Hou could they improve sitcoms?

[Chocoholic]

Personally, I think they could improve sitcoms by cutting down on all that sexual innuendo, jokes about body parts and bodily functions, "Will they or won't they?" plotlines, sex talk, and stuff like that. I'm not a prude. I don't mind that stuff in small doses, but when over 70% of a show's material comes from that kind of "humor" I think that shows real lack of creativity.

Also, enough with the "stupid husband with smart, sexy wife" shows. They've really gotten old, IMHO.

[Small Wonderian]

Originally posted by Snoopy
Personally, I think they could improve sitcoms by cutting down on all that sexual innuendo, jokes about body parts and bodily functions, "Will they or won't they?" plotlines, sex talk, and stuff like that. I'm not a prude. I don't mind that stuff in small doses, but when over 70% of a show's material comes from that kind of "humor" I think that shows real lack of creativity.

Also, enough with the "stupid husband with smart, sexy wife" shows. They've really gotten old, IMHO.


I totally agree because sitcoms these days are all about sex and trash, especially the ones being produced after 1994. Let's go back to the 70's and 80's style of producing sitcoms that the whole family can watch.

[dlemond]

Originally posted by Snoopy
Personally, I think they could improve sitcoms by cutting down on all that sexual innuendo, jokes about body parts and bodily functions, "Will they or won't they?" plotlines, sex talk, and stuff like that. I'm not a prude. I don't mind that stuff in small doses, but when over 70% of a show's material comes from that kind of "humor" I think that shows real lack of creativity.

Also, enough with the "stupid husband with smart, sexy wife" shows. They've really gotten old, IMHO.

The sexual innuedos, bodily functions, and will they or won't they plotlines are all used to mask the fact that these shows have very weak characters.

The same can be said of the stupid and fat husband with the good looking smart wife.
-Where is the distinction in these characters? What is memorable about them? That the husbands like to eat and get away with stuff and that the wife is usually right and rolls her eyes at being with this man?

Woop de doo.

You want a good sitcom?

First make your sitcom a real "situation comedy" - being married in itself does not qualify as a situation for a sitcom in my opinion.
Make it a workplace, a school, a space station, whatever.

Then try making memorable distinctive characters with personalities.

Next focus on good plots - which if even are just basic will be driven by strong characters.
(Of course good writers are needed- ones with a geniune sense of humor and not gag writers)

Soon the show will take on a life of its own.

[*PinkLady*]

I would personally like to see a sitcom with a smart, successful, handsome husband and a stupid, not-so-good-looking wife. Not the most original idea, I know, but it would at least be an attempt at being a little different.

I don't mind the sexual stuff myself, in any dose, but I do agree that it is overused. There's no originality in that at all anymore.

[TJL]

Nice suggestions guys.

I would really like to see a few more decent workplace sitcoms come back to TV. The networks are being overrun with family themed shows.

[Sitcomwriter]

Originally posted by TJL
I would really like to see a few more decent workplace sitcoms come back to TV. The networks are being overrun with family themed shows.

I agree with you on that.

[Rhiannon]

A lot of the shows seem very unrealistic. I've been watching a lot of The Nanny :o lately, and some of the stuff they do on the show is stupid. Not a very good example though.

[*GoodMorningCalgary*]

The biggest problem I have is all the sexual innuendos. thats why I mostly watch family sitcoms.

another thing I noticed (mostly in workplace sitcoms) is alot of the story lines involve who's going out with who and stuff. like whenever I flip it to "That 70's show" all I ever hear out of them is "Donna is going out with Eric" and "Jackie is going out with Hyde" blah blah blah. thats all fine but talk about something different for a change!!

I'd also wish they were longer than 22 minutes. but I don't think thats something you can change at all!

[hawaii five-o]

The people who are writing sitcoms today need to go back and watch the classics, such as "I Love Lucy" and "The Brady Bunch", so they can see what real comedy is.

[JT]

I agree with everything Kristen said. That "Will they or won't they" type of show is just getting on my nerves. It all started with the worse of them all: "Friends." But I won't get into that. Workplace shows are getting worse by the minute. They are all about people hooking up through the workplace. Look at shows like "Alice," "Barney Miller," "Taxi," "Mary Tyler Moore." Those shows didn't have to rely on hooking up the characters to have long runs! I won't even BEGIN to talk about dramas....because well....this thread is about sitcoms...but if it WEREN'T....just let me shut up before I get someone mad...

[Rhiannon]

In some sitcoms they're doing the same stuff but with a different character on the same show. If they're running out of ideas they should just go ahead and cancel.

[Small Wonderian]

Originally posted by amp2k3
I totally agree because sitcoms these days are all about sex and trash, especially the ones being produced after 1994. Let's go back to the 70's and 80's style of producing sitcoms that the whole family can watch.


Sorry, I'm replying to my own comment, but...........

take for instance the show Small Wonder (1985-1989; 96 episodes in syndication). Sure, the show was shown on any day of the week and on anytime slot that networks wanted to show it, and it had a lot of inconsistencies as far as the plots go, and a lot of people think it's really boring and corny....but still, it was a great show for the family to watch especially around dinner time or on weekend mornings. This is what networks need to look at........what they can produce for the whole family and not just one particular age group.

