A Real TV Buff Can Name Every One Of These Classic Sitcoms...Can You?
- by D_Faraci
- – on
- in Movies and TV
Life can get tough sometimes. Bills. Rent. Kids. Spouses. Work. School. Parents. These things can get you down and leave you feeling less than joyful. The hardships of life leave us searching for ways to relax, to blow off steam, and maybe if we're lucky, to laugh a bit.
Thankfully, the answer to those needs lies in our homes and on our phones. Since Pinwright's Progress first aired on the BBC in 1946, the men and women of the world have found at least a little comfort in the television sitcom. Each night we are able to grab the remote and choose our favorite funny families, companies, or local hangouts to get our laughs on. From Must See TV to TGIF, and back again, we have spent countless hours of our lives with the Keatons, the Winslows and the Dunphys. We've wondered if the two shockingly attractive people would or wouldn't get together. We've tried to figure out certain character's jobs. We've longed to see the always naked guy across the street, just to get a better idea of what the characters saw. We watch the shows and talk about them with our friends the next day. We buy shirts or hats or whatever else catches our fancy with the famous locations or phrases from the shows to show our support.
But how well do we really know these shows? Well, take this quiz and you'll soon find out!
Not that there's anything wrong with that
This now classic sitcom started off as a cheap way to keep its star under contract. The first season was just five episodes, and the producers were so sure that the show would be canceled that they started to shop it to other networks. Somehow, NBC decided to give it a second season, but with just twelve episodes. By the fourth season, the show had become the crown jewel for the network. When it ended in 1998, it was the highest rated show on TV with an average of 38 million viewers.
Cut it out
For eight seasons, American families turned in each week to catch up on the story of a rather unusual family. Following the format of classic sitcoms like My Three Sons and My Two Dads, this series focused on a widower raising his three daughters with the help of his best friend and his brother-in-law. The show turned a pair of twins into two of the most famous actors of the time, opening the door for them to become two amazingly successful businesswomen and fashion designers.
Shut it down
Tina Fey based this series on her own life... kind of. In the least, this sitcom about a single woman running a sketch show for NBC certainly has a lot of parallels to her life. Chances are she didn't have to deal with interns or GE execs quite as often as she did on the show, but then that was where most of the comedy came from, so those changes can't be argued with. This series has a loyal fanbase that, thanks to Netflix, seems to be growing each year.
Deadpool: origins
Lasting just four seasons, and changing its name halfway through its run, this sitcom introduced Americans to People Magazine's 2010 Sexiest Man of the Year and everyone's favorite fouled mouth mutant, Ryan Reynolds. Originally about three college students, two of whom worked at the place all three liked to hang out at, the series got rid of the hangout spot and headed in a different direction with the third season. It didn't work and the ratings dropped even further. It was canceled after 81 episodes.
Did he do that?
Originally about a Chicago family, the focus of the show switched to their wacky super-genius neighbor when it became obvious that viewers loved the character more than the family. This annoying teen became so popular that he had his own doll and cereal, possibly the only sitcom character to pull that off. This series was a cornerstone in the TGIF years, but as the ratings slipped, it changed networks in the hopes of staying alive. The switch didn't work and after a season at its new home, the show was canceled.
They made a terrible mistake
While this series gained a cult following during its initial run, the rabid fans and awards weren't enough to keep it from getting canceled after just three seasons. The show, about a wealthy family that loses everything after the patriarch is arrested for, among other things, light treason, was ahead of its time, leading the way to more prestige sitcoms. Luckily, Netflix brought a larger audience to the show, an audience so large that Netflix decided to bring the series back from the dead, and while the fourth season wasn't great, it still had some wonderful bits.
Slow torture
While the show only lasted 13 episodes, with only 8 of them airing on TV, it became a cult classic that found new love when it came to DVD. The series, starring Jay Mohr as constantly angry and often high action movie producer Peter Dragon and his endless journey to make the greatest action movie of all time, was raunchy, raw, and unforgiving. Stars like Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, and Salma Hayek appeared as themselves, adding a great sense of realism to the series.
Norm!
One of the longest running and most loved sitcoms of all time, this series set in a Boston bar spawned not just a spinoff, but an actual bar franchise. Starting off as a will they/won't they romantic relationship between two of the main characters, the series refocused itself after one of the stars left for a movie career. After eleven years and nearly 300 episodes, the bar closed for the last time, and while some of the characters would go on to appear in another show, there has never been a true reunion.
How you doin'?
It isn't often that a sitcom, or any TV show for that matter, is responsible for a popular hairstyle and a hit song, but this 90s classic pulled off both with ease. The show, about six New Yorkers trying to get through their everyday troubles while working as little as possible, turned each of its stars into household names almost overnight. While there was a spinoff after the series ended, focusing on just one character didn't work and the show was quickly canceled. Rumors of a reunion show up every year, but nothing has panned out yet.
The show that dared ask, "Who pooped the bed?"
This sitcom shouldn't have made it to TV. And once it did make it to TV, it should not have lasted as long as it has. Luckily for us, this series has continued to go against the tides and find both hilarity and success. Created by three friends looking for work, this sitcom about a ragtag group of pretty much the worst people in the world is as dark as it is funny, sometimes going so far that you can't help but wonder just how far they're willing to go.
We like them and we love them
While most sitcoms go for sarcasm for the humor, this series chose instead to focus on earnestness. The show, which ran for seven seasons, took a while to find its path, but when it did, things really took off. Centered on a group of government workers, this sitcom was as heartfelt as it was funny, often bringing its viewers to tears either from laughing or from experiencing the lives of the characters. Each of the main characters wanted to make the world a better place, even if it was just by helping each other.
