Inspired by this thread, I ask you to nominate the sitcom that least deserved the ratings it received.
My vote would have to go to Seinfeld. I tried to get into it, but I just couldn’t. Every character was selfish, petty, and generally unlikable. Plus, there was no concept behind the series. It was, as Jerry Seinfeld himself admitted, “a show about nothing.” I can only attribute its success to the incessant hype it received.
So, what are your votes for the most overrated sitcom of all time?
Seinfeld or Friends.
“Everybody Loves Raymond.” Not a single really likeable character in the show mader worse by their continual sniping at each other.
I was never a big fan of “Friends.” Everything about it rang false to me, and except Phoebe’s monologue about the love song that Elton John wrote for “Who’s the Boss?” – “you know, the one that goes ‘hold me closer, Tony Danza’” – nothing on it ever made me laugh. I tried to like it, I really did, but every-damn-body on that show was just so annoying.
Ditto for “Sex in the City.” Even now, when it’s on in reruns and the “hype” has long since passed, I still don’t get it. The first time Carrie went on and on over a pair of shoes that cost as much as my mortgage, I just wanted to smack her in the head. Something about all four of them made me want to be offended on behalf of womankind, but I just couldn’t ever summon the anger.
Another vote for Friends. How that show have gone on that long I have no idea.
I’m not a Seinfeld fan either, but you weren’t supposed to like them. They made that the focus of the last episode.
I wouldn’t say Seinfeld because that show was hit or miss. If an episode was good, it was really good, but if it was bad, it was awful.
Friends could be it, I can only think of one episode I enjoyed, where they played a trivia game for Monica’s apartment. Not sure why but I always liked that one.
However, I’m going to vote for Roseanne. Mostly because it’s the one sitcom I couldn’t stand that many people whos opinion I usually trust told me they liked. It seemed to me like a watered down “Married with Children”
I’m going to have to go with “Friends” also.
The characters were so annoying.
Everybody Loves Raymond, Malcolm In The Middle, I Love Lucy
TV in the bowels of Hell.
FRIENDS.
As MAD magazine might say, bleecchhhhhh!
I could list a lot of truly awful sitcoms, but Friends has to win for being overrated - it was not only really awful, but also quite popular.
No votes for MASH? I hated it. It was preachy, self-important, and not funny. What seemed to be humor was mean-spirited vindictiveness. Why was it on so long?
It was pretty funny up until about the 6th or 7th season. As long as it didn’t get preachy (that is, when Alda took almost total control) it was quite funny.
YMMV, of course.
I nominate with immense glee: Will and Grace.
What I’ve seen of it (and I’ve seen more than I would willingly want to) has too much cliche, too much cheap laugh, too much puke-worthy childish sentiment.
I** Love Lucy** – I do. Love her I mean.
But I will cop to not quite understanding the COMEDIC GODDESS/GREATEST SITCOM IN HISTORY props she can sometimes generate.
My nomination for this thread though is** Fraiser**. It didn’t suck - it was funny, maybe even for for a few years “very funny” – and it is very possible that Grammer simply wore out the Character with me so maybe this isn’t fair … still the if we want to talk “overated” the annual sweep of Emmys by this show always surprised me… BEST COMEDY 93-98 – **Straight ** no other Comedy really comes close (Cheers won more overall tho), Grammer picked up 4 friggin’ Emmys for doing the same thing for 22 years. Not “Sucked” Not “Stunk up the joint” but “most over rated?” Yeah. Definitely.
Home Improvement
Friends and Sex and the City.
I watched a few episodes of both of them and I thought they were okay, but I have no idea what was so spectular about them.
Seinfeld, definitely. Completely unwatchable (other than the first four episodes, which were promising). The characters were just plain stupid and the jokes were poorly done. Yet it’s often listed among the greats of TV comedy.
Is there any more a concept behind any series? “A bunch of friends get into funny situations” sums up most sitcoms.
The series was primarily about manners, actually.
My choice would have to be “Sex in the City,” which was an awful show, but if forced to choose a non-HBO series I guess I’ll go with “The Cosby Show.” The great majority of the jokes that WERE funny were just recycled from Cosby’s standup act. Take away the cult of Cosby personality, and the show wasn’t nearly as funny as it got credit for being.
Cosby Show, Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Gilligan’s Island… just because something is OLD doesn’t make it CLASSIC, or even GOOD. Everybody Loves Raymond just sucked, Sex In the City was never funny, and Cheers, Frasier, and Friends all overstayed their welcomes.