I loooooooove sitcoms. Not to make me think and understand the world and blah blah blah, but to make me laugh while I am eating soup on the couch in front of the TV after a long day at work. You know, the ones you watch over and over again and get excited when you turn on the TV at the hotel and catch a rerun you haven’t seen in a while.
I’ll start! Just to give you an idea of how very very lowbrow you can go.
Wings: Genevieve and I just bonded over this one, which inspired this post. It doesn’t want to change the world or anything, it just wants to give you a nice group of people to hang out with and laugh at while you do boring repetitive tasks alone in your apartment.
Brooklyn 99: Obviously this is the best comfort food sitcom out there today. You should all be watching it! It is happiness and delightfulness and nothing bad ever really happens, despite being set at a police station.
As Time Goes By: Did anyone else watch this British sitcom? Young lovers meet each other again in their 60s and slowly figure out how to fall in love after a lifetime spent separately, and both very settled in their ways and a bit grumpy. Plus complications from her daughter, and his more-youthful-than-him 80 year old father. Best bit is how it turns into a bit of a found family, they kind of adopt the woman’s secretary and the man’s young publisher along with the biological daughter.
The Nanny: Don’t judge me! It’s nice! Not everything has to be subtle and clever and stuff. Sometimes you just want a fish out of water average girl dumped into a rich widower’s household with a sassy butler and a jealous rich woman nemesis.
3rd Rock From the Sun: This one is actually kind of clever, but in a soothing slapstick obvious kind of way. Also, it’s just old enough that everything feels pleasantly dated and non-threatening. Oh, and you can watch Joseph Gordon-Leavitt when he was a little baby.
Okay, lay your picks on me! If they are American, very likely I have watched them too (I gobble up everything).
And if they aren’t American, I want to know EVERYTHING. Tell me about the set-up and the romance that developed and the running gags and things.
dontcallitbollywood 
OMG I remember Wings! And I watched it when I was 10 or less.
Brooklyn 99 is the best. I adore it.
The other sitcom I love with all my heart is The Big Bang Theory. I didn’t love it at first, because the first episode I have seen was very boring but months later I watched the episode from 2nd season about Sheldon and the guys going to the Arctic and Penny being upset. It was so romantic I fell in love instantly.
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Thank you for also loving Big Bang Theory. It’s “hip” to hate on it, but I honestly can’t even see what people critique. Well, most of it. Sheldon did get a little mean for a while in the middle seasons, but that corrected with his relationship with Amy. The complaint about it not being “real nerds” makes no sense to me, because I knew hardcore “real” nerds and they all love it. And the third big complaint is that it is terrible to woman and that one just feels like people didn’t actually watch the show. The 3 female leads were all different strong interesting women, as were their relationships. Oh, now I want to watch it again!
On Wed, Aug 5, 2020 at 5:14 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Love love love Big Bang Theory. I can watch it over and over again. And anyone that thinks that treated women terribly, very clearly hasn’t seen the show.
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THANK YOU!!!! The female friendship, and female characters, are unique. “Chuck Lorre”, in the very specific pop culture criticism corner of the internet, has become this shorthand for misogynistic hack, which is such a pity! Every show he has made except for 2 and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory has female leads. And BBT by season 4 was really a female lead show as well, or at least half and half. He really has the best female characters in sitcom history in the shows he has made (Roseanne, Cybill, Grace on Fire, Dharma and Greg, BBT, Mom), and it gets ignored because it is easier to make jokes.
On Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 8:23 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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The Good Place! And Mind Your Language!
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Yes The Good Place! Except it just finished so I’m not ready for a rewatch yet.
Mind Your Language I have never seen and clearly need to seek out.
On Wed, Aug 5, 2020 at 5:48 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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My favorite American sitcom is Parks and Rec. I was going to say the Good Place but that’s not a sitcom since it follows a story line, as opposed to having an episode revolve around a funny situation. It’s still great though. Both shows were created by the same person.
My favorite sitcom is an Indian sitcom: Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai. It has two season. One ran from 2004-2006 and a second season that rebooted in 2017. It’s available on Hostar, but the last time I had Hotstar the first season didn’t have English subtitles. They might have added them now, IDK. Basically, the story revolves around the life of two rich couples that are neighbors. The first couple is Maya and Indu Sarabhai. Indu gag is that he makes bad jokes and likes to prank others, especially his youngest son. Maya’s gag is that she is a snooty upper-class socialite who always fights with her daughter-in-law. That’s actually the second couple of the show. Their first son, Sahil, and their daughter-in-law, Monisha. Monisha’s gag is that she is very cheap and loves to bargain (she is from a poor family). Monisha is really into India’s soap operas and cooks the most terrible food. Sahil is normal. His gag is just reacting to his crazy family. The youngest son I mentioned earlier is also there. His gag is that he absolutely adores his son, writes terrible poetry, and has an annoying voice. He’s there in every episode, but tends to be sidelined.
