Word: apatower
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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From there, the network announced Judd Apatow's college comedy "Undeclared" and Barry Sonnenfeld's superhero spoof "The Tick." Fine comedies both. And I can say that with conviction because I've seen them already - "The Tick" was sent to critics last summer and "Undeclared" this winter, both with plans to run midseason. Taking your time to debut shows is fine, of course - it just tends, again, to undercut those claims about your vaunted sitcom development...
...mini-streak of sitcom success in the past couple of years with risk takers like Malcolm and Titus (as well as with That '70s Show, laugh track and all). And it has two appealingly unusual and very different sitcoms on the way. Undeclared, from producer Judd Apatow (another Sanders alum), is a laugh-track-less coming-of-age comedy that, like Apatow's Freaks and Geeks, relies less on zingers than low-key humor and well-drawn characters. The Tick is an outlandish spoof (based on a comic-book series) about an inept superhero (Seinfeld's Puddy, Patrick Warburton...
...which is also developing a series about a bunny puppet who lands a starring role in a children's show. But the networks are hardly abandoning the traditional sitcom. ABC is hedging its bets this spring with two very conventional-looking ones, starring Damon Wayans and Joan Cusack. Even Apatow says, "I like cinematic comedy, but I still think the best show on TV is Everybody Loves Raymond. When the writing and the cast are that good, you don't need to do any tricks...
...that it resisted easy pigeonholing. It captures the joy and miseries of adolescence but from a wry, adult perspective, without easy nerd jokes, implausible sex scenes or a single false moment. "It's closer to Welcome to the Dollhouse than to Dawson's Creek," says executive producer Judd Apatow. "And as much as I liked Welcome to the Dollhouse, it didn't make as much money as Scream." Indeed, the closest analogs to Freaks are not TV shows but independent films--Dollhouse, Rushmore, Dazed and Confused. Unfortunately, there aren't as many outlets for indie TV as for indie film...
...rare, have become less so lately, with six networks looking for content. CBS picked up its hit JAG from NBC, and the WB just spirited off ABC's teen-witch com, Sabrina. (ABC's psych-ward drama, Wonderland, and on-hiatus Sports Night may also shop themselves around.) But Apatow admits the re-Freaking of TV is a long shot. "If anyone needs to fill an hour with NBC's lowest-rated show," he cracks, "they...