AAAAAAAAA make that the Vicar
Don’t you mean The Good Life?
Another vote for Hill Street Blues here, and, although I haven’t seen an episode in years, I still have fond memories of Soap.
I’ll vote MASH. And The Simpsons.
Seinfeld doesn’t even register. Annie X-Mas has it right–the concept only worked for a short time. Then in order to keep it going, they had to make the characters (and stories) increasingly ridiculous. The concept worked when it was about 3 “typical” New Yorkers–slightly neurotic, narcissistic, and self-absorbed. Kramer was just comic relief. When the characters’ selfishness became so extreme that they a) became extremely dishonest, and b) started to do stuff that was completely outside the bounds of believablility, the show tanked. (Example–the episode where George discovered he could take a nap under his desk. You could believe that he would do that. You might even believe that he would bring in a blanket or something. But to remodel the whole underside of his desk? Come on!) At the beginning, the reason why the show was funny was that it was so very realistic…who hasn’t rejected a potential relationship for some seemingly specious reason? Who hasn’t told a little lie in order to get out of a bad situation, and then had it backfire? The increasing focus on Kramer also moved the show away from realism. The goofy next-door neighbor (a stock character) is usually a good ingredient for a sitcom, but he can’t be a main character. Then the viewer starts thinking too much about him, and he becomes annoying.
[dons flame-proof suit] Am I the only person in the world who doesn’t like I Love Lucy?
I don’t think Seinfeld was supposed to be realistic; in fact, I think the term for that specific form of entertainment was “theater of the absurd”. Seinfeld lived in a world where no-one - not even he - was fully sane. Who cares if the characters are unlikeable? Nothing good ever happened to them. The only times they won was when they were up against people who were even more despicable.
The show was consistandtly surreal, detached, and at no point did it try to manipulate your emotions. You have to respect that.
Seinfeld definitely
Hill Street Blues
NYPD Blue
MASH
West Wing
Get Smart
Lost In Space
Bonanza
Happy Days
Didn’t they do this 4 years ago and did Mary Tyler Moore win?
I can’t find anything on the web. Although I didn’t try too hard.
Another vote for MST3K. But then, I have close to 200 episodes of it here in the living room, so I may be biased. Or at least slightly weird.
We don’t get a lot of British comedies in the US, but one I particularly liked was To The Manner Born with Penelope Keith. It was both sophistocated and funny, and Keith was absolutely delightful. I’d like to see more shows of that quality.
I never saw Steptoe and Son, but its American spinoff, Sanford and Son with Redd Foxx had its moments. Not the best, though. For a comedy, my all time favorite is still All In The Family, with MASH* and Barney Miller right up there. For a drama, I’d say LA Law and The West Wing are among the best.
No, but I did figure out who Emma Peel was after I heard Dishwalla’s song about her…is the movie as bad as I’ve heard?
I’m not sure what I’d pick as best show out of their top 50 (maybe All in the Family or The X-files. Maybe) but I found it hard to believe they slotted Seinfeld as #1. I suppose I’m in the minority, but I found the chracters, as a whole, very unlikeable, particularly Cramer and George. As a result I’ve only seen a handful of episodes.
Babylon 5 rules!
My vote for best sitcom ever? No question about it - The Dick Van Dyke Show. Seinfeld, though occasionally funny, even brilliant, wouldn’t even make it in the top ten. Let’s take a look at some of the sitcoms mentioned, in no particular order:
The Simpsons - this show probably takes the award for being consistantly funny over the longest period of time. However, being that it’s animiated, it has 2 unfair advantages. 1 - The kids don’t grow up, Bart never has to graduate the fourth grade, Maggie stays eternally an infant, etc. 2 - The audience does not expect continuity - Homer can be a rich, Grammy winning artist one episode and back to himself the next. But all in all, a very funny show.
Police Squad - hillarious, groundbreaking, all of the superlatives one can care to use. But it did not last long enough to truly compare it to other sitcoms- a certain amount of longevity and consistancy is a requirement. And, IMHO, if it hadn’t been cancelled after six episodes, it would have died after a couple of years. You can only go to the well so often with the same sight gags and silly humor. Very funny for a short period of time, but without much staying power.
While we’re looking at sit-coms that didn’t last long enough to truly be judged, I have to mention Doctor Doctor. I don’t know if anyone remembers this sitcom from '89-'91, but during the first year, when Matt Frewer was allowed to improvise at will, it was the funniest show I had ever seen.
I Love Lucy - When I was a little kid, I watched this (daily re-runs) and enjoyed it. When I got older (teens or so), I tended to sneer at the show - I had no idea what was so funny about it. I had seen these gags a million times, on a million different shows. What I didn’t realize was that on television, Lucy did many of them first. On the whole, a pretty good show, although it does not age as well as some others.
