when sitcoms go serious

The bar for sitcoms is set pretty low.

Television audiences tune in for a chuckle every week. They watch familiar characters bumble through situations that expose their foibles. The formula is repeated week after week, show after show. The very word "sitcom" is short for situational comedy, so by definition these shows typically do not tackle serious material.

When they do make that rare venture into the serious side of life, wow, what a treat.

Very often, it is a signal the show is approaching the end of its run, or, if you want to use a cliche, "jumping the shark". But there are those episodes where Asaad Kelada's and Alan Thicke's of the world pull off the feat of producing compelling, emotional drama in a half-hour of television. Sometimes they are bad and good in the same episode.

So whether these are merely guilty pleasures of mine or actually good television, I have no idea. Below is a list of the top-five most memorable times that sitcoms have gone serious.


1. All In The Family. "Edith's 50th birthday" episode. Aired Oct. 16, 1977.

It's hard to lump AITF into the sitcom genre, because it did such a good job of exposing the taboos of an old society nonetheless common in everyday life, and showing the societal schism between baby boomers and their parents. But I digress...

Edith Bunker is nearly raped by a man posing as a detective. Aside from the obvious question of who would want to rape television's lovable dingbat, this bold episode is hilarious while, at the same time, probably the first show to address such a sensitive subject. It's hilarious because Edith asks the intruder "Wouldn't you rather have coffee?" after he has made his intentions known. At the end, you can't help but want to cheer when she smashes her burning birthday cake into the phony detective's grill.

2. Family Ties. "My Name Is Alex" episode. Aired March 12, 1987.

It's hard to include a Family Ties episode, because each one really had a heavy-handed moralistic lesson at the end. Nonetheless...

Alex rejects his friend Greg's request that he help him move a friend's piano. Greg is promptly killed in a car accident en route to moving said piano. Alex is racked with guilt because he should have been in the car with his best friend, who strangely, we have never met before this episode.

The scene at the psychiatrist's office clinches this episode's place on the top five, if only for the moment APK deduces that two dimes, a quarter and three pennies have been dropped by the shrink. Even if this show takes a simple-minded look at the "why are we here" question -- the script offers so many cliches, it was probably written by Mallory -- it offers genuine emotion.

This would also be a good time to remember when Tom Hanks made an excellent guest appearance as Elise Keaton's crazy drunk of a brother.

3. WKRP in Cincinnati. "In Concert" episode. Aired Feb. 11, 1980.

Baby, have you ever wondered ... wondered whatever became of those kids trampled at Riverfront Stadium.

WKRP does a tremendous job turning this episode around a little more than two months after 11 kids were stampeded to death during The Who concert on Dec. 3, 1979 in their very own 'Nati.

The first half of this episode shows the excitement and fervor gearing up for the big show. The second half reflects the reactions of the grieving staff, including a somber Johnny Fever, who had given tickets away for this very event. Considering they used a real-life event so effectively, this should probably be higher on my list.

Two random points: 1) Even as a young child when this show aired, I understood that Bailey Quarters was far hotter than Loni Anderson. 2) During this series, WKRP often refers to Mayor Springer, who is none other than Jerry Springer, the honest-to-God, one-time Mayor of the 'Nati.

4. All In The Family. "The Draft Dodger" episode. Aired Dec. 25, 1976.

Another powerful episode from Norman Lear that comes at the height of the nation's angst over the Vietnam War. Gloria and Mike's draft-dodging friend stops by for Christmas dinner. Archie invites Pinky Peterson, who has just lost his son in the 'Nam, for the same meal.

The episode reaches its predictable crescendo with the backgrounds of the two guests exposed during dinner. Carroll O'Conner delivers a fiery performance while skeweing the draft-dodging David, but is stunned into silence when Pinky shakes David's hand.

Nothing on television has come close to summing up Vietnam the way this episode did.

5. The Brady Bunch. "Bobby's Hero" episode. Aired Feb. 2, 1973.

Mike and Carol Brady are called to meet with young Bobby's teacher after it is revealed he has developed a fascination for outlaw Jesse James. In his typical father-knows-best fashion, Mike Brady has Bobby meet with 90-year-old Jethroe Collins (played by Burt Mustin), whose father was killed by Jesse James during a stick-up.

Later that night, Bobby dreams his family's train his hijacked by a vengeful James, who guns down the Brady family using a mint-colored gun and yelling "bang, bang." Bobby wakes up crying, and the lesson has been learned. Root for the good guys, not the bad apples.