Because It Was On

Latest Episodes:

Gay Vampires and Sad Ghosts: Immortality in Sitcoms Feb 03, 2023

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Does time heal all wounds or just turn everyone a little gay? Should you go to the bad place for watching reality tv? If you were a ghost would you make it your mission to start small scale drama in a marriage? All of these topics and more are covered in this week's episode where Zach and Jessica explore what they for some reason thought would be a light and easy breezy topic: immortality in sitcoms.
Fair warning that this episode does discuss grief, death, and loss. If those are sore spots for you right now then this may not be the best episode.
Show discussed:

What We Do In The Shadows
The Good Place
Ghosts (US)
Ghosts (UK)

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Laugh tracks, three cameras, and a theme song: What Makes a Sitcom? Jan 27, 2023

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Jessica and Zach attempt to answer the question that has plagued philosophers for millennia: What makes a tv show a sitcom? Is it the three cameras, the laugh track, press photos of the principal cast hugging while wearing matching shirts? Or perhaps sitcoms are more than the sum of their parts.
In this episode we explore the history of sitcoms, create our own framework for what makes a sitcom a sitcom, and then play everyone's new favorite game: "Is It A Sitcom?!".
Some shows discussed include:

Everybody Loves Raymond
Parks and Recreation
30 Rock
Seinfeld
The Good Place
Stranger With Candy
Rick & Morty
The Simpsons
& Many More

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Ross and Rachel: Will They, Won't They, Should They? Jan 20, 2023

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What makes a great will they / won't they? Jessica and Zach take a look at perhaps the most famous example of the trope, Ross and Rachel from Friends, to find out. Along the way they discuss the gender dynamics at play in the show and mount multiple epic takedowns of Ross. Listen in to see if Jessica and Zach conclude if Ross really is Rachel's lobster.
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Jessica and Zach Talk about "The Talk" Jan 13, 2023

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Hey, champ? Got a sec? I think it's time we had a serious talk about the facts of life.
Join Jessica and Zach as they discuss The Birds and The Bees is sitcoms throughout the ages. We discuss several episodes that deal with teen sexuality and topics such as shame, consent, queer representation, and "hand to gland combat".
Shows discussed:

Leave it to Beaver
The War at Home
Family Matters
Blossom
Boy Meets World
The Cosby Show
Black-ish
Good Times
The Facts of Life

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Powerless Powerful Women -- Fantasy Sitcoms of the 60s (Part Two) Jan 06, 2023

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Jessica and Zach investigate the common sitcom problem of women with godlike powers giving it all away to be with mediocre dudes.
In this episode, we take a look at what we call "Powerless Powerful Women" these are the women of Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and just splash of The Flying Nun.
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My Mother the Podcast - Fantasy Sitcoms of the 1960's (Part One) Dec 30, 2022

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Can a show about a car inhabited by the reincarnated soul of a man's mother tell us something about changing conservative reactions to media? Can a show about a Martian trying to ensure his roommate's boss' dog finds love tell us something about the military industrial complex? How subversive was The Addams Family really and does intent matter to how we understand it today? Jessica and Zach explore all of this and more as they wade into the groovy waters of 1960's fantasy sitcoms.
Shortly after sitcoms became the dominant fictional comedic format on television, creators began to experiment with the premise. As American society itself experienced significant cultural upheaval in the 1960s, creators had to use inventive metaphors to tell stories reflective of the social change at their doorstep while also skirting censors and conservative studio executives. Looking through the lens of fantasy sitcoms on the 1960's, Jessica and Zach will see how fantasy sitcoms have been used as a tool to tell stories of marginalized groups and where they have significant blind spots born of the cultural context in which they were created.
Shows Discussed:

The Addams Family, Charles Addams & David Levy, ABC, 1964-1966
The Munsters, Allan Burns & Chris Hayward, CBS, 1964-1966
My Favorite Martian, John L. Greene, CBS, 1963-1966
My Mother the Car, Allan Burns & Chris Hayward, NBC, 1965
Mister Ed, Walter R. Brooks, CBS, 1961-1965

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Because It Was On: An Introduction Dec 30, 2022

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Do you remember the shows your grandparents played while they babysat you? Or maybe you also watched the 6 hour programming blocks of The Nanny on Nick-at-Nite. If so, you will feel right at home listening to Because It Was On. Because It Was On takes those sitcoms and dissects the familiar sitcom formula to tease out the often potent social and political messages they carry in their 22 minute casing.
In this episode, Jessica and Zach discuss what sitcoms mean to them and how sitcoms actually have significant cultural importance. It is also canonically established in this episode that Jessica is the official domme of this podcast.

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