The laugh-track sitcom has earned a bad reputation of late. It's formulaic. It's unrealistic. (Whereas comparatively, nothing says "realistic" like having your characters speak directly to the camera to further the framing device that your sitcom is really a reality show. I'm looking at you, The Office, Modern Family, and Parks and Recreation.) Most damning of all, it's old hat. And there's no sentence worse in the entertainment biz than being deemed yesterday's media.
Some shows still carry the multi-camera torch. But no matter how good such a show is at its peak (How I Met Your Mother), no matter what good points it occasionally reaches (Big Bang Theory), none of them quite equal the sitcoms of yesteryear. Also, some are just terrible (Two and Half Men. I mean, gohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifod lord, when Ashton Kutcher is your solution, something's gone wrong). Here then, is classic comedy from a classic comedy. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the fine cast of NewsRadio, performing "Bill's Cane."
It's the moment when Dave (Dave the character, and Dave Foley) breaks that's really the turning point to awesomeness. Also, Phil Hartman is a genius, and while he justifiably remembered for his Simpsons work, he deserves every bit as much credit for his in-person stuff as well. If this leads half as many people to my blog as the phrase "Come on, Lily, Get Your Head Out of Your Ass" does, then I will be a happy man.
Later Days.
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