Why do people find 50's sitcoms funny???

[Brian Damage]

I really have to understand this, why do people find sitcoms from the 50's so funny??? I really have to know because shows like Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith, The Beverly Hillbillies and Mr. Ed to me are not funny. Is it nostalgia? Is it the wholesomeness? What is it? I'll admit a lot of sitcoms today are just plain garbage, with the exception of a few. But there are countless others that could generate laughs without the laugh tracks that some of these 50's shows had. Just my opinion. Let me know!

[JT]

Before I start let me point out that "Mr.Ed","The Andy Griffith Show" and "Beverly Hillbillies" NEVER aired in the 50s.They were 60s shows.

I find them funny because they were made to be funny.That's just like saying your grandmother is boring.

[Pitooey]

Those were the 60's shows. The 50's shows are I love Lucy etc. As for me I found those shows Funny and entertaining. I like the laugh tracks because that was the way the shows were made back then. As a matter of fact I like those shows better than what is being played today. :D

[Brian Damage]

I stand corrected and I apologize, I still don't get the comedy of those eras. I love Lucy was good, as was the Honeymooners, other than that, what is it?

[Chocoholic]

I think it all depends on a person's taste. I personally don't find shows from the 50's and 60's entertaining, so I don't watch them. If people want to watch them, that's fine with me.

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by JT

I find them funny because they were made to be funny.That's just like saying your grandmother is boring. [/B]


What in the Hell does that even mean???

[JT]

Well I'm assuming that your grandma was born before the 50s.If stuff from the 50s isn't funny that means its boring and if your grandma was born before the 50s to you that means she's boring!

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by JT
Well I'm assuming that your grandma was born before the 50s.If stuff from the 50s isn't funny that means its boring and if your grandma was born before the 50s to you that means she's boring!


Listen, a SITCOM may be unfunny, because it's unfunny or maybe because it just doesn't appeal to certain individuals. To compare GRANDMOTHER'S as being boring because somebody finds a 50's sitcom unfunny is Assinine!!!

[twinkle44301]

I think it is just personal taste. I grew up watching those shows, so for me is is a trip back to my childhood (which was wonderful and carefree). My kids think I am goofy as all get-out for watching those "old shows," but I just like them. :)

[TALLguyinKY]

I think it depends on the show. For instance, "Leave it to Beaver" was a wholesome family show, which I do not find funny either. I'm not puttin' it down, it's cute, but it's not funny funny, like "The Dick Van Dyke Show", for instance---another '60s sitcom.

Personally, things like "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Gilligan's Island" are more old-timey/nostalgic for me, and I love the stuff from back in those days before I was born---seein' how shows were. They don't make me: :rotflmao: , but they do have great moments here and there that certainly make me laugh.

But not as much as really well-written comedic masterpieces like DVD, MTM, and favorites of mine from the '80s.

[Central Perk]

I find some shows from he 50's too dull....there is the sense that there lives are somewhat perfect. Dick Van Dyke was good there are other exceptions. Leave It To Beaver is just not funny to me.

[sbwalker53]

Sitcoms do not have to be funny to work for me. My favorite sitcoms are those that tug at my heartstrings and make me feel a wide range of emotions, that teach me lessons. Sitcoms from the 50s were great at that! How about the Leave It To Beaver in which Wally and the Beav learn to appreciate their own family when seen through the eyes of the trashman's sons? Or the Father Knows Best in which Betty uses a shy soda jerk as a pawn but unknowingly steals his heart? Or The Real McCoys in which Grandpa overhears Hassie's thoughtless words and she offers the greatest apology in the history of drama! Or when Opie cares for the baby birds whose mother he accidentally killed with a slingshot? These are gems. And neither had too many laughs to speak of. Sitcoms, for me, require pathos. Very few succeed without it. Seinfeld did. But tears and goosebumps can replace the laughs for me. The writers of 50s sitcoms were so, so good at that!

[17Mar59]

I don't think it has to do so much with the era when the sitcom was made as it does with the indiviual's sense of humor.For
example both Seinfeld and Perfect Strangers were of fairly recent
vintage,but I could never get Seinfeld while Perfect Strangers
made me laugh.:)

[Superbatboy]

Originally posted by 17Mar59
I don't think it has to do so much with the era when the sitcom was made as it does with the indiviual's sense of humor.For
example both Seinfeld and Perfect Strangers were of fairly recent
vintage,but I could never get Seinfeld while Perfect Strangers
made me laugh.:)

Maybe you're a physical comedy person then. I was young when Perfect Strangers aired, but I remember it having a lot of physical comedy.