[Stuck In The '70's]

I loved Small Wonder. I mostly only watch family sitcoms anymore. I think what happened is that networks tried to copy Friends and that resulted in one bad sitcom after another getting made. The only 2 sitcoms that were in the top 10 from this past season were Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond.

[Small Wonderian]

Originally posted by mr roper
I loved Small Wonder. I mostly only watch family sitcoms anymore. I think what happened is that networks tried to copy Friends and that resulted in one bad sitcom after another getting made. The only 2 sitcoms that were in the top 10 from this past season were Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond.


I love Small Wonder, too. In fact, it's my favorite show. :) And you're exactly right, networks are too busy playing "follow the leader" instead of creating some new material of their own and the result is that television has really went down the tubes......

[Chocoholic]

Originally posted by amp2k3
networks are too busy playing "follow the leader" instead of creating some new material of their own and the result is that television has really went down the tubes......

Agreed. They really need to come up with some new material. Scrubs and The Simpsons are the only two current sitcoms I watch.

Of course, when something origional does come out, it usually gets cancelled quickly.

[Adamantium]

I think that the sex jokes are fine ... as long as it's not every show. We don't have any variety. Every show is about sex. And the so-called family shows are shows with familes in them ... not family shows FOR the family. We need a couple family sitcoms without bad words and all the sex. Just for those who don't like it.

The main thing about getting better sitcoms is to make them ... Here it is ... FUNNY.

Oh, and just to mention my favorite show again ... in "NewsRadio" we didn't have the "Will they or won't they." In the second episode Dave and Lisa got together. It wasn't a season long event. The comedy was their relationship, not will they or won't they. (The Will they or won't they is fine. But I think it's been done enough already. Give it a rest.)

[GeorgiaboyJeff!]

The main problem with sitcoms these days are they're not creative with the storyline writing & the cast doesn't seem to have as much chemistry as other past shows that were really successful.

[Small Wonderian]

Originally posted by GeorgiaboyJeff!
The main problem with sitcoms these days are they're not creative with the storyline writing & the cast doesn't seem to have as much chemistry as other past shows that were really successful.



That is so true. Going back to Small Wonder, the show was successful in ratings.......the show averaged a "7" all 4 years of its run, but the show was really terrible in consistent story plots and the type of production running the show (5 separate companies until FOX acquired them -- and then, those companies still held a share of the show, even today).


But, even through all of that, Small Wonder will always be my favorite show!!! :woohoo: :woohoo:

[alf8mycat]

I get the feeling that the sitcom is dead.

Sure, there's Friends and That 70's Show.. But other than that I don't hear much about any other sitcoms other than a few new ones on Fox.

I kind of get the feeling that networks care more about reality game shows, list shows, home decorating shows and now shows targeting the gay male demographic.

I think we're in a dry spell as far as sitcoms go. It's pretty much happened before in the early 80's, I guess history just repeates.

I think ABC is strugging really. They used to have such strong powerhouse lineups in the 90's..

[Small Wonderian]

I get the feeling that the sitcom is dead.


The "sitcom" as we may know it, may be for all intents and purposes be dead because these shows that come on nowadays certainly don't deserve to hold the honorary title of a "sitcom."

[Stuck In The '70's]

Originally posted by alf8mycat
I get the feeling that the sitcom is dead.


ABC is strugging really. They used to have such strong powerhouse lineups in the 90's.. The sitcom may be dead. I know I only watch about 5 current sitcoms. I watch more drama shows. I think the reason ABC is struggling is because they put Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on 5 nights a week a few years ago and didn't develope any new hit shows.

[ClassicTV4Ever]

BRAVO on this whole entire thread. Today, sitcoms are all the same thing and lack creativity and substance. I also think sexual stuff is find, just not so straight forward. I think in order for that stuff to be funny less is more. Shows like "The Golden Girls" and "Designing Women" had a lot of sexual talk but were very coy about it and that's what made the jokes so funny. I swear, I don't watch a single current sitcom since they are just way too boring. I'm just holding out for my favorite older sitcoms to come to DVD and just jump in my time warp and never come out.

[JT]

Originally posted by ClassicTV4Ever
BRAVO on this whole entire thread. Today, sitcoms are all the same thing and lack creativity and substance. I also think sexual stuff is find, just not so straight forward. I think in order for that stuff to be funny less is more. Shows like "The Golden Girls" and "Designing Women" had a lot of sexual talk but were very coy about it and that's what made the jokes so funny. I swear, I don't watch a single current sitcom since they are just way too boring. I'm just holding out for my favorite older sitcoms to come to DVD and just jump in my time warp and never come out.

Agreed! I think that it isn't much funny if the character comes out and says "Well we had sex all night long...." I find it funnier when a character says something like "Let's just say that wer were keeping busy for the whole night" or something like that. "Three's Company" is a great example of that. They always used phrases like "getting it on" and "fooling around." They didn't have to say "having sex." And plus, so many current sitcoms have used the word "penis" before that it is amazing...

