Editorial: Sitcom manifesto

Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007 | 7:46 a.m.

All the recent shows of Russian strength, reminiscent of the Cold War with anti-American murmurs from the Kremlin and citizens being encouraged to be physically fit (like their president), seem to be undercut by Russians' fascination with an American cultural phenomenon - the sitcom.

Look no further than the Bukins, characters on "Schastlivy Vmeste," or "Happy Together," which has Russia's rapt attention. It is an authorized version of "Married With Children," the sitcom that helped establish the Fox TV network, making waves with its often crude and outrageous parody of family life.

Nikita Khrushchev, who famously dismissed capitalism by declaring, "We will bury you!" must be spinning in his grave. Those old Soviet propaganda films trumpeting the glories of the Communist worker have made way for the foibles of a low brow shoe salesman named Gena Bukin ; his wife, Dasha ; and their bickering children.

The New York Times reported that the show follows the tenor and broad outline of the American version, which was broadcast from 1987 to 1997, but the scripts and the humor have been tailored to Russia.

"We try to capture the so-called Russian soul so that it will be accepted by our Russian audience, so the character becomes the guy from the street," said Viktor Loginov, a classically trained actor who plays Gena Bukin.

The show's popularity may be attributed to the rise of the Russian middle class.

Sitcoms had flopped in Russia when first introduced in the 1990s because of the country's economic turmoil. Elena Prokhorova, a scholar studying Russian television, said the shows first bombed because "sitcoms require a very stable social life."

Russian versions of "The Nanny" and "Who's the Boss?" are evidently proof that the Russian middle class is alive and well, and has joined America in solidarity with the couch and the tube.