Being a connoisseur of TV all of my life, I have come to the harsh realization that there is nothing on anymore. It is unbelievable! Despite Time Warner having roughly 327 channels available, I still can’t find any original scripted programs worth watching. This is especially true when it comes to the genre that I am most fond of – the sitcom.
The situation comedy, a television series in which the same set of characters are involved in various amusing situations. A nice definition, don’t you think? Short and sweet, direct and to the point. Just like a good sitcom should be.
I have been enjoying sitcoms since the early days of lying on the floor watching the old black and white RCA. Today, with big screens, flat screens, plasma models and high definition technology, you would think that my sitcom viewing experience would be even more pleasurable. Well it’s not!
No, 2009 is not a good time for the sitcom aficionado. For one, there is a serious lack of this type of show right now. I am referring to new, first-run sitcoms. They just aren’t out there. Reality shows, Law and Order shows and CSI shows have shoved my beloved sitcom to the back of the television bus.
Checking the weeknight schedule grid for the 4 major networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) I came up with some revealing statistics. Here is how the 55 hours of primetime programming breaks down.
Drama Shows – 28 hours (3 – Law and Order, 5 – CSI)
Reality Shows – 17.5 hours
Situation Comedy Shows – 6.5 hours
News Magazine Shows – 3 hours
390 out of a total of 3,300 minutes devoted to my cherished sitcoms! A measly 11.8 percent of total primetime viewing. There is definitely something wrong with this equation. What are the network executives thinking? What makes it worse is of the few sitcoms we do have, most of them stink!
Starting with this evening through next Monday, there are the 13 different sitcoms being offered to us. ABC has Scrubs (2 episodes) and Samantha Who. CBS gives us The New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, The Big Bang, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Worst Week. NBC puts together a Thursday night package of My Name is Earl, Kath and Kim, The Office and 30 Rock.
The Office and 30 Rock are both highly acclaimed and both are award-winning shows. But look at their competition! I will be honest with you; I don’t make it a point to watch any of these shows. Most of them I have never seen a minute of. None of it appeals to me. Give me the good old days…
This is where I become “Middle-Aged Man”. Let me begin by saying thank God for TVLand, Nick at Night, MeTV and the other cable channels that show the sitcoms from the good old days. Without those stations I would be “sitcom-less”. I am serious. The only thing showing on my Toshiba would be sports and the news. Okay, and Survivor. But that would be it. But, thankfully I have my classic sitcoms at my disposal.
Kicking around ideas for this column, I started by making a list of sitcoms from the good old days. I came up with over fifty and am sure that I left several favorites off. Then I started whittling the list down. Thirty minutes later, I had the list shrunk to twenty. After some more deliberation I finally had my Top 5 with an honorable mention list of ten.
Here are my Top 5 favorite sitcoms:
5. The Bob Newhart Show aired on CBS from September 16, 1972 to April 1, 1978. A total of 142 episodes. The main cast consisted of Dr. Robert Hartley, Emily Hartley, Howard Borden, Dr. Jerry Robinson and Carol Kester.
4. News Radio was originally broadcast from 1995 to 1999 on NBC. A total of 97 episodes. The cast of this great show was made up of Dave Nelson, Lisa Miller, Bill McNeal, Catherine Duke, Jimmy James, Beth, Joe Garrelli, Matthew Brock and Max Lewis.
3. The Andy Griffith Show was first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. A total of 249 episodes. Main characters included Andy Taylor, Barney Fife, Aunt Bee Taylor, Opie Taylor, Floyd Lawson, Otis Campbell, Gomer and Goober Pyle.
2. Seinfeld originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998. A total of 180 episodes. The well-known cast was made up of Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza, Elaine Benes and Cosmos Kramer.
1. Leave it to Beaver debuted on CBS on October 4, 1957, moved to ABC the following year, and completed its first run on June 20, 1963. A total of 234 episodes. The cast of this all time classic was highlighted by Ward Cleaver, June Cleaver, Wally Cleaver, Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver, Eddie Haskell, Larry Mondello and Clarence “Lumpy” Rutherford.
In alphabetical order, my Honorable Mention: Are You Being Served?, Becker, Cheers, M*A*S*H, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mr. Belvedere, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Wings and WKRP in Cincinnati.
