"Saccharine" Family Sitcoms Dead? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

polypheus · 06-06-2005, 01:22 AM

Having grown up in the late 80s-early 90s, I remember all of those so-called "saccharine" type family TV sitcoms. From reruns of "Brady Bunch" to stuff like "Mr Belvedere", "Growing Pains", "Family Ties", "Cosby Show", "Full House", etc. Subjectively some were more "saccharine" than others but enjoyable in their own way and most were kid-friendly. Of course they don't and were never meant to model "real life" in any way as the premises and situations often were implausible. They were simply fun, "feel-good", goofy shows that were pleasant filler to watch as a kid.

As a pre-teen early-teen kid, those shows were good, light-hearted and fun, never overly serious and almost never having any "adult" content in them. Of course for an adult watching these "saccharine" shows by yourself, it may not be quite as enjoyable. As an adult now, those shows have no appeal although I watch reruns sometimes for nostalgic reasons and also might watch such shows for the first time with my own children.

In today's world though, I wonder if new generations of children would enjoy these "saccharine" family sitcoms like people growing up in the 80s once did.

Is the genre of "saccharine" family sitcoms relegated to the past forever?

Dean Winchester · 06-06-2005, 02:14 AM

the prob these days is that the "saccarine" shows have been overdone, Roseanne pretty much spelled the end of the genre, taking what could've been a saccarine family show and making it a feminist groundbreaking show meant for adults (notice most Roseanne-bashers on SO love Full House). After shows like Seinfeld and Friends hit, the nail in the "family sitcom" was dead.

There was a brief glimmer of hope in a revival with 8 Simple Rules, but when John Ritter died, that was the death of the series as well IMO.

While "family sitcoms" may be dead, "family dramas" are still kicking. 7th Heaven is sappier than five Family Matters combined, and they're going into their 10th season.

TMC · 04-13-2013, 05:57 AM

I think what killed these type of shows was when Married...with Children, The Simpsons and Roseanne (as previously mentioned) got popular. Even "domcom" shows that could be considered more conventional (in the Cosby Show mold) like Home Improvement and Everybody Loves Raymond arguably had a bit of a sadist streak to them.

06-06-2005, 01:22 AM	#1
polypheus Member Forum Cub Join Date: Jun 04, 2005 Posts: 2	"Saccharine" Family Sitcoms Dead? Having grown up in the late 80s-early 90s, I remember all of those so-called "saccharine" type family TV sitcoms. From reruns of "Brady Bunch" to stuff like "Mr Belvedere", "Growing Pains", "Family Ties", "Cosby Show", "Full House", etc. Subjectively some were more "saccharine" than others but enjoyable in their own way and most were kid-friendly. Of course they don't and were never meant to model "real life" in any way as the premises and situations often were implausible. They were simply fun, "feel-good", goofy shows that were pleasant filler to watch as a kid. As a pre-teen early-teen kid, those shows were good, light-hearted and fun, never overly serious and almost never having any "adult" content in them. Of course for an adult watching these "saccharine" shows by yourself, it may not be quite as enjoyable. As an adult now, those shows have no appeal although I watch reruns sometimes for nostalgic reasons and also might watch such shows for the first time with my own children. In today's world though, I wonder if new generations of children would enjoy these "saccharine" family sitcoms like people growing up in the 80s once did. Is the genre of "saccharine" family sitcoms relegated to the past forever?

06-06-2005, 02:14 AM	#2
Dean Winchester Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Sep 28, 2003 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 14,803	the prob these days is that the "saccarine" shows have been overdone, Roseanne pretty much spelled the end of the genre, taking what could've been a saccarine family show and making it a feminist groundbreaking show meant for adults (notice most Roseanne-bashers on SO love Full House). After shows like Seinfeld and Friends hit, the nail in the "family sitcom" was dead. There was a brief glimmer of hope in a revival with 8 Simple Rules, but when John Ritter died, that was the death of the series as well IMO. While "family sitcoms" may be dead, "family dramas" are still kicking. 7th Heaven is sappier than five Family Matters combined, and they're going into their 10th season.

04-13-2013, 05:57 AM	#3
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,305	I think what killed these type of shows was when Married...with Children, The Simpsons and Roseanne (as previously mentioned) got popular. Even "domcom" shows that could be considered more conventional (in the Cosby Show mold) like Home Improvement and Everybody Loves Raymond arguably had a bit of a sadist streak to them.