# Name and Exemplify Sitcom Syndromes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218 "2005-08-16T04:35:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/181 "2005-08-20T05:59:10Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > \ How about **Same Name, Different Face** where you have an actor replaced without explanation by someone else? …Becky on **Roseanne** … But it was pretty clever the way they transitioned between them… During the episode when the Conners decided to go to Disney World, Lecy Goranson (Becky #1) came through the front door and said, “We’re going to Disney World?” Roseanne said, “Yeah. Aren’t you glad you’re here this week?” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/182 "2005-08-20T12:41:23Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > Fish’s wife in _Barney Miller_ (not the spin off) is another example. Actually, I’ve always liked this strategy when it was done well. The image in my mind is generally funnier than any actor. For instance, an ongoing gag in Cheers was how thin Marris was. Niles made a remark about her running across the snow and not leaving any footprints. It was hilarious. Actually, the Cheers Fraiser was an only child whose parents were dead. The Fraiser Fraiser had his father Martin and brother Niles and the invisible Marius. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/183 "2005-08-20T12:42:29Z")
:smack: I saw Les Mis last night and I’m tired. The invisible **Maris** ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/184 "2005-08-20T14:23:20Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > Sorry, your wrong. I bow to superior knowledge. It’s nice that others remember the show as fondly as I do. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/185 "2005-08-20T15:20:38Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > I bow to superior knowledge. It’s nice that others remember the show as fondly as I do. I have secret advantage. They have been available a few at a time on a On Demand Cable channel called Tube Time. I have recently watched episodes 1-42 in order. I love it, it is the best sitcom on TV right now and it’s 30 years old ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/186 "2005-08-20T15:28:41Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Actually, the Cheers Fraiser was an only child whose parents were dead. The Fraiser Fraiser had his father Martin and brother Niles and the invisible Marius. Actually, I thought on Cheers, Fraiser’s father was dead and his mother was alive, but then on Frasier, his father was alive and it was his mother who died. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/187 "2005-08-20T18:20:11Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I saw Les Mis last night and I’m tired. The invisible **Maris** But it’s David Hyde Pierce’s spouse we’re talking about so “Marius” is probably correct. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/188 "2005-08-20T19:15:11Z")
**WHY HAVEN’T YOU BEEN FIRED YET, BITCH** should have been the title of “Roseanne”. I’m sure there’s also a syndrome where the main characters own a business and yet are rude to the customers and don’t seem to be worried about money. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/189 "2005-08-20T19:26:18Z")
I’ve read this whole thread and I don’t remember seeing this premise mentioned, apologies if I missed it. **"The Two Dates in One Night"** Premise: Usually this involves a main character who wants to go to some event (dance, prom, concert, etc.) with a certain hot, popular character that may or may not have ever been seen or mentioned before. When it looks like this will never happen they agree to go with a friend or a less popular character who may or may not have ever been seen before. Usually this person is a nerd or not very attractive. If it’s a friend who has been a regular then they friend has had a secret crush on the main character for a long time and thinks they will finally get their chance to confess their true feelings. Then something happens to get the original object of affection to agree to do with/ask out the main character. Usually this results in some wackiness from the main character trying to go on both dates at once or trying to squirm out of the date with the second choice with some lame excuse. Ultimately, they usually learn that the hot popular person is really boring/nasty/evil or they realize how cruel they were to the other person and then they have to find some way to mend fences with them. There are many variations, but the main premise is quite common. I believe we’ve seen this is too many sitcoms to mention, The Brady Bunch would be an example, but I’ve also seen it in some movies; The Princess Diaries and Sky High. ---
