Pop Culture Assignment: I need fans' input, please!

[swedeace]

Hey there, all you fellow King of Queens fans!

I need your help, please!

For my Pop Culture class, we have to write a 3-5 page paper, and I chose to write about one of my favorite shows of all-time, The King of Queens! Surprised? Not really? I thought so!

What I want to discuss about this analytical paper is describing what made this show so popular that it kept running for nine successful seasons.

I am hoping that as many of KOQ fans can help me as much as you can. The deadline of when I accepting answers to the following questions will be by 12:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, October 18, 2007.

Please keep in mind to answer the questions according to yourself and your love for the show, unless otherwise asked. There will be a couple of generalized questions, but answer the questions accordingly, please. Please also answer as specifically as you can. The clearer you are, the better understanding I have to base on fans' opinions.

Thank you to all who answer! I appreciate it.

----

1. What do you like most about The King of Queens?

2. Do you have a favorite character(s)? If so, who? What do you like most about the character(s)?

3. Do you find any characters in the show to relate a lot with you and/or anyone you know in your life? Why? Why not?

4. What makes The King of Queens interesting to you?

5. What do you think about the episode plotlines and the adventures these characters go through?

6. What is most realistic about this sitcom? Why?

7. What is most fictional about this sitcom? Why?

8. Why do you watch The King of Queens?

9. Do you know anyone else in your life who likes/loathes The King of Queens? If so, what do they find most appealing/most appalling about the sitcom?

10. Anything else you would like to add about the King of Queens that I can convince my instructor over its popularity? Please don't give vague answers such as "It rules!" That says nothing, to the average person.

Thank you, all!

[AB]

1. Its funny and entertaining.
2. Doug, because he's always doing and saying crazy things, kind of like a male Lucy Ricardo.
3. Arthur, he reminds me of my father-in-law. They're both a little crazy and funny.
4. I find it interesting watching the way they react with their family and friends. Some of its really out there.
5. Some of their adventures I can relate too, like the Christmas episode when they're trying to give each other equal valued gifts.
6. Some of the things they do like going out to eat and the movies are pretty realistic as well as a few of their arguments.
7. Unrealistic things are like Doug and Carrie doing weird things at work without getting fired, Doug keeping Danny's ex-girlfriends baby for awhile, and Arthur giving that lady trial study pills in her drink every day.
8. I watch it because its a funny show that makes me laugh. I like to see what outrageous thing that they're going to do next.
9. My husband likes it, he gets a kick out of how funny Arthur and Doug are on the show.
10. Its a great way to spend 30 minutes if you want a pick me up and need a few laughs.

[sweetdiggity]

1. The chemistry between the actors.

2. Carrie because she is a tough woman that doesn't take anyone's crap. She can be a very sweet and nice person, but can also be very mean, scary and bitchy. I also love how sarcastic she is.

3. Doug reminds me of my dad because he loves drinking beer and watching tv, but is lazy when it comes to most other things.

4. It's just a show about a couple living their lives. Their friends, jobs, everyday hassles, etc. Not a show that frequently has to have a "special guest star" to be entertaining or worth watching. It's very simple and VERY funny. I like that.

5. I think the plots are very funny and clever. Most of what happens to the characters seems believeable. When a plot line seems believable, you get wrapped up in the show and want to keep watching!

6. The most realistic thing, in my opinion, is how KoQ showed that everything doesn't always have a happy ending. King of Queens wasn't the type of sitcom that always resolved all issues and had a happy ending at the end of every episode. Everything is not always great in real life.

7. The most unrealistic thing to me, is how Doug got his job at IPS. After what he did at IPS while he was NOT an employee (destroyed tons of packages and made a huge mess) , there's no way anyone would have hired him in real life. But it was a very funny ep, so I still loved it.

8. I watch it because it is HILARIOUS and the chemistry between the actors, (especially Leah, Kevin and Jerry) is amazing. They work so well together. I like that they don't have to constantly rely on sex jokes to be funny. Some sitcoms do that and it gets real old real fast!!

9. My grandma watches the show. She likes it because it is believeable and it has extremely funny plots. She also is a fan of Jerry Stiller. She likes to watch to see what Arthur will do next!

10. King of Queens NEVER got the recognition it deserved from critics, the Emmys, or even CBS. The show was under promoted. Its time slot was changed several times, but always did great in the ratings. It was able to stay on the air for 9 years because MILLIONS of people loved it. I guess critics and awards don't matter. It's all about the viewers. A show has to be pretty damn special to keep people watching for 9 years.

Long Live The King!

[Family Ties Forever!]

1. What do you like most about The King of Queens? I like the humor and interaction that goes along with it the best. The way the characters relate to one another is funny and interesting.

2. Do you have a favorite character(s)? If so, who? What do you like most about the character(s)? My favorite character is Carrie. A close second would be Arthur. I like how Carrie is a strong person. She is able to stand on her two feet. Arthur's humor is what I like most about him. He is so silly.

3. Do you find any characters in the show to relate a lot with you and/or anyone you know in your life? Why? Why not? I would say that Carrie's characteristics are familiar to someone I know. Carrie speaks her mind and is strong. I know someone like that. I'm referring of course to someone who is offline.

4. What makes The King of Queens interesting to you? The humor and interaction between the characters. I like both the jokes and the physical comedy aspects. In one episode Doug doesn't want to have to talk with Holly over breakfast so he tries very hard to not make noise which in turn causes a lot of noise. Some of Arthur's reactions are priceless.

5. What do you think about the episode plotlines and the adventures these characters go through? Most of the plotlines I like. The adventures they go through in the episodes are entertaining. Plotlines that have to do with Doug's cousin Danny, and his sister aren't very interesting to me. It's just my opinion.

