What Ground Needs to Be Broken in Sitcoms? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Adamantium · 12-13-2004, 12:20 AM

From "I Love Lucy" to "All in the Family" to Seinfeld" to "Ellen", sitcoms have been groundbreaking. Now we're living in 2004 (almost 2005). What's next for a sitcom to be groundbreaking? We've come so far - How much further do we need to go?

db108108 · 12-13-2004, 12:42 AM

Alot. the current moral climate of the country is turning back the clock in alot of ways. Could you see All In The Family being on the air today? Even the last season of Ellen seems too radical for the airwaves right now. Hopefully, the tide will turn on this and sitcoms will once again become a medium for social change- it certainly isn't happening with anything that's on the air right now.

Petrie Malone · 12-14-2004, 06:01 PM

I think it would be really groundbreaking if a sitcom took place at a church. It wouldn't be any of that hellfire and brimestone preaching stuff, just a sitcom set in a church. The church secretary could be Jewish, too!

Since gay marriage is in the news so much it would be interesting to see how much controversy a show about a gay couple with an adopted child would be like. It would be like a gay "I Love Lucy."

barwars · 12-14-2004, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Petrie Malone
I think it would be really groundbreaking if a sitcom took place at a church. It wouldn't be any of that hellfire and brimestone preaching stuff, just a sitcom set in a church. The church secretary could be Jewish, too!

I work in a church, and have thought of that idea for a long time. It could work too, lets of crazy **** goes down at churches.

Petrie Malone · 12-14-2004, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by barwars
I work in a church, and have thought of that idea for a long time. It could work too, lets of crazy **** goes down at churches.

I like the way you think barwars... great minds think alike!

JT · 12-14-2004, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Petrie Malone
I think it would be really groundbreaking if a sitcom took place at a church. It wouldn't be any of that hellfire and brimestone preaching stuff, just a sitcom set in a church. The church secretary could be Jewish, too!

"Amen." It ran from 1986-1991 and was very popular...

PanamaMike · 12-15-2004, 01:28 AM

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James"Thunder"Early · 12-15-2004, 02:26 AM

I'm working on church sitcom. I think we need to rebreak the ground and have shows like All in the Family, Maude and the Jeffersons with real issues. Whoopi was groundbreaking, but it may have been too real for some.

dynoguy88 · 12-15-2004, 10:44 AM

The "Church sitcom" has already been done. AMEN in the late 80's dealt with the Church, the staff, the minister, etc. 90% of every episode took place in the church. Heck, even the opening theme song was sung by a gospel choir which showed the minister walking from his car to inside the church. I don't think there would be anything new to add in a church sitcom today. Don't you guys remember this show? It was really funny.

The trouble with groundbreaking new things on a TV show is that sometimes it can get too controversial, people throw a hissy fit and the show will be cancelled in no time.

I don't think there is too much more ground to break in the TV world except for gay issues (marriage, benifts, adoption/children, love stories, etc). But America is still in a very close minded place when it comes to these topics. "Ellen" took a nose dive when the character came out. All recent sitcoms that involved gay lead rolls (Normal Ohio, Odd Couple for example) never made it past 7 episodes or so. Will & Grace is the only sitcom that has ever made it, but that show focuses more on the friendship between Will and Grace and not too many gay issues. (Any affection between gay characters has to be talked about, not seen). If Will had been in a serious relationship in season 1, the show probably never would have made it past it's first season.

Caffeine King · 12-15-2004, 06:48 PM

I'd like to see some real issues talcked on an actually good and funny sitcom...not the campy goofy sitcoms like My Wife & Kids, Hope & Faith, Two And A Half Men...etc...

jamesanthony · 12-15-2004, 07:20 PM

With regard to the church sitcom, it has been done, but what about a sitcom about conservatively religious people that isn't set in a church and where the people aren't portrayed as being crooks, crazy or creeps, but normal people who are funny and have funny situations. Especially younger people like college age or twentysomethings. If done the right way this type of show could be very successful.

I would be very hesistant about Hollywood doing a show about religiously conservative people because as far as I can tell Hollywood has a snide attitude towards these types of people and tends to portray them in an undignified manner. Recently, I saw a sitcom produced and aired in Toronto about a church called Lord Have Mercy. It was produced last year (13 episodes). It was very, very funny to me and to me the humor was more sociological (generation gap issues, immigration issues etc) than merely showing the church people in a bad light. But I think Hollywood would just mess up a show like this.

