Top 10 Unanswered Sitcom Questions We NEED Answered
#10: Phoebe’s Family
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“Friends” (1994-2004) Phoebe Buffay’s wedding on “Friends” was memorable for a number of reasons. For starters, it featured a ton of established sitcom tropes, while also remaining endearing enough to retain its emotional connection with the audience. It also took place during a fierce blizzard, which brings us to our first unanswered sitcom question: Where was Phoebe’s family? “Friends” made it a point to show over multiple story arcs how important it was for Phoebe to reconnect with her parents. Why, then, are the actors that portrayed them not present during their daughter’s big day? We know it was snowing hard and all, but wouldn’t Phoebe have at least invited her mom and dad to be at her wedding?
#9: Jackie From Philly
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“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (1990-96) Will Smith had a few well established love interests throughout “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Jackie Ames was one of the most well-developed of these romantic partners, an old flame from Philly who seemed poised for as a recurring character throughout season four. However, their potential romance fizzles out after a fight, and although they reconcile, Ames is never mentioned in subsequent seasons. The same went for Will’s one-time fiancée in season five, Lisa Wilkes. The Fresh Prince really knows how to love ‘em and leave ‘em, huh?
#8: Who Is Nicole’s Real Father?
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“My Two Dads” (1990-93) The intrinsic nature of sitcoms is that each episode introduces a comedic situation that’s wrapped up within roughly 22 minutes. What happens, then, when the overarching situation presents a mystery that’s never revealed? It’s never made clear who Nicole's father is on “My Two Dads.” There is an episode where a paternity test is taken, but Nicole destroys the results without looking. Ultimately, fans may say that it doesn’t really matter who Nicole's real father is; what’s important instead are the loving and caring roles they have in her life as part of her family.
#7: Earl’s List & Earl Jr.’s Paternity
“My Name Is Earl” (2005-09) Not every show is lucky enough to have a fulfilling and satisfactory finale. “My Name Is Earl” was one of those well-remembered sitcoms that ended on a cliffhanger, the bane of every television fan’s existence. Earl Hickey never gets to finish his list atoning for all of the bad things he did in the past. Additionally, the paternity of young Earl Jr. is never revealed to the audience. This was all because “My Name Is Earl” was unceremoniously canceled after the fourth season, leaving that final cliffhanger unresolved to this day.
#6: Did the Bundy Family Find Success?
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“Married… with Children” (1987-97) Speaking of unexpected cancellations, here’s one that also thwarted viewers from getting a satisfactory conclusion. The cast of “Married… with Children” was used to certain characters, like Al’s many shoe-selling proteges, coming and going without much explanation. However, “Married…with Children” was unexpectedly canceled prior to what would’ve been its 12th and final season. As a result, the only main takeaway from season 11’s final episode is Kelly’s comedically botched attempt at a wedding. Fans never received any closure as to whether or not the Bundy family would ever find any real success, after years of coming oh-so-close.
#5: Was Moesha Pregnant?
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“Moesha” (1996-2001) There were a number of unresolved cliffhangers at the end of “Moesha’s” six-season run. One of them was the results of a pregnancy test found in the title character’s dorm room. Fans were dying to know whether or not Moesha was pregnant, but sadly, those fans are still waiting for an answer. That’s because UPN, disappointed at “Moesha’s” ratings during its final season, decided to cancel the show, despite said cliffhanger. The cast of the show, as recently as 2017, are still talking about how they’d like some closure. So, maybe we’ll find out what happened someday down the line!
#4: What Happened to Carol Brady’s First Husband?
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“The Brady Bunch” (1969-74) Pilot episodes often present characters that appear only in said debut, never to be seen or heard from again. Such was the case with a cat, Fluffy, that belonged to Carol Martin and her three girls. Fluffy aside, there’s a more glaring question from the original run of “The Brady Bunch”. Specifically, what happened to Carol’s first husband? It’s established during the show that Mike Brady is a widow, but societal standards of the day prevented creator Sherwood Schwartz from his true desire to present Carol as a divorcee. The non-canonical parody movie titled “A Very Brady Sequel” pokes gentle fun at this notion, but the actual fate of Carol Martin’s first marriage prior to Mike Brady is never answered on the show.
#3: Where Are The Tanners?
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“ALF” (1986-90) This one is sort of a cheat, since the made-for-TV “Project: ALF” gave a half-hearted answer to this question, albeit six years after the “ALF” sitcom was canceled after just four seasons. “ALF” ended on a cliffhanger, whereby the Air Force kidnapped Gordon Shumway before he made it home to Melmac. However, the “Project: ALF” explanation that Shumway’s adopted family, the Tanners, moved to Iceland under witness protection is simply there to justify the absence of any returning actors from the show. Since “Project ALF” is supposed to take place shortly after Shumway’s capture, why would the Tanners simply up and leave, abandoning their family member to face his fate?
#2: Did Mork & Mindy Make It Home?
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“Mork & Mindy” (1978-82) Here’s a question: why would the sitcom partially responsible for making Robin Williams a household comedic name not give his title character a proper send-off? Well, season 4 was meant to end with the three-episode arc, “Gotta Run”, in order to set up a time traveling story in the following season. But unfortunately the show was canceled. So the episode “The Mork Report” was aired after “Gotta Run”, despite being filmed beforehand, to serve as the series finale. As a result of the cancellation, the canonical ending of “Mork & Mindy'' has the characters lost in prehistory - but happily married, at least.
#1: Where Is Judy Winslow?
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“Family Matters” (1989-97) It’s referred to colloquially as “Chuck Cunningham Syndrome.” This is a reference to the sitcom “Happy Days,” where Richie Cunningham’s older brother Chuck simply disappears after season 2, never to be mentioned again by his family. This also applies to the Winslow’s youngest daughter on “Family Matters”: Judy. The long-running joke is that Judy went to her room in season 4 and just never came back. The show continued without any mention of her character for five more seasons! Reportedly, she was axed due to budget cuts, but if the network hoped no one would notice, they were sorely mistaken. Judy, are you still stuck up there in your room? WHERE ARE YOU?