OT - the state of American comedy TV

[Mudcat]

I have a few random thoughts.


I noticed there is a Scrubs spin-off now. That got me thinking. Scrubs was not a great show. It was excessively cutesy and there was a tendency for all the characters to have the exact same personality and quippy speech pattern. As the seasons went along, these tendencies got worse. I would get the odd laugh out of it when I caught it but it was not the kind of thing I would tape if I was going to miss is.

And for all that faint praise, I'll be damned if I can think of any better sitcoms during its time.


30 Rock? Can't watch it.

Two and a Half Men? My Name is Earl? Ugh.


Things are not in a good state. Anyway I did watch an episode of the new Scrubs last night and I would not have thought it was possible for them to go further along the path of super-cutesiness - but there it was. And there were all the characters speaking in the exact same quippy voice - even moreso. Hard to see myself watching it again.



Not meaning to be totally negative though. Better Off Ted looks promising. Much better show than Scrubs. It is far from flawless but I get some laughs out of it and will continue to watch.


I have been very impressed with the latest season of South Park. It is well past the point where most shows will go stale but they keep coming up with fresh ideas. What other show would put forth the argument that bikers on loud Harleys are basically fags? I give the South Park guys all kinds of credit for continually switching things up.


I am still liking Family Guy but it has slipped more noticably than South Park. The other Seth MacFarlane shows (American Dad and The Cleveland Show) are awful.

Shame about the Simpsons. Probably time for euthanasia. Many would call it long overdue.



I am waiting for some convincing buzz to come from some new comedies (Modern Family?) but I am not hearing a thing about anything.



Will Arrested Development go down as the last good sitcom? Speaking of which, there is an Arrested Development movie coming up. Looking forward to that.



That is my ramble.

[smitch124]

I'm lucky, where I live I can watch the local sports teams for comedy...

[illmatick]

its always sunny in philadelphia

[Irish Lumberjack]

i use to watch the office everyweek, but didn't watch any of the last season. It's lost it's humor.... things are rough right now

[daneblazer]

The Modern Family is pretty good. Still like Family Guy though they're either starting to run out of material or trying too hard. South Park is still okay. Other than that the "comedy" is pretty rough and similar.

[The Seer]

Sitcoms aren't like the old days but I definitely think South Park is the best.

[Irish Lumberjack]

i like the big bang theory

[Irish Lumberjack]

The Modern Family is pretty good. Still like Family Guy though they're either starting to run out of material or trying too hard. South Park is still okay. Other than that the "comedy" is pretty rough and similar.

I think family guy is going through it's simpsons phase when it lost it's way for a few years

[AMBlai01]

I really love the Monday CBS lineup. How I met your Mother is great and not sure where they are going to go with that show because its actually a big flashback but it has been great.

That new show accidentally on purpose is pretty dreadful and would be surprised if it is around next season. Two and Half Men still makes me laugh....i could watch the re runs all day long.

Big Bang Theory is solid. ANytime you have a hot girl like this in the show...its always worth a watch.

[Bread]

Who doesn't like Scrubs????

[Matt Rain]

Most of these shows were funny at first, but any kind of success in American TV means that your product will be milked out of all its worth and then some. Blame the overly greedy producers who force writers to stretch a good thing into a tired old (jjgoldesque?) joke.

Two and Half Men was unapologetically "male". Lil kid was the central character and he had many classic and improbable one-liners - they really needed to replace him once he hit puberty though, cause he lost all his cheekiness and appeal.

Scrubs was virtuosic in its timing at first. Barrage of clever jokes that were perfectly delivered by everyone.

[Bread]

PS...I tend to reconsider my friendship with anyone who claims to find 'Two and a Half Men' funny.

Jussss sayin....

[Matt Rain]

Lil dude was funny is what I'm saying. Charlie Sheen and what's-his-face who plays the brother never actually bothered to act, it's like they showed up late to filming sessions every time and merely read their lines off a teleprompter. Made me laugh. Fack off!

