Favorite 80s/90s sitcom tropes?

The 3 minute educational moment tacked on to the end of Saturday morning cartoons to make them meet the educational tv requirement that the adults who probably didn’t even have kids enacted because they feared that too much screen time was going to make us stupid. And don’t forget the bad joke that had all the characters laughing heartily at the end.

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frecklemimus79@reddit

The “We’ve been robbed!” episode

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Deep_Excitement1192@reddit

Halloween episodes

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silver_tongued_devil@reddit

The two guys, a girl, and a pizza place Halloween episode is platinum perfection for reasons I don't want to spoil. It also happens to be the last episode of the show.

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

Roseanne Halloween episodes were always great

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silver_tongued_devil@reddit

I always enjoyed the "child has thier heart broken, then parental unit has a good conversation where they explain its okay, everyone gets their heart broken. Then the kid feels better and the parent goes on an errand and the errand is kicking the ever-loving shit out of the ex."

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lgndk11r@reddit

The very special episode.

Sometimes it's addiction, sometimes it's meeting a deadbeat parent who leaves anyway.

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Ace_Ranger@reddit

How come he don't want me?

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

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silver_tongued_devil@reddit

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koei19@reddit

And sometimes it's a molester!

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StillAdhesiveness528@reddit

Or Jimmy can't read.

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Altruistic-Dig-2094@reddit

Sometimes it’s the dangers of refrigerators!

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multiroleplays@reddit

Sometimes it was about a bike shop owner that you learn about from an episode of Family Guy.

I did not expect that one episode of Different Strokes when I saw it was a real thing

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bgva@reddit

The audience/laugh track losing its shit at Arnold and Dudley's impending danger will always make that episode even creepier.

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NoAnnual3259@reddit

And then there’s the scene at the end where Arnold tells Mr Drummond about what was going on the bike shop where they were given alcohol by a pedo and watched cartoon porn and the laugh track is still going. Like WTF, I know the early 80s was much different era, but damn…

I have to imagine it was a laugh track because a studio audience cracking up at that is pretty crazy.

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

That episode was DARK. Only rivaled by the episode of All in the Family when Edith almost got raped.

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museumstudies@reddit

Amnesia

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taleofbenji@reddit

Don't forget that the writers of Dallas decided that all 31 episodes of the 1986 season were all a dream.

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twirlerina024@reddit

I love especially the kind of amnesia that gets cured by a *second* blow to the head

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icecap1@reddit

Good thing he had an odd number of items!

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

Lol because that's definitely how amnesia works

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CariniFluff@reddit

It's just like the old rabbit ears TV antenna. Hit it once and it's scrambled, hit it again and boom everything is back in place.

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Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit

And sometimes Changnesia

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bout-tree-fitty@reddit

I forgot about this one.

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p8nt_junkie@reddit

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blove135@reddit

Don't do drugs episode. Usually a new bad boy/girl character peer pressures someone to do drugs.

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garden__gate@reddit

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NickAndHisGuitar@reddit

I’m so … SCARED.

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twirlerina024@reddit

So it wasn't a sitcom, but 90210 anti-drug episodes were amazing. Bad girl Emily Valentine takes the gang to an UNDERGROUND RAVE where a cool new drug, euphoria, is being sold. You can tell who the dealers are because they are wearing t-shirts with four U's on them. She slips one to Brandon, hoping it will loosen him up, but instead he flies into a rage. They leave his beloved car at the warehouse, but when he goes back in the morning to get it, it's been destroyed by feral youths. His parents were VERY disappointed.

In one of the later seasons, Steve Sanders has a new bad-influence friend who gets him to start smoking weed. One night, he and the friend go to the dealer, who's like, "sorry guys! I'm all out of marijuana products... OH! But I just got in a bunch of heroin, want some?" The guys plan to try heroin later that night, but Steve's friend can't wait. He ends up dead from an overdose, on the bathroom floor at the Peach Pit.

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FormalDinner7@reddit

“WHO PUT THIS POT PIPE HERE?”

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HerRoyalRedness@reddit

Excuse you, it was U4EA!

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jonnovich@reddit

For me the most effective one was the “Family Ties” episode where Alex gets hooked on speed to finish his assignments. That was the case of the classic “straight A” good boy going down the wrong path….ans showed that anyone can fall victim to addiction.

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Howardbanister@reddit

There's no hope.. with dope!

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hoopstick@reddit

Man fuck Johnny Dakota

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LoadedLapidist@reddit

Mama’s Family

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icecap1@reddit

A character turns out to be incredibly good at something unexpected, and starts a business. Luckily they bought insurance because it fails half an hour later.

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jeng52@reddit

The dog runs away while pet sitting, so you go to the pet store to get a look alike. Then the original dog turns up - oh no, now we have TWO Dreyfuses! - and you can’t tell the difference!

