Why do people find 50's sitcoms funny??? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 03-19-2002, 08:20 PM

I really have to understand this, why do people find sitcoms from the 50's so funny??? I really have to know because shows like Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith, The Beverly Hillbillies and Mr. Ed to me are not funny. Is it nostalgia? Is it the wholesomeness? What is it? I'll admit a lot of sitcoms today are just plain garbage, with the exception of a few. But there are countless others that could generate laughs without the laugh tracks that some of these 50's shows had. Just my opinion. Let me know!

JT · 03-19-2002, 08:34 PM

Before I start let me point out that "Mr.Ed","The Andy Griffith Show" and "Beverly Hillbillies" NEVER aired in the 50s.They were 60s shows.

I find them funny because they were made to be funny.That's just like saying your grandmother is boring.

Pitooey · 03-19-2002, 08:41 PM

Those were the 60's shows. The 50's shows are I love Lucy etc. As for me I found those shows Funny and entertaining. I like the laugh tracks because that was the way the shows were made back then. As a matter of fact I like those shows better than what is being played today.

Brian Damage · 03-19-2002, 09:51 PM

I stand corrected and I apologize, I still don't get the comedy of those eras. I love Lucy was good, as was the Honeymooners, other than that, what is it?

Chocoholic · 03-19-2002, 10:17 PM

I think it all depends on a person's taste. I personally don't find shows from the 50's and 60's entertaining, so I don't watch them. If people want to watch them, that's fine with me.

Brian Damage · 03-20-2002, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JT

I find them funny because they were made to be funny.That's just like saying your grandmother is boring. [/B]

What in the Hell does that even mean???

JT · 03-20-2002, 08:09 PM

Well I'm assuming that your grandma was born before the 50s.If stuff from the 50s isn't funny that means its boring and if your grandma was born before the 50s to you that means she's boring!

Brian Damage · 03-21-2002, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JT
Well I'm assuming that your grandma was born before the 50s.If stuff from the 50s isn't funny that means its boring and if your grandma was born before the 50s to you that means she's boring!

Listen, a SITCOM may be unfunny, because it's unfunny or maybe because it just doesn't appeal to certain individuals. To compare GRANDMOTHER'S as being boring because somebody finds a 50's sitcom unfunny is Assinine!!!

twinkle44301 · 03-27-2002, 12:42 PM

I think it is just personal taste. I grew up watching those shows, so for me is is a trip back to my childhood (which was wonderful and carefree). My kids think I am goofy as all get-out for watching those "old shows," but I just like them.

TALLguyinKY · 03-27-2002, 01:47 PM

I think it depends on the show. For instance, "Leave it to Beaver" was a wholesome family show, which I do not find funny either. I'm not puttin' it down, it's cute, but it's not funny funny, like "The Dick Van Dyke Show", for instance---another '60s sitcom.

Personally, things like "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Gilligan's Island" are more old-timey/nostalgic for me, and I love the stuff from back in those days before I was born---seein' how shows were. They don't make me:

, but they do have great moments here and there that certainly make me laugh.

But not as much as really well-written comedic masterpieces like DVD, MTM, and favorites of mine from the '80s.

Central Perk · 03-27-2002, 04:41 PM

I find some shows from he 50's too dull....there is the sense that there lives are somewhat perfect. Dick Van Dyke was good there are other exceptions. Leave It To Beaver is just not funny to me.

sbwalker53 · 03-27-2002, 09:41 PM

Sitcoms do not have to be funny to work for me. My favorite sitcoms are those that tug at my heartstrings and make me feel a wide range of emotions, that teach me lessons. Sitcoms from the 50s were great at that! How about the Leave It To Beaver in which Wally and the Beav learn to appreciate their own family when seen through the eyes of the trashman's sons? Or the Father Knows Best in which Betty uses a shy soda jerk as a pawn but unknowingly steals his heart? Or The Real McCoys in which Grandpa overhears Hassie's thoughtless words and she offers the greatest apology in the history of drama! Or when Opie cares for the baby birds whose mother he accidentally killed with a slingshot? These are gems. And neither had too many laughs to speak of. Sitcoms, for me, require pathos. Very few succeed without it. Seinfeld did. But tears and goosebumps can replace the laughs for me. The writers of 50s sitcoms were so, so good at that!

