# Would you choose to live in a classic era sitcom world? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462 "2017-05-12T16:55:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Princess\_Perfume](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/princess_perfume/32/16518_2.png) [@Princess\_Perfume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Perfume)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/1 "2017-05-12T16:55:58Z")
In the 1998 movie Pleasantville, Reese Witherspoon’s character decides at the end to stay in Pleasantville, saying she’d have a better life in Fifties America than she would in the 1990s real world. She even mentions her grades in the real world means she has no chance of university, unlike the Pleasantville Fifties America. Would any poster here prefer the world of an old sitcom to live in? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/2 "2017-05-12T16:59:14Z")
What’s the cutoff for “old sitcom”? Because I want Charles in charge of me! ETA: JK :D. If was going to live in an 80s sitcom, _Silver Spoons_ seems like a lot more fun. . ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/3 "2017-05-12T17:01:12Z")
> [@Princess\_Perfume](#): > > In the 1998 movie Pleasantville, Reese Witherspoon’s character decides at the end to stay in Pleasantville, saying she’d have a better life in Fifties America than she would in the 1990s real world. She even mentions her grades in the real world means she has no chance of university, unlike the Pleasantville Fifties America. > > Would any poster here prefer the world of an old sitcom to live in? Depends on the sitcom and whether I am a lead character. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/4 "2017-05-12T17:01:55Z")
> [@Princess\_Perfume](#): > > Would any poster here prefer the world of an old sitcom to live in? Not _Hogan’s Heros,_ that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/5 "2017-05-12T17:03:43Z")
_Petticoat Junction_, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/6 "2017-05-12T17:04:01Z")
I did live in that world. Suburbs, stay-at-home-mom, walked to school, restricted to one hour of TV every day, ate dinner every evening in the dining room with my parents, my mother made breakfast for me every day _through college graduation._ There are some things about it I would gladly go back to. No, life was not great for everyone, I realize that. Just answering the question. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/7 "2017-05-12T17:06:27Z")
I did live in one. I was a little older than Beaver, graduating high school in 1956. I wouldn’t have wanted it to be any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/8 "2017-05-12T17:20:52Z")
Since many old sitcoms gave an idealized, clean, peaceful, unrealistic view of the world, I’m sure that many of them would be a better place to live. (If forced to live in one, I’d probably go with _Andy Griffith_.) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/9 "2017-05-12T17:23:30Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Since many old sitcoms gave an idealized, clean, peaceful, unrealistic view of the world, I’m sure that many of them would be a better place to live. (If forced to live in one, I’d probably go with _Andy Griffith_.) Good choice. Things aren’t too zany there. You can drive up to Raleigh or Mt. Pilot when you want a little excitement. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/10 "2017-05-12T17:38:59Z")
I could go for the surreal world of Hooterville in Green Acres. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/11 "2017-05-12T17:47:46Z")
I’d go for _Leave It To Beaver_ because Larry Mondello would be a fun goofy friend. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/12 "2017-05-12T17:52:41Z")
Time-traveling with _Blackadder_ could be interesting, or the _Red Dwarf_ spaceship. Working in an office in Slough or Scranton, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/13 "2017-05-12T18:01:03Z")
Depending on what you mean by classic era… M_A_S\*H, no. Beverly Hillbillies, no. Gilligan’s Island,… no. I Dream of Jeannie… Okay, we could be on to something, here. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/14 "2017-05-12T18:14:19Z")
I’ve often thought I’d love to live in Mayberry. Or New Rochelle in the early 60s. My 3 Sons, Beaver, Brady Bunch - they had pretty nice lives IMO. Guess all would be less appealing if I weren’t a white male… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/15 "2017-05-12T19:05:32Z")
I, too, grew up in Sitcomville™. Imagine Dennis the Menace being raised by a dad with Archie Bunker’s politics (but Dick Van Dyke’s humor), and a June Cleaver mom. It was so comfy, I had to force myself to move out and into PrimeTimeville™ instead. Ended up in a family more like Malcolm in the Middle (or Roseanne), working at St. Elsewhere with the cast of Scrubs, and had kids who are more like Freaks and Geeks. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/16 "2017-05-12T19:17:18Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > I’d go for _Leave It To Beaver_ because Larry Mondello would be a fun goofy friend. Just imagine gettin’ all up in that June Cleaver! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/17 "2017-05-12T19:36:11Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’ve often thought I’d love to live in Mayberry. Or New Rochelle in the early 60s. > > My 3 Sons, Beaver, Brady Bunch - they had pretty nice lives IMO. But where are you going to shit? ---
**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:** [May 12, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/18 "2017-05-12T21:42:04Z")
I think Rob and Laura Petrie would be great as neighbors. Ditto Bob and Emily Hartley. On the other hand I couldn’t possibly keep up with the Huxtables. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/19 "2017-05-12T22:01:43Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I Dream of Jeannie… > > Okay, we could be on to something, here. My first thought. This is a world with freakin’ genies and astronauts. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462/20 "2017-05-12T22:21:41Z")
I grew up in one of those worlds. But bear in mind that behind the picket fences and perfect lawns, life was not like it appeared on tv. There were things in my childhood that I’d never want to return to. In some respects, the American Dream was a nightmare. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-choose-to-live-in-a-classic-era-sitcom-world/786462.md?page=2)