some GOAT English-language sitcoms
May 7, 2021 11:49 PM Subscribe
100 Best Sitcoms of All Time - "From family stories to band-of-misfits hangouts, classic rom-coms to workplace mockumentaries, cringe comedies to antihero showcases, and some shows that defy definition, these are the hundred series that have made us laugh, think, occasionally cry, and laugh all over again."
.
posted by firstdaffodils at 12:24 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by firstdaffodils at 12:24 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don't normally kvetch about lists, but a greatest English language sitcoms list without Kath & Kim is an OUTRAGE.
posted by howfar at 12:27 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by howfar at 12:27 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Checked for Slings & Arrows and was disappointed, I think it is funnier than most on this list ... but I learned long ago that humour is not always shared.
I remember watching Kids in the Hall with a group that was half Canadian student have international student and we [Canadians] laughed to the point of tears at the axe murderer sketch while the international students looked at us in horror.
posted by chapps at 12:37 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
I remember watching Kids in the Hall with a group that was half Canadian student have international student and we [Canadians] laughed to the point of tears at the axe murderer sketch while the international students looked at us in horror.
posted by chapps at 12:37 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
I don't normally kvetch about lists
I always kvetch about lists!! :)
posted by chapps at 12:39 AM on May 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
I always kvetch about lists!! :)
posted by chapps at 12:39 AM on May 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
It seems a bit pointless to gripe too much about the many clearly wrong placings, but even though a lot of British sitcoms made it in, Detectorists,Flowers,Nathan Barley, and going back a bit further Father Ted and The Good Life should all be in there. Still, a lot of good stuff in there! Peep Show is way too low, though.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:56 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:56 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Slings & Arrows
I don't think it fit their definition of sitcom - they ruled out "comedy-drama hybrids that ran around an hour", among other things.
posted by trig at 1:58 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't think it fit their definition of sitcom - they ruled out "comedy-drama hybrids that ran around an hour", among other things.
posted by trig at 1:58 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Seinfeld at #3 while Letterkenny and Soap are relegated to #83 and #87 respectively and Dance Mode languishes at #96?
Pfft.
posted by flabdablet at 1:59 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Pfft.
posted by flabdablet at 1:59 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Ugh, Rolling Stone Magazine. [list snark -- I'm totally OK with 'here are some funny things you might also like' but] Does "GOAT" stand for Gatekeepers Of All Time, telling us that the publisher is in this role?
posted by k3ninho at 2:21 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by k3ninho at 2:21 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
Me: Cheers better be #1. Cheers better be #1.
List: Cheers is #2. The Simpsons is #1.
Me: ...ok, I'll allow it.
However! The Simpsons, as great and influential as it is, should be knocked down a notch or two for many episodes--hell, sometimes most of a season, especially recently--that are profoundly unfunny. It shows a laziness and complacency by the producers that should be reflected in this list.
posted by zardoz at 2:24 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
List: Cheers is #2. The Simpsons is #1.
Me: ...ok, I'll allow it.
However! The Simpsons, as great and influential as it is, should be knocked down a notch or two for many episodes--hell, sometimes most of a season, especially recently--that are profoundly unfunny. It shows a laziness and complacency by the producers that should be reflected in this list.
posted by zardoz at 2:24 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
I'm just glad The Good Place and Bojack are on the list.
posted by Jacen at 2:28 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Jacen at 2:28 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
I suspect the The Good Place will still be on the list in decades, but I wonder if Bojack is too of its time to last - think of all the costume gags (flashback to early 2000s), hot-off-online references ("but doctor, I am Sad Dog"), and celebrity animal pun names about future hard Jeopardy questions. I suspect it will be a "you had to be there".
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 3:07 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 3:07 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Well, I'll still enjoy Moone Boy and Great News regardless.
posted by transient at 3:14 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by transient at 3:14 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
I'm surprised Blackadder didn't rate rather higher - but, then, I've no idea whether it ever made any impact in the States or not.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:24 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 3:24 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
The list feels like it has a higher bar for non-US comedy. But a lot of great shows on the list.
posted by plonkee at 3:27 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by plonkee at 3:27 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
I would’ve put Peep Show in the top 20, but otoh ranking it so low feels thematically appropriate.
posted by betweenthebars at 3:39 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by betweenthebars at 3:39 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Surprised by Big Bang Theory being there at all.
posted by mhoye at 4:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [22 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 4:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [22 favorites]
Strutter Cane is correct, and so is plonkee. I remember watching NewsRadio when it was airing and being frustrated that it got moved around so much. Such a consistently brilliant show that didn't get the chance it deserved. Has there ever been a better ensemble cast?
And yes, it's very UScentric. Detectorists, Peep Show, Father Ted, Absolutely Fabulous, Breeders...all should be high on the list, IMHO.