Anyho, the only shows I've seen from the 50's are I Love Lucy and Honeymooners. And they're are both funny. Was Leave it to Beave 60's or 50's, well I guess it doesn't matter cause I can't stand that show.

[Lisa72]

It was funny for the times. I was born in 1972 and I do find some of the shows that you mentioned (which were actually from the 60s) funny. TV was alot CLASSIER than now. NOW if doesnt have sexually content or violence, it isnt good. Not growing up in the 50s, I dont know for sure but shows like CAR 54, THE MUNSTERS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY, FATHER KNOWS BEST, DOBIE GILLIS and THE PATTY DUKE SHOW were the way life was (WELL, not the MUNSTERS, ADDAMS FAMILY or MR. ED). The teenagers and parents related to them. Also, unlike today, FAMILIES were FAMILIES...they sat down for dinner together and watch TV together. The biggest thing kids did crime wise was probably vandilism and smoking.

IF I could pick a era to live, I would have to choose the 50s. 60s and early 70s were scary times. The drugged up hippies and draft dodgers were A*holes and treated our SOILDERS like CRAP when they got home from a very horrofic war. It wasnt the SOILDERS choice to goto war but the HIPPIES were awful. I believe they started the curruption of teenagers and are partly responsible for the crap that goes on today.

That is my opinion. You dont have to think shows back then were funny. I hate anything on MTV. I remember when MTV was actually awesome when it began in the early 80s. Now they barely play videos and have stupids shows like THE REAL WORLD, JACKASS, and speaking of jackass, TLC with CARSEN DALY.

I dont know if anyone got to see the recent show on FOX called THE CORRUPTION OF THE AMERICAN CHILD with O'REILLY but it definately had some great points. VIDEOS and TV shows are going over the line.

:seeya:

[Pitooey]

The shows of the 50's were fresh and new when Television was first discovered. I like to watch those shows to look at the clothes of that era and the old refrigerators and stuff they had back then. I even remember my parents wearing some of those clothes. There were no VCR's, Palm Pilots, and all the gadgetry you have today. People sat and actually watched the TV to see what was going on. They had all those great shows like Lucy, The Honeymooners etc. Plus those great shows like Milton Berle and Sid Ceasar, Abbott and Costello, The 3 Stooges etc. To top it all off they're in Black and white. WoW.

[vienna waits]

I definately dont find any of those shows funny.. especially Beverly Hillbillies.. that show was just stupid.

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by tootieismyfav
I definately dont find any of those shows funny.. especially Beverly Hillbillies.. that show was just stupid.

I have to agree with that statement. Sitcoms nowadays are a mere reflection of our society. That is why shows are more edgier than in the 50's/60's. A show like Leave it to Beaver cannot hold up comedy wise in this day and age. Most people who've voiced their opinions on this topic have said it's more about nostalgia than funny. Comedies from the 50's and early 60's that stand up are the ones that are not dated like Lucy and The Honeymooners.

[DickVanDykeShow]

I guess the only answer to give is that there is no answer. Some people find humor in things that other people don't. Shows from the 50's and early 60's (basically all the black-and-white stuff) were all comedic in different ways, just like today. Putting them all in one category is wrong. That would be like putting "Family Matters" and "The Simpsons" together just because they debuted in the same year. Those shows are totally different! Complete opposites, even. The shows you mentioned, the ones with the laughtracks that sound so incredibly fake, had a pretty wide audience back then, and people found them funny, so they were kept on the air. I have not met anyone in my life who could explain why he thought something was funny. It's just an opinion.

[Will and Grace Fanatic]

The only 50's sitcoms I like are I Love Lucy because of all the physical comedy the dialogue I thought wasn't very funny. I like Leave It To Beaver also but I don't think it was funny. I can't explain why I like that show.

[Sitcomwriter]

It really depens.When your a kid shows like Mr.Ed are "cute".I know they were to me.Andy Griffith isn't my favorite show nor is Beverly Hillbillies infact I HATE THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES! But I DID like the movie.I think that's because the series bored me or maybe because the movie had better known celebs in it (Cloris Leachman,Jim Varney,That kid from Unhappily Ever After and Diedrich Bader!).Also there are some shows I don't like because of the way it's filmed.Beverly Hillbillies qualifies for THAT too!

