# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/81 "2005-08-16T19:10:09Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > Never seen this one, which show(s)? _One Day at a Time_–Julie joined a church called “Lambs of God” and Barbara made fun of them. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/82 "2005-08-16T19:12:09Z")
**I’m stupid, but HOT!** - The ability to obtain willing partners for sex increases geometrically as IQ decreases. See _Friends_, _That 70’s Show_, _Married with Children_ (granted no one on that show was a genius), etc. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/83 "2005-08-16T19:16:10Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > Never seen this one, which show(s)? I was reminded of Hank Kingsley’s sudden, aggressive embrace of his Judaism on _The Larry Sanders Show_. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/84 "2005-08-16T19:16:54Z")
For the reasons cited above, Alex is withdrawn from the _Special Date_ roster. A close corollary to the **Best Friend Who Never Existed Before** is **The Elderly Relative Who Never Existed Before** who is introduced only to die and teach a young child about death. Two examples I can think of are _Full House_ and _The New Leave it to Beaver_. **Take Your Flocks and Your Fan Mail and BE GONE!** happens when a star has enough control over the show that s/he can jettison a supporting character who becomes way more popular with the viewers. Two examples are _Silver Spoons_, in which Jason Bateman was written out because he was drawing the spotlight from Rick Schroder (later Alfonso Ribeiro, a musical theater star a child, was stopped from singing and dancing on the show for the same reason) and _Growing Pains_, when Leonardo DiCaprio was driven into the desert by a very jealous Kirk Cameron. (DiCaprio still speaks bitterly about that show, though he said he appreciates the money.) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/85 "2005-08-16T19:21:35Z")
A variant of the above is the **Take Your Flocks and Your Fan Mail and… OH OG-DAMMIT!** , which occurs when the star _DOESN’T_ have the power to drive off the competing co-star. This could also be called _The Cybill Shepherd Syndrome_ because it happened on both _Moonlighting_ (which was to have been a star vehicle for her and was immediately stolen by Bruce Willis) and on _Cybill_ (where Christine Baranski’s character, Mary Anne, became the comedic star of the series). **But Let’s Get Serious for a Moment, Folks…** is when a series has not just a “very special episode” but tries to incorporate a serious issue into the very fiber of the show. Examples include _Grace Under Fire_, which went from a light enjoyable sitcom about a single mother coming out of a dysfunctional marriage, to a sitcom in which alcoholism was a major plotline, and _Good Times_, which developed a “social problem of the week” theme during its later seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/86 "2005-08-16T19:24:58Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > A corollary of **The Very Special Episode** is the **Best Friend Who Never Existed Before**. Another application of the Best Friend Who Never Existed Before is the **WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, MAN?** syndrome, in which a previously unheard-of friend from the past suddenly materializes to remind a character of all the youthful dreams he never pursued. These characters abounded on _Roseanne_ (Dan and Roseanne’s motorcycle buddy Ziggy; Dan’s musician friend “Stingray”; and Joan Collins as Roseanne’s successful writer cousin). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/87 "2005-08-16T19:28:16Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I know this happened on **Roseanne** (with the son) and **Facts of Life** (Jo decided to become a nun and became judgmental [special guest star: Eve Plumb as Blair’s half-sister, a nun]). **Welcome Back, Kotter** : Horshack joined a cult (“What is… is. What was… will be. What will be _was_, but will be again.”) to be near a girl he liked (“She sure can fill out a sheet!”). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/88 "2005-08-16T19:28:54Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > I was reminded of Hank Kingsley’s sudden, aggressive embrace of his Judaism on _The Larry Sanders Show_. Yeah, but Hank was already a jerk, and it was totally in character for him to do what he did. Some of the other characters showed how you could be religious without being a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/89 "2005-08-16T19:44:09Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > Another application of the Best Friend Who Never Existed Before is the **WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, MAN?** syndrome, in which a previously unheard-of friend from the past suddenly materializes to remind a character of all the youthful dreams he never pursued. These characters abounded on _Roseanne_ (Dan and Roseanne’s motorcycle buddy Ziggy; Dan’s musician friend “Stingray”; and Joan Collins as Roseanne’s successful writer cousin). The sudden visit from previously unknown friends or relatives is practically a family of syndromes unto itself. Aside from what’s already been mentioned, there’s the ones where a character has been lying to his parents/brother/college buddy about his job/marital status/sexual orientation. Now the lomg distance friend/relative is coming to visit and the regular character must suddenly enlist his friends and coworkers into pretending that he is a doctor/astronaut/millionaire/heterosexual for a couple of days so as not to blow the charade. Sometimes it is required that another character pretend to be his wife or girlfriend. The subterfuge is always exposed but the vistor either already knew or is lying about something himself. wxamples are too numerous to mention. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/90 "2005-08-16T20:01:08Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Examples include _Grace Under Fire_, which went from a light enjoyable sitcom about a single mother coming out of a dysfunctional marriage, to a sitcom in which alcoholism was a major plotline, And became a major plotline behind the scenes too. **RASHOMON EPISODE**. Episodes that mimic the plot device from the movie **Rashomon** , in which every character telling his version of the story is made the hero, while the others come off as cowards. Ex: **Magnum PI** , **ER** , **X-Files** , **Star Trek** , etc. (My favorite one of these was from **Wings** , where when it was time for Antonio’s retelling, they turned it into a send-up of old Italian movies). ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/91 "2005-08-16T20:08:54Z")
