Best American Sitcom?
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Lacey Black
Official Checked Star Member
Hard to beat Seinfeld
I vote neither.
Add The Wonder Years on the list and then we can talk.
Add The Wonder Years on the list and then we can talk.
Al Bundy gets my vote for sure.
Runner up would be Lucy.
Runner up would be Lucy.
Some other very good ones not on the list:
Three's Company - Suzanne Somers was definitely drool worthy lol ...but I never found the show to be that funny, although I liked John Ritter in other things.
Happy Days - Yeah I maybe should have included this one. Thought about it. It had a much wider audience than Taxi, for instance. But other than The Fonz it didn't really have any particularly memorable characters. It was more of a lightweight, feel good comedy imo. And it spun off one of the worst comedies ever...Laverne and Shirley. omg that show was pure dreck lol
Three's Company - Suzanne Somers was definitely drool worthy lol ...but I never found the show to be that funny, although I liked John Ritter in other things.
Happy Days - Yeah I maybe should have included this one. Thought about it. It had a much wider audience than Taxi, for instance. But other than The Fonz it didn't really have any particularly memorable characters. It was more of a lightweight, feel good comedy imo. And it spun off one of the worst comedies ever...Laverne and Shirley. omg that show was pure dreck lol
Eric Lindros
#88
From this list: Friends.
Nowerdays I'm a big fan of "The Big Bang Theory."
Nowerdays I'm a big fan of "The Big Bang Theory."
ChuckFaze
Closed Account
Anyway, from the few episodes that I've caught, I concur that The Big Bang Theory certainly has some seriously ROFL comedy. And I certainly have more than my fair share of opportunities to watch it in syndication. But, mysteriously, I don't. There just seems to be a thorn or two in there that just keeps making me pass on it. I think it's because:
(a) I just don't buy the Leonard & Penny relationship.
(b) That blonde --- Howard's girlfriend, I think. (Bernadette as played by Michelle Rauch?) Anyway, that blonde with the glasses and stupid voice just annoys me too much beyond my threshold of what I can tolerate.
Who knows? Maybe sometime in the future when the show is completely off of its network run and only in syndication, I'll pick it up then. That's how I did it with MASH. I had never seen it when it was in its network run. I only picked it up in syndication and was surprised at how hilarious it was.
(a) I just don't buy the Leonard & Penny relationship.
(b) That blonde --- Howard's girlfriend, I think. (Bernadette as played by Michelle Rauch?) Anyway, that blonde with the glasses and stupid voice just annoys me too much beyond my threshold of what I can tolerate.
Who knows? Maybe sometime in the future when the show is completely off of its network run and only in syndication, I'll pick it up then. That's how I did it with MASH. I had never seen it when it was in its network run. I only picked it up in syndication and was surprised at how hilarious it was.
Mr. Daystar
In a bell tower, watching you through cross hairs.
Great least, hard to choose, and yet so many missing. I wll say this, I never get tired of watching the OLDER Andy Griffith shows. The black & white ones, before Don Knotts left.
maildude
Postal Paranoiac
All In The Family was the most impactful. It so commanded the airwaves in its time that other shows were launched around it. Even Nixon was said to avoid airing presidential addresses during the show. It gave us Maude, The Jeffersons, "Meathead", "Dingbat", and something to talk about at school on Monday. It was loosely based on Britain's "Till Death Do Us Part" which aired several years earlier...but Family had much more force in ratings. At the time, Archie was regularly voted as most popular television character, while Edith was voted as most lovable. It spent more time at number one in the Nielsens than any other show, until American Idol.
The Honeymooners was a spin-off of The Jackie Gleason Show...kind of like The Simpsons was an animated skit from Tracy Ullman's show. It only lasted one season, but was preceded by extensive live stage presentations that were not aired. Audrey Meadows was almost booted as Ralph's wife, until she convinced Gleason that she could make herself look less pretty.
I Love Lucy went six seasons. A fun story about the show, is that Vivian Vance and William Frawley hated each other...to the point that they had it put into their contracts that they each spent a limited amount of time in front of the camera together. Desilu was the production company. They ended up buying the rights to The Twilight Zone and Star Trek after they went into syndication.
The Honeymooners was a spin-off of The Jackie Gleason Show...kind of like The Simpsons was an animated skit from Tracy Ullman's show. It only lasted one season, but was preceded by extensive live stage presentations that were not aired. Audrey Meadows was almost booted as Ralph's wife, until she convinced Gleason that she could make herself look less pretty.
