Interesting piece by Tim Goodman over at The San Francisco Chronicle. Basically he says that many TV viewers who watch the NBC Thursday night comedies (My Name Is Earl, 30 Rock, The Office, and Scrubs) and other shows are snobs when it comes to CBS comedies like Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, and How I Met Your Mother. He says that the people who pride themselves in watching the critically-acclaimed (but lower rated) shows on NBC are "denying themselves a good time by avoiding CBS on Monday nights."
From the article:
There's a perfectly understandable reason that people who like a certain kind of comedy - often dry, ironic, slightly bitter, tangentially odd and brilliantly creative - will avoid comedies on CBS.
They're too cool for the room.
The problem with sophisticated comedy - be it anti-obvious in nature, keenly observed absurdities or ironically dumb by choice - is that it creates its own little laugh ghetto from which you never get out. You don't want to watch "Two and a Half Men" because, well, it's "Two and a Half Men" with Charlie Sheen, for God's sake. What more need be said?
And yet, there's a smugness - almost a righteousness - to people who can only tolerate "30 Rock" or "Weeds" and sit around lamenting the death of "Arrested Development." Hey, it takes one to know one.
I know what he's saying, though I don't find myself in this group. Sure, I don't watch any of the CBS Monday night comedies (save for a random Two and a Half Men or Old Christine if I find myself on CBS at the time), but I also have a weakness for sitcoms that many would say are "predictable" or "more of the same." I love 30 Rock and The Office and Scrubs and Seinfeld and The Dick Van Dyke Show and Arrested Development and Sports Night, shows that I think a lot of people would agree are usually in the "smart" sitcom category, but I also have a fondness for The Brady Bunch, The Hogan Family, ALF, and Boy Meets World, shows that usually aren't put in that category.
How about you?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
4-15-2008 @ 8:57AM
edd said...
I have been absolutely spoiled by Arrested Development. Since becoming a fan in 05 I have struggled to pick up any new comedy - they all seem slow and forced compared to the spontaneous beauty that Mitch Hurwitz and co. gave us.
I like The Office, but it's not a patch on AD. Sunny in Philedelphia, Flight of the Conchords and CYE all make me laugh, but again they are not replacements.
So yeah I'm a comedy snob. But Arrested Development made me one and I'm still praying for a movie or some kind of continuation. America never had it better when that show was on the air. BRING IT BACK!
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4-15-2008 @ 8:59AM
kip said...
He hit's the nail the nail on the head with his thoughts and CBS comedies do deserve a slot in your Tivo because they are funny.
The excerpt did not include family guy and any of the other Fox comedies. Would they fall into the same category?
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4-15-2008 @ 9:13AM
John Gross said...
CBS comedies aren't smart funny. They aren't addictive funny. NBC is the home of comedies where you always want more because the viewer tends to be invested in the characters and the series. But yet, NBC comedies make you think before you laugh. CBS comedies get old, stale, and repetitive very quickly. It get's to the point of predictable forced comedy. How many times can you laugh at the fact that Charlie Sheen is sleazy and a womanizer? Not that many times. A joke on Scrubs has depth, possibly another level between the characters, and it can be funny for those just tuning in ignorant of the show's history. That's a much more winning combination that 2.5Men.
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4-15-2008 @ 12:23PM
Frank said...
puh-leeeze...
There are jokes like that on ANY sitcom.
You happen to notice them on "Scrubs" because you watch "Scrubs". I'm pretty sure to someone who likes "2.5 Men" or even "According to Jim" they could point out similar jokes.
I like Scrubs (and the other NBC comedies), but can we please not pretend like it's some deep, intellectual programming that rises above the others?
It's a sitcom. It's marginally more intelligent than alot of other stuff out there, and it's significantly more intelligent than some of the stuff that's out there.
4-15-2008 @ 12:23PM
Frank said...
puh-leeeze...
There are jokes like that on ANY sitcom.
You happen to notice them on "Scrubs" because you watch "Scrubs". I'm pretty sure to someone who likes "2.5 Men" or even "According to Jim" they could point out similar jokes.
I like Scrubs (and the other NBC comedies), but can we please not pretend like it's some deep, intellectual programming that rises above the others?
It's a sitcom. It's marginally more intelligent than alot of other stuff out there, and it's significantly more intelligent than some of the stuff that's out there.
4-15-2008 @ 9:15AM
Bash said...
I watch stuff that makes me laugh, including the CBS comedies. But the NBC ones don't make me feel guilty for laughing or thinking "wow, that was just dumb and primal".
I'd love to read an article about how people who watch the CBS comedies are snobs towards the NBC ones. Because, you know, CBS has higher ratings which means there are a lot of people out there who don't watch NBC. Why is that? What would be the title of that article?
"NBC comedy make me brain hurt"?
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4-15-2008 @ 9:23AM
joe said...
if there's one thing the NBC Thursday night shows have instilled in me (with help from others like Arrested Development) it's the hatred of the laugh track. It really is nice to be able to watch 2 hours of comedies (although I generally only watch 30 Rock and The Office) and not hear a single laugh track. That just makes it all the worse when you flip through a normal sitcom and have to deal with 3-walled rooms and houses and fake laughter every 10 seconds.
