CatNamedRudy wrote:Timeless.
There are very few time referenced jokes in the show.
There are some of course. I was watching an S10 episode last night (I think it was Analyzed Kiss). It's the one where Niles and Daphne are trying filling out the application for pre-school and they are trying to come up with a name.
One of the names they come up with is Bob which they have picked out of the phone book. Niles writes down "Bob Crane" and then immediately erases it after realizes what name he just wrote down. My first thought was "How many people actually get that joke now?" I'm thinking that people that aren't much younger than me would not have any clue who Bob Crane is. I thought it was funny but a lot of people wouldn't get it!
Certain guest stars like Dr. Phil and Bill Gates might be time capsul type guys but for the most part, I think it's timeless. I feel the same way about Cheers though. Aside from some of the decor and some of the obvious technological differences, Cheers in the 80's is just like any corner bar (or pub as it were) of the 00's!
Interesting, I think the Bob Crane joke actually went over 75% of the audience heads when that episode first aired... I didn't get it until the 3rd time I watched it, and that was only because I had watched some biography channel special on the Hogan's Hero's star.
That's the one thing that Frasier has never backed away from, making obscure references to bits of art/culture/history. Be it wine, sculpture, theatre, cinema, tv, et. there are many jokes that I never even picked up on at the time, but they were still funny. They get even funnier when you finally figure out what the joke is referencing! Absolutely brilliant writing.
I think Dr. Phil will be an obscure figure years from now for sure, but not Bill Gates. I mean, it's the same as if Howard Hughes had ever been in an an episode of "I Love Lucy". People are gonna know who Bill Gates is many many years from now.
Kind of like we all know the name Rockefeller, or even the name "Medici" and equate it with rich italians over five hundred years later....