I am not just talking about sitcoms though they are a part of the discussion. As I have spent the better part of the last three weeks lying around in the evening I have realized the dearth of good TV, and no it’s not just because it is the summer because there should be plenty of things to catch up on.
It seems like EVERY show on is a medical drama or a police/law drama or the dreaded ‘reality show’. Don’t get me wrong, I am bought into all of the CSI’s and I like Law & Order for the most part and I am a Grey’s Anatomy guy but where is really good comedy, with true character development and the delivery of great lines. This all came to boiling point for me yesterday in the 5:00-6:00 hour. I was home, with my leg elevated, ice water pumping through my boot and the vicodin just about to kick in. On comes one of my all time favorite Seinfeld episodes. In reality, there are so many great episodes but my two all time favorites are; “The Bet” and “The Outing”. Yesterday, “The Outing” came on. Basically, Jerry is going to be interviewed by an NYU Grad Student who somehow gets the impression that Jerry & George are gay. It is one laugh after another and left us with the classic line, “I’m not gay, not that there is anything wrong with that” and also George uttering, “I’m out baby” as he thinks of using his new ‘gay status’ to get out of his relationship. Seinfeld is about NOTHING, yet the characters are so true to life you are brought into their world of nothingness.
My other all time favorite half hour comedy show came on next, Cheers. I spent most of the 80’s rolling to Sam, Diane, Woody, Coach & Norm! It was not a great episode but it got me to thinking about my favorite parts of Cheers and it was Norm’s great entrances to the bar, usually set up by Woody. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:
Woody: What’s up Norm?
Norm: My nipples, it’s freezing out there
Woody: What’s going on Norm?
Norm: It’s not what’s going on Norm. It’s what’s going in Norm
Woody: Whatcha up to Mr. Peterson?
Norm: My ideal weight if I was 11 feet tall
Woody: What do you know Mr. Peterson? (Or something to that effect)
Norm: it’s a dog eat dog world and I’m wearing milkbone underwear
Woody: How about a beer Mr. Peterson?
Norm: It’s a little early for that isn’t it Woody?
Woody: a beer?
Norm: No, stupid questions
Again, characters is what made Cheers amazing and the classic lines just live on.
It’s not only about sitcoms either. On my favorite list for sure is Moonlighting with Bruce Willis, Cybil Shepherd and a great supporting cast. The dialogue was witty, quick and once again you cared about what happened to Maddie and Dave. One of my fondest memories in college was going over to Gayley’s apartment once a week to watch Moonlighting and to catch up with my high school friends as college life continued to push us just a bit further down the line from each other.
TV today isn’t bad, but I think sometimes it focuses too much on special effects, the reality of the scene, etc and not enough time getting us to like and even hate the characters. Once we do everything else falls into place.
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