The 1990s TV viewer was witnessing a dying vestige, though, you may not have noticed at the time. By the time shows such as “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” BBC’s “The Office” and “Malcolm in the Middle” hit the airwaves in the early aughts, television fans were seeing something different, even if they couldn’t put their finger on it. The “new” look was called the single-camera setup.

While single- and multi-camera setups have been around since the dawn of TV and film production, the multi-camera setup is what most of us over the age of 15 grew up with. Its slower pace elicits memories of craftsmanship, wholesome family sitcoms and networks’ bloated production budgets.

So we’d like to ask, “Whatever happened to predictability?” and revisit one of the most unforgettable aspects of the 1990s multi-camera sitcoms – the set.

One of the biggest differences between single-camera and multi-camera shows is pace. Single-camera shows tend to do a lot of quick close-ups, leaving a lot of the set out of view. I bet most of us could rebuild the “Seinfeld” apartment interior by memory. In fact, a lot of “Seinfeld”‘s plotlines revolved around the set: Poppy pees on Jerry’s couch and it must be replaced; Jerry wants his kitchen to be remodeled and he ends up with a horrendous line of sight from kitchen to living areas.

I bet you vividly remember the Dogs Playing Poker hung on the wall, the black afghan and the dated furniture that adorned the set of “Roseanne.” How could you forget the family dinner table — the centerpiece of a multitude of meltdowns, disputes and makeups, not to mention the focal point in one of the best opening credit sequences of all time?

When you think of “Frasier,” is it possible to not picture Marty Crane’s beat up old rocker set against the backdrop of expensive hardwood and the opulent Seattle Skyline? The biggest of “Frasier” fans could probably walk blindfolded through the apartment to where he or she could pour himself or herself a glass of sherry.

“Friends” is one of the most magnificent examples of set glory. Two women, splitting what appeared to be a 1,600 square-foot Greenwich Village apartment. All of which was paid for by a waitress and line cook. God bless TV magic.

The most epic of sets was “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” of course. That’s because set designers had to create a realistic facsimile of what a Southern California multi-million-dollar house would look like. We were treated to the rooms of every family member, including Geoffrey, the gigantic kitchen, the sunny back porch, and were even given a glimpse of the pool house that Will and Carlton lived in for a season or two.

While what makes us laugh changes with every Panda-sneezing video, goofy cat photo and South Korean rapper, our appreciation for the efforts made in crafting thoughtful art – even comedy – never waivers.

Fall. Don’t mourn the end of summer, set your sights on the endless parade of television premieres that the TV Guide article below dubs Fall TV-Must Watch New Shows.

Buck up, there are 23 new shows that earn this ‘must-see’ label.

Really, 23?

Among the 23 there has to be something for everyone who has ever grasped a remote control or paid a cable bill.

You’ll find all of the usual suspects on the list: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Reality…

As well as plenty of faces – male and female – that you’ve seen before. With hospitals, suburbia, a firehouse, a courtroom, a police station, and a government agency, there are plenty of places that you’ve seen before as well.

Don’t misunderstand, shows don’t have to push the envelope and be completely, utterly different than anything that has come before to be ‘must-see!’ programming. I just happen to think that we, as a viewing audience, will be fortunate to have one of these shows end up on our own personal must-see list.

I’m hoping one of the comedy offerings does it for me. I love Matthew Perry (Friends) and adore Mindy Kaling (The Office), who I will get to see in Go On and The Mindy Project, respectively. And since I court controversy like it’s my job, I am looking forward to The New Normal, which has already been boycotted by a group of angry moms.

As a lover of comedy, I must admit I fail to give other genres their fair share in my viewing rotation. I count on all of you to sift through the sci-fi, drama, etc. to determine which shows are truly the winners among the list of 23.

Choose wisely!

Until Next Time…

http://www.tvguide.com/special/fall-preview/PhotoGallery/Fall-TV-Watch-1050580/1050596

“A Different World, “The Jeffersons” and “Caprica.”

