A sitcom snob stoops to rethink CBS Mondays - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Mr. Television · 04-15-2008, 07:01 PM

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...DDJN104SEP.DTL

A sitcom snob stoops to rethink CBS Mondays
Tim Goodman

Monday, April 14, 2008

This is a column for people who don't like CBS sitcoms. Because it's about CBS sitcoms.

Now, if you fall into this camp and, by the way, just happen to like comedies on television, odds are you're watching all the really funny ones on NBC. They're not the highest rated. But they get the most acclaim.

But are the people who love, say, "30 Rock" - the best sitcom on network television - or "The Office" or "My Name Is Earl" or even the elder statesman of praised-but-not-watched television, "Scrubs," denying themselves a good time by avoiding CBS on Monday nights?

Yes. Well, a qualified yes.

There's a perfectly understandable reason that people who like a certain kind of comedy - often dry, ironic, slightly bitter, tangentially odd and brilliantly creative - will avoid comedies on CBS.

They're too cool for the room.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, because it's true. Who's going to argue that CBS is cool at anything? Especially humor? It's not like you're going to cut your wrists on the sharp edges of pretty much any half hour over at CBS.

And if you're watching NBC series, it's probably because you like single-camera comedies without a laugh track. The idea being that a laugh track panders to an audience too stupid to laugh in the right places, and a multi-camera comedy reminds you of sitting at home with your parents laughing at the oldies. Or it reminds you of the first 45 years of television - you know it's a situation comedy because the acting is broad, the punch lines telegraphed, the choreography of the characters (like the wacky neighbor) duplicated from show to show. You want something fresher.

Understood.

The problem with sophisticated comedy - be it anti-obvious in nature, keenly observed absurdities or ironically dumb by choice - is that it creates its own little laugh ghetto from which you never get out. You don't want to watch "Two and a Half Men" because, well, it's "Two and a Half Men" with Charlie Sheen, for God's sake. What more need be said?

And yet, there's a smugness - almost a righteousness - to people who can only tolerate "30 Rock" or "Weeds" and sit around lamenting the death of "Arrested Development." Hey, it takes one to know one.

It's true that CBS is awash in laugh tracks and anyone unfortunate enough to end up in hell will find pretty much the same sound there. And that tired sitcom pacing - setup, punch line, setup punch line, big bang before the commercial break - is enough to make you really do damage to a free-standing TV set. But it's also true that funny is funny. It answers to no specific genre or network. From Milton Berle to "Flight of the Conchords," if you laugh, then it's funny. It worked.

You may not have wanted to laugh. You might have tried to stifle it. Perhaps you managed to turn what would normally be a loud laugh into a grunt-and-grin. But funny is funny and it cannot be dismissed merely because you don't like the channel.

Mea culpa
Now, having said all of that - and vastly preferring, ahem, non-CBS style humor - it could very well be that the Monday block of comedies on CBS are getting a bad rap. That bad rap may have originated right here, as a matter of fact.

But upon the appearance tonight of the dubiously titled "post-strike, second-season premiere" of CBS' "The Rules of Engagement," perhaps now is the time for a modification, if not a complete re-evaluation (because that's not forthcoming - let's walk before we run here).

At 8 p.m., CBS kicks off with "The Big Bang Theory," from creator Chuck Lorre, who also brings you "Two and a Half Men." There's a mechanical-hammer streak to Lorre's work, but when he gets a formula right, it generally sticks. Now, initially, the biggest drawback to "The Big Bang Theory" is that the premise is so trite. Super nerds intersect with hot, dumb blond neighbor. Nothing says 1970s more than that, unless they lived next to "The Jeffersons." And yet, despite the clanking obviousness of having a band of super nerds play their smarts against their social phobias and lameness, there's a lot to recommend here because the series is a shotgun blast of jokes and enough of the pellets are funny enough to make 22 minutes go by smoothly. Even better, main actors Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons truly work hard for the humor, as the punch lines are intricately tied to fast-talking Einsteinian moments. It's as rote as "Frasier," but when all the cylinders are clicking - as they often did with "Frasier" - this sitcom delivers.

