With the Super Bowl this weekend, where my Patriots are
going to beat the Giants, I thought I would take a minute to discuss the sitcom
episodes which have done super bowl episodes. This trend seemed especially big
in the 90’s. Usually this happened because the network showing the game wanted
a little plugging. Sometimes they would air right after the game, other times
the week before. So, here is a look at these shows.
Full House-Not sure what the title of this ep is, but I call
it the “Michelle is a spoiled brat” episode. The plot is Joey wants to watch
the game, but has committed to spending the day with Michelle’s science group.
Long story short, the group ends up watching the game and everyone is fine with
it, except Michelle who pouts because they didn’t do what she was hoping for.
Um, Michelle, we can’t always do everything we want, why not stop being a
little witch and go and have fun? I have said good things about Full House and
Michelle, but this episode isn’t a good one. So anxious to cram a message in,
they make the character seem like a spoiled brat.
Seinfeld-“The Label Maker” will be discussed more in my
episode guide, but one of the stories had Jerry trying to give away Super Bowl
tickets. After the tickets change hands a few times, he winds up at the game
with Newman!
Everybody Loves Raymond-Ray is assigned to cover the Super
Bowl and is allowed to bring one person, so he invites his friend Gianni. His
whole family is mad at him. Then when he sees other wives he gets Debra down
there, promising Gianni he will still take him to the game. However, being
typical Debra she is too good to do what every other wife is doing and ends up
in a fight with Ray. The result is him destroying the tickets to prove a point,
and no one gets to go to the game because Debra is so mean (have I mentioned I
don’t like her?).
Home Improvement-This is a funny episode. Tim has planned a
big Super Bowl bash; unfortunately Jill is sick and needs to be taken care of.
Tim tries to have the party anyway, dividing his time between the game and
Jill, but when his new sound system blows the TV the guys crash Tim and Jill’s
bedroom, with her sick in bed! I do love how when women are sick they expect to
be taken care of, but when men want that they are mocked and made fun of as
being babies. Anyway, this is a good Super Bowl episode and has typical Home
Improvement hijinks, in the Tool Tim segment some real Detroit Lions players
make cameos.
King of Queens-After trying to get the newest kind of Hi-Def
for the big game and failing, Doug finds out that his wife Carrie has a boss
who has a brand new hi-def TV (these were more rare when this show was first
on). He arranges to have his sister start to date him in an attempt to worm an
invitation to a Super Bowl gathering. The plan goes pretty well until his
sister and Carrie compare notes and figure out the way Doug has been
manipulating them. In the end, the TV gets changed to the movie Heidi and Doug
misses the game.
Roseanne-Roseanne’s mother Bev has vowed to give up
drinking, right before Super Bowl Sunday. So Dan is forced to have an alcohol
free Super Bowl party. This doesn’t work very well. This is a very short description
of this episode, which I never really liked. Is it really a bad thing to not
have beer when watching the big game? I am not a beer drinker, so maybe it is.
Empty Nest-This Golden Girls spin-off has a Super Bowl
episode which was really just a clip show. Not much more to say about it than
that. It was followed by an episode of Nurse’s which also had a Super Bowl
story. The plot involved a party ending up with no TV and one of the characters
injured trying to hook up illegal cable.
3rd Rock From the Sun-In doing research for this
I discovered this episode is generally despised. I liked it, but then again I
wasn’t a loyal fan of the show so that may have something to do with it. The
plot involved super models from Venus trying to take over the Earth (hmmm, did
I really type that?). Their plan is to use a super bowl commercial to take over
the world, so Dick, Harry, Tommy, and Sally have to stop them. That does sound like a bad B movie. However,
I think the episode is pretty good. The best part was the beginning, the
episode started with a live feed of Greg Gumbel recapping the game, when John
Lithgow storms into the shot screaming about the crazy women. The shot then
fades into the episode, and I always that was a clever way to kick the show
off.
The Simpsons-Homer is hired by sports superstars to help
with their victory dances and is subsequently tapped to choreograph the Super
Bowl XXXIX halftime show. Guest voice cast includes Warren Sapp, Tom Brady, Yao
Ming, Lebron James and Michelle Kwan.
George Lopez Show- The Lopez family finds out that Benny's
estranged brother, Joe, is dying. However, Benny refuses to speak to him due to
her losing a bet with him. However, George and Angie convince Benny to
reconcile with Joe, and Benny agrees to, but to try and get his Super Bowl
tickets. However, she changes her mind when she sees him. Never a fan of this show, and never saw this
episode.
Still Standing- After Bill and Judy catch Brian, Lauren and
their friends drinking in the basement, they decide to set an example and
abstain from drinking for an entire month. Unfortunately, Bill and Judy's infamously
wild Super Bowl party takes place during that time. When the day comes the
adults give in to temptation. I know what people say about this show, and they’re
right. This episode has the same message Roseanne did, that football without
alcohol is unacceptable.
Friends-In 1996 NBC decided
to have the sitcom Friends do an episode following the Super Bowl. The
show,
called “The one after the Super Bowl”, is stuffed with celebrities like
Brooke
Shields and Julia Roberts and is generally considered one of the weakest
episodes of the series. The celebrities and the length do stretch the
show a
bit thin, but I think it ultimately works. The biggest mistake may have
been
Jean Claude Van Damme, not only is he wooden in the show but the whole
story
with Monica and Rachel feels like a high school story and is just dumb.
We also
get reunited with Marcel the monkey, and in another article I will
discuss how
much I hated that little simian.True, this episode really doesn't have
anything to do with the Super Bowl past the title, but I thought it was
worth mentioning.
Those are the only ones I could remember, If I missed any
please let me know.
Well, that’s enough about sitcoms. Time for a little
football, go PATS!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment