It's interesting the article brings up comedies like Night Court and The Cosby Show, because those were the last sit-coms I ever watched on a regular basis. I don't know if it's just I'm not in the right demographic, but I find most sit-com humor since the beginning of the "Seinfeld" era to be "uncomfortable humor". Each time I see comedies now, the humor is based on some one doing something outlandish, out of the norm or just plain stupid and then other people making fun of it until I just have to change the channel.
Humor doesn't seem to be based of funny situations or complicated character juxtapositions, like Mr. Wheeler explaining his transgression to Judge Harry Stone, or the DA trying to rush the president of the Slow Talkers of America in his testimony so he could get out on a hot date. (See: Night Court) Humor now is based on how uncomfortable and out of the norm one can get. In shows like "The Office" and "Community" the humor is completely derived from uncomfortable situations and I, for one, just cannot watch for more than a few minutes. I had this problem with Seinfeld too. Though I found some segments funny, if I sat through an entire episode, it was a lot.
So this viewer no longer even looks at sit-coms, and sorry NBC, I just don't see a Hillstreet Blues, ER or any other quality drama on your network anymore. There is no "must see TV" on Thursdays or any day of the week for that matter. Why on Earth NBC/Universal shows like Fairly Legal, Burn Notice and Royal Pains aren't on NBC I will never understand! USA Network (an NBC/Universal channel) is the number 1 rated cable network for years now, but NBC itself can't come up with a formula for their own success?
that was one of the best shows of all time.