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You need to watch Brooklyn 99! It’s the third show from the Parks and Rec and Good Place showrunner. Similarly warmhearted good people trying to do good things.
On Wed, Aug 5, 2020 at 6:41 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is so great (and yet so difficult to find!)! I was so sure I wouldn’t like it and then I couldn’t stop laughing.
Damn, I’m going to go watch an episode now.
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Sarabhai – the first season – has such a warm place in so many people’s hearts. It is hilarious.
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Right now it is Super Store. All time favorite is Amrutham. It is a Telugu sitcom that ran for many years. All episodes are on Youtube but no subtitles. I also really like Sound of my heart, which is a Korean show.
When I saw the title I assumed you were talking about sitcoms about food. In that case Japanese shows revolving around food are really good. My favorites – Samurai Gourmet, Midnight Diner, and Kantaro San. The last one will be a sitcom. The other two are little more serious.
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I’ve been considering Super Store! But the plot description sounded a little too plot-y so I was nervous. I don’t want a sitcom with a lot of stress.
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I am into the second season and I feel even if some watches a one-off episode it will make sense. There is a plot but it is something you can pick up even if you skip episodes.
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The old old sitcoms I grew up watching that are total comfort food are I Love Lucy and The Dick van Dyke Show and M*A*S*H. My favorite new one is Fresh Off the Boat, glad my kids are into that one because it’s something we can watch that makes us all happy. Same with Malcolm in the Middle, though I think that one loses some of its charm as the seasons go on. My actual childhood era is kinda fuzzy now, except there’s this one scene from Cheers where based on tradition Carla’s grandson is supposed to be named Benito Mussolini that stuck with me forever. And maybe Designing Women? And the original Roseanne? I watched all of them back in the day but I don’t feel much attached to any that I can think of now. As an adult, the original Ugly Betty (Betty la fea) is the only telenovela I ever got hooked on and watched every single day – it’s more broad comedy and fairy tale romantic than the US remake, might appeal to some of the DCIB crowd. And I definitely fell for Raising Hope and New Girl for short stretches.
What’s cracking me up right now is that all the kids are into The Office. Never would have thought that would appeal to the school aged set.
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Oh the Dick Van Dyke Show! It really is just so good. Soothing happy 1950s family structure, and very clever stories. I Love Lucy, I adored when I was your boys’ age and then somehow grew out of it. MASH I found in college and just gobbled up, but somehow have never felt like going back to it.
I need to catch up on Fresh of the Boat. Definitely a sudden drop in quality the last two seasons and somehow watching new episodes became a chore instead of a delight and I just stopped.
On Wed, Aug 5, 2020 at 11:56 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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The Dick van Dyke show has that family/co-worker combination that you liked about Wings too. At home there’s Mary Tyler Moore as Laura, no shrinking violet but in a more conventional role. But then the office dynamics of working as a comedy writer are funny, and I loved his two co-workers (including the single working woman).
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Rose Marie! She was great. Treaded that line of “obsessed about marriage and romance instead of career, but in a way that made it about messed up gender expectations not real desire”. She dated, she generally said she wanted to get married, but she was also super good at her job and clearly enjoyed it and we could see that maybe she didn’t really have to get married to be happy.
On Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 3:32 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Loved The Mary Tyler Moore show too. And way, way back there was My Three Sons, not sure if it was classed as a sitcom though. Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie. It shows how old I am.
I watch very little US content these days, I think the only US show I watch is Battlebots although I did watch Mad Men, Suits, The Good Wife and The Good Fight – non-sitcom stuff.
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I went through a Bewitched phase! It totally holds up, great performances and fun characters and actually funny.
On Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 5:00 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I loved As Time Goes By
As Aussie one from the 80s/90s – Mother and Son. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088573/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2 It doesn’t sound a numerous premise but it was very funny.
Some UK ones – Keeping Up Appearances – concerning snobbish, social climber Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet) and her long suffering hubby, Richard, and neighbours. Very funny.
Also very funny – One Foot in the Grave – permanently cranky pensioner Victor Meldrew and his long suffering wife, Margaret.
Classics – Fawlty Towers, Porridge, Only Fools and Horses, The Good Life, To The Manor Born.
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Yes, another person who liked As Time Goes By! It felt different to me from the “classic” British sitcoms, because it was a lot less broad, and things actually moved forward for the characters, there were long storylines and changes and things. But not too many changes, still the same pleasant house and yard and nice people coming round and all that.
On Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 4:15 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Numerous should read humerous!
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Frasier for me, seen it since I was a kid and the jokes still hold up! That and The Good Place, which I still need to catch up on. Not much of a sitcom person otherwise, but I have seen B99, just not much of a comfort food sitcom for me as the other two.
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The Good Place works so well, straight through, and becomes surprisingly romantic!
On Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 5:32 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I just have to give ALF a shout out, as it and the Cosby Show were the only sitcoms we were allowed to watch on school nights when I was in elementary school. Is ALF good? I don’t know I was just glad my mom let me watch it. Typically I’ve been more of a reader than a watcher, so my sitcom knowledge is limited. So thank you Sweden for having Wings re-runs and getting me hooked on it, I wouldn’t have found it otherwise. But for a while there my family loved watching BBC’s Tales from the Green Valley, which was kinda like historical reality TV..