Maybe I have indeed become “Middle-Aged Man, but not one of the twelve sitcoms currently airing could crack my list of fifteen. You can have Old Christine and Samantha Who, give me Wally and the Beaver any day. Until next time…
The situation comedy, a television series in which the same set of characters are involved in various amusing situations. A nice definition, don’t you think? Short and sweet, direct and to the point. Just like a good sitcom should be.
I have been enjoying sitcoms since the early days of lying on the floor watching the old black and white RCA. Today, with big screens, flat screens, plasma models and high definition technology, you would think that my sitcom viewing experience would be even more pleasurable. Well it’s not!
No, 2009 is not a good time for the sitcom aficionado. For one, there is a serious lack of this type of show right now. I am referring to new, first-run sitcoms. They just aren’t out there. Reality shows, Law and Order shows and CSI shows have shoved my beloved sitcom to the back of the television bus.
Checking the weeknight schedule grid for the 4 major networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) I came up with some revealing statistics. Here is how the 55 hours of primetime programming breaks down.
Drama Shows – 28 hours (3 – Law and Order, 5 – CSI)
Reality Shows – 17.5 hours
Situation Comedy Shows – 6.5 hours
News Magazine Shows – 3 hours
390 out of a total of 3,300 minutes devoted to my cherished sitcoms! A measly 11.8 percent of total primetime viewing. There is definitely something wrong with this equation. What are the network executives thinking? What makes it worse is of the few sitcoms we do have, most of them stink!
Starting with this evening through next Monday, there are the 13 different sitcoms being offered to us. ABC has Scrubs (2 episodes) and Samantha Who. CBS gives us The New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, The Big Bang, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Worst Week. NBC puts together a Thursday night package of My Name is Earl, Kath and Kim, The Office and 30 Rock.
The Office and 30 Rock are both highly acclaimed and both are award-winning shows. But look at their competition! I will be honest with you; I don’t make it a point to watch any of these shows. Most of them I have never seen a minute of. None of it appeals to me. Give me the good old days…
This is where I become “Middle-Aged Man”. Let me begin by saying thank God for TVLand, Nick at Night, MeTV and the other cable channels that show the sitcoms from the good old days. Without those stations I would be “sitcom-less”. I am serious. The only thing showing on my Toshiba would be sports and the news. Okay, and Survivor. But that would be it. But, thankfully I have my classic sitcoms at my disposal.
Kicking around ideas for this column, I started by making a list of sitcoms from the good old days. I came up with over fifty and am sure that I left several favorites off. Then I started whittling the list down. Thirty minutes later, I had the list shrunk to twenty. After some more deliberation I finally had my Top 5 with an honorable mention list of ten.
Here are my Top 5 favorite sitcoms:
5. The Bob Newhart Show aired on CBS from September 16, 1972 to April 1, 1978. A total of 142 episodes. The main cast consisted of Dr. Robert Hartley, Emily Hartley, Howard Borden, Dr. Jerry Robinson and Carol Kester.
4. News Radio was originally broadcast from 1995 to 1999 on NBC. A total of 97 episodes. The cast of this great show was made up of Dave Nelson, Lisa Miller, Bill McNeal, Catherine Duke, Jimmy James, Beth, Joe Garrelli, Matthew Brock and Max Lewis.
3. The Andy Griffith Show was first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. A total of 249 episodes. Main characters included Andy Taylor, Barney Fife, Aunt Bee Taylor, Opie Taylor, Floyd Lawson, Otis Campbell, Gomer and Goober Pyle.
2. Seinfeld originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998. A total of 180 episodes. The well-known cast was made up of Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza, Elaine Benes and Cosmos Kramer.
1. Leave it to Beaver debuted on CBS on October 4, 1957, moved to ABC the following year, and completed its first run on June 20, 1963. A total of 234 episodes. The cast of this all time classic was highlighted by Ward Cleaver, June Cleaver, Wally Cleaver, Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver, Eddie Haskell, Larry Mondello and Clarence “Lumpy” Rutherford.
In alphabetical order, my Honorable Mention: Are You Being Served?, Becker, Cheers, M*A*S*H, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mr. Belvedere, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Wings and WKRP in Cincinnati.
Maybe I have indeed become “Middle-Aged Man, but not one of the twelve sitcoms currently airing could crack my list of fifteen. You can have Old Christine and Samantha Who, give me Wally and the Beaver any day. Until next time…
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