Whatever happened to sitcoms ...
Question: Whatever happened to sitcoms with a real bite to them? Looking at today's slate of sitcoms, I can't help but compare them to
Roseanne,
Married... with Children, and
M*A*S*H: all shows with an edge that made them compelling to watch. The reason I ask is because recently I watched the marvelous show
Titus on DVD and began to miss the show even more. So once again, whatever happened to the dark comedies, the shows that gripped you tightly and brought you along for the ride?
Answer: I'm not sure I'd put
Married... with Children in the pantheon of edgy sitcoms. It was noisy and brash, but too crude to achieve the realistic sting of a true classic like
Roseanne. I would argue that
Everybody Hates Chris carries on the tradition pretty well, grounding a memorable TV family in an urban milieu of racial tension and economic deprivation. And while much lighter in tone,
My Name Is Earl depicts a scruffy white-trash sensibility rarely seen on TV anymore. So while sitcoms in general, and "edgy" sitcoms in particular, are struggling, I'm kind of encouraged that
Earl and
Chris have come along to show us that comedies can have character (the essential element in
Roseanne-style "edge") and still succeed. That said, I miss
Titus, too. But just having "edge" isn't enough. It helps if the show is funny, and that's where most of today's sitcoms (especially on ABC) are lacking.