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Oh! I remember this! Not Tales from Green Valley, but the follow up that was a Victorian house or something? My family watched the first couple episodes as a family and then stopped.
On Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 3:53 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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OMG Alf, he was so creepy! I have been watching it because there were only two tv channels in Poland and almost nothing for kids but he always made me feel uncomfortable.
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I never saw it! Not even a glimpse in passing of a single episode. Which is kind of weird, my family didn’t watch TV but I still saw bits of things at other kids’ houses or when we had babysitters. Alf, I remember seeing toys, but not the show.
On Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 4:10 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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At the time I didn’t find him creepy, but now as an adult I think it was an alien muppet who made inappropriate sexual jokes? Yeah, that might be creepy.
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And he always wanted to eat the cat!
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Well eating a cat is just funny.
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How has no one mentioned Full House yet? is it not as good as I remembered? That’s what I watched at 6am while getting ready for school. Or Family Matters, whichever was on.
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For myself, both of them hit me at the wrong age. I think I saw reruns for the first time when I was like 13? So i enjoyed them and all but I don’t have that strong childhood nostalgia feeling.
On Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 5:15 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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First, yes to Nanny!! I loved that show. I can watch reruns at any time. As a pre-teen/teenager I remember loving Saved by the Bell and Fresh Prince, but it’s been years since I have watched either one of those shows. Other sitcoms I have really enjoyed over the years are Wizards of Waverly, What I Like About You, and the forever ever classic – Golden Girls!
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Oh, What I Like About You! I forgot about that show! It was surprisingly charming. Poor Amanda Bynes, I miss her. I was also just thinking that we need to remake What a Girl Wants in Hindi for Shahrukh and Suhana. It would be perfect, right? Alternatively, Saif and Sara.
Golden Girls is of course the best, forever and ever and ever.
On Fri, Aug 7, 2020 at 7:18 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Yes! What A Girl Wants is such a comfort movie watch for me, and yes, we need to remake it in Hindi with SRK/Suhana, Said/Sara, or Kabir Bedi/Alaya! And yes, poor Amanda Bynes. I hope she is healthy and safe and I definitely miss her! Now I want to do a Amanda Bynes movie marathon with WAGW, She’s the Man, and Sydney White.
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She’s the Man is SO GOOD!!!!!! I saw it in theaters and went “whoa, the hot dude hero is actually really funny and good at acting”. HA! I spotted Channing Tatum before everyone else!
I was gonna say, “let’s remake the whole Amanda Bynes trilogy”, but they kind of already happened. What a Girl Wants is Jawaani Deewani, She’s the Man is Dil Bole Hadippa. I guess Sydney White is still available, but I’m trying to think of a setting that would work to replicate the whole old fashioned college sorority/fraternity courtship experience.
On Fri, Aug 7, 2020 at 7:59 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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We could go back to SOTY’s St Teresa’s. It’s already a fantasy school and I can totally see it having sororities and fraternities.
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YES! You cracked it! Fish out of water sweet legacy student arrives, her mother was a rich princess graduate but fell in love and married a sweet nice normal guy and our heroine had a nice normal upbringing. She buts heads with the Queen Bee of the school and ends up being thrown out of the fancy girl’s hostel where her mother used to stay, but is taken in by the scuzzy falling down boys hostel where all the losers live. Nice golden boy of the school likes her right along, she helps the loser boys gain confidence and get out of their shells. Only problem is (and I had the same issue with the original), it really feels like she should call in love with one of the losers and leave the boring golden boy behind. What do you think?
On Fri, Aug 7, 2020 at 8:19 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I love it, especially the ending. Oh, maybe it can be Alia’s and Sid’s daughter from SOTY 1, who is back at St Teresa to follow Alia’s legacy. Who would we cast here for Daughter, Queen Bee, Golden Boy, Hot Loser Nerd.
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Sanya for daughter, she’s a bit old to play a college kid now, but she’s also so short that I think she can pull it off. Golden Boy I’m stumped on, but I want Hot Loser Nerd to be Vivaan Shah, Nawaz and Ratna’s son who was in Happy New Year.
On Fri, Aug 7, 2020 at 8:58 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh and yes, I watched She’s the Man and Step Up in theaters the same year and remember having the most massive crush on Channing Tatum.
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Wow, I totally forgot about Disney Channel shows and didn’t think they counted! But yes to Wizards, and also That’s so Raven, Lizzie McGuire, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Hannah Montana. I did like the Jonas Brothers’ show, but I can acknowledge that I only watched it for them and it was pretty bad.
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Completely agree! I love sitcoms to unwind, give me some joy and forget about daily life. As well as loving Brooklyn 99, I cant get enough of Modern Family at the moment.
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I’m watching The Nanny as I write this! I would also say Gilmore Girls.
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