17Mar59 · 03-27-2002, 10:28 PM

I don't think it has to do so much with the era when the sitcom was made as it does with the indiviual's sense of humor.For
example both Seinfeld and Perfect Strangers were of fairly recent
vintage,but I could never get Seinfeld while Perfect Strangers
made me laugh.

Superbatboy · 03-27-2002, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 17Mar59
I don't think it has to do so much with the era when the sitcom was made as it does with the indiviual's sense of humor.For
example both Seinfeld and Perfect Strangers were of fairly recent
vintage,but I could never get Seinfeld while Perfect Strangers
made me laugh.

Maybe you're a physical comedy person then. I was young when Perfect Strangers aired, but I remember it having a lot of physical comedy.

Anyho, the only shows I've seen from the 50's are I Love Lucy and Honeymooners. And they're are both funny. Was Leave it to Beave 60's or 50's, well I guess it doesn't matter cause I can't stand that show.

Lisa72 · 03-30-2002, 02:54 PM

It was funny for the times. I was born in 1972 and I do find some of the shows that you mentioned (which were actually from the 60s) funny. TV was alot CLASSIER than now. NOW if doesnt have sexually content or violence, it isnt good. Not growing up in the 50s, I dont know for sure but shows like CAR 54, THE MUNSTERS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY, FATHER KNOWS BEST, DOBIE GILLIS and THE PATTY DUKE SHOW were the way life was (WELL, not the MUNSTERS, ADDAMS FAMILY or MR. ED). The teenagers and parents related to them. Also, unlike today, FAMILIES were FAMILIES...they sat down for dinner together and watch TV together. The biggest thing kids did crime wise was probably vandilism and smoking.

IF I could pick a era to live, I would have to choose the 50s. 60s and early 70s were scary times. The drugged up hippies and draft dodgers were A*holes and treated our SOILDERS like CRAP when they got home from a very horrofic war. It wasnt the SOILDERS choice to goto war but the HIPPIES were awful. I believe they started the curruption of teenagers and are partly responsible for the crap that goes on today.

That is my opinion. You dont have to think shows back then were funny. I hate anything on MTV. I remember when MTV was actually awesome when it began in the early 80s. Now they barely play videos and have stupids shows like THE REAL WORLD, JACKASS, and speaking of jackass, TLC with CARSEN DALY.

I dont know if anyone got to see the recent show on FOX called THE CORRUPTION OF THE AMERICAN CHILD with O'REILLY but it definately had some great points. VIDEOS and TV shows are going over the line.

03-19-2002, 08:20 PM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,108	Why do people find 50's/60's sitcoms funny??? I really have to understand this, why do people find sitcoms from the 50's so funny??? I really have to know because shows like Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith, The Beverly Hillbillies and Mr. Ed to me are not funny. Is it nostalgia? Is it the wholesomeness? What is it? I'll admit a lot of sitcoms today are just plain garbage, with the exception of a few. But there are countless others that could generate laughs without the laugh tracks that some of these 50's shows had. Just my opinion. Let me know!
	__________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 *Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet* Last edited by Brian Damage; 03-19-2002 at 09:47 PM.

03-19-2002, 08:34 PM	#2
JT Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 29, 2001 Location: USA Posts: 7,219	Before I start let me point out that "Mr.Ed","The Andy Griffith Show" and "Beverly Hillbillies" NEVER aired in the 50s.They were 60s shows. I find them funny because they were made to be funny.That's just like saying your grandmother is boring.
	__________________ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrEbJBFWIPk

03-19-2002, 08:41 PM	#3
Pitooey Member Forum Star Join Date: Feb 15, 2001 Location: Rocking in Transylvania. Posts: 15,042	Those were the 60's shows. The 50's shows are I love Lucy etc. As for me I found those shows Funny and entertaining. I like the laugh tracks because that was the way the shows were made back then. As a matter of fact I like those shows better than what is being played today.
	__________________ Pitooey... AKA JennyLee - I love the Monkees all over again! *SAY NO TO DRUGS* Jesus saves...

