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ALessonInSit.com
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003 - 4:15 PM
So Friends is about to come to an end and it's going to be the talk of all the entertainment mags, shows, and articles until it finally happens. There will be many "They Won't Be There For You (Much Longer)" puns and I'm betting 3 to 1 odds that everyone hates the spin-off show, Joey, and it will be cancelled before the first two years are complete. (Not that I don't like Joey, but I think the reason he's so likable is because of the full, six-ingredient recipe. It's like eating raw onions, which many people like to do, but most people don't (even though they like it as an ingredient in things). But because last week was premier week for the telly (props to my British readers), everyone's been talking about the show vanishing and the void it's going to leave. Between that and Frasier, Must See TV is fading away. The reviews that I've heard most have to do with critics that say Friends can never be recreated. I disagree. The reason more sitcoms aren't as successful as Friends (and other big shows like Seinfeld) is because current sitcoms all have the same formula -- none of which come close to the ingredients that went into great shows of the past. The biggest problem is that most of these shows are about couples where the wife is cunning, confident, cool, and much, much smarter than her dumb, constantly bumbling husband. This works in cartoons (Flintstones, Family Guy), but not in real-life situations. Every guy in every show can't be a moron. Friends success comes from two smart guys (Chandler and Ross) who aren't dumb, but are quirky and likable. In the same respect Monica and Rachel are basically the same way (although with different quirks.) In Seinfeld, all the guys were intelligent (although they also had lovable quirks -- except George... never much cared for him.) The shows that aren't working mostly have the above mentioned stereotypes. I don't think I'm talkin' crazy when I say it's not the easiest thing in the world for male viewers to relate with a moron of a husband who does something gigantically stupid that only his wife can fix over a 22 minute span. In the same token, what self-respecting woman finds enough love for a man in her heart that even though he's the biggest moron on earth, she still marries him and bears his children? If I were dating a complete, although well intentioned, moron that continuously made me clean up her messes, she'd be gone lickity-split. The other thing is that racial stereotypes are being fulfilled. Look at Whoopie. There's the stereotypical black chick and the stereotypical white chick that wishes she was black. In George Lopez he's the stereo typical Mexican. Even the new white show is a bunch of guys with mullets sitting around drinking beer and watching Girls Gone Wild. Judging from the last stereotype and my experience, I'm going to say that probably the other two shows aren't quite true to life enough to make it funny. The things we find funny we find funny because we can relate to them. I cannot relate to a guy with no shirt, missing teeth, and watching NASCAR on TV slinging back a six pack of beers every half hour. Friends was different because these weren't white people acting white -- they were people acting like people. Some might say I think they were just people acting like people because I'm white and that's what I see... but I'd have to say there aren't very many shows that have been funnier than The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and they were a black family. They weren't a black family being black, they were just people acting like people. You want to make a funny show that people like? Make men and women both smart. Make white people act like people and black people act like people and Latino people act like people. Stop making racially centered humor and start writing smart humor like what was found on Seinfeld (a successful show about NOTHING for crying out loud!), Sports Night, Cheers, Mad About You, and The Drew Carey Show.
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