But complaining about an online list, it's like barking at the moon, so I'm gonna stop right here.
posted by conifer at 4:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
And yes, it's very UScentric. Detectorists, Peep Show, Father Ted, Absolutely Fabulous, Breeders...all should be high on the list, IMHO.
But complaining about an online list, it's like barking at the moon, so I'm gonna stop right here.
posted by conifer at 4:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Better Off Ted?
Green Acres?
Sports Night?
And yet they somehow find Baskets funny enough to rate as a GOAT? At least they got Better Things and You're the Worst right.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
Green Acres?
Sports Night?
And yet they somehow find Baskets funny enough to rate as a GOAT? At least they got Better Things and You're the Worst right.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
This list is so terrible I honestly expected to find Trouble with Tracy on it.
posted by dobbs at 5:11 AM on May 8, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by dobbs at 5:11 AM on May 8, 2021 [9 favorites]
Not really expecting Made in Canada to make the list but disappointed none the less.
posted by Mitheral at 5:37 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 5:37 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
I feel like it wouldn't be hard to find places on this list for Bewitched (Bewitched: It was Gay All Along?) and The Young Ones (How The Young Ones Changed Comedy). The latter's musical bits featuring Motörhead, Dexys Midnight Runners, Madness, etc. seem especially relevant to a list from Rolling Stone. Still, I appreciate the value in posting it on Metafilter for comments / additional recs; e.g. when I see Daria and Rick and Morty on this list, it underscores for me what a shame it is that Human Kind Of is sort of hidden away on, uh, Facebook Watch (no login required, but yeah).
posted by Wobbuffet at 5:42 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by Wobbuffet at 5:42 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
I was personally missing Everybody Hates Chris from this list.
posted by stillnocturnal at 5:43 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by stillnocturnal at 5:43 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
Ha! I read this last week and predicted that the top 5 would contain Seinfeld, All in the Family, MASH and Cheers. I wasn’t completely right . Never warmed up to The Simpsons or Seinfeld but that’s just me.
NewsRadio definitely deserved a higher rating.
Schitt’s Creek at #100???
posted by sundrop at 5:54 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
NewsRadio definitely deserved a higher rating.
Schitt’s Creek at #100???
posted by sundrop at 5:54 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Also, BoJack, Big Mouth, and Rick and Morty but no Venture Brothers?? I wouldn't call the last a sitcom but I wouldn't call the former sitcoms really either.
I agree Schitts Creek was robbed and Father Ted is definitely in my top 20.
posted by stillnocturnal at 6:00 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
I agree Schitts Creek was robbed and Father Ted is definitely in my top 20.
posted by stillnocturnal at 6:00 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
It's been long enough that Fawlty Towers should be higher, and in the fullness of time I firmly expect people to recognize Fleabag as top-few.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:01 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:01 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Schitt’s Creek at #100???
Rule #1 of writing a 'best-of' list is you gotta piss your audience off early.
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:06 AM on May 8, 2021 [12 favorites]
Rule #1 of writing a 'best-of' list is you gotta piss your audience off early.
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:06 AM on May 8, 2021 [12 favorites]
It's been long enough that Fawlty Towers should be higher...
FT is a tough one for me. Yes, it's completely mad and farcical. But, it's also trades in a ton of racist and sexist stereotyping for a lot of the laughs, and can be pretty uncomfortable to watch today.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:10 AM on May 8, 2021 [11 favorites]
FT is a tough one for me. Yes, it's completely mad and farcical. But, it's also trades in a ton of racist and sexist stereotyping for a lot of the laughs, and can be pretty uncomfortable to watch today.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:10 AM on May 8, 2021 [11 favorites]
I didn't see Brady Bunch. If it's indeed missing, well, then forget this list. Marcia Marcia Marcia!
posted by readyfreddy at 6:13 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by readyfreddy at 6:13 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Also...People forget that The Flintstones (as well as The Jetsons) was originally a prime-time show. Yeah, The Flintstones was a rip-off of sorts of The Honeymooners, but I'd argue it's a hell of a lot funnier.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:15 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 6:15 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Searches for The Munsters
Does not find it
This list does not exist.
posted by Katemonkey at 6:26 AM on May 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
Does not find it
This list does not exist.
posted by Katemonkey at 6:26 AM on May 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
WHERE IS "QUARK"?!??!
posted by jscalzi at 6:34 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by jscalzi at 6:34 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
Where is "Small Wonder"?
