Right, but I’m just asking when. 
That stuff I remember goes from late seventies to early ‘90s.
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Early on. And sure, there were some there, but again, it was cyclic. I take back my “devoid” - standing corrected!!
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It does seem like there was a bit of a “lull” in ‘80-82, for sure, but also, we got “cable-plus” in the mid eighties, so I can’t tell if that was partly why I felt that way.
No biggie, I was just curious.
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My guess is that his style of comedy has largely gone stale. I see that he has a film that came out in April on Netflix, so he’s not exactly starving right now. He might need to look for screenwriters with new material to keep work but I assume that’s true for all directors regardless of genre.
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I lived in a cable free world. All good (of course).
Hmmm… Soap, Benson, Different Strokes, Facts of Life, Bosom Buddies, Gimmie a Break, Newhart were all on in that period (or in some cases started or ended)… 
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Ooh, I forgot about Soap!
I thought Bosom Buddies started later. But that makes sense.
I was thinking maybe we didn’t have access to the shows based on what we had for service at that time. Could totally be wrong. I was pretty young, still.
It’s fun remembering all the old sitcoms, though, and which ones stand the test of time in terms of not being creepy now.
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I think syndication makes everyone a bit confused about when things were actually on TV… I remember watching stuff like Mr. Ed, that was obviously re-runs…
Also, two more shows- Alice and the spin-off Flo!
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There were some excellent “Whose Line Is It Anyway” broadcasts that still hold up really well. But you’re definitely right that while the entire episodes have some outstanding parts, they’re not uproarious from start to finish.
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Yes. I was really into Mr. Ed. Also, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, the one about identical cousins ( I remember all the theme songs, if not the titles!)…The Addams Family.
Cheers is one of the only ones from our list I now see as having a bit of creepiness to it. Although, Bewitched and Jeannie…
some issues there, for sure.
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Wullerton. (SPIT).
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Did it ever exist in the public at large?
… or, were these films made because studios genuinely didn’t know what would be popular until they made a film and put it in theaters?
… or worse, were they being made because powerful people owed each other favors and they were basically big-budget vanity projects?
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Even “Whose Line” took advantage of editing so the sketches that didn’t work never made it into the broadcast. Each taping lasted about four hours and they’d cut that down to use the funniest parts of each taping into two 22-minute episodes.
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I did not know that! That show is one of the best examples of good improv I’ve ever seen! Or, at least, the kind of improv I find hilarious.
But 4 hours would be a stretch.
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Yeah there’s a reason that sitting in a live studio audience for a TV show is usually either free or a paid gig.
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I knew Ryan Stiles wasn’t that funny!
Wow, imagine how bad the hoedowns that didn’t make it were.
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Thank you. I always HATED these type movies, at the time they came out, as a member of the target demographic (teens). All my life, everybody loves fucking John Hughes movies. No. They are horrible. Ferris is a FUCKING ASSHOLE! All those “classic” 80’s comedies just reinforced the Reagan agenda. John Hughes has NOTHING to offer, nada. Gimme Repo Man, gimme Forbidden Zone, gimme Toxic Avenger and Surf Nazis Must Die!
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Nobody wants or expects to get laughs from the reactionary asshole you’re describing. People without a sense of humor aren’t the target audience for comedic films.
I would disagree about John Hughes but not too harshly. Ferris Bueller is 100% the King of the Dicks, entitled little fuck.
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Prove that I laughed while watching these movies? I didn’t video the occasion but I don’t know why somebody would be dishonest about something like that.
