The Sitcom Study

Kids Aging Several Years Between Seasons!

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"

Caught Smoking!

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"

The British Sitcom Invasion!

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"

U.F.O. Sightings!

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"

Going to the Beach!

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"

Sitcom Olympics! (w/David Smith)

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"

The Saved by the Bell Mixtape

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!

Pranks & Practical Jokes!

Stephanie Tanner gets even, Jan Brady goes full American Psycho, and iCarly drags her brother back into the depths of prank addiction... This weeks trope is Pranks and Practical Jokes! Here's what we're watching:
The Brady Bunch S2 E13 "The Impractical Joker"
Coach S5 E20 "Dirty Tricks"
Full House S7 E14 "Is It True About Stephanie?"
iCarly S4 E3 "iGet Pranky"

Chain Letters!

Edith Bunker plays it safe, Mrs. Garret lays down the law, and Tim the Toolman Taylor ends up with a classic case of black eye and green hands... This week's trope is Chain Letters (and the misfortune they cause)! Here's what we're watching:
All in the Family S6 E6 "Chain Letter"
Facts of Life S5 E13 "The Chain Letter"
Home Improvement S1 E19 "Unchained Malady"
3rd Rock From the Sun S4 E16 "Superstitious Dick"

Homemade Movies!

Doogie Howser portrays a zombie, Ben Seaver adds a touch of eroticism to the killer alligator genre, and the It's Always Sunny gang fail to make an impression on fellow Philadelphian M. Night Shyamalan... This week's trope is Making a Movie! Here's what we're watching:
Growing Pains S5 E25 "Ben's Movie"
Doogie Howser S2 E8 "Revenge of the Teenage Dead"
Community S1 E3 "Introduction to Film"
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S5 E11 "Mac and Charlie Write a Movie"