# What were the best TV comedies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012 "2002-09-21T18:54:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PatrickM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@PatrickM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickM)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/1 "2002-09-21T18:54:52Z")
E! cable channel recently ranked the 25 greatest TV comedies. I can’t get the link to work but their list is: 1. Seinfeld 2. All in the Family 3. The Cosby Show 4. Cheers 5. The Simpsons 6. MASH 7. I Love Lucy 8. Friends 9. Taxi 10. The Mary Tyler Moore Show 11. The Honeymooners 12. Frasier 13. Roseanne 14. The Andy Griffith Show 15. Happy Days 16. Family Ties 17. The Jeffersons 18. The Dick Van Dyke Show 19. Will & Grace 20. Golden Girls 21. The Larry Sanders Show 22. Sex in the City 23. The Bob Newhart Show 24. Murphy Brown 25. Everybody Loves Raymond They made some obvious mistakes, such as naming _Seinfeld_ as the best one. Heck, during its run _Seinfeld_ was routinely beaten badly in the ratings by _Home Improvement_ , which to my mind was a much funnier show and which the knuckleheads at E! didn’t even rank in the top 25. Other notable omissions from E!'s list include _Barney Miller_ , _Soap_ , _Sanford & Son_ , _Get Smart!_ , _The Beverly Hillbillies_ , _Newhart_, _Married with Children_ and _WKRP in Cincinnati_ . Shows I’d boot out of the top 25 are _Larry Sanders, Sex in the City, Golden Girls, Will & Grace, Everybody Loves Raymond, I Love Lucy, Roseanne_ and _All in the Family_ . I’m sorry, but Archie constantly calling his long-suffering and loving wife “Dingbat” and his jerk son in law “Meathead” got real old real fast. It was shocking in its time but it doesn’t hold up well now. My top ten would be: 1. _The Simpsons_ 2. _Cheers_ 3. _M_A_S_H\* (before it got all preachy toward the end) 4. _Taxi_ 5. _The Cosby Show_ 6. _Married with Children_ 7. _The Dick Van Dyke Show_ 8. _Home Improvement_ 9. _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_ 10. _Frasier_ Thoughts? Comments? (Other than that I may be watching too much _Nick at Night_ 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/2 "2002-09-21T19:14:32Z")
I’m almost in agreement with you, **PatrickM** , but I’d have “Friends” in my list after “Taxi”, and I’d kick "Married With Children "out. I hated that show - so crass, so vulgar, so completely unredeeming. I love “Friends” in spite of myself; there hasn’t been any criticism of the show that I don’t agree with, and I find myself laughing out loud until I cry when watching it anyway. To me, **that** is the mark of a great comedy - it really makes me laugh. I’d probably replace “Home Improvement” with “Newhart”, too. I don’t have any idea why “Newhart” was funny, but it was another of my consistently laugh out loud shows. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/3 "2002-09-21T19:34:19Z")
NewsRadio was better than half the shows on that list … pity it was never more popular. ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/4 "2002-09-21T19:59:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PatrickM \* > \*\*E! cable channel recently ranked the 25 greatest TV comedies. I can’t get the link to work but their list is: > > 1. Seinfeld > 2. All in the Family > 3. The Cosby Show > 4. Cheers > 5. The Simpsons > 6. MASH > 7. I Love Lucy > 8. Friends > 9. Taxi > 10. The Mary Tyler Moore Show > 11. The Honeymooners > 12. Frasier > 13. Roseanne > 14. The Andy Griffith Show > 15. Happy Days > 16. Family Ties > 17. The Jeffersons > 18. The Dick Van Dyke Show > 19. Will & Grace > 20. Golden Girls > 21. The Larry Sanders Show > 22. Sex in the City > 23. The Bob Newhart Show > 24. Murphy Brown > 25. Everybody Loves Raymond > > They made some obvious mistakes, > Shows I’d boot out of the top 25 are I Love Lucy, and _All in the Family_ . I’m sorry, but Archie constantly calling his long-suffering and loving wife “Dingbat” and his jerk son in law “Meathead” got real old real fast. It was shocking in its time but it doesn’t hold up well now. > > My top ten would be: > > 1. _The Simpsons_ > 2. _Cheers_ > 3. _M_A_S_H\* (before it got all preachy toward the end) > 4. _Taxi_ > 5. _The Cosby Show_ > 6. _Married with Children_ > 7. _The Dick Van Dyke Show_ > 8. _Home Improvement_ > 9. _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_ > 10. _Frasier_ > > Thoughts? Comments? (Other than that I may be watching too much _Nick at Night_ 🙂 ) \*\* So, according to you, there were NO situation comedies that were actually funny in the 1960’s. Uh-huh. Tell me when the shuttle lands. Just to let you know, the audience laughter from _I Love Lucy_ is **still** being used in sitcoms today, nearly 50 years after the show aired. Oh, you made some obvious mistakes, such as your comments about I Love Lucy and All In The Family. You apparently know knowing about the concept of context, which is precisely while All In The Family doesn’t seem shocking to you. Ask yourself this question–if All In The Family were a “new series” being pitched to the networks today, woth the exact same storyline/actors/format, would it get picked up? Norman Lear himself was asked this question and the answer was unequivical: “Never.” Now ask yourself why he would say that. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/5 "2002-09-21T20:05:21Z")
_Barney Miller_. Always fresh, witty & topical. Just because it hasn’t neccessarily aged well doesn’t mean it wasn’t top drawer when it appeared. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/6 "2002-09-21T20:06:26Z")
What’s worse, if it is not made in the USA, it is not funny? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/7 "2002-09-21T20:08:17Z")
My list would be 1. Fawlty Towers 2. Blackadder (2-4) 3. Yes (prime) minister 4. Bottom 5. The red dwarf (1-6) 6. The Brittas Empire 7. One foot in the grave 8. The young ones 9. Friends (the earlier years) 10. Frasier 11. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/8 "2002-09-21T21:05:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wumpus \* > \*\*NewsRadio was better than half the shows on that list … pity it was never more popular. \*\* Amen! How can any list not include the exploits of WNYX and its staff? Watch episodes like “Goofy Ball”, “Bill’s Autobiography”, “The Secret of Management”, or “Bitch Session” and tell me that this isn’t a great show. I never understood why NBC couldn’t do more to get people to watch. “Secret #438: I’m with stupid.” -brianjedi ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/9 "2002-09-22T01:58:10Z")
If we were to restrict this to “the first three seasons of”, and to “original showing of”, rather than reruns – would that change things for y’all? For me, I’d have: All in the Family I Love Lucy Taxi Dick Van Dyke Mash Cheers Mork & Mindy Seinfeld etc. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/10 "2002-09-22T03:16:14Z")
I’d take off: Everybody Loves Raymond, Golden Girls, Married with Children, Will and Grace, and anything from HBO. The fact that they are on cable and can get away with more, while not their fault, puts them on a different playing field than the rest. I’d move Friends much further down the list. I’d add: Sanford and Son, Barney Miller, Beverly Hillbillies, Leave it to Beaver, and Newsradio. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/11 "2002-09-22T03:30:46Z")
Let’s not forget Nickelodeon which created the incredibly funny **The Adventures of Pete and Pete**. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/12 "2002-09-22T03:53:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PatrickM \* > \*\*19. Will & Grace \*\* Well _of course_ it’s in the top 25. Eric McCormack and Debra Messing are among the top 10 funniest people alive, according to E! _snort_ And please stop claiming _Sex and the City_ is a comedy, people. Just because the star is a horse doesn’t make it _Mr. Ed_. ---
**Author:** ![Giselle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Giselle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giselle)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/13 "2002-09-22T05:11:24Z")
I really do like **Will and Grace**. But the show that makes me laugh more than any other is **That '70s Show**. I really don’t know why. It’s just so incredibly ridiculous that I find it amusing. Also. **Red Dwarf**. Whee! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/14 "2002-09-22T07:05:15Z")
I don’t like their list. However, I don’t like 90% of sitcoms either, so… My top ten list would be: 1. 2 Guys and A Girl (airs on WE from pilot beginning the 30th, btw) 2. MTV’s The State 3. Norm 4. Space Ghost Coast To Coast 5. Rosanne. 6. Golden Girls 7. Herman’s Head 8. All in the Family 9. Just Shoot Me 10. Spin City ---