[James]

For me it would have to be a combination of the wholesomeness and quality acting. Shows back then like "Leave It To Beaver" were safe for children to watch with their parents without fear of embarrassing situations. To me embarrassing situations make shows unwatchable.

[James]

Originally posted by sbwalker53
But tears and goosebumps can replace the laughs for me. The writers of 50s sitcoms were so, so good at that!

How true! Sometimes I don't need to laugh when watching a television program. Dramas like "The Waltons" and "The Wonder Years" weren't as much funny as compared to dramatic. I cried more than laughed at those shows, especially when one of the characters was going through a major struggle or experiencing a big setback.

Some shows combine the laughs and tears. At least two episodes of "The Brady Bunch" stand out--#52, "Juliet Is The Sun" (the scene where Carol tells Marcia she's not going to be in the "Romeo and Juliet" production and she bursts into tears "MOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!") and #38, "The Not-So-Ugly Duckling" (the Clark Tyson episode; when Jan tries to get rid of the freckles with lemons "There goes your last excuse!")

[°Bubbly Blonde°]

I dont know why they like them so much....most are boring. the 50's is the worst decade in tv with the exception of I :heart: Lucy, and the 80's are my least favorite decade, in t.v. and everything else (music, fashion, etc) with the exception of The Facts of Life and Different Strokes and The Cosby Show!

[hazelfanatic]

it is the warmth and comfort I feel when I watch them. A sense of "all is right" with the world, even though I know it's not. Most of the 50's and 60's sitcoms had a moral to teach and family was of the most importance. The parents were in charge instead of the children and the children respected their parents. You don't see that on t.v. much anymore. I LOVE b/w t.v. I may not laugh out loud or anything, but I feel great after watching!

Blessings!:wave:

[80sTrivia]

The shows from the 50s and 60s are innocent and sweet. Humor has certainly changed over the years. These shows probably elicited more laughs when they originally aired as the subject matter was more topical and identifiable to someone who was living during that time. Thirty years from now, people might be asking why we thought Friends and Frasier were funny! :crazy:

[baronzzz]

50s
Love: I Love Lucy
Burns and Allen
Dont Like: Danny Thomas
Honeymooners

60s
Love: Beverly Hillbillies
Dobie Gillis
Dont Like: Gomer Pyle
Ghost and Mrs. Muir

70s
Love: Mary Tyler Moore
Whats Happening

Dont Like: All in the FAmily
Odd Couple

80s
Love: 227
Square Pegs
Dont Like: Family Ties
Too Close For Comfort

90s
Love: Seinfeld
Married With Children
Dont Like: Coach
Friends

My taste is real diverse, like many people. I say dont write off "a whole group" of shows just because they're old or black and white. You might miss "a gem" (or at least a gem to you).

[Central Perk]

For 60's sitcoms I Like:

The Dick Van Dyke Show
Peticoat Junction
Bewitched
I Dream of Jeannie
The Flintstones
Julia
Mr. Ed (haven't seen it in awhile)

[Brian Damage]

50's/60's shows that are still funny today:
I Love Lucy
The Honeymooners

50's/60's shows that I detest:
Andy Griffith
Leave it to Beaver
Mr. Ed
Gomer Pyle
Beverly Hillbillies

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by 80sTrivia
The shows from the 50s and 60s are innocent and sweet. Humor has certainly changed over the years. These shows probably elicited more laughs when they originally aired as the subject matter was more topical and identifiable to someone who was living during that time. Thirty years from now, people might be asking why we thought Friends and Frasier were funny! :crazy:

I think there are a few shows from the 80's that are starting to look dated and aren't as funny anymore as they once were.(At least in my opinion)

1. Family Ties
2. Growing Pains
3. Cosby Show
4. ALF
5. Golden Girls

[Plata]

Originally posted by Lisa72
was alot CLASSIER than now. NOW if doesnt have sexually content or violence, it isnt good

I notice that with alot of sitcoms nowadays, too. I see in the shows of the 50s and also the 60s, the sitcoms had more of a story line than just violence or sexual content. Actually, I like the shows from the 50s and 60s for that very reason. The shows back then had clean humor. This is just my opinion, but I find that sitcoms get worse every decade.

