Whatever Happened to Family Sitcoms?

If you watch a lot of classic tv and hang around the channel's message boards/Facebook pages etc, you'll see a lot of people bemoaning the lack of good tv.

Well there is good tv out there, you just have to look for it, but really the family sitcom seems to be a thing of the past. The Middle was really the only show in recent years on the major networks that the whole family could watch. It was also good in the way that you didn't have a "smart mom" and "stupid dad" thing going on..or even better...the goofy looking dad and the "hot mom."  It kind of falls under the Leonard and Penny thing from Big Bang Theory. How does a goofy looking smart guy get a girl like Penny, even when THE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN COMMON.  Sorry, that whole dynamic has always bugged me, especially when Howard and Sheldon both end up with equally smart partners.

Early sitcoms had parents at least on equal footing or absent parents..because the dad's were always widowers. The family sitcom starting dying in the 90s, after The Cosby Show ended its run. Sure shows like Full House, Family Matters and of course Home Improvement lasted well into the 90s..and later Boy Meets World..but the amount of shows with family being a central figure...and without sex being the premise of almost every episode, has faded into obscurity, especially if you don't watch cable.

Its really a sad sorry shame that this type of programming can't make a comeback.

What's your favorite family sitcom?

Oh and as an aside, Disney really did the best sitcoms in recent years, like Good Luck Charlie (which my dad loved) and The Wizards of Waverly Place.