Save for King of the Hill and Bevis and Butthead, both of which I don’t believe should be on a list of “All Time” greatest.
Meh, I think the list is all right, although they could have left out a lot (The Monkees?!) and put in a few more which I’d think are better (Gunsmoke? Bonanza?).
That does seem rather silly. Frasier did very well and earned its own Emmys and awards apart from Cheers. I think it proved itself all on its own.
(My favorite episode was the Valentine’s Day one, where Niles is getting ready for a date, finds a small wrinkle or spot on his trousers, and ends up setting fire to the couch and fainting from the sight of his own blood. David Hyde Pierce needs to get a new agent…he is one of the best comedic actors of our time and how he isn’t in more movies I’ll never know. I literally couldn’t breathe by the time the commercials rolled.)
ivylass: Maybe DHP did get a new agent. If you didn’t watch the Tony awards then you may not know that he won for best performance by a leading actor in a musical (Curtains). His acceptance speech confirmed for me that he’s gay (he thanked his companion, Brian), but I’m still in love with him; the success of Frasier is due in great part to his talent. I haven’t read Time’s list yet, but I agree that Frasier should be on it. I think it was much better and funnier than Cheers.
I’m really f’n surprised that Law & Order isn’t on that list.
Homicide: Life on the Street is on that list. It’s not even on anymore. L&O is going into season 18, has had 2 successful spin-offs (and one dud) and is on nearly 24 hours a day.
Where’s Cop Rock?
No mention for Square Pegs?
And Full House was the greatest shitcom of all times?
SSG Schwartz 
Bah. Where’s The Andy Griffith Show? Where’s Firefly?
Futurama didn’t make the cut, my personal favorite. Morbo won’t be happy.
Come to think of it, that IS odd. How many shows are consistently good for 10 years, let alone 18?
I’m not surprised. There’s no comparison, quality-wise, fyask me. Homicide attempted, and achieved, a degree of depth, while L&O was (is?) one single sustained note: shallow, narrow, redundant. Very you’ve-seen-one-you’ve-seen-em-all for me. 18 years or no 18 years.
Ricky Gervais is American?
Then again, if Fawlty Towers isn’t on the list, it makes no sense anyway.
See, this is a major strike against the list. How can Beavis and Butthead make the list, but not Futurama? The former was just stupid commentary over horrible music videos. Who’s ever complained about Beavis and Butthead being off the air? Who’s ever bought a Beavis and Butthead DVD?
I think L&O could have been on the list if the show had ended ten years ago. But the whole “ripped from the headlines but wait for the implausible twist five minutes from the end!” thing is very old, and the fact that the spin-offs use the same bit doesn’t help. I’m surprised that ER is missing, but I think this is another case of “used to be good but now it’s not”.
Other shows that I personally think should be on the list:
News Radio
Golden Girls
Meet the Press
It isn’t ranked. That’s a good thing.
In the handy section on how the list was chosen (which it seems like hardly anyone bothered to take a look at) the editor explicitly mentions that Faulty Towers wasn’t chosen because Monty Python was.
Like that’s any excuse!
**My now-fading memory is convinced I’ve seen something like 96-98 of those shows when they originally aired. It’s a solid list, but I have a few (really, just a few) quibbles.
Abbott and Costello If the show is remembered at all, it’s for the rehashes of their old vaudeville routines instead of anything that was written new for the show.
A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Day After were both specials, not series. Roots was a miniseries that lasted only eight episodes. If you let specials on, you’d have to list the four days of news coverage after John Kennedy was assasinated, the Moon landing and 9/11.
Friends I wouldn’t put it on my top 100.
Dallas I’ll accept the nighttime soap genre, but I wonder if Dynasty would be a better choice.
Replacing Dallas with Dynasty leaves five open slots. Here’s what I’d put in there instead.
Maverick
Frasier or Futurama
The Waltons
Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In or American Bandstand
The Avengers
I guess I’m the only person on the Internet who dares to think “Firefly” wasn’t all that great.
However, the point that a prematurely cancelled show really doesn’t merit mention here is valid. It may be unfair that “Firefly” or “Freaks and Geeks” didn’t last long enough to make an impression, but they didn’t last long enough to make an impression. The omissions of Scrubs, Futurama, or Frasier - which DID last - are far more glaring.
No Futurama, Scrubs, Heroes*, and Venture Brothers?
LAME!
*Yes, I know it has only had one season, but god DAMN if it wasn’t a good one.
I gotta nominate the following additions:
-** Scrubs
This brilliant clip from Robot Chicken is perhaps the funniest 2-minutes of stop-action animation I’ve ever seen…
Futurama and Newsradio are glaring omissions.
Get Smart, Red Dwarf, Home Movies, and Columbo could easily replace some lesser shows.