Sarcasm. I know it was a show for kids, but even so, it remains one of the most jaw droppingly bad sitcoms I ever watched—on purpose— for the sheer disbelief value.
posted by SoberHighland at 6:48 AM on May 8, 2021
Sarcasm. I know it was a show for kids, but even so, it remains one of the most jaw droppingly bad sitcoms I ever watched—on purpose— for the sheer disbelief value.
posted by SoberHighland at 6:48 AM on May 8, 2021
Looking at this list I can't help but feel like most sitcoms that are moderately successful run too long. There are of course extreme examples (Simpsons, we're looking at you) and shows that would've been saved by being canceled much earlier (How I Met Your Mother anyone?) but there are so few shows that survive the grind of years well.
posted by graymouser at 6:49 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by graymouser at 6:49 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
This list has a serious lack of Perfect Strangers which is a serious disappointment. Larry and Balki were the Abbot & Costello or the Laurel & Hardy of the 1980s. The show’s physical comedy and snappy wordplay has aged very well. At least Night Court made the list.
posted by Servo5678 at 6:58 AM on May 8, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by Servo5678 at 6:58 AM on May 8, 2021 [10 favorites]
Lists always get criticized -- and rightly so -- but I gotta give them credit for putting Police Squad! on there. Previously. Also previously.
posted by JanetLand at 7:01 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by JanetLand at 7:01 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
List is already out-of-date, just binged Girls5Eva on Peacock, that show is brutally funny.
posted by LooseFilter at 7:15 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by LooseFilter at 7:15 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Name me a real word that sounds more like Orwell’s Newspeak rhan “sitcom”.
posted by thelonius at 7:34 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 7:34 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
I know that my sense of humor is not exactly in line with mainstream American tastes so mostly I'm happy to see Daria, Letterkenny, and The Good Place on here and rolling my eyes at Seinfeld and Friends but at the same time - where's The Addams Family?
posted by bile and syntax at 7:34 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by bile and syntax at 7:34 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
a quick and incomplete perusal reveals that Friends is #38. No it isn't. It's not even #138. Or maybe I've been missing something all these years. Maybe I should finally actually force myself to watch an entire episode before switching to ... ... ... anything else really.
For me, Friends (at its peak) was like that special hell where all the people who bored me the most in high school never stopped hanging out together, all moved in together ... and everybody cared about them, tuned in every week to see what crazy hijinks and whatnot they'd perpetrated. I suppose one could dismiss Seinfeld similarly except Seinfeld got it right, Seinfeld was up front about their limited, artificial world being lodged in one of Dante's special circles of hell.
Seinfeld should be #1. The Simpsons is more its own genre altogether. Cheers is overall way too nice to be that high. The very best comedy can't be that nice. Because comedy is humanity and humanity just isn't that nice.
posted by philip-random at 7:36 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
For me, Friends (at its peak) was like that special hell where all the people who bored me the most in high school never stopped hanging out together, all moved in together ... and everybody cared about them, tuned in every week to see what crazy hijinks and whatnot they'd perpetrated. I suppose one could dismiss Seinfeld similarly except Seinfeld got it right, Seinfeld was up front about their limited, artificial world being lodged in one of Dante's special circles of hell.
Seinfeld should be #1. The Simpsons is more its own genre altogether. Cheers is overall way too nice to be that high. The very best comedy can't be that nice. Because comedy is humanity and humanity just isn't that nice.
posted by philip-random at 7:36 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Name me a real word that sounds more like Orwell’s Newspeak rhan “sitcom”.
it's also annoyingly wrong. So much that we classify as situation comedy isn't. It's more along the lines of funny people hanging out being funny. One big laugh after another. Whereas a proper situation comedy is about setting up the situation. Fawlty Towers would be my go-to classic example. Some episodes are all set up at first, just the odd chuckle as various banana peels and tripwires and trapdoors and loose cannons get set in place.
And then when the climax comes, it tends to erupt. The last laugh is the best laugh. Like a symphony really.
I think Seinfeld's an example of a show that, when it's humming, tends to nail it both ways. They've got the funny people hanging out and they've got the build.
posted by philip-random at 7:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
it's also annoyingly wrong. So much that we classify as situation comedy isn't. It's more along the lines of funny people hanging out being funny. One big laugh after another. Whereas a proper situation comedy is about setting up the situation. Fawlty Towers would be my go-to classic example. Some episodes are all set up at first, just the odd chuckle as various banana peels and tripwires and trapdoors and loose cannons get set in place.
And then when the climax comes, it tends to erupt. The last laugh is the best laugh. Like a symphony really.
