THE ONE WHERE EVERYBODY LOVES FRIENDS
May 11, 2018 2:23 PM Subscribe
Can You Guess Your State’s Favorite Sitcom from the ’90s?
The sitcom is a dated art form—but that doesn’t stop America from gobbling it up. Deadpan, laugh tracks, and family feuds still show up in many of our TV choices, thanks to our collective nostalgia for the 1990s.
The sitcom is a dated art form—but that doesn’t stop America from gobbling it up. Deadpan, laugh tracks, and family feuds still show up in many of our TV choices, thanks to our collective nostalgia for the 1990s.
I've had only Netflix and broadcast TV for the last several years, and besides Seinfeld, which I will always like and liked before it even premiered, Drew Carey is definitely the best of the syndicated lot over that time.
Step By Step, are you kidding, Pennsylvania? There is a dregs of syndicated sitcoms that includes that show, "Yes, Dear," whatever that Brad Garrett show was. Not even formulaic, just...plastic.
Simpsons for California, I'll take it.
posted by rhizome at 2:31 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Step By Step, are you kidding, Pennsylvania? There is a dregs of syndicated sitcoms that includes that show, "Yes, Dear," whatever that Brad Garrett show was. Not even formulaic, just...plastic.
Simpsons for California, I'll take it.
posted by rhizome at 2:31 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I was like, "Huh, I wonder if I can - oh, of course it's Frasier."
Reader, it was Frasier.
Yeah, right, with his imaginary apartment view from 300 feet in the air above the south slope of Queen Anne Hill ? We so buy into that here.
Would rather have The 70's Show, really. Better drugs.
posted by y2karl at 2:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Reader, it was Frasier.
Yeah, right, with his imaginary apartment view from 300 feet in the air above the south slope of Queen Anne Hill ? We so buy into that here.
Would rather have The 70's Show, really. Better drugs.
posted by y2karl at 2:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Not saying it should have been Frasier. But it was obviously going to be Frasier.
posted by potrzebie at 2:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by potrzebie at 2:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
my favourite part is how they used leopard print to represent the nanny
posted by poffin boffin at 2:45 PM on May 11, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 2:45 PM on May 11, 2018 [19 favorites]
I came here to guess Illinois correctly, and I did.
posted by lagomorphius at 2:54 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by lagomorphius at 2:54 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seinfeld. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
posted by Melismata at 2:57 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 2:57 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm surprised by Oklahoma.
posted by elsietheeel at 2:58 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by elsietheeel at 2:58 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Who would've guessed that all the times Republicans have warned us about the evils of the Nanny state, they were actually talking about Louisiana and Florida?
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 3:02 PM on May 11, 2018 [19 favorites]
I was never really a sitcom person. I mildly enjoyed Seinfeld, Frasier, Drew Carey, and Will & Grace at the time, but it's stunning to me how poorly they've aged in general.
My wife loves both Everybody Loves Raymond and Home Improvement, and streams them both in roughly equal proportions to whatever TV is nearest her almost every day via our media center and ripped DVDs, but neither of us have apparently lived anywhere near where they're considered popular. She's from one of the Simpsons zones, I'm from the one and only state that apparently went for Full House, and we now live where Fresh Prince is the show du jour.
If only it went to before the '90s, so M*A*S*H could be on this list...
Also, I wonder if there is there a version of this, but for Sci-Fi. I'd love to see what states went for, say, TNG versus SG-1.
posted by mystyk at 3:12 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
My wife loves both Everybody Loves Raymond and Home Improvement, and streams them both in roughly equal proportions to whatever TV is nearest her almost every day via our media center and ripped DVDs, but neither of us have apparently lived anywhere near where they're considered popular. She's from one of the Simpsons zones, I'm from the one and only state that apparently went for Full House, and we now live where Fresh Prince is the show du jour.
If only it went to before the '90s, so M*A*S*H could be on this list...
Also, I wonder if there is there a version of this, but for Sci-Fi. I'd love to see what states went for, say, TNG versus SG-1.
posted by mystyk at 3:12 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Connecticut is a lot more Indiana-shaped than my maps led me to believe.
posted by Ufez Jones at 3:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Ufez Jones at 3:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Step By Step, are you kidding, Pennsylvania? There is a dregs of syndicated sitcoms that includes that show, "Yes, Dear," whatever that Brad Garrett show was. Not even formulaic, just...plastic.
