frostytheplebe
Seventh Part of the Seal
Over the years, I've watched this type of afternoon/evening TV show go down hill at an increasing pace. Now they are in a downward spiral. It seems that the entire genre has taken a back seat to mindless teenagers who swear up a storm, didn't go to college, and just berate each other and cry... I'm speaking of course of REALITY TV!
Gone are the really qualities sitcoms starting M*A*S*H* and going down the line with Taxi, Cheers, and Sienfeld. After Cheers left primetime television following a hugely successful run (Discounting seasons 6, 7, and most of 8), sitcoms really became a dime a dozen. Frasier picked up where Cheers left off and some argue (not me) that is was a better show overall. Wings was a less successful spinoff that also had a decent run.
A few members of cheers attempted to have their own careers after the show. The Tortellis, another spinoff never made it passed the pilot episode, but Ted Danson saw quite a bit of success from the movies he was in, followed by Becker. Becker was his stand alone achievement. It had a successful run with a fun cast, and his own sarcasm augmented the dry humorous attitude of the show.
Sienfeld was arguably (again, not by me) the greatest sitcom of all time. It saw huge success with a following that has remained intact since the show's final episode. However, it empowered the cast to go out and attempt a slew of TV series that flopped one after another. The only one to see any real post Sienfeld success was Julia Dreyfus, on her latest show "The New Adventures of Old Christine" which has somehow managed to stay on air.
Other various classic TV sitcoms also saw a lot of success such as Coach, Home Improvement, and 3rd Rock From the Sun. However by the mid to late 90s with the end of these shows, and the rise of shows like Survivor, The Real World, and then an over abundance of reality shows on MTV and VH1 (I'm sorry weren't these Music channels?), Sitcoms were slowly going out of style.
During the mid 2000s attempts were made to revitalize the genre with shows like 'Back to you" (very funny!) but these were badly hurt by the writers strike. Today this group is kept alive by shows like "Two and a Half Men," and "Scrubs."
However today, the term sitcom is now including animated shows like the Simpson and Family guy.
That said, I've been flicking through my overpriced cable looking for a decent new Sitcom and did not find ANYTHING of interest. I can usually pick out a show that will flop after one or two seasons and most of what I saw, including a new show featuring some stupid kid who ten years from now will be the next Lindsay Lohan, and another show featuring Melissa Joan Hart, it doesn't seem like there is much potential and the amount of good sitcoms out there is quickly starting to thin.
Gone are the really qualities sitcoms starting M*A*S*H* and going down the line with Taxi, Cheers, and Sienfeld. After Cheers left primetime television following a hugely successful run (Discounting seasons 6, 7, and most of 8), sitcoms really became a dime a dozen. Frasier picked up where Cheers left off and some argue (not me) that is was a better show overall. Wings was a less successful spinoff that also had a decent run.
A few members of cheers attempted to have their own careers after the show. The Tortellis, another spinoff never made it passed the pilot episode, but Ted Danson saw quite a bit of success from the movies he was in, followed by Becker. Becker was his stand alone achievement. It had a successful run with a fun cast, and his own sarcasm augmented the dry humorous attitude of the show.
Sienfeld was arguably (again, not by me) the greatest sitcom of all time. It saw huge success with a following that has remained intact since the show's final episode. However, it empowered the cast to go out and attempt a slew of TV series that flopped one after another. The only one to see any real post Sienfeld success was Julia Dreyfus, on her latest show "The New Adventures of Old Christine" which has somehow managed to stay on air.
Other various classic TV sitcoms also saw a lot of success such as Coach, Home Improvement, and 3rd Rock From the Sun. However by the mid to late 90s with the end of these shows, and the rise of shows like Survivor, The Real World, and then an over abundance of reality shows on MTV and VH1 (I'm sorry weren't these Music channels?), Sitcoms were slowly going out of style.
During the mid 2000s attempts were made to revitalize the genre with shows like 'Back to you" (very funny!) but these were badly hurt by the writers strike. Today this group is kept alive by shows like "Two and a Half Men," and "Scrubs."
However today, the term sitcom is now including animated shows like the Simpson and Family guy.
That said, I've been flicking through my overpriced cable looking for a decent new Sitcom and did not find ANYTHING of interest. I can usually pick out a show that will flop after one or two seasons and most of what I saw, including a new show featuring some stupid kid who ten years from now will be the next Lindsay Lohan, and another show featuring Melissa Joan Hart, it doesn't seem like there is much potential and the amount of good sitcoms out there is quickly starting to thin.