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80s sitcoms, 90s sitcoms, doogie howser, Family Ties, friends, Full House, home improvement, humor, Jim Chaney, Seinfeld, television, The Wordslinger
Dear 30-Minute Sitcom,
Where have you gone old friend? It’s been so long since we’ve spoken, I hardly remember your face. I know you’ll tell me you never really left, but we both know that’s not true. Sure, you roll out a few new versions of yourself every fall, but let’s be honest, you’re just going through the motions at this point right? Do you remember when we first met, back in the late 80s? I do. My parents introduced us when they decided I was old enough to stay up past 8:00pm. Upon receiving the news of my newly extended bedtime, I was immediately thrust into the world of weeknight comedies. Like an explorer discovering a lost city, I was overcome with what lie before me. I quickly fell in love with shows like Perfect Strangers, Growing Pains, and Who’s The Boss. Who could forget the nights spent with Family Ties and The Wonder Years? I certainly can’t. My late-elementary through middle school years were our heyday, don’t you agree? You introduced me to great new friends like Will Smith, Uncle Jesse, and Steve Urkel. I became pals with Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, Doogie Howser, and Cory Matthews. Those glory days of weeknight sitcoms weren’t all fun and games though. I learned some real life lessons through your combination of wisdom and humor. Jessie taught me not to take speed on a very special episode of Saved By The Bell. Stephanie Tanner taught me about peer pressure on Full House. And let’s not forget the special guest appearance by Tom Hanks on Family Ties as Alex Keaton’s drunk Uncle…classic lessons learned. As I entered my high school years, we began to lose touch. I suppose that’s what tends to happen sometimes when childhood friends grow up. We still saw each other on Thursday nights though when we hung out with Jerry, Frasier, and our Friends. But even those weekly get togethers eventually faded away. Today, we’re more like distant cousins than the best friends we once were. I’ve done my best to keep ties with you throughout the years. I jumped on board with The Office, Modern Family, and The Big Bang Theory. I spent a half hour each week with Doug Heffernan and Arthur Spooner. But let’s not mince words here, you haven’t exactly given me a lot to work with recently. I don’t blame you entirely. It’s not your fault that television has changed over the past decade. Weeknight programming has become a showcase for “reality” stars, not sitcom stars. I can’t flip the channels from 8:00pm-10:00pm most nights without landing on a show about 30 women fighting over 1 guy or B-list celebrities learning to dance, or idiots from Jersey fist-pumping in a club. It’s a shame really, but it is what it is. Perhaps if you put a little more effort into your own product, things could go back to the way they were? I’m sorry, that was a bit harsh. But c’mon…do I have to bring up Whitney. I mean what was that. Anyway, it’s been nice catching up with you and I hope someday soon we’ll be able to spend time together again. This past fall, you showed some promise with new shows like New Girl and 2 Broke Girls, so I remain cautiously optimistic for the future. I hope one day my children will know the same joy I did as a young boy discovering the new world of quality comedic programming. Until that day, I bid you a fond farewell. Till we meet again, old friend. Sincerely, Jim
The Wordslinger 
Oh we totally DVR Doogie and Little house for our boys! It is the nighttime bribe. “If you get all your stuff done by 7:00 you can watch an episode of Doogie.” I asked my seven year old if he wanted to curl up with me and watch Little House and his reply was, “Why would anyone NOT want to watch Little House?! That Nellie Olsen is so funny!” My twins were Doogie and Vinny last Halloween! Ha ha!
My sentiments exactly. I grew up in the 90, and here in Norway, tuesday was the big TV night: A drama series (Ally McBeal, Judging Amy etc.) at 21.45, followed by what made me fight mum over my bedtime every week; a brand new episode of Friends. Monday night was Frasier night, and there were eternal reruns of Full House, Step by Step, Caroline in the City etc. every afternoon. I miss that nice, warm, fuzzy feeling and the bellylaughs they gave me. Don’t know what I’d do without DVD nowadays.
Doesn’t it feel great to just mention some of these shows? It totally takes you back. Thanks for bringing up some of the dramas of that time as well, though I still maintain that sitcoms are what held it all together. Thanks for the comment!
