HEH! Work It's been Canceled!

[D'Snowth]

You'll be happy to know, Drtooth, that James Caan's Bad News Bears-esque ripoff show's been canceled.

 

[Drtooth]

Found out about that a while ago.

Even if the show was good, there's no way they could have had enough material to have a regular half hour sitcom. It barely would have worked as a movie.

 

[muppet baby]

The only thing that i watch now on American tv is the simpsons and Mondern family and 2 soap operas the soap opera's i am about the give up on that type of tv is getting really old .

The only thing that i love more than anything any more Is Downton Abbey Brittish tv is the only thing worth watching now days .

american tv has to much recasting of the people and and making things way to confusing in the long run , and to much copying of great TV after the 90s american night time TV way down hill

 

[Drtooth]

Know what I wish? I just wish people would say "I can't find anything that resonates with me on TV" and leave it at that. I'm as sick of saying matter of taste does not equal quality as I am of reading about it.

There's always been forgettable crap. We just...well... forget about it. Can anyone name a 90's sitcom that was between Seinfeld and Friends' (or Seinfeld and ER's) time slot? That was the most disposable network real estate ever.

What also ticks me the heck off? Quality and originality being completely confused. Nothing was ever original. Everything draws influence from something else, and uses the same story structure. Otherwise you'd get nonsense, and even nonsense has been done. A television show/movie/play/musical/novel/kid's book/video game can only be as original as the ideas can allow. Simple as that. Difference is a clever program/whatever appears original if it's well done enough.

Now, the two shows in question, crappy knockoff of Bosom Buddies and a mish mash of a romantic comedy and every underdog sports comedy movie ever were terrible because they didn't do anything clever or well done with their subject matter. Work It tried to be offensive to be funny and fell flat on every angle. Back in the Game just grabbed up every single lame cliche from every single sports comedy and didn't play with them/avert them/subvert them/lampshade them. I mean, they had the same kinds of loser kids you usually see in these things with no variation... even the hyper competent girl character that you wouldn't expect to be good at sports but was.

 

[charlietheowl]

I think the problem is that people only remember the good shows that stand the test of time. Like Dr Tooth said, everyone remembers Seinfeld and Friends and no one remembers Caroline In The City. 20 years from now, everyone will be lamenting the lack of shows like Parks and Recreation and Modern Family while forgetting Last Man Standing and Partners. Time erases the bad.

 

[mr3urious]

I think the problem is that people only remember the good shows that stand the test of time. Like Dr Tooth said, everyone remembers Seinfeld and Friends and no one remembers Caroline In The City. 20 years from now, everyone will be lamenting the lack of shows like Parks and Recreation and Modern Family while forgetting Last Man Standing and Partners. Time erases the bad.

I think just about everyone has forgotten about According to Jim and other ABC sitcoms from the early '00s.

Also, I remember and enjoyed Caroline in the City.

 

[charlietheowl]

I think just about everyone has forgotten about According to Jim and other ABC sitcoms from the early '00s.

Thank goodness, those shows were rough to watch. I have no idea how Jim Belushi got to keep his show for that long, he must have had dirt on someone working for ABC.

 

[Drtooth]

I think just about everyone has forgotten about According to Jim and other ABC sitcoms from the early '00s.

If and only if they didn't rerun the crap out of it. Luckily, my local station that ran it into the ground got rid of it for The Middle. Seriously, those ABC sitcoms of the 00's were freaking awful. Though, I did like George Lopez. If nothing else, the play between George and the mother character (and the episode where they dressed up like the Jetsons) at least set it apart.

Sitcoms are either well remembered or completely disposable, and usually the better shows manage to find an audience. And I mean, usually... there are those sitcoms that are well remembered for not getting the complete run they deserved. Arrested Development, My Name is Earl, and unfortunately Parks and Rec looks like it will fall into that. There are shows that get a small loyal audience but can't get anything on that national scale. But usually the worst of the bunch disappears quickly. Like that horrible show CBS had last year that I barely remember... Partners, was it?

 

[charlietheowl]

Sitcoms are either well remembered or completely disposable, and usually the better shows manage to find an audience. And I mean, usually... there are those sitcoms that are well remembered for not getting the complete run they deserved. Arrested Development, My Name is Earl, and unfortunately Parks and Rec looks like it will fall into that. There are shows that get a small loyal audience but can't get anything on that national scale. But usually the worst of the bunch disappears quickly. Like that horrible show CBS had last year that I barely remember... Partners, was it?

Last season Parks and Recreation had a midseason episode that was originally planned to serve as a finale before NBC unexpectedly gave it another half-season, and then renewed it for this (its sixth season). So they were all planned to wrap things up before NBC basically ran out of shows and brought it back. It's still unclear if it will get renewed for a seventh season, but Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones leaving makes me think this is the last year.

 

[Drtooth]

Last season Parks and Recreation had a midseason episode that was originally planned to serve as a finale before NBC unexpectedly gave it another half-season, and then renewed it for this (its sixth season). So they were all planned to wrap things up before NBC basically ran out of shows and brought it back. It's still unclear if it will get renewed for a seventh season, but Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones leaving makes me think this is the last year.

Funny thing is, NBC pulled the same exact crap with My Name is Earl. Only, in Earl's case NBC gave them a vague promise they would come back, and then pulled it out from under them at the last minute. Thus, MNIE ended on a cliffhanger.

But anyway, back to the point. The reason why sitcoms seem unoriginal from time to time is that experimental sitcom formats kinda don't work out unless they're really really careful and lucky. On the one hand, you can get something so specific that only the most niche-y of niche audiences would bother. On the other hand, sometimes a concept sounds great, but can't sustain itself for a weekly sitcom basis. I've noticed that there are a LOT of shows this season that would have worked better as movies. Back in the Game, even if it was good, couldn't sustain a continuous plotline for a weekly sitcom. You either wind up having the underdog team continually suck (repetitive) or you get them accepted and winning games too early and lose the concept.