As a self loathing Eye-talian, I got to go with the Sopranos.
And yes. I wholly consider it to be a sitcom. There were so many “dark” parts in that show where you could have thrown in a laugh track and completely exposed their so called drama as a cheap house of cards.
Jesus Christ.
OK, I take it back.
“Is this why you’ve never held down a job?!!!”
Hahaha…I was waiting for him to lay on the Edward Norton, “American History X” lecture. 
I particularly liked his tortured expression at the door after the kid stormed out.
From a synopsis of that episode:
BAHAHAHAHAHA…(link)
19 and Counting. Holy Jesus. I’d probably end up dating a brother or two while we were basically living in/running a giant day care center.
There’s also another episode arc involving teenaged Simon getting in a car accident and running over and killing a boy on a bike. I haven’t seen all of it, but supposedly Simon’s off the hook morally when it turns out the boy on the bike may have been high. If Eric Camden’s version of God is the right one, we’re all screwed, aren’t we?
I, too, particularly loved, “Is this why you’ve never held down a job?!” aimed at a boy who’s still in high school.
Grace Under Fire. We knew Quentin was psycho from the pilot episode, but that didn’t come into fruition until the final season when he shot the neighbor Wade. The offscreen hijinks were even more nightmarish.
Actually I don’t think the Addams family would be all that bad if you benefited from the same apparent invulnerability as they do.
The Cunninghams from Happy Days. Their oldest son (Chuck? The basketball player) disappeared without so much as a “Boo” from anyone, and soon an alienated greaser is living over their garage. I believe the two incidents are connected.
THIS is way better!
It has nothing, however, to do with the discussion at hand.
Family Matters, the entire family is milquetoast and I’d get a A&B charge the minute Urkel whined ,“did iiiii do that!?”
One more reason why I think the 7th Heaven family is insane–the reverend deals with all kinds of social issues from gangs to drugs and everything in between. And yet the family is aghast when someone flips someone else off. They react as though they’ve seen a baby get raped.
I never watched anything but snippets of 7th Heaven but did always think it had a disturbing Lynchian air alright.
P.
I think the creepiest 7th Heaven moment (not to inundate the thread with it, but it’s so damned easy) was teenage Ruthie dancing suggestively (and awkwardly) and then giving her dad a really weird look when he walked in on her.
I don’t think I’d last a single night with those folks before begging to live with the Bundys, Connors, or even the Sopranos.
I’m still laughing after watching this scene from 7th Heaven. This teen girl from the suburbs is apart of a gang, and has a cache of weapons and drugs hidden under a bed.
As for the OP I would have to say The Cosby Show. Claire Huxtable is incredibly creepy. She has a smug look 24/7 and never really interacts with her kids in any meaningful way. She mostly just chastises or belittles them.
I just saw that one, palacheck. I don’t know why but I’ve been rewatching these eps. Used to watch it a bit as a teen, even though I knew it was a ridiculous show even then. I, too, loved the whole, “DRUGS AND WEAPONS IN OUR NICE SUBURBAN HOUSE!!!” moment.
I’m watching the entire ep of the marijuana joint one. I love how Reverend Camden’s staring at all his kids right after he finds it but before they know about it, wondering if Lucy’s new clothes/incense habit is because she’s a druggie. Or whether Mary’s itchy allergic eyes are a result of pot. Or if Matt’s eating cookies because of the munchies. Most surreal thing on TV ever!
I felt the same way about Claire Huxtable, too! I felt like she also took a certain pleasure in the kids screwing up and getting to punish them. I like Phylicia Rashad in general, but Claire Huxtable always kind of creeped me out.
Nitpick but it was never said she died, and remember not only did the daughters never mention her again, but the entire town of Hooterville and the guy who sings the theme song, also forgot that she ever existed.
And on ‘My Three Sons’ the dad never mentioned Mike and his wife, who later showed up in Hooterville, pretending to be the blonde daughter. The what ever happened to the first two blonde daughters and the original brunette daughter is never known. Only the red headed daughter survived because she was related to the producer. And the grandfather was mysteriously sent to live in Ireland and never heard from again.
And Chuck Cunningham was never mentioned again. Did Howard toast his two kids as Joanie and Chachi’s wedding?
Lucy Carmichael also conveniently forgot she had two kids, she tried to remember once but called her sone Jerry, Jimmy and that was that.
And Doris Day was a complete mess going from the country to the city and completely losing her kids along the way.
I loved Eric’s expression when he finds out his wife did pot. And the way she reacts, as though it’s this deep dark secret. And then the way the ep ends–with Matt on his hands and knees praying to God to get his parents’ trust back.
Of course this is the family that reacted as though vandalism of a gym was as bad as knifing a guy. And in the town where stealing a $2 cup from a restaurant should get you arrested.
And then when bad things do happen (like the church accountant stealing $2500 form the church funds), the Camdens are all, “What can we do to help you out?”