W H O W I L L R U L E I N R E R U NP A G E T W O
when some of these classic sitcoms were made 20 or 40 years ago, who could have imagined they'd be running in perpetuity -- that one day, people would actually pay to watch reruns? It makes you wonder how the sitcoms of today will play decades from now on Nick at Nite, or Satellite Channel 3,000, or whatever we'll be watching. Here's a long view of the 10 highest-rated Nielsen sitcoms from the week of Feb. 17-23. "Seinfeld" -- "Seinfeld" is going to be the "I Love Lucy" of its generation -- we'll be watching reruns of it morning, noon and night for the rest of our lives. And you know what? It'll still be funny. The nothingness and everythingness of the episodes, unencumbered by Big Issues or group hugs, will make it a dependable mood-elevator for generations to come. And "Seinfeld" is one of the rare sitcoms in which the characters have actually changed -- in this case, regressed -- over time, only adding to its future historical-oddity value. See George before he accidentally killed his fiancée and became completely shameless! See Elaine before she went mad with power! See Jerry before his finickiness became a full-blown disorder! A keeper. "Friends" -- The "Brady Bunch" of the 2000s. Between the Rachel 'do, the coffee hangout, the Y necklace and the People-pin-up cast, "Friends" is a '90s nostalgia craze waiting to happen. And don't forget "I'll Be There for You," which will be to headbangers of the future what the "Mary Tyler Moore" theme was to their parents -- especially after grunge revivalist Frances Bean Cobain records it for her debut album. "The Naked Truth" and "The Single Guy" -- Yes, they're Top 10 rated sitcoms from NBC's mighty Must See Thursday lineup, but 20 years from now, they'll have as much name recognition as "Angie" (the Top 10 show that followed "Happy Days" in 1979) and "House Calls" (the Top 10 show that followed "M*A*S*H" in 1980). "Naked Truth" will probably gain some curiosity points after dazzling Tea Leoni goes on to become a movie star (think of Tom Hanks in "Bosom Buddies" or John Travolta in "Welcome Back, Kotter"). Her character's over-the-top retro-'70s wardrobe may also spark a future fashion flashback. As for "The Single Guy" (which was just moved to Wednesdays), the decently funny "Seinfeld"-"Friends" hybrid may not seem like much now but its very weightlessness could make it an acceptable future time-waster -- if it stays on the air long enough to accumulate enough episodes to make it into reruns. "Home Improvement" -- Have you tried watching "Happy Days" on Nick at Nite? Talk about dullsville. If you do manage to make it through an episode without nodding off, you'll notice that the show was dated even in its time -- it wasn't just set in the '50s, it was a '50s sitcom, of the flavorless "Father Knows Best" variety. Except, "Happy Days" is so flavorless, it doesn't even have a shred of the camp value that "Father Knows Best" and "Leave it to Beaver" reruns held for boomers in the '70s. "Home Improvement" is the "Happy Days" of the '90s. The Tim Allen character is Richie Cunningham as a grown-up; his neighbor on the other side of the fence is the new Fonz, instructing Tim in the manly art of rebellion against the wife and kids. Subtextually intriguing as this sounds, "Home Improvement" is a snore, entertainment-wise. The kids are insufferable, Allen's snorting-pig/power tool schtick is beyond tired and the thing is loaded with Very Special Moments. A fantasy: In the future, viewers will look at reruns of "Home Improvement," the most successful ABC/Disney family sitcom of the '90s, and say, "Whew! At least they don't make 'em like that anymore!" "The Drew Carey Show" -- A puzzle. "Drew Carey" has an immensely likable star and the snappy workplace scenes -- filled with downsizing anxiety and childish office behavior -- are a hoot. But Drew's home life with his old high school buddies and various ill-matched girlfriends are often flat or goopy. My guess is that 20 years from now it's going to play as unevenly as "Taxi" does now. Viewers will have to endure some supporting deadwood and out-of-left-field drama, but the interplay between trusting Drew and screaming Mimi -- the meanest sitcom character since "Taxi's" Louie DiPalma -- will be worth it. "Cosby" -- Bill Cosby is practically a national monument and, as such, it's easy to take him for granted. In the future, I suspect, he's going to become a sort of George Burns figure. Young viewers will know him as the cigar-puffing octogenarian talk show guest who used to be famous for something. But then some cool network will resurrect Cosby's old sitcoms, like Nick at Nite did with "The Burns and Allen Show," and, suddenly, the kids will understand and the rest of us will remember. "Cosby" is to "The Cosby Show" what "Here's Lucy" was to "I Love Lucy" -- a less glamorous follow-up with a decidedly mature star. But "Cosby," in which he plays a cranky New York retiree who spends his days verbally assaulting shopkeepers and nursing petty grudges against his neighbors, is another showcase for the man's peerless storytelling talents and reactive comedy. Between "Cosby," "The Cosby Show," "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," "The Bill Cosby Show" (the early-'70s sitcom where he played a high school coach) and "I Spy," you've got a whole week of classic reruns. Throw in the vintage Jell-O and Del Monte ads, and Cosby (who has long been rumored to be interested in buying NBC) may own a network yet. "Frasier" -- Like "Seinfeld," "Frasier's" expertly crafted pure comedy and irresistible characters guarantee it a long life in rerun. Instant classic episodes, like the one where Frasier and Niles open a restaurant and the one where they collaborate on a book, will be perennials in Casey Kasem's (or his clone's) Nick at Nite New Year's Eve Sitcom Countdown forever. "Ellen" -- This could be the hottest sitcom on the rerun circuit someday -- especially if Ellen DeGeneres follows through and allows her character to come out, as planned, on the show's April 30 episode. Catching pre-revelation "hints" of Ellen Morgan's sexual orientation will become the "Hi Bob!" drinking game of the future. A bonus -- with her funny-klutzy physical comedy and loopy rambling, DeGeneres often comes off like the love child of Lucille Ball and Bob Newhart, and we know how well they've held up in rerun. "Roseanne" -- Watching "Roseanne" in syndicated rerun now is like strolling through an "All in the Family"-like minefield -- you never know what you're going to get. Will it be one of those wacky Conner Halloween episodes, or the one where Roseanne recovers a buried memory of childhood abuse? Will it be the one where Roseanne plays Santa Claus, or the one where Dan has a heart attack? There's no doubt that "Roseanne" was a groundbreaking sitcom, a prime-time repository of feminist and gay anger, the disappearance of the middle class, and various pop psychology and cult-TV ephemera of the '80s and '90s. But future sitcom viewers may respond to "Roseanne" as if it were an impenetrable artifact from a strange lost civilization -- the way some of us look at "The Honeymooners" now. But "Roseanne's" biggest obstacle to rerun longevity may be this: A hefty chunk of "Roseanne's" characters and jokes only make sense if you are familiar with Roseanne's off-screen escapades. Forty years from now, will anybody even begin to understand the cultural significance of Tom Arnold?
Which of today's sitcoms will stand the test of time? What's your favorite classic sitcom from days gone by? Go to the discussion in Table Talk. |