[JT]

I think the only reason BRAINdamage is saying Lucy and Honeymooner sare still funny today is because he knows if he says Lucy isn't funny Lucille Ball Forever would kick him from here to East 68th Street!!!!!!!!!! And he knows people are really loyal to the Honeymooners. He probably never even saw it! How can these shows relate to today? I guess that a LOT of people have two room apartments these days..........I guess a LOT of people go into others' houses without knocking these days....

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by JT
I think the only reason BRAINdamage is saying Lucy and Honeymooner sare still funny today is because he knows if he says Lucy isn't funny Lucille Ball Forever would kick him from here to East 68th Street!!!!!!!!!! And he knows people are really loyal to the Honeymooners. He probably never even saw it! How can these shows relate to today? I guess that a LOT of people have two room apartments these days..........I guess a LOT of people go into others' houses without knocking these days....

First of all JT, it's BRIANdamage not BRAINdamage.Try reading a little more carefully next time. I don't know who Lucille Ball Forever is and i really don't care. I like Lucy because of its physical comedy, while I'm not obsessed with the show, I'll watch it from time to time. As for people who are loyal to the Honeymooners, I'm one of them. You're not speaking to some goofy adolescent so don't dare try to speak down to me like one. I'll admit, I haven't seen every episode of Lucy, but I have seen every episode or pretty damn close to it of the Honeymooners. My WB affilliate has a Honeymooner marathon every New Years. New Yorkers on this board can back that up. I watch it every year religiously. To be honest, I don't know why I have to defend myself to you or anybody else. Who the F- R- U? For your information,go into a poor area in any town. There are families that would kill for a 2 room apartment compared to what they've got. As far as people walking into other's homes without knocking, have you ever seen an episode of Friends? And that's supposed to be a show that relates to people today.

[Brian Damage]

PS,
As for Lucille Ball Forever, I don't know who you are. However, if you're reading this thread, I apologize for even bringing up your name. JO...I mean JT brought your name up to start something I guess?

[JT]

Oh so you've been in the poor part of town before? Well let me tell you something. For the 12 hard years of my life I've lived in the same hell hole. The same place the same room the same bed. You live in NEW YORK which is (from the last time I checked) a very fancy smancy city. How many years have spent in the poor part of town? I'm not saying we have springs out of the sofa or cats in the garbage cans BUT we do know what it's like to ration money a LOT. So while you are up there sitting in your apartment switching between "Friends" and "Survivor", and eating your cheese pizza, and drinking your double latte, you think about if YOU have been to the poor part of town.

(NOTE:We don't live in the poorest part of town but we are very damn close to it:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: )

[Brian Damage]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JT
[B]*Oh so you've been in the poor part of town before?*

*Spanish Harlem: Born and raised *

**Well let me tell you something. For the 12 hard years of my life I've lived in the same hell hole. The same place the same room the same bed.**

**Well stop complaining and move out of Mommy and Daddy's home then.**


***You live in NEW YORK which is (from the last time I checked) a very fancy smancy city. How many years have spent in the poor part of town? I'm not saying we have springs out of the sofa or cats in the garbage cans BUT we do know what it's like to ration money a LOT. So while you are up there sitting in your apartment switching between "Friends" and "Survivor", and eating your cheese pizza, and drinking your double latte, you think about if YOU have been to the poor part of town.***

***You watch waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many New York based sitcoms***

[JT]

Oh shut up because if you were smart enough you would've moved out of Mommy and Daddy's house and you wouldn't have to worry about that. What do you live in? A cave? A hole? If you live in a cave I suggest you go crawl back in it....

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by JT
Oh shut up because if you were smart enough you would've moved out of Mommy and Daddy's house and you wouldn't have to worry about that. What do you live in? A cave? A hole? If you live in a cave I suggest you go crawl back in it....

Good comeback! (Yeah right) Try again when you hit puberty Junior! LOL

[JT]

You are questioning my comeback?!

Boy please........if someone gave you a wig they'd mistake you for the Wicked Witch of the West.......oh wait.....in that case there's no need for the wig.....

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by JT
You are questioning my comeback?!

Boy please........if someone gave you a wig they'd mistake you for the Wicked Witch of the West.......oh wait.....in that case there's no need for the wig.....

Wicked Witch of the West??? That one's even cornier then the last! LOL!!!

[Kristina]

Originally posted by briandamage
PS,
As for Lucille Ball Forever, I don't know who you are. However, if you're reading this thread, I apologize for even bringing up your name. JO...I mean JT brought your name up to start something I guess?