**Author:** ![PatrickM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@PatrickM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickM)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/15 "2002-09-22T15:52:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WSLer \* > \*\* > \ > > So, according to you, there were NO situation comedies that were actually funny in the 1960’s. > > Uh-huh. Tell me when the shuttle lands. > > \ > \*\* WSLer, WSLer, WSLer, from your other posts on this board I know you can read. It is a shame that in your haste to rip my opinion you failed to read my OP. You incorrectly wrote that I said there were NO funny comedies in the 1960s, this despite the fact that I had _The Dick Van Dyke Show_ in my top 10 and added \*Get Smart! \* and _The Beverly Hillbillies_ to my top 25, which already included _The Andy Griffith Show_ from E!'s list. I’m no math major, but that puts 4 shows from the 1960s on my list. As for _All in the Family_ I still say it is way overrated. I was alive and watching TV in 1970s and found Archie Bunker’s show not so much shocking as obvious and heavy handed. I knew people like Bunker and seeing louts like him on my TV, even getting his weekly well-deserved comeuppance, was a waste of my time and electricity. About Lucy, my feelings about the show were summed up in the first \*Back to the Future \* movie; its always a rerun of an unfunny one I’ve already seen before. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/16 "2002-09-22T16:14:31Z")
**I Love Lucy** got the longest laugh in history (it may have since been beaten by **All in the Family** but I doubt it) in a scene where Lucy gets a shirtload of eggs smashed into her chest, and the show ran for 6 years. **Golden Girls** ran 7 years. Obviously somebody must have thought they were funny. The Andy Griffith show ran for 8 seasons, and bored me to tears whenever I tried to watch it. But it did run for 8 seasons, so again it deserves placement somewhere on the list for the reason mentioned in my first paragraph. The **Larry Sanders** show was totally forgettable. And **Sex In The City** is a comedy? Granted I’ve only watched a half dozen episodes, but I don’t think I’ve ever so much as chuckled at anything I’ve seen on that show. ---
**Author:** ![downbylaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@downbylaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/downbylaw)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/17 "2002-09-22T18:51:16Z")
just because shows run for years and get insanely high ratings doesn’t necessarily make them funny. damn, britney spears has outsold just about everyone, but no one’s calling her shit classic (at least, no one over the age of 13). home improvement was completely mediocre, and in no way competes with the creativity of seinfeld. this is a digression, but my parents always told me there where two types of people: elvis people and beatles people. in the nineties it was home improvement and seinfeld. i can’t relate to anyone who likes home improvement over seinfeld, nor do i really want to. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/18 "2002-09-22T19:39:46Z")
> [@](#): > > just because shows run for years and get insanely high ratings doesn’t necessarily make them funny. Au contraire. The only thing that keeps a sitcom on the air is a constant stream of yucks from the viewers (measured in terms of ratings). Show not funny, viewers not watch. Viewers not watch, sponsors pull ads. Sponsors pull ads, sitcom gets cancelled. You personally may not have found a show funny, but if the show gets high ratings and runs for years, that says more about you than it does about the show. As I mentioned, Andy Griffith did absolutely nothing for me in the yucks department. But I can accept that enough people found it sufficiently amusing to keep it running for 8 years, thereby justifying its placement on a universal “best of” list. But it’s sure as heck not on _my_ “best of” list. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/19 "2002-09-22T20:44:05Z")
Whoo boy, what a can of worms! Shows I enjoyed as a kid, such as _Gilligan’s Island_, _Alice_, _One Day At A Time_, _Mork & Mindy_, _The Cosby Show_, _MASH_, and _Square Pegs_, don’t get the same yuks from me now that I see them on reruns. Here’s a list of shows that have stood the test of time for me: _All in the Family Barney Miller Cheers Night Court The Honeymooners Roseanne Bob Newhart Match Game_ (yeah, it’s not a sitcom but it sure was/is hilarious) More recent fare that I’ve laughed at more than a few times: _Drew Carey Show Grace Under Fire South Park Newradio The King of Queens_ Hmmm, I was sure I’d think of more. I rarely watch network television anymore and haven’t found many sitcoms on cable channels. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012/20 "2002-09-22T21:41:29Z")
If the definition of “TV Comedy” is “funny show on TV”, then we’ve missed the funniest program ever shown on television: Mystery Science Theater 3000. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-best-tv-comedies/129012.md?page=2)