[barwars]

Great characters.
That's what sitcoms need.
Current sitcoms don't have as good characters as older shows. Frasier, for example does however have GREAT characters.

I think the strongest part of any show is GREAT characters.

Without great characters, sitcoms HAVE no character.

[Small Wonderian]

Originally posted by barwars88
Great characters.
That's what sitcoms need.
Current sitcoms don't have as good characters as older shows. Frasier, for example does however have GREAT characters.

I think the strongest part of any show is GREAT characters.

Without great characters, sitcoms HAVE no character.



That's very true.


Here's my percentage of what makes a good show:

Good characters..................................60%
Good story plots..................................20%
Average or better show ratings..........15%
Being on a major network...................3.5% (there are some exceptions to this)
Average or better viewer comments..........1%
Other...................................................0.5%
Total................................................100%

[barwars]

I think being on a major network, helps out a lot, shows have a better chance of staying on longer, and for the most part, are better quality.

[Small Wonderian]

Originally posted by barwars88
I think being on a major network, helps out a lot, shows have a better chance of staying on longer, and for the most part, are better quality.


The only exception to that would be Small Wonder because when the show was acquired by FOX, that all but helped sealed the fate of ending the show before it's time.

Now had it been still on independent networks (Metromedia), the show could have lasted a little bit longer.......or FOX should have let the spinoff series "To Good To Be True" have a chance to be a dominant sitcom.

[Stuck In The '70's]

Another way for a sitcom to be a hit is what day of the week it airs, the shows that surround it, and what shows air opposite it on other networks.

[barwars]

Definately.
New shows need to be fit in with already well-established shows.
Not the other way around, that's why Frasier slumped in the ratings this past season.

[Small Wonderian]

Originally posted by mr roper
Another way for a sitcom to be a hit is what day of the week it airs, the shows that surround it, and what shows air opposite it on other networks.


Yep, and going back to Small Wonder for the 50 millionth time :lol: , the show was a success during the late afternoon - early evening time slot (5:30 - 7:30 pm Monday thru Saturday).

Another problem that hit the show was that not a lot of people had the exposure of watching it on an independent network (such as Metromedia) since it was shown in only 7 major markets including: Chicago, New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, Boston, and St. Louis -- they comprise close to 40 to 45% of the national viewing audience.

The major problem was with national exposure -- a very good show, but not shown often enough to gain a very large fan base overall. And as far as new sitcom shows that came along at the time of Small Wonder, it beat all of them in ratings, but couldn't beat them in national exposure (FOX made sure that this problem would happen).

[Stuck In The '70's]

I used to watch Small Wonder on Saturday afternoons. They don't make any first run syndicated shows any more.

[Small Wonderian]

Originally posted by mr roper
I used to watch Small Wonder on Saturday afternoons. They don't make any first run syndicated shows any more.


They sure don't. :(

[dandelion wine]

Originally posted by amp2k3
Let's go back to the 70's and 80's style of producing sitcoms that the whole family can watch.

Yes! :thumbsup: I really miss the shows we had at that time.

I think we need stronger characters, ones that you can rely on. And better writing. Not that every sitcom has this problem, but really, it could be better.

[Sal]

I agree with a lot of the suggestions that have been made. As well, I'm REALLY getting tired of all the "Small Wonder" references. If you want my opinion on this, and you're going to get it anyway, the problem with TV today all boils down to one general idea or concept, and that is:

FANTASY vs REALITY

That is, not enough of one, and way too much of the other. Let me explain thoroughly:


Back in the 1950s & 1960s, when even the worst sitcoms were still worth watching and remain so even today, the networks smartly realized that the TV set, which people wouldn't take for granted for another couple of decades, was an outlet of enjoyment, like a toy to be played with. Weary, hard-working parents could sit down with their children and watch this strange little box which would open up new and exciting little worlds right from the comfort of their living room. And so, the idea of the sitcom as a fantasy outlet was born and it was everywhere. It began with classics like "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners", shows which featured real people getting into strange and unimaginable situations. (Think now: When was the last time you drank Vitavetavegamin or got stuck on your window ledge wearing a Superman outfit?) It carried on with the family comedies like "Leave It To Beaver", "Ozzie and Harriet", and many others, where the family unit was presented as what we strived to become rather than what we were really like, in short, an unattainable, but enjoyable, fantasy. Then in the 1960s, taking its lead from the pop music scene and the news of the day, sitcoms became more outrageous and bizarre, taking the fantasy element to its most extreme as each network tried to outdo each other to see what kooky and weird characters they could create next. So we ended up with talking horses and cars, witches, genies, flying nuns, martians, monsters, spies, and Ronald Reagan hosting "GE Theater". And America loved it! All these shows, and those that came before them, were fun, safe, wholesome entertainment that anyone could enjoy.

