Generally speaking, the most popular moments in sitcoms are the punchlines. These are the shows we watch to make ourselves laugh, and the punchlines are designed to keep us cackling. However, some of the most important sitcom moments in television history did more than give us a good chuckle.
We’re talking about the moments that transformed these TV shows for good, completely changing the trajectory of our favorite characters and the series as a whole. What moments are these, and which shows did they come from? Finally, what made these moments unthinkable to audiences at the time? Keep reading to find out, but beware: we’re going to touch on a few spoilers along the way!
‘The Good Place’ was secretly bad
In Season 1, the premise of The Good Place was fairly simple. Our characters were all dead on Earth and trying to settle into Heaven with mixed results. Overseeing their antics was Michael, who claimed to be an angel determined to help them settle in. And one of the people he helped was Eleanor Shellstrop, a selfish human who feared she’d been sent to The Good Place by mistake.
In an incredible twist near the end of Season 1, she discovers that she and the rest of her newfound friends weren’t actually in Heaven. Instead, they were in The Bad Place, otherwise known as Hell. And Michael wasn’t an angel…instead, he was a demon using everyone as part of his crazy experiments. Instead of this switcheroo being a gimmick, this moment completely changed the plot, giving our characters a new purpose: to earn their way into The Good Place, once and for all.
Our favorite ‘Friends’ were “on a break!”
Even if you’ve never seen Friends, you’ve likely seen fans of the show shouting one of its most famous lines: “we were on a break!” This refers to a plot that started with Ross and Rachel. The fan-favorite characters were dating, but Ross got upset that his girlfriend had to work on their anniversary. They argued about the matter, prompting Rachel to frostily suggest that they take a break with their relationship.
At this point, Ross goes out for drinks and ends up sleeping with a woman he originally met at a copy center. Understandably, this destroys his relationship with Rachel, who is incredulous that her boyfriend slept with someone else like that. As for Ross, his only justification was his repeated claim that “we were on a break!”
The phrase is now quoted by many fans who find it quite funny. At the time, though, this moment signified a major shift for the show’s biggest couple, one which transformed the show’s storytelling for many years.
Urkel soon took over ‘Family Matters’
It’s easy to forget how interconnected the world of vintage sitcoms really is. For example, the popular TV show Family Matters was designed as a spinoff of Perfect Strangers. The shows were very different, though, and Family Matters was going to focus on the Winslow family and their exploits. That’s right: the show didn’t focus on Steve Urkel at first, and he didn’t even appear in the show until halfway through Season 1.
He was introduced as a blind date for Laura Winslow and was originally intended to only appear in that one episode. However, Urkel actor Jaleel White became wildly popular, and he became a series regular starting in Season 2. For better or for worse, Family Matters started revolving around him as a kind of mascot and main character rolled into one. Almost everyone loved White’s performance with the exception of the original cast, some of whom were annoyed that their own characters were shoved to the side to give Urkel center stage.
This was a serious matter to the actors involved. But we can’t help but imagine White answering their accusations with his character’s signature line: “Did I do that?!”
Michael Scott departs ‘The Office’
Unlike Family Matters, The Office was a show originally built around one character: Michael Scott, the annoying boss played by Steve Carell. Sure, the series has a really zany ensemble cast, but Michael was the glue that held their characters together as a boss who was both incompetent and endearing. And it’s fair to say that early audiences couldn’t imagine what the show would be like without his iconic character.
Eventually, though, they didn’t have to imagine: Carell’s character left in Season 7 to settle down with his hilarious girlfriend in Colorado. From the moment he left, the show tried to put different characters into the boss role, from veteran cast members like Ed Helms to newcomers like James Spader. While this led to some interesting stories, it’s almost impossible to argue that the show wasn’t better when Carell was around. The network seemingly agreed, and The Office only limped along for two more seasons before calling it quits.