Hi :wave: lol

[Kristina]

Originally posted by briandamage
PS,
As for Lucille Ball Forever, I don't know who you are. However, if you're reading this thread, I apologize for even bringing up your name. JO...I mean JT brought your name up to start something I guess?

I really could give a damn if you don't care who I am, you need to shut up and leave JT alone, why do you keep on arguing. Do you get some sick perverted pleasure out of it? Now your going to try to start an argument with me and I really don't care because your a nothing, I probably won't even respond. Nonetheless read it!

[Czas na Zywiec]

The only 50's Sitcom that I loved is I Love Lucy. I mean the jokes might not be funny haha like "I'm late, better get a pregnancy test" (Which BTW s not funny, just making a point to sitcoms of today) but the slapstick and chemisty between the characters. Anyone ever see the episode of ILL where they switch apartments? They take like 3 hours to switch all the furniture between floors, they go out for a soda, and they come back to their new apartment and Ricky says he hired some workmen to switch the furniture around for them, so they did all that work for nothing. Now that is funny, I mean the look on Lucy's face is enough to send you laughing up the river. To make a long story short, 50's sitocms are really appealing. And ILL was named #2 on TV Guides list of 50 greatest shows! Now that's amazing if you ask me.

[Will and Grace Fanatic]

Originally posted by Ricky Ricardo
The only 50's Sitcom that I loved is I Love Lucy. I mean the jokes might not be funny haha like "I'm late, better get a pregnancy test" (Which BTW s not funny, just making a point to sitcoms of today) but the slapstick and chemisty between the characters. Anyone ever see the episode of ILL where they switch apartments? They take like 3 hours to switch all the furniture between floors, they go out for a soda, and they come back to their new apartment and Ricky says he hired some workmen to switch the furniture around for them, so they did all that work for nothing. Now that is funny, I mean the look on Lucy's face is enough to send you laughing up the river. To make a long story short, 50's sitocms are really appealing. And ILL was named #2 on TV Guides list of 50 greatest shows! Now that's amazing if you ask me.

What does BTW mean?

[Czas na Zywiec]

Originally posted by shyguy418


What does BTW mean?

Oh sorry, it means By the way.

[Will and Grace Fanatic]

Originally posted by Plata


I notice that with alot of sitcoms nowadays, too. I see in the shows of the 50s and also the 60s, the sitcoms had more of a story line than just violence or sexual content. Actually, I like the shows from the 50s and 60s for that very reason. The shows back then had clean humor. This is just my opinion, but I find that sitcoms get worse every decade.

Really I find shows get better every decade. But that's just me. I'd Rather watch every episode of Friends than one episode of The HoneyMooners. That show sucked so bad.

Also I've seen people write on this board that todays shows have to much sex and violence not true most do but some don't like Baby Bob, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch don't just categorize shows like that. Also I would like to point out most shows that I am i big fan of have sex in them and the main reason there big hits is because sex is funny. Crying over not getting a hat you want isn't funny that's an example of a 50's sitcom story line I'm sure they had.

[dzadro]

I agree with some shows you mention that are not funny.

But I still think leave it too Beaver has it's moments.

One example.

Larry Mundello - Miss Landers will the school bus pick me up no matter where I live?

Miss Landers - Yes Larry

Larry Mundello - Miss Landers will the school bus pick me up even if I move ?

Miss Landers - Yes Larry

Larry Mundello - Miss Landers will the school bus pick me up even if I move to Chicago ?

This was from the episode where Beaver has to start taking the school bus to school and I probably have not scripted it that well it was hilarious.

There are many moments like this in leave it to Beaver I thought the show was quite believeable for the childrens (Beavers) angle then and now. Maybe not the parents tho

[dzadro]

I like some shows today but I also think most of todays shows are just rehashed story lines of old shows.

Alot of Honeymooners story lines are repeated with little twists again and again. So they must have been doing something right.

Remember also that TV in the late 50's had great writers (it was cheaper to employ 5 or 6 good writers then, than 1 or 2 now)

They also had motion picture actors/actresses to draw on from Hollywood, some with twenty, thirty years experience. Many were stars or character players from major motion pictures.

Most of the actors/actresses in today's television are in their late twenties/thirties and seem to come and go with the seasons. Most have never been in a major motion picture or have much experience at all.

But don't get me wrong some of the family sitcom stuff from the late 50's was a little to lame.

