# Most Underrated Sitcom of All-time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955 "2005-07-11T06:47:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/21 "2005-07-11T15:00:35Z")
**Hot L Baltimore, When Things Were Rotten, Get a Life** , I remember all of those and agree, they did not get the respect they deserved. However, I would also add **Sledge Hammer** to that list. Then again, I kind of liked \*\*Mr. Belvedere \*\* so what the hell do I know ? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/22 "2005-07-11T15:03:53Z")
\*\*WKRP \*\* gets my vote. I read the same thing about the music copyrights, so it’s not being aired anymore. _“As God is my witness I thought turkey’s could fly.”_ ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/23 "2005-07-11T15:04:57Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I heartily agree. It’s worth it just to see Richard Mulligan. The best reaction shots of any actor, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/24 "2005-07-11T15:05:20Z")
**Wings** was great. What about **Max Headroom**. I loved that show. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/25 "2005-07-11T15:14:39Z")
Although many great shows are listed here (WKRP, Green Acres, Max Headroom, etc.) I have to weigh in with my $.02: Best show (of any genre) ever on TV: **Barney Miller** Most under-appreciated sitcom: **Parker Lewis Can’t Lose** IMO Barney, WKRP and many others can’t compete as a response to the OP… they enjoyed many seasons on the air and many more in syndication. PLCL was only on for a couple of years, had almost no audience, and hasn’t been seen by anyone in years, either in syndication or on a DVD release. And it was _damn_ funny. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/26 "2005-07-11T15:18:12Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > When I was a lot younger, we used to rent a video from the store with all the Police Squad! episodes on it. Are they available on DVD nowadays? Unfortunately, no. Not yet. Keep your fingers crossed, tho. Studios have finally figured out that the public will pay to watch their favorite shows from yesteryear, and DVD sales of past TV hits is now a huge percentage of total DVD sales. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/27 "2005-07-11T15:26:11Z")
Syncronize swatches! I’d definitely buy **Parker Louis** and **Police Squad** on DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/28 "2005-07-11T15:30:46Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > **NewsRadio**. NBC bounced it around the schedule, and most of America never saw it. > > A shame, because it’s an incredible show. Yep, that’s what I was going to say. Absolutely hilarious. I think it’s coming out on DVD pretty soon. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/29 "2005-07-11T15:32:54Z")
**Wings** and **WKRP** are at the top of my list. Count me as one of those people who absolutely\* loathes\*\*\* Malcolm\*\*. And FYI, \*\*Police Squad! \*\* was never cancelled. They only made 6 episodes because it was designed as a limited-run series. There were never supposed to be any more than 6. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/30 "2005-07-11T15:40:35Z")
**WKRP** was quite popular at the time – I don’t think we can call it underrated. I’ll throw in another vote for **Wings** , which was a pretty damn funny show. ---
**Author:** ![Phish\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@Phish\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phish_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/31 "2005-07-11T15:41:20Z")
[Men Behaving Badly (US Version)](http://www.tv.com/men-behaving-badly-us/show/403/summary.html). Ron Eldard, Rob Schneider, Justin Bateman… I thought it was extremely funny. Of course, if you hate Rob Schneider, you probably wouldn’t like it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/32 "2005-07-11T16:16:30Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > Yep, that’s what I was going to say. Absolutely hilarious. > > I think it’s coming out on DVD pretty soon. The first two seasons of NewsRadio are out on DVD and have been for some time now. For myself, I’ll say Nikki Cox vehicle **Unhappily Ever After** , at least in the last season or two. Very funny, absurd humor. I saw a few episodes from the first season later on and they didn’t have the same style at all and were generally unfunny. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/33 "2005-07-11T16:36:16Z")
Darn you, **Cliffy**! I was just about to add _Unhappily Ever After_! The show was originally supposed to be about the mother, as a counterpart to the father being the center of _Married with Children_. When she and everybody else finally realized that nobody tuned in to see her and everybody wanted to see more of Nikki Cox (in several senses) she stalked off the show in a huff and the show improved tremendously. The writing turned into solid satire and Nikki Cox could outact the panties off the bimbos they threw up against her as foils. Even if it does mean you have to live with the thought of Bobcat Goldthwait taking off her panties after they hooked up for real as a result fo the show. (The Bobcat was the voice of the stuffed bunny the father had converations with. Weird stuff.) I’ve got to toss in two much earlier shows. _The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis_ is totally underappreciated. First, Max Shulman as writer/creator did the best dialog on