Paid Members Carbomb Posted March 8, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 But how is it they've got such an awful record for modern sitcoms They haven't, unless you just ignore all the good ones. Haven't ignored any good ones, I've even pointed out which I think are good; they just don't number anywhere enough against the number of shit ones for their record to be considered any better than "awful". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted March 8, 2011 Moderators Share Posted March 8, 2011 It's always Sunny is a real odd one for me. Â If I want something to watch and I think of that, I never actually seem to want to watch it. But when I do, I'll stick it on and will be a bit annoyed by it, but then by the end of the first episode I watch I'm fully back into it and end up watching several in a row. Â This is the only show I have this reaction to, and I'm not totally sure what it is. It might just be because all the characters are such awful people. Â Â Edit: Hold up.. Mork & Mindy? Really? I've never met anyone who likes that show before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 8, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 I was a bit disappointed by the final episode, and never bothered with it much after that. Â I have to admit to being massively disappointed with the finale. I guess it was even beyond their reach to find a satisfying denouement. I thought the base idea was a great one but the way it played out with old characters and cameos? I just thought they could have done a lot better. The very final scene was great though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted March 8, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 Edit: Hold up.. Mork & Mindy? Really? I've never met anyone who likes that show before... Â Like I say, it's just because it's mindless bollocks really. Just find it easy to watch when I'm tired and drained and don't really want to have to concentrate on anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted March 8, 2011 Moderators Share Posted March 8, 2011 It's just never even made me crack a smile. I've desperately wanted to like it at times, for no other reason than it would be on Paramount at like 3 AM and there'd be nothing else on TV but I'd still be awake... but it's just awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnum Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Carbomb: looking at the various things you've listed, I think you seem to just overwhelmingly prefer distinctively 'British' humour. There's quite a range of tastes there in terms of the type of comedy (put me down as another one who finds Absolutely Fabulous an extraordinary choice), but being homegrown does seem to be the main constant there. Â That doesn't mean to say you won't find Seinfeld funny if you give it a chance, though. It has a lot of the dryness and cynicism that people tend to associate with great British comedy more so than US humour. Personally, I started watching it when Sky1 were airing Season 8, which IMO is one of the best seasons, so I was hooked straight away. I don't think there's anything that comes close to it in terms of being consistently funny over so many episodes and refusing to 'sell out' in terms of pairing off the characters or giving them sentimental 'life changing' moments. To add to the list of recommended episodes, I'd go with 'The Strike' and 'The English Patient'. Â PITCOS, I agree that the finale was poor, primarily because they seemingly felt the need to make it into something special and it lost the mundanity that makes the show great in the first place. I love that they used it to rip the piss out of the obsession with giving sitcom characters the schmaltzy, cliched Hollywood ending, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted March 8, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 Carbomb: looking at the various things you've listed, I think you seem to just overwhelmingly prefer distinctively 'British' humour. There's quite a range of tastes there in terms of the type of comedy (put me down as another one who finds Absolutely Fabulous an extraordinary choice), but being homegrown does seem to be the main constant there. Â Maybe, but I would dispute that - I enjoy a lot of American animated comedy, and I also consider M*A*S*H* to be top-notch stuff too. Â I suppose it's that, when it comes to comedy, I think it needs to have wit, "bite" or both, and very often I find a lot of American sitcoms to have neither. Â EDIT: I'm definitely taking on board what people are saying about Seinfeld, that I should view it holistically, rather than cherry-pick. I'm actually rather looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 But how is it they've got such an awful record for modern sitcoms They haven't, unless you just ignore all the good ones. Haven't ignored any good ones, I've even pointed out which I think are good; they just don't number anywhere enough against the number of shit ones for their record to be considered any better than "awful". You made a random list of sitcoms you don't like, and somehow that concludes that American television has a "record" of being terrible at sitcoms. It's bollocks. Nobody with a brain in their head thinks that the last several years have been an awful time for American TV comedy at all, it's not some generally-held opinion. You've presented nothing remotely comprehensive to back it up, either. The majority of output in any genre, any medium and from any country is shit. The ratio isn't any better in this country for comedy, like. Â Still, if Absolutely Fabulous is your measuring stick for quality comedy, long may the current stream of "shit" in Good Ole' continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Rob Lowe Posted March 8, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 Best current sitcoms are 30 rock and Archer. 