Then a major revolution took place in the early 1970s when "Mary Tyler Moore" and "All In The Family" debuted and became big hits. These shows were all about real people with real problems. Fortunately, they were presented in a humorous vein and in a context that the audience could relate to and laugh with, yet, as ground-breaking and thought-provoking and well-written as they were, they also served to make sitcoms and their characters more human and more real, engaging in more adult situations, rendering their predecessors as trite and obsolete and paving the way for the Roseannes and the Seinfelds of the future. Fast forward to 2003 and it's obvious that their influence is still intact, so much so that it has dominated the sitcom landscape. Everything from "Raymond" to "Frasier" to "Friends" to "King Of Queens" is all about real people with real problems that could happen to any average person in America, only they're presented in such a way that families are divided, not united, on whether to watch them.

So now where are the family-friendly "Beaver"-type shows, the ones you can enjoy with your kids without worrying about what they're watching? They're all gone! And that's sad. Also sad: where's the fantasy, where's the imagination, where's the make-believe that our fathers and grandfathers enjoyed with their sets? I'll tell you where. Believe it or not, ironically enough, the biggest fantasies are being fullfilled on the so-called reality shows, where, if you have an ounce of talent, are drop-dead gorgeous, have a little romance in your soul, and are willing to embarrass yourself to such proportions that you even torture your best friends for money, you can win millions of dollars, fly to exotic locations, and be seen in the sort of company that would make Hugh Hefner jealous. This is known as reality.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHHTT!

The whole idea just makes me sick!!!!


So, getting back to the main topic of the thread and the point of my history lesson: How can we improve sitcoms?

1. Make them more presentable for children to watch. Make the main characters better role models for children and teens.

2. Leave the sex and violence and other adult themes and innuendo for later in the night, like around 10 pm MINIMUM!

3. Put some creativity and imagination into the storylines and characters. Think of each episode as like a bedtime story rather than a stand-up routine.

4. Above all else, it should be funny!

This may not completely solve the problems facing sitcoms today but I think it's a good place to start.

[dandelion wine]

Originally posted by Sal
So, getting back to the main topic of the thread and the point of my history lesson: How can we improve sitcoms?

1. Make them more presentable for children to watch. Make the main characters better role models for children and teens.

2. Leave the sex and violence and other adult themes and innuendo for later in the night, like around 10 pm MINIMUM!

3. Put some creativity and imagination into the storylines and characters. Think of each episode as like a bedtime story rather than a stand-up routine.

4. Above all else, it should be funny!

This may not completely solve the problems facing sitcoms today but I think it's a good place to start.

Good points, Sal. And I agree all the way with number 3! I also agree with what you had to say regarding those 'reality' shows. Just seems like they're dumbing down to audiences, so to speak, by constantly pumping out "Who Wants to Marry My Dad?" and "Temptation Island."

[Penny Lane]

Originally posted by amp2k3
I totally agree because sitcoms these days are all about sex and trash, especially the ones being produced after 1994. Let's go back to the 70's and 80's style of producing sitcoms that the whole family can watch.

AMEN!:clap

[BLT]

1. Make them funny. These days comedy is often confused for shock, such as lewd talk about sex & using as much bad language as they can get away with. Bob Newhart had a point in TV Guide when he said that with all the channels today that comedy talent is spread too thin.

2. Be inventive. Like other posters said, these days there are only about two types of sitcom--a brassy family or a bunch of adults and their love lives. There's not even any really good workplace comedies anymore, a genre that thrived in the 90s with shows like NewsRadio, Just Shoot Me (early years), and Drew Carey (early years). I really like the sitcoms of the 60s and their creativity, with oddball yet funny premises like a talking horse, a possessed car, a wacky secret agent, and a hot genie.

[JT]

I agree that there are hardly any shows for everyone out there. Back in the 70s, everyone had a show that they coudl watch. Older folks, from around ages 45+ could enjoy the Norman Lear shows like "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons," "Maude," or "Sanford and Son." Then there were the people in their 30s and 40s who could love "Mary Tyler Moore," "Bob Newhart Show," "Barney Miller," "Alice" and such. The teenagers and 20somethings and 30somethings had many choices like "Three's Company," "Laverne & Shirley," "Soap," "Happy Days," "Welcome Back Kotter," "What's Happening," and "Good Times." TV had so much variety back then...but now it seems that if you aren't in your 20s you don't watch network TV. My grandparents watch TVLand and GSN all day....well they used to watch GSN all day but that's changed of course...they watch a lot of Hallmark and WGN too

[ClassicComedyFan2]

1. Unreality - Bring back sitcoms that AREN'T grounded in reality. Off-the wall concepts melded with overacting, as found in many 60s sitcoms.

2. The Return of the Laugh Track - Many sitcoms now are premiering without laugh tracks OR live audiences. That's just sick! When was the last sitcom with a compeletely artificial laugh track?

3. No more profanity - Bad language is completely useless and stupid. Get rid of it.

4. Overacting - Too many sitcoms today ("Frasier" being one brilliant exception) have acting that is low-key. No yelling, no bug-eyed reactions, no slapstick.

