The other early Fox sitcoms - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 03-11-2022, 02:56 AM

By early, I'm going to define this as pre-1994, which was when Fox not only got the NFL package from CBS but also expanded to seven nights a week.

Of course, Fox's biggest and famous comedy show in its early years, not counting animation like The Simpsons or sketch comedy like The Tracey Ullman Show or In Living Color, was Married...with Children.

But does anyone else remember such classics as Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Herman's Head, Duet/Open House among many others?

RetroGuy2000 · 03-11-2022, 06:47 AM

I watched Herman's Head, and although it's been called a terrible show, it was no worse than many other sitcoms on the air at that time. It was like two sitcoms smashed together.

I also watched Get A Life (with Chris Elliot) and Woops!, which was short-lived. Also Married with Children and The Simpsons, of course. Those early Fox sitcoms really were ground-breaking and edgy. The major networks never would have aired them. You knew when you were watching a Fox sitcom, as they said things you'd never hear on The Cosby Show! I only discovered Fox when I was messing with the UHF knob one day and suddenly got a grainy signal way up on Channel 28, which was quite unexpected. I thought it was a miracle!

My local Fox affiliate was so low-powered in those days that I could just barely get a signal on the TV in my bedroom, while my parents, with a somewhat weaker receiver, only got snow on their TV. On bad-weather days, the signal would be too weak, and there would be no Fox shows that night, even assuming Fox Network viewing positions. All the tin foil and coat hangers in the world couldn't help if the weather didn't cooperate.

In those days, my local Fox affiliate was hanging on by a thread, as the only UHF channel against three full-powered, well-established network affiliates on VHF. I've read that the station's transmission tower was only 500 ft tall. They would air nothing but the Fox logo for many hours of the day, and would also air the Fox logo when other stations would air commercials... they had very few sponsors.

TMC · 04-24-2022, 05:21 AM

Quote:

13WT turns its attention to the failed Fox sitcom "Second Chance" and its retooled version "Boys Will Be Boys," starring Kiel Martin and Matthew Perry, from 1987 and 1988.

03-11-2022, 02:56 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,377	The other early Fox sitcoms By early, I'm going to define this as pre-1994, which was when Fox not only got the NFL package from CBS but also expanded to seven nights a week. Of course, Fox's biggest and famous comedy show in its early years, not counting animation like The Simpsons or sketch comedy like The Tracey Ullman Show or In Living Color, was Married...with Children. But does anyone else remember such classics as Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Herman's Head, Duet/Open House among many others?

03-11-2022, 06:47 AM	#2
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	I watched Herman's Head, and although it's been called a terrible show, it was no worse than many other sitcoms on the air at that time. It was like two sitcoms smashed together. I also watched Get A Life (with Chris Elliot) and Woops!, which was short-lived. Also Married with Children and The Simpsons, of course. Those early Fox sitcoms really were ground-breaking and edgy. The major networks never would have aired them. You knew when you were watching a Fox sitcom, as they said things you'd never hear on The Cosby Show! I only discovered Fox when I was messing with the UHF knob one day and suddenly got a grainy signal way up on Channel 28, which was quite unexpected. I thought it was a miracle! My local Fox affiliate was so low-powered in those days that I could just barely get a signal on the TV in my bedroom, while my parents, with a somewhat weaker receiver, only got snow on their TV. On bad-weather days, the signal would be too weak, and there would be no Fox shows that night, even assuming Fox Network viewing positions. All the tin foil and coat hangers in the world couldn't help if the weather didn't cooperate. In those days, my local Fox affiliate was hanging on by a thread, as the only UHF channel against three full-powered, well-established network affiliates on VHF. I've read that the station's transmission tower was only 500 ft tall. They would air nothing but the Fox logo for many hours of the day, and would also air the Fox logo when other stations would air commercials... they had very few sponsors.
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