I have no memory of that show at all. I just googled it and somehow a Brady Bunch retread staring Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers ran for 160 episodes on network TV?
posted by octothorpe at 3:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
I have no memory of that show at all. I just googled it and somehow a Brady Bunch retread staring Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers ran for 160 episodes on network TV?
posted by octothorpe at 3:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
THE SETTING OF FRAISER DOESN'T EVEN REMOTELY RESEMBLE SEATTLE.
posted by Artw at 3:16 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:16 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Surprised by the weak Seinfeld showing. Also surprised by their chosen icon; why no puffy shirt, cereal box, marble rye, Junior Mint, or thing that rhymes with "Delores".
posted by peeedro at 3:18 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 3:18 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Step by Step was part of the TGIF lineup. They kept putting it adjacent to Family Matters and Dinosaurs and stuff, I guess to try and get more viewers or something? It was indeed a retread of the Brady Bunch with a low-rent Fonzie thrown in, and even as a kid I felt like I was being tricked into watching it.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 3:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 3:23 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
a Brady Bunch retread staring Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers ran for 160 episodes on network TV?
It is bad. Since I watch so much broadcast and syndication is 99% ruled by Chuck Lorre and Seth MacFarlane, the others that slip through into a network's schedule really stand out. For better or worse. Step by Step is probably the currently-syndicated show that most closely resembles Horsin' Around.
posted by rhizome at 3:24 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
It is bad. Since I watch so much broadcast and syndication is 99% ruled by Chuck Lorre and Seth MacFarlane, the others that slip through into a network's schedule really stand out. For better or worse. Step by Step is probably the currently-syndicated show that most closely resembles Horsin' Around.
posted by rhizome at 3:24 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
There were a lot more shows represented than I would have guessed. I would have said, okay, the map is obviously a roughly even three way split between Seinfeld, Friends, and Fresh Prince.
Roseanne and Frasier are inclusions I can understand (and the Simpsons seems like a cheater option, but okay), but I would never have guessed that there was a single state that would support Home Improvement or the Nanny over all the other options.
I grew up during the heyday of these shows and literally the only one I can stomach watching reruns of is Roseanne. I don't know what it is that causes it to have aged better than the rest. Maybe just my increasing class sensitivity.
posted by 256 at 3:25 PM on May 11, 2018
Roseanne and Frasier are inclusions I can understand (and the Simpsons seems like a cheater option, but okay), but I would never have guessed that there was a single state that would support Home Improvement or the Nanny over all the other options.
I grew up during the heyday of these shows and literally the only one I can stomach watching reruns of is Roseanne. I don't know what it is that causes it to have aged better than the rest. Maybe just my increasing class sensitivity.
posted by 256 at 3:25 PM on May 11, 2018
The Simpsons for California makes sense. Recall that creator Matt Groening came up with the title of his comic strip, Life in Hell, shortly after he moved to Los Angeles.
posted by SPrintF at 3:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by SPrintF at 3:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh, and also, I'm very surprised by the absence of Too Many Cooks.
posted by 256 at 3:31 PM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by 256 at 3:31 PM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
See, The Simpson’s being set in Washington State would totally make sense, we’ve totally got towns like that, reactors and all.
Unlike Fraiser and it’s bizarre east coast shit.
posted by Artw at 3:32 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Unlike Fraiser and it’s bizarre east coast shit.
posted by Artw at 3:32 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
low-rent Fonzie
He was more like a pot-head Fonzie
I remember he lived in his van
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:34 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
He was more like a pot-head Fonzie
I remember he lived in his van
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:34 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Wisconsin's was no surprise: That '70s Show as I confidently predicted. Wisconsin seems to have a disproportionate share of sit-com settings; the article attributes Wisconsin's choice to the fact that That '70s Show takes place in the Badger State, as does Step by Step, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and many more.
posted by carmicha at 3:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 3:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I think their methodology is BS. Friends is supposedly #1 in Colorado, but if you search Google trends, Colorado is behind 31 other states. Whereas if you search for Frasier, it's #13.
posted by AFABulous at 3:42 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by AFABulous at 3:42 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Did they even cite a source? I'm pretty sure this is just bullshit.
