sitcom

This article contains spoilers for WandaVision episode 8. Like episode 4 before it, WandaVision episode 8 drops the show’s sitcom homage format entirely to delve deeper into the context of the world outside the hexagon and Wanda’s own history. That doesn’t mean, however, that “Previously On…” still doesn’t find the time to shout out some classic television. In fact, this penultimate installment may feature WandaVision’s most important sitcom reference yet by taking things back to the very first episode with the help of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Allow us to explain… The Dick Van Dyke Show As Agatha takes…

This article contains spoilers for WandaVision episode 7. From its very first trailer, WandaVision made it abundantly clear that it would be paying homage to some classic sitcoms throughout TV history. But for some reason, it was hard to imagine just how far into TV history the show would actually make it.  WandaVision’s seventh episode, “Breaking the Fourth Wall” borrows its format from some very recent classics like The Office and Modern Family. Wanda, Vision, Agnes, and even Darcy take their turns in front of the camera to offer up their thoughts on their zany day-to-day lives. It may be…

WandaVision episode 6 “All-New Halloween Spooktacular!” finds Wanda Maximoff accelerating the situation in Westview quite a bit. The children are all allowed out of their homes for a Halloween celebration and the very boundaries of the town are expanded. Fittingly for such an episode, the show’s sitcom homages experience quite a bump as well. After honoring Family Ties, Full House, and other ‘80s and early ‘90s TV comedies in episode 5, this installment speeds ahead to the more experimental 2000s. Fox’s superb Malcolm in the Middle is in the driver’s seat this time and both Tommy and Billy are our…

This article contains spoilers for WandaVision episode 5. Last week’s WandaVision took a break from our regularly scheduled programming to check in with Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo, and Darcy Lewis as they studied the Westview Anomaly. It provided a much-needed dose of explanations and exposition. This week, however, WandaVision thrusts us right back into the sitcom world of Wanda Maximoff’s making. Sure, the cracks in Wanda’s facade are beginning to show a little more consistently. But even among Agnes’s fourth wall breaking, Norm’s mortal terror, and Vision’s sleuthing, episode 5 contains a truly impressive amount of sitcom homages. Let’s break…

This article contains spoilers for WandaVision episode 3. In case you thought WandaVision’s sitcom homages were a passing fad, episode 3 “Now in Color” makes clear that the influences are here to stay…for now at least. Just as episodes 1 and 2 drew inspiration from The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, and I Dream of Jeannie, so too does this third installment honor some classic TV series. Rather than hanging around the ‘50s or ‘60s, however, this episode bumps WandaVision up to gorgeous ‘70s technicolor. In speaking to reporters prior to the series premiere, director Matt Shakman revealed that the…