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WhenRobLoweRobsLowes t1_j291lbh wrote

One of the things you'd see with more viewing is that "Family Ties" has some interesting subtext between the hippie parents and the hardcore Republican eldest son. It's a fun twist on teenage rebellion and rejecting the beliefs of your parents, which typically goes in the other direction.

As awful as we learned Bill Cosby was over the years, "The Cosby Show" is still a strong contender in the family sitcom department. If you can separate the show from the man, it's a winner, but that's a big ask given the circumstances.

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Maninhartsford t1_j29377d wrote

I dunno if I'm alone here but I never really liked Cliff Huxtable. He seems to really hate his kids. I get that it's a shtick and he's there at the end of the day and all that, but his super stern "I'll literally murder you if you sit in my chair" thing rubs me the wrong way

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Lit-Up OP t1_j29445t wrote

> One of the things you'd see with more viewing is that "Family Ties" has some interesting subtext between the hippie parents and the hardcore Republican eldest son. It's a fun twist on teenage rebellion and rejecting the beliefs of your parents, which typically goes in the other direction.

I understand that's the premise, but doesn't that wear pretty thin over 7 seasons?

What concerns me about this genre is the blandness, the fake family love, minor disagreements resolved by morality talks. If that is rife I might need to avoid this genre. The whole reason I like Married With Children is it's edgy, fun. Given I didn't watch these shows when I was younger, I'm not getting the nostalgic comfort blanket effect which I presume is a big draw for people of a certain age.

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Maninhartsford t1_j297g6p wrote

You're gonna have to dig pretty hard to find 80s family sitcoms that don't fit this mold. Married with Children and The Simpsons were intentional mockeries of this because it was so widespread and being sick of the phony wholesomeness helped lay the groundwork for a lot of 90s cynicism

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veggie_saurus_rex t1_j297pec wrote

Yes it wears thin. I grew up with it (and similar shows). They are unwatchable now. They are highly formulaic in the way you describe.

There are a bunch of shows listed now in these comments but most of them are the same fluffy family formula. Someone suggested "Roseanne" and while I have not rewatched it since it aired, I suspect it's the only one worth viewing today. I'd probably like it more now that I am an adult.

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Roook36 t1_j298e2h wrote

Married Wirh Children was pretty unique for the 80s. I grew up during that time and not much else competes with it for edginess. The only show I can think of that got similar attention for being against the grain is The Simpsons but even that feels tame. Those were the two shows that seemed to get articles in newspapers about how upset mom and religious groups were. MwC was banned in my house.

You're just not going to find edgy network sitcoms from the 80s I don't think. There might be sketch shows like In Living Color that broke a lot of norms but network sitcoms were deep into family friendly stuff. Seinfeld kind of broke things out of that.

There's another show the creator of Married with Children did that has a very similar vibe called "Unhappily Ever After" but that came out in 1995.

You might have luck looking at paid cable comedies. But the only one that comes to mind is "Dream On" which aired in 1990

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jmsturm t1_j293ixp wrote

Just the 10 of Us

Rosanne

Alf

Who's the Boss

Silver Spoons

Kate & Allie

Mr Belvedere

Mama's Family

My Two Dads

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Plaingirl123 t1_j294g51 wrote

Rosanne and the Cosby show are my favs. They’re so different but similar in a way.

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OddScentedDoorknob t1_j297nmf wrote

The Cosby Show was easily the best 80s family sitcom. Family Ties was probably the next best, but I think the humor was more suited for the Reagan era.

Most family sitcoms were pretty episodic and you could watch any episode or miss any episode without losing much, so there's not really one you'd need to "commit to." Maybe Google the top 10 episodes of several sitcoms and watch those rather than try to binge whole series from start to finish like we often do nowadays.

If you want to watch one from start to finish, I think Roseanne had a bit more arc and character development over time, but I never saw the last few seasons, which I've heard were pretty bad.

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[deleted] t1_j291s7u wrote

[deleted]

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jmsturm t1_j292v5v wrote

Is that a Family Sitcom?

I love that show, but its not a Family Sitcom (meaning revolving around a family)

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Nobodycares2022 t1_j2993p8 wrote

Family Ties without a doubt.

Growing Pains

The Cosby Show

Family Matters

My Two Dads

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SRCinSLC t1_j29kaqx wrote

The Golden Girls & MR. BELVEDERE!!!

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burnabybambinos t1_j293hro wrote

Cosby dominated the 80s

Married with Children was not a hit, it was Fox's first sitcom, which made it different.

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jhudilluminati t1_j295h25 wrote

The Golden Girls,

Family Matters,

Punky Brewster,

Perfect Strangers,

Night Court,

A different World,

227,

Gimme a Break!,

Hey Dude,

Charles in Charge,

Doogie Howser,

Life Goes On,

Thea,

Good Morning Miss Bliss,

Threes A Crowd,

Murphy Brown,

Mork & Mindy,

Cheers,

The Facts of Life,

Different Strokes,

WKRP in Cincinnati,

The Wonder Years,

Garry Shandlings Show,

Taxi,

Newhart

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