5. Slapstick - Where's the slapstick?????

6. No more/very little sexual humor - Almost EVERY sitcom these days has sex jokes in it. Bring back slapstick, puns, knock-knock jokes, crazy characters, overacting and if you must have sex jokes, make them harmless inneundo like that found in "Beverly Hillbillies," "Three's Company" or even "Cheers."

7. Breaking the fourth wall - Talking to the audience, dialogue references to "episodes" and "the camera", winking at the camera. What happened to this? It rocks!

8. Narrator - A hilarious sarcastic announcer like that found in "Tokyo Pig" or "Rocky & Bullwinkle" would add over-the-top humor to any sitcom.

9. Break the mold - High school class. Family at home. Office with cubicles. BEEN DONE! Try something different, like a starship, a box, a police station, an animal center or something else. The typical is fine, if done right and over-the-top, but something different would rock. Especially a different time or a different planet. Or an alternate universe.

10. Fast Motion - Three words: Bring. It. Back.

11. NO DRAMA! - Too many sitcoms today have those stupid, make-my-blood-boil serious moments! It's a sitcom. I mean, did "I Love Lucy" ever have a serious ep? NO! If you tackle serious issues like drugs or crime, do it with humor.

12. Morals and Values - Where are the role models? I mean, are there any positive role models in "Friends"? NOT AT ALL. Good guys win. Bad guys lose. It's that simple.

[ClassicComedyFan2]

13. Crazy Characters - Don't just have humans as characters! How about animals, aliens, plants, chairs, etc.?

14. Family Hour Complete - Only TV-G shows should air between 8-9 EST, 7-8 CST.

[LucyCompanyPhan]

Sitcoms with sexual humor need to go. A few sitcoms with it, is good, but not all sitcoms should have it. Every Network always trys to copy friends and I love friends and all but we dont need sitcoms to try and be like it. Coupling is coming this year I believe and thats just gonna be a 100 percent like sex jokes all the time which is fine i guess but theres more to a sitcom.

We need something with a different idea, something that hasnt been done, or something close to something that hasnt been done. Golden Girls, The Nanny & Married with Children were so popular because they were never done before.

[RichFonz]

I understand about what happens today. As a protestant-christian, many of today's sitcoms have plenty of sex humor, and I despise it. My brother is not into them, either. You're not the only ones who thinks 'Friends' is poor in quality. So does the American Family Association. I don't know about the show, nor do I want to. The only sitcoms I can get into today are '8 Simple Rules' and to some extent, 'Malcolm In The Middle'. When I watch TV, TV Land is my home, and ESPN Classic is second on the list--since I'm a huge baseball fan. Going back to my view, I've never seen many of the shows today, and after what I heard, I prefer not to. I have plenty of tapes, but they're mostly 70's sitcoms, which you choose from a variety of back in those days. I don't know the quality of Three's Company, which may have started all this in the first place. The point I'm trying to make here is that today's shows need to cut down on the "Will they or won't they" plots, and all the dumb character stuff. Also, if there are serious episodes, put some humor in them, too. Family Ties and Facts Of Life, are two prime examples. Many were that way, but at least they didn't have crude humor. I hope I made myself clear. Either the networks clean up their act, or I stay with TV Land as my main station.

[JT]

Originally posted by RichFonz
I understand about what happens today. As a protestant-christian, many of today's sitcoms have plenty of sex humor, and I despise it. My brother is not into them, either. You're not the only ones who thinks 'Friends' is poor in quality. So does the American Family Association. I don't know about the show, nor do I want to. The only sitcoms I can get into today are '8 Simple Rules' and to some extent, 'Malcolm In The Middle'. When I watch TV, TV Land is my home, and ESPN Classic is second on the list--since I'm a huge baseball fan. Going back to my view, I've never seen many of the shows today, and after what I heard, I prefer not to. I have plenty of tapes, but they're mostly 70's sitcoms, which you choose from a variety of back in those days. I don't know the quality of Three's Company, which may have started all this in the first place. The point I'm trying to make here is that today's shows need to cut down on the "Will they or won't they" plots, and all the dumb character stuff. Also, if there are serious episodes, put some humor in them, too. Family Ties and Facts Of Life, are two prime examples. Many were that way, but at least they didn't have crude humor. I hope I made myself clear. Either the networks clean up their act, or I stay with TV Land as my main station.

Excuse me, but if you "don't know the quality of Three's Company" you sure don't have the right to judge it. For your information, it did NOT start that whole "Will they or Won't they?" craze. "Three's Company" premiered in the 1970s, way before "Friends" did. I say that you should watch a show before you determine what it did to the sitcom world. "Three's Company" comes on every night on N@N at 10:00PM and 10:30PM (Central) time. Watch it and you will see that it isn't silly like "Friends." TC had lots of innuendo and double entendres, but it showcased those things in a harmless, somewhat innocent, way. Don't judge something you don't know.