I watched the first episode of Unhitched a couple weeks ago. In what appeared to be an effort to be modern or edgy (like the NBC thursday shows), Unhitched doesn't use a laugh track either. But it really came back to hurt them in the end, because other than that, it was just like a normal sitcom - same camera angles, same quick cuts, same timing. It was like the characters would say a joke, then where normally a laugh track would kick in, there was just silence, instead of proceeding on with the action like you would in real life, or like they would on AD, 30 Rock or The Office. Overall a failed attempt, I'd say.
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4-15-2008 @ 9:27AM
Scott said...
I love "The Office" and "30 Rock", but I also love "Two and a Half Men" and "Big Bang Theory". "The Office" tells quiet, ironic character jokes; "30 Rock" tells big, ironic situational jokes. "Two and a Half Men" tells big, non-ironic character jokes. "Big Bang Theory" is following the "2 1/2 Men" template, but because the characters are smart, the jokes are geeky instead of all about sex.
I probably laugh out loud more at "30 Rock" and "Big Bang". Sheen and Cryer are just great at what they do, and the writing is usually sharp, if single-minded. "The Office" I think I appreciate more than I laugh at--the crazy people and situations, the double-takes at the camera.
And yes, "Arrested Development" is a masterpiece. But it's not the only kind of sitcom. So are "Cheers" and "Mary Tyler Moore". And "I Love Lucy" is still amazing 50 years later (despite the outdated gender relations and corny vaudeville routines).
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4-15-2008 @ 9:30AM
Thomas said...
I watch Rules of Engagement, have occasionally watched Two and a Half Men and others of that ilk, they're relatively entertaining, but 30 Rock, Arrested, et al are just vastly superior.
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4-15-2008 @ 9:42AM
Ryan said...
I love How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, and 30 Rock. I think I just like funny TV. Simple as that.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:08AM
CygnusTM said...
All of you NBC snobs that aren't watching How I Met Your Mother are missing out on one of the best comedies on TV. Easily on par with 30 Rock.
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4-15-2008 @ 11:02AM
asad said...
watch season 2, ep 8 of 30 rock. transcendent television.
i watch both himym and 30 rock, but 30 rock is miles ahead on the funny scale.
4-15-2008 @ 11:16AM
CygnusTM said...
I counter with HIMYM's "Slap Bet." The funniest half-hour of TV aired that season.
4-15-2008 @ 6:55PM
Jamie said...
Please don't tell me you're comparing HIMYM to 30 Rock. You cannot be serious. HIMYM is carried by the one funny supporting character (Barney and maybe sometimes Robin) and has about one laugh an episode.
HIMYM is no where near as funny as 30 Rock. Just look at episodes of 30 Rock like "Hard Ball," "Cleveland," "Greenzo," "Episode 210," "MILF Island," and "Somebody to Love," to name a few examples, they are excellent. Slap Bet? Yeah, Robin Sparkles is funny, but that is the previously stated one laugh per episode? It's just a standard issue sitcom episode which has a music video in it with one of the characters, setups like that are cliche (see Ichiban in Friends/Joey (Same but an advert)). And the slap bet thing, oh wow, they have a running joke... I didn't know sitcoms did that, you know like Janice in Friends, or That's What She Said in The Office and Floating Head (and World's Most Giant) Doctor in Scrubs.
The only multi-cam I watch at the moment is The Big Bang Theory, now thats actually a good show.
4-15-2008 @ 10:15AM
Shaun said...
I definately fall in this category, but recently I have been catching "Two and a Half Men" in syndication... this has become my new "guilty" pleasure
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4-15-2008 @ 10:17AM
lebow24 said...
I too have been spoiled by Arrested Development and I cannot wait until the movie comes out. I am somewhat of a snob because I watch The Office, 30 Rock and Scrubs at the time they air, but I TiVo Two and a Half Men and Rules of Engagement cause they're not a priority. I usually end up watching those a few days later.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:24AM
R-Bro said...
There's such a fine line between clever and stupid. 30 Rock, Arrested Development, The Office, etc.: clever. HIMYM, 2.5 Men, Family Guy: stupid.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:37AM
Jazza said...
As long as I think it's funny I don't care what network it's on. I was Scrubs & 30 Rock on NBC, Met Your Mother & Christine on CBS, Carpoolers on ABC
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4-15-2008 @ 10:43AM
Joe said...
I simply cannot stand the newer episodes of "Two and a Half Men" and the rest of CBS comedies. They just aren't funny to me at all.
But it's not because I'm a sitcom snob. I'm a proud watcher of "According to Jim," "Family Guy," and pro-wrestling. I just don't find them funny or entertaining at all.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:44AM
Don-Don said...
I definitely agree that missing out on How I Met Your Mother based on some silly notion as network allegiance is a complete waste. Decisions should be based on the show itself!
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