Okay, DP17's fatherhood thread made me think about the Family Ties episode where Alex P. Keaton and Michael Keaton build the baby's crib. Classic and freakin' hilarious. I was raised on that show.
I wasn't going to make a comment in that thread since I figured it might go the hijacking route. So alas, name your Top-5 sitcoms of all-time.
1. Seinfeld 2. Friends 3. King of Queens 4. Family Ties 5. Fresh Prince of Bel Air
LOL - The Rish will be upset with this news as well. KS just doesn't prioritize winning...
Oh man - I can name 5, but I sure wouldn't be able to say they are my favorite - meaning there have been so many. So, in no order: 1 Home Improvement 2. The Cosby Show 3. Cheers 4. My Name is Earl 5. Mash
1.Seinfeld 2.Frasier 3.Married... With Children 4.The Simpsons 5.Family Matters
That really makes me mad I've never gotten to see Family Ties. My parents often tell me My middle name was because of Michael J Fox's character on that show, so it must have been a good one.
Hmm... tough to narrow it down to five, but here are my favorites:
1. Cheers 2. M.A.S.H. (particularly the first three seasons with McLean Stevenson as Henry - once Alan Alda got his hands on the creative direction of the show after Season 5, things went downhill pretty quickly, IMO) 3. Home Improvement 4. Frasier 5. Everybody Loves Raymond
There a number of others (Cosby Show, Friends, All In the Family just to name a few), but these are the sitcoms I'll still watch when I can occasionally catch them in re-runs.
All in the Family Cheers Arrested Development (big fan of this one) Married With Children
A very obscure one which I wouldn't consider in the "greatest of all time " category but was great for it's innuendo laden humor was Howard Stern's "Son of the Beach."
All in the Fanily Barney Miller Taxi MASH Mork and Mindy Three's Company Cheers Seinfeld Home Improvement Bob Newhart (any incarnation) WKRP in Cincinnati I Love Lucy Brady Bunch Bewitched Happy Days Gilligan's Island The Cosby Show The Odd Couple Green Acres Family Ties
I can't really pick a top 5 ... but these are some that come to mind.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
This is a tough one but in no particular order i'd say my top 5 would be:
1) M*A*S*H 2) Married with Children 3) Night Court 4) That 70's show 5) Spin City
also loved: George Lopez The Cosby Show Gilligan's Island Hogan's Heroes Three's Company Barney Miller Sanford and Son Cheers WKRP in Cincinnati Hee Haw Taxi Get Smart Simpsons Two and a Half Men News Radio Drew Carey Home Improvement
Main reason why: the list would be different on any given day, depending on my mood and memory.
Also, because humor is subjective, I tend to shy away from the word "best." I'll go with "favorite," because one man's meat is another man's poison...
Today, tho- off the top of my head: (in no particular order)
Taxi The Cosby Show WKRP in Cincinatti The Simpsons
and for pure corn and clean fun, I'm shocked that noone but me has submitted The Beverly Hillbillies.
With 5, I had to eliminate other worthy contenders:
Married: With Children M.A.S.H. Cheers Night Court (yeah... y'all forgot about that one, didn't ya?) Cool opening theme, too. All In the Family Sanford & Son....
Most of the ones I recall are from the 60's. Once out of school these past 35+ years, I don't recall ever watching more than one situation comedy in any one season.
All time I'd say: I Love Lucy / Lucy Andy Griffith My 3 Sons M*A*S*H Seinfeld
My top 5 would be: Andy Griffith M*A*S*H Taxi Cheers Seinfeld
Honorable mention: The Honeymooners, The Flintstones, Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Mary Tyler Moore, Barney Miller
I pretty much hate all sitcoms, with the exception of Seinfeld. I especially hate when sitcoms get preachy, such as MASH, All In The Family, Maude, etc. The thing I really, really hate is the "awww / big hug moment" that usually happens at the end of the show - the learning moment when either the antagonist or protagonist finally sees the error of his ways and seeks redemption. Which is probably why I liked Seinfeld so much. I heard Seinfeld, or maybe it was Larry David, say that their show had only a couple rules: No big hugs, no lessons. A show about nothing indeed ... 2 or 3 interwoven "plots" that end up dovetailing at the end, to nobody's particular benefit, but with some laughs along the way. It was dark and it was clever.