I think Seinfeld's an example of a show that, when it's humming, tends to nail it both ways. They've got the funny people hanging out and they've got the build.
posted by philip-random at 7:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
One thing I found a little frustrating with this list is the stated criteria for placement is some combination of quality and influence (”we considered not just how much these series made us laugh, but also how much they influenced the shows that followed “) but the list doesn’t necessarily reflect that? Some shows, like “Friends” or “The Cosby Show” are on there clearly more for being part of the cultural zeitgeist than for being particularly funny, while you also have a show like “Baskets” on the list which 99.9% of the population probably doesn’t even know exists, so clearly there solely because the makers of this list simply thought it was high quality. I suppose any list like this is somewhat arbitrary, this one seems particularly so.
posted by The Gooch at 7:54 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by The Gooch at 7:54 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
"The Cosby Show shouldn’t be forgotten, even if it’s impossible to watch now."
Can't say I agree with that logic at all. I feel bad for the rest of the cast, but IMO The Cosby Show really has no place on a list like this. (Likewise, I think they could have omitted Louie even more easily.)
Many of the shows I'd include are on the list, albeit uniformly lower-ranked than I'd have placed them. Soap deserves to be much higher on the list, as do The Jeffersons and Sanford and Son. (I rarely set out to watch Sanford and Son when I was a kid & it was in syndication, but I never failed to get sucked into an episode while switching channels.)
No Happy Days though? No Mork & Mindy? That 70s Show? Did I miss those on the list (it's a PITA to navigate) or did they really omit those and include kids shows Spongebob, Phineas and Ferb and Bluey which aren't even sitcoms?
Buffalo Bill which influenced basically nothing and lasted 2 seasons? I've never even heard of Party Down.
Sigh.
posted by jzb at 8:10 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
Can't say I agree with that logic at all. I feel bad for the rest of the cast, but IMO The Cosby Show really has no place on a list like this. (Likewise, I think they could have omitted Louie even more easily.)
Many of the shows I'd include are on the list, albeit uniformly lower-ranked than I'd have placed them. Soap deserves to be much higher on the list, as do The Jeffersons and Sanford and Son. (I rarely set out to watch Sanford and Son when I was a kid & it was in syndication, but I never failed to get sucked into an episode while switching channels.)
No Happy Days though? No Mork & Mindy? That 70s Show? Did I miss those on the list (it's a PITA to navigate) or did they really omit those and include kids shows Spongebob, Phineas and Ferb and Bluey which aren't even sitcoms?
Buffalo Bill which influenced basically nothing and lasted 2 seasons? I've never even heard of Party Down.
Sigh.
posted by jzb at 8:10 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
Thorzdad: "It's been long enough that Fawlty Towers should be higher...
FT is a tough one for me. Yes, it's completely mad and farcical. But, it's also trades in a ton of racist and sexist stereotyping for a lot of the laughs, and can be pretty uncomfortable to watch today."
I loved it as a kid and then tried to watch it within the last fifteen years and noped right out of it.
posted by octothorpe at 8:12 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
FT is a tough one for me. Yes, it's completely mad and farcical. But, it's also trades in a ton of racist and sexist stereotyping for a lot of the laughs, and can be pretty uncomfortable to watch today."
I loved it as a kid and then tried to watch it within the last fifteen years and noped right out of it.
posted by octothorpe at 8:12 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
But, it's also trades in a ton of racist and sexist stereotyping for a lot of the laughs, and can be pretty uncomfortable to watch today.
Every generation since the 50s has thought that it's terribly progressive and cosmopolitan/liberal, and then a decade goes by and all one can see is warts.
I was never a huge fan of Friends, but at the time I thought it was innocuous, a pretty standard neighbors comedy of the 90s. I find it cringe-inducing now, to the point of being unwatchable. Schwimmer's character is such an entitled ass, and everyone else is just so self-involved. Everything feels like a stereotype rather than real people. It's so unaware of its failings too.
posted by bonehead at 8:14 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Every generation since the 50s has thought that it's terribly progressive and cosmopolitan/liberal, and then a decade goes by and all one can see is warts.
I was never a huge fan of Friends, but at the time I thought it was innocuous, a pretty standard neighbors comedy of the 90s. I find it cringe-inducing now, to the point of being unwatchable. Schwimmer's character is such an entitled ass, and everyone else is just so self-involved. Everything feels like a stereotype rather than real people. It's so unaware of its failings too.
posted by bonehead at 8:14 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
No Young Ones. No peace.
posted by delfin at 8:21 AM on May 8, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by delfin at 8:21 AM on May 8, 2021 [9 favorites]
Conchords and Good Place deserved higher placings, but I was glad to see Fleabag as high as it was. Missing 'allo 'allo and Mork and Mindy.
posted by St. Oops at 8:24 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by St. Oops at 8:24 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Party Down is really wonderful.
This list, and the world, definitely needs Better Off Ted.
posted by Gadarene at 8:28 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
This list, and the world, definitely needs Better Off Ted.
posted by Gadarene at 8:28 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Fewer than 30 of the 100 have even 1 non-white person in the main cast.
posted by snofoam at 8:34 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 8:34 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
I couldn't find Hogan's Heroes. What number was it?
