Where have all the family sitcoms gone?

[tjaisv]

I really miss many of the shows i grew up with, like Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Who?s the Boss, Silver Spoons, Different Strokes...and older ones like Little House on the Prairie, Leave it to Beaver, Lassie, and a few others. Now it's all reality this and reality that, or trendy comedy sitcoms that just don't interest me.

Do you think the future will ever see the return of great family sitcom? :brokenheart:

 

[igowerf]

They died off with TGIF. The family sitcoms now are packaged as quirky comedies like Malcom in the Middle, Arrested Development, That 70s Show, Everybody Hates Chris, Grounded for Life, George Lopez, etc. These shows are crazier, but they still often end with a sappy lesson.

 

[sandorski]

Everybody Hates Chris is pretty good as a family show. Malcolm in the Middle seems fairly decent as well. You could always buy the DVD sets of those older shows if you think they are more appropriate.

 

[So]

The sitcom has more or less been declared dead by the networks. DESPITE their continued success. The last sitcoms were:

Everybody Loves Raymond
Seinfeld
Fraiser
The Drew Carey Show

They will return, like the hero riding into the sunset.

 

[compuwiz1]

Gawd, I'm glad I'm not the only one that hates reality shows. That Flavor of Love BS was about the most disgusting one of them I've seen.....just totally ghetto, IMO. And there aren't really any good family shows, where I would sit and watch them with young kids.

 

[imported_Mike]

Networks put on what people watch. When sitcoms were getting their asses handed to them every week by survivor...networks looked to something else that can compete.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Gawd, I'm glad I'm not the only one that hates reality shows. That Flavor of Love BS was about the most disgusting one of them I've seen.....just totally ghetto, IMO. And there aren't really any good family shows, where I would sit and watch them with young kids.

I love that idea too - "reality" shows. Do people actually believe that they are "reality?"
If they were simple reality shows, no one would watch. You get reality at home every day, in full 360degree surround-vision. Why watch it on TV? Hence, reality shows are not reality, but crudely scripted crap to hold viewers attention, to make them believe that their own reality is just dull and boring. This makes viewers want to keep watching, to feel a part of the exciting "reality" that lies beyond the screen.

 

[PlatinumGold]

boston legal is a sitcom altho not great for kids to watch

another thing, the sitcoms of the 80's and 90's were mostly 30 minute spots, now any prime time show we have are all 1 hour melodrama's.

joey would be a sitcome, two and a half men? with charlie sheen is a sitcom i'd say.

but ya, the sitcom is hard to find.

 

[JonnyDuke]

I thank God for Sci-Fi Friday.......I do often wish though that it was on a broadcast network instead of cable. I dont think tv will ever be the same as when I was growing up....but sometimes thats a good thing. I think some of the writing has gotten better.

 

[vegetation]

TV-land loves reality shows since they are dirt cheap to produce.

 

[loic2003]

Originally posted by: tjaisv
Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Who?s the Boss, Silver Spoons, Different Strokes...and older ones like Little House on the Prairie, Leave it to Beaver, Lassie,

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap....

Maybe they're not around because the ratings were low due to the programs being wank?

There's loads of decent comedies out there, why do they have to be based upon a family? given the examples above, it's quite clearely been overused and is now cliched.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: tjaisv
I really miss many of the shows i grew up with, like Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Who?s the Boss, Silver Spoons, Different Strokes...and older ones like Little House on the Prairie, Leave it to Beaver, Lassie, and a few others. Now it's all reality this and reality that, or trendy comedy sitcoms that just don't interest me.

Do you think the future will ever see the return of great family sitcom? :brokenheart:

Nope... we are no longer a family oriented nation...

the familty sitcom died with full house, step by step, perfect strangers, & family matters...
never to return...

thankfully the cable stations still have a few decent non-reality shows remaining...
like Law & Order

 

[Beige]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
boston legal is a sitcom altho not great for kids to watch

another thing, the sitcoms of the 80's and 90's were mostly 30 minute spots, now any prime time show we have are all 1 hour melodrama's.

joey would be a sitcome, two and a half men? with charlie sheen is a sitcom i'd say.

but ya, the sitcom is hard to find.

I love Boston Legal because they can be so funny especially Danny Crane and still hold on to their intelligence.



Whats my name? Danny Crane..

 

[EngenZerO]

i watch whatver is on abc... george lopez, freddie, what about jim, hope and faith...

 

[purbeast0]

I dunno man. I really like The War At Home. I think it's a hilarious show and haven't really seen 1 bad episode since it started showing. I like how the show takes a lot of somewhat touchy issues and makes funny shows about them.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: vegetation
TV-land loves reality shows since they are dirt cheap to produce.

One of the interesting ways that reality shows save money is that they don't have to pay the writers of reality shows the going rate of writers of sitcom or other shows since there is no formal script. I don't even think the writers of reality shows get any money for reruns. There was a bit of a kerfuffle about this a couple of years ago with the writers from Fear Factor

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: EngenZerO
i watch whatver is on abc... george lopez, freddie, what about jim, hope and faith...

i think ABC has taken over the regular tv (i mean, sitcoms, dramas etc) type programming. CBS is sports and reality. NBC has lost it's identity and can't decide if they want to air great regular tv programming like ABC or reality shows.

also, the winter olympics didn't help NBC any either.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: vegetation
TV-land loves reality shows since they are dirt cheap to produce.

One of the interesting ways that reality shows save money is that they don't have to pay the writers of reality shows the going rate of writers of sitcom or other shows since there is no formal script. I don't even think the writers of reality shows get any money for reruns. There was a bit of a kerfuffle about this a couple of years ago with the writers from Fear Factor

reality shows will never do as well in reruns as sitcoms will.

it's like sports reruns.

 

[Schadenfroh]

You now must get your family values from Drawn Together.

 

[tjaisv]

Originally posted by: igowerf
They died off with TGIF. The family sitcoms now are packaged as quirky comedies like Malcom in the Middle, Arrested Development, That 70s Show, Everybody Hates Chris, Grounded for Life, George Lopez, etc. These shows are crazier, but they still often end with a sappy lesson.

Yeah, i just can't get into these type of shows, but i guess a lot of people do and that's fine. I guess most people would just rather watch this and "reality" tv instead of good family-oriented programming. Well maybe the future of tv will see a return to the family valued entertainment of the past, and so i'll always hope for it...

 

[ballmode]

REALITY TV

AMERICAN IDOL


i love you SHOWS!

 

[tjaisv]

I actually like American Idol, but that's pretty much the only one. The others get old WAY too fast.

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: ballmode
REALITY TV

AMERICAN IDOL


i love you SHOWS!

Oh really?

 

[Phlargo]

the Drama has taken a significant amount of the market from the traditional sitcom. All these popular dramas these days!

 

[HardcoreRobot]

i dont know, and i dont wanna find them!