Doogie delivers
"How I Met Your Mother" is by far CBS' hippest comedy if that word can be applied in the same sentence as the Tiffany Network's call letters. It successfully works romantic comedy with cynical comedy and fuses likable young actors into a well-worn vehicle: four friends coming of age. Although the obvious key to the series is the breakout performance of Neil Patrick Harris as the cad Barney - the pursuit of emotionless sex drives him to ever-lower levels of jerkishness - the truth is that "Mother" is riddled with quick wit and smart (and sometimes sweet) humor. Though it took a cameo from Britney Spears to get the show much ink, it's an underappreciated gem.

"Two and a Half Men" might argue, however, that it's the real scapegoat for CBS old-school comedy disdain. It gets Emmy nominations and critics scoff. Hell, it lives and critics scoff. Though the show is too in love with cheap sex jokes, it's reminiscent of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "King of Queens" before it - series some comedy fans wouldn't watch with financial incentives but ones still able to hit the periodic punch line that even grumpy satirists would grudgingly laugh at.

That Warburton voice
"The Rules of Engagement" is one of those formulas so old, they can't catalog the bones (married couple, engaged couple, single friend - the stages of love and emotional growth). It can't be said that the writers are infusing the conceit with much originality, but the key to the show is Patrick Warburton, who plays the married man here.

Not only does Warburton get - and nail - all the best lines, he's strangely evocative of "The Tick," the old Fox series where he played the title character. It could be that Warburton just plays Warburton (from Puddy on "Seinfeld" to his many voice roles), but if you just imagine that the Tick lost his blue suit and ended up in a CBS sitcom, "Rules of Engagement" really takes off (at least when he's onscreen).

Granted, all of these shows have some kind of caveat, or appear here with a slew of backhanded compliments. But they all, in some part, are funnier than people give them credit for (particularly "How I Met Your Mother") and deserve more respect. And no, a laugh track didn't just drown out that last sentence.

snl 70s show fan · 04-15-2008, 07:46 PM

thanks for posting that artcile for the record while love to watch the nbc thursday comedies i also like how i met your mother and i really really enjoy big big bang theory on cbs mondays and im sure im not the only one who enjoys both one camera and 3 camera sitcoms that articil makes it sound like that people dont know how to enjoy different types of comedy talk about a sitcom snob the guy that wrote that piece should take a look in the mirror.

EmoJoe · 04-15-2008, 07:50 PM

ive tried to watch the Monday sitcoms and i just cant get into them. just not my types of shows i guess.

Superbowl · 04-15-2008, 11:43 PM

Tim Goodman is an idiot. There is nothing like CBS Monday night traditional sitcoms. Apparently, the viewers agree with this, too, because it is by far the highest rated sitcom block on TV.

dawsongirl · 04-17-2008, 09:15 PM

No one seems to understand that those shows on NBC must not be THAT good, because if they were, MORE PEOPLE WOULD WATCH THEM. It's not like NBC is pay TV. I'm not saying they're bad, but they aren't the gold everyone in the industry seems to think they are, or everyone would watch. But they're watching CSI and WAT.

Not something on CBS!

Okay, those shows are not my type of humor, but then I must be in the majority. Frankly, I didn't see any humor period, dry, witty, or otherwise. The times I've seen Scrubs, I thought it was boring.

As for CBS, they need to burn all copies of Old Christine. Absolutely NOTHING funny in that show. MIMYM can be funny, 2 and a half men can be when it's not one sex joke after another. BBT...can't get into it as much, but still better than NBC's offerings.

And when are the stereotypical jabs at CBS being a network for 80 year old going to end? How archaic is that scapegoat excuse?

