Underrated 90s sitcoms (1 Viewer)

[New Binky the Doormat]

Either way, it's almost impossible for me to watch Cosby without a great sense of sadness and I feel like I'm missing all the jokes and am questioning the veracity of the wisdom that he once dispensed, a wisdom that seemed so hard-won and deserved. It is no longer that way.

Cosby albums were a big part of my growing up. I got "Why Is There Air?" for my birthday when I was 8.

"To My Brother Russell, Whom I Slept With" is beyond hilarious. We played for my kids many times ...it's brilliant.

I get sick thinking about what a horrible human being he secretly was/is.

 

[Runkle]

Was Malcolm in the Middle a 90s sitcom?

2000 - 2006 ...come man - you could have looked that up quicker than typing your question

you know how this works

Where does I Love Lucy place on the list?

 

[FarFromHome]

Either way, it's almost impossible for me to watch Cosby without a great sense of sadness and I feel like I'm missing all the jokes and am questioning the veracity of the wisdom that he once dispensed, a wisdom that seemed so hard-won and deserved. It is no longer that way.

Cosby albums were a big part of my growing up. I got "Why Is There Air?" for my birthday when I was 8.

"To My Brother Russell, Whom I Slept With" is beyond hilarious. We played for my kids many times ...it's brilliant.

I get sick thinking about what a horrible human being he secretly was/is.

Yep. Cosby. Pryor. Loved those records. I remember when I got my first Cheech and Chong recording. My world changed. Ha ha

 

[Jayrod]

I think we'd be surprised at the depravity of most celebrities if we knew all the details. But still, Cosby was probably on the extreme end of that. His run was truly horrific and vile.

 

[northern exposure]

Love Spin city, Heather Locklear in her prime as a bonus.

Probably like the 4th hottest woman who had a recurring role on the show.

Actually, make that fifth. Carla Gugino, Connie Britton, Jennifer Esposito, Paula Marshall.

These two for sure. Not so sure about the other 2. Plus Locklear held up EXTREMELY well through the years. She was still gorgeous in her 50's.

Paula Marshall's work on Californication is worth checking out. She was also on Gary Unmarried with Jay Mohr.

 

[nirad3]

Grounded for Life always cracked me up and I liked how they started with a scene from the end of the story and telling the rest thru flashbacks.

My Name is Earl wasn’t a 90’s show but that show was a gem.

My Name is Earl was so good.

Jaime Pressly once spent the night at my house.










Of course, I wasn't there as I was away at college.... but she went to my HS and knew my sister and she had a sleepover w/ my sis once.

 

[Psychopav]

Was Malcolm in the Middle a 90s sitcom?

2000 - 2006 ...come man - you could have looked that up quicker than typing your question

you know how this works

2000 counts as the 90s. It counts I say!

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Back to a previous issue, I understand why people wouldn't watch The Cosby Show with the same verve as they did before. Cosby presented himself as a black everyman, an archetype for both whites and blacks to live up to. His comedy and his show were based around his acceptance of bourgeois attitudes and generally aspiring towards the American dream while being black, which he admitted came with a whole lot of prejudice, prejudice that—importantly to him—could be overcome if only you worked hard and toed the line required to achieve the American dream. This meant accepting generally bourgeois attitudes and received mores and folkways. To follow received wisdom and to be a decent person at your core was huge for Cosby.

He sat as an honorary degree recipient at universities and colleges, and fancied himself a sort of model for blacks at the time who aspired to greater things in life than was generally their lot. He often criticized black responses to bourgeois white attitudes as extreme and undesirable. He was a bit of a morality policeman for the black community, and some resented him for it. Part of his act became this, and it was then embodied that to laugh with Cosby was to laugh with a certain eye at a certain way of life in the black community. He had personalized his act. Look no further than the title of his famous comedy album opus, entitled Himself

Dad is great
Gives us the chocolate cake . . .

His comeuppance for his despicable actions was a steep, tragic celebrity fall. He had held himself out as sort of a beacon of light, yet he had done untold damage to untold innocents. His act, which had ceased to simply be a comedic act even during his show, is now seen through that lens. That is why people aren't holier than thou when they can't watch Cosby with the same clean slate as they did before.

A modern parallel to Cosby might be Kanye West. Both attempted to bring black culture to white masses and both have been accepted by whites into mass culture. Both have understood the limitations of black nationalism as the answer to racial and social issues and have appealed to whites. And both have gone totally off the rails in their personal lives later in life, affecting countless others and doing much damage to themselves, their loved ones, and especially their acts in as much as an act can be commodified yet still respected as authentically black in America.

The threading the needle and appealing to both blacks and whites in America, something so difficult to do after the rise of black nationalism in the late '60s, either took its toll on two great artists or those artists were ****ed in the head to begin with.

Either way, it's almost impossible for me to watch Cosby without a great sense of sadness and I feel like I'm missing all the jokes and am questioning the veracity of the wisdom that he once dispensed, a wisdom that seemed so hard-won and deserved. It is no longer that way.

Unfortunately, this is spot-on. I have absolutely no problem enjoying media featuring Jeffrey Tambor, Kevin Spacey, etc. because my baseline expectation for Hollywood celebrities is, well, let's just say it's pretty low. But Bill Cosby managed to become lower than low for me because of the way he completely and utterly betrayed the (good) ideals that he publicly stood for. Bill Cosby's "message" is going to stand discredited because its association with Bill Cosby, and that sucks.

Edit: To put it perspective, I think I would find it less disturbing to watch the entirety of Diff'rent Strokes again -- including that episode -- than to watch any episode of The Cosby Show.

 

[Skipdog77]

It started in 1989 and only ran until 1991, but I remember really enjoying the sitcom Doctor, Doctor, starring Matt Frewer while it was on.

Not sure if it's streaming anywhere, but I'd like to watch it again and see if it holds up.

 

[Snoopy]

Was Malcolm in the Middle a 90s sitcom?

2000 - 2006 ...come man - you could have looked that up quicker than typing your question

you know how this works

2000 counts as the 90s. It counts I say!

Only if it is declared the 200th decade like it is done with centuries. Otherwise the common convention is to say the number it contains which shift it down 1 year than the convention you are using, in other words, the 1990s means 1990-1999.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Only if it is declared the 200th decade like it is done with centuries. Otherwise the common convention is to say the number it contains which shift it down 1 year than the convention you are using, in other words, the 1990s means 1990-1999.

I assume we're both old enough to remember what it was like in December of 1999, when the internet was filled to the brim with pedantic tools who wanted to make sure everybody knew that the new millennium didn't really start until 2001, because, you see, there was never a year zero, and therefore . . .

If I had access to a time machine, these guys would be next as soon as I got done with baby Hitler, Frank Wycheck, and Kevin Dyson.

 

[Gally]

Only if it is declared the 200th decade like it is done with centuries. Otherwise the common convention is to say the number it contains which shift it down 1 year than the convention you are using, in other words, the 1990s means 1990-1999.

I assume we're both old enough to remember what it was like in December of 1999, when the internet was filled to the brim with pedantic tools who wanted to make sure everybody knew that the new millennium didn't really start until 2001, because, you see, there was never a year zero, and therefore . . .

If I had access to a time machine, these guys would be next as soon as I got done with baby Hitler, Frank Wycheck, and Kevin Dyson.

The Newmannium!!!