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by dzadro
They also had motion picture actors/actresses to draw on from Hollywood, some with twenty, thirty years experience. Many were stars or character players from major motion pictures.


That I will definitely agree with. People like Lucy and Gleason were already in movies and Vaudville and had all that experience. A lot (not all) of today's stars first do television and then go to movies. Some fail miserably and return to TV soon after.

[JT]

These people on current TV are trying to make you believe that life is really about laughing at sex. I'd watch every single one of the 275 Donna Reed Episodes, every single one of the 83 Flying Nun Episodes, every single one of the 172 Three's Company Episodes, every single one of the 136 That Girl episodes, every single one of the 178 Laverne & Shirley episodes, every single one of the 325 Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman episodes, every single one of the 179 Lucy episodes, every single one of the 212 Alice episodes, and every single one of the 209 Facts of Life episodes anytime! (And even the 117 episodes of the Brady Bunch!) But I'd never watch 5 episodes of Friends, Townies, Suddenly Susan, Caroline in the City, Sex and the City, Frasier, or any of that crap about 20 somethings being friends (and that being the single plot). Now Three's Company wasn't about 20 somethings being friends, it was about a man living with two girls. It didn't deal with "Ooooh some guy I dated once got me pregnant!" or "Oooooh we had some guy sex last night!" or "Oooooooooh maaaaaaaaaah goooooooooood she/he has the biggest knockers/Mr.Happy in the world!." No, it dealed with rent money being stolen, being handcuffed together, holding a brunch, and stuff like that. It's more classier than just saying "My ass hurts" as I remember hearing when I was TRYING to like a show (It got cancelled so fast I forgot what it was). It's just so hard to beleive that people would laugh at someone saying that. Now if someone said....."Ma, Tom, Pa, Cathy, Everybody!!!!! Everything is gonna be alright and afterward we are gonna all go to the House of Pancakes!!!!" now that is gut busting.......lol

For those who didn't do the math, I'd rather watch 2141 epidoes of eight different shows than 30 episodes of six different shows.

[Will and Grace Fanatic]

Originally posted by JT
These people on current TV are trying to make you believe that life is really about laughing at sex. I'd watch every single one of the 275 Donna Reed Episodes, every single one of the 83 Flying Nun Episodes, every single one of the 172 Three's Company Episodes, every single one of the 136 That Girl episodes, every single one of the 178 Laverne & Shirley episodes, every single one of the 325 Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman episodes, every single one of the 179 Lucy episodes, every single one of the 212 Alice episodes, and every single one of the 209 Facts of Life episodes anytime! (And even the 117 episodes of the Brady Bunch!) But I'd never watch 5 episodes of Friends, Townies, Suddenly Susan, Caroline in the City, Sex and the City, Frasier, or any of that crap about 20 somethings being friends (and that being the single plot). Now Three's Company wasn't about 20 somethings being friends, it was about a man living with two girls. It didn't deal with "Ooooh some guy I dated once got me pregnant!" or "Oooooh we had some guy sex last night!" or "Oooooooooh maaaaaaaaaah goooooooooood she/he has the biggest knockers/Mr.Happy in the world!." No, it dealed with rent money being stolen, being handcuffed together, holding a brunch, and stuff like that. It's more classier than just saying "My ass hurts" as I remember hearing when I was TRYING to like a show (It got cancelled so fast I forgot what it was). It's just so hard to beleive that people would laugh at someone saying that. Now if someone said....."Ma, Tom, Pa, Cathy, Everybody!!!!! Everything is gonna be alright and afterward we are gonna all go to the House of Pancakes!!!!" now that is gut busting.......lol

For those who didn't do the math, I'd rather watch 2141 epidoes of eight different shows than 30 episodes of six different shows.

Whatever!! Sex is funny like I said before most shows of today that are successful have some sex jokes in them. Most that get small ratings or are cancelled are shows that family friendly.

Me personally I only like two shows of the 50's I Love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver( I hate the Honeymooners) I only like one show of the 60's that was Dick Van Dyke. I only like one show from the 70's that is Threes Company. And I love tons of shows from the 80's , 90's and today. Shows just get better every decade.

[°Bubbly Blonde°]

I dont care what anyone says, sex jokes will ALWAYS be funny...they were when Three's Company or Soap was on, for that time, and they are today!

[Beruche]

Originally posted by shyguy418


Whatever!! Sex is funny like I said before most shows of today that are successful have some sex jokes in them. Most that get small ratings or are cancelled are shows that family friendly.


