Tuesday, January 18, 2011

When Funny Shows Go Sad. A Preview.

     How I Met Your Mother didn't quite get it right.  This topic has been around a few other blogs of late, so I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring.  Sometimes comedies, or sit-coms, cover topics that are a bit heart-wrenching. And some of the them do it better than others.  It's a tough subject to tackle; you break tone, or you're irreverent, or you nail it with a perfect blend of heart and humor.  It works best on shows that have already established a lot of heart.
     Scrubs could do it best.  However, the best dead-father sitcom episode ever was, unfortunately, Eight Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter.  They got it right on.  If I recall correctly, it was a two-part episode, and each time I watch them, I ball.  No, I bawl.  The death of John Ritter was still raw and the emotion was palpable.  The series didn't do very well after that, but those episodes, even independent of the rest of the series, stand out as great sad episodes of funny shows.
     Tomorrow, more about how to be sad, but in a funny way.

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