The Sitcom Study
Welcome to the Sitcom Study, where we contemplate the TV shows we grew up with and search for the truth and wisdom amidst the tropes and clichés. Each week we’ll compare and contrast several TV episodes that share a common theme, be it characters plagued by amnesia, pop star guest spots, jump-the-shark moments, or women giving birth in elevators. It happens more than you think...
Episodes
17 hours ago
Bonked on the Head, New Personality! [rerun]
17 hours ago
17 hours ago
Fred Flintstone gets a touch of class, Maryanne goes full "Single White Female" on Ginger, and Charles becomes Chaz, all thanks to brain trauma! This week's trope is New personalities from bonks to the head! Here's the lineup:
The Flintstones S1 E5 "Split personality"
The Addams Family S1 E22 "Amnesia in the Addams Family"
Gilligan's Island S3 E24 "The Second Ginger Grant"
Charles in Charge S4 E14-15 "Charles Splits"
This is a good old fashioned RERUN! We'll be back with new episodes soon!
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Shoplifting!
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
The Facts of Life gals pull a classic department store caper, Danny Partridge helps himself to a corner store yoyo, and Tim the Toolman Taylor must ferret out the Swiss army thief among his children... This week's trope is Shoplifting! Here's what we're watching:
The Partridge Family S3 E22 "The Partridge Connection"
Facts of Life S2 E6 "Shoplifting"
Small Wonder S2 E11 "The Shoplifter"
Home Improvement S4 E25 "A Marked Man"
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Going on a Diet!
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Bob Newhart vows to eat nothing but water, Old Christine breaks down the science of the protein shake, and my sister Sam takes on body-shaming in a mildly special episode... This week's trope is Going on a Diet! Here's what we're watching:
The Bob Newhart Show S2 E11 "The Fit, the Fat and the Forty One"
Gimme a Break S1 E5 "Do or Diet"
My Sister Sam S1 E8 "Mirror Mirror on the Wall"
New Adventures of Old Christine S4 E20 "He Ain't Heavy"
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Best Sitcom Hangouts!
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
From bars and restaurants to attics and garages, we're celebrating all the places where the gangs congregate and the zany schemes are hatched... This episode is all about our favorite sitcom hangout spots!
Let us know what we missed at sitcomstudypodcast@gmail.com or instagram.com/sitcomstudypodcast
Next week's trope is Going on a Diet!
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Confronting Bullies! [rerun]
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Ray Romano defends the school bus, Hannah Montana wages psychological warfare, and Mr T makes the classroom safe for democracy. Plus, JJ Walker shows off his dyn-o-mite karate moves... This week's trope is confronting bullies!
Here's what we're watching:
Good Times S2 E24 "The Lunch Money Ripoff"
Silver Spoons S1 E4 "Me and Mr. T"
Everybody Loves Raymond S4 E13 "Bully on the Bus"
Hannah Montana S1 E23 "Schooly Bully"
This is a good old fashioned re-run! We'll be back with a new episode next week!
Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
The Charles in Charge Mixtape & Trivia Throwdown!
Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
This week is all about the new boy in the neighborhood, who lives downstairs and it's understood... You know the rest- the hunky housekeeper and sage advice-giver has come up four times on the podcast so far, and we're revisiting all of our discussions about Charles, Buddy, the Powell Family, and to a lesser degree the Pembroke Family! Plus we'll face off in a brutally intense trivia challenge on all things Charles!
Here's what we're watching:
Charles in Charge S4 E14-15 "Charles Splits" from our Bonked On the Head, New Personality podcast
Charles in Charge S3 E1 "Yule Laugh" from Snowed in for Christmas
Charles in Charge S1 E8 "A Date with Enid" from Makeovers
Charles in Charge S2 E19 "U.F. Oh No!" from UFO Sightings
It's not a clip show; it's a mixtape! We'll be back with a new episode next week!
Wednesday Oct 09, 2024
Bachelor Parties!
Wednesday Oct 09, 2024
Wednesday Oct 09, 2024
Martin and Gina dive into debauchery, Lucy goes undercover at Ricky's "Daddy Shower," and Archie and Edith head upstate for a politically polarized wedding weekend (not to mention the back-door pilot for Maude)... This week's trope is Bachelor Parties! Here's what we're watching:
I Love Lucy S2 E14 "Ricky Has Labor Pains"
All in the Family S2 E24 "Maude"
Martin S3 E25 "The Bachelor Party"
Parks & Rec S5 E10 "Two Parties"
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Sitcom Shakespeare!
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
The immortal Fonz takes on the immortal Bard, Gilligan and the gang turn Hamlet into an opera, and Frasier and Niles stage a must-miss production for the ages... This week's trope is Shakespeare in Sitcoms! Here's what we're watching:
Gilligan's Island S3 E4 "The Producer"
Happy Days S2 E10 "A Star is Bored"
Head of the Class S1 E8 "Critical Choices"
Frasier S8 E12 "The Show Must Go Off"
Wednesday Sep 18, 2024
Bar Wars, Slap Bets & Other Yearly Traditions!
Wednesday Sep 18, 2024
Wednesday Sep 18, 2024
Cheers forms a rivalry that will last for generations, How I Met Your Mother gets slap-happy, and the Community campus engulfs itself in paintball apocalypse... for the first of many times! This week's all about storylines that became beloved every-season traditions! Here's what we're watching:
Cheers S4 E9 "From Beer to Eternity" & S6 E23 "Bar Wars"
Community S1 E23 "Modern Warfare"
How I Met Your Mother S2 E9 "Slap Bet"
Brooklyn Nine-Nine S1 E6 "Halloween"
Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
90s Reboots!
Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
The Tanners return after three decades, Boy Meets World spawns a new generation, and the Fresh Prince is FINALLY reimagined as a gritty, melancholy drama... This week we're discussing 90s REBOOTS! Here's what we're watching:
Girl Meets World S1 E1 "Girl Meets World"
Fuller House S1 E1 "Our Very First Show Again"
Bel-Air S1 E1 "Dreams and Nightmares"