeek Steve Erkel. There was just something heartwarming about this show, and I still regularly break into the title song when the mood strikes. My favourite memories include when Eddie drives the car through the front of the house, and when Steve takes a magical potion (or maybe he gets in a chamber he designed, who knows) and turns himself into the super-cool, super-suave Stefan Urquelle.
It's about here that I'm starting to regret committing to writing this list.
4. Boy Meets World | 1993-2000
Boy Meets World is special to me because I literally grew up with Cory and his friends. We went through elementary school together, high school, and college. We laughed as we watched Eric being a screw up. We cried as we saw Shawn's troubled home life. And we swooned when Cory and Topanga finally got hitched. And who could forget Mr. Feeny? He was a role model for me my entire life. I'm trying to find this show again right now, but I sort of don't want to commit to the 22 gig torrent.
3. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | 1990-1996
In west Philadelphia, born and raised, on the playground is where he spent most of his days. Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool, and shooting some b-ball outside of the school. When a couple of guys, who were up to no good started making trouble in his neighbourhood. He got in one little fight and his mom got scared, she said "You're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-air."
And so, the legend was born.
2. The Cosby Show | 1984-1992
The Original Gangster of black family sitcoms, The Cosby Show brought it all to the table. Like a lot of shows on this list that lasted for so many years, there were different eras of The Cosby Show. The kids eventually grow up and start their own families, for instance. That's where you get brilliance like that episode which is in its entirety about Bill talking "Bill Cosby" baby language to Denise and Elvin's twin kids. I swear to god they didn't even write a script for that episode, they just saw Bill interacting with the kids and started rolling the cameras. I sure hope YouTube has a clip of that one.
...
Well, you're out of luck. I guess you're just going to have to take my word for it. As a consolation prize, my search did turn up this classic clip of Full House's Joey Gladstone doing funny voices that you might enjoy.
1. M*A*S*H | 1972-1983
I feel sort of weird ending this list with M*A*S*H. On the one hand, M*A*S*H was my original impetus for writing this piece because I want to spread the word about what a great show it was. On the other, this list sort of turned into a jokefest, poking fun at these shows. And really, there's nothing bad that can be said about M*A*S*H.
M*A*S*H to me is the Holy Grail of situational comedy. But more than that, it was the first of a new genre, that of dramedy (the dramatic-comedy). In fact, it was a first in a lot of ways. While all of the other shows on this list are multi-camera sitcoms, M*A*S*H was shot with a single camera, much like modern sitcoms like Arrested Development, 30 Rock, and Bored to Death. M*A*S*H certainly delivered the funny, but it also didn't shy away from serious topics (and it didn't handle them in forced ways, like the episode of Fresh Prince where Carlton starts carrying a gun, or the episode of Home Improvement where Randy gets diagnosed with cancer). The creators didn't lose sight of the fact that this was a show taking place during the Korean War, and for all the antics of Hawkeye, Trapper and BJ, there were moments of profound sadness.
I've been watching M*A*S*H for over a decade, but it wasn't until earlier this year that I was finally able to catch the show's finale. It's a special episode, with a runtime of something like an hour and a half, and as such, it never gets syndicated in repeats. It opens with Hawkeye in a mental hospital (at least, it is a mental hospital by makeshift Army building standards), where he stays for most of the episode, recounting a recent traumatic event. Set against the backdrop of the end of the Korean War, we learn of Hawkeye's mental break through an expertly-directed series of flashbacks that slowly change from a misremembered event (a woman killing her chicken to silence it for fear of the North Korean armies discovering the M*A*S*H outfit) to the true happenings (the chicken was actually the woman's crying baby). Hawkeye had hardly been steadily sane throughout the series, but the end of the war comes especially bittersweet to the viewer when we see how it has finally broken him.
Depressing stuff? I thought I said this was going to be a light blog post! Let's cheer up by listening to the theme to M*A*S*H, "Suicide is Painless."
Anyway, hope you had fun recounting memories with me on this one. Sorry it turned out to be so long! Check out M*A*S*H though, that was seriously the whole point of this thing. Honorable mentions that didn't make the list include Full House, Home Improvement, Bosom Buddies, and Brotherly Love. See you next time, superfan!
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