At the end of each month of viewing I look back on the shows and pick out 3 of the most enjoyable shows and 3 of the most disappointing that I watched.
At the end of the year the best and worst lists will be consolidated to determine the best and worst sitcoms I encountered over the past 12 months.
FEBRUARY’S BEST
1. Extras (Day 36 – 2/5)
Over the top hilarity. Not a show for everyone, but definitely made me laugh
2. Cheers (Day 43 – 2/12)
A show that aged so much better than I expected. Still very funny after all these years.
3. Soap (Day 50 – 2/19)
Too funny to leave off of this list. A show I still quote often.
FEBRUARY’S WORST (with my apologies to the creators)
1. Till Death (Day 37 – 2/6)
Boring, offensive, annoying, unwatchable sequel series from the BBC.
2. Webster (Day 57 – 2/26)
I continue to beat up my 8-year-old self for liking this cringe inducing claptrap.
3. My Hero (Day 58 – 2/27)
It’s not offensive, just lacks anything that makes it appealing.
MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE (exceeded my expectations)
Titus (Day 46 – 2/15)
MOST DISAPPOINTING (not what I remember the show being)
Episode Watched: Curse of the Coyote Man (Season 2)
Episode Summary: On Halloween, Daryl concocts a plan to scare his family and friends as payback for a trick they pulled on him last year.
My Thoughts: It seems that at the turn of the millenium there were a ton of these type of shows saturating the market: find a comedian, give him a show, and have it revolve around his real-life family stories. This a decently made show, it has a good cast, some funny lines and its a fun watch. The best character on it is Milsap (played by the terrific John Henton), DL’s best friend, who has a ton of dry one liners and reactions. In this episode, Daryl uses a story about a Coyote Man, hired actors and hidden cameras in order to scare his family and record their reactions. This is all done to pay them back for scaring him with a trick last year. Not all the jokes work, and subtlety is not the strong suit of this show, but I have seen far worse. The show lasted 2 years on ABC and UPN picked it up for another 2, but it never really took hold and ended after 89 episodes. It is notable as being one of the first series that Chris Rock was credited as an Executive Producer. If you are a D.L. fan this is worth a watch, but otherwise I am pretty sure you have seen this trope before.
Memorable Quotes:
“He mae a coyote suit out of his coyote dad and a coyote hat out of his coyote mom!”-Daryl
“Is your husband a black man, about 5 foot 9, who likes to jump out of shrubbery and scare small children? “- Police Officer
The adventures of an overly ambitious real estate broker
Episode Watched: The Tiger (Season 1)
Episode Summary: Bob tries to impress his boss, who feels he isn’t an aggressive salesman, by evicting a little old lady.
My Thoughts: This is a very unremarkable show. There isn’t much to it, not enough to praise or criticize it. It’s from the early 50’s and as such struggles with the transition from radio show to television show. It stars Robert Cummings, who was a big star at the time, even though to me he seemed like a poor man’s Jerry Van Dyke. This was the 1st of 3 sitcoms Robert starred in over the 50’s and 60’s, unfortunately this was the least succesful of the bunch. The plot of this episode has some sight gags, but is mostly Robert on-screen talking to himself, trying to make decisions on what the “right” thing is to do. There really isn’t much more to say, there is a reason we have never heard of this show.
Memorable Quotes:
“There goes the most unforgettable character I’ve ever met”-Mr. Thackery
“I did it, I changed from a Beanblossom to a Tiger”- Bob
Newlyweds George & Katherine adopt their black god child, Webster
Episode Watched: Don’t Jump George (Season 1)
Episode Summary: Katherine needs to go on a game show to investigate a claim of harassment, George and Webster tag along.