**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/190 "2005-08-20T20:00:27Z")
**Sternvogel** - “WOO! WOO! WOO! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! Syndrome.” - The worst example I can think of is _Married With Children_, which in later seasons occurred when _any_ of the six major characters entered the house. **News Broadcast Synchronicity Factor** Measure of probability that if characters are watching TV or listening to the radio, there will be a news announcement relevant to them. _Gilligan’s Island_ had a factor near 100%; _Seinfeld_ and _Married with Children_ also had high factors. **The Joke’s on You** Whole episodes devoted to an elaborate practical joke, or a series of retaliatory jokes between people. Bonus points if in the last scene it turns out that the “victim” knew all along and gets the last laugh. Examples in _Cheers_, _Frasier_, _M_A_S_H\*. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/191 "2005-08-20T20:38:50Z")
**Too Many People Living Under One Roof** syndrome. To provide fodder for plotlines, a sitcom family must all live in the same house and be huge. Pretty much all family sitcoms suffer from this syndrome. **I Only Have a Handful of Students and I Teach Them All Subjects**. _Head of the Class_ was notorious for this, as was _Welcome Back Kotter_. For instance, what subject did Gabe Kotter teach? And did he teach anyone else besides the Sweat Hogs? **We Refuse to Grow Up!**. Sorta related to the first syndrome, in that kids do not grow up and leave the nest. _Facts of Life_ is the biggest victim of this syndrome, as is _A Different World_ to a lesser degree. Predominately women casts suffer from their own set of syndromes, as typified in _Golden Girls_, _Designing Women_, _Living Single_, and _Girlfriends_. See if you can find the characters fitting the below descriptions: **One of Us is Narcissitic, Petty, and/or Slutty** syndrome. Has a revolving door of boyfriends, always talking about finding “Mr. Right”, always ready to criticize the other character’s looks. But deep down has a good heart. \*_One of Us is Sweet but Stupid \*\* syndrome. This character usually always has a boyfriend, often someone as “slow” as she is. The other characters are protective of them, even though they are often patronizing. (Addendum: a related syndrome is “One of Us is Sweet but Not Cool” syndrome, whereby a character is weird but not really dumb. Freddie on A Different World and Lynne on [/iGirlfriends_ both fit this bill.) **One of Us is Too Head-strong and Independent for Her Own Good** syndrome. Storylines usually revolve around them as they try to get their acts together. \*\*One of us Always Has the Funny One-Liners \*\* syndrome. They typically have their shit together and serve only to make fun of the others. Rarely do they have a storyline all of their own. (I believe Anthony fills this position on _Designing Women_.) Back to general syndromes… **I Am Totally Different Now That I Have My Own Show** syndrome. This happens when a character gets their own spin-off sitcom and is only vagualy like they were when they were on the original show. I can think of two examples. When Kim Parker was on _Moesha_, she was of average intelligence (mostly she was just a humorous sidekick of Neecy’s) but once she got her own show, she became a full-fledged idiot. When George Jefferson was on _All in the Family_, he was serious, prim-and-proper man and Louise Jefferson was demure and sugary-sweet. But once they moved up to the eastside, George became more of a buffoon character and Louise became more domineering. Whitley Gilbert’s character on _A Different World_ sorta fits this, although not quite. When Denise Huxtable was the focus of the show, Whitley was basically a shallow cartoon character serving as the show’s antagonist. Once Denise left, Whitley became the focus of the show and the writers turned her into a more 3-dimensional character. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/192 "2005-08-20T20:45:09Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > For instance, what subject did Gabe Kotter teach? And did he teach anyone else besides the Sweat Hogs? History. There were other kids in the room, but they rarely talked. And it was a pretty small class (what, ten kids including the Hogs?) considering that it was an inner city school. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/193 "2005-08-20T21:45:47Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Predominately women casts suffer from their own set of syndromes, as typified in _Golden Girls_, _Designing Women_, _Living Single_, and _Girlfriends_. See if you can find the characters fitting the below descriptions: Actually, when I looked at these, the cast of _That 70s Show_ came to mind instantly: > [@](#): > > **One of Us is Narcissitic, Petty, and/or Slutty** syndrome. Jackie and Kelso. > [@](#): > > \*\*One of Us is Sweet but Stupid \*\* syndrome. Fez probably comes the closest to this one; he’s more ‘Sweet But Hilariously Naive’. ‘Sweet But Not Cool’ describes Eric pretty well, though. > [@](#): > > **One of Us is Too Head-strong and Independent for Her Own Good** syndrome. Hyde, definitely. > [@](#): > > \*\*One of us Always Has the Funny One-Liners \*\* syndrome. Red and sometimes Eric. Related to the “WOO! WOO! CLAP CLAP!” syndrome is the **“OOOOOOHHHHH!”