6. What is most realistic about this sitcom? Why? Some of the situations really happen in real life. The way the characters handle it is real.

7. What is most fictional about this sitcom? Why? Some of the storylines are far-fetched. Some of the situations are fixed to quickly, but that's necessary in a half hour show.

8. Why do you watch The King of Queens? I watch it because the show is funny and I enjoy the interaction between the characters.

9. Do you know anyone else in your life who likes/loathes The King of Queens? If so, what do they find most appealing/most appalling about the sitcom? Yes, I know someone who likes the show. The person likes it for the same kind of reasons I do, though I like the show more.

10. Anything else you would like to add about the King of Queens that I can convince my instructor over its popularity? Please don't give vague answers such as "It rules!" That says nothing, to the average person.
The fact that it lasted nine years says something for the show. The writing, acting, and viewer loyalty all played a part, imo, to it lasting as long as it did.

[Gowza]

1. What do you like most about The King of Queens?
the humour, plus leah remini is hot but mainly the humour and the chemistry

2. Do you have a favorite character(s)? If so, who? What do you like most about the character(s)?
i like most of them, no favourite.

3. Do you find any characters in the show to relate a lot with you and/or anyone you know in your life? Why? Why not?
i relate to all the characters at some point, i don't think there's just one character that i relate to a lot, mainly relate to bits and pieces of each character.

4. What makes The King of Queens interesting to you?
the plotlines, especially the ones that i relate to it's interesting to see how the writers spin it

5. What do you think about the episode plotlines and the adventures these characters go through?
it's interesting to see how the writers spin different plotlines that i relate to.

6. What is most realistic about this sitcom? Why?
probably the living situation, this sitcom pretty much reflects that type of living situation

7. What is most fictional about this sitcom? Why?
characters doing certain things which have no consequence e.g. doing something at work that would normally get you fired but the character in the show doesn't get fired.

8. Why do you watch The King of Queens?
the humour and likable characters

9. Do you know anyone else in your life who likes/loathes The King of Queens? If so, what do they find most appealing/most appalling about the sitcom?
never really talked to anyone about the show so dont know whether i know anyone who likes it or loathes it.

10. Anything else you would like to add about the King of Queens that I can convince my instructor over its popularity? Please don't give vague answers such as "It rules!" That says nothing, to the average person.
the longevity of the show, if it wasn't very popular it wouldn't have been kept on the air for so long.

[honolulugator]

Hope I'm not too late. It's still thursday out here in hawaii (friday EST).
Lets see...

1. What do you like most about The King of Queens?

I love how it has a classic format. The husband-wife dynamics are great. And then there is the chemistry between all the characters. What I like most about the king of queens is how its not really a smart witty show where you have to think. The characters really draw you in and make you feel like your just hangin out with goofy and entertaining folks. I also love how physically animated leah, arthur, and especailly doug get when they are having a conversation.

2. Do you have a favorite character(s)? If so, who? What do you like most about the character(s)?

I would say Doug, because Kevin James was what made me watch the show in the first place. Doug is just so lovable despite all of his obvious flaws. Fat, lazy, dumb, cowardly, a liar, and yet so sweet and forgiveable at the same time. He has the biggest heart on the show and that is why he is THE KING.

3. Do you find any characters in the show to relate a lot with you and/or anyone you know in your life? Why? Why not?

I feel like Danny sometimes. I'm a really nice guy overall, but somehow i exhaust people and feel like people i thought liked me try to avoid me. Thats not everyone of course. I am a happy guy, but in the end I seem to end up hanging out with spence type people. He has worse judgement than I do though. I know a bad idea when i see one (like selling hats on a street corner?!?! haha).

4. What makes The King of Queens interesting to you?

Leah is hot. Doug is animated and does some slap stick in some episodes. Arthur always seem to have some off the wall thing to say that leaves me laughing randomly hours later (i ask for a simple stool sample and all of a sudden i'm the bad guy! haha).

5. What do you think about the episode plotlines and the adventures these characters go through?

The plotlines i have to admit feel a little bland at times, but the characters really do make them work. Of course there are some classics like the stripper pole one and the other about the ice cream truck. I am actually pretty impressed with the writers ability to come up with good plots for the arthur-less episodes.

6. What is most realistic about this sitcom? Why?

Doug and Carrie's marriage. I swear the seem like a real couple.

7. What is most fictional about this sitcom? Why?

Arthur is just too excentric and without a shred of wisdom, which is odd for someone in his seventies.

8. Why do you watch The King of Queens?

As i said, its simple and yet remarkable. The characters are the biggest reason. After watching about 6 or so, you become hooked. The cast becomes like a set of familiar friends that you'll miss if you don't see them for a while.

9. Do you know anyone else in your life who likes/loathes The King of Queens? If so, what do they find most appealing/most appalling about the sitcom?

My friends are big Raymond and Seinfeld fans, but see the King of Queens as inferior. One of my friends told me that Arthur doesn't measure up to a Kramer or a Robert, but obviously i totally disagree.

10. Anything else you would like to add about the King of Queens that I can convince my instructor over its popularity? Please don't give vague answers such as "It rules!" That says nothing, to the average person.

Its popularity was hurt by the constant change in time slots. Syndication is what kept it alive at the end I felt, which introduced more people to it. I was one of them.

I'm spent. I hope this helps you.

[swedeace]

Oh, thank you all so much for filling out my questionnaire! This is going to help! I will print out all of your answers and incorporate them into my paper. In fact, my paper was due this past Thursday, but my instructor pushed it back to this coming Tuesday. This means, I am going to be working on it this weekend! Thank you, once again.