Watch My Wife and Kids. Funniest show on tv right now IMHO

I really like That 70's Show, but That 80's Show is every bit as bad as I expected it to be. Ever since I saw the first trailer, the only words that came to mind were "What in the world were they thinking?"

what the heck were they thinking. BAD IDEA.

The laugh track was so frustrating. It kept coming on during the setups for joke. And Enterprise was excellent tonight.

Matt

With 29 posts in here I was just going to keep my mouth shut, but how can I resist that?

Laugh track was insulting as always, annoyingly distractive and relentless. The "comedy" was forced, and FOX's marketing campaign of bombarding us with ads sure didn't help.

But for a redeeming quality: Roger made me laugh. He has good comic timing, and with good writing could be a decent character. And I like the fact that that Katie chick was always a little tipsy. Somehow that made me chuckle. And Tuesday is hot.

But, yeah, I spent most of the half-hour thinking how bad this show is. I will give it another episode or two (why not? it's not like I watch anything else), but I imagine the overpromotion of this show and lackluster performance of the premiere episode will kill it regardless of whether it improves or not.

das

This show has none of the spirit of "That 70's Show".

"That 80's Show" is a soundtrack-driven series that relies on "it's funny in retrospect" gags, devout of any real characters or scenarios. It is full of cliched characters that allow them to tap into every joke that makes the 80s seem naieve.

"That 70's Show" is full of much more realistic characters, most of whom don't fall into individual cliches, but instead, remind people who grew up in that decade what it was like to hang out with their friends.

It amazes me that a group of writers can put these things on paper and consider them funny.
I hate to be too hard on just this show, though, because I really feel like only 5% of television sitcoms are even watchable, let alone entertaining.

(haha, "That Cancelled Show", good one!!!)

- Mike

I agree for the most part. However I'm completely biased toward "Roger". "Roger" is played by an actor by the name of Eddie Shin and he actually went to my church back in Chicago. I was never a close friend of his (he's a few years older) but our whole church and his friends back home are all cheering him on. It's one of those funny kid makes his dream as an actor come true kinda deals. I know he can't read this, but he was honestly the funniest part of the whole show.

Wow, this pilot was actually as bad as the promos made it look. Worst Pilot Ever! I salute you.

I knew it!!!

There was nothing likable about this show. The characters were annoying, the jokes were predictable and the plots were recycled so many times they were old back in the 80's.

Hopefully this will leave the air soon.

That '70s Show isn't funny because of when its set, it's funny because of the characters and the stories. Surely the '80s folks must realize that, maybe they're just setting the hook with us self-absorbed children of the '80s ... lure us in with all the easy gags, then get on with the funny business.

I hope so. All the jokes in the promos came from the pilot episode, so either they're saving the good stuff or that's all they've got...

Sorry to say, but this was so bad I had to turn it off and watch Illinois beat the crap out of Wisconsin. It was at least semi tolerable.

yea.. what WAS with that laugh track during the dancing.... an ACCIDENT?

More than likely we were all supposed to be laughing along with it at the 80's dancing styles. Yet another part of the show that was not all that funny.

Flame me if you want, but I think this show has potential. That 70's Show wasn't funny at first, and neither was Seinfeld. They didn't get their comic timing down until several episodes into the season. And Buffy's Scooby gang, which has had impeccable comic timing since season 2, was not nearly as funny season 1 - they waited a beat too long or spoke a beat too fast. Of course, with Buffy the writing was incredible, so it was much easier to let them have time to fully embrace fantastic comic timing.

With That 80's Show, the jokes were a bit predictable but amusing sometimes, especially the stuff that I remember from the 80's, like Dynasty shots. Yes, my friends actually did that! And someone being all high and mighty about how "punk" they were...when "true" punk was over by then. And don't even get me started on how funny the clothes were to me - we SO wore those hideous things! So I found a lot of it funny because I saw it happen once upon a time - and nostalgia goes a long way with me. That laugh track was HORRENDOUS, though, and should be banished forever. (though starting in the dance sequence, my boyfriend and I chose to view it as a 70's/80's sitcom laugh track like in Three's Company or The Jeffersons, so it seemed funnier that way - you know, laugh track at all the wrong times, so the track itself becomes a joke).

I honestly see potential in this show, and hope that the writing and comic timing improves to where it would be genuinely funny (like That 70's Show).

WarriorPrincess, I have to disagree.

The first episode of Seinfeld was pretty funny, although Kramer was a bit too creepy. The first episode of 70's Show was also pretty funny.

The main difference between the 70's and 80's Shows is that the 70's is just a natural part of the environment for that show. It does add residual humor oocassionally, but it also has good writing and a good cast with storylines and humor that make it interesting to watch.

That 80's Show has none of that. It has worn out stereotypes, uninspired writing and the 80's are not the environment that the show is set in, it is the single humorless beat to death joke that just keeps running.

The idea behind 70's Show was that you could put it next to a show from the 70's, and it would look the same, the only difference being that it actually dealt with real issues on the show. It was supposed to be a modern sitcom, but one that happened to be set in the 70's.

With the 80's Show that doesn't work. It spends more time trying unsuccessfully to be witty and poke fun of the 80's than it is trying to get the characters to believably live in the 80's. That 70's Show does it seemlessly, That 80's Show does not.

Lastly, unless I'm watching a different show, BTVS (while funny at times) is not supposed to be a comedy.

Sorry ... That 70's Show did the same thing. The first 2 or 3 episodes relied on the 70's crutch way too much. Over time, and quickly, it became a much broader show, but it didn't start off that way, IMO.

das

Not in the same way as the 80's show did. That 80's Show was a lot more gratuitous, IMHO. There wasn't some guy in That 70's Show going, "Hey look, I've got a 70's device everyone, look how exciting and technologically advanced it is!" (Guy in bar on Motorola phone.) Everything was much more subtle and natural.

das, you probably didn't even see the show did you?

You know me ... I'm too busy doing "cool" things to waste my time watching TV all day.

das

I was going to post an opinion about this, but it appears my sentiments are well represented by most of the other posts in this thread.

"Ed" rules!

Actually, I assumed you not only watched it air, but TiVo'ed it as well. You have possibly watched it twice already, or will watch it again if today's Xena turns out to be a bad show and you're going to be picking up a new tape later to archive it on. How far from the truth I am, I do not want to know.

Nope ... you don't ...

das

Wow, after reading these reviews, I'm almost sorry I skipped it. If something's that bad, my morbid curiousity kicks in. Kind of how I had no interest in seeing Battlefield Earth until it was named the worst movie of the century.

I did not think it was that bad at all. I don't recall any of the characters names but I really liked the drunk/kissed girl, really liked the japanese kid, and the record store owner lady. I did not like her son, the father or the punk chick. There was potential there for the punk chick but they went and brought up a romance notion between her and record store ladies son, not funny at all and too much time was wasted on that and the son's career choice. I really thought the skit with the being kissed thing was funny especailly when the japanese kid kept asking "were you in the shower together?" etc. I don't think any of them has a strong enough personality like that 70s show characters do. I'll watch it again and hope it gets better. I'm also really wondering why no valley girls. The punk chick should have spoke like gag me with a spoon okay.

Not impressed, but as said before the entire episode was basically shown in the promos. I know that can't help, so we'll see. Tuesday is hot though