As society moves on, some of our beloved television shows can’t move with it. Culture and technology conspire to break sitcom plots every day. Is there any way to fix them? Here are a few examples:
My Two Dads
Premise: A woman dies leaving her daughter in the dark about who her real father is. The girl and her two possible, and very different, dads end up living together.
Why it’s broken in 2007: Two words: Paternity test. This show would be over in one episode.
How to fix it: Make the two dads identical twins. Make that conjoined identical twins.
Bosom Buddies
Premise: Two guys want to take advantage of the cheap rent in an all female apartment building, so they dress in drag.
Why it’s broken in 2007: Henry and Kip would sue for reverse discrimination and get the apartment.
How to fix it: Instead of women, the tenants are predominately cross dressing men. Kip and Henry still want the cheap apartment, but always have to be careful if the new hot girl in the building is really a dude.
Three’s Company
Premise: Two women need a third roommate to cover the rent and find one in Jack Tripper, but their righteous landlord won’t approve of the living arrangement so Jack pretends to be gay.
Why it’s broken in 2007: To be fair, this premise was shaky already and the gay angle went away once Don Knotts became the new landlord, but it’s hard to imagine a landlord refusing to rent to a non-married couple in the 21st century.
How to fix it: Jack is an illegal immigrant…. from another planet!
Can you think of any others?
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4 responses to “TV Shows Broken By Time”
Small Wonder
Premise: Inventor Ted Lawson builds a remarkably lifelike robot, Vicki, that appears to be a normal pre-teen human girl to everyone else except the Lawson family. They manage to pull off the charade, despite the fact that she wears the same clothes every episode, talks in a creepy monotone, never ages and lives in a big wooden box in “brother” Jamie’s room.
Why It’s Broken in 2007: As evidenced by Sony’s QRIO, Screech’s robot in the “Saved by the Bell” and Urkel’s robot version of himself, robot design has obviously regressed significantly since the ’80s, making suspension of disbelief impossible.
How to Fix It: Replace Vicki with Robot Dracula.
Either Robot Dracula, or make it that Vicki is sent from the future ala Terminator to make sure Jamie grows up to form Smashing Pumpkins.
…or to kill jamie BEFORE he can form smashing pumpkins
Haha