The pavlovian training of laugh tracks in sitcoms, imho, is responsible for making 'dumb' appealing. It's always perplexed me why someone would waste the time of their lives. Losers in a bar making self-depreciating jokes,... kinda says it all.
Cheers was in its time groundbreaking and was filmed before a live studio audience in fact. Canned laughter was getting under people's skin at the time. When I lived in Santa Monica a neighbour had done several years on Cheers and Fraiser in production roles. But I get what you mean with a lot of other shows. I've never been someone who can sit at a bar stool for long, I used to play pool but I've always had a soft spot for the whole nowhere bar. Films like Trees Lounge are among my favourites. There is something about the little towns where the world comes to you. I liked living for a while in Key West but Truth or Consequences NM was really special and almost nothing at all happened but every day was a laugh somehow.
More lefty tendencies for B1S2 . Great song. ______________ We took the highway till the road went black We marked Truth Or Consequences on our map A voice drifted up from the radio We saw the voice from long ago Who'll be the last to die for a mistake The last to die for a mistake Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break Who'll be the last to die for a mistake The kids asleep in the backseat We're just countin' the miles you and me We don't measure the blood we've drawn anymore We just stack the bodies outside the door The wise men were all fools What to do The sun sets in flames as the city burns Another day gone down as the night turns And I hold you here in my heart As things fall apart
Thanks for the correction, I see Cheers in a different light now. "There is something about the little towns where the world comes to you."