Whew! We have nearly survived the finales of “Friends” and “Frasier,” and our hearts are steeled for the passing of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” expected next year. 
   RIP, you blessed three.
   And if we are very lucky, to say divinely delivered, we will survive all the mindless chatter, building now for weeks, that the sitcom is dead.
   The evidence of that would seem overwhelming. New comedies regularly die at birth, goes the death-of-comedy argument, the victim of audiences who are drawn increasingly to reality shows like "The Apprentice."
   It's all nonsense.
   The sitcom is not only alive and well, it has shown its resilience time and again throughout the history of television. To add further to its defense, as a genre it is older, and likely healthier, than most if not all of those proclaiming its death. 
   Let us consider some facts, as so astutely reported recently by Media Life's Toni Fitzgerald.
   Fact: The number of scripted comedies in primetime has actually increased since the current trend of reality TV began in 1999. 
   Fact: “Survivor” and “American Idol” have indeed become primetime fixtures but not at the expense of comedies.
  The swap has been reality for reality, so to speak, with the new reality series taking primetime slots away from newsmagazines, movies and game shows.
   Yes, we have seen the death of many highly touted comedies in these past several years-- “Coupling” comes quickly to mind--that bombed. But other sitcoms have thrived: “Raymond” and “Two and a Half Men” on CBS, “The Simpsons” and “That ‘70s Show” on Fox, “Scrubs” on NBC, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on HBO, “The Office” on BBC America.
   And yes, The Donald is so amusing on "The Apprentice" that the sitcom may seem a bit dated and headed into a slump.
   It may in fact be. For sure, like all TV genres, the sitcom goes through up and down cycles.
   But just when folks are pronouncing it a croaker, along comes a new comedy--a "Seinfeld"--that’s fresh, edgy or somehow strikes a nerve with viewers.
   We all know the story going forward. The show becomes a hit. Other networks take notice. They try to replicate its success. Next thing you know, comedies are all over the schedules. The genre is strong again.
   We see this so clearly looking back three decades or so.
   Heading into the 1970s, the gentle family comedies that baby boomers grew up with in the ‘50s--"Ozzie and Harriet" comes to mind-- suddenly seemed dated and stale. Dramas dominated the network lineups, with private eyes and cop shows particularly in vogue.
   Then, as if out of nowhere, came “All in the Family,” “M*A*S*H,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Happy Days.” These shows not only had an edge that you just didn’t see on “Father Knows Best” or “Leave it to Beaver,” they pushed the envelope by presenting topics and characters that had been taboo during the first 20 years of television.
   Archie Bunker was a bigot. Mary Richards was an independent career woman working in a medium (TV) primarily dominated by men. Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli was a hood. 
   Sex, drugs, war, rebellion and the flushing of the upstairs toilet all became part of the fabric of sitcoms. As the audience had grown, so did the genre—in popularity as well as in substance. 
   In the annals of television, the 1970s were a decade of powerhouse comedy blocks on Tuesdays (ABC and CBS), Fridays (NBC), Saturdays (CBS), and Sundays (CBS).
   Now fast-forward to 1983 and the end of “M*A*S*H.” 
   Once again, comedies were supplanted by dramas, particularly primetime soaps such as “Dallas” and “Dynasty.” Though “Cheers” and “Family Ties” were both in their second seasons on NBC, they were bubble shows at best.
   One year later, Bill Cosby returned to television in “The Cosby Show,” a throwback to “Father Knows Best” tailored around his standup act. With the sitcom supposedly dead, experts predicted a quick cancellation.
   Not only was “Cosby” a huge hit for NBC, it started the wave of Thursday night must-see TV comedies (“Seinfeld,” “Frasier,” “Mad About You,” “Friends”) that kept the network at the top for two decades. In addition, it spawned a slew of other family-oriented sitcoms, including “Roseanne,” “Home Improvement” and the TGIF block of comedies that have anchored ABC for more than 15 years.
   Comedy works because it creates environments that viewers can relate to as they cannot relate to dramas. Successful sitcoms invariably evolve around a character or core group of characters coping with marriage, work, raising kids, family issues.
   Not everyone has the kind of wealth Charlie Harper has amassed in “Two and a Half Men.”
    But most people know what it’s like to have their world rocked in some way, as Charlie’s is when he suddenly finds himself sharing his bachelor pad with his uptight brother and his 10-year-old kid. That, plus a likable lead in Charlie Sheen and a strong lead-in in "Raymond," accounts for the show’s success.
   No doubt, boomers feeling their oats in the ‘70s would have scoffed at “The Cosby Show.” But with many of them settled down with families of their own in the early 1980s, a sitcom like “Cosby” suddenly resonated with them. It also gave them something they could sit down and watch with their kids.
   Similarly, the Gen Xers who grew up watching “Friends” are beginning to balance family and career. That’s reflected in the recent upsurge of family comedies since 9/11, as well as many of the comedy pilots currently under consideration for the fall.
   Sitcoms are hardy for another reason. They are highly lucrative, with a hit show running for years, whether it’s “I Love Lucy” or “Gilligan’s Island" or "Friends," which lasted a decade.
   Producers and executives still think in terms of the “magic number” of episodes for syndication, DVD and video release, and other forms of distribution. This, of course, is where the real money in television usually is made.
   There just isn’t that kind of shelf life for reruns of “Survivor,” “The Bachelor” or “The Apprentice.”
  Finally, the sitcom endures because of the talent out there. Stand-up comics can’t quite resist it. If offered the chance to star in their own show, they hope to become the next Cosby, Newhart, Seinfeld, Drew Carey, Ray Romano, Kevin James, George Lopez or Bernie Mac.
   Lewis Black not only has a special coming up on HBO on May 15, he also has a pilot on the table for ABC. Not surprisingly, so do fellow stand-ups Earthquake, Rodney Carrington, and Caroline Rhea.
   Whether any of these shows proves to be the one that takes the sitcom to its next level remains to be seen. If they don’t, that trendsetter will come along soon enough.
   History says you can bet on it.