Greatest All-time TV Sitcoms?
Finally, a few thoughts on the lighter side.
Most people will call me an old fogey, but the truth remains, I cannot find any modern sitcom shows that match the great writing, acting and humor of by-gone days when many of the shows were performed before a live audience and canned laughter was not always needed to instigate laughter.
I realize Seinfeld, Everyone Loves Raymond and Frasier were all big hits, but I often found myself scratching my head at the sound of uproarious laughter when there was nothing that funny about the dialogue. Rare did those shows trigger a belly laugh to compare to The Honeymooners and All In The Family.
Okay, enough with the rant. Here’s my list of the top ten sitcoms of all time:
All In The Family
The Honeymooners
I Love Lucy
The Jeffersons
The Cosby Show
MASH
Night Court
The Golden Girls
Cheers
The Nanny
Five Honorable mentions:
Taxi
Dick Van Dyke Show
Different Strokes
Three’s Company
The Odd Couple
Okay, your choices?
Married With Children
The Andy Griffith Show
The Bob Newhart Show
Green Acres
Sanford and Son
Seinfeld ***
The Andy Griffith Show
The Bob Newhart Show
Green Acres (helps to be a bumpkin already)
Seinfeld
Being an oldies freak, I will have to go with Happy Days. There is another one I like but I don’t know the name. About a kid whos girlfriend’s name is Topenga, sits during the 60’s. Brings back memories of the music and the history of the days. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name.
This is Harvey Kormans son and one of the things about 1 camera shows like mash and other 1 camera comedies was the canned laugh track.I remembering reading Alan Alda in a interview saying the only place where a laugh track wasn’t used was in the operating room.I think the problem is that the editors wanted to advance the reputation of the writers as being funny throughout the show and were incapable of having a badly written show.I think the only reason for the sweetening in post-production is because it increased the nielsen ratings.I don’t think the editors of the shows that were classics like all in the family and Frasier and even Burnett Show gave their audiences engough credit for knowing what was funny.
Flash Gordon
Lost in Space Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Voyager Star Trek: Enterprise
Babylon 5
LOL
Flash Gordon
Lost in Space Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Voyager
Babylon 5
LOL
I loved Roseanne. All in the Family was another. But I love Lucy was my all=time favorite, and I can still get a warm, fuzzy feeling watching reruns I have seen a hundred times. My perspective changes each time I see one.
I can’t disagree with your choices, nor add many to them.
But what can we do about it?
My heart goes out to anyone who didn’t get Seinfeld. What planet were you on not to get into the characters–Kramer, Newman, George, Elaine, and Jerry? I guess you didn’t understand the Soup Nazi or any of that.
There’s hope yet. Try watching it a little more and it’ll sink in.
Best wishes.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Adams Family
and don’t get mad but I really liked Car 54 Where Are You!
My Favorite Martian
Mork and Mindy (so I’m a little quirky…)
Mama
Father Knows Best
Donna Reed Show
King of Queens
JUst Shoot Me
The Brothers (old and obscure Bob Sweeny and Gail Gordon)
All in the Family
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Maude
The Practice (Danny Thomas)
Benson
The Bob Newhart Show
The Golden Girls
Good Times
The Jeffersons
Sorry Marshall, I loved most of the ones that you chose. HOWEVER, by far, SEINFELD is the number 1 in my book. Two and 1/2 Men is also absolutely hilarious. So get with it and start watching 2 and 1/2 men on Monday nights. New episodes starting next week. Love and Kisses xoxoxoxo Ina
Heres some of my picks:
BeWitched
I Dream of Jeannie
Maverick
McHale’s Navy
Gilligans Island
The Courtship of Eddies father
Peticoat Junction
Lost in Space
George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Sonny and Cher Show
Now that should qualify me to; as an Old Fogey; proud to be in the club with you Marhsall and the rest of you.
Thanks for the insight Mr. Korman (Christopher) your father was and is still GREAT.
David
Mary Tyler Moore
Bob Newhart
Family Ties
The Wonder Years
Father Knows Best
Andy Griffith
Leave it to Beaver
My Three Sons
Cosby
And this summer my daughter and I discovered “The Gilmore Girls” and loved it.
In the early 8O’s, “Police Squad” ny Abrams, Abrama and Zucker last only 6 episodes, because it was in some ways TOO funny…you had to pay attention. They resurected the aseries into the “Naked Gun” movies…but the 6 episodes were funnier.
