Monday Stress Buster - Watch a Sitcom

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Laughter is a great way to bust stress. And an easy way to laugh is to watch a sitcom. There are plenty of good sitcoms on streaming services. Netflix and Amazon prime have some good ones. As a bonus, when you watch a sitcom on a streaming service you only have to invest around 22 minutes of your time. 

If you want to go in to more detail, you can get the DVD of sitcoms. I have all seasons of The Office on DVD. Not only does it have the episode on the DVD it has bonus footage that had to be cut to fit in the half hour (aka 23 minutes plus advertisements) window.

If you have an antenna (or Dish network) you might be able to access MeTV and Hogan’s Heroes (if you like old school). A totally realistic sitcom – prisoners of war are basically running World War II from inside a German POW camp. (Favorite episode: Honey Hornburg and the Stuttgart Steppers)

Speaking of realistic: Big Bang Theory is another one of my favorites. (Favorite episode: All of them).

Other options (with my personal notes):

MASH: One of the first sitcoms I remember watching so it takes me back when I see a rerun. The early stuff was consistently funny. The later stuff was sometimes funny, sometimes preachy. Nothing inherently wrong with it, but if I’m watching to manage stress and laugh I want something funny. That said, an added bonus with MASH is getting jokes now that went way over my head back then. (Favorite episode: Dear Sigmund - the practical jokes were hilarious, and Sidney Freedman had one of my favorite quotes: "Ladies and Gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice"). 

That might be a future stress buster idea. Or maybe not. 

That 70s Show:  It has a soft spot in my heart because the first time I ever watched it was while we were waiting for the birth of our youngest son. Also, it’s consistently hilarious and has great characters throughout. (Favorite episode: When they destroy the clown in season 8)

Seinfeld: Consistently hilarious. Outstanding character development (Favorite episode: The Contest).

How I Met Your Mother: I liked it the first go-round but eventually found myself saying “Can we please meet the mother already?” (Favorite episode: Not sure I have one)

Friends: My kids don't like Friends. Therefore we don't turn it on that often. But on a recent flight I watched the Friends reunion and I remembered just how good the show was. (Favorite episode: The one where Joey and Chandler fight over the chair and Joey winds up wearing all of Chandler's clothes) By the way, the backstory on that episode - Matt LeBlanc dislocated his shoulder on a jump into the chair and they had to wait a couple of months before finishing it - makes it that much better in hindsight.

Arrested Development: Dark, and really funny. We just started watching it on Netflix. It's hilarious. They also do a lot of subtle jokes. There’s one where Henry Winkler is on the dock next to a dead shark talking to Jason Bateman). As he exits the scene he jumps over the shark. That’s just good writing. (Favorite episode: The Road Trip to Mexico).

Here's my rule on sitcoms: If the reruns still make you laugh – that’s a good sitcom.

What is your favorite sitcom?

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