television at the time. I’ll bet the scripts for that show were twice as long as those for _Donna Reed_ or _Father Knows Best_. Everybody talked a lot, talked funny, and talked in ways that enhanced their characters. And what characters. Dobie himself, his father always muttering “I gotta kill that boy” - in the 1950s[!], Maynard G. Krebs (the G standing for Walter), Zelda Gilroy, Chatsworth Osborne Jr. and his mother, Mr. Pomfrit, the best-characterized teacher ever on television. In some ways, he and they were all too good, because they typecast themselves out of future roles. Only about two of the four seasons were top-notch, but at its best it was like nothing else on television. _The Monkees_ was the Son of Dobie. Dobie was the first tv show to have parents out of control of their kids; _The Monkees_ was the first show not to have adult authority figures at all. The humor got better after the clichés of the first half-season, and much of it holds up surprisingly well today. And how can anyone not want to watch the music videos evolve into ones as sophisticated as anything on early MTV? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/34 "2005-07-11T16:38:18Z")
> [@Mr. Goob](#): > > \*\*WKRP \*\* gets my vote. I read the same thing about the music copyrights, so it’s not being aired anymore. Well, the music copyrights have prevented **WKRP** from being released onto DVD, but I doubt that they have anything to do with its current lack of airtime. If anything, I suspect that a mere four-season show like **WKRP** simply has limited syndication appeal. Speaking of which, Bailey was smokin’ hot. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/35 "2005-07-11T16:42:24Z")
I think “Married With Children” was actually overrated, but looking at the quotes deom IMDB there was some damn funny lines. Maybe I personally underrated it. > [@](#): > > [Kelly has a zit] > Al: Now here’s all the money I’ve got. I want you to go to a pharmacy and get some real medicine. > Kelly: Outside? But Daddy, what if somebody sees my pimple? > Al: Pumpkin, it’s dark. Nobody’s going to see the pimple. > Kelly: I guess you right. I guess I’m being silly, huh? > [opens door] > Man from distance: Whoa. Look at the zits on the blonde chick. > Kelly: Thank God he didn’t see the pimple, huh? I love that type of joke. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/36 "2005-07-11T16:45:29Z")
I still think that **Undeclared** and **Andy Richter Controls the Universe** never got their dues from Fox. At least **Undeclared** is on it way to dvd. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/37 "2005-07-11T16:48:32Z")
Many fine shows have been mentioned. **Barney Miller** was just great. Wonderful cast. **Night Court** was of the same general time and is much overlooked. (Ah! Miss Sullivan!) **The Nanny** is rarely mentioned, but I suspect it will be rediscovered and shown to the equal of **I Love Lucy** due to its strong cast. **News Radio** and **Married with Children** were very nice, but were not ‘underrated.’ **WKRP** had a good cast, but the writing was not quite up to it. (‘As God is my witness, I thought Turkeys could fly’ may be the finest comedic line in American TV though.) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/38 "2005-07-11T16:50:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > [ And FYI, \*\*Police Squad! \*\* was never cancelled. They only made 6 episodes because it was designed as a limited-run series. There were never supposed to be any more than 6. I’ve seen this claim several times, and it doesn’t jibe with what I remember, or apparently[what some others remember](http://www.tv.com/police-squad!/show/5627/summary.html&full_summary=1) > [@](#): > > Though critically acclaimed, it never did well in the ratings. In fact, Abrahams, Zucker, and Zucker got the word from ABC right away that the show would be cancelled. The reason? Because the audience actually had to watch the show. [and here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_Squad!) [and here](http://uk.geocities.com/zaz_fan/zaz_web_pages/pstrivia.htm) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/39 "2005-07-11T16:54:45Z")
**Sports Night** I’m still bitter over its cancellation. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955/40 "2005-07-11T17:08:51Z")
My top choices have all been mentioned, so I’ll go with the almost forgotten **One Day at a Time**. What I liked about this show was that the main character (Ann Romano) was a divorced mom who didn’t look like a fashion plate, her kids had _real_ problems (especially Julie, who of course was played by McKenzie Phillips who was having [to quote Jesus Jones] _real real real_ problems off camera) and some of the episodes were genuinely funny (Barbara [Valerie Bertinelli] and her nebbish boyfriend running away together and the cop pulling the covers from them in a cheap motel to find them both fully clothed). Does anybody remember a surreal show from the early 80s called **No Soap, Radio**? I used to find that one hysterical, but haven’t seen it in a quarter-century so I may be wrong. I was also a big fan of the TV series **Fast Times at Ridgemont High**. I remember being impressed by the fact that they not only used the same history textbook I used in school, but it was beaten up like a real textbook, and Ray Walston’s semi-sadistic Mr. Hand was a blast.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-sitcom-of-all-time/311955.md?page=3)