03-30-2002, 02:54 PM	#15
Lisa72 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 30, 2002 Posts: 5	It was funny for the times.....but..... It was funny for the times. I was born in 1972 and I do find some of the shows that you mentioned (which were actually from the 60s) funny. TV was alot CLASSIER than now. NOW if doesnt have sexually content or violence, it isnt good. Not growing up in the 50s, I dont know for sure but shows like CAR 54, THE MUNSTERS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY, FATHER KNOWS BEST, DOBIE GILLIS and THE PATTY DUKE SHOW were the way life was (WELL, not the MUNSTERS, ADDAMS FAMILY or MR. ED). The teenagers and parents related to them. Also, unlike today, FAMILIES were FAMILIES...they sat down for dinner together and watch TV together. The biggest thing kids did crime wise was probably vandilism and smoking. IF I could pick a era to live, I would have to choose the 50s. 60s and early 70s were scary times. The drugged up hippies and draft dodgers were A*holes and treated our SOILDERS like CRAP when they got home from a very horrofic war. It wasnt the SOILDERS choice to goto war but the HIPPIES were awful. I believe they started the curruption of teenagers and are partly responsible for the crap that goes on today. That is my opinion. You dont have to think shows back then were funny. I hate anything on MTV. I remember when MTV was actually awesome when it began in the early 80s. Now they barely play videos and have stupids shows like THE REAL WORLD, JACKASS, and speaking of jackass, TLC with CARSEN DALY. I dont know if anyone got to see the recent show on FOX called THE CORRUPTION OF THE AMERICAN CHILD with O'REILLY but it definately had some great points. VIDEOS and TV shows are going over the line.

03-19-2002, 09:51 PM	#4
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,108	I stand corrected and I apologize, I still don't get the comedy of those eras. I love Lucy was good, as was the Honeymooners, other than that, what is it?

03-19-2002, 10:17 PM	#5
Chocoholic Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 01, 2000 Location: Between a rock and a hard place. Posts: 11,235	I think it all depends on a person's taste. I personally don't find shows from the 50's and 60's entertaining, so I don't watch them. If people want to watch them, that's fine with me.

03-20-2002, 08:09 PM	#7
JT Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 29, 2001 Location: USA Posts: 7,219	Well I'm assuming that your grandma was born before the 50s.If stuff from the 50s isn't funny that means its boring and if your grandma was born before the 50s to you that means she's boring!

03-27-2002, 12:42 PM	#9
twinkle44301 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 24, 2001 Posts: 351	I think it is just personal taste. I grew up watching those shows, so for me is is a trip back to my childhood (which was wonderful and carefree). My kids think I am goofy as all get-out for watching those "old shows," but I just like them.

03-27-2002, 01:47 PM	#10
TALLguyinKY Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 18, 2002 Posts: 1,439	I think it depends on the show. For instance, "Leave it to Beaver" was a wholesome family show, which I do not find funny either. I'm not puttin' it down, it's cute, but it's not funny funny, like "The Dick Van Dyke Show", for instance---another '60s sitcom. Personally, things like "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Gilligan's Island" are more old-timey/nostalgic for me, and I love the stuff from back in those days before I was born---seein' how shows were. They don't make me: , but they do have great moments here and there that certainly make me laugh. But not as much as really well-written comedic masterpieces like DVD, MTM, and favorites of mine from the '80s.

03-27-2002, 04:41 PM	#11
Central Perk ~~~~~ Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 10, 2002 Posts: 4,553	I find some shows from he 50's too dull....there is the sense that there lives are somewhat perfect. Dick Van Dyke was good there are other exceptions. Leave It To Beaver is just not funny to me.

03-27-2002, 09:41 PM	#12
sbwalker53 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 09, 2002 Location: Middletown, Connecticut Posts: 51	Sitcoms do not have to be funny to work for me. My favorite sitcoms are those that tug at my heartstrings and make me feel a wide range of emotions, that teach me lessons. Sitcoms from the 50s were great at that! How about the Leave It To Beaver in which Wally and the Beav learn to appreciate their own family when seen through the eyes of the trashman's sons? Or the Father Knows Best in which Betty uses a shy soda jerk as a pawn but unknowingly steals his heart? Or The Real McCoys in which Grandpa overhears Hassie's thoughtless words and she offers the greatest apology in the history of drama! Or when Opie cares for the baby birds whose mother he accidentally killed with a slingshot? These are gems. And neither had too many laughs to speak of. Sitcoms, for me, require pathos. Very few succeed without it. Seinfeld did. But tears and goosebumps can replace the laughs for me. The writers of 50s sitcoms were so, so good at that!

03-27-2002, 10:28 PM	#13
17Mar59 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 03, 2002 Location: washington state Posts: 475	I don't think it has to do so much with the era when the sitcom was made as it does with the indiviual's sense of humor.For example both Seinfeld and Perfect Strangers were of fairly recent vintage,but I could never get Seinfeld while Perfect Strangers made me laugh.