My list of sitcoms I’ve loved, yet were canceled or, if still on, don’t receive much attention is as follows:
Get A Life - early 90’s, with Chris Elliott. I don’t recall it lasting very long, but I thought it was hilarious.
Geena Davis’s sitcom from a few years back, maybe Geena or some variation? Part of the allure, I must admit, was that cute teenage boy with the red cheeks that played her stepson- he’s in his 20’s now and I should hunt him down and never mind but I thought the show was pretty funny.
Norm - I think that’s what it was called. With Norm McDonald of SNL fame. My love of his show may have been helped along by my undying crush on him (I lurve him) but maybe it was as good as I remember?
Still Standing - I am watching it right now and I’ve watched it fairly often since it started. It is funny- I always laugh at least 5 times an episode. Not that I count laughs- it’s a rough estimate.
Yes, Dear - Is this show still on? I haven’t seen it for a while, but I used to watch it and it was fairly good. Not spectacular, but decent Monday night situational comedic entertainment.
What are some of your quiet little comedies?
I’d second Yes, Dear. I only get the stations that come in on rabbit ears, and there are two of them. I found this show on the WB in the evenings and quickly started to like it. Now that it’s changed over to CW, they don’t have it on - actually, it went off before the switch to CW, but I don’t remember how long. I thought the show was pretty funny and enjoyed it, but most people I know never heard of it.
Another show I somewhat liked was 8 Simple Rules. I thought it was a little boring at first, but I watched it because I love John Ritter. When they continued the show after he passed away, I was a little sad at first, but I had grown attached to it and now it is gone as well. Of course, with cable television, it might be on, and overrated, but I have no idea…
Don’t know that they’re too underappreciated, but I enjoyed Roseanne, Boston Public and SportsNight. Own the complete series of the last one on DVD, and working on the first.
John Laroquette (sp?) had a shortlived eponymous sitcom many years back. I thought it was great but it was way too dark for network TV at the time. He played a recovering alcoholic who had once been an English professor but was now working in a dingy train station, I think at a magazine stand. I recall it being well wrtitten and actually pretty funny, mixing standard sitcom wackiness with a sad protrait of a man climbing back from bottom.
I missed the Head show, but Andy Richter was brilliant. I think he should team up with Ricky Gervais.
Austin Stories - that was a show. I’m not just saying that because my college buddy and co-worker Laura House was one of the main characters. I saw Laura in LA shortly before the show debuted doing stand up. She’s awesome and legitimately funny.
I think It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a great sleeper. It’s cruel, hateful, outrageous, and straight up funny as hell. Especially the ep when they have to do community service in a Boys’ and Girls’ Club and one of the characters chooses a team of all Black kids… while the others protest without ever mentioning that’s why they think it’s unfair. I’m not doing it justice; catch it when they show it on F|X.
Night Court is grossly underappreciated in DVD format (no seasons later than the first because the first didn’t sell well…and then they release Mama’s Family!!!), but boy do I love it.