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
2 days ago
2 days ago
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"
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
The British Sitcom Invasion!
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
Blimey! This week we're skipping across the pond to check out two iconic British sitcoms and the American remakes/imitators they inspired! Here's what we're watching:
Man About the House S1 E1 "Three's a Crowd"
Three's Company S1 E1 "Man About the House"
Absolutely Fabulous S1 E1 "Fashion"
Cybill S1 E1 "Virgin, Mother, Crone"
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
U.F.O. Sightings!
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Dick Van Dyke spots a flying saucer, Bob Newhart contemplates the likeliness of aliens, and Scott Baio solves the mysteries of the universe... This week's trope is UFO Sightings! Here's what we're watching:
The Dick Van Dyke Show S5 E3 "Uhny Uftz"
Newhart S1 E19 "Heaven Knows Mr. Utley"
Charles in Charge S2 E19 "U.F. Oh No!"
The Hogan Family S3 E21 "Close Encounters"
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
Going to the Beach!
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
Tony Danza rides the waves, Mister Ed soaks up the sun, and Monica Geller has a fateful run-in with a jellyfish... this week's trope is Going to the Beach! Here's what we're watching:
Mister Ed S2 E23 "Ed the Beachcomber"
Who's the Boss S2 E6 "Custody Part 1"
Married with Children S3 E21 "Life's a Beach"
Friends S4 E1 "The One with the Jellyfish"
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
Sitcom Olympics! (w/David Smith)
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
The doctors of MASH get whipped into shape, Dharma and Greg embark on equally inspirational quests, and the Goldbergs triumph in sports that don't exist... This week we're talking about the Olympics in sitcoms with sports professional David Smith! Here's what we're watching:
M*A*S*H S6 E11 "The MASH Olympics"
Dharma & Greg S1 E17 "The Official Dharma & Greg Episode of the 1998 Winter Olympics"
The Goldbergs S3 E16 "Edward 'Eddie the Eagle' Edwards"
Superstore S2 E1 "Olympics"
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
The Saved by the Bell Mixtape
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
We've covered the gang from Bayside four times so far, so we've extracted all of our Saved by the Bell discussions and combined them into one scheming, class-cutting, Belding-defying sensation! From our past episodes, we're listening to:
SBTB S2 E5 "House Party" from our Party When the Parents Are Away podcast
SBTB S4 E3 "Screech's Spaghetti Sauce" from Let's Start a Business
SBTB S2 E9 "Jesse's Song" from Hooked on Pills
SBTB College Years S1 E3 "Zack, Lies and Videotape" from Going to College
It's not a clip show... It's a mixtape! We'll be back with a new episode next week!