Podcasts
Could Whitney Houston Have Been Saved?
- And other great mysteries of Hollywood, beheaded for your pleasure in our weekly podcast!
Does Uggie the Dog Ever Have to Work Again?
- And other great mysteries of Hollywood, beheaded for your pleasure in our weekly podcast!
Does Jim Carrey's Daughter Have an Edge on Idol?
- And other great mysteries of Hollywood, beheaded for your pleasure in our weekly podcast!
Could Brad Pitt Wear Jeans and a T-shirt to the Oscars?
- And other great mysteries of Hollywood, beheaded for your pleasure in our weekly podcast!
Ask A Question
Why do most sitcoms suck?
Why do sitcoms suck all of a sudden? I mean, every good writer couldn't have just disappeared, but other than The Office, most sitcoms now are just unbearable. What happened to the Friends and Seinfelds?
—Matt, Boston
The B!tch Replies: If you must blame someone, experts tell me, you must blame—prepare for it—America Ferrera. Or Eva Longoria. I'll let you pick your own hottie to hate.
You see, the "heat," as they say in the business, has been moving away from traditional, half-hour sitcoms for quite some time. Instead, much of the effort, money and talent in this business has been shuffled to quirky quasi dramas or more offbeat fare. Think Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives or, in the premium cable world, Dexter or Entourage.
"To some extent, sitcoms ate themselves," explains Jurgen Wolff, a sitcom creator and author of the book Your Writing Coach. "There were so many on the air, a lot of them very similar, that people got tired of the genre through overfamiliarity."
So, if you think current sitcoms suck, it's because you're still focusing on old-school formats, not the—cue spacey-futuristic fanfare here—TV comedy genres of the futurrrre!
It's that simple. Really. But if that explanation isn't slaking your thirst for justice, remember: It isn't the writers' fault. (A note from the writer of this column: It's never the writer's fault.)
"The people who decide what gets on the air are the network executives," Wolff says. "They're the ones who say, 'Dumb it down,' or 'Keep it politically correct,' or 'Promote family values.' "
Or, in the case of genius comedies like Arrested Development, "Cancel it."
One more point to make: The reason you may not see a ton of quality sitcoms is because there are fewer of them out there to inspire your guffaws. Remember, these days, America is all about its girl-on-girl feuds up in the Hollywood Hills and its love quadrangles populated by women in crimped-up weaves and foot-long acrylics.
In other words, its reality TV.
Those Top Models may not weigh much, but they, along with your Big Brother contenders, are leaving less and less room for the type of TV you desire.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go check out the models for Top Model Cycle Nine. I always—always—root for the fat girl. Except...lo! What manner of machination is this? I see no fat girl this season. Is there no justice?
- NEXT QUESTION: Are those Hills posters faked?
- GET MY PODCAST: It's weekly, free and hilarious.
1 Comments
-
Show the next 1 - 0 of 1 comments
Now loading...