No Fernwood/America Tonite, but I accept that it was a little too quirky and subtle for main stream American tastes.
posted by AugustWest at 8:47 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
No Fernwood/America Tonite, but I accept that it was a little too quirky and subtle for main stream American tastes.
posted by AugustWest at 8:47 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
I've never even heard of Party Down.
You have a delightful treat in your future, then.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:48 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
You have a delightful treat in your future, then.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:48 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
SoberHighland , "Small Wonder" may not make the list, but it does at least rate a sweet Servotron track.
posted by phooky at 8:51 AM on May 8, 2021
posted by phooky at 8:51 AM on May 8, 2021
I was ready to shriek "Where the hell is SPACED?", but there it was... and I was oddly okay with its placement. Impossible to move lower, but difficult to justify moving it too much higher given the competition.
If Louie and Cosby get in despite their stars' reprehensible actions, Father Ted needs a spot despite Linehan's continuing spiral.
Married... With Children had its lapses, as any long running sitcom would, but a complete absence? Madness. It defined its network.
posted by delfin at 8:52 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
If Louie and Cosby get in despite their stars' reprehensible actions, Father Ted needs a spot despite Linehan's continuing spiral.
Married... With Children had its lapses, as any long running sitcom would, but a complete absence? Madness. It defined its network.
posted by delfin at 8:52 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
Dick Van Dyke Show and Andy Griffith Show still stand as solid entertainment for me. Also: Green Acres after the first season.
posted by SoberHighland at 8:53 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 8:53 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
I would've put Seinfeld at #1 and moved The Simpsons down one slot. I think there's something to be said for knowing when to leave.
I also would've put Veep and Insecure higher than #44 and #94, respectively. Veep turned out to be scarily prescient in ways that were not at all funny IRL, and Insecure brings a contemporary single Black female perspective not often seen on TV without an added subtext of shame.
I was delighted to see Brockmire on the list since I think it wasn't much noticed by the mainstream TV viewing audience.
I found it interesting that the 2017 reboot of One Day at a Time made the list but not the original.
Too soon for A Black Lady Sketch Show?
Ugh, Rolling Stone Magazine.
Yep.
posted by fuse theorem at 8:53 AM on May 8, 2021
I also would've put Veep and Insecure higher than #44 and #94, respectively. Veep turned out to be scarily prescient in ways that were not at all funny IRL, and Insecure brings a contemporary single Black female perspective not often seen on TV without an added subtext of shame.
I was delighted to see Brockmire on the list since I think it wasn't much noticed by the mainstream TV viewing audience.
I found it interesting that the 2017 reboot of One Day at a Time made the list but not the original.
Too soon for A Black Lady Sketch Show?
Ugh, Rolling Stone Magazine.
Yep.
posted by fuse theorem at 8:53 AM on May 8, 2021
Seinfeld has not aged well for me at ALL. I cannot stand the show now (nails on a chalkboard), and I was a fan during its original run.
posted by SoberHighland at 8:57 AM on May 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 8:57 AM on May 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
I wonder if Bojack is too of its time to last
I wonder if Bojack is even a sitcom at all. I love the show deeply but its themes are so dark that the simultaneously genius-and-idiotic humor elements really just serve to take the edge off a show that otherwise would have folks clawing their eyes out.
posted by St. Oops at 9:09 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
I wonder if Bojack is even a sitcom at all. I love the show deeply but its themes are so dark that the simultaneously genius-and-idiotic humor elements really just serve to take the edge off a show that otherwise would have folks clawing their eyes out.
posted by St. Oops at 9:09 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Every generation since the 50s has thought that it's terribly progressive and cosmopolitan/liberal, and then a decade goes by and all one can see is warts.
Cf. 30 Rock. That show was straight-up racist.
posted by nushustu at 9:10 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
Cf. 30 Rock. That show was straight-up racist.
posted by nushustu at 9:10 AM on May 8, 2021 [6 favorites]
For me, Friends (at its peak) was like that special hell where all the people who bored me the most in high school never stopped hanging out together, all moved in together ...
I was surprised when stuck in a doctor's office with it on a little before the pandemic that there were some genuinely funny bits in it. But then you gotta read out everything else, which means I wouldn't voluntarily watch it. Just looking at Ross makes me faintly nauseated.
I'd put in (UK) Coupling instead, at a lower slot. That one's sexual politics haven't aged well at all, either, but "Inferno" is one of the funniest episodes of any sitcom I've ever watched.
Would we say that Newsradio...got the shaft?
posted by praemunire at 9:12 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
I was surprised when stuck in a doctor's office with it on a little before the pandemic that there were some genuinely funny bits in it. But then you gotta read out everything else, which means I wouldn't voluntarily watch it. Just looking at Ross makes me faintly nauseated.