** syndrome. Whenever one character displays affection for another with a kiss, no matter whether it’s full-on tongue or just a quick peck, the audience/laugh track pops out with this ubiquitous “Oooohhh, you’re naaaughty!” sound. Usually seen with teenagers or other characters who have sexual tension between them (they’re not husband and wife, father and daughter, etc). ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/194 "2005-08-20T22:04:19Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > **Too Many People Living Under One Roof** syndrome. To provide fodder for plotlines, a sitcom family must all live in the same house and be huge. Pretty much all family sitcoms suffer from this syndrome. My favorite was **Full House** (and damned if it wasn’t). By the end you had the groundfloor and second floor full of Bob Saget and his 3 daughters, the basement filled with Dave Coulier, and the piece de resistance (add your own diacritics)- the amazing expanding attic that Uncle Jess made into a self contained apartment for himself, his wife, their twins and whatever future kids they might have. That’s four adults and five kids in a single family Victorian house (one with a view of the Bay that Saget never could have afforded in the first place on a local newsman’s salary). I’m surprised the historic home owners commission never complained. _Family Matters_ had Carl and Family (5 members), Telma Hopkins and her child (that makes 7) and Grandma (8) and later Urkel all living in a single family dwelling (one with backstairs and enough floorspace to land a plane in that was paid for by a Chicago cop). ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/195 "2005-08-20T22:23:57Z")
**We’re goin’ to Las Vegas!** - Two or more characters go to either Atlantic City or Las Vegas. Usually, some character doesn’t like to gamble, but ends up addicted to it and loses all the money. See _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/196 "2005-08-20T22:32:42Z")
**The Invisible Person** - Someone always mentioned, but never seen. However, thie character can be seen partly. See _Will and Grace_’s “Stan”, _Frasier_’s “Maris” and_Home Improvement_’s “Wilson”. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/197 "2005-08-20T22:34:12Z")
Er… “this”. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/198 "2005-08-21T01:26:16Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Actually, the Cheers Fraiser was an only child whose parents were dead. The Fraiser Fraiser had his father Martin and brother Niles and the invisible Maris. > [@Master Control](#): > > Actually, I thought on Cheers, Fraiser’s father was dead and his mother was alive, but then on Frasier, his father was alive and it was his mother who died. A little bit of both. Frasier’s mother (played by the future Livia Soprano, Nancy Marchand) appeared on one episode of _Cheers_ and was so annoyed by Diane that she threatened to kill her if she continued seeing her son. However, a few seasons later, Frasier mentioned both his parents were dead. On _Frasier_, it was established in the first episode that Frasier’s dad had been a widower for a few years. Then, a few years later when Frasier went back to Boston to visit the _Cheers_ gang with his father, he explained to them that he only said his father was dead because he was upset with him at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/199 "2005-08-21T01:43:59Z")
> [@DarkSideoftheFloyd](#): > > **We’re goin’ to Las Vegas!** - Two or more characters go to either Atlantic City or Las Vegas. Usually, some character doesn’t like to gamble, but ends up addicted to it and loses all the money. See _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_. And the corrolary, **Save Us, Las Vegas!** Syndrome, in which a character who’s never gambled before is in dire financial straits, flits off to LV or AC with his/her last dollar and wins enough to solve every financial problem. See Suzanne’s trip to AC with Charlene and Anthony, _Designing Women_. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/200 "2005-08-21T13:07:09Z")
Didn’t Frasier also say his dad was a scientist? Also, I have been out of town a few days and was happy to see this thread going strong upon my return. It may be my favorite doper thread of all-time! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218.md?page=11)