The Sitcom Study

Ray Romano makes some questionable game-time decisions, Seinfeld spends some quality time in the stands with Newman, and Al Bundy sells his soul for a shot at playing in the big game... This week's trope is Going to the Superbowl! Here's what we're watching: Seinfeld S6 E12 "The Label Maker" Married with Children S11 E21 "Damn Bundys" The Simpsons S10 E12 "Sunday Cruddy Sunday" Everybody Loves Raymond S5 E13 "Superbowl"

Natalie and Tootie are plunged into bitter showbiz rivalry, Patty Duke dons the tiara of Cleopatra, and Mr. Moore's class goes together like ramma-lamma-lamma-ka-dingity-da-dinga-dong... This week's trope is School Plays! Here's what we're watching... The Patty Duke Show S1 E11 "The Actress" Facts of Life S3 E12 "Green Eyed Monster" Head of the Class S2 E7 "That'll Be The Day" Black-ish S1 E11 "Law of Attraction"

Frasier hits the road for the new millennium, Laverne and Shirley look for love at the dawn of the 1960s, and Paul Reiser brings time to a halt from the rooftops of Times Square... this week's trope is New Year's Eve plans gone wrong! Here's what we're watching: Laverne & Shirley S3 E12 "New Years Eve, 1959" Mad About You S4 E9 "New Years Eve" Frasier S7 E12 "RDWRER" How I Met Your Mother S1 E11 "The Limo"

The Seavers take in a dumpster-diving teen runaway, Zack Morris woos an underprivileged shopping mall employee, and Family Matters postulates that Santa is real and he's a scruffy man in Chicago... This week's trope is befriending the homeless for Christmas! Here's what we're watching: Barney Miller S8 E7 "Homeless" Growing Pains S2 E9 "The Kid" Saved By The Bell S3 E24-25 "Home For Christmas" Family Matters S6 E11 "Miracle on Elm St"

Celebrity guest stars abound as Charles meets Buddy's boozy sister, the Hey Dude ranch is soaked in beer and whiskey, and Alex P. Keaton learns the terrifying truth about his Uncle Ned... This week's trope is visits from alcoholic relatives! Here's what we're watching: Good Times S2 E13 "Sometimes There's No Bottom in the Bottle" Family Ties S2 E14 "Say Uncle" Charles in Charge S3 E14 "Bottle Baby" Hey Dude S3 E11 "Melody's Brother"

Hide your cats, this week we're revisiting all of our discussions of that rascally extraterrestrial Gordon Shumway and the mild-mannered family he lived with and terrorized, as well as testing our knowledge of the merry man from Melmac with a trivia quiz... It's time for the Alf mixtape! With segments from: Puppet-Based Sitcoms: S1 E1 "ALF" Run-ins with the Mafia: S3 E13 "Hideaway" Skydiving: S1 E9 "Jump" Earthquakes: S3 E25 "Shake, Rattle & Roll"

This week we're exploring the many lovably sarcastic characters played by the late great Matthew Perry both before and after his iconic role as Chandler on Friends... Could we BE any more excited to discuss this fascinating career? Here's what we're watching: Home Free S1 E1 "Pilot" Mr Sunshine S1 E1 "Episode #1.1" Go On S1 E1 "Pilot" The Odd Couple S1 E12 "The Audit Couple"

Richie Cunningham bobs for apples in a haunted house, Tim the Toolman Taylor busts up a juvenile bacchanal, and Step by Step boasts a record-setting gourd... This week's trope is Halloween Parties! Here's what we're watching: Happy Days S2 E6 "Haunted" Step by Step S4 E6 "Something Wild" Home Improvement S5 E6 "Let Them Eat Cake" Parks & Rec S4 E5 "Meet and Greet"

Corey and Topanga are stalked by a ghost-faced killer, Community's college goes full zombie, and Salute Your Shorts creates the most terrifying figure in all of recorded media... this week's trope is Horror Movie Parodies! Here's what we're watching: Salute Your Shorts S1 E2 "Ghost Story" Boy Meets World S5 E17 "And Then There Was Shawn" Community S2 E6 "Epidemiology" Blackish S3 E5 "The Purge"

Sanford fleas to Vegas, ALF nails his bed to the floor, and Nell Carter is marooned in a library with a deaf woman... this week's trope is Earthquakes! Here's what we're watching: Sanford & Son S5 E1 "Earthquake II" Gimme a Break S4 E19 "Earthquake" ALF S3 E25 "Shake, Rattle and Roll" Modern Family S2 E3 "Earthquake"