JulieSomoski · 04-18-2008, 03:23 PM

I don't really understand what every critic sees in the NBC sitcoms either. They may be good to critics, but they're obviously not that watchable for the audiences. Not one NBC sitcom pleases me - they are all just boring to me. CBS sitcoms are way more funny, and the people tuning in must think the same thing.

I just love it when critics seem to love every single NBC show, yet the network comes in dead last nearly every week.

EmoJoe · 04-18-2008, 04:30 PM

NBC shows are geared for specific audiences, not the general public. CBS sitcoms are geared more for the general public. NBC shows are more "cult" shows so to speak...they are not meant to bring in massive ratings. there's nothing wrong with that. good ratings does not equal quality.

Cactus Jack · 04-18-2008, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmoJoe

NBC shows are geared for specific audiences, not the general public. CBS sitcoms are geared more for the general public. NBC shows are more "cult" shows so to speak...they are not meant to bring in massive ratings. there's nothing wrong with that. good ratings does not equal quality.

Ditto

Though I love Big bang Theory( but without Sheldon it wouldnt be as funny) and How i Met Your Mother

You're Cancelled · 04-18-2008, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmoJoe

NBC shows are geared for specific audiences, not the general public. CBS sitcoms are geared more for the general public. NBC shows are more "cult" shows so to speak...they are not meant to bring in massive ratings. there's nothing wrong with that. good ratings does not equal quality.

The specific audience is college-educated, high-income households. The shows did well in demos last night. How I Met Your Mother and even the Two and a Half Men would be very compatible with them. It's just that CBS' audiences will watch anything. ABC and Fox aren't setting the world on fire with well-written sitcoms either. The dearth of comedies is not a one-network problem. No comedy has worked for CBS outside of Monday night in almost 35 years. The recycled clunkers on ABC and Fox are tired old shows by episode 2. The Office will be an evergreen in syndication as opposed to hit shows that somehow don't have a big rerun turnout like Family Ties and Night Court.

vtunie · 04-18-2008, 06:47 PM

To prefer sharp, ironic, and cool single-camera work to the four-camera taped productions is just a choice, no more and no less than whether to put ketchup on your hot dog, or to point out the desirability of college education or high income.

It has nothing to do with laughter.

Likewise, to watch the one type of show or the other is to make a choice about which consumer goods you wish to have peddled to you.

It has nothing to do with laughter, either.

But it has a lot to do with material consumption -- and the primary good is always coolness.

EmoJoe · 04-18-2008, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by You're Cancelled

The specific audience is college-educated, high-income households. The shows did well in demos last night. How I Met Your Mother and even the Two and a Half Men would be very compatible with them. It's just that CBS' audiences will watch anything. ABC and Fox aren't setting the world on fire with well-written sitcoms either. The dearth of comedies is not a one-network problem. No comedy has worked for CBS outside of Monday night in almost 35 years. The recycled clunkers on ABC and Fox are tired old shows by episode 2. The Office will be an evergreen in syndication as opposed to hit shows that somehow don't have a big rerun turnout like Family Ties and Night Court.

exactly.

vtunie · 04-18-2008, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmoJoe

exactly.

Exactly not.

The CBS slobs obviously chose not to watch the quality stuff. Good for them.

As regards evergreen-ness, let's wait, oh, thirty years or so before concluding whether the cool ironic sharp stuff holds as well in syndication as the moronic fifties-sixties-seventies crap.

Oh, isn't it cool to consume?

EmoJoe · 04-18-2008, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtunie

Exactly not.

The CBS slobs obviously chose not to watch the quality stuff. Good for them.

As regards evergreen-ness, let's wait, oh, thirty years or so before concluding whether the cool ironic sharp stuff holds as well in syndication as the moronic fifties-sixties-seventies crap.