[Sitcomwriter]

There's too many preachy family comedies on the air right now and just about all of them are stinky.Keep 1 or 2 (8 Simple Rules and some other one) and dump all the others.Family Comedies don't work anymore.We don't live in a "Brady Bunch" world where 10 year olds don't know anything about the world around them.Nowadays kids mature at an earlier age.The majority of human beings nowadays lose their virginity between the ages of 12-16 and no one wants to come home to cutesey and unrealistic kids behaving all innocently and "respectfully" to their parents.They want to see their world as it really is.It's not perfect and People make mistakes.Shows like "The Brady Bunch" and "The Andy Griffith Show" might have done well back in their day but we live in a different world now and in my opinion, a better world.

[BLT]

There's too many preachy family comedies on the air right now and just about all of them are stinky.

Ooooh, I just hate preachy sitcoms and shows with a message--they're usually very unfunny as a result.

[Central Perk]

Here's how I think sitcoms could be improved:

Better Characters: There needs to be less 2D characters in sitcoms. When I watch most current sitcoms there's always the "stupid" character, the "slutty" character, and the "dumb" husband. I'd like to see characters with many different personality traits. The viewers should also be able to relate with the characters.

Better Plots: It seems that today that all sitcoms are written to get big ratings. I'd much rather see a sitcom without stupid cliffhangers. I also think that sitcoms might be more interesting if there were some continuing storylines that would last more than two episodes.

Networks should care less about ratings: It seems that lately all the networks care about are big ratings, and all the quality sitcoms get cancelled. I think sitcoms would improve if networks weren't so quick to cancel shows. Then perhaps their might be less pressure on writers to try to make "exciting" and "surprising" plots.

Get rid of the laugh-track: If sitcoms don't have an audience it's pointless to have a laugh-track. They just sound cheesy and exagerated and they serve no purpose to make a show funnier.

[JT]

Originally posted by Sitcomwriter
There's too many preachy family comedies on the air right now and just about all of them are stinky.Keep 1 or 2 (8 Simple Rules and some other one) and dump all the others.Family Comedies don't work anymore.We don't live in a "Brady Bunch" world where 10 year olds don't know anything about the world around them.Nowadays kids mature at an earlier age.The majority of human beings nowadays lose their virginity between the ages of 12-16 and no one wants to come home to cutesey and unrealistic kids behaving all innocently and "respectfully" to their parents.They want to see their world as it really is.It's not perfect and People make mistakes.Shows like "The Brady Bunch" and "The Andy Griffith Show" might have done well back in their day but we live in a different world now and in my opinion, a better world.

Oh, so you think it is better for a kid of the age 12 to go out and have sex? You think that the world would be better like that? Knowing you, you probably do think that. Sitcomwriter, name more than five "preachy family comedies" that are currently on air. "8 Simple Rules" isn't preachy, imo. It just has a way of showing how teenagers act, from the parent's point of view. "Reba" sure as hell isn't preachy. "My Wife and Kids" could probably be considered preachy, but it's similar to 8SR. To tell you the truth, I really can't think of any "preachy family comedies" that are currently on the air.

BTW, if nobody wants to see shows like "The Brady Bunch" and "The Andy Griffith Show," I'm very surprised that they are doing so well in the ratings, still after all these years.

If all sitcoms reflected upon reality, every sitcom would be exactly alike, because we all live in one world. People would get tired of seeing the same stuff all over again. Variety will always reign over reality in my book. I'd rather have many different brands of comedy that is unreal rather than the same type over and over again, even if it is supposed to be "real."

BTW again, it's untrue what you said about virginity loss. Most people lose their virginity between the ages of 15-20. It's pretty hard to imagine 12-year-olds getting it on.

[Stuck In The '70's]

Originally posted by Sitcomwriter
There's too many preachy family comedies on the air right now and just about all of them are stinky.Keep 1 or 2 (8 Simple Rules and some other one) and dump all the others.Family Comedies don't work anymore.We don't live in a "Brady Bunch" world where 10 year olds don't know anything about the world around them.Nowadays kids mature at an earlier age.The majority of human beings nowadays lose their virginity between the ages of 12-16 and no one wants to come home to cutesey and unrealistic kids behaving all innocently and "respectfully" to their parents.They want to see their world as it really is.It's not perfect and People make mistakes.Shows like "The Brady Bunch" and "The Andy Griffith Show" might have done well back in their day but we live in a different world now and in my opinion, a better world. Well, since the majority of sitcoms are not family sitcoms, the situation comedy should not be in any trouble. :ufo:

[RichFonz]

Originally posted by JT
Excuse me, but if you "don't know the quality of Three's Company" you sure don't have the right to judge it. For your information, it did NOT start that whole "Will they or Won't they?" craze. "Three's Company" premiered in the 1970s, way before "Friends" did. I say that you should watch a show before you determine what it did to the sitcom world. "Three's Company" comes on every night on N@N at 10:00PM and 10:30PM (Central) time. Watch it and you will see that it isn't silly like "Friends." TC had lots of innuendo and double entendres, but it showcased those things in a harmless, somewhat innocent, way. Don't judge something you don't know.

