I second your dislike for AD. But then, I really liked Mad About You, so what do I know?
To me, the worst out of the really popular shows was Friends. Blatantly generic and uninspired.
Everybody Loves Raymond receives my dishonourable mention. Annoying characters, to say the least.
**The Office (US).**I’ve watched six episodes and not a grin, not even a maybe-I-don’t-get-the-story-arch. Nothing is good starting from the fake-documentary shaky-camera thing to the leviathanical suspension of disbelieve required to accept that such a company could function, even by sit-com standards.
**Arrested Development **should be against the law.
**Roseanne **made me lose faith in the existence of a Divine Being
Somewhat bowdlerized early-period Robin Williams cannot be “never remotely funny”.
That is all.
Based on the responses in their thread I think we need an addition to Sturgeon’s Law.
Sturgeon’s Law: Ninety percent of everything is crap.
Commentary on Sturgeon’s law: Sturgeon was an optimist.
I’ve never heard of most of the shows mentioned in this thread; I’ve never really been a TV person. It’s easier for me to list what I liked.
- Frasier - The first few seasons anyway. The Niles and Daphne sub arc eventually drove me away
- Everybody Loves Raymond - I didn’t know anything about this show until it was cancelled, but when it was rerun I watched every episode religiously, and yes, I watched it for Ray and found him very funny, contrary to the consensus in this thread
- Seinfeld - Yes, it was stupid, and the cast were dicks, but I really liked it. The last season, however, was pretty bad
That’s pretty much it.
I tried a few episodes of Parks & Recreation but concluded I must not be the demographic for it. Of the three episodes I caught, I fell asleep on all of them. There’s just nothing funny about that show. Also, 30 Rock. That’s the one with Alec Baldwin right? What the heck? Absolutely horrible. I swore that The Big Bang Theory was my kind of show. I really tried to stick with it. I may have watched 8 or 9 episodes before realizing I just didn’t care enough to try to catch it anymore.
Same here. I hated Cheers with a passion and almost skipped out on watching Frasier because I knew it was a “spin-off” – which I absolutely disagree with. I don’t feel he’s playing the same character at all (regardless of how many times Bebe Newirth and the rest of the Cheers castaways stop by).
I still remember that Tonight show bit that they were supposed to do the night the last episode of Cheers aired. The cast got drunk as skunks. Leno is trying to get them through the bit and just dying. I thought, How appropos. America’s Sitcom in All Its Glory.
I always thought they should push Fran Drescher off a cliff and give the butler his own show. He was hilarious!
The SDMB Commentary on Sturgeon’s Law: Ninety percent of everybody is going t disagree on what ninety percent of everything is crap.
I’m a big fan of the show (although it took me a while to get into it), but the fact that a hot woman (like Penny) would hang around Leonard et al for any reason other than either having someone who can fix their computer or being related to them does seem somewhat… unlikely, even by TV Sitcom standards*.
*Yes, I’m sure you personally might be a super-nerd and have a social circle that comprises largely Swimwear Models, but windmills don’t generally work that way and you know it.
Naw. I think the corollary should be: And no one can agree on 90 percent of what’s left.
I personally disagree with nearly every sitcom in this thread. I’ll admit I didn’t like Perfect Strangers, though.
For this reference I grant you one kitten and one antacid.
My vote is 2.5 Men. Misogynist dreck.
I’m fascinated by the controversy around Big Bang Theory. A few people I know are genuinely offended by it. I think it’s funny.
Most critics did not see a future for this show when it first debuted. To be fair, the premise has been over-done and the first few shows were not very well done.
When it finally came together, the show turned into something awesone.
I am a card-carrying nerd and agree with this completely. In fairness I’ve only seen about three episodes, but that was enough for me to decide I didn’t need to see any more. I felt genuinely bewildered, too, for much the same reason Nzinga said: Like, am I missing something here? This is just another cheesy sitcom with big broad laff lines except they make more science and math references than average.
Like Arrested Development, but unlike Two And A Half Men, The Big Bang Theory works best if you start from Episode 1 and watch it sequentially from there, IMHO.
Cheers was rated 71st in it’s first season. It got into the top 10 on it’s 4th season and stayed there for the rest of it’s run.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheers#Ratings
I wonder how many broadcast networks would have that kind of patience any more?
Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond are the two biggest sitcoms that I care nothing about. Most every character on those shows is completely unlikable.
I like Big Bang Theory, but I thought it was a lot better before all the guys started getting sex. The nerds on that show get more action than I do.
How long would Family Ties have lasted without Michael J. Fox?
ETA: And I do not understand how Family Matters survived at all. This is the show that got rid of Leonardo DiCaprio.
Leonardo DiCaprio was on Family Matters? I don’t remember that at all. Not that I watched the show regularly. And the show survived by being part of ABC’s TGIF comedy block, which dominated Friday evenings on the networks.
Family Matters was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers. That’s somehow obvious now even though I just learned it.
I don’t think Leo was on Family Matters. He was on Growing Pains, where he played a young homeless kid that got adopted by the Seavers. I think the character’s name was Luke. I have no idea why I remember these things.
Without looking it up on imdb I can’t believe Mr. DiCaprio was ever anything other than a one-time guest star on “Family Matters.” FM was about a black family and their annoying neighbor/friend Steve Urkel.