Right now, TV viewers can tour classic comedies, old and new.
At the core are network events on May 16 and 22. Before that, two other channels – one cable, one digital – get us in the mood:
— May 16: “The Big Bang Theory” has its final new episodes on CBS. Earlier — including tonight (May 10) — cable’s TBS has “Big Bang” reruns, often focusing on one character per night.
— May 22: ABC tries live productions of scripts from “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.” Before that, the GetTV digital channel has a five-night, 30-episode “All in the Family” spree.
The shows are opposite in one way: “All in the Family” was topical and groundbreaking; “Big Bang” is neither.
But both were taped by multiple cameras, feeding on the response of a studio audience. “They tell you if you’re good or not,” Kaley Cuoco – who plays Penny in “Big Bang” (the longest-running multi-cam comedy in TV history) — said when the show started in 2007.
And both were done by multi-taskers. Chuck Lorre currently has four shows –”Big Bang.” “Mom,” “Young Sheldon” and “The Kominsky Method.” Norman Lear sometimes had more, led by “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.”
Back when “Big Bang” was starting, Lorre said he asked Lear how he did it. “He said, ‘I basically worked like a dog.’”
The details:
— “Big Bang” final episodes, 8 and 8:30 p.m. May 16, CBS. Also, a making-of special at 9:30 and the cast visits Stephen Colbert at 11:29.
— Before that: TBS has key “Big Bang” reruns from 8:30-11 p.m. today (May 10, focusing on Penny). Others are 8-10 p.m. May 12, 8-10:30 p.m. May 14 (Leonard) and 8-10:30 p.m. May 15 (Sheldon).
— “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” live from 8-9:30 p.m. May 22 on ABC, with casts that include Woody Harrelson and Jamie Foxx as Archie Bunker and George Jefferson.
— Before that: GetTV reruns classic “All in the Family” episodes, from 7-10 p.m. weekdays, May 13-17. That’s Channel 373 of the Dish satellite network and on some digital channels.