[FishFace5]

My girl makes me watch Grey's anatomy. It's not horrible. Seinfeld was the only sitcom I ever followed weekly.

[landers781]

I am more of an animated comedy guy over sitcom anyways. Futurama is making a comeback which is a smarter and flashier show than the Simpsons. Family guy lost some appeal when it stopped doing the flashback scenes and started focusing more on a storyline. I enjoyed the randomness of it.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is a good show. Not really much on the network channels nowadays. To be exact I really don't watch the network channels much, but I have been this way for most of this decade. Office I will still watch, but I do not like the direction it has taken. 30 Rock I don't mind either. South Park is good on some episodes but some I find myself getting bored with as well.

Doesn't matter these dumb realty shows are taking over anyways.

[Boner_18]

I still find myself laughing hysterically at family guy jokes, old and new. I never considered the Office a top notch comedy because of the amount of drama included. Two and a half men is terrible (which makes me think of the Family Guy bit that rips on it).

Seems you are forget Meet the Browns and Tyler Perry's House of Paine.

[reno cool]

Most of these shows were funny at first, but any kind of success in American TV means that your product will be milked out of all its worth and then some.

Blame the overly greedy producers who force writers to stretch a good thing into a tired old (jjgoldesque?) joke.

Two and Half Men was unapologetically "male". Lil kid was the central character and he had many classic and improbable one-liners - they really needed to replace him once he hit puberty though, cause he lost all his cheekiness and appeal.

Scrubs was virtuosic in its timing at first. Barrage of clever jokes that were perfectly delivered by everyone.

2.5men and Family Guy
even more so in music and most everything
this is why the system is shit.

[DolphinSpurs]

The Middle is funny in a wholesome sort of way (although it is just a Malcolm in the Middle retread) but there are no laugh out loud shows. I refuse to continue watching Modern Family. I choke on it's pretention. The Office lost its spark when Jim and Pam got together and all the other comedies nowadays are more about being "buzzy" instead of actually being funny. American Dad is actually the best of the MacFarlanes. It has really grown but nothing on TV now touches Seinfeld, early Curb or Arrested.

[Matt Rain]

First part of the Scrubs pilot... shit was good.

[AMBlai01]

How I Met your Mother is the funniest on tv right now.

[Willie Bee]

Who doesn't like Scrubs????

I tried to watch it, never thought it was that good. Would rather watch a repeat of a Mordern Marvels show on History.

Pretty much agree with Mudcat's assessment of the sitcoms. Very, very few original anything coming out of Hollywood for either movies or TV.

[Mudcat]

I never enjoyed the awkwardness/discomfort = comedy shows like The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Just a matter of personal taste I suppose.



I was negligent not to mention Entourage and Californication which both are quite watchable. I am not as gaga about them as some people but I will watch them whenever a new season comes out on DVD.

I got more focused on network shows but those two shows are American comedy TV too.



No comments on Better Off Ted? It's the best non-animated thing going right now IMO.

[jellobiafra]

Modern Family is really good. I like Parks and Recreation on NBC too. Their Thursday night is pretty solid.

[JetsMatt85]

Scrubs has got to be the most overrated sitcom on Television right now. Never found it funny, and thought the man crush between the two dudes was gay as all hell. Possibly because hospitals arent funny, and ER sucked horribly also (from a males point of view). < / rant >

[Mudcat]

Most of these shows were funny at first, but any kind of success in American TV means that your product will be milked out of all its worth and then some. Blame the overly greedy producers who force writers to stretch a good thing into a tired old (jjgoldesque?) joke.

Astute point. This is what I appreciate so much about South Park. Most shows would still be killing Kenny every week but they just did it for a while and moved on (but still with the occasional inside reference for the faithful).

As crass and fart-oriented as those guys can be, they are very good writers and satirists.

[Richkas]

Two and a Half Men, Raymond, the office are my favs. I never understood why people liked Seinfeld. Its a stupid show. If somebody acted the way they do in Seinfeld at my house, I would split their head wide open.

