This is a response to Bring Back Old-Fashioned Sitcoms.
Remember having a favorite sitcom you used to stay up excitedly waiting to watch? What happened to that thrilling feeling?
Well, that feeling has dimmed down to a lesser version of excitement with newer tv shows being produced on certain streaming platforms in today’s society.
As an avid film and tv lover, I enjoy binge watching many shows on different streaming platforms such as Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Prime Video. But with all of these current platforms, there is that familiarly lacking from the viewing experience.
As seen before with sitcoms, the viewers were provided with more content. There used to be 21 to 25 episodes in every sitcom. If we take a look at the episode guides now, they usually range from 8 to 10 episodes, with a possibility of two parts: part one in one month, part two coming the next month. Since all episodes are released at the same time unless it's divided into parts, people would have to wait for each episode to come out to watch it live on tv with sitcoms. In today’s day and age, we are able to watch all episodes on any streaming platform and binge watch them in a literal day.
Along with sitcoms, there were live audiences where individuals would go and experience it in person. They would be told when to laugh and this is the laughter that we hear in the backgrounds of each sitcom. Some shows that included this are Friends, That ’70s Show, Golden Girls, Full House, and Seinfeld. For me personally, this was a comforting component that added to the experience.
Now instead of a live audience, some shows shown on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon used something called a laughing track that would mimic the live audience aesthetic. Some shows that included a laughing track were Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place and Nickelodeon’s iCarly.
To this day, sitcoms are still being made, just not the way that they used to be. Previous popular shows such as New Girl, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and newer sitcoms like Schitt’s Creek and Abbott Elementary are sitcoms, but don’t have either live audience or laughing track.
For me, watching tv shows now feels like a task instead of before where it felt enjoyable. I still take delight in watching tv shows today, but I miss those warm mellow homey feelings that I experienced when I was at a younger age.
There will always be new shows being created that will go on forever, but nothing will outdo all of the amazing sitcoms and the feeling that was brought with watching.