I don't know if there is a whole lot of new ground to be brokern per se, or even that America is becoming more conservative as such. I live in NYC and New Yorkers are not really morally conservative with regards to sexuality, religion etc. (at least not the people who are setting policies in place and a lot of the people that I come in contact with). What is happening is that a lot of people are fearful of terrorism , the economy, nuclear weapons, war and other political stuff, but they're not running scared from gays or lesbians or independent women or single parents or people with disabilities.

I would say that a good show has to be entertaining, bottom line and have some sort of unique vision. I don't think it needs to be envelope pushing per se.

Another issue that bogs US shows down in mediocrity is that they are made for commercial consumption, so the bottom line is don't offend the consumers and place things into the shows to get the consumers to buy more products. Even cable is affected by this to an extent. PBS should start producing sitcoms. The Britcoms that run on PBS are a lot richer in quality than a lot of the American shows because they are not made to pander to an American corporate assumptions about what the consumer wants to see and buy into.

A really groundbreaking sitcom would be one about a corporate exec who bucks the trend and begins promoting socialist ideologies instead of captialism and then gets persecuted for it, like maybe a sitcom version of the 1976 Oscar winner Network, but let's be for real, if you've seen that movie you know that is the last type of show that would ever be produced in the USA now.

TJL · 12-15-2004, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Caffeine King
I'd like to see some real issues talcked on an actually good and funny sitcom...not the campy goofy sitcoms like My Wife & Kids, Hope & Faith, Two And A Half Men...etc...

"Roseanne" did a good job of tweaking the traditional "family" sitcoms format. They tackled some issues that had never been addressed, and they showed that not all problems can be solved in thirty minutes.

"Arrestred Developmant" certainly has redefined the sticom family.

Writers and the creative TV folk need to try new things with the traditional genres.

Caffeine King · 12-16-2004, 09:25 PM

I agree.

Rosseanne was probably the last sitcom that actually tackled real issues and was still funny and realistic (well until the episodes when they won the lottery.)

I read at the futon critic that ABC had a pilot it's name was something Light and it's about a fireman who survived 9/11 and his mother has alheizmers (sp?)

At least that's what I remember reading.

I'd love to see that get greenlighted.

Anybody have any news on it?

or have any idea what I'm talking about?

TJL · 12-16-2004, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Caffeine King

I read at the futon critic that ABC had a pilot it's name was something Light and it's about a fireman who survived 9/11 and his mother has alheizmers (sp?)

At least that's what I remember reading.

I think "Rescue Me" on FX beat them to it.

Probably the next ground to be broken on TV is post 9/11 life.

We'll probably see more shows about people dealing with the aftermath.

Caffeine King · 12-16-2004, 09:47 PM

According to the description it's a sitcom, not an hour long drama thing.

Now that I think of it I think it was called Long Island Sound or Long Island Light because I remember it saying that the family lives on Long Island, NY.

12-13-2004, 12:20 AM	#1
Adamantium TVAdam No More Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 11, 2002 Location: Springfield, Ohio Posts: 7,839	What Ground Needs to Be Broken in Sitcoms? From "I Love Lucy" to "All in the Family" to Seinfeld" to "Ellen", sitcoms have been groundbreaking. Now we're living in 2004 (almost 2005). What's next for a sitcom to be groundbreaking? We've come so far - How much further do we need to go?

12-14-2004, 06:01 PM	#3
Petrie Malone Former Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 20, 2003 Location: PIB Posts: 510	I think it would be really groundbreaking if a sitcom took place at a church. It wouldn't be any of that hellfire and brimestone preaching stuff, just a sitcom set in a church. The church secretary could be Jewish, too! Since gay marriage is in the news so much it would be interesting to see how much controversy a show about a gay couple with an adopted child would be like. It would be like a gay "I Love Lucy."
	__________________ Proud member (not a lurker) of PIB message boards!

12-15-2004, 02:26 AM	#8
James"Thunder"Early Whoever's In New England Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 23, 2004 Location: The Apollo Posts: 7,088	I'm working on church sitcom. I think we need to rebreak the ground and have shows like All in the Family, Maude and the Jeffersons with real issues. Whoopi was groundbreaking, but it may have been too real for some.
	__________________ Esther Anderson: Get thee behind me, Satan, but I'm gon' get behind you, 'cause I'm gonna put my foot in your--- Peggy Mitchell: Get outta my pub! You better pray you get the last laugh, it's a kick in the teeth when you don't get it.