Among the classics, I’m amazed whenever I see a rerun of “Gilligan’s Island,” “Green Acres” or even “Beverly Hillbillies”…at the time, we considered them the lowest of the low…but the writing seems clever and nuanced compared with what passes for comedy today.
And a special shout-out to Christopher Korman: your dad was the tops! I loved the episode of “Diagnosis: Murder” that brought back your dad and Tim Conway as a faded comedy team, complete with footage of the “dentist” sketch.
Hi, Marshall – When I used to watch TV more than I do now, I well remember your favorites and they were my favorites as well.
Regards,Bill
1. The Carol Burnett Show … There hasn’t been a funnier ensemble cast on TV since that show went off the air .. and certainly the funniest of all were Harvey Korman and Tim Conway.
2. Your Show of Shows … THE show that started it all, with the brilliant Caesar, Morse, Reiner, Coca .. You luaghed so hard that you cried. This show also gave us the greatest comedy writers of all time, including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart PLUS Caesar and Reiner.
3. The Danny Thomas Show with its family not quite disfunctional but always funny. Mr. Thomas took his stand-up story-telling expertise and created a mini-masterpiece each week.
4. The Dick Van Dyke Show .. Superb comic timing in every part of it .. Carl Reiner written and directed often.
5. The Mary Tyler Moore Show … God Rest Ted Knight who was positively hillarious as Ted Baxter. The rest of the cast were no slouches either.
6. I Love Lucy … the first 4 years, then it became tiring. They just didn’t know what to do with her.
7. HE & SHE … Way before its time, a sophisticated comedy that made you laugh so hard you cried, thanks to the exceptional cast including Paul Prentiss, Richard Benjamin and the late Jack Cassidy who was simply so superbly marvelous.
8. The first Bob Newhart Show with the incomparable Susanne Pleshette.
Stacked up against these gems, modern comedy stinks. It’s all angst and self-absorbtion.
Since we’re talking “sitcoms” I’d include Mad About You, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show(the first one!),and Monty Python in addition to the ones you selected. Some of the ones chosen by your readers included variety shows and my choice there would be The Smother’s Brothers Comedy Hour and The Carol Burnett Show.
I agree with many of the picks by you and others, but I find it interesting noone has said anything about Home Improvement. I never failed to laugh at any of those shows. Or how about Mister Ed? Kind of dumb, but pretty darn funny if you can just get into the talking horse thing – which I had no problem doing. About canned vs. real laughter, I find both irritating as I want to get into the characters and show and I find laughter of any kind very interruptive and distracting, especially when it interfers with the next line being delivered.
Bilko
Faulty Towers – oh, the Brits – mordant wit
As Time Goes By – gentler Brits for those of us who are almost contemporaries of Jean and Lionel
Molly Goldberg – funny, but would bring forth a tear or two today
I Remember Mama – poignant, but so’s Chaplin – Aunt Jenny and Mama could solve most problems over a cup of Maxwell House
Amos ‘n’ Andy – how macabre today to have laughed with Andy and “the stucco house” at age 12
Fawlty, I’m afraid. How dashedly clumsy of me.
Another great article, Marshall….I too, miss the older sitcoms, the ones out today are not nearly as funny to me, with one exception, That 70’s Show. I feel it was one of the best sitcoms to come around in years, very, very funny. Oh, but you should add Andy Griffith! I bet I have seen each show at least 50 times, and yet it never fails to lift my spirits and make me laugh!
In looking at all the choices and all the shows mentioned, I didn’t realize how many comedy shows I had watched in my many TV years! As to favorites, I agree with 7 of your 10, but instead of Night Court, Cheers (which I did not watch at all) and The Nanny, I would pick the George and Gracie Allen Show, The Andy Grifith and Carol Burnett shows.
Topper, The Big Bang and the British series Coupling
Those old shows prove that there are topics other than sex that make people laugh.
Mr Korman, all your dad had to do was look at Tim Conway and without saying a word, they would have me laughing
and try to write today, as well as the writers of those old shows.
then, maybe we could enjoy the c urrent batch of,SO CALLED humor.
To All, I have no idea where my list and comments went. I guess they are lost in cyber space. The only thing that shows on the screen is the last 2 lines that I wrote and I have to go noww, Carmen is waiting impatiently…Jay
I do love the theme of Rockford Files.