Sitcom Central

With the demise of Everybody Loves Raymond and the low ratings of a smart sitcom like Arrested Development, one has to wonder about the future of sitcoms.

Still, there's plenty of new ones that are hitting the fall schedule:

The War at Home (Fox)- What scares me about this one is that the family that this sitcom revloves around describes one daughter as "sexually rebellious" and one son as "sexually amibiguous". I can smell the propoganda from here. Somehow I sincerely doubt that this daughter will be contracting diseases and dealing with the inevitable loss of self-worth that comes with giving yourself away to anybody and everybody. And the son, well, it seems like gay charcaters are almost expected. It sounds eerily like the whole Married with Children raunchiness.

Kitchen Confidential (Fox)- the premise is interesting - a celebrity chef is given 48 hours to jump start a hot New York eatery. If this one can keep from disintregating into nothing but sexual humor about buxon servers and the bachelor chef, it might have a chance to be good. Of course, it follows Arrested Development...and stars Bradley Cooper (Alias' Will) - that alone may make it worth a shot.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS)- The premise of this show intrigues me because it revolves around a guy that is anxious to find the love of his life - he just wants to fall in love. It's nice to see network TV at least admit that not every guy out there is only interested in "sex with no strings", though again, this show is certainly at risk of falling into that trap. Interesting possibilities...

Out of Practice (CBS) - What a waste of a cast! Henry Winkler, Stockard Channing...Another gay character, this time it's the sister struggling to keep a relationship and a father (Winkler) who's involved with his secretary. If this is the set-up I can just imagine what the season will dissolve into.

My Name is Earl (NBC) - The line "crude and sweet, a feel good comedy with a white trash veneer" just about says all I need to know. Even though I could already care less about Earl - I have a funny feeling people are going to be tuning in. There's something about watching rednecks make idiots of themselves that America can't resist - look at the popularity of Jeff Foxworthy!

Stacked - okay this one isn't new but I had to rant - how did this thing make it to a second season!!

Freddie (ABC) - I always worry about shows that are built around a lead instead of "situation" comedy - which is the neame of the game. Freddie Prinze is a likeable guy but so was Joey...and it just didn't work.

Everybody Hates Chris (UPN) - This is supposedly Chris Rocks childhood, narrarated by him. Could be a great show...we'll see what they try to do with it.

Love Inc. (UPN) - Did they watch Miss Match fail? Sometimes you have to wonder if networks analyze the failures enough.

Twins (Wb) - Everything just dissolves as the week goes on...ugh! It's based around a lingerie company that a pair of unlikely twins are supposed to take over. I can see where the jokes will come from in this one. Not interested...

Hot Properties (ABC) Basically you're talking sexy real estate agents. It's like a Sex and the City/Desperate Housewives wanna be set in a real estate office. Who cares?

And I was wondering about the future of sitcoms. Looks rather bleak. The really funny part is that these were the ones that rose to the top! But when you heat gold, it's the impurities that rise to the top. it's called dross and it's supposed to be scooped away. My bet is that half of these won't make it to mid-season and we'll have a few new ones premiering. Second string stuff. Maybe it's cause I grew up on the Cosby Show but I can't help but wonder why they can't be funny and clean at the same time. The sexual humor overpowers nearly everything nowadays and families can't watch any of this as a, you know, family. Even Seventh Heaven, which started out decent, got mired down in the same yuck as everything else, and didn't handle it any differently than anyone would. Our faith is supposed to make us different. And if it doesn't - then something is wrong. But it will be interesting to see what strikes a chord with people, and what fails.

Until then, we're always open!