# Comedy movies made from serious TV series? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 5, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526 "2024-06-05T19:07:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/21 "2024-06-06T16:00:33Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I guess that’s why Adam-12 and Dragnet were so gut-bustingly hilarious. _Dragnet_ started on the radio, where half-hour dramas were far more common. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/22 "2024-06-06T16:25:46Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > (I can’t think of any hour-long comedies. But there must be some…) Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/23 "2024-06-06T18:13:38Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Land of the Lost was a kids’ show and had some silly stuff, but for what it was, it had a pretty serious tone. The movie version is pure goofiness. This one hurt. I would still love to see a modern, dramatic take on Land of the Lost. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/24 "2024-06-06T18:44:27Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I don’t know how serious you would call the original _A-Team_ but the 2010 [movie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_A-Team_(film)) is considered an action comedy. Mr T and Dwight Schultz were _much_ funnier than Quinton Jackson and Sharlto Copley. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/25 "2024-06-06T19:33:16Z")
Same with early television. It’s hard to find hour-long dramas. (With continuing characters; the prestige drama anthologies were usually hour-long.) ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/26 "2024-06-06T19:39:45Z")
I’m not sure on how you rate them - does Buffy the Vampire Slayer count or not? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/27 "2024-06-06T19:41:23Z")
Well, if the production order was flipped I’d count it… ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/28 "2024-06-06T19:45:06Z")
Yeah, I misread. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/29 "2024-06-06T20:48:56Z")
The length standard for drama/comedy was not all that long lived and was [ended](https://deadline.com/2021/12/emmy-rule-changes-comedy-drama-series-categorization-time-eliminated-half-hour-one-hour-1234899576/) in 2021. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/30 "2024-06-06T22:58:53Z")
The Brady Bunch TV show was so unfunny, I would almost count the two (much funnier) movie versions as candidates for this thread. Which begs the question, how rare is it for a comedy of any sort to be satirized? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/31 "2024-06-07T00:16:59Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > how rare is it for a comedy of any sort to be satirized? Well, Mad Magazine included comedies amongst its movie and TV show satires. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/32 "2024-06-07T05:09:12Z")
_Batman_ was a comedy TV show based upon a serious comic book. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/33 "2024-06-07T17:20:01Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The TV show always had a humorous undercurrent Pretty much all of the shows mentioned did. None were laugh-track sitcoms like the actual comedies on the networks of their era, but there were definitely a lot of tongue-in-cheek situations and light laughs on all those shows, save maybe “Dragnet”. Certainly the TV versions of The A-Team, CHiPs and The Fall Guy were as funny as they were serious. > [@Tzigone](#): > > I’m not sure on how you rate them - does Buffy the Vampire Slayer count or not? That one’s the other way around- the movie came first; BTVS the Movie was definitely a comedy, and a surprisingly funny one, but BTVS the TV show that followed was not nearly as comedic. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/34 "2024-06-07T17:32:52Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I don’t know how serious you would call the original _A-Team_ but the 2010 [movie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_A-Team_(film)) is considered an action comedy. Ditto the 1998 [film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Avengers_(1998_film)) _The Avengers_ although it failed at so many levels, who knows? I consider _The A-Team_ to be a action comedy. _The Avengers_ was a British comedy. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/35 "2024-06-07T17:38:36Z")
Not exactly satire, but the movie _Saturday The Fourteenth_ inspired a slew of horror comedy movies. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/36 "2024-06-07T17:43:23Z")
It started out serious, became more and more comedic and ironically about a year or so before the TV series came out went back to serious again. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/37 "2024-06-07T17:50:34Z")
I consider _The Singing Detective_ dark comedy. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_bNH5pfcLWE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bNH5pfcLWE) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526/38 "2024-06-07T19:26:19Z")
> [@bump](#): > > > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > > The TV show always had a humorous undercurrent > > Pretty much all of the shows mentioned did. None were laugh-track sitcoms like the actual comedies on the networks of their era, but there were definitely a lot of tongue-in-cheek situations and light laughs on all those shows, save maybe “Dragnet”. > > Certainly the TV versions of The A-Team, CHiPs and The Fall Guy were as funny as they were serious. It’s been a long time but I remember The Fall Guy as being more comedy than serious. I watched some late night Dragnets and there were certainly some less serious moments usually with a B storyline. There were moments that weren’t supposed to be laugh out loud but left Joe with a bemused look usually at Bill’s expense. The audience was also supposed to be bemused. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedy-movies-made-from-serious-tv-series/1002526.md?page=1)