[jellobiafra]

First part of the Scrubs pilot... shit was good.

I watched Scrubs for years. Got over it like Muddy later in it's NBC life. It's actually the most realistic hospital show I've ever seen. Not the jokes and goofy shit of course, but the attitude that doctors have towards patients and the way they cope with the things they have to deal with on a daily basis. Right on the money for the most part.

[JetsMatt85]

I watched Scrubs for years. Got over it like Muddy later in it's NBC life. It's actually the most realistic hospital show I've ever seen. Not the jokes and goofy shit of course, but the attitude that doctors have towards patients and the way they cope with the things they have to deal with on a daily basis.

Understand that angle but thought "BECKER" did a much better job of doing that.

Loved that show. probably have seen every single episode.

[jellobiafra]

Understand that angle but thought "BECKER" did a much better job of doing that.

Loved that show. probably have seen every single episode.

Never saw Becker. My father is an ER doc, so he would always kind of ridicule these shows. ER was a complete farce, but I think we all know that.

I grew up exposed to ER's quite a bit, and influenced by his and other doctors' sensibilities. I remember once several years ago a friend of mine who is an attorney asked him - all full of righteous idealism - if he'd ever caused a death before (as if he would get him to admit something he didn't want to or force him to lie). Without blinking an eye my dad said "Absolutely...probably more than once." A second later he added - "But I've saved a lot more lives than I've lost."

That's sort of a glimpse at the mentality involved. It takes a certain level of detachment to make daily decisions that hold people's lives in the balance.

[tmorton]

Can't get enough of Entourage... I know not exactly what were talking about but that is the only show I have time for!

[bradthebloke]

[quote=Matt Rain;2719193]Most of these shows were funny at first, but any kind of success in American TV means that your product will be milked out of all its worth and then some. Blame the overly greedy producers who force writers to stretch a good thing into a tired old (jjgoldesque?) joke.

Two and Half Men was unapologetically "male". Lil kid was the central character and he had many classic and improbable one-liners - they really needed to replace him once he hit puberty though, cause he lost all his cheekiness and appeal.

ya that kid is a total sloth now. and he still does the lame fat jokes which arent even funny

[jellobiafra]

Can't get enough of Entourage... I know not exactly what were talking about but that is the only show I have time for!

I've seen every episode of Entourage and Californication and I still like them both, but I'm getting a little tired of the template. Maybe it's part jealousy, but NOBODY could get laid like Hank Moody in real life. I can understand the movie star angle with Vince in Entourage and yeah....sure... he could fukk a different TEN every day of the week. It gets a little old, for me at least, but that's believable I guess. But not Hank Moody, some washed up one hit wonder author. This guy is constantly juggling 3 or 4 knockouts, and every place he steps foot into some new chick is eye fukking him right from the start.

[AMBlai01]

Two and a Half Men, Raymond, the office are my favs. I never understood why people liked Seinfeld. Its a stupid show. If somebody acted the way they do in Seinfeld at my house, I would split their head wide open.

Wow...don't like Seinfeld? I can't understand someone saying that honestly. The show is great...its so true its just the funny things in everyday life. We can all relate to all of the situations that they find themselves in. I have had half the conversations that they have had on that show with my friends....

[Willie Bee]

...and thought the man crush between the two dudes was gay as all hell.

[Mudcat]

Moving off the beaten track into 11 minute animated shows:

Aqua Teen Hunger Force cracks me up. I don't know if what I'm seeing are new episodes or just new to me - but it cracks me up I tells ya.

Robot Chicken I didn't like much at first but it broke me down. I get some laughs out of it. I believe they have recently stopped making new episodes.

Moral Orel is an unusual show which I have just started taking a closer look it. I figured at first it was just a one-dimensional jab at religious hypocracy but it gets into some unexpected and bizarre areas of human behavior. It has some wow moments for me that are more about surprising social observation than comedy.

Assy McGee. Maybe you have to be twisted like me to appreciate it.

I wish they would do more Tom Goes To The Mayors.