Humor is a subjective thing, with a great many factors determining whether a given person finds something funny or not. Nonetheless, there are often topics or types of humor that appeal to a broad swathe of audiences, typically informed by the social mores of the time.
As a result, changing social mores have meant that a lot of humor from the past doesn't hold up today. Whether it is unfunny, horrifically offensive, or both, some jokes just don't land like they did in the '90s. Sitcoms, as forms of comedy that try to appeal to large audiences, are especially vulnerable to changing social norms, resulting in a lot of sitcoms from previous years that are just out of place.
10 How I Met Your Mother Makes Light Of Serious Sexual Indecencies
The 2000s were a rapidly changing time for a lot of social issues, with topics like gender equality and gay rights progressing rapidly. As such, humor produced during the first decade of the century often became outdated rapidly. Even in the later seasons of How I Met Your Mother when the homophobic and sexist jokes died down, the show maintains some serious issues.
How I Met Your Mother largely centers around the character of Barney Stinson, a womanizer extraordinaire. Even aside from his casual dismissal of most women as objects to be 'conquered', a great many of his more outlandish 'plays' rely on elaborate lies and false identities to woo women. Nowadays, this is widely-recognized as a form of sexual assault by deception.
9 Are You Being Served? Mines Racial Stereotypes For Humor
The 1970s are particularly infamous as a time that has aged poorly in terms of comedy, especially in the UK. British sitcom Are You Being Served? follows hotel staff as they find thinly-justified excuses to drop barrage after barrage of innuendo at one another.
Although the general format could hold up - despite a shift to more drama-influenced sitcoms - many of the jokes in Are You Being Served? involve racial and ethnic stereotypes, including impressions of such. Such a thing would be more controversial now.
8 Everybody Loves Raymond Glosses Over Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is one of the more widely-acknowledged issues of current times. Luckily, there's a growing awareness of how pervasive it can be, and how so many previously-acceptable behaviors are actually a form of abuse towards one's partner.
Everybody Loves Raymond is in some ways a tolerant show, and certainly one that does not advocate for the mistreatment of people. Nonetheless, a running theme is Raymond's wife Debra being violent towards him. This includes outright hitting him with objects. In Everybody Loves Raymond, this is laughed off, but nowadays would be considered a truly abusive relationship.
7 Seinfeld's Humor Has Been Eclipsed By Its Descendants
When it first displayed its trademark format of episodes dedicated to people sitting around and talking, Seinfeld was a revolution for sitcoms, surviving solely off of the comedic chops of its dialogue and its cast. As such, it has rightfully gone down in history as massively influential on the genre.
Being the first, however, gave other shows the chance to refine and alter Seinfeld's formula, as well as better-adapt to changing times. As such, to modern audiences, Seinfeld is less able to stand up against the host of shows emulating its style.
6 Two And A Half Men Glorifies Misogyny
Even during its run, Two And A Half Men faced criticism for its depiction of women. During a time when female characters in entertainment were becoming increasingly nuanced, important, and sensitively-written, Two and a Half Men was content to have them be nags, barriers, punchlines, or being to give or withold sex.
Aside from rampant objectification, Two And A Half Men often crosses legal lines. For instance, the main characters escort a black-out drunk woman from the house, who happens to be in her underwear. Jake, a teenager, takes photos against her will, pretending she's his girlfriend. Charlie, the supposedly likable protagonist, has to be dissuaded from sexual assault.
5 Home Improvement Makes Laughs From Toxic Relationships And Abuse
In the '90s, Tim 'The Tool Man' Taylor was considered a peak of masculinity. Due to the standards of the '90s, this meant that he was largely miserable, determined to do things his own way, and largely contemptful of his family.
As one of the most popular sitcoms of the '90s, families would sit down every week to watch Home Improvement's Tim and Jill express their disgust for one another. Tim encourages the violent, bullying competition between his sons - up to and including being violent towards his children. Such fare would not be considered humorous nowadays.
4 The Thick Of It Embodies A Bygone Era Of Politics
Despite being one of the most acclaimed political sitcoms of all time, The Thick Of It creator Armando Iannuchi stated that he could never make the show in the increasingly-political 2010s and 2020s, due to the perception and actions of government being entirely different.
The Thick Of It is stuck firmly in the late mid-2000s to early 2010s, at a time when political disillusionment was at a low. It's also a time where governments were run by their press and PR officers, ensuring image was everything. In times of increased political disillusionment when image seems less important, The Thick Of It's politics seem almost unrecognizable.
3 The Big Bang Theory Couldn't Have Predicted Geek Culture
Despite maintaining a large viewing base throughout its run, The Big Bang Theory came under fire for a number of issues. These ranged from its treatment of its female characters, to its depictions of autism, to many not finding it funny.
It's dated poorly as earliest seasons adopt a mocking tone towards 'geek culture', often making fun of people with interests such as superheroes, fantasy, or Dungeons & Dragons. The 2010s would see a massive boom, with all of these things becoming mainstream and widely-beloved, heavily dating the show.
2 The Inbetweeners Ticks Every Box Of Gratuitousness
There is a trend for British sitcoms to be as offensive as standards of the day will allow, and often pushing the boat out to be more so. Playing this to the hilt in the late 2000s was The Inbetweeners, focusing on a rather realistic depiction of four average secondary schoolers.
The problem with rather realistic depictions of British secondary schoolers is that this comes with a hefty dose of casual homophobia, sexism, ableism, and nearly every kind of prejudice possible. Coupled with toilet humor and excesses such as punching a fish to death, and you have a recipe for a show that does not age well.
1 Malcolm In The Middle Crosses A Line For Some
The main premise of exceedingly popular sitcom Malcolm In The Middle is the family it focuses on, and how they are at the end of their tether financially and emotionally. Malcolm In The Middle depicts a particularly dysfunctional family. As such, mother Lois takes a rigidly firm grip to keep her family in line.
As time has progressed, however, this discipline has come to be seen as increasingly abusive on nearly every level, including physically, financially, and emotionally. Although Malcolm In The Middle's humor is still considered to be top of its games, the considerations of the effects of abuse leave a bad taste in the mouths of some.