What even counts as a 90s show? They've got shows that premiered in 1999 and primarily aired in the 00s like That 70s Show, but they also have shows like Fresh Prince that premiered in 1989. If it just had to be partially in the 90s, why doesn't Cheers make the grade? Family Matters, but not Perfect Strangers?
posted by explosion at 3:47 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
What even counts as a 90s show? They've got shows that premiered in 1999 and primarily aired in the 00s like That 70s Show, but they also have shows like Fresh Prince that premiered in 1989. If it just had to be partially in the 90s, why doesn't Cheers make the grade? Family Matters, but not Perfect Strangers?
posted by explosion at 3:47 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
THE SETTING OF FRAISER DOESN'T EVEN REMOTELY RESEMBLE SEATTLE.
I always assumed Frasier was set in Seattle because NBC was trying to cash in on that newfangled grunge fad all the kids were into. (Sadly, in its entire run we were never given so much as a measly cameo appearance by Mudhoney.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:00 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
I always assumed Frasier was set in Seattle because NBC was trying to cash in on that newfangled grunge fad all the kids were into. (Sadly, in its entire run we were never given so much as a measly cameo appearance by Mudhoney.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:00 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Virginia, California, and Oregon for The Simpsons. One of these things is not like the others.
posted by COD at 4:01 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by COD at 4:01 PM on May 11, 2018
Ohio's preference is almost entirely, I guarantee you, based on "oh hey remember when Hollywood actually knew anything about Cleveland". There've been a couple shows set in Ohio, I vaguely recall, but a lot of things, like--Glee being set in a Lima, Ohio that apparently looks and feels exactly like Los Angeles? I have so, so many problems with Drew Carey as a person and as a show, but one of the things I really strongly remember was how it seemed like Drew's house on that show actually looked like the houses of people I knew. Dumb stuff like that.
posted by Sequence at 4:05 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Sequence at 4:05 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Virginia, California, and Oregon for The Simpsons. One of these things is not like the others.
The California state flag has a professional white background?
posted by peeedro at 4:09 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
The California state flag has a professional white background?
posted by peeedro at 4:09 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
The only two states I've lived in are NY and MA, and I've yet to see an entire episode of Seinfeld. Who are the stats wizards who came up with this one?
posted by pracowity at 4:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by pracowity at 4:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
New Yorkers like Seinfeld? Get OUT!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:11 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
some of us only care about the nanny
posted by poffin boffin at 4:18 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 4:18 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
I had never even heard of Step by Step.
Also, Friends, Colorado, really?!
YYYUUUUCCCCKKKK.
posted by evilDoug at 4:19 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also, Friends, Colorado, really?!
YYYUUUUCCCCKKKK.
posted by evilDoug at 4:19 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
People choose their sitcoms based on how close to home they are? Really?
posted by ardgedee at 4:19 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by ardgedee at 4:19 PM on May 11, 2018
New Yorkers like Seinfeld? Get OUT!
Never watched Seinfeld until I moved from New York to Chicago.
posted by lagomorphius at 4:23 PM on May 11, 2018
Never watched Seinfeld until I moved from New York to Chicago.
posted by lagomorphius at 4:23 PM on May 11, 2018
I would never have guessed that there was a single state that would support Home Improvement or the Nanny over all the other options.
Home Improvement I haven't seen in my listings for a long time, but that has to be regional. The Nanny came back just this year after probably 10 years off.
And yeah, it's striking how many popular sitcoms are sited in the Midwest.
posted by rhizome at 4:34 PM on May 11, 2018
Home Improvement I haven't seen in my listings for a long time, but that has to be regional. The Nanny came back just this year after probably 10 years off.
And yeah, it's striking how many popular sitcoms are sited in the Midwest.
posted by rhizome at 4:34 PM on May 11, 2018
Frasier has a weird amount of love from millennials on my social media. I don't get it, but I shrug. I wonder how many of them ever watched Cheers?
posted by emjaybee at 4:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by emjaybee at 4:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
THE SETTING OF FRAISER DOESN'T EVEN REMOTELY RESEMBLE SEATTLE.
Right? As if there has ever been a coffee shop in Seattle. Puh-leeez! And swanky condos? I don’t think so!
But seriously, what’s that old quote about everyone only being aware of the socioeconomic classes directly above and below their own? There are many rich a-holes in Seattle. Bill and Maris Gates weren’t born philanthropists, you know.
also that’s not how you spell frasier ok bye
posted by Sys Rq at 4:46 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Right? As if there has ever been a coffee shop in Seattle. Puh-leeez! And swanky condos? I don’t think so!
