The sitcom is dead. This is evident in today’s television medium, and at its rapid rate of decline, the TV sitcom does not have much time left.
In an effort for better ratings and more viewership, it seems television media producers are pumping the airwaves with any show that might gain ratings, despite weaknesses in concept, plot, or character design. Whenever new sitcoms premier, the networks relentlessly promote their new brainchild until two weeks later, when it disappears into obscurity. Why are these networks producing shoddy, surface-deep sitcoms, constantly throwing the spaghetti at the wall until something sticks?
The reason for the disintegration of one of America’s oldest entertainment icons is the result of the increasing popularity of reality TV. Reality TV evolved in the late 90’s; let’s pin it at around 1997. At this point the sitcom had reached its peak of success. Shows like “Will and Grace”, “Seinfeld”, and “Friends” boasted primetime with humor as we enjoyed economic prosperity (somewhat), and smooth relations with our neighbors.
Also, who can forget TGIF? It was a concept keeping us on our couches Friday nights, watching shows like “Full House,” where we watch the most huggable, lovable family face the trials and tribulations of normal life. Besides the “Creepy Uncle” complex that most young men developed while watching little Michelle grow from infancy to the blossoming twins adorning their apartment walls, the question about how close three men can be living in the same house to raise four girls never occurred. Along with Urkel, Cody, and Balki as our weeknight heroes, our airwaves were safe, primetime was enjoyable, and life was good.
The moment that tipped the scales was the night Regis Philban debuted “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”. It was an opportunity to indulge a society hungry for instant gratification. The questions were simple, insulted high schoolers across the nation, and humored over worked/underpaid cubicle dwellers everywhere. The chance to win $1 million finishing Dr. Suess rhymes on national television brought the common citizen the chance for easy fame. Network executives, thirsty for a new gimmick, vampirically set upon this fat new vein of success. Keep in mind, “Millionaire” debuted in 1997, around the same time “Seinfeld” ended, which possibly closed the lid on the TV sitcom’s coffin.
Soon after “Millionaire” morphed into shows like “The Chamber”, “Fear Factor”, and “Dog Eat Dog”, combining the question and answer format with stunts and extreme situations. One popular reality show to arrive was “Survivor”, which practically is “Millionaire” placed on an island. Reality TV soon after saturated the media, as sitcoms began to fade away.
The quality of the sitcom quickly deteriorated. Reality programs film multiple seasons at once so they’re able to pump seasons out quickly, with little space between season finales and season premieres, at a rate the sitcom world had never previously experienced and found difficult to contend with. As a result, sitcom’s started developing common themes.
One example is the fat man/skinny woman sitcom. Shows like “According to Jim,” “King of Queens,” and “Tracey Morgan,” the characters represent fat, oafish fathers with skinny, attractive “voice of reason” mothers. The men usually go from a goofy, grown-child mentality to a sensitive mature, deep persona in a matter of minutes. This schizophrenia makes the shows’ characters hardly plausible. Also, the show “Hope and Faith” has become the frontrunner of the dumb blond theme, littering their shows with trite jokes in a pass
