After a long day at work, there's no better way to relax than to watch a comedy on TV. A good laugh, after all, helps you to forget about the stresses of the day. Some classic TV sitcoms have even helped to change the way people look at certain issues but did it by using humor, so that people didn't even realize that their perspective changed.
Unlike many other genres of comedy, the sitcom creates the laughs through several characters who find themselves in a certain situation. In fact, the word 'sitcom' is derived from 'situation comedy'. TV sitcoms started after World War 2 and there have been some truly great shows, such as 'I Love Lucy' and 'Fawlty Towers'. Sometimes lines from these shows were even taken up by popular culture.
A recurring theme in the history of sitcoms is that of family life. Often that family consists of a man and woman as the parents to several children. This type of set-up was very popular in the Eighties, when the Reagan administration focused on family values such as those shown by the Keatons in 'Family Ties' and the Huxtables in 'The Cosby Show'.
Today not many families resemble the traditional model. There are many households headed by a single parent, for instance. Some shows of the Eighties started touching on this idea, notably 'Full House', which showed men in all the parenting roles, and 'Kate and Allie' with its two single mothers. Some families today consist of adult relatives living in the same household, such as Frasier Crane and his father Marty in 'Frasier'.
As young people move to cities like New York, they leave behind their families and need to find a new support system that they can count on. The urban family that is made up of unmarried friends started featuring in shows such as 'Seinfeld' and the trend continued with 'Friends' and later with 'How I Met Your Mother'. 'Will and Grace' broke new ground by making two of its main characters openly gay.
Cultural differences can make for some great laughs, as proved by the old British sitcom 'Mind Your Language', about an eclectic group of immigrants learning English. However, shows that used this theme have been very helpful in creating cultural tolerance and understanding. 'Aliens in America', for instance, featured a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan, at a time when many in the Western world feared Islam.
The most unexpected settings can provide hit comedies. For example, nobody would have thought that war could provide as many laughs as it did in 'MASH'. The interesting thing about this show set against the backdrop of a Korean War field hospital was that it's actually very common for doctors and nurses in a war situation to try and alleviate the stress through madcap antics.
There are different ways in which to watch those old classics again. Some TV channels will air reruns and even show back-to-back episodes. You can also get many series on DVD. Another option is to stream the episodes live via the internet.
Unlike many other genres of comedy, the sitcom creates the laughs through several characters who find themselves in a certain situation. In fact, the word 'sitcom' is derived from 'situation comedy'. TV sitcoms started after World War 2 and there have been some truly great shows, such as 'I Love Lucy' and 'Fawlty Towers'. Sometimes lines from these shows were even taken up by popular culture.
A recurring theme in the history of sitcoms is that of family life. Often that family consists of a man and woman as the parents to several children. This type of set-up was very popular in the Eighties, when the Reagan administration focused on family values such as those shown by the Keatons in 'Family Ties' and the Huxtables in 'The Cosby Show'.
Today not many families resemble the traditional model. There are many households headed by a single parent, for instance. Some shows of the Eighties started touching on this idea, notably 'Full House', which showed men in all the parenting roles, and 'Kate and Allie' with its two single mothers. Some families today consist of adult relatives living in the same household, such as Frasier Crane and his father Marty in 'Frasier'.
As young people move to cities like New York, they leave behind their families and need to find a new support system that they can count on. The urban family that is made up of unmarried friends started featuring in shows such as 'Seinfeld' and the trend continued with 'Friends' and later with 'How I Met Your Mother'. 'Will and Grace' broke new ground by making two of its main characters openly gay.
Cultural differences can make for some great laughs, as proved by the old British sitcom 'Mind Your Language', about an eclectic group of immigrants learning English. However, shows that used this theme have been very helpful in creating cultural tolerance and understanding. 'Aliens in America', for instance, featured a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan, at a time when many in the Western world feared Islam.
The most unexpected settings can provide hit comedies. For example, nobody would have thought that war could provide as many laughs as it did in 'MASH'. The interesting thing about this show set against the backdrop of a Korean War field hospital was that it's actually very common for doctors and nurses in a war situation to try and alleviate the stress through madcap antics.
There are different ways in which to watch those old classics again. Some TV channels will air reruns and even show back-to-back episodes. You can also get many series on DVD. Another option is to stream the episodes live via the internet.
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