You're right. I'm sorry if I offended any Three's Company fans. I hope you forgive me, because I'm not the kind of guy that's offensive. However, I'm unable to look at TC at this time, because I'm booked at taping. Right now, I'm taping Bewitched, and at times, I Dream of Jeannie, and Dick Van Dyke. Anyway, according to some posts, TC apparently did a good job at holding the sex jokes in, and there was plenty of slapstick on the show. I do enjoy John Ritter, for his '8 Simple Rules'. However, I still don't watch many of the sitcoms of today, especially 'Friends'. It's THOSE shows that need to clean up their act.

[Freakzilla]

I agree that too many sitcoms go for cheap sex jokes these days. Sometimes these jokes can be funny. But sometimes they can be unfunny and unimaginative.

Something I think would improve sitcoms is if they had more imaginative premises. We need more sitcoms that aren't set in New York or about families. One show that is premiering this fall, "A Minute with Stan Hooper", is about a guy (Norm Macdonald) and his wife moving from New York to a small town in Wisconsin filled with odd characters. A show in 2003 trying to be more like "Green Acres" and "Newhart" than "Friends". Plus, it was created by Norm and Barry Kemp, who created "Newhart" and "Coach". Minus, it's on FOX, so there's a good chance of cancellation if the ratings aren't spectacular. But at least might be different.

[ClassicComedyFan2]

Originally posted by Sitcomwriter
There's too many preachy family comedies on the air right now and just about all of them are stinky.Keep 1 or 2 (8 Simple Rules and some other one) and dump all the others.Family Comedies don't work anymore.We don't live in a "Brady Bunch" world where 10 year olds don't know anything about the world around them.Nowadays kids mature at an earlier age.The majority of human beings nowadays lose their virginity between the ages of 12-16 and no one wants to come home to cutesey and unrealistic kids behaving all innocently and "respectfully" to their parents.They want to see their world as it really is.It's not perfect and People make mistakes.Shows like "The Brady Bunch" and "The Andy Griffith Show" might have done well back in their day but we live in a different world now and in my opinion, a better world.

I'm a teenager, 18 years old, and still a virgin! I hate shows like "Friends" and love cartoons like "Pokemon," "Tokyo Pig," and "Totally Spies" and family-friendly sitcoms like "The Andy Griffith Show," "Bewitched," "The Beverly Hillbillies" and numerous others. Don't be so cynical, because there are teenagers with morals out there.

And, a "better" world? Alas, that is a discussion for another topic and another time...

[*GoodMorningCalgary*]

Originally posted by Freakzilla
One show that is premiering this fall, "A Minute with Stan Hooper", is about a guy (Norm Macdonald) and his wife moving from New York to a small town in Wisconsin filled with odd characters.


yeah I heard about that. I was wondering....was that filmed in front of a studio audience?

[James]

Originally posted by hawaii five-o
The people who are writing sitcoms today need to go back and watch the classics, such as "I Love Lucy" and "The Brady Bunch", so they can see what real comedy is.

THAT'S RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LucyCompanyPhan]

Originally posted by Sitcomwriter
There's too many preachy family comedies on the air right now and just about all of them are stinky.Keep 1 or 2 (8 Simple Rules and some other one) and dump all the others.Family Comedies don't work anymore.We don't live in a "Brady Bunch" world where 10 year olds don't know anything about the world around them.Nowadays kids mature at an earlier age.The majority of human beings nowadays lose their virginity between the ages of 12-16 and no one wants to come home to cutesey and unrealistic kids behaving all innocently and "respectfully" to their parents.They want to see their world as it really is.It's not perfect and People make mistakes.Shows like "The Brady Bunch" and "The Andy Griffith Show" might have done well back in their day but we live in a different world now and in my opinion, a better world.

i agree with you that we do live in a different world. Of course there is going to be sitcoms about sex and what not, i just think not every sitcom has to be like that.... but i still love friends. Friends seems to get blamed for everything a sitcom shouldnt be, but you all know this is going to be a classic sitcom. You will see this on Nick at Nite in 20 years. Go back and watch Married with Children. In my opinion, they said and did alot more stuff than friends ever did. Go back farther. Yes Threes Company did cover alot of that sexual humor, but they did it in a fun way.

I hated The Brady Bunch and Gillians Island. I hate their innocence. Friends in my opinion is 100 times better than those shows. The only problem I have with sitcoms today is 2 things. 1) they dont need to all have the same kind of humor 2) they all seem the same.

I love classics like I Love Lucy and I dream of Jeannie which has nothing to do with sexual humor, but i still love Friends & Married with Children which had alot of sexual humor. Overall, a person can love many different types of sitcoms, so we dont need to watch the same ones with the same humor.

BTW again, it's untrue what you said about virginity loss. Most people lose their virginity between the ages of 15-20. It's pretty hard to imagine 12-year-olds getting it on.

you would be surprised with how many 12 year olds getting it on. It is not a FACT that people from the ages 15-20 lose their virginity Unless you come up with a book that STATES this you dont know anything more than sitcomwriter. But either way, since when did either of you become an expert on whats the right age to lose your virginity. All I'm gonna say is that times are more up to beat & people lose their virginity earlier in life now.