12-15-2004, 10:44 AM	#9
dynoguy88 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 01, 2000 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 3,675	reply The "Church sitcom" has already been done. AMEN in the late 80's dealt with the Church, the staff, the minister, etc. 90% of every episode took place in the church. Heck, even the opening theme song was sung by a gospel choir which showed the minister walking from his car to inside the church. I don't think there would be anything new to add in a church sitcom today. Don't you guys remember this show? It was really funny. The trouble with groundbreaking new things on a TV show is that sometimes it can get too controversial, people throw a hissy fit and the show will be cancelled in no time. I don't think there is too much more ground to break in the TV world except for gay issues (marriage, benifts, adoption/children, love stories, etc). But America is still in a very close minded place when it comes to these topics. "Ellen" took a nose dive when the character came out. All recent sitcoms that involved gay lead rolls (Normal Ohio, Odd Couple for example) never made it past 7 episodes or so. Will & Grace is the only sitcom that has ever made it, but that show focuses more on the friendship between Will and Grace and not too many gay issues. (Any affection between gay characters has to be talked about, not seen). If Will had been in a serious relationship in season 1, the show probably never would have made it past it's first season.

12-13-2004, 12:42 AM	#2
db108108 Teacher (for now) Senior Member Join Date: Mar 20, 2003 Location: 2 hours north of Detroit, 2 hours south of Toronto Posts: 1,023	Alot. the current moral climate of the country is turning back the clock in alot of ways. Could you see All In The Family being on the air today? Even the last season of Ellen seems too radical for the airwaves right now. Hopefully, the tide will turn on this and sitcoms will once again become a medium for social change- it certainly isn't happening with anything that's on the air right now.

12-15-2004, 01:28 AM	#7
PanamaMike Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 25, 2002 Posts: 150	"Good News" UPN Aug '97 - Aug '98

12-15-2004, 06:48 PM	#10
Caffeine King I Love Rayanne Graff Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 01, 2004 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 622	I'd like to see some real issues talcked on an actually good and funny sitcom...not the campy goofy sitcoms like My Wife & Kids, Hope & Faith, Two And A Half Men...etc...

12-15-2004, 07:20 PM	#11
jamesanthony Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 30, 2004 Posts: 2,180	With regard to the church sitcom, it has been done, but what about a sitcom about conservatively religious people that isn't set in a church and where the people aren't portrayed as being crooks, crazy or creeps, but normal people who are funny and have funny situations. Especially younger people like college age or twentysomethings. If done the right way this type of show could be very successful. I would be very hesistant about Hollywood doing a show about religiously conservative people because as far as I can tell Hollywood has a snide attitude towards these types of people and tends to portray them in an undignified manner. Recently, I saw a sitcom produced and aired in Toronto about a church called Lord Have Mercy. It was produced last year (13 episodes). It was very, very funny to me and to me the humor was more sociological (generation gap issues, immigration issues etc) than merely showing the church people in a bad light. But I think Hollywood would just mess up a show like this. I don't know if there is a whole lot of new ground to be brokern per se, or even that America is becoming more conservative as such. I live in NYC and New Yorkers are not really morally conservative with regards to sexuality, religion etc. (at least not the people who are setting policies in place and a lot of the people that I come in contact with). What is happening is that a lot of people are fearful of terrorism , the economy, nuclear weapons, war and other political stuff, but they're not running scared from gays or lesbians or independent women or single parents or people with disabilities. I would say that a good show has to be entertaining, bottom line and have some sort of unique vision. I don't think it needs to be envelope pushing per se. Another issue that bogs US shows down in mediocrity is that they are made for commercial consumption, so the bottom line is don't offend the consumers and place things into the shows to get the consumers to buy more products. Even cable is affected by this to an extent. PBS should start producing sitcoms. The Britcoms that run on PBS are a lot richer in quality than a lot of the American shows because they are not made to pander to an American corporate assumptions about what the consumer wants to see and buy into. A really groundbreaking sitcom would be one about a corporate exec who bucks the trend and begins promoting socialist ideologies instead of captialism and then gets persecuted for it, like maybe a sitcom version of the 1976 Oscar winner Network, but let's be for real, if you've seen that movie you know that is the last type of show that would ever be produced in the USA now.

12-16-2004, 09:25 PM	#13
Caffeine King I Love Rayanne Graff Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 01, 2004 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 622	I agree. Rosseanne was probably the last sitcom that actually tackled real issues and was still funny and realistic (well until the episodes when they won the lottery.) I read at the futon critic that ABC had a pilot it's name was something Light and it's about a fireman who survived 9/11 and his mother has alheizmers (sp?) At least that's what I remember reading. I'd love to see that get greenlighted. Anybody have any news on it? or have any idea what I'm talking about?

12-16-2004, 09:47 PM	#15
Caffeine King I Love Rayanne Graff Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 01, 2004 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 622	According to the description it's a sitcom, not an hour long drama thing. Now that I think of it I think it was called Long Island Sound or Long Island Light because I remember it saying that the family lives on Long Island, NY.