Summary
- Ross and Rachel's "We were on a break" joke from Friends loses charm over time as it's overused.
- Leslie's hatred for libraries in Parks and Recreation becomes dull and lacks depth as the gag progresses.
- Sheldon's "Bazinga!" catchphrase in The Big Bang Theory loses its humor as it's used excessively without meaning.
Running gags are a staple in sitcoms, but some get old quickly, and audiences have grown tired of them. The best sitcoms of all time include recurring jokes that come up frequently and are usually iconic quotes or references that make viewers roar with laughter. Some running gags in sitcoms never got old and, to this day, are often mentioned in popular culture and even parodied in other TV shows.
Because sitcoms rely so heavily on jokes, when they find one that audiences respond to, they tend to use them repeatedly. However, this can be fatal for a sitcom, and their running gags become so overused that they’re not funny anymore. Unfortunately, this is common in some of the longest-running TV sitcoms because writers try to keep the original spark alive. Although these running gags are hilarious initially, they turn stale after hearing them too many times.
|
Relevant TV Shows |
Air Dates |
|---|---|
|
Friends |
1994–2004 |
|
Parks and Recreation |
2009–2015 |
|
How I Met Your Mother |
2005–2014 |
|
The Big Bang Theory |
2007–2019 |
|
Family Guy |
1999– |
|
Arrested Development |
2003–2019 |
|
Modern Family |
2009–2020 |
|
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia |
2005– |
|
The Simpsons |
1989– |
|
Rick and Morty |
2013– |
10 We Were On A Break
Friends
Friends
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Friends is the popular sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, released back in 1994 and ran for ten seasons. The show follows a group of six twentysomethings through their lives in New York City and their time spent between their two apartments and their local coffee shop. The show features the group navigating tricky relationships with one another and comical misadventures.
- Cast
- Jennifer Aniston , Courteney Cox , Lisa Kudrow , Matt LeBlanc , Matthew Perry , David Schwimmer
- Release Date
- September 22, 1994
- Seasons
- 10
Friends has several running gags throughout the show, but the most irritating one is between Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). Ross and Rachel’s relationship in Friends is definable with one quote – “We were on a break!” However, this statement gets irritating the more it is referenced. Although audiences are still conflicted about Ross and Rachel’s “break,” neither character can move on from it either. Ross and Rachel split in Friends season 3 after Ross cheats with Chloe (Angela Featherstone), as he believes his relationship with Rachel is over, but this reference crops up throughout all ten seasons.
While it’s funny to hear the exes bicker about their relationship shortly after its end, it doesn’t have the same impact years later.
In later seasons of Friends, even after the birth of Ross and Rachel’s daughter Emma, “We were on a break” is still heard often. While it’s funny to hear the exes bicker about their relationship shortly after its end, it doesn’t have the same impact years later. Even when Rachel returns to New York in the Friends finale, Ross can’t resist slipping the quote in one last time as they reunite. “We were on a break” may have begun as a hilarious jab between the pair, but it loses charm as each season of Friends progresses.
9 Pawnee Hates Libraries
Parks And Recreation
Parks and Recreation
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This political sitcom full of humor and heart follows the adventures of Leslie Knope, deputy director of the Parks Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Every week holds a new crisis of small-town politics, but Leslie and her friends work tirelessly to make Pawnee — and the world — a better place.
- Cast
- Amy Poehler , Nick Offerman , ​Chris Pratt2 , Aubrey Plaza , Adam Scott , Rashida Jones , Retta , Jim O'Heir , Aziz Ansari , Rob Lowe
- Release Date
- April 9, 2009
- Seasons
- 7
One of Parks and Recreation’s weirdest recurring jokes starts with Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and eventually spreads across the entire Parks department. While the “Parks team hates libraries” joke gets dull over time, the main issue is that the gag is overly petty. Leslie hates libraries in Parks and Recreation more than anyone, but as the show advances, other characters start agreeing with her. Arguably, this is because Ron’s (Nick Overton) ex-wife Tammy 2 (Megan Mullally) runs the libraries in Pawnee. However, Tammy 2’s chaotic ways don’t explain why everyone in the Parks department hates libraries.
Even Leslie publishes a book yet doesn’t acknowledge that it’ll likely go on display in a library.
What’s odd about this gag, too, is that books are prominent factors in multiple Parks and Recreation storylines. For example, Kelly Larson (Will Forte) adamantly tries to get the Twilight books into the Pawnee time capsule in season 3, and Joan Callamezzo has a book club in season 4. Even Leslie publishes a book yet doesn’t acknowledge that it’ll likely go on display in a library. Although this is a funny reference in Parks and Recreation, it gets old because of how little context anyone gives about their hatred for public libraries.