I really love this show. At 49 I relate to the age specific part of the show. Being female it's really interesting to see the male version of my age group, the things that men are worrying and talking about.
In response to the comments made by r-w-anderson, he states that the music used to date these characters is somehow unrealistic. I completely disagree! There may be some people who define their musical memories by a very small slice of their history, but for most of us the most powerful memories come from those times when you were first learning to love music. When Neil Sedaka's 'Breaking up is Hard to do' came on (who is that woman?) I immediately remembered slow dancing with Jimmy Barnes, swaying back and forth like most 8th graders do when dancing. Or when they played the Billy Jack Theme song I could remember exactly where I was (a sleepover) with all of the girls singing it at the top of our little lungs. So don't tell me what the soundtrack of my life is. When I'm reminiscing I certainly would not crank up the disco unless I was having a disco party! The 'reminiscing' music of choice is almost always from the early 70's, mostly Motown. My brother who is 50 listens to the exact same type of music they play on this show on a daily basis. That's part of why he loves this show. As far as I'm concerned the music is spot on.
SPOILER: I think many people associate the word comedy for silly Hollywood sit-com fare. In a literary sense comedy is often a blend of tragedy and comedy, like Shakespeare. I think this shows hits a perfect note in that regard as well. The scene where Ray Romano's Joe watches the last second of the basketball game and realizes he's won is a brilliant example. He goes from being really exuberant about winning and goofing on the kid's inflatable Hulk toy to being disgusted with himself for gambling and punching it until it pops. The look on his face is priceless. Tragic and Funny.
I hope this shows makes it.
In response to the comments made by r-w-anderson, he states that the music used to date these characters is somehow unrealistic. I completely disagree! There may be some people who define their musical memories by a very small slice of their history, but for most of us the most powerful memories come from those times when you were first learning to love music. When Neil Sedaka's 'Breaking up is Hard to do' came on (who is that woman?) I immediately remembered slow dancing with Jimmy Barnes, swaying back and forth like most 8th graders do when dancing. Or when they played the Billy Jack Theme song I could remember exactly where I was (a sleepover) with all of the girls singing it at the top of our little lungs. So don't tell me what the soundtrack of my life is. When I'm reminiscing I certainly would not crank up the disco unless I was having a disco party! The 'reminiscing' music of choice is almost always from the early 70's, mostly Motown. My brother who is 50 listens to the exact same type of music they play on this show on a daily basis. That's part of why he loves this show. As far as I'm concerned the music is spot on.
SPOILER: I think many people associate the word comedy for silly Hollywood sit-com fare. In a literary sense comedy is often a blend of tragedy and comedy, like Shakespeare. I think this shows hits a perfect note in that regard as well. The scene where Ray Romano's Joe watches the last second of the basketball game and realizes he's won is a brilliant example. He goes from being really exuberant about winning and goofing on the kid's inflatable Hulk toy to being disgusted with himself for gambling and punching it until it pops. The look on his face is priceless. Tragic and Funny.
I hope this shows makes it.