**The Whirlwind Romance** syndrome. Characters meet, fall in love, decide to marry, have major conflict, and break up for good in the span of a 23-minute sitcom. These 23 minutes IRL seldom represent more than about a week in sitcom time. These episodes almost always involve some moral message, too. Going steady is usually substituted for marriage when the characters are minors. Too many examples to list. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/92 "2005-08-16T20:12:09Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > A corollary of **The Very Special Episode** is the **Best Friend Who Never Existed Before**. In which a character suddenly has a bosom buddy who has never before been seen or mentioned on the show and never will again. The classic example of this is the _Family Ties_ ep when Alex must come to grips with the death of a close, lifelong friend who materialized from nowhere just for that episode. You also see lesser examples of this if a kid has to get molested or pregnant (which, of course, can never happen to a _regular_). The pregnant friend who never existed before can be seen in eps of _Family Ties_ and _Different Strokes_. The classic friend who is created just to get molested is “Dudley,” who was famously molested on _Different strokes_. Dudley had appeared for several seasons when he got molested. He first appeared in Season 2 and the very special episode aired in Season 5. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077003/guests](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077003/guests) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/93 "2005-08-16T20:16:02Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > **But Let’s Get Serious for a Moment, Folks…** is when a series has not just a “very special episode” but tries to incorporate a serious issue into the very fiber of the show. M.A.S.H. Jumped the shark big time because of this. That reminds me of the **Fonzi Syndrome.** When a show gives up all pretenses of ensemble work to become the spotlight of one character. Fonzi and Hawkeye Pierce provide the examples. ---
**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 16, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/94 "2005-08-16T20:23:15Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > **RASHOMON EPISODE**. Episodes that mimic the plot device from the movie **Rashomon** , in which every character telling his version of the story is made the hero, while the others come off as cowards. Ex: **Magnum PI** , **ER** , **X-Files** , **Star Trek** , etc. (My favorite one of these was from **Wings** , where when it was time for Antonio’s retelling, they turned it into a send-up of old Italian movies). All in the family had a knife and Apple incident told from at least 3 perspectives. Archie’s had a very large knife, Mike’s was w/o the knife and Archie being 100% jerk and I think Lionel’s which was in between and obviously close to the real story. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/95 "2005-08-16T20:25:44Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > (My favorite one of these was from **Wings** , where when it was time for Antonio’s retelling, they turned it into a send-up of old Italian movies). Heh. My personal favorite was on King of the Hill where Boomhaer is speaking clearly and everyone else is mumbling… -Joe ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/96 "2005-08-16T20:30:04Z")
> [@Susie Derkins](#): > > **Why Do We Even Go On Vacation?** Any planned trip about which all the characters are super-excited will never go as intended. I was going to suggest **Why Bother to Leave Home** since any major trip will somehow involve neighbors, business associates, the mailman, and anyone else who ever had a speaking part. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/97 "2005-08-16T20:33:35Z")
**The Magical African-American Friend** : Lots of nearly all-while shows have one black person. That black person’s job is to wisely guide, comfort and teach their white friends. See, black people have so much more soul and authenticity than white people that they often have a calling to spread that soul to the white man. Rather than helping out downtrodden black people, your typical wise black person spends his time helping wealthy neurotic white people out of trouble. The real function of the MAAF is to symbolicly absolve his white friends…and by extension the white audience…of their guilt over the sorry 500 year history of race relations in our country. Examples include Anthony from Designing Women, Hawk from Spencer for Hire, and just about every black maid that ever existed. The MAAF’s mirror image is that one unfunky, stuffed-shirt white guy who will appear on an all-black show, who exists to show that while white people may have money and power they don’t have SOUL. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/98 "2005-08-16T20:47:47Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > I don’t get this ones examples: > Jan Brady: conceded, this plotline was a major part of the silly show > Bailey was a minor charactor, her role grew. (I liked her better anyway) > Mary Ann: in surveys I’ve seen everyone liked her better and slightly more guys thought she looked better, so is this valid? Poor Ginger, she was suppose to be the beautiful one and got beat out by a supporting character, (Reference to Original Theme Song) > Rhoda was only a supporting character to the Title character, so why the big deal? > Mallory was drop dead beatiful and never shy. Maybe a little insecure compared to Alex intectually. Oh, **we** all love and root for the poor little sister/best friend who needs only to step out of the shadows and stop being so insecure, but **they** didn’t realize it. And my argument is that Mallory knew she was dumber than everyone else in the family, and always felt like she was in last place. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/99 "2005-08-16T20:49:21Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Actually, that’s not entirely inaccurate. Mayberry was based on Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mr. Airy, NC, and it was mostly white. In fact, if you look at the census, you’ll see that African Americans only make up less than 5% of the population of Surry County, where Mt. Airy is located. Pretty much all of western North Carolina is and always has been largely white, in fact. Since the western part of the state is the Appalachian Mountains and their foothills, largescale plantation agriculture was never able to develop there (cotton needing flat, damp soil), so there was never a lot of slavery in the area. Surry County was, however, a slave transshipment point, where slavetraders would buy slaves from Virginia and sell them south to the cotton belt. But you never had a large resident slave population in the area. Now that is what “fighting ignorance” is all about. Nice post. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218/100 "2005-08-16T20:49:57Z")
The **I’m young for my age** syndrome. Where a 30ish year old cast plays high school students. Happy Days and Kotter are examples. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-and-exemplify-sitcom-syndromes/317218.md?page=6)