Well, Thank Goodness It’s Funny!

As a kid, there was only one place to be on Friday nights: down in our den laying on the floor in front of our TV. I remember my parents always yelling at me to scoot back and not sit so close. I never listened them and now I have horrible eyesight.

What brought me to that TV every Friday night was ABC’s TGIF (“Thank Goodness It’s Funny”) lineup of family sitcoms. So obsessed and loyal I was to this one night of ABC television, that I didn’t like to go to, or host, sleepovers with my friends because I knew it meant missing out on Urkel’s latest invention or the new wacky scheme from J.T. (who, in retrospect, is a really annoying and whiny character). I also thought it was a nice touch to often have certain casts of TGIF shows “host” the evening…

Yessir, from 8PM to 10PM, TGIF delivered high quality sitcoms that kept me on the edge of my seat and tickled pink! I’ll always cherish those Friday nights watching TGIF with my parents while eating popcorn and drinking soda (sometimes my mom made me drink milk). Iwasn’t a fan of every show, but I enjoyed most of them and it seems ABC execs were usually kind enough to reserve the 9:30 slot for the weakest show on the block just in time for the snoozefest of 20/20.

The original TGIF ran from 1988-2000 and then was revived for two seasons from 2003-2005, but for my Nielson rating, the true golden age of the programming block is 1989-1996. After that, ABC seemed content striking the “family” shows and going with shows that would (theoretically) appeal to preteens & teens. Too bad they came along just a few years too early for these “tween” shows that are now all the rage and broadcast nonstop on Disney & Nickelodeon.

Who am I kidding? Those younger “hipper” shows were awful in the first place and ABC allowing longtime TGIF standards Step By Step and Family Matters to leave for CBS was a major mistake (I agree it was time to put them to rest, but I wish they would have at least gotten a proper sendoff on ABC, CBS ended both shows with no real series finales).

ABC would try to capitalize on the success of TGIF by introducing the I Love Saturday Night block in 1992. Can you guess which night it aired on? It only lasted a few months because they basically used it as a dumping ground for a mix of old & new sitcoms.

Now allow me to break down a few shows for you:

Favorite TGIF Shows
Perfect Strangers – One of the last great sitcoms to make heavy use of physical comedy. Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker had tremendous chemistry together. One of the TGIF originals and it spun-off Family Matters.
Full House - Everyone knows about this show. Early seasons were good for what it was if you were a kid. Another TGIF original (though it already had been airing on Fridays).
Just the Ten of Us – Spin-off of Growing Pains, which is surprising considering it was a lot more crass than that show, but the daughters were hot and it had schemes-a-plenty (a sign of greatness for sitcoms).
Family Matters – Longest tenure on the TGIF block. It was a staple and the first few seasons are classic.
Going Places – Short-lived sitcom starring Heather Locklear, Alan Ruck and Styles from Teen Wolf as the production crew of a radio show.
Step By Step – Somewhat up a dysfunctional 90s update of The Brady Bunch. It got a bit long in the tooth, but I still enjoy the early seasons and it was another staple of TGIF airing all seven seasons of its ABC run on Fridays.
Where I Live – Another short-lived, under appreciated comedy. Starred Doug E. Doug and was based in Harlem. Bill Cobsy campaigned for the short to get a second season (as short as it was) and also would eventually become a consultant.
Boy Meets World – EXTREMELY goofy show to look back on, but still fun those first few years… Then it got all serious with Shawn issues and Corey/Topanga drama. The cartoon slapstick of Eric did the show no favors as well.
Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper – Who didn’t love Mr. Cooper?

Worst TGIF Shows
Dinosaurs – Satirical, sometimes dark, comedy starring a bunch of people running around in dinosaur costumes. You’d think it would look really silly, but the sets and costumes were actually pretty cool. Too bad the show wasn’t funny. “Not the mama!” is comedy?
Sister, Sister – Ugh. No one on this show could act. ABC actually canceled after one season and the fledgling WB network brought it back to life for the network’s debut season. The low standards of The WB allowed this show to continue for another five years.
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch – I’m think this was somewhat of a minor hit with kids. I understand a 15 year old boy isn’t the target audience for this show, but c’mon… Bad acting all around and it featured a horrible laugh track that couldn’t even do a good job of convincing us when we were supposed to laugh. Her aunts always annoyed me as well.
Two of a Kind – The Olsen Twins are back on TGIF! Yeah, that was the selling point. Too bad they weren’t cute anymore. No one wants to see these two unless it’s Full House related.
Clueless – I will say this, Rachel Blanchard was a lot hotter than Alicia Silverstone and it’s nice to see Stacey Dash in any capacity.
Baby Talk – Cash-in on the Look Who’s Talking movies with Tony Danza supplying to voice for the kid. Second season featured a HUGE cast change: they replaced the mom, which was the starring adult character of the show! Julia Duffy left the show to take a role on Designing Women and Mary Page Keller took her place.
Camp Wilder – Oddball sitcom starring Mary Page Keller (yes, they gave her ANOTHER show) as a single mom. Notable for having Jerry O’Connell and Hilary Swank in the cast (and less notable for featuring Jay Mohr as well).
Mr. Belvedere – Believe it or not, this was also one of the original TGIF shows. It’s also one of the worst sitcoms ever in my eyes, so thankfully, the show was already in its twilight years when TGIF started up (though this show had always run on Friday nights previous). It was only on TGIF for one season before moving to Saturdays, and then Sundays, to die.

WTF Were They Thinking TGIF Shows
Hi, Honey I’m Home! – You know how some sitcoms would have “dream sequences” of the show taking place in the 1950s as if it was Leave It To Beaver? Yeah, this whole series was like that and it was the show’s reality. It was so bad and low rated, ABC only aired six episodes then the rest of the series got burned off on Nick At Nite.
Aliens in the Family -  TWO EPISODES of this little gem aired before it got pulled. Months later, ABC would air six more episodes on Saturday nights and then didn’t even bother to air the rest of the season. The show’s premise was a “mixed” family of humans and aliens. Gee, I wonder why it didn’t catch on? But then again, you can’t blame them for thinking it would when ALF was such an inexplicable hit.
Muppets Tonight – Seemed like a really weird idea and it just didn’t work for the mid-90s, and this is coming from someone who grew up on and loved The Muppets Show and Muppet Babies. I guess Disney/ABC just wanted to show off their Muppets property but there was no way this show was going to compare to The Muppets Show.

Tags: ABC, Boy Meets World, Clueless, Comedy, Family Matters, Full House, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Perfect Strangers, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Sitcoms, Step By Step, Television, TGIF, TV