It really does! Actually, we’re having a Frasier-marathon here as we speak. Good times.
I grew up on Full House and the Cosby Show.
Miss that kind of programming. *le sigh*
I do pick up Modern Family, Up all Night, and New Girl when I get around to it, I just don’t care about the characters all that much.
Nice post. It made me wonder how much influence nostalgia has on what we remember as funny (or good). Part of what makes me miss some of those old shows is remembering how nice it was to have so few responsibilities during the week. You’d come home from school; do some homework; play outside; have family dinner; take a bath and put on your soft pjs and STILL have two hours before bedtime. I’ve seen some of those shows on TV Land as an adult and wondered what made me like them–but they always make me feel a little warm and happy because they remind me of a less hectic time. TV after work, chores, and dinner just isn’t so fun for me now.
Of course Seinfeld is still hilarious, along with Friends and Cheers. These days Community and 30 Rock are my go-to comedies. And I haven’t given up on How I Met Your Mother (even though it’s time for them to wrap it up!).
ALF was my all time favorite! There has been a void in my life ever since it went off air.
Remember the “very special” Blossom where we learned that it was ok to love our Alcoholic brother but we couldn’t just sit back and watch, we had to say something, dammit!!
Bravo on this post, sir! Bravo.
Reblogged from willshakespeare.wordpress.com
Reblogged this on Writer’s Block.
Love it! I work in the media research/tv ratings industry and have learned a few things about the logistics of these less than spectacular shows. Because of the notion of immediacy that the internet had brought upon, long ago networks had time to craft and tailor shows to the (much more narrow) TV audience. Now it seems like they throw whatever they can against the wall and hope it sticks!
This tugged at my heart strings! To this day, when I think about Full House, Home Improvement, Growing Pains, Who’s The Boss, Family Matters, etc. (I just realized that all of those center around home/family… very interesting) I am immediately transported back to the living room of my childhood home, doing homework while my mom cooks supper.
That was such a great time for week night television (or weekend television with TGIF. Anyone remember that?). It breaks my heart that kids today probably wouldn’t get what was/is so special about it.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
TGIF was a family tradition back in those days. Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for commenting!
I agree with most of what you said, most because I wasn’t quite old enough for the 80’s comedies you mentioned. However, I have seen reruns of them and have some fond memories, but I remember more of the 90’s and up. Pretty much all of the shows you mentioned there I enjoy, regularly, or watch syndicated whenever possible, but I still cannot get on board with The Big Bang Theory. I just don’t get it, but I gave it a good shot because I really wanted it to work out between us. 😉 Unfortunately, it did not, but that’s okay. I still enjoy a few of the other current programs on, but I am more of the hour-long drama kind of girl these days. There is more to offer in that arena. Good post and thanks so much for stopping by mine and weighing in!
Thanks for the comment, and congrats on FP!
Thank you for this post – I too miss the old Sitcoms. I think the first one that I ever watched was called WKRP in Cincinnati – how exotic and far from my personal reference frame.
As a teenager I laughed until I wept while watching Perfect Strangers – good good memories that my family still like to remind each other of. And who says tv doesn’t bring people closer? Sometimes it’s the only thing we seem to have in common with each other.
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I agree, Jim. It’s just not the same. Yeah, there are some good shows on, but they are not family-oriented shows, like the shows we used to watch. They are for adults. With no life lessons, and with adult humor, a lot of which is sexual. I’m going to have to check and see if we have TV Land! And Netflix!
We are clearly the same age. I miss the Alex P. Keatons and original Doctor Huxtables of the world… but sometimes I wonder how good those shows would have been if we had not grown up with them and were just seeing them now. What am I saying? I’m a traitor to my own generation! The theme songs ALONE were glorious! Alas, like the surge of 80s movie remakes.. you can’t go home again.
The theme songs of that generation of shows deserve a post all to themselves. I might have to work on something like that. Great comment.
I remember Balky. And who could forget Tom Hanks’ humble beginnings in Bosom Buddies. Thanks for reminding me of those old shows that made me laugh, made me cry, and still taught me something about the way you should treat people. Those qualities do seem to be sadly absent from roday’s television programming.
