4 Worst Sitcom Episodes

In the greatest sitcoms that make us forget our troubles, or find comfort in relating to those problems through charismatic characters or similar scenes to our own modern life. But then there's that one episode that stands out for not the best reasons.

Not all of the episodes can be the textbook definition of gold, but these four definitely missed the mark. These unfortunate episodes made a stain on the legacy of the show.

I comprised this list with my own personal take on how I reacted to it as well as the opinions I've read about some of these episodes to make sure I wasn't going to be an angry or frustrated fan.

So without further delay, I'm going to list off some of the episodes of various sitcoms that just didn't make the intended entertainment, derailment, or just flat out missed the mark.

1. Designing Women - The Big Circle

There have been many fans that have cited that The Big Desk: Part Two was where Designing Women made the decline in quality. The departure of Charlene was going to make it hard for the chemistry of the show to continue. I was sporadically watching certain episodes of the show I decided to bite the bullet and watch the episode where it would be mentioned that Julia Sugarbaker’s boyfriend Reese Watson died. The episode “The Big Circle “, is centered around Julia’s acceptance of Reese’s passing. Hal Holbrook had to leave the show for other projects going on and he could not reprise his role, so his character was killed off screen. The only part of the show that is doing it's part for the emotional toll is in Dixie Carter, watching that episode, it's hard to tell if she's acting or really thinking of what would happen if she lost him that way considering Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter were married in real life. That personal connection does bring out a that emotion in Julia's character, as well as how the cast presents their characters in mourning.

But the plot takes a turn where Dixie has to look after client's child, a spoiled rotten child.

In terms of episodes that cover the death of the character, this was by far the most insulting and obnoxious way I have ever seen a show that dealt with death. I could have seen an episode where Julia does straighten up a child, because she a no nonsense woman, but that plot shouldn't be shared in this episode. There should’ve been more emphasis on her relationship with Reese not trying to basically do the non-military version of Heartbreak Ridge.

The child actress did do a good job playing a character that you hate to see onscreen, but it just didn't fit, she just became one of those spoiled characters that didn't have a growth in character. I didn't see how Julia's wisdom could change her and mature her. The only change I would make is if this child said, "I'm sorry you lost someone", that would have at least made the episode live up to it's name "The Big Circle". It starts out with a spoiled brat and a mourning woman, then it changes to matured child and a healed woman. It wouldn't have made much of an improvement, but it would have been better then the way it was portrayed.

Even though it is centered around Julia mourning for Reese, that idea is almost quickly forgotten. Yes, the episode is centered around Julia taking in the reality of his death but there wasn't any talk of her favorite memories of Reese, maybe a proposal idea that could come up again, maybe seeing his children, there are plenty of opportunities that could have done better.

Compare that episode to the famous, "The lights went out in Georgia!" scene from season one, episode 2, and you'll see that this episode is where the triumph and lively nature of the colorful show has turned dull and uninspiring.

If you compare a bad episode to the Golden girls, Ebb Tide and Ebb Tide's revenge . Those did a better job than what designing women did here.

Speaking of Golden Girls-

2. Golden Girls - Empty Nests

This is known as the worst episode to come from The Golden Girls.

I happen to be binging through season 2, and I came to the last episode.

I wasn't paying too much attention to it, but when I did, I was confused and bored to see that the main four females weren't the focused attention and it was centered on a friend of theirs and her problem.

The whole plot was about a woman wanting to reconnect with her husband now that the children have left home. The whole premise in this was boring and lackluster. Nothing about this episode was enjoyable and I wondered why it was centered on these boring characters. It was a proposed spin-off of the Golden Girls, and it did not hold up well. Even the castmates themselves said it was a bad idea, and the writers tried to stop it from airing because of the flat and stale storyline.

I'll use Happy Days as an example here, when Robin Williams guest stared as Mork the alien, he had that kind of charisma and unique qualities that wouldn't normally fit on Happy Days, but it worked well with the cast and their quirks that seeing him again would be great, you'd want to see him his own show to see what else you could learn about him. It was a surprising success and he got his own show, Mork and Mindy.