My final comment is, I dont think you should blame friends as a bad sitcom. I hate how its being brought into here. but i guess thats ur opinion. In my opinion I hope never to see a show like The Brady Bunch made again. I think sitcoms need a big varity of humor. Sexual humor, slapstick,family/relationship problems,crude humor, and clean humor. Maybe not into every show, but made into our lives to watch. Sitcoms change. People change.

[Adamantium]

Originally posted by Freakzilla
Something I think would improve sitcoms is if they had more imaginative premises. We need more sitcoms that aren't set in New York or about families. One show that is premiering this fall, "A Minute with Stan Hooper", is about a guy (Norm Macdonald) and his wife moving from New York to a small town in Wisconsin filled with odd characters. A show in 2003 trying to be more like "Green Acres" and "Newhart" than "Friends". Plus, it was created by Norm and Barry Kemp, who created "Newhart" and "Coach". Minus, it's on FOX, so there's a good chance of cancellation if the ratings aren't spectacular. But at least might be different.

My sister is a fan of Eric Lively (Disney's "So Weird"), who's also in the series and she has gone on and on about how it's going to be her new favorite show. With it being on FOX (the channel that cancelled my recent favorite, "Andy Richter Controls the Universe") I'm worried that it won't last. But I'll be there to watch it from the beginning to end. Hopefully the end will be years away.

[felicitylen]

to improve sitcoms they should take out stereotypes! that could be a start and also there should be more diversity on all sitcoms and not just on certain ones.

[Will and Grace Fanatic]

First get rid of shows with overweight husbands and pretty skinny wives. to many of those. George Lopez, According to Jim,

[Stuck In The '70's]

Originally posted by Will and Grace Fanatic
First get rid of shows with overweight husbands and pretty skinny wives. to many of those. George Lopez, According to Jim, Hey, George Lopez is great tv.

[ConservativeBalla]

Originally posted by Snoopy
Personally, I think they could improve sitcoms by cutting down on all that sexual innuendo, jokes about body parts and bodily functions, "Will they or won't they?" plotlines, sex talk, and stuff like that. I'm not a prude. I don't mind that stuff in small doses, but when over 70% of a show's material comes from that kind of "humor" I think that shows real lack of creativity.

Also, enough with the "stupid husband with smart, sexy wife" shows. They've really gotten old, IMHO.

Amen! Mega-ditto!

[Sal]

Here's another way that sitcoms can get better. Have the main characters display more common courtesy and respect towards each other. In this way, more viewers, who look at these actors as role models, will hopefully do the same in "real life". I remember that in its first season, "Frasier" did an entire episode about this, where Frasier Crane complains about the awful ways that people treat each other today, and later he begins to act like everyone else and forgets to practice what he preaches on his radio show, which becomes a common theme throughout the series.

Around 30 years ago or so, the great comedian George Carlin gained instant fame as well as notoriety with his comedy routine "7 Words You Can't Say On TV". (I won't mention what they are since many of you can probably recite them in your sleep.) Today, I would like to officially add 2 more words that you can't say on TV and those would be "Please" and "Thank You". It's not that today's sitcom stars can't say them, it's more like they absolutely refuse to say them. The best example of a sitcom that could have used a serious attitude adjustment would have to be "Seinfeld". The 4 main characters have got to be collectively the rudest and most uncouth bunch that I've ever seen on TV. I have heard that the cast had insisted on implementing a "no-hugging" rule in the scripts so the viewers wouldn't think that they were going soft. Oh my! Perish the thought! This was demonstrated beautifully in the final episode where the 4 friends were standing on a street corner and saw someone in need of emergency help. Instead of rushing over to help, they all stood there and laughed at him, and were eventually sent to jail for this. I saw nothing funny about this at all and have refused to watch the reruns ever since.

This is without a doubt a far cry from the old family sitcoms of the 50s and early 60s, where everyone lived happily and they were always polite to others. What made those shows great to watch even today was that they represented the ideal family unit, the way we wanted to become, rather than how we actually were, which has become the current fashion for sitcoms of all types. So what if it seemed too perfect and unrealistic. That was the whole point! I would imagine that, at the time, there were a lot more Eddie Haskells, Lumpy Rutherfords and Dennis Mitchells inhabiting the households of North America rather than Wally Cleavers and David Nelsons, yet that didn't stop people from dreaming about having the perfect family like their sitcom favorites. Even as recently as the early 70s, Florence Henderson and Shirley Jones would sometimes receive fan mail from people who wished that they could be Bradys or Partridges and even asked to be adopted by them.

So where are the Wally Cleavers and David Nelsons on today's sitcoms? Nowhere, that's where, and that's really too bad. If these stars realized what effect they're having on their viewers, particularly the younger ones, they would change their ways, but I wouldn't hold my breath on seeing that happen any time soon, and, like I said, that's really too bad.