A friend recently pointed me in the direction of this wonderful article about sitcoms in the 1980s. It brought back a lot of memories because I'd seen so many of them - sitcoms were all over Australian TV at the time, especially late at night when I would stay up and watch TV while at uni.
Some random memories of various shows:
The Cosby Show - agreed with article in that it had a great first season but quickly ran out of genius and ideas; it had to import cuter kids, more family members, more nods to the black experience; the show was obviously making so much money the credits became more elaborate and the sweaters huger. But it did have a genuinely great first season and the dynamic between Cliff and his wife and Cliff and his underachieving son (a fresh trope at the time) was really memorable.
Family Ties - adored this show especially early on; later it struggled, became over-reliant on clip shows and Malory's boyfriend Nick, and couldn't get any story out of Tina Yothers. But Michael J Fox was excellent as were Meredith Baxter Birney, Michael Gross and Justine Bateman; some really classic episodes. And who doesn't have a soft spot for Skippy?
Cheers - classy, ageless - the George Clooney of sitcoms; managed to survive Sam and Diane's romance ending brilliantly, had a dazzling array of support characters. I reckon it could have survived Ted Danson quitting too, it was such a well oiled machine - would have loved to see them try.
Night Court - I always remember watching this at 11.30pm at night on Channel Nine, a timeslot which completely suited it. A lot of fun, with John Larroquette being particularly good; very funny vaudeville schtick that made you want to be a judge or lawyer.
Who's the Boss? - an okay show which repeated the same old jokes monotonously, but Alyssa Milano did grow up to be very hot and Katherine Helmond was funny.
Growing Pains - I really liked this in its day; Kirk Cameron was a genuinely likeable star and had a pleasing dynamic with his family, and I had a little crush on Tracey Gold. The poor old youngest kid didn't grow up hot so they tried turning him into a nerd and brought in street kid Leo di Caprio. I wonder how this has aged; I have fond memories of it. And the episode where Mike gets smart by writing out cheat sheets and thereby memorising the work accidentally I actually found very useful.
Full House - could never watch it but ads about it were always on so I could follow the serial strands. Amazingly popular.
Family Matters - like Full House this was on Friday nights so if you watched it you were a social leper. Encouraged you to get out of the house.
Perfect Strangers - I actually liked the first season of this but it ran out of steam very fast. Yet lasted for years. Imagine those days.
The Golden Girls - never got into this that much but everyone knew the quality of the cast was amazing.
Gimme a Break - this was always on during the weekend. I have vague memories of it not being that good but then got good towards the end and was better without Dolph Sweet. Am I remembering that right? I recall the elder daughter always seemed to be having something complicated going on in her life.
The Facts of Life - terrible show but it was always on; never seemed to have any gags, far too many serious episodes. Nancy McKeon and Lisa Welchel were cute. I recall when they tried to make it better bringing in Cloris Leachman and making a new set but the magic left. They did make The Facts of Life Down Under which was kind of cool.
Kate and Allie - the first few episodes were terrific then it seemed to run out of steam as well. Or maybe I simply couldn't relate to enough of it.
Designing Women - funny but too much hair and shoulder pads. Often used as a wet weather cricket replacement.
Murphy Brown - an excellent show, a big favourite of mine. Very strong workplace sitcom. Did inspire far too many women to go into journalism.
Newhart - another Channel Nine stick-it-anywhere show this was actually a lot of fun with a solid range of support characters.
Married... with Children - a really funny, at the time unconventional show with some great lines. And what teenage boy at the time didn't have a crush on Christina Applegate?
Roseanne - not a hit on Aussie TV at first until used by the nearly broke Channel Ten. A brilliant show which managed to reinvent its characters (eg Darlene) better than any other. Genuinely groundbreaking and superb until it went ga-ga.
Sledgehammer - fun Dirty Harry send up which ran out of puff soon but had some first-rate epiosdes.
Bosom Buddies - genuinely witty cross dressing comedy with Tom Hanks a star from the get go.
The Wonder Years - sweet, very accomplished, fresh look at a well documented time; love the parents, especially how Dad remained gruff. Lost magic the older Kevin became. And Winnie never did develop that third dimension, did she?
Small Wonder - dreadful sitcom which helped Rupert Murdoch make a fortune. I do remember the anti smoking ep where a friend of the lead chewed tobacco and got cancer of the gums.
Charles in Charge - I actually have a soft spot for this because it reunited the leads of Zapped. Fairly dreadful admittedly but was one of those shows you always found yourself watching. Jennifer Runyon was cute.
Head of the Class - as a bit of a nerd I loved the concept of this and always watched it when it was on Billy Connolly was never as good as Howard Hessmen though.
Never saw Franks Place, Too Close for Comfort, Taxi, Barney Miller, Mr Smith, One of the Boys.
I watched too much TV in the 80s and 90s.
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