Sitcoms

[Spark Of Spirit]

Daphne: I was just about to step right out of this dress & embarrass poor Dr. Crane to death!

Niles: Well, we all have to die of something.

[Avaitor]

I love Niles' quips. He easily makes the show.

[Avaitor]

I just read Warren Littlefield's book on his run at NBC. It's a really cool read if you're into any of the shows discussed, and it contains snippets from tons of people responsible for these shows, from actors, creative forces, and executives. I just wish they got more people from Cheers in there, besides Kelsey Grammer, but the show was still well represented regardless.

I also like how the last chapter just outright bashed Zucker for the majority of it. The people interviewed didn't even attempt to hide their contempt for his run, and you can't really blame them. The Will & Grace camp especially got screwed over from him, after all.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Probably doesn't fit well, but we've got news about the new Munsters. And before you go on about how reviving a kitsch show is a sign of the end times, know that the head writer made Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, and the good parts of Heroes. We might actually get something better than the source material like with BSG.

[Avaitor]

Rhoda is such a great character. Not only is her chemistry with Mary and Phyllis incredible, but she had the best opening appearance of any sitcom character ever. My B&N has her sets, but for some reason, it doesn't look like the first season was a part of that sale. A damn shame.

MTM is still great, anyhow.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I've slowly been coming around to Who's The Boss recently.

Sure it's a family sitcom, and it's not all that original, but it's nice seeing a show where everyone isn't either Full House levels of happy and saccharine to each other or always belittling each other at the drop of a hat. Everyone seems to have a good chemistry with each other and there's a lot of charm here.

It's not amazing, or brilliant or anything, but I think it's a bit better than most folks gave it credit for.

[Avaitor]

I don't get why people are saying that Full House is a better show than Modern Family. I mean, MF isn't perfect either, but seriously?

I do remember liking Who's the Boss when it was on Nick@Nite. Tony Danza was better in Taxi though.

[Spark Of Spirit]

It looks like NBC will be changing their comedic focus in the future

And here I thought "broad appeal" was the point of television from day one.

[Avaitor]

Blahhhh

Although I'm not surprised. But really, NBC's shows aren't too sophisticated. Community's humor is more niche, but it's not too far off of a Big Bang Theory episode when you get down to it, and 30 Rock and Parks are full of silly moments. Does this mean more family oriented programming and laugh track/live-studio audience fare? If so, I actually wouldn't be too against it if we don't get more crap like Whitney and Up All Night.

Also, "im glad inevver seen 30 rockor the community i don'tlike Parks & Recreation t or the ofice al they do is se andtalk to each otheri was never big fan of cheers"

The fuck kind of post is this?

[Spark Of Spirit]

Haha, yeah there's a few funny ones in there like that.

But NBC almost didn't renew those shows for this season, after all. It seems clear that they're no longer satisfied with the niche and want to reach the mainstream again. But to do that, they need better talent. If they want to go back to the multi-camera/studio audience path they need to get better writers than the people who write Whitney or whatever other mediocre pap they're pushing.

As much as I want a return to fair like Cheers or Frasier, it won't happen without the right people.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, I do understand that. Their sitcoms do bring in awards and critical praise, but that only goes so far. I wonder if NBC could get the people behind shows like Community and Parks onto something a little more "conventional" and make it work. They can pull it off if they try.

[Avaitor]

TV Land is playing a Jeffersons marathon in tribute to the late Sherman Hemsley, and I just caught a couple of episodes of it.

Hemsley was a ball. I used to watch the show when I was younger, but honestly, I've been more acquainted with his Fresh Prince and All That appearances in recent years. But he was great as George Jefferson, and Weezy was a hoot too. It's not a great show though. Norman lear's shows were very heavy-handed, which has not been kind to them in later years, and the scripts aren't as sharp as All in the Family or Sanford and Son. But it's still fun enough.

[Dr. Insomniac]

New York PBS is much more entertaining than Boston PBS when it comes to airing British series. Managed to grab a peek at Pie in the Sky, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Keeping Up Appearances.

[Avaitor]

I think one of the best scenes in Cheers is when they're talking about "Big wigs" and this random guy just keeps on yelling out "SINATRA".

It comes out of nowhere but it's great each time.

[Avaitor]

From one post about great scenes to another, I bring you this post.

If you don't like this character, you don't have a right to an opinion.