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
4 days ago
Confronting Bullies! [rerun]
4 days ago
4 days ago
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 Oct 02, 2024
Running for Class President! [rerun]
Wednesday Oct 02, 2024
Wednesday Oct 02, 2024
Blossom takes on the patriarchy, Barbarino clinches the Sweathog vote, and Webster campaigns to purchase a school computer... This week's trope is Running for class president! Here's the lineup:
Welcome Back Kotter S1 E5 "The Election"
Webster S6 E5 "The Election"
Parker Lewis Can't Lose S1 E4 "Parker Lewis Must Lose"
Blossom S3 E10 "Making of a President"
This is a good old-fashioned RERUN! We'll be back with a new episode next week!
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"
Wednesday Sep 04, 2024
Kids Aging Several Years Between Seasons!
Wednesday Sep 04, 2024
Wednesday Sep 04, 2024
From the Keatons to the Seavers to the rich tapestry of Modern Family, sitcoms have a habit of blithely skipping over the terrible twos and playing fast and loose with the ages of their youngest cast members... This week's trope is kids who age several years between seasons! Here's what we're watching:
Family Ties S5 E1 "Be True to Your Preschool"
Growing Pains S6 E13 "The World According to Chrissie"
Step by Step S6 E19 "The Facts of Life"
Modern Family S3 E13 "Little Bo Bleep"
Wednesday Aug 28, 2024
First Day of High School! [rerun]
Wednesday Aug 28, 2024
Wednesday Aug 28, 2024
Marcia rebrands for freshman year, Cory deals with bully and Feeny issues, and Coach Lubbock's daughters break the Catholic school glass ceiling... Summer's over and we're discussing episodes about the First day of high school! Here's what we're watching:
The Brady Bunch S4 E4 "Today I Am A Freshman"
Just the 10 of Us S1 E2 "First Day at School"
Boy Meets World S2 E1 "Back 2 School"
The Goldbergs S4 E1 "Breakfast Club"
This is a good old fashioned RERUN! We'll be back with a new episode next week!
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Caught Smoking!
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Beaver packs the perfect pipe, Arnold Drummond hits tobacco road, and Hank Hill employs the age-old parenting technique of making your child smoke the whole carton... This week's trope is Getting Caught Smoking! Here's what we're watching:
Leave it to Beaver S2 E9 "The Pipe"
Diff'rent Strokes S6 E12 "Where There's Smoke"
King of the Hill S1 E10 "Keeping Up With Our Joneses"
Abbott Elementary S3 E4 "Smoking"