NETWORK TV Decline of sitcoms is not a laughing matter

'Everybody Loves Raymond' is the only remaining Top 10 sitcom on television.
By MIKE DUFFY
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Is "Everybody Loves Raymond" the last hit sitcom standing?
Now that "Friends" and "Frasier have left the prime time building, Ray Romano's consistently funny, attitude-infused chronicle of the bickering Barone family could be the last of an increasingly rare chucklehead species: the big, mass appeal network situation comedy.
"Raymond," blessed with a strong cast and the sharp-edged writing of series creator Phil Rosenthal, concludes its eighth season at 9 tonight on CBS. And though there were reports earlier this year that Romano and Rosenthal were ready to call it quits, the 2004-2005 season is now expected to be the last go round for the show.
Still a sizable hit, "Raymond" has nonetheless been losing viewers in recent seasons. It now ranks No. 10 in total viewers, averaging an audience of 17.4 million weekly.
NBC's fading "Will & amp; Grace" -- which has been very hit-and-miss in recent years -- is the only other current network sitcom that's enjoyed some of the same sort of genuine hit show popularity. But it's fallen out of the Top 10 -- down to No. 15 in total viewers (15.6 million) this year.
Then and now
The year that "Frasier" premiered in 1993-94, comedy was king.
Seven sitcoms -- including "Home Improvement," "Seinfeld," "Roseanne," "Grace Under Fire," "Coach," "Frasier" and "Murphy Brown" -- finished in the Top 10 for the year.
This year's Top 10 ratings list has just the lonely duo: "Friends" and "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Reality may bite. But it also gets ratings.
"The Apprentice" has become the new blockbuster of NBC's Thursday night lineup, a lineup long populated by smash hit comedies like "Cheers," "The Cosby Show," "Seinfeld," "Frasier" and "Friends."
Anyone wanna bet Matt LeBlanc's "Joey" spin-off will have the same sort of success as "Friends"? Sucker bet.
Meanwhile, "Everybody Loves Raymond" still gives off sparks of genuine comic inspiration. And tonight's offbeat season finale -- largely played out inside a van parked by a golf course at night, as Raymond and Robert squabble hilariously about their maddening mother Marie (Doris Roberts) -- is a classic.
It's a prime reminder of why sitcoms used to be king.
But right now, there's not much else to laugh about.
The traditional network sitcom is on life support.