My Thoughts: Most of you reading this probably remember this show. It starred a diminutive kid, Emmanuel Lewis, who was seen on a Burger King commercial, and some ABC executive loved him so much, forced Alex Karras and wife to put him on their show. The result was a show that epitomizes everything bad in a sitcom. Now, before I go to far I will tell you as a 8-year-old kid, I loved this show, Webster was awesome! However, watching this as an adult, this show is horribly unwatchable. The forced close-ups on Websters face, wreaks of a director saying, ‘just put the camera on the kid and tell him to act cute’. Alex Karras, the former football character, isn’t a bad actor, but man it seems most of the episodes he somberly trudges along until the inevitable guilt-laden speech he gives to either Katherine or Webster, depending on who disappoints him in that particular episode. Katherine, or M’am as Webster calls her, engages George in these ridiculous exchanges where each of them calls each other some pet name. Seriously, they have 2 such exchanges in this entry, consisting of at least 12 pet names- quality writing folks. The game show host is overly obnoxious, the laugh track is constant, almost begging you to laugh, and the plot line to get the family on the game show is dropped half way through the show. If you can imagine the parody sitcom in the Robocop movie, where the tag line is “I’d buy that for a dollar”, now replace it with this show and the tag line would be the close up of Emmanuel Lewis doing his signature giggle/laugh. Some say Lewis was this network’s Gary Coleman, a smaller that normal black kid that can be cute, but dear God this show is awful. I would say, that I have a celebrity claim to fame from this show, as a child I recognized Henry Polic II as he was getting on a plane when I was in an airport. I leave you with this analysis from my friend Angry_Jake, this is a show that made an 18-year-old, playing a 10-year-old, do a very special episode about bed wetting. I rest my case.
Memorable Quotes:
“Jerry Silver did not spend 4 years in law school to dress as a chicken on a game show”-Jerry
“Has anyone ever called you ‘Webster- Not so Long’?”- Game Show Host
“Katherine, Super Bowls are won by teams, that’s what you seem to be forgetting”– George
Bachelor hires a woman to act as his wife so he can get promoted at work
Episode Watched: The Rivalry (Season 1)
Episode Summary: Peter forces Greta to break a date so she can accompany him to the farmhouse of his boss for the weekend
My Thoughts: Everyone needs to watch this show! Not because of the show itself, but because the narrator is VIN SCULLY! He narrates a lot, and adds a fair amount of class to a rather silly show. The premise of this show is that of an employee of a baby food company being told he will never be promoted as long as he is a bachelor, which I am pretty sure is illegal. But in tv land we don’t take the company to court, no we just go and hire a hat check girl to play the role of his wife. In addition to spending money, Peter buys Greta an apartment two floors above his own. When you have that much scratch, I wonder why you need a promotion to begin with? And if this episode is any indication, the status of having a wife did nothing to guarantee a promotion, just got him into the discussion. I assume most episodes involve Peter trying to one-up his rival in order to secure this mythical promotion. The boss Peter is beholden to is played by the guy who played Mike Brady’s boss on the Brady Bunch, and Mr. Carlin from the Bob Newhart show plays Peter’s rival. I can only assume that eventually they would have had Peter and Greta actually fall in love, but this show only lasted one season, as such I am guessing the chemistry between the two got no better than what I saw in this snippet. This seems to be another of those 1960’s show that attempts to have a strong woman character, but ignores the clearly chauvinistic premise they drop the character into. But I digress, you don’t watch this for the woman, for the man, for the plots, for the premise, NO SIR! You watch this to hear Vin Scully giving you a pseudo play by-play of the happenings.
Memorable Quotes:
“I understand, Greta. Its only the 7th date you’ve had to break.” –Bernie
“Well Peter’s holding the suitcase, but poor Greta is left holding the bag.”- Vin Scully
“Its perfume”– Peter “Called, An Evening in Kansas?” –Greta
Acting Notables:
Michael Callan- Peter
Patricia Harry- Greta
Vin Scully- Himself
Tomorrow: My youthful self loved it, my adult self hates it
Class of Honors Students at a New York High School and their unorthodox teacher
Episode Watched: Teacher’s Teacher (Season 1)
Episode Summary: The IHP’s old teacher is scheduled to return, displacing a disappointed Mr. Moore, who had rediscovered his love of teaching.