I guess it just depends what kind of comedy you like. I'm not real big on pratfalls, or laughtracks, or Lucy trying to keep up with the pie conveyor, or the Beaver trying to replace his Dad's favorite pipe after wrecking it during a science project, or Alan Alda's anti-war preaching, Rob Reiner's and Bea Arthur's consciousness-raising on the liberal issues du jour. I prefer sketch comedy, like SNL, SCTV, and MadTV.
There have been some really good sitcoms over the years these are just a few of my favorites.
Alf (Used to love it as a kid and my kid loves it now, he's got every DVD) Married with Children Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Home Improvement The Simpsons The Wonder Years Sanford and Son Saved By the Bell Family Guy Coach (can't believe nobody mentioned this, on a side note I think Dauber does the voice of Patrick on Spongebob.) Family Matters Roseanne King of Queens
I would include shows like The Sopranos, The Dukes of Hazzard, Fall Guy, Night Rider, CSI and shows like that but I don't know if they would be considered sitcoms.
Man, with the age range on here, I figured there would be more support for Family Ties. To me, that's the best "family" sitcom of all-time. Can't beat Alex P. Keaton.
Lots of good shows listed here, many that I have watched over the years. It might actually be easier to name the least liked. I'm surprised Seinfeld and Cheers didn't get more love as I thought they were widely regarded as the two best sitcoms of all time, in that order.
Did I see a Growing Pains anywhere in here? Another classic in the "family" genre, IMO. And what about Too Close For Comfort? I remember watching that as a kid.
I would say the worst sitcom of all time is Small Wonder... haha...just thinking about that show has me shaking my head.
LOL - The Rish will be upset with this news as well. KS just doesn't prioritize winning...
In no particular order, and in Top 12 format - since I couldn't limit myself to just 5.
1. Cheers 2. Friends 3. Cosby Show 4. Will and Grace 5. Night Court 6. Roseanne 7. How I Met Your Mother 8. Mork and Mindy 9. WKRP 10. That 70's Show 11. Three's Company 12. Newsradio
Quote: I pretty much hate all sitcoms, with the exception of Seinfeld.
That's funny... my take is pretty much the exact opposite. I enjoyed watching a LOT of different sitcoms EXCEPT for Seinfeld. I gave Seinfeld the "ole college try" a number of times. However, to me, it was just stupid and not particularly funny. Different strokes (no... not a big fan of that sitcom ) for different folks.
The real kicker is that I actually saw Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up act a couple of times and laughed out loud till my sides hurt. Go figure...
I think the sitcom is becoming an endangered species now. Aside from sporting events, I rarely watch television because, for me, there is very little worth watching. I do get a kick out of The Big Bang Theory, however... maybe there's hope yet.
"All In The Family" is always the one that comes to mind when I think of such things.
There have been so many good ones.
Yes Tyler, I'll plug South Park. Many good episodes and I think, "Make Love, Not Warcraft" is my favorite.
A few favorite episodes / scenes, both from Taxi.....
When Jim's dad dies, his siblings prove him incompetent and the show ends with Iggy opening the trunk that his dad had left for him. It may be silly to get "misty" (as Fonzie once called it...now there's some trivia) over a TV show, but that episode is killer.
When everyone get's "hooked" on Latka's cookies that are made from his grandma's recipe with her secret ingredient. Again, Jim is featured when he discovers that the secret ingredient is cocaine (who else would be able to figure that out ). Ignatowsky is even able to figure out the country of origin, year and the fact that the cocaine used was farmed during the dry season just by tasting the cookie. Classic.
TV sitcom trivia...What word got Johnny Fever banned from the radio?
Although it's often cited, Ignatowski taking the driver's test is a Top 5 sitcom moment.
DeVito at the spelling bee is also a "Taxi" classic...
The Latka's Cookies episode came about as a favor to Famous Amos from Kaufman, who loved the brand and used them in his famous 'milk and cookies' outings after the Carnegie shows.