Fact: this show was popular
A remake of a popular British sitcom, this series brought the documentary style sitcom to the US and helped NBC rebuild their Thursday night programming. The basic concept of the series - a documentary about a small paper company and the growing romance between a secretary and a salesman - was taken from the original series but the characters and their antics were all original. The show was so popular that it was able to continue even after the most loved character left the series.
The longest story two kids ever listened to
For nine years, audiences watched as two kids listened to their dad tell the story of his life before they came along. The story was about him and his friends and their lives as they go from their late 20s and into their later 30s. There were laughs, there were tears, there was a lot of drinking. This series was one of the biggest shows of its time, relaunching the television career of Neil Patrick Harris and making Jason Segel a household name.
Only lasted a semester
It's hard to imagine that super-producer Judd Apatow would have a show that gets canceled in the first season, but in 2002 that is exactly what happened to him for the second time. After his show about high school was canceled, Apatow decided to do a show about college. That show, which starred Charlie Hunnam, Seth Rogen, and Jay Baruchel among others, was also loved by critics but ignored by audiences. In 2012, Entertainment Weekly included the show in their list of the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years"
Daydreaming doctor
This hit sitcom showed us one of our greatest nightmares - that our doctors are as dumb as we are. While TV shows usually paint doctors as amazing heroes who only appear in dramas, this show gave us a look at a group of hospital workers who spent their time examining patients, having affairs, making pop culture references and daydreaming. Still, the warmth that the series had, showing that while these goofball doctors, nurses, and surgeons were pretty doofy they still took their work seriously, made us all feel a little better.
A real family
If you look at any family from the outside, they may seem perfect, but dig a little deeper and they'll start looking more like the family from this sitcom, which is why this show hit it off with viewers. The show, about a typical American family - including the oldest son who can't get along with his mom, the middle child who craves attention, the other middle child who is brilliant, the youngest kid who is possibly psychotic, and a father who is about as useful as a third sock - lasted seven seasons
Groovy, man
Lasting almost as long as the decade it was set in, this sitcom was filled with nostalgia, laughs, and bellbottoms. Focused on Eric Forman and his friends as they dealt with high school, college, and parents, this series launched the careers of Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, and Laura Prepon. It had a short lived spinoff. While the show never set an exact date, the gang did go see Star Wars in the first season, meaning that it must have been 1977 then. So the show appeared to exist in a reality where the 1970s never ended
The new American family
Currently in its ninth season, this sitcom has become famous for its modern twists on the family comedy genre, as well as the way it handles sight gags and double entendres. The show, about a family of three groups, has faced a fair amount of criticism for some of its character choices, but each time the writers and actors have found a way to incorporate those criticisms and use them to keep the show moving forward. With at least one more season coming, this show is bound to go into the sitcom hall of fame
Cool. Cool cool cool
This series, about a lawyer who is forced to go back to college, is as famous for its off-camera antics as it is for what happened on camera. Show creator Dan Harmon was fired from the series at the end of season three after his very public argument with star Chevy Chase. Then Chevy Chase was fired at the end of season four and Harmon was rehired for season five. Then the show was canceled. Then it got picked up by Yahoo! for a sixth season. Then it was canceled again. Now all the fans want is the promised movie.
Did you turn it off and turn it back on again?
This British sitcom set in the offices of Reynholm Industries followed the loves of slacker Roy Trenneman, his best friend the brilliant and nerdy Maurice Moss, and their new boss Jen Barber. While Jen knows nothing about the job - she lied about her previous experience - both Roy and Maurice help her keep the job because her lack of knowledge makes their lives easier. This show was a smash hit in the UK and became a cult hit in the US. A planned US version was scrapped after the pilot was filmed.
Collusion!
This hilarious sitcom focused on a group of friends who took fantasy football a little too seriously. Over the course of seven seasons, viewers watched as they battled for the Shiva and did their best to keep away from the Sacko. One of them even had a stroke when he became enraged at the others who he believed were colluding against him. This series was the perfect mix of slapstick, potty humor, and callbacks, all handled by six fantastic comedic actors.
Based on a true story
It isn't often that a sitcom is based on real events - they may be based on a piece of an actual person's life, but to really pull from that life is super rare. For this show, that was the entire idea. Based on Chris Rock's life, this series was a critical darling, earning multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations during its four years on the air. Sadly the show never found a large audience, but its cancellation fit with where Rock had always wanted to end the series.
Growing up
For seven years, viewers tuned in to watch Cory Matthews (played by Ben Savage) deal with the hardships of growing up. Going from grade school to high school to college, fans watched Cory and his friends deal with falling in and out of love, cheating on tests, failing classes, family problems, and everything else that we all find ourselves having to learn. This series was revived recently, focusing on Cory and his wife Topanga's daughter. It was canceled after three seasons.
School's out
In the early 90s it was hard to find a kid or young teen who didn't watch this sitcom about six high school students. The show focused on Zack Morris who, along with being rich, seemed to have the ability to stop time and knew that he lived in a TV show. The show initially started as a different series called Good Morning, Miss Bliss, but after that series was canceled, the creators retooled it and changed the focus from a sixth-grade teacher to a group of eighth-graders.
The real deal with Bill McNeal
Set in the offices of WNYX, this sitcom was loved by critics but didn't find a fanbase until it went into syndication after being canceled. The series focused on station manager Dave Nelson as he did his best to keep his sanity while dealing with his boss, billionaire Jimmy James, and the weird group of misfits Jimmy had hired for the station. The show went through a real-life tragedy when star Phil Hartman was killed between the fourth and fifth seasons.