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icecap1@reddit

Here's a method we used to use on the farm.... "Dreyfus! Come here boy!"

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graveybrains@reddit

Claiming to know someone famous, but not actually knowing that person, and then somehow getting them to show up by the end of the episode anyway.

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icecap1@reddit

That goes back to The Honeymooners

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RushBubbly6955@reddit

Mista Burt Reynolds

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Mang46@reddit

Just started rewatching Golden Girls and just last night was thinking about “the bowling episode”. Everyone was always bowling.

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icecap1@reddit

Or golf. Benson had the best golf episode. Actually, I think Susan Harris just copied the plot from herself and changed it to bowling.

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

Ah! There was always a bowling episode!

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Mang46@reddit

Another Golden Girls Season 1 (my watching continues) - the dream sequence leading to an enlightened decision!

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

Oh yes!

And there's also the near-death experience that causes a radical change in outlook/behavior.

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Mang46@reddit

Ooo, like when Michelle fell off the horse!

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Canadatron@reddit

Look up a book called "Bowling Alone" that comments on this very phenomenon.

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Mang46@reddit

Ooo, nice tease! It’s on my list now.

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Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit

We need proper opening credits again.

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icecap1@reddit

Mister we could use a show with opening credits again...

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bgva@reddit

I hate that Netflix shows refuse to have theme songs nowadays. Like...you invented the Skip Intro button. If folks don't wanna hear the theme song, they can move past it!

Also hate that closing credits are pretty much a black background now. I miss seeing things like the Beverly Hillbillies waving at the camera.

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highpriestess420@reddit

Can we all just take a moment to acknowledge Dorothy's "fashion" sense cuz what in the easter bunny hell is this business? Her wedding dress was another glorious ensemble 😅

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StatementLazy1797@reddit

Not to mention the fact that they all dress in long sleeves and layers of clothing like it’s the middle of winter, but they live in MIAMI. I get that old ladies can be cold sometimes, but come on.

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jeng52@reddit

It’s also weird to me that every character on Big Bang Theory wears two or three layers of clothing at all times, even though they live in LA

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

Now that you mention it, they were pretty covered up all the time, huh? You would at least expect Blanche the sexpot to have her arms out every now and then in that Miami heat.

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RushBubbly6955@reddit

Ester bunny hell 😂😂😂

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BunkerBuster420@reddit

One person is talking shit about another person, the person they’re talking about walks in without the shit-talking person noticing. In the middle of the tirade (s)he says “(s)he’s standing beging me, right?” audience laugh and claps

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KhalilRavana@reddit

“You know what I hate? A guy in a blue suit. There’s one behind me, isn’t there.”

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Mang46@reddit

My favorite jail was Darlene bailing out Dan when he hits Jackie’s abusive boyfriend.

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KhalilRavana@reddit

I love “Roseanne” but Mrs Barr needs to sit on a rotting pineapple. Or maybe durian, it’ll smell worse. This is my go-to for being hard to separate art and artist. “Roseanne” was hella progressive for its time; Roseanne is a see you next Tuesday.

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bgva@reddit

The best part of that clip is when Roseanne consoles Jackie while walking her out the kitchen. Once he knew it was safe, Dan looked around, grabbed his coat and quietly walked out the house. Even the audience started clapping.

I also miss the audience clapping when something was about to happen or someone made a good joke/point.

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Mang46@reddit

So true. Those early seasons of Roseanne are pure sitcom gold.

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Mission_Fart9750@reddit

Fisher deserved it.

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

Fuck Fisher

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urbandk84@reddit

alive and well Elvis spotted at the local diner and/or Elvis impersonator appears.

bonus points if it's in Vegas and double points if he is officiating a wedding, triple points if it's our characters' wedding

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TamalesForBreakfast6@reddit

That’s one of my favorite GG episodes!

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bgva@reddit

Stuck in an elevator with a woman who just went into labor

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twirlerina024@reddit

That's mine! I watched like 6 seasons of Call the Midwife and now I'm prepared. Breach birth? Cord around the neck? Surprise twins? Retained placenta? I'm your huckleberry.

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Gonzostewie@reddit

I like your enthusiasm.

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karameister@reddit

Came here for this! The Saved by the Bell episode is burned in my memories.

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MaestroLogical@reddit

I'm trppd in an atm vstbl wth jll gdacr!

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Betelgeuse3fold@reddit

The power goes out, so we either reminisce about old times (clip show) and/or uncover uncomfortable truths

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the_silent_one1984@reddit

Same for people thinking they're about to die so they admit something they've been holding to themselves.

"I cheated in the contest!"

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Betelgeuse3fold@reddit

"Great, I won!"