Oh, isn't it cool to consume?

actually i watch shows that i think are funny. i think 30 Rock is funny. i think Two and a Half Men is not funny. does that make me a stupid hippie loser who watches TV shows to be cool? no.

there's no secret messages in the Thursday NBC sitcoms. it's a different style of humor then the CBS sitcoms. some people like the NBC humor, some people like the CBS humor. that's it.

Stormtracker TF · 04-18-2008, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtunie

Exactly not.

The CBS slobs obviously chose not to watch the quality stuff. Good for them.

As regards evergreen-ness, let's wait, oh, thirty years or so before concluding whether the cool ironic sharp stuff holds as well in syndication as the moronic fifties-sixties-seventies crap.

Oh, isn't it cool to consume?

Considering your idea of cool is talking down to members on an internet message board...

You're Cancelled · 04-18-2008, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtunie

Exactly not.

The CBS slobs obviously chose not to watch the quality stuff. Good for them.

As regards evergreen-ness, let's wait, oh, thirty years or so before concluding whether the cool ironic sharp stuff holds as well in syndication as the moronic fifties-sixties-seventies crap.

Oh, isn't it cool to consume?

How I Met Your Mother is as good a sitcom as most any quality sitcom.

Two and a Half Men is as laugh out loud as most any sitcom.

You don't have to wait thirty years to provide an educated analysis. The Office has been a money machine in various media formats. A genuine trailblazer in new revenue for networks to amortize their license fees. That said, syndication alone will be different in five years, never mind thirty. Who is going to be watching cut-up syndicated reruns with local logos and snipes? As TV and online merges, shows will be watched in an on-demand format in their best quality. The Office pioneered this on itunes. Funny is funny. If you don't get it, you can't blame the train for passing you by.