My Thoughts: I think I watched every episode of this show, even the final season with Billy Connoly and Richard Pryor’s daughter. This show was on at a time I was transitioning from Elementary, to Middle school to High School, so it was a show that was very relatable to me personally. Revisiting it now, I wonder if my age range was the only audience that this show appealed to, and as we grew up, we no longer needed to watch it. I havent watched an episode of this entry in years, but I found myself sliding comfortable back into the lives of all these characters, recalling most of the students names by memory. For me, while funny in spurts, this show holds a lot of nostalgia for me, and as such hard for me to write a un biased review. The show starred Howard Hesseman, fresh off his stint as Dr. Johnny Fever, here he plays a struggling actor who substitute teaches to pay the bills. He slowly becomes engaged with the students of the honors class, and rediscovers his love of teaching. Most of the stories revolve around Mr. Moore helping the kids overcome their quirks and become deeper thinkers and more socially engaged. In this episode, while it seems the kids old teacher is returning, the reality is he has come back to make sure he is leaving the class in good hands. I look around the sitcom landscape and really an unsure if we have a show where we see a teacher that kids can look up to and take wisdom from, after Mr. Moore, Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World took that mantle, but since he left in 2000, unsure if we have an heir. In any case, for its time, and my age, this show was appointment tv. Not to mention this show broke barriers by traveling to the Soviet Union for a story line involving academic competition, racy stuff for the cold war era. A final note as to the cast, which have gone on to fame in their own right, Dan Frischman, Brian Robbins, and Dan Schneider have had their hands in a ton of stuff that has been created by Nickelodeon, and Robin Givens made headlines when she married Mike Tyson. I invite you to watch it, but am unsure if it will resonate with you as it did with me.
Memorable Quotes:
“What does this tulip have to do with the great stock market crash of 1929?”-Mr. Moore
“Smart is only believing half of what you hear, Genius is knowing which half to believe”- Mr. Thomas
“I was as they say, ‘checking you out'”– Mr. Thomas
Widowed mother of 2 young children moves into a Maine cottage haunted by a Sea Captain
Episode Watched: Son of the Curse (Season 1)
Episode Summary: Kids find an old grandfather clock that was supposedly cursed to kill Landlord Claymore when the clock strikes midnight.
My Thoughts: This show fascinates me when I read the history of it. It was based on the novel and movie which were released 20 years earlier, and was made in a time that contemporary shows, like Bewitched and I Dream of Genie tackled similar content. In this case, the supernatural person being a ghost, rather than a witch or genie, and in this unique spin the main character was a woman. Watching the show it does little to separate itself from its peers, and as such it makes sense it was cancelled after only 2 seasons, but that doesn’t tell the entire story. This show was on NBC for 1 year and cancelled, then ABC picked it up and broadcast it for the 2nd year, then cancelled it again. As if changing networks wasnt an odd side note to this entry, but the lead actress Hope Lange won the Emmy for Best Actress in a comedy series both years the show was on. Curious set of circumstances for a show. As for the episode I watched, I enjoyed it mostly because I got to witness Charles Nelson Reilly as an actor. He plays the landlord of the house, he also can see the ghost, but he is terrified of him. I only know of Charles Nelson Reilly as a game show celebrity (Hollywood Squares, Match Game), so to see him as the actor he purported to be made my heart warm with some nostalgia for those games shows I grew up watching him on. Alas, the series suffers lack of originality, and the majority of the cast seemingly plucked from British High Society, making the comedy much harder to appeal to the run of the mill American. Fascinating history, with a shout out to CNR, worth a view.
Memorable Quotes:
“Sit down fiddle brain!”-Captain
“It’s easily worth 3,000 dollars or more with the curse included!”- Claymore
“As I always said, the dead should plan ahead”– Mortician
The adventures of the head writer of an NBC sitcom in New York
Episode Watched: Rosemary’s Baby (Season 2)
Episode Summary: Liz meets her idol and rebels against authority, Tracy has a therapy breakthrough, and Kenneth’s page jacket is ruined.