But seriously, what’s that old quote about everyone only being aware of the socioeconomic classes directly above and below their own? There are many rich a-holes in Seattle. Bill and Maris Gates weren’t born philanthropists, you know.
also that’s not how you spell frasier ok bye
posted by Sys Rq at 4:46 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
MILENNIALS KILLED "COACH" RERUNS
posted by thelonius at 4:48 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 4:48 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Everyone secretly loves Frasier.
I'm currently in the middle of a rewatch myself.
posted by elsietheeel at 4:49 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm currently in the middle of a rewatch myself.
posted by elsietheeel at 4:49 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
THE SETTING OF FRAISER DOESN'T EVEN REMOTELY RESEMBLE SEATTLE.
Neither does Seattle.
And we may have smarmy pretentious fops but not that smarmy, not that foppish.
But pretensions ? To the moon, Alice, to the moon.
posted by y2karl at 4:56 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Neither does Seattle.
And we may have smarmy pretentious fops but not that smarmy, not that foppish.
But pretensions ? To the moon, Alice, to the moon.
posted by y2karl at 4:56 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
less Frasier-splaining,
more Frasier Crane-ing
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:57 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
more Frasier Crane-ing
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:57 PM on May 11, 2018 [8 favorites]
Huh. I lived in Florida throughout the 90s and I've never seen an episode of The Nanny.
Hmm. Or the Simpsons, for that matter.
[ checks list legend ]
Ahh, I've never seen ANY of those shows.
[ flashes peace sign ]
I guess I'm out.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:17 PM on May 11, 2018
Hmm. Or the Simpsons, for that matter.
[ checks list legend ]
Ahh, I've never seen ANY of those shows.
[ flashes peace sign ]
I guess I'm out.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:17 PM on May 11, 2018
that’s not how you spell frasier
You're right, it's "Frajer". And I would know. I'm Frajer.
posted by tobascodagama at 5:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
You're right, it's "Frajer". And I would know. I'm Frajer.
posted by tobascodagama at 5:30 PM on May 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
is fraiser your fraisersona bc i think mine is a cross between niles and eddie
posted by poffin boffin at 5:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 5:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
For the love of Topanga, why did they have to pick a color for Rhode Island that was so damn similar to Connecticut? Seriously, makers of color coded maps, give us a bright contrasting color.
posted by Ruki at 5:48 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Ruki at 5:48 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Boy Meets World isn’t even a real thing! But, then, neither is Rhode Island.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:03 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:03 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
A Rhode Island truther! I knew this day would come.
posted by thelonius at 6:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 6:14 PM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]
The best part of Frasier is everything other than Frasier himself.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:13 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:13 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Frasier is my favorite show about a bickering gay couple.
posted by rhizome at 8:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 8:39 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm Frajer, and so is my wife!
posted by mwhybark at 9:21 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mwhybark at 9:21 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
What I love about these discussions is how I completely disagree about which shows have aged well or badly. And there are half a dozen shows on that list I didn't know anyone really watched. I think I was too old.
I've watched a fair amount of old shows in the last few months when I was stuck without cable (side band digital TV is awesome!). I always remembered liking the Drew Carey Show, and it doesn't suck, but watching it now man is it really uneven. And reading up on it it appears I've only seen what are considered the good seasons. It was really just the cast holding it together.
I was informed my some young relatives lately that the kids are really into Friends. They tried to explain that it was because the characters lived this life that seemed unobtainable now. I gave them the tilty head and said "whaaaaaatt?" It's that thing of people thinking old media represents the reality of the time.
Am I the only one that liked Ellen? Watched that lately and thought it was still pretty good. And then looked it up and realized it ended over 20 years ago, and she's been doing the talk show for 15 years. Which proves none of this is real and my memories are implanted.
posted by bongo_x at 9:21 PM on May 11, 2018
I've watched a fair amount of old shows in the last few months when I was stuck without cable (side band digital TV is awesome!). I always remembered liking the Drew Carey Show, and it doesn't suck, but watching it now man is it really uneven. And reading up on it it appears I've only seen what are considered the good seasons. It was really just the cast holding it together.
I was informed my some young relatives lately that the kids are really into Friends. They tried to explain that it was because the characters lived this life that seemed unobtainable now. I gave them the tilty head and said "whaaaaaatt?" It's that thing of people thinking old media represents the reality of the time.
