From: Kevin Tarr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Hi!! I'm going to keep riding on the sitcom themed-thread bandwagon. I took the liberty of changing the thread name a bit; hope this is kosher with everybody.
Reply-To: Killer Bs Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Killer Bs Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: RE: POLICY PROPOSAL: The list and copyright
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 19:23:22 -0500
The Jeffersons weren't bad either. I didn't know AitF was out on DVD....but can't imagine watching them either.
In my opinion, The Jeffersons were a great spinoff of AitF. I especially like them pre-1982. (I remember the year, because I was in hi-skool still and my sweetheart at the time had cable; I didn't. So, guess where I got my TV fix at the time. ;-)) I think they went on 'till mid-80's, but by them, all the energy was gone from that show. Any controversial issues were toned down drastically, and it became just another show on the lineup.
It's really sad to see a good sitcom wind down. I guess Seinfeld did do the right thing by ending his show the way he did.
For the amount of TV I watch, I have thought about sitcoms. I don't think they got worse after AitF. The show ended in 1983? Didn't know it was that long.If memory serves, and I apologize for not double-checking my facts with a website, AitF ended with no fanfare at all in '79 or '80. Then, the show transmutated into "Archie Bunker's Place". I am not 100% sure, but I vaguely remember a huge feud between Carol O'Connor and probably everyone in the show. Norman Lear probably wouldn't wanna touch that spin-off, so O'connor went on and did it himself. I don't blame him!! ABP is lame in comparison with AitF. However, from what I have read, it did well on the ratings for the first couple of years.
MASH ended the same year with great fanfare, while AitF was wheezing for years, once Mike and Gloria left, even before that.I remember the hullaballoo surrounding the end of MASH. For me, AitF had a severe stroke when Mike and Gloria left, then it was put on life support, only to suffer another major blow with the death of Edith. Now, that was POINTLESS, imho. Probably another feud with O'Connor?
(back to the point) In that time there wasn't much to be happy about. 1983 was still pretty bad in America.I'm trying to recall the sitcoms from then. Mork and Mindy started great but had some seriously bad episodes.
I'm with you on that one.
That was another ground-breaking show! The first openly homosexual character with Billy Crystal, I believe? The writing in those shows was impeccable. And that's my point: after AitF, Soap, et al, we went into a rut with shows like "Different Strokes", and "Alf", where content wasn't really as hard-hitting, (probably the writers' fault, probably the networks' fault) and the acting was second-rate.Soap was wonderful.
I mean, I can't even begin to compare a George Jefferson with a Webster.
(Oh.. I can just SEE the puns coming up after reading that last
line). ;-)
Seriously other than Seinfeld and the Simpsons I don't like any sitcoms re-runs if they are more than five years old. Won't that be a better yardstick? Can you imagine watching any of the current sitcoms 30 years from now?I could never really develop a lasting taste for Seinfeld. True,when it's funny, it's funny.. but for me, it's not something I watch regularly. The Simpsons.. well, that's A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALLGAME. I think The Simpsons proudly carries the tradition of the Great American Sitcom Family started by the Bunkers or the Jeffersons, or maybe even the Flintstones. There again, we have an example of a prime example of excellent writing, biting social commentary, and humor so fast, you have to tape the show and watch it in reruns to get all the gags and visual jokes.
(TRIVIA: For an added treat, try watching the Simpsons with the CAPTIONS ON. You'll be very, very surprised to find that sometimes, lines of dialogue get edited which end up in the captioning. That sometimes changes the entire meaning or strength of the dialogue in any particular scenes. Seems to me that the censors don't go into the captioned dialogue, much to our satisfaction).
Another show I have to admit I admire is The Golden Girls. Great actresses, and the show makes a point.
Some facts:Nice factoids!! Thanks. I can add that in 1972 alone, AitF won 7 Emmy Awards and 2 Golden Globes. Quite an achievement for a sitcom!!
* Norman Lear was the founder of "The People for the American Way." * In a NBC interview from Oct 15, 1985 Lear stated that people should not force religious views upon others.
And us.. Maybe we should open a spin-off mailing list, for off-topic ramblings in messages. :)ramblings r us
JJ
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