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Thu 13 Feb, 2003 09:12 pm
I sometimes watch the sitcom The King of Queens on cable. It gives me a few laughs, but I don't understand why it's so popular in the US (or so they say).
After the success, years ago, of Married With Children, it worries me a bit about the way values are changing in America.
I mean, none of the characters of The King of Queens have a moral spine. Materialistic, selfish, manipulative, uncaring, with little or no solidarity or real warmth.
What's the idea of the show? Are we supposed to identify with them, laugh at them, reflect about them or what?
At them, mostly.
I don't think it's new -- I think I've seen that they take "The Honeymooners" as an inspiration, for example. I've only watched it a few times, but seems to be a similar combination of bluster and heartfelt moments. (I've seen a couple of very sweet scenes with the husband and wife, for example.)
I don't watch "King of Queens" but I was a huge fan of "Seinfeld". What values did that show espouse? The characters were always selfish, constantly screwed up their relationships (between themselves and others) and absolutely never learned from their experiences. All that, not terribly paradoxically, contributed to the show's popularity.
Besides, if we want to consider cultural artifacts that reflect tawdry values, what about reality TV? Take "Joe Millionaire"! Please...
I've never seen the show, but if the characters are that bad it sounds Seinfeld-like, where they are too outrageous to be believed and we are supposed to laugh at them. By the way, it isn't one of those shows that has taken the country by storm, where people talk about it the next day and repeat the jokes from the show - but it is popular enough to have remained on the air for two or three years.
King of Queens - a forgettable show.
It's just suppose to be funny.
But I guess the viewer is supposed to feel some affection towards the characters, to like them, somehow.
I wouldn't invite any of them dishonest people to my house.
It's a comedy in the tradition of "The Honeymooners" (which it is consciously based on). If the characters unfortunately mirror the pettiness and selfishness of American society, what is one to do but laugh about it? Some of the scripts are good, some are repetitive mediocrity.
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