Couldn’t agree more, thanks for stopping by with a comment!
Great post! I enjoyed your reflections on the shows I too loved so much! Though there aren’t too many great 30 min comedy’s on now, I would add to your list Up all Night and Mike and Molly to your current list. ( Love Modern Family and Big Bang too!)
I kind of like Up All Night. Always been a fan of Will Arnett. Thanks for the comment!
I haven’t watched one of the big three networks for ANYTHING except world news in many years. I catch repeats of “Big Bang” on our Fox affiliate, and their Sunday night “Animation Domination”. That, with a few notable exceptions, seems to be where the humour AND cleverness has fled.
And though it’s not a half-hour, if you have any love for things automotive, you MUST catch “Top Gear”. The UK original, not the horrific monstrosity that runs on History Channel. It ain’t a sitcom, but if you don’t laugh so hard you wet yourself at least once an episode, either you hate cars, or it’s one of their VERY rare clunkers.
Oh, and TV Guide Network does occasionally find a gem or two, just FYI for those with cable or satellite. 🙂
Nice to hear from you friend! I’ll be sure to give a look to the auto show you mentioned. I mean who doesn’t like to wet themselves, right?
30-Minute Sitcom was murdered by Reality TV. And that’s the truth. Really. It is. And the guilty still roam the airwaves, scot-free.
It’s a travesty.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I take it you don’t care for the “Situation”, or “Snookie” or any of the other, how can I say this gently? . . . lower socioeconomic, regional, contemporary less-than-stellar television personalities of Beverly Hills???? Well then, I guess “You’re Fired!” So pack your things, you’ve been voted off the flat screen.
Bring back Raymond, Marie, Frank, Robert, Raymond (oh I’ve already listed his name) and Amy. Give us laughter once again that we may revel in your genre and rejoice in your witty dialogue! Thanks for a great post. J. http://contemporarymusings.wordpress.com
Excellent comment! I didn’t mention Everybody Loves Raymond, but obviously it was hugely popular. I was late on the bandwagon with that show, but catch it on syndication all the time.
Amen! Although I have to say, I hate New Girl and love 2 Broke Girls. I miss the old days. Sigh.
Thank goodness for TV land! Do you have that channel?
No. Sadness. We don’t have cable. Thank goodness for Netflix. 😉
New Girl is quickly becoming my favorite show, mostly because the main character speaks like the inside of my brain 🙂
I am completely unsurprised by the fact that you like that show. Jen and I watch it every week and she spends 90% of the episode cringing at how uncomfortable it makes her feel. How great is that!
From one sitcom lover to another thank you. A good sitcom is so good for the soul. Especially those episode you never forget. Boy Meets World defined my child hold romantic goal (especially when Cory chases Topanga (awesome name) to Disney World) and Friends was definitely the perfect drama filled life to fuel my friends and I in high school. The best part is how years later you can watch a dusty copy of a sitcom you havent seen in ages and still laugh at all the jokes.
Good call on the Cory and Topanga mention. That was a great storyline. And you are right, whenever I catch an old show like that on reruns somewhere, I still enjoy it as much today as I did then.
I could say the same thing about the classic 70’s detective/cop show. The new Hawaii Five-O couldn’t carry Jack Lord’s hairspray.
Haha, great comment!
I forgot about growing pains!!!! Loved that!!! And who’s the boss! funny post. So true. Where’d they go?
I left out some good ones that people forget about like, “Head of the Class”, “Hanging with Mr. Cooper”, and “The Hogan Family”. It was a cornucopia of comedy back then.
I haven’t liked sit-coms in a very very long time. Even the shows you cite as the “golden years” to me more often than not sucked. The writing in most sit-coms tends to be stilted, un-funny, the characters are all stereotypes who never learn anything and it’s boring. I prefer hour long shows that are more like dramedies. The characters are constantly evolving, they aren’t all stereotypical representations of archetypes, and because the shows are a bit longer, the storylines are more interesting and less forced.