The Cosby Show The first season or so was very funny. Then Bill ran out of standup routines that he could mine for material and the show became merely ordinary.
MASH - One of my favorite shows. The first few years were very funny and managed to make a few points about the horrors of war at the same time. But for the last few seasons, the producers apparently decided that it was more important to make statements than humor. And while there were some episodes that made for compelling viewing, it ceased to be a sitcom at that time. I make no argument that comedy can not be used for social commentary, but that humor should not be abandoned in favor of preaching to us.
I’ll stop with the other shows now and give my take on The Dick Van Dyke Show - It was, hands down, the best of the bunch. This is a show that is still funny after almost 40 years. I can’t think of a single episode in five years that did not have at least a few laughs. And while it did not push the envelope like other shows such as All in the Family did, it managed to walk where other sitcoms had not gone. The best example that I can think of is the character of Laura. She was not only a housewife and mother, but she was sexy as hell and not afraid to show it. This went completly against the television stereotype at the time - that when a woman married, or became a mother, she was no longer a sexual person. Mary Tyler Moore also lobbied the network and finally convinced them that no woman flits about the house in a dress with pearls doing housework and managed to regularly be seen wearing (gasp!) pants. These may seem like small things now, but were really groundbreaking telvision in the early 60’s.
OK, that’s enough ranting and raving for now.
Casting another vote for Mystery Science Theater 3000. That show is absolutely brilliant! Most of the skits still make me laugh, even though I’ve seen them many times. I have a few tapes of the later seasons, but unfortunately, none from the Comedy Central years.
Nope. I never liked it either. Lucy’s voice grates on my ears almost as badly as Fran Drescher’s.
The Simpsons is the best TV show ever.
My humble thoughts…
Top 5 Comedy Shows
1- The Simpsons
2- Taxi
3- Cheers
4- Mary Tyler Moore
5- Carol Burnett Show
Top 3 Dramas
1- Hill Street Blues
2- Picket Fences
3- ER
Storm grabs fire extinguisher, shouts approvingly," I’m coming to help you brother!" On the way she stops for unfilmed
Everybody Loves Raymond scrips.“You got a Zippo?”
All seriousness aside…For Drama I’d have to second the aforementioned Law & Order, Many cast changes and still the scrips are quality. It’s offshoots are nowhere as well done as this original. I have a bit of a crush on Sam Watterston ** LA Law** Arnie was everthing we hate about lawyers,and i’m looking forward to the reunion to see if they catch up with Bennie! and Hill Street Blues Series that are similar or done by the same creators don’t hold up as well to me. I can happily surf into an old episode of any of these.
Honerable mention also to the Documentry Ken Burns’ The Civil War Scheduled for Rerun this Fall on PBS…Warm up the VCR. Shelby Foote is not only a wonderfull Historian but a hell of a Storyteller as well. the Voice talents range from Morgan Freeman to Matthew Broderick.
Now, Comedies… Without a doubt the singularly best comedy series ever created was Monty Python’s Flying Circus The lines Still make me laugh even though I’ve heard them hundreds of times and will hear them many more.MAS*H It may have gotten a bit preachy at the end but, reruns are a perfectly good way to blow away a Sunday morning.New Red Green Show I’ve been watching this series a few years and I am totaly hooked!I’m looking forward to seeing “Duct Tape Forever”.This Program will endure and become a Long standing contribution of Canadian Television. Thanks Neighbors!
Everybody knows that “Dallas” was the best TV show of all time.
2nd is “The Tonight Show w/Johnny Carson.” Everybody knows this!
the simpsons is hands-down the finest comedy ever. i liked it when i was in grade school, but i was only seeing the surface humor in bart’s antics. in high school i understood more of the satire of the show. watching the reruns in college, i think i saw even more humor. it’s rare for a show to have such a broad reach but not talk down to anyone. i never miss the show these days, and catch the reruns whenever i can. the new shows are definitely heading downhill, but it’s still fun to watch.
i loved seinfeld as well, but the simpsons just gave you so much. it’s hard to argue against that show.
In no particular order, here are my top ten:
The Honeymooners
MASH
LEXX
Star Trek (TOS)
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Law and Order
Frasier
Waltons
60 Minutes
…hmmn, couldn’t decide on a tenth…
As for Seinfeld–eh, neurotic New Yorkers stopped being funny back in the 60s. I never got the Cosby Show, either: dad’s a doctor, mom’s a lawyer, and they spend all their time sitting around the living room watching the cute kids? Puh-leeze.
Ack! How could I have forgotten Max Headroom?!