I watched a Tivo’d episode of Las Vegas (the one where Ed gets jury duty). The show is sometimes amusing, and I watched it a bit last year, thinking that it would be impossible for a drama to be any more over the top. But it’s gotten more so - the only thing missing is a laugh track.
I’m getting a bit burned out on procedurals, and I’ve never been into the WB teen drama stuff or E.R.-style hospital dramas. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but I’d like one or two more good, different dramas. I think that’s why Lost is doing so well - if nothing else, it’s different from everything else out there.
I feel like The OC and Boston Legal are two of the funniest shows on TV (Boston Legal more than the OC this year). Boston Legal is only slightly behind Arrested Development on my list of hilarious shows.
They were called “dramedies” in the 80s (cf. Wonder Years, Thirty Something), basically dramas that were funny and lacked a laugh track.[/quote]
Yeah, I used to really like Slap Maxwell, Hooperman, and Molly Dodd. They were humorous, but plausible (by and large). Las Vegas is just over the top in every way. I’d definitely like a new Bochco-like dramedy.
They were called “dramedies” in the 80s (cf. Wonder Years, Thirty Something), basically dramas that were funny and lacked a laugh track.[/quote]
Yeah, I used to really like Slap Maxwell, Hooperman, and Molly Dodd. They were humorous, but plausible (by and large). Las Vegas is just over the top in every way. I’d definitely like a new Bochco-like dramedy.[/quote]
Bochco did dramedy (I mean intentionally, cough Cop Rock)? I mean, I used to think NYPD Blue was hilarious, but I’m an admirer of sarcasm (and the lines Sipowicz had were awesome in that regard). However, I doubt that qualifies. David E. Kelley circa Picket Fences would work for me.
I think TV is absolutely getting better. There are always bad trends and good shows inevitably have short runs but there seem to be more and more good shows these days. (More and more bad shows too but that’s besides the point.)
I wonder if the days of one or two good shows dominating for years (ala Cheers or Seinfeld) have passed? It seems like my viewing habits change every couple of months these days but there are almost always 4 or 5 excellent shows on in any given week. They just keep changing.
They were called “dramedies” in the 80s (cf. Wonder Years, Thirty Something), basically dramas that were funny and lacked a laugh track.[/quote]
What are scrubs, curb your enthusiam and arrested development then?
They all lack laugh tracks, don’t really fall squarely into the drama and mold and are highly entertaining and hilarious.
Maybe TV is somehow magically getting better? (but only in small doses.)[/quote]
I don’t watch Scrubs and I only watch Curb Your Enthusiasm occasionally, but removing the laugh track also just makes a show less annoying. However, Arrested Development, definitely has a Wonder Years kind of mix of drama and comedy going on, even if it’s skewed slightly more towards comedy. But I love Arrested Development not just because it’s absolutely hilarious, but because I really do care about the characters, and about where the story is going.
Slate makes the case for an old show that I’ve never seen, Living Single.
Back in the 90s I only used to watch TV on two nights, sometimes 3: Thursdays belonged to NBC thanks to Seinfeld and then Friends, and whatever they chose to fit in between. And Sundays belonged to Fox between The Simpsons and a whole host of rotating shows like Living Color, Herman’s Head, and others. They must have put Living Single on a different night.
The Gimlet podcast “Without Fail” interviewed Erika Alexander the other day and they talked a lot about Living Single and how ahead of its time and long-forgotten it was. I was not familiar with it either.
