Okay, so see everybody? I'm not the only one who feels like this show could have and should have gone in a different direction. And thank you, finally somebody whoi agrees with me about the mockumentary angle. It doesn't work for television, it just doesn't: movies are okay, such as those old Christopher Guest films and all, but it comes off very awkward on TV and it really takes you out of the story and makes it difficult to try to relate to or even believe in the characters. It's become to TV sitcoms what 3D was to movies for a while: an overused gimmick - once they find something that works (in this case, the mockumentary style of THE OFFICE), then everybody had to jump on board with it - that, or the "narration" style, which is really similar. What's even worse is that there's now an unwritten rule that single camera sitcoms are not allowed to have any sounds of laughter - live or simulated - and this is now something the networks are wanting to apply to their multi-camera sitcoms now too: CBS is going to try to film all of their multi-camera sitcoms without studio audiences or laugh tracks altogether now (which is ironic, because they were the ones who forced M*A*S*H to have a laugh track against the producers' wishes bck in the 70s). Sitcoms without laughter fall flat, they seem so ghastly and awkward, and quite frankly, based on some of the promos for some of these shows, the "jokes" or "gags" are so unfunny you almost can't tell you're watching a comedy . . . matter of fact, I honestly had no idea shows like DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, GLEE, ANGIE TRIBECA, or even that godawful GIRLS were supposed to be comedies, they never came off as funny to me.
I honestly don't see how THE OFFICE became as big a hit as it was: it was such a bland and boring series anyway, but as I said, once it did become a hit, suddenly everybody had to jump on the bandwagon . . . but that always happens in TV, and has for years: once something new and different becomes a raging success, suddenly everybody has to follow suit and try to capture that magic for themselves. In the 60s it was all about the fantasy sitcoms: MISTER ED, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, THE MUNSTERS, BEWITCHED, I DREAM OF JEANNIE, et al; in the 70s, once ALL IN THE FAMILY became a groundbreaking sitcom, soon most sitcoms were trying to become really edgy social commentaries on life; in the 90s, SEINFELD became the goldstandard of sitcom tropes and idioms that are still being used today: multiple storylines per episode (though really, it was M*A*S*H that pioneered that, but SEINFELD is often credited for it), unsympathetic characters that don't learn from their mistakes, reflections of real-life scenarios, and the almost obligatory relationship humor (something people on this very forum have been complaining about on this very show).
And again, although network interference has always been a problem with shows, back in those days it was miniscule compared to today, because networks had more trust in producers and studios in those days to turn out quality - now, there's a much more corporate approach to shows, and the work and the art suffer as a result. Again, supposedly FRIENDS is to blame for that, since that was the first time any sitcom that was actually a production of the network rather than a production company actually became a big success, and since then, networks feel like they can make shows themselves and bring in who they want to rather than letting producers or creators come to them with ideas, pitches, treatments, what have you. As I said, that's one of the problems with this show: rather than having faith in actual Muppet writers and producers to come up with a new show for the Muppets, ABC brought in people from other mainstream sitcoms in an attempt to create a mainstream-esque show for the Muppets to try to appeal to mainstream audiences and achieve mainstream success. This is one of the reasons why many people don't even watch TV anymore, because networks have no clue what people want to actually watch, they're only satisfied with fulfilling their own personal agendas and put out shows they only think people want to watch . . . and networks must be stuck in a rut, because for the last 10-15 years or so, they seem to think all people want to watch on TV are shows with deviant characters who are always getting themselves into reckless, selfish, and irresponisble sexual situations. . . . and to think 60 years ago, you couldn't show anything like that on TV . . . and notice how more and more people (not just myself, though I suppose I'm more vocal about it than others) keep actually begging for more of those kinds of shows today, but we just don't get any of them because networks don't care.
Well, that's all I have to say about that. I'll get off my high horse again.
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it's the same people over, and over again. I'm so glad the ones I have managed to stay in touch with I don't need this page to talk to them on. Have a nice day.