30 rock got pretty weak in its third season with all the writers strike business, but its been back to gold through seasons 4 and 5. Â Seinfeld will always be king to me though. Â Quite a few seasons have series long story arcs throughout, so If you want to get into it I'd suggest buying/torrenting season 4. Its great throughout and includes awesome episodes like 'the Contest' and 'The Outing'. If you're not a fan after that, then you never will be. Â OT - Ive got through the stages of laughter and sadness, I'm now officially shit scared of Charlie Sheen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted March 8, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 But how is it they've got such an awful record for modern sitcoms They haven't, unless you just ignore all the good ones. Haven't ignored any good ones, I've even pointed out which I think are good; they just don't number anywhere enough against the number of shit ones for their record to be considered any better than "awful". You made a random list of sitcoms you don't like, and somehow that concludes that American television has a "record" of being terrible at sitcoms. It's bollocks. Nobody with a brain in their head thinks that the last several years have been an awful time for American TV comedy at all, it's not some generally-held opinion. You've presented nothing remotely comprehensive to back it up, either. The majority of output in any genre, any medium and from any country is shit. The ratio isn't any better in this country for comedy, like. Â Still, if Absolutely Fabulous is your measuring stick for quality comedy, long may the current stream of "shit" in Good Ole' continue. Â It's not bollocks. And I have a brain in my head, and don't like stuff you do, stop talking wet. I've presented a load of series and could probably drag up a load more, with in-depth critical analysis if asked, I suppose, but I don't think anyone would be particularly interested in that. Also, by the same token you've just presented, you've presented nothing remotely comprehensive to prove why I'm wrong, so it works both ways. Â Hark at you, with your objective standards of comedy. I've given some reasons as to why I think Ab Fab is good, so instead of sniding it up as usual, this time back it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 American TV sometimes seems shit because of their sheer output. But I feel their best is better than our best, and has been for the best part of a decade or more, both in drama and comedy. Â For all the harshness of the Nielsen ratings system, the Yanks still seem willing to take risks, and willing to throw lots of good writers at a series to keep it going. That's why Seinfeld or West Wing remains great for 6, 7, 9 series where we can only manage 2 or 3. Â The number of genuinely good series to come out of the UK recently is depressingly low. The short Upstairs, Downstairs mini-series was good, but they crammed 12 episodes into 3 and it suffered. I'm struggling to think of anything really. Skins, though it's not my cup of tea, is a lone beacon of originality. Dirk Gently was ok for a one-off/ Â Generally though we get shite like Episodes, which was cringeworthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted March 8, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 Seriously, I'm not saying American TV overall is shit. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the majority of their output is of an incredibly high standard; I just don't think their sitcoms are up to much. Get their drama:  The Wire The Shield 24 Lost Breaking Bad Heroes (season 1) Dexter Chuck Prison Break Dirty, Sexy Money The Sopranos Empire Boadwalk Tru Blood The Vampire Diaries Supernatural Deadwood Battlestar Galactica  That's just off the top of my head. I know for a fact there's more than double that number I've let slip. Hell, even their mindless teeny stuff like The OC and One Tree Hill are good.  And again: their animated comedies are almost invariably great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 8, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 Am I missing something with Chuck? Yes, it has Yvonne Strahovski, I understand that is a very major plus point. But whenever I have seen it I have thought it is completely awful. Yet many on here seem to think it's great. I hate it almost as much as Buffy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 It's not bollocks. And I have a brain in my head, and don't like stuff you do Right, so rather than "American comedy has a record of shit modern sitcoms" you just meant that there's a lot of American comedy nowadays that you don't like. Compared to, say, American comedy of the seventies, or current British comedy.  But yes, Carbomb, if we're taking your small sample list as evidence of something, then I can put forth some rather damning evidence:  Dinnerladies My Family Grownups Coming of Age Seinfeld 30 Rock Community Bored To Death  Conclusion: American comedy is brilliant, British comedy is total arsepaste.  Do you see how making silly lists like that and then presenting them as proof of some pseudo-factual "record" is a bit reductive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Seven Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 I might be a lone voice on this, but Angel was a really underrated show. It had a lot more depth and character progression than the show that spawned it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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