(Also, lost count of how many episodes have him dropping the "fag" bomb. Whereas in the ep where George Jefferson drops the racial equivalent, he marvels "I stopped using that word a couple years ago.")
― It's Autumn Sunrise (Eric H.), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 14:43 (ten years ago) link
voted taxi
― Mordy, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 14:47 (ten years ago) link
i have enough of a Megan Mullally crush to consider voting W&G tbh
― Daphnis Celesta, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 14:49 (ten years ago) link
why Edith didn't just up and leave him
There's one of those TV Academy interviews where Jean Stapleton is listing Edith's virtues but interjects, as an aside, "not bright."
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 14:54 (ten years ago) link
any more than you could hardly say it advances Meathead's ideology.
This changed too. When the show is establishing its agenda early on, Meathead is often a mouthpiece for Norman Lear, esp in the Archie-Mike political donnybrooks. Then they started to mock his hippie leftism as well (his support for Eldridge Cleaver for president in a flashback episode).
I dunno, all the big laughs I remember from the show were directed AT A.B., so I didn't see it painting racism as delightful.
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 15:00 (ten years ago) link
Even with Norman Lear's intentions, the show has the same effect that "edgy" racist comedy has today, it ends up being a lousy excuse to perpetuate hateful stereotypes in a shroud of self-awareness. I don't know what it felt like watching it when it was airing live but watching it today... pretty cringeworthy, just like all the gay stuff in Three's Company
― Nhex, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 15:10 (ten years ago) link
I don't know that AB's bigotry was meant to be delightful, but it did come across as pretty harmless especially the longer the show went on. I would have to watch the show again but I think there may have been some false equivalence with regard to George Jefferson, Mike etc. And it always seemed like Edith was meant to be the best of people, despite not being bothered or even really taking note of her husband's prejudices.
― MrDasher, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 15:14 (ten years ago) link
I'll reiterate: I get why the show is good and I think it was very important to my parents. It's pretty emphatically not for me, particularly with how it's currently played in syndication.
― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 15:17 (ten years ago) link
This would be a fairly close raise between MTM, Cheers and Taxi for me. Probably Cheers.
― Welcome to my spooooooky carnival! Hope I don't... blow your mind! (Phil D.), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 15:19 (ten years ago) link
Cheers
― MaudAddam (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 15:57 (ten years ago) link
I think there may have been some false equivalence with regard to George Jefferson, Mike etc.
Right, which is half of why liberals tended to hate Meathead's character more than Archie's. (The other half is that they only saw one of them as a cartoon.)
― It's Autumn Sunrise (Eric H.), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 16:55 (ten years ago) link
pretty cringeworthy, just like all the gay stuff in Three's Company
Just like all the gay stuff in W&G tbh.
― It's Autumn Sunrise (Eric H.), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:02 (ten years ago) link
ha, I actually prefer Three's Company by a mile, just had to roll my eyes whenever the landlord came in to make a crack about fairies
― Nhex, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:04 (ten years ago) link
what kind of person lets their father in law call them "meathead"?
― lars von (Treeship), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:04 (ten years ago) link
pref to "you dumb Polack" perhaps
I think Norman Lear's father called him Meathead (and was a prime model for Archie).
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:06 (ten years ago) link
m*a*s*h got one less than raymond
― da croupier, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:07 (ten years ago) link
Easy vote for Cheers. 30 Rock is rad too. Haven't really seen much of Taxi or Murphy Brown. Have no interest at all in All in the Family, seems totally outdated. The rest are fine.
― Immediate Follower (NA), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:07 (ten years ago) link
btw Nhex, I think people did cringe at some of the dialogue in 1971, and that was by design. Satire is sposed to be uncomfortable.
