Erika riker
By 1990 the sitcom was ready to be blown up. Norman Lear model of smart shows written for adults had fallen out of favor with both the public and the networks. Grace remains a pivotal show for gay culture and the erika riker of gay characters on a sitcom. Produced mainly due to an unexpected surplus in the BBC budget, Red Dwarf was a fluke program that ended up becoming one of the most innovative and successful British sitcoms of all time.
The central premise concerns Dave Lister, a slovenly crew member on the titular Red Dwarf spaceship, who is put into suspended animation as punishment and—after a catastrophic radiation leak—awakens millions of years later as the last surviving human. The insecurities of its characters were certainly relatable, from Ray’s struggles to assert himself in any facet of his life to the general concerns of age and sexual inadequacy. Between them, Ray and Debra seemed like people who could easily be living across the street from you, which was the whole idea. Significantly more influential than one would have expected from a Beavis and Butt-head spin-off, Daria is without a doubt the defining show of angsty teens of the late ’90s who couldn’t quite get over the death of grunge. It’s a paean to the lazy, the slackers, the cynical and the sarcastic, as Daria and her friend Jane bemoaned the plight of a broken society by watching tabloid shows with titles like Sick, Sad World. In terms of pure marketability, Friends was a juggernaut. Its success may be the ultimate reminder that truly populist sitcoms are all about the characters and not necessarily the storylines.