Sitcom Fetish

I’m glad I have your attention. Not many can see a picture of Mathew Perry in a “Friends” set and let it pass without looking twice. I was born in 1990. So I like many of my friends, had the privilege of seeing some of the best sitcoms ever made. Many of these sitcoms made some of the names in Hollywood. Here are some of the sitcoms that, according to me, were the best in their era. If you don’t agree I’m sorry but you need to get yourself checked.

*The list is not in any particular order*

Friends

Right! I mean right! Is it even possible to think of sitcoms without this series? The best in the list and  ̶ according to me ̶  the best sitcom ever. Friends is not only one of the best sitcoms of all time, it is also the most loved. It dominated television for 10 years and to this day has not lost its appeal. The speciality of the cast was in their individual scenes. The show was about six of them and it was expected that they’d be entertaining when they’re together but the speciality was when they had their individual scenes. Each of them kept the tone of the series and still did not even borderline on boredom. The journey of friends is what is most interesting. The way each of them evolved and eventually grew.

Seinfeld

Dubbed “a show about nothing”, Seinfeld is probably one of the most entertaining “nothing” out there. The series has not had as much fame in India as some of the others in the list but that is not a testament to the kind of show it was. For those of you who say they like Chandler from Friends, this is the show for you. The comedy here is either subtle or slapstick. It doesn’t have any of the frat-boy humour you see in comedies these days. The cast of four are the most whacky characters I’ve seen on television. That, coupled with the strangest of plotlines the show had is what was so brilliant. The show never traded on emotions like almost every sitcom under the sun. Seinfeld kept it simple. Comedy, comedy and more of the same.

Fraiser

Again, something that I would call “intelligent comedy” (I’m beginning to see a pattern here). The show was very well written, particularly in the first five seasons. The cast was spectacular in their interactions and just made everything about the show so awesome. For me the show was a poke at the “upper-class” and how I saw them. You just have to laugh at all the situations that Niles and Frasier get into that could have been prevented in the first place if they weren’t so concerned with “appearances”. Form many of you who like putting up fake OTT British accents, you would enjoy how many of the guest stars were portrayed.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

From an Indian perspective, this series is highly, highly underrated. Aside from his hip-hop/rap career this is the catalyst that gave us Will Smith. The story about a ghetto boy sent by his mother to his Uncle’s family, settled in Bel-Air, with the idea of setting him straight is something I am too familiar with, so naturally i fell in love with this show. The interactions between Will and the rest of his family is just uncanny. We all have cousins who we feel are weird and just boring, the show grasps that fact perfectly. The Uncle that is strict and all about doing what’s right because he gets how hard life is and how much you have to work for… blah blah blah. The Aunt that only cares about keeping everything peaceful and quiet, the writers got it all perfect. The show only ran from 1990-1996 but it really left an impression.

Full House

This is a show I actually watched from when I was small. It’s probably one of the reasons I grew up to be a clean kid. The show had some good laughs but it also had good morals. The story of a widowed dad who takes care of his three daughters with help from his rock-n-roll brother in law Jesse, who leaves his “life on the edge” way of life to take care of his nieces and his best friend Joey, a struggling comedian with a very kind heart. The comedy, though cheesy, was good. However the show was more popular because of its characters who were so easy to fall in love with. I mean come on! The show gave us John Stamos and the Olsen twins.

That ‘70s Show

I first started watching the show because I couldn’t believe the stuff they wore. I remember waiting for an Elvis Presley look-alike to swing by or something. The show concentrated on the six kids living in Wisconsin through the 70s hippie period.  The show had an amazing cast, who didn’t mind perpetuating the stereotypes they played. Each of them were also very funny in their own way.  I loved how the camera would shoot all of them at the table, discussing their problems, where none of them pay attention to the other. The show took us through many different times in that decade. Disco, streaking, Star Wars, Charlie’s Angels it poked fun at all and made it so believable. It captured a happier time when kids would prefer to hang out and “hang out” in the basement.

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