04-15-2008, 07:01 PM	#1
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,125	A sitcom snob stoops to rethink CBS Mondays http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...DDJN104SEP.DTL A sitcom snob stoops to rethink CBS Mondays Tim Goodman Monday, April 14, 2008 This is a column for people who don't like CBS sitcoms. Because it's about CBS sitcoms. Now, if you fall into this camp and, by the way, just happen to like comedies on television, odds are you're watching all the really funny ones on NBC. They're not the highest rated. But they get the most acclaim. But are the people who love, say, "30 Rock" - the best sitcom on network television - or "The Office" or "My Name Is Earl" or even the elder statesman of praised-but-not-watched television, "Scrubs," denying themselves a good time by avoiding CBS on Monday nights? Yes. Well, a qualified yes. There's a perfectly understandable reason that people who like a certain kind of comedy - often dry, ironic, slightly bitter, tangentially odd and brilliantly creative - will avoid comedies on CBS. They're too cool for the room. Not that there's anything wrong with that, because it's true. Who's going to argue that CBS is cool at anything? Especially humor? It's not like you're going to cut your wrists on the sharp edges of pretty much any half hour over at CBS. And if you're watching NBC series, it's probably because you like single-camera comedies without a laugh track. The idea being that a laugh track panders to an audience too stupid to laugh in the right places, and a multi-camera comedy reminds you of sitting at home with your parents laughing at the oldies. Or it reminds you of the first 45 years of television - you know it's a situation comedy because the acting is broad, the punch lines telegraphed, the choreography of the characters (like the wacky neighbor) duplicated from show to show. You want something fresher. Understood. The problem with sophisticated comedy - be it anti-obvious in nature, keenly observed absurdities or ironically dumb by choice - is that it creates its own little laugh ghetto from which you never get out. You don't want to watch "Two and a Half Men" because, well, it's "Two and a Half Men" with Charlie Sheen, for God's sake. What more need be said? And yet, there's a smugness - almost a righteousness - to people who can only tolerate "30 Rock" or "Weeds" and sit around lamenting the death of "Arrested Development." Hey, it takes one to know one. It's true that CBS is awash in laugh tracks and anyone unfortunate enough to end up in hell will find pretty much the same sound there. And that tired sitcom pacing - setup, punch line, setup punch line, big bang before the commercial break - is enough to make you really do damage to a free-standing TV set. But it's also true that funny is funny. It answers to no specific genre or network. From Milton Berle to "Flight of the Conchords," if you laugh, then it's funny. It worked. You may not have wanted to laugh. You might have tried to stifle it. Perhaps you managed to turn what would normally be a loud laugh into a grunt-and-grin. But funny is funny and it cannot be dismissed merely because you don't like the channel. Mea culpa Now, having said all of that - and vastly preferring, ahem, non-CBS style humor - it could very well be that the Monday block of comedies on CBS are getting a bad rap. That bad rap may have originated right here, as a matter of fact. But upon the appearance tonight of the dubiously titled "post-strike, second-season premiere" of CBS' "The Rules of Engagement," perhaps now is the time for a modification, if not a complete re-evaluation (because that's not forthcoming - let's walk before we run here). At 8 p.m., CBS kicks off with "The Big Bang Theory," from creator Chuck Lorre, who also brings you "Two and a Half Men." There's a mechanical-hammer streak to Lorre's work, but when he gets a formula right, it generally sticks. Now, initially, the biggest drawback to "The Big Bang Theory" is that the premise is so trite. Super nerds intersect with hot, dumb blond neighbor. Nothing says 1970s more than that, unless they lived next to "The Jeffersons." And yet, despite the clanking obviousness of having a band of super nerds play their smarts against their social phobias and lameness, there's a lot to recommend here because the series is a shotgun blast of jokes and enough of the pellets are funny enough to make 22 minutes go by smoothly. Even better, main actors Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons truly work hard for the humor, as the punch lines are intricately tied to fast-talking Einsteinian moments. It's as rote as "Frasier," but when all the cylinders are clicking - as they often did with "Frasier" - this sitcom delivers. Doogie delivers "How I Met Your Mother" is by far CBS' hippest comedy if that word can be applied in the same sentence as the Tiffany Network's call letters. It successfully works romantic comedy with cynical comedy and fuses likable young actors into a well-worn vehicle: four friends coming of age. Although the obvious key to the series is the breakout performance of Neil Patrick Harris as the cad Barney - the pursuit of emotionless sex drives him to ever-lower levels of jerkishness - the truth is that "Mother" is riddled with quick wit and smart (and sometimes sweet) humor. Though it took a cameo from Britney Spears to get the show much ink, it's an underappreciated gem. "Two and a Half Men" might argue, however, that it's the real scapegoat for CBS old-school comedy disdain. It gets Emmy nominations and critics scoff. Hell, it lives and critics scoff. Though the show is too in love with cheap sex jokes, it's reminiscent of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "King of Queens" before it - series some comedy fans wouldn't watch with financial incentives but ones still able to hit the periodic punch line that even grumpy satirists would grudgingly laugh at. That Warburton voice "The Rules of Engagement" is one of those formulas so old, they can't catalog the bones (married couple, engaged couple, single friend - the stages of love and emotional growth). It can't be said that the writers are infusing the conceit with much originality, but the key to the show is Patrick Warburton, who plays the married man here. Not only does Warburton get - and nail - all the best lines, he's strangely evocative of "The Tick," the old Fox series where he played the title character. It could be that Warburton just plays Warburton (from Puddy on "Seinfeld" to his many voice roles), but if you just imagine that the Tick lost his blue suit and ended up in a CBS sitcom, "Rules of Engagement" really takes off (at least when he's onscreen). Granted, all of these shows have some kind of caveat, or appear here with a slew of backhanded compliments. But they all, in some part, are funnier than people give them credit for (particularly "How I Met Your Mother") and deserve more respect. And no, a laugh track didn't just drown out that last sentence.
	__________________ Sonny