I'd put in (UK) Coupling instead, at a lower slot. That one's sexual politics haven't aged well at all, either, but "Inferno" is one of the funniest episodes of any sitcom I've ever watched.
Would we say that Newsradio...got the shaft?
posted by praemunire at 9:12 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
I'd have ranked the Canadian series The Newsroom ahead of about a third of this list, too, but it never really got much traction outside Canada.
I'm also surprised by how much of this list is blandly conventional, though, and how many entries are high on it despite have left effectively zero cultural footprint, particularly considering how much was left off to make room for them. Has anyone ever re-watched an episode Everybody Loves Raymond on purpose, or quoted a line from it? You left Mork & Mindy off for that?
I agree with SoberHighland that Seinfeld has aged spectacularly poorly, but a bunch of the things on this list are really irrelevant.
On the bright side, it's a list from Rolling Stone that doesn't inexplicably have Sgt. Pepper in the #1 spot, so it has that going for it.
posted by mhoye at 9:16 AM on May 8, 2021 [11 favorites]
I'm also surprised by how much of this list is blandly conventional, though, and how many entries are high on it despite have left effectively zero cultural footprint, particularly considering how much was left off to make room for them. Has anyone ever re-watched an episode Everybody Loves Raymond on purpose, or quoted a line from it? You left Mork & Mindy off for that?
I agree with SoberHighland that Seinfeld has aged spectacularly poorly, but a bunch of the things on this list are really irrelevant.
On the bright side, it's a list from Rolling Stone that doesn't inexplicably have Sgt. Pepper in the #1 spot, so it has that going for it.
posted by mhoye at 9:16 AM on May 8, 2021 [11 favorites]
I accidentally caught an episode of MASH a while back and was surprised at how sexist and smarmy it was. I mean, even back in the day I sensed it was sexist, but the smarminess surprised me a little.
Maude has aged better than All in the Family, if you ask me. Watching recently, I cringed every time Sally Struthers did that wide-open-mouth bawling thing.
Also surprised that they left off the Munsters and Addams Family.
Also also surprised that they included the remake of One Day at a Time and not the original. I’d argue the original was more timely in its time than the remake is to ours.
posted by scratch at 9:17 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Maude has aged better than All in the Family, if you ask me. Watching recently, I cringed every time Sally Struthers did that wide-open-mouth bawling thing.
Also surprised that they left off the Munsters and Addams Family.
Also also surprised that they included the remake of One Day at a Time and not the original. I’d argue the original was more timely in its time than the remake is to ours.
posted by scratch at 9:17 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Oh, and I’m a diehard Seinfeld fan, but even I have to admit that some gags are now eminently cringeworthy, like the episode where Kramer is mistaken for a “retarded” person. Ha ha ha! Oy. That one’s about as bad as the blackface segments in Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
posted by scratch at 9:23 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by scratch at 9:23 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
did they really omit those and include kids shows Spongebob, Phineas and Ferb and Bluey which aren't even sitcoms?
They definitely are comedic because of the situations the characters find themselves in, and a surprising number of entries on this list just ... don't meet that bar at all.
posted by mhoye at 9:25 AM on May 8, 2021
They definitely are comedic because of the situations the characters find themselves in, and a surprising number of entries on this list just ... don't meet that bar at all.
posted by mhoye at 9:25 AM on May 8, 2021
It's a list, I don't agree with it.
posted by doctor_negative at 9:26 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by doctor_negative at 9:26 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Would we say that Newsradio...got the shaft?
Everyone's going totally bitchcakes about it.
posted by mhoye at 9:27 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Everyone's going totally bitchcakes about it.
posted by mhoye at 9:27 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
I'd say Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman deserves a good position, despite having virtually no influence or zeitgeist factor involved.
Also...People forget that The Flintstones (as well as The Jetsons) was originally a prime-time show. Yeah, The Flintstones was a rip-off of sorts of The Honeymooners, but I'd argue it's a hell of a lot funnier.
The shows were memorable and have a long tail in syndication, but they are completed with Hanna Barbera's show 10 years later, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, which plays a bit less like a relic despite being almost 50 years old.
WHERE IS "QUARK"?!??!
I wonder how many today even know this show existed? I haven't seen it since it was first broadcast, and it didn't last long enough to even be worth the rerun. I wonder if it holds up?
Some shows, like “Friends” or “The Cosby Show” are on there clearly more for being part of the cultural zeitgeist than for being particularly funny,
Absolutely. I don't think either of those shows were notably good, but they did hit a certain sweet spot that seems to make them well remembered. I think this also applies to a whole lotta "classic" sitcoms from the 60s that were wisely excluded from the list.
