Early Sitcoms: Timeless Comedy
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| "'Splain it to me, Lucy," |
I don't even think these need an introduction. The situation comedy, or "sitcom" has been a staple in television since the late 40s. Decade after decade, audiences have been sent rolling with a new cast of delightful characters, from the loveable Lucy and Desi, to the straight man George Burns with his ditzy wife Gracie, the TV sitcom is a timeless format that still goes strong to this day. The examples I'll be giving in this post will be a mixture of known and not so talked about shows. Chances are, you've seen at least one of these shows before. If not, check them out, you might find a new binge-worthy obsession.
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| The chocolate factory. Do I even need to talk about this sketch? If you haven't seen it , you've seen a version of it in another show, I guarantee it. |
I Love Lucy. What can I say about this show that hasn't already been said? Lucille Ball is a timeless comedienne and is one of the founders of comedy as we understand it. So many sketches from her show have been parodied, redone and still make people laugh to this day. The same can be said about her then husband, Desi Arnaz. His straight man with a twist routine bounces off Lucy effortlessly, and you always get the impression that they're on the same page. Perhaps outside of the cameras and the hot lights, that may not have been the case, but for 7 years, they were TV's favorite couple.
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| Riley: "Gee, what a revoltin' development!" |
On a very similar vein, is Life of Riley. The character of "Riley" has been played by two actors, William Bendix and Jackie Gleason, but Gleason was only for a short time. Life of Riley is a seldom discussed, but in my opinion, highly revolutionary show. I've noticed a lot of parallels between this show and more recent sitcoms with male leads. George Lopez, Drew Carey, King of Queens, they all have that sort of "Loveable Doofus" character who always gets himself into hairy situations, and this show probably pioneered that. I know Life of Riley was originally on radio, but I haven't heard it so I can't talk about it. This glimpse into the life of a man who never gets anything right is a definite recommend for me, check this out anyway you can.
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| Peepers: You know, a friend of mine used to take a picture of his son every year, and every year they'd add new candles to the cake, one candle on his first birthday, two candles on his second and so on. Well, on his 28th birthday they stopped taking pictures," Weskitt: "Why?" Peepers: "The house burned down," |
Mister peepers. It stars Robinson Peepers, played by Wally Cox, an awkward, shy school teacher, thrust into a wacky world with even wackier characters. Wally Cox as Mister Peepers shows many parallels to similar characters in modern day sitcoms, such as Matthew Perry's Chandler, or even Jim Parsons as Sheldon. He had sort of a reserved manner of telling jokes and getting laughs that made audiences gravitate toward him. Tony Randall as his co-star Mr. Harvey Weskitt plays a sort of dim-witted character with delusions of grandeur. As Tony himself put it, "The character thought he knew everything, but didn't know anything," About 25 episodes of this show are lost, but the rest are easy enough to find. I especially love that the commercials are in real time, and make references to what just happened in the episode.
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| Jack: "Oh, Rochester! Look sharp, I'm planning a party with some friends," Rochester: "Friends, boss? Does that mean they get in at half price?" |
The Jack Benny Program. I mentioned this show in my last post, but after a 20 year stint in radio, the cast of the Jack Benny program moved into television in 1950 for another 15 years. This show had a formula that pretty much guaranteed longevity. Jack Benny's uppity yet miserly persona fit him into any situation, and the variety of guest stars from Marilyn Monroe to Frank Sinatra, kept the show going strong and getting laughs all the way through. Unlike other shows of the genre, the Jack Benny Program made full use of the television format. Jack was even quoted voicing his excitement to use facial expressions in television since the 1930s, and boy did he.
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| And there he'd stand, frozen. This would be punctuated with the audience going absolutely crazy with laughter. Well! |
Jack Benny is one of the few comedians I know that can send an audience to hysterics without a single word. That deadpan look staring at you through his glasses is all he needed. Every episode was concluded with a monologue from him, and he always brought back a joke from the beginning, to the delight of his audience. There's not much more I can say except check the show out for yourself. You can find every single episode that exists, plus specials, on Youtube. Don't pay $26.99 for three seasons of the show in HD, suffer through the kinescoped edges and the monaural audio and have a good laugh, completely for free, just like Jack (The person, certainly not the character) would have wanted.
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| Sylvia: "All I've been trying to do is say two words to him all night..." "Drop Dead!" |
One more show I wanna mention. Car 54. Car 54 is another show you can find in its entirety online, in good quality. A short-lived series, it follows a pair of police officers, Gunther Toody, played by Joe E Ross, and Francis Muldoon played by Fred Gwynne. You may recognize the characters, Fred Gwynne and another cop, Leo Schnauzer, played by Al Lewis, as playing Herman and Grandpa Munster. I'm not a big fan of the Munster's, and in my opinion, they're a lot funnier in this show. The show was a master of the basic principles of comedy. The comedic timing was perfect, the characters were well-defined and superbly written, and the misdirection and misinterpretation gags throughout the show were new and inventive each time. The cast is definitely what sets this show apart from the rest. To give you an idea how spectacular this show was in terms of characterization, almost every secondary character to the main pair was at some point in time considered for their own spinoff show. You will absolutely fall in love with the 53rd precinct, and the zany antics that ensue with the people who reside in it.
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| Fun Fact: The titular car was actually painted bright pink. Partly because it looked slightly better on black and white TV, and partly so it wouldn't be mistaken for an actual police car |
I can go on and on. I was so exited to talk about these shows I wrote this blog a week in advance. Sitcoms are a genre of comedy that has henceforth been revised and redone many times, some removing the studio audience and favoring a laugh track, some with no laughter at all, but it's good to look back there and see the genre's roots. I can't even begin to tell you how many amazing shows I didn't bring up, but here's a list of honorable mentions: Addams Family, the Dick Van Dyke show, Gilligan's Island, Hogan's Heroes, The Odd Couple, the Honeymooners, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, the Beverly Hillbillies, the list goes on. In closing, I will never be able to fully give credit to the people who created this glorious art form, but for the rest of this blog, in periodic increments, I shall try. I hope you try too, in checking out these shows. You might rediscover a show from your childhood, or your parents' childhood.
I hope to see you back there.
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