Sitcoms

[Spark Of Spirit]

Why have I not watched Night Court before? Holy crap, I've been missing out big time.

[Kiddington]

Yeah, good choice; I love Night Court. 'Tis too bad there really aren't a whole lot of decent avenues to watch it through, though (haven't seen it on TV Land in ages, and the DVD sets have been abandoned, as far as I know).

Where are you watching it, by chance? Just online or what?

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's on the Canadian channel Comedy Gold with other stuff like both bob Newhart shows, Murphy Brown, SCTV, Mary Tyler Moore, Rhoda, Red Green Show, and the like.

I'm quickly loving this channel more and more.

[Avaitor]

I could use some more Mary Tyler Moore in my life.

To be honest, the only Night Court I've seen is the reunion on 30 Rock. Should probably change that whenever I can.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I was blown away by how nutty it is. This show should be on more.

[Kiddington]

It's on the Canadian channel Comedy Gold with other stuff like both bob Newhart shows, Murphy Brown, SCTV, Mary Tyler Moore, Rhoda, Red Green Show, and the like.

I'm quickly loving this channel more and more.

Ah, that would explain it.

In the States, we really don't have anything like that. I know there's Antenna TV, and a couple of other "over the air" type deals in select markets, but I don't get any of those. TV Land is the only supposed dedicated channel that comes to mind, but that's pretty much garbage anymore (Everybody Loves Raymond, and a myriad of reality shows starring Joan Rivers do NOT qualify as classic/retro entertainment).

I'd love to see Murphy Brown again, as well. Yet another classic series stuck in eternal DVD gridlock because WHV owns the rights, and they just simply don't give a shit.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I'd love to see Murphy Brown again, as well. Yet another classic series stuck in eternal DVD gridlock because WHV owns the rights, and they just simply don't give a shit.

Yes, bad situation there, but a reasonable one. I've seen a bunch of the first season sets shoved in the dollar bin, and adding in how the moments that people remember the most about the show happened early on, there's no financial gain in trying to put out future seasons. Still a shame though.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's why, IMO, these shows should be airing on TV. How would I have known about Night Court otherwise? Randomly buy a DVD set of a show I've never even seen?

Other than illegally watching this stuff, there's few options for those of us who legitimately want to see this stuff or get exposed to it.

[Kiddington]

Well, even then; the Night Court sets are old, incomplete, and, I believe, out of print. They're not very easy to find anyway, except for maybe Amazon or eBay or something.

...but yeah, agreed; the lack of decent classic television programming in this day and age is rather disheartening, to say the least. Things like TBS and TV Land used to specialize in this kind of stuff, but are now becoming just as watered down as every other network on cable. It's quite a shame.

[Avaitor]

Repeats just aren't very fun to find nowadays. As much as I love That 70's Show, Married... With Children, and early Raymond, it seems like on the channels that could be airing some of the shows we've been talking about, these air in their place ad nasum. And all of these are easily available on DVD, the first two even on Netflix.

It just sucks for a lot of shows today.

[Kiddington]

Raymond is so hit or miss for me. The very early stuff is alright, if inconsistent, but I got tired of it as time went on. It got really ridiculous towards the end of its run. Normal people aren't nearly as sensitive or as easily pissed off as these characters, and the whole "Debra-Marie" feud that they'd keep driving into the ground time and time again really got old.

It's a decent sitcom in small doses, but there are so many other shows that I like more (and would much rather see in its place on places like TV Land).

[Commode]

Was never a big fan of Raymond, but then again I never watched much of it. For some reason most of those late 90s early 2000s CBS sitcoms(Raymond, King of Queens, Becker...) I didn't really watch; I think it's because they all look rather boring, and I've always kind of viewed CBS as the boring network out of the bunch anyway(I did spend several years watching JAG with my parents, which I found extremely agonizing).

[Avaitor]

I really like the character dynamics of the show. The Barones are delightfully demented, and I like how Debra slowly gets corrupted by them and becomes less of the voice of reason and more of a nuisance as it goes along. By the time Robert and Amy get married, it really starts to fall into a rut, and becomes considerably less fun to watch.

My grandfather watches the show every day, even now, so I've seen every episode multiple times thanks to him. Although I am tired of it, I do think it was a good show at some point.

[Kiddington]

I actually like Becker. Well, sorta. It's a complete-180 for Ted Danson (John Becker is about the farthest character from Sam Malone you could possibly imagine), but he actually pulls off the role of bitter curmudgeon pretty well. It's nothing special, but it's a decent sitcom, all things considered.

Never been a King of Queens fan. I tried (namely due to Jerry Stiller being so heavily involved), but it just isn't very funny. Lot of fat jokes, as you might imagine... I dunno, I just don't care for it. I think like every sitcom, it has its share of moments, and there is nothing about it that is inherently awful or anything. It's just not my kind of humor, I guess.

Since we're talking kinda about the bad (well, I am now), anyone here have any sitcoms you truly dislike? Friends, According to Jim, Roseanne (God, I hate that show)... just a couple of bad ones off the top of my head. Anything else? Let's hear it.

[Avaitor]

I don't get the appeal of the Big Bang Theory at all. To me, all the jokes equate to just LOL THESE NERDS ARE TOO CONFUSED TO GET LAID gags ad nasum, with the occasional generic Star Trek or super hero reference. I don't see why people call it the go-to sitcom for nerds when Community's on, and does it much better.

In terms of "classics", all I can really think of is The Cosby Show. I can't stand Bill Cosby in any amount. A whole show full of him is too much for me.