But I'll agree with the #1 spot all the way, both as sitcom and being influential on both culture and the business of creating sitcoms. I think the show took advantage of not being a slave to overall arc, and was able to reinvent itself as it pleased, for no reason at all other than to mine a joke. And the decision to eschew a laugh track was not only a tremendous influence on future sitcoms, but a great incentive to discourage lazy joke writing.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:32 AM on May 8, 2021
Also...People forget that The Flintstones (as well as The Jetsons) was originally a prime-time show. Yeah, The Flintstones was a rip-off of sorts of The Honeymooners, but I'd argue it's a hell of a lot funnier.
The shows were memorable and have a long tail in syndication, but they are completed with Hanna Barbera's show 10 years later, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, which plays a bit less like a relic despite being almost 50 years old.
WHERE IS "QUARK"?!??!
I wonder how many today even know this show existed? I haven't seen it since it was first broadcast, and it didn't last long enough to even be worth the rerun. I wonder if it holds up?
Some shows, like “Friends” or “The Cosby Show” are on there clearly more for being part of the cultural zeitgeist than for being particularly funny,
Absolutely. I don't think either of those shows were notably good, but they did hit a certain sweet spot that seems to make them well remembered. I think this also applies to a whole lotta "classic" sitcoms from the 60s that were wisely excluded from the list.
But I'll agree with the #1 spot all the way, both as sitcom and being influential on both culture and the business of creating sitcoms. I think the show took advantage of not being a slave to overall arc, and was able to reinvent itself as it pleased, for no reason at all other than to mine a joke. And the decision to eschew a laugh track was not only a tremendous influence on future sitcoms, but a great incentive to discourage lazy joke writing.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:32 AM on May 8, 2021
I'd say Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman deserves a good position,despite having virtually no influence or zeitgeist factor involved.
I'm looking at waxy yellow build-up.
It's getting a reboot:
I'm looking at waxy yellow build-up.
It's getting a reboot:
Another Norman Lear classic is eying a return to TV. Sony Pictures Television is developing a remake of Lear’s acclaimed 1970s series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.posted by octothorpe at 9:42 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
It hails from Schitt’s Creek co-star Emily Hampshire, who will co-write, executive produce and star as the title character Mary Hartman; Letterkenny creator Jacob Tierney, who will co-write with Hampshire; and Lear and Brent Miller’s Act III Productions. Tierney will serve as showrunner of the series, which will be shopped to buyers in the coming weeks, I hear.
I'd say Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman deserves a good position, despite having virtually no influence or zeitgeist factor involved.
I would say its influence is pretty great. Just looking at the people behind the camera and the actors who appeared on screen, what they had done before and would go on to do. To borrow a sports metaphor, MHMH's coaching tree is huge compared to a lot of those other shows.
posted by Fukiyama at 9:48 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I would say its influence is pretty great. Just looking at the people behind the camera and the actors who appeared on screen, what they had done before and would go on to do. To borrow a sports metaphor, MHMH's coaching tree is huge compared to a lot of those other shows.
posted by Fukiyama at 9:48 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
The main problem with trying to rank sitcoms is that they are usually so tied to their time that watching them now and seeing them as they were then is hard. I can only understand the pull of "The Phil Silvers Show" because of the happy memories my father had of it, not because I found it remotely funny when I saw it in syndication years later. I lived through the "golden age" of the "Allinthefamily/MASH/MarytylerMoore/BobNewhart" line-up, but I can't imagine anyone watching those shows now getting out of them what I did (and I admit, while watching "MASH" again with my father in his nursing home, I had the gradual realization that I could no longer stand the show). And because I saw SO MANY sitcoms growing up, when "Cheers" came along I found it boring and derivative, unable to enjoy it at all. In summary, sitcoms are hard to rank, and seeing unfamiliar examples on this list does not make we want to go watch one.
posted by acrasis at 9:56 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by acrasis at 9:56 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
My two cents, speaking as not a huge sitcom fan: thought they got the top 8 or so roughly correct; shocked that, given how much hipster-signaling usually goes into these lists, Get A Life wasn't included (not that it necessarily should have been -- or did I miss it?); and, dammit, if you are looking for more diversity, people forget The Bernie Mac Show but it was great, much funnier than a lot of shows on this list!
posted by demonic winged headgear at 10:25 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by demonic winged headgear at 10:25 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
MASH is one of those transition shows where they are at least trying to be inclusive (at least the first season). Lots of scenes where Hawkeye berates people for racist language and straight up tells them to cut it out. But it treats women so horribly. Realistic probably but even at the time of production behind the curve.
Fewer than 30 of the 100 have even 1 non-white person in the main cast.
Considering how white TV is even now that's pretty good.
posted by Mitheral at 10:37 AM on May 8, 2021
Fewer than 30 of the 100 have even 1 non-white person in the main cast.