I agree that sometimes sex jokes are funny but in shows today like Friends they use so many sex jokes that it gets annoying. It seems like thats the only thing the writers can come up with in sitcoms today. Sitcoms like Three's Company were funny because there was a balance between the sex jokes and other types of jokes Older shows are funny. (well 50s sitcoms were a little boring but still good shows especially I Love Lucy which really was funny) They also had good writers (which is not something I can say about most sitcoms today). Thats probably why a lot of the "family friendly" sitcoms get cancelled.

[Will and Grace Fanatic]

Originally posted by BubbleLuvGrl026
I dont care what anyone says, sex jokes will ALWAYS be funny...they were when Three's Company or Soap was on, for that time, and they are today!

Ditto!!

[Brian Damage]

Do you think that a show like Three's Company opened the door for sitcoms to push the envelope with sex? I remember critics used to call it, "Jiggle TV." It was definitely a controversial show for it's time.

As far as family friendly shows quickly getting the ax, look at shows like 7th Heaven and the Gilmore Girls. They've lasted and have had solid ratings. Also ABC's TGIF used to be a successful night for them for years. It all depends on the quality of the show.

[°Bubbly Blonde°]

Originally posted by briandamage
Do you think that a show like Three's Company opened the door for sitcoms to push the envelope with sex? I remember critics used to call it, "Jiggle TV." It was definitely a controversial show for it's time.

Yeah, I do.

[JT]

Originally posted by briandamage
Do you think that a show like Three's Company opened the door for sitcoms to push the envelope with sex? I remember critics used to call it, "Jiggle TV." It was definitely a controversial show for it's time.

As far as family friendly shows quickly getting the ax, look at shows like 7th Heaven and the Gilmore Girls. They've lasted and have had solid ratings. Also ABC's TGIF used to be a successful night for them for years. It all depends on the quality of the show.

I don't think so. TC did not "open the door for sex" they never really called it "having sex" but today it is all about "having sex." Who's sleeping with who and who knows about it. That's what today's TV is like. Look at Friends. And they really use bad words as if they completely took over the word it means. Back then shows about people who were JUST friends did not have sex written all of over it. Look at Mary Tyler Moore. Everyone on there were just friends and it was not about sex and love in every episode like today's sitcoms. Three's Company did not have sex and "looking for love" episodes all the time. There are about 50-70 episode plots that coulda been done with a family sitcom, in which the family lives in an apartment. There's "It's Only Money", "No Children, No Pets" (a Kate & Allie episode was similar to it), "Roper's Car"," The Babysitters", "The Charming Stranger" (a Parenthood episode was similar to it), "The Case of the Missing Blonde", "Chrissy's Hospitality", and the list goes on. That's only 7 of them but I know that there are at least 40-50 episodes like that. I do think that TC made bizarre living arrangements more acceptable across the country, but did Jack Tripper move in with Janet Wood and Chrissy Snow only for sex? No. He needed a place to live, they needed a roommate, he knew how to cook, they couldn't make boiled eggs and toast. So TC did not pave the way for sex-powered sitcoms. All the characters are trendy and ugly on today's sex-related sitcoms. There are great family friendly shows like "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch", "My Wife and Kids", and "The Bernie Mac Show" that families can watch. There are some "almost family-friendly" shows like "Reba", and "Malcolm in the Middle" that most older kids would get a kick out of. There are "almost almost family-friendly" shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond", "The Simpsons", and "That 70s Show" that preteens and up can like. But "Friends" is for mainly people in their late twenties who think the characters are so cool and funny. They can go ahead and think that, but I will think to myself that it is their lost, I won't post (except for right now), but I can say it aloud and I can think about it silently. I already said the characters and "stars" are ugly and trendy. I mean Jennifer Aniston posters on someone's walls?! I'd rather Donna Reed than her, and Donna Reed would be 81 if she was alive!!!!!! That's why I like the people from the 60s and 70s. The men were more handsome and charming, and the women were more gorgeaus and beautiful. Some examples: Suzanne Somers, Joyce DeWitt, Mary Tyler Moore, Sally Struthers, Marlo Thomas, Lauren Tewes, Cindy Williams, Penny Marshall, and the list can on. But today we have those perverted sex-starved men and perverted sex-starved women. Some examples: Jennifer Anniston, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, and Matt Le Blanc. But of course that's the entire cast of Friends! Now why isn't that surprising??? And in the drama area, why are shows advertised as hard-hitting now? Action packed and hard-hitting. That's all I hear. And they have these "wannabe smooth" names. Like "The Angency" and "24." I'm thanking the heavens that "Ally McBeal" and "The X-Files" are gone!
I've also notcied that in every "NYPD Blue" promo during "All My Children", during the day, they have a little Prental Guidance/Warning for somethings and of all things, Nudity is one of them. I've heard that it is acceptable to show a man's backside (get muh drift) and a woman's also. If this is true, I'm just gonna give up on NBC, CBS, and (sadly) ABC. The WB, FOX, and UPN are where the better shows are at. I'm sure they don't show Clark Kent's love buns on screen every week. Then I think about what would they show on "NYPD Blue!" Do they get Dennis Franz to do a striptease?!!!!!! Gag me with a spoon! And a pitchfork!!!!! The nudity should be left to the HBOs, Cinemaxes, Showtimes, Encores, PPVs, Spices and all those other channels. Don't even know why they show naked indians on Discovery Channel and Travel Channel. Hard to believe this is the same channel that airs "Great Vacation Homes." Thank god for TVLand, Game Show Network, Goodlife TV, Nick Games and Sports, Oxygen and all the other cable channels I can escape to. On TVLand alone, I can indulge myself in flying nuns, menaces, surfer girls, perfect mothers, red heads, waxy buildups, sidekicks, frankensteinish families, newsrooms, secret agents, mountains, and the 50s. On Game Show Network, I can wallow in the loads of blanks, vowels, forms of questions, passwords, friends, foes, dark holes, whammies, feuds, sharks, and other great things. On Goodlife I got sister Sams, rainbows, adventures, daddies, and others. On Nick GAS, I got mah phsyical challenges, guts, trash, grades, legends, and others. On TNN, I got hers and hers and his, I got strokes, I got Thunder, Ice, and Lightning. On A&E I got people I thought I knew, magnums, and murders. All that I didn't mention one of the networks. So there, down with network TV! Up with cable!!!!

