Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, we’re still celebrating the recent release of my first book, Great American Sitcoms of the 1950s, which you can order here (or on Amazon here), as I continue our latest series of “rerun” posts on previously covered fifties sitcoms.
Today, let’s revisit… The Thirteen Best OUR MISS BROOKS Episodes of Season One: https://jacksonupperco.com/2013/08/27/the-thirteen-best-our-miss-brooks-episodes-of-season-one/
I haven’t formally discussed Our Miss Brooks here in over a decade, so I can promise you that the way I talk about this show in my book is nothing like what you’ll see in the link above. In fact, I cringe at the mere thought of resharing this old post; as I’m sure you can guess, I’ve refined both as a watcher of television and as a communicator of my thoughts over the past decade, and with more than 20,000 sitcom episodes screened since the time of that August 2013 blog entry, I’ve now got much sharper things to say about this radio classic that, in 1952, became the second multi-cam sitcom filmed by Desilu to make it to air (following I Love Lucy, of course), for with a fun cast and a simple relationship-forward construct, Our Miss Brooks manages to offset some of its shortcomings — like situational dynamics that require broader characterizations who strain emotional credulity for the sake of maintaining an increasingly un-buyable status quo — by simply being funny and clear with its leads’ comic personas. And the show even contributes a few entries that make my “Top 50 Sitcom Episodes of the 1950s” list — one of which, I’ll give you a hint now, indeed comes from this first season (and you may be surprised to know which — I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on this series since 2013). But to find out more, such as what I think now about the show’s trajectory, its construction, and how its overall quality stands in relation to other sitcoms from this era — especially other school-set shows like Mister Peepers (which premiered only a few months prior but represents the era’s contrasting aesthetic: live and from New York City, as opposed to on film and from Hollywood) — you’ll have to get the book. Oh, and if you notice any typos or grammar errors, don’t blame me — like Walter Denton, everything I know I learned from Miss Brooks!
Come back next week for another 1950s rerun! And stay tuned tomorrow for a new Wildcard!