What do they all have in common? Not much really – except that they’re all spinoffs from other shows.

A spinoff is a great way to capitalize on the popularity of an existing show, while creating an autonomous series for networks who are hungry to fill timeslots, but not  so hungry for the risk involved with developing a brand new concept.

“A Different World” ran on NBC from September 24, 1987 – July 9, 1993 and was spun off from “The Cosby Show.” “DW” focused on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional mixed but historically black college in the state of Virginia. After Bonet’s departure in the first season, the remainder of the series primarily focused more on all-black college and on Southern belle Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and mathematics whiz Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison).

Of course, there are successful spinoffs and not-so-successful spinoffs. “The Simpsons” spunoff from “The Tracey Ullman Show,” starting as a crudely drawn short used to fill time between Ullman’s sketch pieces. Now it’s the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running American primetime, scripted television series.

On the flipside of that coin, you have “Baywatch Nights,” which tried to fuse the success of slow-motion running with the appeal of private detective shows like “The Rockford Files.” “Nights” starred David Hasselhoff as Mitch and his buddy Garner Ellerbee (Gregory Alan Williams), along with a pre-”Law & Order” Angie Harmon as Ryan, a fellow gumshoe. This wipeout sunk in its second season and never resurfaced. Years later, we were treated to another spinoff: Hasselhoff eating a cheeseburger on a hotel’s bathroom floor.

Fascinating Factoids:

“All in the Family” spinoffs include “Maude,” (1972-1978) “The Jeffersons” (1975-1985) and not surprisingly “Archie Bunkers Place” (1979-1983).  “Maude” would later have a spinoff of its own with “Good Times.”

The most successful spinoff is “The Simpsons” – the longest-running sitcom of all time.

“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” spun off “Rhoda,” “Phyllis,” and “Lou Grant.”

“Angel” was spun off of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Private Practice” was spun off of “Grey’s Anatomy” (both while the original series was still running)

“Frasier” was spun off of “Cheers” after the lights in the bar were shut off (both series ran for 11 seasons each)

After “Friends” ended in 2004, Joey Tribbiani’s character moved to Hollywood and the series “Joey” began (it only ran for 2 seasons)

“Happy Days” had many successful spinoffs, including “Mork & Mindy” and “Laverne & Shirley”

MTV’s reality show “The City” is a spinoff of “The Hills,” which is a spinoff of “Laguna Beach.”

“The Brady Bunch” had many spinoffs, including “The Bradys,” “The Brady Brides,” and “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.”

CBS’s “NCIS” (Spinoff of JAG) increased the size of its audience in all but one of its first seven seasons, a rare feat for any series. “NCIS” also has a successful spinoff – “NCIS: Los Angeles”

“The Archie Show” is credited with 14 spinoffs, according to Wikipedia.

“The Golden Palace” was a “The Golden Girls” spinoff (sans Bea Arthur) and ran for only one season on CBS.

There have been two versions of “Beverly Hills, 90210” (1990-2000, 2008-) and “Melrose Place,” (1992-1999, 2009-2010) which was spunoff from “90210.”

For better or worse, there will always be spinoffs, as network execs scramble for “surefire” hits. Here is a list of the best and worst spinoff since 1990, according to Zap2it.

Television is an invaluable source for news. So it’s no surprise a recent survey of the TV-viewing public proved that September 11th was the most remembered event in TV history.

According to a recent Sony Electronics and the Nielsen survey, “The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack is, by far, the most memorable moment shared by television viewers during the past 50 years, twice as impactful as the second-ranked moment, which was the coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.”

It goes without saying that monumental events command the eyes and ears of the American public and garner huge viewing audiences. But that doesn’t discount the power of TV fiction, which has the ability to capture the hearts and minds of America, too.

Here’s the list of the Top 10 Series Finales of all time (most of them were sitcoms).

10. Home Improvement (ABC) – 35 million viewers

9. Family Ties (NBC) – 36.3 million viewers

8. All in the Family (CBS) – 40.2 Million viewers

7. The Cosby Show (NBC) – 44.4 Million Viewers

6. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (NBC) – 50.0 Million Viewers

5. Magnum P.I. (CBS) – 50.7 Million Viewers

4. Friends (NBC) – 52.5 Million Viewers

3. Seinfeld (NBC) – 76.3 Million Viewers

2. Cheers (NBC) – 80.4 Million Viewers

1. M*A*S*H (CBS)– 105.9 Million Viewers

Source:  http://blog.koldcast.tv/2011/koldcast-news/10-most-watched-television-finales-of-all-time/

Yawn. I am bored. The formula is obvious. The actresses’ faces don’t move. 

When Cougar Town debuted a couple seasons ago, it made me laugh. First, I think I am apparently the age of cougars and the whole cougar thing was totally at its pop culture apex. I liked the show’s irreverent, self-deprecating humor and the cast had some nice chemistry.  

Now, I think ‘all-things cougar’ are rather gross. The plastic surgery thing, the overdone attempts to be ageless, the whole ‘we are just as blatantly messed-up as men in the midst of mid-life crisis’ stuff…I am over it. It is so unflattering.

The entire premise of Cougar Town seems to be: “Look at us, we won’t grow up. We drink red wine like its water. Jealous?” Actually, no, and it really isn’t all that funny anymore to watch 40-somethings behave like 20-somethings. 

Forty isn’t the new 25, no matter how many facial fillers and lip enhancers one employs, and Courtney Cox’s manic, controlling and anxiety-ridden Jules is just a little too reminiscent of Monica Geller from Friends for my liking.

Gosh, am I harsh or what?! Bottom line: In my opinion, Cougar Town will be leaving town…soon. 

Until Next Time…

Image Source:  Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

Let me start by saying I don’t believe in curses—not in sports, not in entertainment—not in life. (Not even if you live in Boston or end up on the cover of SI before a big game.)

I do believe that if you star in a sitcom for double-digit years that it will be difficult to separate yourself from that character for the rest of your career. If that is a curse, it is probably one that has made you very rich and very famous (you poor baby, lol).

And, yes, I am talking to you dear cast of NBC’s Friends.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Friends. I loved Friends so much, I thought those people were my actual friends. The early years were brilliant. They had an excellent run and now Rachel Green, the Gellers, et al have tried to move on and it hasn’t always been with awesome results; they haven’t exactly been cursed either.

If I’m not mistaken, Ms. Courtney Cox has had pretty decent results with ABC’s Cougar Town; Matt LeBlanc just won a big, beautiful Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical for Showtime’s Episodes (2011); Lisa Kudrow is also doing some nice work on Showtime’s web Therapy.

Okay, so David Schwimmer…I don’t know, the guy has been working and nothing has been huge or horrible. He acts, he directs…he does Broadway!

Jennifer Aniston literally cannot get a haircut without me hearing about it and she has worked consistently since Friends wrapped. Okay, she has had a really hard time “not being Rachel Green” in many a role, but I loved her in The Good Girl, Horrible Bosses and Derailed. She has shown some range over the years… She isn’t Meryl Streep… but that’s okay, right? 

Which brings me to Matthew Perry. The article below addresses the non-existent curse and how Perry is trying to break it with his new gig on NBC’s comedy pilot Go On, in which he’ll play “a sportscaster who is lifted up by a mandatory support group after he experiences personal loss.”

Hmm. I like Matthew Perry, as I like all my ‘friends’ and I wish them well as they go forward professionally.

They are not cursed. They are rich, talented and beautiful…

Just like the Stiletto Showgirl LOL.

Until Next Time…

Read more: http://www.tv.com/news/news-briefs-matthew-perry-is-trying-to-break-the-friends-curse-again-27979/#ixzz1oXD8kxG9

Image Source:  Featureflash / Shutterstock.com