Am I the only one that liked Ellen? Watched that lately and thought it was still pretty good. And then looked it up and realized it ended over 20 years ago, and she's been doing the talk show for 15 years. Which proves none of this is real and my memories are implanted.
posted by bongo_x at 9:21 PM on May 11, 2018
Ooooklahoma, where the sitcom's showing us the Cranes
posted by mwhybark at 9:24 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by mwhybark at 9:24 PM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
I was informed my some young relatives lately that the kids are really into Friends.
Friends don't let friends watch Friends.
posted by y2karl at 9:54 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Friends don't let friends watch Friends.
posted by y2karl at 9:54 PM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yeah, what the hell, CT needs at least a LR-flip and a 90 degree clockwise rotation from IN, if your shape-cutting budget is low.
(and at least I don't love Raymond, so there)
posted by batter_my_heart at 12:50 AM on May 12, 2018
(and at least I don't love Raymond, so there)
posted by batter_my_heart at 12:50 AM on May 12, 2018
My main thing with Drew Carey is how much stuff seemed perfectly reasonable to be funny when I was in high school that now is like--wow, that show was meaner than I remembered it being, especially to women. Never so much so that I'd say anybody's wrong for liking it at all now, but, I mean, pretty early it started swinging for "sexual harassment lawsuits are likely to be bullshit" kind of stuff, and like Steve's cross-dressing was handled... what I'd call better than I would have expected for real-life Cleveland at the time that it came out, but I'm pretty sure I'd be horrified to rewatch those episodes now.
In general, I'm sometimes surprised how mean a lot of TV was when I was younger. See also: Zack Morris is Trash.
posted by Sequence at 1:39 AM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
In general, I'm sometimes surprised how mean a lot of TV was when I was younger. See also: Zack Morris is Trash.
posted by Sequence at 1:39 AM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
Boy Meets World isn’t even a real thing! But, then, neither is Rhode Island.
People forget the full title is Boy Meets World and Providence Plantations.
What are they actually measuring? Current rerun popularity? Among Dish subscribers only? I was a bit confused. I found the note that it was based on Google searches only after I googled Step by Step which I don't think I ever saw. So if it shows up in California next time you know why.
posted by mark k at 7:27 AM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
People forget the full title is Boy Meets World and Providence Plantations.
What are they actually measuring? Current rerun popularity? Among Dish subscribers only? I was a bit confused. I found the note that it was based on Google searches only after I googled Step by Step which I don't think I ever saw. So if it shows up in California next time you know why.
posted by mark k at 7:27 AM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
I always remembered liking the Drew Carey Show, and it doesn't suck, but watching it now man is it really uneven. And reading up on it it appears I've only seen what are considered the good seasons. It was really just the cast holding it together.
Here's what I remember about the Drew Carey show: it had a meh first season. For the second season, it went with a baller opening credit sequence set to Five O'Clock World and I really liked the show. In some subsequent season it went to Cleveland Rocks for the opening credits, and that made me feel like it was pandering to the city where it was set (in a way that a show like WKRP never seemed to) and I stopped watching somewhere after that.
That all I really recall from it is the opening credits sequence is perhaps the most telling thing, I guess.
posted by nubs at 7:58 AM on May 12, 2018
Here's what I remember about the Drew Carey show: it had a meh first season. For the second season, it went with a baller opening credit sequence set to Five O'Clock World and I really liked the show. In some subsequent season it went to Cleveland Rocks for the opening credits, and that made me feel like it was pandering to the city where it was set (in a way that a show like WKRP never seemed to) and I stopped watching somewhere after that.
That all I really recall from it is the opening credits sequence is perhaps the most telling thing, I guess.
posted by nubs at 7:58 AM on May 12, 2018
The best part about the Nanny is being a boy. I could live with that laugh.
posted by y2karl at 8:05 AM on May 12, 2018
posted by y2karl at 8:05 AM on May 12, 2018
Wow watching the Step by Step intro just now was a trip. I didn't remember a single thing about this show but I must've watched it a bunch of times as a kid because the theme tune and all the things that happened in the intro immediately came flooding back. Even after watching it though, I still remember nothing about the show or the characters.
