Funny / Picket Fences

• The first season's Christmas Episode provides some of this trope. First we have Kimberly declining to join the rest of her family in singing Christmas carols so that she can stay at home with her boyfriend. So then the family decides to surprise her by going to her room while singing and end up catching them in the act. It's a huge hoopla that leaves Jimmy so upset, that he declares that Christmas is canceled in their home forever.
  • Also of note, young Zack and Matthew are (unintentionally) given a crash course in human anatomy, with the former casually mentioning the he saw the boyfriend's penis and a later scene has them reenacting the scene with Barbie dolls.
  • Furthermore, to make things worse (or better), not only was the last word out of Jimmy's mouth before realizing what was happening was "Ho—" ^note while in the midst of singing the lyrics "Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh" from "Jingle Bells", but after the boyfriend got out of dodge, she demanded that the family get out of her room!
• Carter getting heckled over how many times he ends up changing his diagnosis of how the dead woman in "The Snake Lady" died every time new facts come to life gets funnier with each new press conference.
• Scatter Brained Senior Howard Buss abruptly shows up for a town council meeting for the first time in three years. Everyone thinks his Alzheimers made him forget that he resigned until the council secretary explains that Howard was technically only on medical leave for all that time and really is still a councilman. Howard then insists on observing an often-ignored bylaw that the council sing "America The Beautiful" at the start of each meeting. Then, when Howard ends up becoming the new mayor due to his council seniority at the end of the episode, the rest of the council (who have been pushing hard to get rid of the old mayor, with Howard being one of her few defenders) have a Mass "Oh, Crap!" moment.
• Howard Buss's Alzheimer's making him think he is former Mayor Bill Pugen in one of his final scenes is one of the most depressing scenes in the series, but there is one Mood Whiplash scene where Howard finds some of Pugen's old clothes and complains that he isn't fat like people always said he (Pugen) was: his clothes were just too big.
• Wambaugh giving dead characters well-meaning but awkward eulogies is enough of a Running Gag that in the season 2 finale, Jill pleads with her husband to beat him to the front of the church during the funeral of Howard Buss due to feeling that Howard deserves better. Judge Bone feels the same way and says this at the beginning of his speech after he beats volunteers faster than Jimmy or Wambaugh.
• When a famous lawyer who Wambaugh idolizes gets run off the road by a motorcyclist while visiting town (and turns out to be Jimmy's father), Wambaugh earnestly tells the elder Brock that he would be honored to sue the motorcyclist on his behalf.