I haven’t yet been able to pin down exactly why I like Last Man Standing, but I do. It’s pretty similar to Tim Allen’s other show, Home Improvement, which never did a thing for me.
I like Suburgatory, too, but the show I have to watch each week is The Middle. I like every character and the plots are believable, if slightly skewed. When Frankie had to duct tape the top of the washer to make it run I knew I’d found my niche, since I have to open the dryer with a bent garden claw and turn it on with a screwdriver…
Oh, and the episode where Frankie’s eating potato chip crumbs and finds out the bag is where Axl dumped his toenail clippings…
I love watching reruns of Wings, the sitcom about a Nantucket airline starring Tim Daly and Thomas Haden Church. Overall it was pretty bad, but I have good memories of watching it as a kid.
Same thing with the Golden Girls, although it was a genuinely good show and is pretty beloved.
WKRP in Cincinnati
Just used a line from it a couple of days ago. “I need a hat. Cop’s got a hat. I need a hat too”.
Back in the 80’s, a station in St. Louis used to show it after the 10:00 news. I watched it every night before going to bed.
“‘Every body complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it.’ That’s what Calvin Coolidge said.”
“No Floyd, Calvin Coolidge didn’t say that.”
“Oh…what did Calvin Coolidge say?”
You hit the nail on the head for me on that show - Ben isn’t too over-the-top for me yet - I love his nerdiness. In fact, I think he is me if I applied myself more.
Ron frowns so hard sometimes he doesn’t even look human. Now THAT is acting!
I can barely tolerate the Donna character - she is over the top, and constantly being portrayed as more than the character could ever really be.
Andy can be quite funny when he is rooted in reality, but when they put him in a very successful position he could obviously never really carry, like Donna, it is too much.
Overall, love the show still.
I am inexplicably and inseparably in love with Seinfeld. I’ve watched every episode countless times and still watch 4 or 5 episodes a week. It’s like having a beer with an old friend. If I become really close to someone I find myself wanting to watch the show with them and gauge their reaction. When I intro’d the show to my girlfriend it felt like I was watching it new for the first time.
Too late to edit - I mean my level of love for Seinfeld is inexplicable, not general love for the show.
Father Ted. It’s weird, it’s quirky, none of the characters are particularly likeable, but I hurt myself laughing when I watch it.
I like Roseanne, Frasier, and Big Bang Theory too, but none of those are inexplicable. (I’m a nerd who loves good dry humor and sarcasm).
“Haney, one of these days I’m going to nail you.”
“Care to buy a hammer, Mr. Douglas?”
Father Ted YES also I love The vicar of dibley… dawn french and Jennifer Saunders have to be the best of the best also the Little Britain series , I will laugh at reruns or look up skits on youtube
VEEP. Hands down the funniest written and executed sitcom on TV. It doesn’t hurt that JLD is still freaking HOT. I mean, did you catch her in that red dress this last episode?
Thought of another one: Father of the Pride, the Dreamworks CGI sitcom about Siegfried & Roy and their lions. The lions’ scenes were forgettable, but the best part of the show was the S&R interludes, like the night they got the munchies and headed to the 7-11 for Slurpees.
“Is it impossible?”
“No.”
“That’s too bad–Siegfried and Roy are masters of the impossible!”
I’ll add my name to the Father Ted list - I can’t watch it late at night or I’ll wake up everyone by laughing too loudly. For some reason I’ve also developed an addiction to reading Seinfeld scripts online, but I have no idea why.
Anyone remember Grand? I loved that show.
Night Court.
For some reason when I was younger i thought Harry Anderson was a comedic genius and that the rest of the cats was very funny. As I have aged, I realize that with a few exceptions it was a mediocre sitcom and that John Larroquette was really the linchpin.
I watch the series even although with somewhat less enjoyment since my youth.
I’m glad somebody else said that besides me. Those tight sweaters they’ve been putting her in lately are hard to ignore.
But most of these aren’t really “inexplicable” (YMMV of course.) Inexplicable would be something like Caroline in the City or Full House. Both of them had reasonably successful runs, but no one can explain why.
It was brilliantly written and acted. Why Kelsey Grammer is a right-winger, his character as well as pretty much everyone else were progressives.
To me, the true test of a sitcom is: No matter how many times I’ve seen it, I still laugh out loud. I can watch any ep of *Frasier *or *Everybody Loves Raymond *and *Big Bang Theory, *and the humor never gets stale. Sometimes it’s even funnier because I have more context than their first-run.