MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO PRESENTS, THE: THE FUNNIEST FAMILIES OF TELEVISION COMEDY (TV)
Summary
This special, produced by The Museum of Television & Radio, examines the funniest families in television history. Hosted by Faith Ford of "Hope and Faith," this special opens by discussing why television so consistently chooses to view the family in such a comedic light. The program is divided into several loosely grouped segments, each featuring the comments of actors and clips from beloved sitcoms.
In the first segment, regarding the issue of raising children, Frankie Muniz discusses the rascally youth on his show "Malcolm in the Middle," while Florence Henderson discusses the apples of her character Carol Brady's eye on "The Brady Bunch." While everyone agrees that the Brady Bunch was the near-perfect family, the other end of the spectrum is discussed by Katey Sagal, who played mother Peg Bundy to the miscreant children and an apathetic husband on "Married with Children."
In the next segment, on the "birds and the bees," Topher Grace of "That 70's Show" discusses how his sitcom chose to broach the subject. John Ritter (in one of the last television appearances recorded before his death) looks at the issue in regards to his sitcom "8 Simple Rules."
In the next segment, on first kisses, Tim Allen details how the issue was handled on his show "Home Improvement," while Jaleel White examines how "The Cosby Show" tackled the subject matter and Bernie Mac looks at the issue in regards to his "The Bernie Mac Show." In the next segment, on sibling rivalry, Henderson, Ray Romano, and Muniz examine the spats between brothers on such shows as "Frasier," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Leave it to Beaver," and "Malcolm in the Middle." Then Ford examines a sticky little argument which she and her costar Kelly Ripa got into on their show "Hope and Faith." The numerous sibling rivalries on "Roseanne" are also detailed.
In the next segment, on conjugal spats (and bliss), Jim Belushi examines the sometimes loving, sometimes fiery relationship with his TV wife on "According to Jim." The Buckmans' relationship on "Mad About You" is also examined by Romano and Henderson. Marion Ross looks at the more old-fashioned relationship between the spouses on "Happy Days."
The next segment, on prenatal panic, has Rob Reiner talking about a legendary scene from "The Dick Van Dyke Show" while Carol Burnett makes a surprise appearance in the hospital room on "Mad About You." The next segment looks at family dance performances as White looks at "The Cosby Show"'s frequent numbers. George Lopez looks at a dance number from his own show "George Lopez."
Next, a brief segment on extended families examines the non-related families from such shows as "Cheers," "Seinfeld," and "Taxi."
In the final segment, on the invasion of in-laws, Grace and Ross examine the grandson/grandmother relationship between their characters on "That 70's Show." Also, Lopez looks at the fiery relationship with his mother-in-law on his own sitcom. The show ends with numerous brief clips from the aforementioned shows' more hilarious moments. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: July 19, 2004 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:02:57
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:82831
- GENRE: Specials; Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 2004
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- John Watkin … Executive Producer, Producer, Director
- Eamon Harrington … Executive Producer, Director
- John Wolters … Executive Producer
- Stuart N. Brotman … Executive Producer
- Diane Lewis … Executive Producer
- Kate Harrington … Co-Producer
- Astral Finnie … Co-Producer
- Faith Ford … Host
- Tim Allen
- Jim Belushi
- Carol Burnett
- Topher Grace
- Florence Henderson
- George Lopez
- Bernie Mac
- Frankie Muniz
- Rob Reiner
- Kelly Ripa
- John Ritter
- Ray Romano
- Marion Ross
- Katey Sagal
- Dick Van Dyke
- Jaleel White