This list would change if you asked me tomorrow. And you?
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
My Favorite TV Comedies (Ever)
Herewith my dozen favorite TV Comedies...(all time). [Dramas already discussed] The only thing that I don't think would be missing from the list had I actually seen more than a couple of episodes is The Mary Tyler Moore Show in case anyone is wondering why it's missing. (Also I must confess: Rarely watched Arrested Development though I certainly liked --and laughed hard at-- what I saw.)
This list would change if you asked me tomorrow. And you?
This list would change if you asked me tomorrow. And you?
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My top dozen (in order) would be:
1. Friends
2. The Simpsons
3. Ally McBeal
4. Gilmore Girls
5. I Love Lucy
6. Sex and the City
7. Desperate Housewives
8. Scrubs
9. Cheers
10. Frasier
11. Bewitched
12. Everybody Loves Raymond (sans Patricia Heaton, of course)
Any list without Seinfeld is incomplete.
but seinfeld was on my list?
Seinfeld. Best show ever. Seinfeld, Seinfeld, Seinfeld and Seinfeld are also in my list. And Seinfeld, too.
I hate Friends.
cal roth
Yay for including Cheers on your list. The first season is so, so good. When you look at how clunky something like Seinfeld was in the first few years before it found its rhythm, you realize how amazing the writing and chemistry was for Cheers. I'm pretty much a fan of the Diane Chambers years only, though. I hate what they did to Sam's character from about Season 5 on, turning him into an oversexed buffoon.
And no Dick Van Dyke show?
Awesome list. Especially Bewitched, I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, Golden Girls and Roseanne (which I used to hate but now *love* on Nick at Nite). It's too bad you haven't seen much Mary Tyler Moore. It's far and away my favorite show ever and is also the only series I own on DVD -- You should Netflix it!
I hate (or, at least, dislike) Friends, too.
My tippity-top baker's dozen (in alphabetical order):
Absolutely Fabulous
Arrested Development
The Brady Bunch
Cheers (the Diane years)
Family Guy
Family Ties (a quintessential 80s fav)
The Golden Girls
Good Times (I don't care what you bitches say!)
Reno 911!
Seinfeld
Sex and the City
Sports Night (a forgotten gem)
The Simpsons
Just missed the list: The Comeback or Fat Actress (tie), Growing Pains, The Jeffersons, Maude
Nowhere close to the list: Alf, Family Matters, Full House, Mama's Family, Small Wonder (does anyone remember this show?!)
I *heart* Jem and the Holograms.
Marco
Oops, I forgot Roseanne (early years)! Definitely one of my favs.
M
Having never seen a Seinfeld show, my list would be as follows: Never watched these shows when they were regular TV... just in syndication:
Not necessarily in order:
I Love Lucy ( still holds up today )
Mary Tyler Moore Show
Friends
Andy Griffith Show
The Golden Girls
Andy Griffith Show
Friends
Do yourself a favor. Start at episode one of Arrested Development and work your way through the seasons. Doing that has been the most rewarding experience of my life thusfar. It's breathtaking.
1 Sports Night
2 Sex & The City
3 Ally McBeal (season 5 didn't happen)
4 Gilmore Girls
5 As Time Goes By
6 The Golden Girls
7 Friends
8 The Vicar Of Dibley
9 Roseanne
10 Ever Decreasing Circles
Rob
1. Sex and the City
2. Seinfeld
3. Weeds
4. Entourage
5. Gilmore Girls
6. Friends
7. Saved by the Bell (don't judge)
8. The Brady Bunch
i'm at a loss
As of this moment:
1. I Love Lucy
2. Mary Tyler Moore (I still want her apartment)
3. Bewitched
4. Simpsons
5. Golden Girls
6. Sex and the City
7. Absolutely Fabulous
8. Dick Van Dyke Show (if only for MTM's capris)
9. Maude
10.Seinfeld
11.Keeping Up Appearances
12.Murphy Brown
Looking at again right after writing it, I'd totally re-number it and add some others.