I love hour long dramas, don’t get me wrong. I completely agree that they tend to have much more in depth characters and storylines. But I loved the family feel and tradition that came from watching those 30 minute shows every night with my family. Those days are over, even with the quality (if not quantity) of shows currently on tv. Whether you are a sitcom fan or a drama fan, can’t we at least agree that Jersey Shore sucks!
Sorry to sh*t on your post, but I can’t agree with a lot of what you say here. Sure, Whitney is horrid (we stopped watching after 2 episodes)….but it is hardly the only sit-com out there right now. There are lots of sit-coms that are worthy of a watch every week. In fact, I could argue that sit-coms have never been better (although its hard to argue with the late 80’s/ early 90’s as the golden age of sit-coms). My main arguements are as follows:
1) Modern Family – This might actually be the greatest comedy of all time (its giving Seinfeld a run for its money – IMHO). It embodies the ensemble cast where every character is essential – and every actor is great at what they do.
2) Big Bang Theory – Nerds are hilarious…..I know because I am what you might call a ‘fringe nerd’.
3) 30 Rock – Acting, writing, zany characters, funny hats…..and Alec Baldwin.
I would argue that the shows above are the best 3 shows on TV right now (better than any Drama…..and a Billion times better than any unscripted show on TV – I refuse to say the ‘r’ word….because there is very little reality). And I could name 5 other sitcoms that I would watch over any drama (Those would be Community, Last Man Standing with your boy Tim Allen, New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, and Rules of Engagement).
So, if you are keeping count, that is 8 sit-coms that I would watch over any drama on TV. But that is me. Your POV seems to mimic that of the typical american television viewer. People want drama. People want to watch dumb competition shows. People want to watch over-dramatic parental wastes yelling at their 5 year old for not smiling enough during their beauty pagent.
Personally, I want to laugh…..and laugh I do……every night…..thanks to my DVR and today’s awesome sit-coms.
I agree with most of what you say. I’m not saying that the sitcoms that currently inhabit the networks are not of good quality. I watch Modern Family religiously. I love Big Bang Theory. And How I Met Your Mother was great, for awhile (I’m not loving the direction it’s headed in). I’m just saying that you essentially named all the sitcoms on tv right now as opposed to the regular schedule of nightly shows back in the 80s/90s. Remember how every night from at least 8:00 to 9:00 (and sometimes to 10:00) was full of 30 minute sitcoms? That’s not the case anymore and I miss that.
Yeah, I remember. I also remember that there were only a handful of networks with new regular shows. Even being in a family who were one of the first with cable television in our neighborhood, the major networks were where the shows were. Now, with original programming coming from hundreds of channels, there are simply more shows out there for people to see. That means lower ratings and less people watching the same shows. I can remember talking to friends about a show from the previous night….because EVERYBODY watched the same thing. Now, I talk about an episode of Community and people look at me like I am a zombie. Not because the show sucks (because it actually is great, IMO), but because people don’t watch it.
More does not necessarily mean better. The 80’s and 90’s had great sitcoms, there is no denying that. I am simply saying that they are still around. Sure, there aren’t 4 sit-coms on every major network every night. Today’s viewer has 100 choices….and only a couple of those choices on any given night is a sit-com. That isn’t because the shows aren’t great or that the sit-com is out with american viewers. Its because viewers have more choices…..and a lot of people want drama, crime, and (gasp) reality shows.
Gasp indeed my friend. And you’re right, I love that there are more channels with their own shows. Although the quantity leads to watered down programming. There are some good ones out there, but for every Big Bang or Community, there are 3 Secret Life of The American Teenager. Seriously, how is that show still on the air? I suppose because of people like my wife who watch it.
Great post, Jim. Just caught the “Puffy Shirt” episode of Seinfeld last night and laughed hysterically. I thought the same thing … they don’t make them like they used to. Too much focuses on just the vulgarity instead of the great, smart humor in life.
Seinfeld is my all-time favorite show. I have all the seasons and have seen every episode numerous times. I feel like it was the last of the silly, harmless humor shows.
We’ve had Netflix for a while now and my 12 year old loves Family Ties. Good times.
Good times indeed. Thanks for the comment!