My Thoughts: There is a lot to like about this show, its funny, witty, and satirical. Every time I see an episode I find myself enjoying it, so I sit here wondering why I didn’t watch it more when it was on TV. This show was never appointment tv for me, but in passing when nothing else was on I would watch it. This episode has a hilarious guest role by Carrie Fisher, and a fascinating 2 minutes of Alec Baldwin playing a bunch of black stereotypes in an effort for Tracy Morgan to confront his childhood. So I ask myself, what is it about this highly intelligent, fast paced comedy that leaves me flat? I am left thinking it was the pace that left me in the dust. To watch this show you must be really engaged, the rate at which the jokes and dialogue come at you, is like being on a bullet train and you are trying to enjoy the scenery and you don’t have time to bask in the environment before the next landmark is on top of you. What’s further odd is I love old black and white screwball comedies which have the same frenetic pace, but somewhere in my dna, when I am winding down my evening I want something that doesn’t take so much effort in order to catch everything being said and done. Perhaps that is why a mid morning viewing was so much more enjoyable to me. I can’t say enough that this is a good show and you should watch it, you just may have to watch it a few times to enjoy it in its entirety.
Memorable Quotes:
“And by Heroine, I mean a hero. I don’t want to inject you and listen to jazz.”-Liz
“That’s such an upsetting story, I’ll never watch Happy Days the same way again”- Liz
“Help me Liz Lemon, You’re my only hope!”– Rosemary
Acting Notables:
Tina Fey- Liz
Alec Baldwin- Jack
Tracy Morgan- Tracy
Carrie Fisher- Rosemary
Tomorrow: Short lived emmy winner based on a movie
Episode Summary: Phyllis’ 45th birthday is approaching and she realizes she doesn’t have friends, so she calls Mary Richards to come and visit her.
My Thoughts: This was the 2nd of 3 spin offs from the Mary Tyler Moore show, and the one that was the shortest lived. Cloris Leachman is the star here, taking her character of the self-centered/absorbed Phyllis to San Francisco. As is the case in so many failed sitcoms, a character that is so good in small doses, fails to have the appeal when they dominate the entire show. Thus we have the situation here, in the entry I watched, early in season 2, they even have Mary herself come back to try to help what I assume were falling ratings. Most notable to me here was that of the 4 main characters, 3 were of the senior citizen variety, something you do not see on TV nowadays, and those 3, especially the eldest Mother Dexter, were quite funny. Cloris Leachman does her best, but the character she plays is just too one-dimensional and the jokes become very tired, very quickly. On a personal level, its kind of cool to hear your last name on a tv show, may happen more often for others, but for me this is the only show I can think of where my surname appears. Its worth watching just for the one liners and appearances of Mother Dexter and her showdown with Mary at the end. Otherwise, this show ends up on the stack of failed spinoffs.
Memorable Quotes:
“How were the wrestling matches Mother Dexter?”-Audrey
“Pregnant?! By Whom?”- Mary “I don’t know.” – Phyllis
“If more people abstained in the first place we wouldn’t have all these kids to take care of”– Leonard
Twenty something bachelor receives his baby daughter on his doorstep and must figure out how to raise her
Episode Watched: The Lying Game (Season 3)
Episode Summary: While Ben and Riley try to move their relationship forward, Angela re-enters the picture and tries to steal Ben back.
My Thoughts: The main character of this show is known as Benjamin “Bon Jovi” Wheeler. I have no idea why he has the nickname, nor why it would be significant to call that out in a show which pretends to be a millennial version of 3 men and a baby. It may play a role in other episodes, but in the episode I watched it played no part, much to my chagrin. This entry pulls plot lines from may sitcom standbys: a unrequieted love, an overbearing mom who is also a cougar, and a group of young guys trying to take care of a little baby. And for the first half of this show, everything felt tired, unfunny and more than a little boring. The second half of the show picked up immensely and I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times. This reminded me of something that I would have seen on a Friday night back in the 90’s, either as a supplement to or direct completion of Full House, only directed at a 20-something audience, rather than families & kids. The actors are competent enough and when they eventually get to some bits that work it is funny. ABC Family shows aren’t edgy or trend setting, but rather just want to put something out there that wont offend and kids and parents can watch together. This succeeds for the most part, but also falls into that category of being a bit un memorable.
Memorable Quotes:
“I wouldn’t mind for the next sleepover we lose the clothes and the baby.”-Ben
“Angela is like the mold in our shower, you can ignore it, but it won’t just go away”- Tucker
“That’s neither here nor there…..I’ve always wanted to say that”– Danny
365 Days of Sitcoms 