Rob, I love you for your Sports Night shout-out.
Damian and/or Alex, no Saved by the Bell judgments; it's so bad it's good and, let's face it, it's showing no signs of going away anytime soon.
Marco
1. Friends
2. The Simpsons
3. Cheers
4. Moonlighting
5. Gilmore Girls
6. The Golden Girls
8. Sex and the City
9. Frasier
10. Will & Grace (Early years)
Now whenever I tell my friends that Roseanne is an amazing show, I will refer them to this site.
1) The Cosby Show (simplistic but iconic)
2) Roseanne (before they hit the lottery though)
3) Family Guy (despite some rough edges)
4) Lucy (despite misogyny)
5) Simpsons (the early years)
6) The Vicar of Dibley (my fave britcom)
7) Seindfeld ('nuf said)
8) Red Dwarf (anyone? see it! it's great!)
9) Friends (see Seinfeld)
10) As Time goes by (judi!!!)
11) King of the Hill (yea that's right, great characters!)
12) W&G (it's not great, but I always stop channel surfing when i find it on tv)
1. The Office (BBC)
I could list more but nothing else comes close to this. It's on a list by itself.
So glad you also love Roseanne! I love that show on Nick at Nite, and I thought no one else really did. I can't quite explain the appeal, but it is just so appealing. The Cosby Show is also great. And you really should see more Mary Tyler Moore, cause it is seriously one of the best shows ever. Quite possibly my favorite of all time.
And why is no one raving about Taxi or The Wonder Years? Is the Wonder Years not enough of a comedy? I love these two shows.
Judging mainly by their peak years...
1. The Simpsons
2. Seinfeld
3. Monty Python's Flying Circus
4. The Office (BBC)
5. Freaks and Geeks
6. The State
7. Arrested Development
8. Roseanne
9. Mr. Show
10. Sledge Hammer!
11. The Ben Stiller Show
12. Cheers
Here are my 12 faves:
1. Simpsons
2. Seinfeld
3. News Radio
4. Futurama
5. Arrested Development
6. Scrubs
7. Friends
8. WKRP
9. Cheers
10. M*A*S*H
11. The Critic
12. Duckman
Wow, that was a hard list to make, and heavy on the animation. I’d add My Name is Earl, but I think it needs to be on more than season before making my list. With that in mind, I would have included Action, Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Greg the Bunny if they had lasted.
john -patricia heaton bugs me too watch to watch that show. I enjoyed it occassionally until she kept opening her damn mouth and spewing garbage on the tv every which way I looked.
cal -why do you hate friends? ooh, maybe i shouldn't have asked.
dusty -i will. good idea. love my netflix.
gsanders, M, anonymous -well yes. cheers, roseanne. etc... lots of shows don't age well or suddenly jump the shark. if they were good enough to begin with i totally try and pretend i didn't see the last season. Roseanne's lotter season, Ally McBeal's last season, Buffy's last season, etc... i just pretend i don't know about them.
sounds like i need to queue up The Office, Dick Van Dyke, and TMTMS.
Arrested Development clearly tops this list. It's insanely brilliant. How many television comedies not only survive repeat viewings, but demand it.
Sorry Nathaniel. I read john's list as your list.
My top 5 would be
Seinfeld
The Office (brit version)
The Jeffersons
Arrested Development
King of Queens
Comedy is the BEST.
1. Ally McBeal (AMAZING)
2. Friends (AMAZING)
3. Absoloutely Fabulous
4. Shameless
5. Fawlty Towers
6. Bewitched
7. Only Fools and Horses
8. Six Feet Under
9. The Vicar of Dibley
10. Roseanne
Definitely SEX AND THE CITY!!!!! i would put Ally McBeal (first two seasons) in the drama category so that it won't compete with SATC. - i would be too confused to pick my favorite between the two. 2. The Golden Girls; 3. Will & Grace (i liked will & grace - even though will never got hitched - i still laughed my heart out - it should have been titled "Jack and Karen") 4. Simpsons; 5. Desperate Housewives.