Clarissa Darling and Tina Belcher face pint-sized Lucifers, Mary Tyler Moore scrapes the bottom of the barrel, and the King of Queens gives his friends' kids and unintended lesson in fornication... this week's trope is Babysitting! Here's what we're watching: The Mary Tyler Moore Show S2 E18 "Baby Sitcom" Clarissa Explains it All S4 E12 "Babysitting" King of Queens S3 E9 "Twisted Sitters" Bob's Burgers S8 E4 "Sit Me Baby One More Time"

Tootie learns the facts of automatic transmission, Tia and Tamara light up the parking lot, and Reverend Jim gets his license by any means necessary... This week's trope is Learning to drive! Here's the lineup: Taxi S2 E3 "Reverend Jim: A Space Oddysey" The Facts of Life S7 E14 "Tootie Drives" Sister, Sister S2 E9 "Two For the Road" 8 Simple Rules S1 E4 "Wings" This is a good old fashioned RERUN! We'll be back with a new episode next week!  

This one's for the leches, the lotharios, and the ladies men... From sexed up friends and neighbors to local ne'er-do-wells and aging seductresses, we're counting down our most beloved sitcom horndogs!

Roseanne fudges the stats, Sheldon "becomes" the ball, and Jim Belushi communes with the gods of the lanes... this week's trope is Bowling! Here's what we're watching: The Flintstones S2 E24 "Fred Strikes Out" Roseanne S4 E14 "The Bowling Show" According to Jim S1 E8 "The Turkey Bowl" The Big Band Theory S3 E19 "The Wheaton Recurrence"

Larry and Balki hit the jackpot (or so they think), Geoffrey the butler burns his bridges, and Mama puts her fortune in the hands of a celebrity chicken... this week's trope is winning the lottery! Here's what we're watching: Perfect Strangers S4 E1 "The Lottery" Mama's Family S5 E15 "The Big Wheel" Fresh Prince of Bel-Air S3 E14 "Winner Takes Off" Malcolm & Eddie S1 E4 "Partnership of Fools"

From the coffee shop with Jerry and George to the oval office, we're breaking down the career of the most spongeworthy comic actor in town and her four very distinct sitcoms! Here's the lineup: Seinfeld S7 E9 "The Sponge" Watching Ellie S1 E1 "Pilot" New Adventures of Old Christine S1 E1 "Pilot" Veep S1 E1 "Fundraiser" This is a good old fashioned RERUN... We'll be back with a new episode next week!

Fran the Nanny searches for love on the high seas, the Designing Women meet an iconic maritime drag performer, and the gang from It's Always Sunny face the grim possibility of a watery demise... this week's trope is going on a cruise! Here's what we're watching: Designing Women S2 E8 "Cruising" The Nanny S3 E26 "Ship of Fran's" Hot in Cleveland S3 E2 "Beards" It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S11 E9-10 "The Gang Goes to Hell" Parts 1 & 2

Beaver cuts the grass, Screech disrupts the spaghetti sauce market, and iCarly disregards child labor laws... This week's trope is Kids starting a business!  Here's the lineup: Leave it to Beaver S4 E36 "Beaver Goes Into Business" The Patty Duke Show S1 E18 "The Tycoons" Saved by the Bell S4 E3 "Screech's Spaghetti Sauce" iCarly S4 E4 "iSell Penny Tees" This is a good old fashioned RERUN! We'll be back with a new episode next week!

This week, Alex P. Keaton's middle name is Podcast as we revisit four of our past discussions of the legendary 80s sitcom Family Ties, including a rendezvous with an older lady, an unsupervised boy-girl party, and indeed a child who ages several years between seasons... It's not a clip show, it's a mixtape! Plus we'll try our hand at a couple of Family Ties quizzes which may or may not have been created by humans... Segments in this episode: Family Ties S1 E2 "Not With My Sister You Don't" Family Ties S3 E3 "Little Man on Campus" Family Ties S5...

Webster plays with matches, Urkel gets things cooking, and Drew Carey passes down his "wood burning kit" to the next generation of pyros... This week's trope is Accidental fires! Here's what we're watching: Webster S2 E5 "Burn Out" Family Matters S2 E1 "Rachel's Place" Drew Carey Show S9 E19 "Burning Down the House" Abbott Elementary S2 E15 "Fire" This is a good old fashioned RERUN! We'll be back with a new episode next week!