Are Nick Toons (Ren & Stimpy, Spongebob) counted as sitcoms?

The same goes for "Garfield and Friends" and "Top Cat" or "Bullwinkle".

What about the Cartoon Network Adult Swim Shows?

Here are the cartoons I DEFINATELY count as sitcoms for the list:

-The Simpsons
-Futurama
-Family Guy
-South Park
-King of the Hill
-The Flintstones
-The Jetsons

If a show has two seperate "shorts" per half hour, it is not a sitcom.

So, the ones you listed wouldn't be sitcoms, at least not in my opinion.

TV Adam, did you intend for this to be a dvd-related thread?

I agree that if it's divided into shorts, like SpongeBob, it's not a sitcom, but where would Rocky & Bullwinkle go? It was in primetime, aimed at adults, and had a series of segments like Monty Python, which is considered a sitcom.

Originally posted by vashti1999
TV Adam, did you intend for this to be a dvd-related thread?

I did. I needed help with my DVD list, where to place certain shows. It just happens that I listed only cartoons.

I meant to add "H.R. Pufnstuf". Since it has a laugh track, I kind of consider it like a "Kid's Sitcom".

Looking back, I guess I should have mentioned DVDs. ;)

The same question goes for "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!". I count it as a sitcom since, like Pufnstuf, it has a laugh track. What does everyone else think about it?

Originally posted by TVAdam
Are Nick Toons (Ren & Stimpy, Spongebob) counted as sitcoms?

The same goes for "Garfield and Friends" and "Top Cat" or "Bullwinkle".

What about the Cartoon Network Adult Swim Shows?

Here are the cartoons I DEFINATELY count as sitcoms for the list:

-The Simpsons
-Futurama
-Family Guy
-South Park
-King of the Hill
-The Flintstones
-The Jetsons

That's a good question. Lemme see if'n I can get a handle on it...

Technichally, "Ren & Stimpy" and especially "Spongebob Squarepants" are animated situation comedies, as their basic narrative setups and character development remains the same from episode to episode; only the details of a given situation change from segment to segment. "Top Cat" also falls into this category, as, like "The Flintstones", it takes its basic setup from an established sitcom model (in this case, Nat Hiken's "You'll Never Get Rich/ Sgt. Bilko/ The Phil Silvers Show" sitcom, with a little "Bowery Boys" thrown in for good measure.)

"Rocky and His Friends" and "The Bullwinkle Show", on the other hand, are Variety programs, like "The Jackie Gleason Show" and "Texaco Star Theatre" (some of you out there may be too young to remember these shows...the closest modern-day equivelent would be "Saturday Night Live" and "In Living Color"), in that each program included a number of different segments, some of which were of varying narrative forms (i.e. serials, poetry corner, historical farce, and, in the case of "Dudley Do-Right", out-and-out satire). The individual segments, by themselves, oftimes contain elements similar to the basic situation comedy format as discribed above, but, for the most part, the brevety of these segments labels them as "skits" (just like SNL!) instead of all-out sitcoms.

Most of the programs on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" bloc fall into the "sitcom" designation, i.e. same charaters, same settings, same relationships, from episode to episode, though most are outre enough to turn the basic format on its head ("Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law"; "Sealab 2021" and especially "Aqua Teen Hunger Force").

"Sccoby-Doo, Where Are You", "Josie and the Pussycats", "Goober and the Ghost Chasers" etc. are essentially mystery-adventure programs that contain some basic sitcom elements. "Hong Kong Fooey" is a superhero parody. "Devlin" and "These are the Days" were essentially animated dramas, in that their stories were concieved with a modicum of realism (if a charater got hit with an anvil on these shows they'd die...just like in real life.)

So, once you are able to determine the basic sitcom model, you should be able to determine which of your favorite animated series would fit in what categorie.

Good luck.

Addenum:

You could go thru the entire history of animated tv series from "Crusader Rabbit" (1948) to "The Winx Club" (2004), and you'll find every possible narrative genre represented...adventure, fantasy, farce, science fiction, parody, satire, and irony, melodrama and existential meditation (most Japanese anime fall into this last category)...so show as diverse as "Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures" and, say, "Freakazoid" could probably fit into the same narrative category. You can DO that with cartoons!

Doug would be considered a sitcom, IMO.

As would As Told By Ginger.