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Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit

"oh no! I'm losing my voice right before I play the lead in the upcoming school drama production!"

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zoom518@reddit

Relative visits

Stuff ensues

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misterlakatos@reddit

Jail tropes were great back then. Family Ties and Night Court also had great jail episodes.

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cityfireguy@reddit

Older sitcoms had people doing citizens arrests all the time, about as often as they used to use quicksand as a plot device. As a kid I thought it was a thing that happened fairly regularly.

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

So did I. Maybe that's what happened to Karens? Citizens arrest on Andy Griffith and the like made them feel empowered to impose their will on strangers lol

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_ism_@reddit

I've seen the women in jail trope on other sitcoms too. The other women in jail are always hookers and bikers! In real life it's tweakers, drunks, domestic violence survivors with concussions but the cops beleived the man's version of the story, and other sad shit. I've been to real jail.

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SweetCosmicPope@reddit

The Vegas episode. Usually someone does something stupid like gets married to a stripper or loses the family’s Christmas money and wins it back in a crazy way like finding a quarter on the ground.

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blogsymcblogsalot@reddit

Flashback episode to their “best of” moments on the show

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SweetCosmicPope@reddit

I love how Clerks the animated series spoofs this by having their flashback episode as the second episode of the series, so it keeps flashing back to the previous episode.

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AndyThePig@reddit

The whole: An awful event happens. there are 2 sides of the story ... both sides tell it through exaggerated flashbacks where they're the angel and the other person is pure evil ...

And always, the truth is somewhere I the middle, and it's always the one you thought.

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ranaldo20@reddit

The King of the Hill spoof of this (the firehouse episode) is awesome.

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SweetCosmicPope@reddit

X Files spoofed this too in the episode where the fat kid from The Sandlot is a vampire.

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LemonSkye@reddit

"For God sakes, Hank, act like an adult, man! And keep it down, guys, will you? I am trying to get through an article on vintage Camaros, and I've been on the same dang page for twenty minutes!"

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ScreenTricky4257@reddit

Rashomon?

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

Oh man, that's a good one!!

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dishwasher_mayhem@reddit

The old cursed idol in Hawaii trope

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Owww_My_Ovaries@reddit

Disney World

Full House. Step by Step. Family Matters. Boy Meets World. Roseanne. Blossom

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a_solid_6@reddit (OP)

Yes! The 70s always had Hawaii episodes (Brady Bunch, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, etc.) Funny how that transitioned to Disney World!

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LemonSkye@reddit

For any show on ABC, it was mandated by the network once they were bought out by Disney.

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NoAnnual3259@reddit

Full House had both Hawaii and Disney World episodes!

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Mail_Order_Lutefisk@reddit

Snowed in at Christmas. It worked so well for so many shows, but it just hit different staying with Mrs. Garrett for Christmas.

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Ashes_Ashes_333@reddit

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LemonSkye@reddit

Careful of the icy patch!

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FoppyRETURNS@reddit

The Nanny got snowed in for Hannukah 💀

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DETRITUS_TROLL@reddit

The musical episode. And how they explain it story wise. Drugs, near death experiences, dream sequences.

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Loop22one@reddit

Flashback to how we all met before the Pilot and then fell out and then reconnected and grew stronger as a group

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RushBubbly6955@reddit

The flashback episodes are so funny to me. I especially like it when costume and makeup try real hard to convince the audience that what we’re watching was taped back then lol

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rockerswise@reddit

Fun fact: Golden Girls was created by the mother of podcaster/philosopher/public intellectual Sam Harris

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FoppyRETURNS@reddit

Stuck in an elevator

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Gras-Ober@reddit

Two people arguing, one inside and one outside the shower. The second person pulls the flush before leaving. The first person screams.

It took me a long time before realizing flushing produces hotter water in the shower – where I live, the plumbing doesn't behave like that. I have only seen this trope in US movies.

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eastbayted@reddit

Oh no! I set up dates with two different people on the same night!

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TickleWitch@reddit

Caged heat! White flesh on the Black market.

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Transgojoebot@reddit

Two characters who hate each other end up getting handcuffed together and can’t find the key, and eventually they learn to get along.

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NoAnnual3259@reddit

One trope I remember was the episodes where either the parents leave town and the kids are home alone or the mom leaves the dad alone with the kids—and then suddenly everything goes wrong and they trash the house. Or at minimum a lamp gets broken and they have to fix it before mom or dad comes home. And I feel Full House did this a lot where one of the kids would break something and then lie to cover it up before they had to come clean.

The Simpsons did a funny riff on this when the kids got left home with Grandpa and ended up being taking away by a child welfare agency after finding the house in filth and ended up at Ned Flanders’ house as a foster parent.

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