That episode did become the show of the same name, despite the negative reviews on Golden Girls. The four females do make an appearance on the show but it is barely considered a spin-off, and it is forgotten in the connection.

Many are still trying to forget it ever aired.

3. Roseanne - Arsenic and Old Mom

I was too young when I watched this episode, so I didn't really have a clue about what happened to Dan's mom. When I was older, I rewatched a previous episode with the last mention of Dan's mom about her mental health problems.

Even though the show is about the Connor family, it's Dan's side of the family that has the tough problems that people can relate to. Nothing is essentially fixed with his father, his father wasn't a bad person but problems he never talked about with his father despite his father believing they have a great relationship. In the future seasons, his mother is barely heard from because of her declining mental health and holds the blame towards his father for her mental health problems. Dan's whole family is the one that I connected with most more then the family he has with Roseanne, tough slices of life that usually are not fixed, and throughout the show, they are not resolved and in most families, sometimes it remains that way.

In season 6, Dan deals with the reality that his father wasn't at fault for his mother's declining mental health. It was a well-written and well acted episode that tackled the problems in a family that can't be solved. Dan has to accept it and knows his mother had problems before and she had problems now.

Now in season 9, to see how the follow up is to that emotionally unpacked episode with Dan's estranged mother trying to kill him, it doesn't fit.

Most of season 9 did take a strange, dark humor route from the departure of blue collar comedy. But this was near the end of the show, this was how that was wrapped up? Dan's mother trying to kill him and it makes fun of mental health problems?

Given the concept in the end of the episode reveals that it's just a joke. I didn't find it funny, one reason being the fact that killing your own child is no joke and the lengths she went to in order to maintain the joke was terrible. The second reason is now that we are in a placement of society where we are taking mental health seriously, looking at this episode I find it insulting.

It was a waste of the last episodes in a wasted season, as well as a waste of the great and missed Debbie Reynolds.

4. Fuller House - Secrets , Lies , and Firetrucks

I never finished sequel show after this episode, I understand that the show went through a writing redemption after the first season, but this episode just didn't make me want to finish the series and see it's redemption. As a fan of the original 80s run, I was anticipated for it , I gave it a shot and accepted the differences and what modern twists it would have. So I remember some of the moments that stayed with me

There’s a certain scene I want to pinpoint to about, when DJ runs into the arms of Dr. Harmon, actually no, she jumps on him like a monkey to make out with him .

In the episode Danny's Very First Date, Danny has a date with one of the hive mothers from Stephanie's Honey Bee Troop. He decides to ask her out on a date, and he does contemplate it because of daughters and the feeling that it wouldn't be fair to his late wife Pam. DJ and Stephanie talk about how their father is moving on from their mom and don’t want him to, because they feel their mother will be replaced. They are children so it’s understandable for them not to understand. They were the ones who didn’t want him to move on so the memory of their mother can live on, at the end of that episode they all come to and understanding and it’s dealt with very sweetly and maturely. It's a bit of a blunt episode that tried to tackle a huge issue in single parent families

In the episode of Fuller House, it hasn’t been too long since DJ's husband died , and there was not one mention of him in fond remembrance or even a regret about what she did . Instead she gossips with Kimmy and Stephanie.

I found that to be hypocritical, the ten year old DJ doesn't want her father to move on, yet the thirty something DJ is ready to hit the sack when it hasn't even been a year since her husband's death.

That moment sullied the show for me.

Like I said, not every episode is going to be favorite or memorable. Did this list make you think differently about a certain episode or give the the insight to what you never knew about a certain episode?

If one of these episodes is one that you didn't find fault with and you enjoyed the episode and that's Ok. Maybe you saw something that I never caught before or understood about the episode. There's always room for expansion and evaluation.

I'm off to go revisit some of the best episodes now to take my mind off of these weird episodes.

Thank you for reading