Are sitcoms a dead artform?

[buttsie]

I hate to say it but if your talking sitcoms at the moment then Sheldon Cooper / Jim Parsons
big bang theory is the Man since Charlie Sheen decided to implode

Maybe not paid as much but he's got a cult following



One thing that I can never quite figure out is why people like my father will pick out friends as being fantastic while everything else is crap

He cant explain it which tells me hes really a moron and I was obviously adopted as a baby

[Jason-X]

Well, They sure don't last as long as they used to!

[buttsie]

Many moaners would say they last too long


Where would we be without classics like grounded for life 5 seasons 20o1=2005

Intro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLAiAOdbgPs


Grounded For Life - S01E05 - Action Mountain High [2/2]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Deob-...feature=relmfu


When everyone is saying HOUSE is great you'll know it was all based on becker
and has been re-written with a few quaint differences

Thats the price of ageing...you've seen it all if you watch too much


Becker is an American television sitcom that ran from 1998 to 2004 on CBS. Set in the New York City borough of The Bronx, the show starred Ted Danson as John Becker, a misanthropic doctor who operates a small practice and is constantly annoyed by his patients, co-workers, friends, and practically everything and everybody else in his world. Despite everything, his patients and friends are loyal because Becker genuinely cares about them. The series was produced by Paramount Network Television, previous producers of NBC's Cheers, also starring Danson.

[IronMan]

Originally Posted by buttsie

I hate to say it but if your talking sitcoms at the moment then Sheldon Cooper / Jim Parsons
big bang theory is the Man since Charlie Sheen decided to implode

Maybe not paid as much but he's got a cult following



One thing that I can never quite figure out is why people like my father will pick out friends as being fantastic while everything else is crap

He cant explain it which tells me hes really a moron and I was obviously adopted as a baby

They played a few Big Bang Theory episodes on a flight I was on, and I don't know how that show got past a first season, I was bored to tears.

[jagturan]

Can't stand any sitcoms on U.S. TV today. I just follow the local news, Jeopardy, golf, and some sports like football and hockey. Interestingly enough, I find myself watching Korean soap operas that encompass both modern life and past history. Of course, there are English subtitles, but since I work with "Han-Guk" people, I try to pick up on their language and culture by any means available. The women on Korean shows are cute, and tough!

[Oswald]

In a word, yes.

These days television companies want to spend money on the cheapest form of entertainment and that is currently what is known as 'Reality TV'. Add to that these so-called 'talent shows' which are also cheap to produce. TV companies don't want to spend money on developing new writers', directors' and actors'. The process is, in their view, too long and too expensive.

In the UK our main commercial TV company, ITV, hasn't produced a credible or watchable sitcom since 'Rising Damp' and that was over 30 years ago! They have attempted others since, but they've been appalling rubbish. I agree that 'On The Buses' was terrible - old musical turns shouting their lines at each other.

The BBC have faired better with sitcoms such as 'Porridge', 'Open All Hours', 'Dad's Army' and although not to everyone's taste, 'Last Of The Summer Wine' which closed after being broadcast for over 35 years!

[IronMan]

Originally Posted by Oswald

In a word, yes.

These days television companies want to spend money on the cheapest form of entertainment and that is currently what is known as 'Reality TV'. Add to that these so-called 'talent shows' which are also cheap to produce. TV companies don't want to spend money on developing new writers', directors' and actors'. The process is, in their view, too long and too expensive.

In the UK our main commercial TV company, ITV, hasn't produced a credible or watchable sitcom since 'Rising Damp' and that was over 30 years ago! They have attempted others since, but they've been appalling rubbish. I agree that 'On The Buses' was terrible - old musical turns shouting their lines at each other.

The BBC have faired better with sitcoms such as 'Porridge', 'Open All Hours', 'Dad's Army' and although not to everyone's taste, 'Last Of The Summer Wine' which closed after being broadcast for over 35 years!

I agree that "reality" TV needs to die a quick death, but that won't happen any time soon unfortunately. I don't know why they bother with the reality label anymore, given it is all scripted and a lot of the contestants are basically the equivalent of a piss poor amateur actor, not a person acting like they would in real life as having a camera in your face tends to change that, unless the network prods you to amp up the drama.

[64coupedeville]

Somehow, I think we'll look back and say that "Everybody loves Raymond" and "Seinfeld" were the last of the "great" sit-coms.....They're still around, but a pathetic shell of what they once were, hobbled by bad writing, annoying laugh tracks that go off anytime anyone opens their mouth and PC constraints. We'll NEVER see another "All In The Family"...I'm not throwing Family Guy or Simpsons into the mix, because being animated, they don't count as "true" sitcoms, meaning they don't have all the expenses a real life TV production does, and for some reason, they seem to be able to get away with more since they're cartoons..... I've actually given up on TV altogether, even History Channel is full of reality crap now (Swamp People, Bayou Billionaire, etc)....I pretty much exist on Turner Classics and an endless supply of UK sitcoms...If any of you haven't tried yet, may I suggest "One Foot In The Grave" and "Black Books".......

[Jack Keroact]

broadcast tv is a dead artform

studios, or any business, who attack their customers will not remain in business

[IronMan]

Originally Posted by 64coupedeville

Somehow, I think we'll look back and say that "Everybody loves Raymond" and "Seinfeld" were the last of the "great" sit-coms.....They're still around, but a pathetic shell of what they once were, hobbled by bad writing, annoying laugh tracks that go off anytime anyone opens their mouth and PC constraints. We'll NEVER see another "All In The Family"...I'm not throwing Family Guy or Simpsons into the mix, because being animated, they don't count as "true" sitcoms, meaning they don't have all the expenses a real life TV production does, and for some reason, they seem to be able to get away with more since they're cartoons..... I've actually given up on TV altogether, even History Channel is full of reality crap now (Swamp People, Bayou Billionaire, etc)....I pretty much exist on Turner Classics and an endless supply of UK sitcoms...If any of you haven't tried yet, may I suggest "One Foot In The Grave" and "Black Books".......

Wasn't Seinfeld dubbed "The show about nothing."?

Married with Children (before it too succumbed to crappy writing) is probably the last sitcom I really liked.