posted by retrograde at 11:47 AM on May 12, 2018
posted by retrograde at 11:47 AM on May 12, 2018
All I really remember about Step By Step is that it was a pretty blatant Brady Bunch ripoff in which Patrick Duffy and Susanne Somers made out, like, constantly. (You know, for kids!) Oh, and they retooled the ersatz Alice role from a lady in a salon on the verandah to a dude in a van in the driveway.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:03 PM on May 12, 2018
posted by Sys Rq at 12:03 PM on May 12, 2018
Reading the descriptions here of Step By Step, and then watching the intro on YouTube, and 100% certain I have never heard of this or even seen it in the background anywhere. In fact it looks so ludicrous that I'm thinking I'm in some sort of social experiment, or the timeline is shifting. Because that's the kind of thing you would make up.
posted by bongo_x at 1:59 PM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 1:59 PM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
Virginia going Simpsons...mah state! And...who f'd with Nevada?
posted by umberto at 2:12 PM on May 12, 2018
posted by umberto at 2:12 PM on May 12, 2018
What are they actually measuring?
That was my question too. If it's Google searches, won't Friends get skewed by the fact that it's a common word? But then Friends would just be the most common in every state, wouldn't it?
But then they continue, "compared their search interest from 2004 to the present on Google Trends" so, it's not what's most popular in each state, but which had the greatest increase since 2004? But then is it an absolute increase or as a percentage of the original value?
Since it is Google Trends, it means I can look at things myself, and you can see Friends dwarfs most of these shows in every state but it's hard to say what percentage is fans of the show Friends and what percentage is just lonely. There is a visible peak in 2004 which coincides with the series finale so I wouldn't say the show is inconsequential to the results, but it is a word, I don't think it's all people searching for the show.
posted by RobotHero at 7:53 PM on May 12, 2018
That was my question too. If it's Google searches, won't Friends get skewed by the fact that it's a common word? But then Friends would just be the most common in every state, wouldn't it?
But then they continue, "compared their search interest from 2004 to the present on Google Trends" so, it's not what's most popular in each state, but which had the greatest increase since 2004? But then is it an absolute increase or as a percentage of the original value?
Since it is Google Trends, it means I can look at things myself, and you can see Friends dwarfs most of these shows in every state but it's hard to say what percentage is fans of the show Friends and what percentage is just lonely. There is a visible peak in 2004 which coincides with the series finale so I wouldn't say the show is inconsequential to the results, but it is a word, I don't think it's all people searching for the show.
posted by RobotHero at 7:53 PM on May 12, 2018
The Simpsons briefly peaks above Friends in 2007 which was when there was a Simpsons movie but I think that might be the only one on the list that ever beats it in sheer numbers.
posted by RobotHero at 7:58 PM on May 12, 2018
posted by RobotHero at 7:58 PM on May 12, 2018
UT is the only state where 3rd Rock ranks #1.
That might be the only positive data point I know about that state.
posted by she's not there at 9:29 PM on May 12, 2018
That might be the only positive data point I know about that state.
posted by she's not there at 9:29 PM on May 12, 2018
I caught an episode of Seinfeld recently, just the last few minutes. For some reason George promised everyone that came to Yankees stadium a fitted baseball cap, which is logistically impossible. To get the game cancelled, he has Jerry call in a bomb threat. From his own phone, in his apartment. With a rueful, almost bored shake of the head, 'the things I do for my idiot friend'. There was even a laugh track!
I sort of miss that you could wrap up a plotline with a full stop by making a terrorist threat in NY.
posted by adept256 at 11:49 PM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
I sort of miss that you could wrap up a plotline with a full stop by making a terrorist threat in NY.
posted by adept256 at 11:49 PM on May 12, 2018 [3 favorites]
it's hard to say what percentage is fans of the show Friends and what percentage is just lonely
You can filter the search results by category and subcategory, e.g. Arts & Entertainment > TV & Video.
posted by AFABulous at 10:26 AM on May 13, 2018
You can filter the search results by category and subcategory, e.g. Arts & Entertainment > TV & Video.
posted by AFABulous at 10:26 AM on May 13, 2018
UT is the only state where 3rd Rock ranks #1.
Makes sense. The leads basically go off into the Mormon afterlife in the end, right?
posted by Sys Rq at 12:03 PM on May 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
Makes sense. The leads basically go off into the Mormon afterlife in the end, right?
posted by Sys Rq at 12:03 PM on May 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
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Reader, it was Frasier.
posted by potrzebie at 2:29 PM on May 11, 2018 [11 favorites]