[Will and Grace Fanatic]

Originally posted by briandamage
Do you think that a show like Three's Company opened the door for sitcoms to push the envelope with sex? I remember critics used to call it, "Jiggle TV." It was definitely a controversial show for it's time.

As far as family friendly shows quickly getting the ax, look at shows like 7th Heaven and the Gilmore Girls. They've lasted and have had solid ratings. Also ABC's TGIF used to be a successful night for them for years. It all depends on the quality of the show.

Yeah Well look at the ratings for those shows 7th Heaven averages 9 million viewers and that Gilmore Girls show averages 4 million viewers I wouldn't say that Gilmore Girls has solid ratings. As for 7th Heaven that show is not family friendly I have seen previews for that show and they have had some sexual topics on it. Plus TGIF isn't even on any more ABC axed those nights.

Of coures Threes Company opened the door if it weren't for that show shows like Friends and Will and Grace wouldn't be on.

[Kristina]

Three's Company joked about sex and made it to the point where I can watch it and laugh so hard the chair will flip back. It was more clean though, nowadays instead of joking about sex on TV there actually doing it!

[Brian Damage]

Originally posted by Lucille Ball Forever
Three's Company joked about sex and made it to the point where I can watch it and laugh so hard the chair will flip back. It was more clean though, nowadays instead of joking about sex on TV there actually doing it!

The sex jokes on TC might be tame today, but back in the day it was very risque for its time. There were plenty of people who used to complain about the show's content. Besides, it wasn't the sex that made TC funny, it was the misunderstandings and John Ritter's physical comedy that got the most belly laughs.

I'm sure there are plenty of Friends fans who can argue that the sex jokes is not what makes that show funny. Or even that sex is all the show is about. A show has to have more than sex to be funny and successful. At least I think it does.

[°Bubbly Blonde°]

Originally posted by briandamage


The sex jokes on TC might be tame today, but back in the day it was very risque for its time. There were plenty of people who used to complain about the show's content. Besides, it wasn't the sex that made TC funny, it was the misunderstandings and John Ritter's physical comedy that got the most belly laughs.

I'm sure there are plenty of Friends fans who can argue that the sex jokes is not what makes that show funny. Or even that sex is all the show is about. A show has to have more than sex to be funny and successful. At least I think it does. Friends, is about more than just sex jokes...it's mainly about the life of a group of friends, who always are there for each other no matter what. :)