04-15-2008, 07:50 PM	#3
EmoJoe Cool cool cool Forum Addict Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 71,478	ive tried to watch the Monday sitcoms and i just cant get into them. just not my types of shows i guess.
	__________________ "I know the difference between TV and reality, Jeff. TV has structure, it makes sense, there are likable leading men. In real life, we have this. We have you." - Abed Nadir, Community www.sitcomsarestupid.blogspot.com

04-18-2008, 03:23 PM	#6
JulieSomoski Roseanne Reboot - March 27! Forum Veteran Join Date: Nov 06, 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 7,558	I don't really understand what every critic sees in the NBC sitcoms either. They may be good to critics, but they're obviously not that watchable for the audiences. Not one NBC sitcom pleases me - they are all just boring to me. CBS sitcoms are way more funny, and the people tuning in must think the same thing. I just love it when critics seem to love every single NBC show, yet the network comes in dead last nearly every week.
	__________________ Click here to view some great articles written by my husband and I! All views are appreciated! Watch: Medium, Fridays at 9pm, on CBS! Big Bang Theory, Mondays at 9:30pm, on CBS! The Mentalist, Thursdays at 10pm, on CBS! Old Christine, Wednesdays at 8pm, on CBS! ABC's Comedy Lineup, Starting Wednesdays at 8:30pm, on ABC!

04-18-2008, 06:47 PM	#10
vtunie Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 23, 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 592	To prefer sharp, ironic, and cool single-camera work to the four-camera taped productions is just a choice, no more and no less than whether to put ketchup on your hot dog, or to point out the desirability of college education or high income. It has nothing to do with laughter. Likewise, to watch the one type of show or the other is to make a choice about which consumer goods you wish to have peddled to you. It has nothing to do with laughter, either. But it has a lot to do with material consumption -- and the primary good is always coolness.
	Last edited by vtunie; 04-18-2008 at 07:10 PM.

04-15-2008, 07:46 PM	#2
snl 70s show fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 14, 2005 Location: in the forman basment Posts: 2,454	thanks for posting that artcile for the record while love to watch the nbc thursday comedies i also like how i met your mother and i really really enjoy big big bang theory on cbs mondays and im sure im not the only one who enjoys both one camera and 3 camera sitcoms that articil makes it sound like that people dont know how to enjoy different types of comedy talk about a sitcom snob the guy that wrote that piece should take a look in the mirror.

04-15-2008, 11:43 PM	#4
Superbowl Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 13, 2005 Posts: 1,107	Tim Goodman is an idiot. There is nothing like CBS Monday night traditional sitcoms. Apparently, the viewers agree with this, too, because it is by far the highest rated sitcom block on TV.

04-17-2008, 09:15 PM	#5
dawsongirl Member Forum Icon Join Date: Jan 04, 2001 Posts: 53,128	No one seems to understand that those shows on NBC must not be THAT good, because if they were, MORE PEOPLE WOULD WATCH THEM. It's not like NBC is pay TV. I'm not saying they're bad, but they aren't the gold everyone in the industry seems to think they are, or everyone would watch. But they're watching CSI and WAT. Not something on CBS! Okay, those shows are not my type of humor, but then I must be in the majority. Frankly, I didn't see any humor period, dry, witty, or otherwise. The times I've seen Scrubs, I thought it was boring. As for CBS, they need to burn all copies of Old Christine. Absolutely NOTHING funny in that show. MIMYM can be funny, 2 and a half men can be when it's not one sex joke after another. BBT...can't get into it as much, but still better than NBC's offerings. And when are the stereotypical jabs at CBS being a network for 80 year old going to end? How archaic is that scapegoat excuse?

04-18-2008, 04:30 PM	#7
EmoJoe Cool cool cool Forum Addict Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 71,478	NBC shows are geared for specific audiences, not the general public. CBS sitcoms are geared more for the general public. NBC shows are more "cult" shows so to speak...they are not meant to bring in massive ratings. there's nothing wrong with that. good ratings does not equal quality.