I've never had much use for Everyone Loves Raymond, but all this talk about the show reminds how hilarious Doris Roberts was in the 1980s detective comedy Remington Steele. Now THAT was a good show.
Anyway, after thinking about this all day, I've decided my dozen favorite comedies are:
1. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
2. The Dick Van Dyke Show
3. Remington Steele
4. I Love Lucy
5. Bewitched
6. Golden Girls
7. Desperate Housewives (if it holds up)
8. Roseanne
9. Seinfeld
10. The Simpsons
11. The Munsters
12. Murphy Brown
1. Seinfeld
2. Friends
3. The Simpsons
4. Golden Girls
5. Frasier
6. Sex and the City
7. Futurama
8. Fast Forward/Full Frontal
9. Will & Grace
10. Rosanne (haven't watched this in a while because they don't air repeats, but I remember loving it, specially Sara Gilbert)
I don't have any older shows because I can't watch any of them. And I'm not that big a fan of Cheers sadly.
I wish I had seen more of Murphy Brown but unlike Cheers from the same era, they don't repeat it. Ever. I'd totally watch Murphy and Rosanne if they put them back on.
I was totally obsessed with Friends for about 7 seasons. Then it went off the rails, recovered slightly in the Rachel pregnancy season, and then went again. So sad. Seinfeld however just gets better over the years and never started to fade.
Right outside the 10 would be Bewitched, Scrubs, Absolutely Fabulous and I have only seen one season of Arrested Development on DVD so I won't comment on it yet.
On the subject of Raymond, it's so strange that everybody hates Patricia. Yes, outside of the show she's a beast, but Debra and Maree are the sole reasons that show is funny (and at times HYSTERICAL). If it were just the boys it's be... well, not good.
Fast Forward was an Australian sketch comedy show that was BRILLIANT. It changed networks at one stage and turned into Full Frontal. Kitty Flanigan was one the funniest thing on the box for the 90s! It's also where Eric Bana got his Australian career started, funnily enough.
Oh, god! How could I forget one of the funniest shows of the last few years? It only last two seasons unfortunately, but 'tev.
POPULAR!
Mary Cherry = Comedy GOLD
OK, since we're allowed 12 and I only got to 10, let me add:
11 - Mary Tyler Moore (only waded through 1.5 seasons on DVD so far, but loving it)
12 - Will & Grace
Can we do drama now, or have we done that already?
Rob
I morally object to any list that puts Seinfeld and The Simpsons below Friends (or Seinfeld below anything, or Friends above anything). Also, I swear Will and Grace deserves more credit. Also, watch Futurama!!
ycant, Done! I own all the Futurama DVD sets. Loves it heaps. "Hey look, the hideous creatures are about to sing a song!" (about crunka lunkas aka oompa loompas). Man, if that show had lasted just a bit longer...
Actually, I think I should bump it up a notch or two on my list.
And yes, the first 5 seasons of W&G were indeed hilarious.
Rob, we did drama. Buffy was Nat's #1.
i'm not much for W & G. I love Karen but that's about it.
Will and Grace may be the most OVERRATED show ever
I love Karen and Grace, enjoy Jack and tolerate Will. But they've somehow managed to coast through 8 seasons with exactly the same formula each week (Will & Grace have a disagreement, they make up) and it hasn't once got tired for me.
Kamikaze - I vaguely recall doing drama, but [adopts the masterly comic-timing of Lily Tomlin] I figured "it bears repeating!"
Rob
I can't understand what the hell is about Friends. I just don't get it, its not funny, it doesn't work for me. It's personal, it's just because.
And I hate Will & Grace too. Too hysterical for my tastes - don't call me homophobic for that.
cal roth
ha ha. no.
i don't like will and grace either. too shrill. everyone is always screaming and it's the same jokes every week.
not that most sitcoms dont' do that to some extent but still...
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