I Love Lucy went six seasons. A fun story about the show, is that Vivian Vance and William Frawley hated each other...to the point that they had it put into their contracts that they each spent a limited amount of time in front of the camera together. Desilu was the production company. They ended up buying the rights to The Twilight Zone and Star Trek after they went into syndication.
I voted for All In The Family. I think there was another spin-off that Maildude didn't list, the show with "Kid Dynomite" (I can't remember the name of the show
) Never politically correct, always funny. I think the episode when Edith got raped was 1 of the highest rated shows at the time. Great show!!
) Never politically correct, always funny. I think the episode when Edith got raped was 1 of the highest rated shows at the time. Great show!!That's it!! Thanks ChuckFaze!!
maildude
Postal Paranoiac
Yeah. Good Times was a spin-off of Maude, which was a spin-off of All In The Family. Maude was Edith's sister. Good Times was about the life of Maude's housekeeper Florida Evans.
Interesting thing about The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It had a crapload of spin-offs. The Betty White Show, Phyllis, The Lorenzo Music Show, Rhoda, Lou Grant, were some of the spin-offs or the spin-offs of spin-offs of that program.
Interesting thing about The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It had a crapload of spin-offs. The Betty White Show, Phyllis, The Lorenzo Music Show, Rhoda, Lou Grant, were some of the spin-offs or the spin-offs of spin-offs of that program.
:rofl:
omg that show sucked!
Excellent and informative post, maildude. Thanks.
Goes to show too just how unbiased you are that you picked All In The Family over Cheers
oh my Lord! What, no love for Perfect Strangers? Of course not Cousin Larry don't be ridiculoss!
Seriously though - Seinfeld and rest aren't even close tbh. Married with Children was good, but Seinfeld still makes me laugh more often and harder even though I've watched the show a hell of a lot more.
Honeymooners was well before my time and never had reruns here that I remember, so its a bit irrelevant for me of the rest listed. I remember the old WB cartoons based on the show though, 'The Honeymousers'
I hated Friends then and still do, bloody big waste of TV bandwidth that could be much better used on pretty much anything else! Matt Le Douche should be shot and thrown in the Hudson river Sopranos style......phew glad I got that off my chest. Big Bang is just as unfunny though. Might be time to reload the rifle... :ak47:
Outside of Seinfeld I would next go with Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia in that order.
Seriously though - Seinfeld and rest aren't even close tbh. Married with Children was good, but Seinfeld still makes me laugh more often and harder even though I've watched the show a hell of a lot more.
Honeymooners was well before my time and never had reruns here that I remember, so its a bit irrelevant for me of the rest listed. I remember the old WB cartoons based on the show though, 'The Honeymousers'
I hated Friends then and still do, bloody big waste of TV bandwidth that could be much better used on pretty much anything else! Matt Le Douche should be shot and thrown in the Hudson river Sopranos style......phew glad I got that off my chest. Big Bang is just as unfunny though. Might be time to reload the rifle... :ak47:
Outside of Seinfeld I would next go with Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia in that order.
ChuckFaze
Closed Account
Hah Hah Hah! I had forgotten about Perfect Strangers. Good one. :thumbsup:
Speaking of The Honeymooners, while I HAVE seen episodes of it and did find it hilarious, I was reading up on it yesterday on Wikipedia and found something interesting. Apparently not counting the so-called "Sketches" that came out on The Jackie Gleason Show ... The Honeymooners really lasted ONE official season. :eek: :shock: IMO, The Honeymooners can't realistically be remotely considered a contestant, much less a true contender for Best American Sitcom if it only lasted ONE season.
I had never heard of that "The Honeymousers," but it is no secret that The Flintstones were definitely based on The Honeymooners.mokbel69 said:Honeymooners was well before my time and never had reruns here that I remember, so its a bit irrelevant for me of the rest listed. I remember the old WB cartoons based on the show though, 'The Honeymousers'
Speaking of The Honeymooners, while I HAVE seen episodes of it and did find it hilarious, I was reading up on it yesterday on Wikipedia and found something interesting. Apparently not counting the so-called "Sketches" that came out on The Jackie Gleason Show ... The Honeymooners really lasted ONE official season. :eek: :shock: IMO, The Honeymooners can't realistically be remotely considered a contestant, much less a true contender for Best American Sitcom if it only lasted ONE season.
I was never a Friends fan either, but it was hugely popular, hence it's inclusion.
I beg to differ. We're talking quality in this case, not quantity. While it's true quantity can often be an indication of quality, that's not always the case. I mean, look at how many seasons "Hee Haw" lasted :1orglaugh
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