oh "dated" again
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:08 (ten years ago) link
between the shows i've seen very little of and the shows i've seen little of in recent years, i can't bring myself to vote
― da croupier, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:10 (ten years ago) link
probably been more than 15 years since i've seen a full episode of murphy brown, all in the family or taxi, i bought a bunch of seasons of mtm for my wife a few christmases ago but i've only seen like 5 episodes, probably only seen 5 episodes of frasier too
― da croupier, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:12 (ten years ago) link
cheers was my gut pick but i've only revisited the first two seasons of late, dunno how the rebecca years hold up
― da croupier, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:13 (ten years ago) link
These exchanges are pretty clearly meant to deflate/mock AB's attitudes, a long way from the 'gay stuff' in Three's Company iirch:http://youtu.be/e9aR4b14tqA?t=9m41shttp://youtu.be/e9aR4b14tqA?t=18m30s
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:43 (ten years ago) link
thank you for AllInTheFamilysplaining to me
― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:46 (ten years ago) link
Wasn't directed at you
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:47 (ten years ago) link
I've been watching a bit of Modern Family at dinner lately. Is it just me or does this show really extend out the reconciliation/making-up scenes? They take up practically the whole third act, and there are invariably at least three separate conflicts that need to be resolved.
― jmm, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:47 (ten years ago) link
Oh, I guess the "deflation" comment was yours so maybe it was in part. Sorry if the tone came off wrong, I guess.xpost
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:48 (ten years ago) link
Was mostly responding to Nhex though
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:54 (ten years ago) link
apparently, I can't watch those clips in the US anyway....i never got the sense that the studio audience was "in" on the satire, but tbf I haven't seen the show in a very long time.xp jmm - absolutely, the show revels in sentimentality (not a knock)
― Nhex, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:56 (ten years ago) link
man "Archie Bunker's Place" has vanished, hasn't it? I remember it as the lead in to "The Jeffersons" on Sunday nights in '80 or '81 and thinking it was a snore.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 17:58 (ten years ago) link
ALF wuz robbed.
― Aimless, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:03 (ten years ago) link
One thing I did like about ELR is that it turned the children into almost invisible characters unlike most family sitcoms. It was all about the adults, it was well written and everybody in the cast except for Ray Romano and Brad Garrett was actually pleasant to watch.
― Everyone's a closet ned. (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:09 (ten years ago) link
Modern Family goes OTT with the sentimentality because of how pointed the relationships become; the show wants to derive humor from conflict and misunderstanding (and goofy situations) but not to the point where the family seems like it's going to implode/break apart. The closest they've gotten has been the Jay/Mitchell relationship.
Also I may be alone here but the kids on Modern Family are hysterical.
― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:11 (ten years ago) link
I've only seen a handful of Modern Family episodes, but it just smells of taking things like Arrested Development, The Office, Parks & Rec, etc and rubbing all the pointy edges off so boomers won't cut themselves on it.
― Everyone's a closet ned. (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:12 (ten years ago) link
That's otm. Also, every single episode has one of the characters getting into a minor car accident, for some reason.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:13 (ten years ago) link
Eh, it's using the documentary style but it's not really going after the same wacky/satirical territory so much as refreshing the "big house" family sitcom, a mission accomplished. The cast is really good all around.
― Nhex, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:15 (ten years ago) link
Out of this list, Murphy Brown seems the most like the highly acclaimed (and watched) sitcom that time completely forgot.
― Everyone's a closet ned. (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:19 (ten years ago) link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Musical_Man
This was the episode of Modern Family that made me start watching the show; I don't think I'd agree with the idea that the big lols here have the pointedness rubbed off of them.
― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:21 (ten years ago) link
Most of the friends who still watch sitcoms love "Modern Family." None of them are gay.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:23 (ten years ago) link
I just watched the Fitzbo episode. Was quite good. What other episodes is worth checking out? The idea that Modern Family belongs in the same pantheon as... well, ok, Frasier. Huh. Emmys are stupid, huh?
― Frederik B, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:30 (ten years ago) link
i never got the sense that the studio audience was "in" on the satire
MIKE: So now you're going to tell me the black man has just as much chance as the white man to get a job? ARCHIE: More, he has more... I didn't have no million people marchin' and protestin' to get me my job. EDITH: No, his uncle got it for him.
[huge laugh]
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:36 (ten years ago) link
This sounds EXACTLY like every episode of Everybody Loves Raymond (a terrible show) I've ever seen.
― It's Autumn Sunrise (Eric H.), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:36 (ten years ago) link
This reminds me that I finally found an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond that I thought was hilarious, where the conflict started because Ray was telling his friends that he could call Debra anything and get away with it if it was in a playful tone; the degree to which that crashed and burned was kind of amazing and hilarious.
― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:39 (ten years ago) link
ELR's primary takeaway for me was in feeling really, really sorry for straight people.
― It's Autumn Sunrise (Eric H.), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:42 (ten years ago) link
Cheers, I guess. I like MTM but haven't really seen enough of it.Murphy Brown is the one I watched when it originally aired but don't think I've seen since. I am thinking now it would seem pretty dated and obvious? I've tried to watch Modern Family a few times but didn't find it engaging.
― MrDasher, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 18:45 (ten years ago) link
i have a feeling the 'best' is prob MTM, but i haven't really watched it in two decades so i'll go with 30 rock.
AITF seems very very different from anything else here, and not just because the themes are different. the vibe is really unsettling. most beloved sitcoms tend to have a kind of placid, comfortable atmosphere to them, but here it feels like all of the characters are constantly either screaming at each other, storming off in disgust, or dissolving into hysterics. must have been all the more shocking coming at the end of a decade of sitcoms about wisecracking witches and talking horses (tho tbh if i have to watch a sitcom i'd rather watch one from that era than most of these).
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 19:10 (ten years ago) link
what amazes me about ELR is how something can be so bleak and mean-spirited and still be so completely unfunny
― Daphnis Celesta, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 19:53 (ten years ago) link
it feels like all of the characters are constantly either screaming at each other, storming off in disgust, or dissolving into hysterics
It's set in Queens.
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 19:54 (ten years ago) link
ZING!
― Nhex, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 19:56 (ten years ago) link
I feel weird sticking up here for Everybody Loves Raymond, surely one of the most popular sitcoms ever, but within its bitterness there's something surprisingly real in it, and it was often funny. It IS a broad farce, but I'd be lying if I didn't see a lot of recognizable humanity. It does deserve to be above the pack of standard family sitcoms.
― Nhex, Tuesday, 26 August 2014 20:03 (ten years ago) link
For a couple years there my sister had syndicated ELR reruns on every time I visited, and it was fucking hell imho. Couldn't make it through 10 mins.
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 20:05 (ten years ago) link
Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts were the glue of the show, and could've anchored it with any other surrounding cast.
― Everyone's a closet ned. (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 26 August 2014 20:07 (ten years ago) link
Primo "Meathead as dolt" episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clFl59-zArk
― a guy named Christian White who represents the typical white Christian (Eric H.), Monday, 8 September 2014 03:27 (ten years ago) link
I haven't watched All in the Family for a long time--it probably hasn't been in network syndication here for at least 25 years. (I'd happily buy a box of the complete series if I found one cheap enough.) So even though that might be the right answer for me, I'll go with MTM, which I've watched recently.
Larry Sanders (3 Emmys) over all of them.
― clemenza, Monday, 8 September 2014 14:26 (ten years ago) link
Despite AITF feeling like the only show here with "import" (for better and def worse), I'm pretty sure I'll end up voting Taxi.
― a guy named Christian White who represents the typical white Christian (Eric H.), Monday, 8 September 2014 14:34 (ten years ago) link
Without a doubt.
― Coarse Apple Slaw (Old Lunch), Monday, 8 September 2014 14:44 (ten years ago) link
― Coarse Apple Slaw (Old Lunch), Monday, September 8, 2014 10:44 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Thirded.
― MaudAddam (cryptosicko), Monday, 8 September 2014 14:47 (ten years ago) link
Hell, Dave Coulier's Out of Control over at least half of them.
― a guy named Christian White who represents the typical white Christian (Eric H.), Monday, 8 September 2014 14:49 (ten years ago) link
Despite AITF feeling like the only show here with "import" (for better and def worse),
yes, we know you like totally meaningless art.
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Monday, 8 September 2014 15:33 (ten years ago) link
I don't like you, you meaningless fart.
― a guy named Christian White who represents the typical white Christian (Eric H.), Monday, 8 September 2014 15:35 (ten years ago) link
damn, you've been stealing snappy patter from Hawks films!
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Monday, 8 September 2014 15:38 (ten years ago) link
also: stifle.
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Monday, 8 September 2014 15:39 (ten years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Monday, 15 September 2014 00:01 (ten years ago) link
Hahahahaha.
No.
― a guy named Christian White who represents the typical white Christian (Eric H.), Monday, 15 September 2014 02:42 (ten years ago) link