It seems like more and more of the mindless sitcoms have some chunky, balding father paired up with some physically perfect wife.
From my experience of late (looking at the couples walking along the Strip in Las Vegas) this is a myth.
For the most part, if dad is a bit chunky - mom looks like she has had her share of KFC extra crispy as well.
Oddly enough, I more often than not see a younger, trim, good-looking guy with his grossly overweight wife.
I’m not saying the sitcom pairing NEVER happens, but give me a break - don’t most couples usually go to pot(gut) together, or else try to stay fit together? Or am I totally off base and this really is the picture of the American Family?
I’m not a sitcom watcher, so could you give us a listing of the new ones with the most eye-popping wives?
(I figure the chunky balding guy is the star of the show, the one with his name in the title, anyway, and we are expected to watch him to enjoy his Comedy Stylings. When it came time to cast the wife character, the Hollywood director said “Hmmmm…should I pick the dumpy broad or the hardbody?” and held an internal debate for all of four seconds.)
Michael Chiklis in the late, unlamented Daddio also fits this cookie cutter. I am wondering who these shows are aimed at; do dough-boy dads like to fantasize about trophy wives? I can’t imagine it appealing to dumpy housewives, who wouldn’t want to be compared to Courtney Thorne-Smith. Who is the market here?
Sadly, I think Reality Chuck is right. Ugly guys can get by if they’re funny (or, in the case of Everybody Loves Rayond, connected to the Mob somehow. Just a theory). Even cartoon wives have to be slim while their husbands can be fat slobs- Simpsons, Family Guy. And what about SNL? Has there ever been the token fat girl?
Close is that crappy “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Curb? How about parked 1000 miles away) show on HBO. While Larry isn’t chubby, he definitely is out of shape as hell. Hot wife though.
Just another show, like “According to Jim” where I really like the actress and would watch if it was at all half decent but I’m afraid I’ll poke my eyeballs out if I have to sit thru a whole episode again.
“Flintstones”? Umm, don’t you mean “The Honeymooners”?
Does Melanie Hustle qualify? She was sorta chunky with a pretty big nose, could do Valley Girl facial contortions, often played a sorority girl. I think that was her name.
Interestingly, from what I’ve seen (pretty limited), the ABC shows of this type suck badly, while the CBS shows of this type (and, at this rate, “Raymond” will be even chunkier than the “King of Queens” guy by midseason) are quite humorous.
The Washington Post TV columnists, either Tom Shales or Lisa De Moraes, had noticed the trend too and come up with a name for it… but I’m going to have to do some searching to find it again.
Not only is dad always chunky and mom always hot, but dad is always inept, negligent, and bungling (but lovable) and mom is always wise, level-headed, and generally eligible for sainthood.
While it’s not one of my favorite shows, one thing I always admired about Absolutely Fabulous was the fact that they dared to make a show entirely about an inept, negligent, and bungling mother.
Home Improvement seemed to break this mold. The husband was not unattractive. He was fit.
The wife was not drop-dead gorgeous, but reasonably attractive.
The show worked, I think, because, as the title suggests, it was about them working on their relationship, not just the standard sit-com fare. Many times, while watching, my wife would think the woman was being unreasonable. It wasn’t one-sided, in other words; not him versus her, or her always being right. It was a little more balanced and realistic, at least for television.
I don’t think the hot wife is just for the male viewers. A lot of women would sit there and criticize a dumpy woman. My mom used to criticize any older or overweight woman on TV. She didn’t realize how wrong it was.