Considering how white TV is even now that's pretty good.
posted by Mitheral at 10:37 AM on May 8, 2021
The main problem with trying to rank sitcoms is that they are usually so tied to their time that watching them now and seeing them as they were then is hard. I can only understand the pull of "The Phil Silvers Show" because of the happy memories my father had of it,
You may well be right that the sort of broad character comedy that defines sitcoms is generally more culturally bound than most aesthetic qualities, but I think this varies by era, origin, show and audience in ways that may make it hard to distinguish from any other form of personal preference in art. For example, I was born a couple of decades after The Phil Silvers Show ended, and on a different continent to its makers, and I've always loved it. I'm sure that watching a lot of Top Cat as a kid helped, but I also really like I Love Lucy, which I never saw at all until I went to the US (unlike Bilko, which seemed to run all the time in the UK, for some reason). So...maybe I just like sitcoms from that era? But given my lack of cultural connection to 1950s America, how do we distinguish that from pure "sense of humour"?
I guess there's a whole web of things to unpick about how we react to comedy. Laughing is a vulnerable and frequently very tribal act, despite (or, more probably, in a way intimately connected to) how unavoidable and instinctive it feels, and I suspect that what we find funny is guided as much by our self-concept as anything. So, e.g., I think it's possible that British people of around my age (I turned 40 in January) may actually find it easier to respond positively to 1950s US comedy because representations of and art from 1950s America were highly present in our lives without directly representing a world we wanted to escape from (or to, for those of different cultural/political persuasions).
posted by howfar at 10:44 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
You may well be right that the sort of broad character comedy that defines sitcoms is generally more culturally bound than most aesthetic qualities, but I think this varies by era, origin, show and audience in ways that may make it hard to distinguish from any other form of personal preference in art. For example, I was born a couple of decades after The Phil Silvers Show ended, and on a different continent to its makers, and I've always loved it. I'm sure that watching a lot of Top Cat as a kid helped, but I also really like I Love Lucy, which I never saw at all until I went to the US (unlike Bilko, which seemed to run all the time in the UK, for some reason). So...maybe I just like sitcoms from that era? But given my lack of cultural connection to 1950s America, how do we distinguish that from pure "sense of humour"?
I guess there's a whole web of things to unpick about how we react to comedy. Laughing is a vulnerable and frequently very tribal act, despite (or, more probably, in a way intimately connected to) how unavoidable and instinctive it feels, and I suspect that what we find funny is guided as much by our self-concept as anything. So, e.g., I think it's possible that British people of around my age (I turned 40 in January) may actually find it easier to respond positively to 1950s US comedy because representations of and art from 1950s America were highly present in our lives without directly representing a world we wanted to escape from (or to, for those of different cultural/political persuasions).
posted by howfar at 10:44 AM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Wrinkled Stumpskin: "I suspect the The Good Place will still be on the list in decades, but I wonder if Bojack is too of its time to last"
Coincidentally I just finished rewatching Bojack the other day and am most of the way through rewatching The Good Place... I think it's worth pointing out that costume gags and celebrity jokes are like 83% of Tahani's dialogue. Other characters obsess about future hard Jeopardy! questions like Blake Bortles, Timothy Olyphant, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.¹
The shows are actually remarkably similar:
Yeah, the effectiveness of current references will mostly fade over time, but the absurdist situations and wordplay have a longer shelf life, and I think the heavy themes are truly timeless for both shows.
¹ Questions like: "Who are they? Are they people? Let's find out."
² When it's The Good Place, they call it "Derek-foolery".
posted by Riki tiki at 10:49 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Coincidentally I just finished rewatching Bojack the other day and am most of the way through rewatching The Good Place... I think it's worth pointing out that costume gags and celebrity jokes are like 83% of Tahani's dialogue. Other characters obsess about future hard Jeopardy! questions like Blake Bortles, Timothy Olyphant, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.¹
The shows are actually remarkably similar:
- Uncharacteristically deep and challenging themes and social commentary, even by drama standards.
- Serialized storytelling with multiple-season arcs.
- A main character simultaneously trying to understand their pattern of terrible behavior and avoid the consequences of it.
- Secondary characters that buck the "Flanderization" trend, starting out fairly one-note but becoming more complex as the series progresses.
- Absurdist shenanigans² and pop-culture references to help all the medicine above go down.
Yeah, the effectiveness of current references will mostly fade over time, but the absurdist situations and wordplay have a longer shelf life, and I think the heavy themes are truly timeless for both shows.
¹ Questions like: "Who are they? Are they people? Let's find out."
² When it's The Good Place, they call it "Derek-foolery".
posted by Riki tiki at 10:49 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Early reacting here, but The Big Bang Theory being ranked higher than 9 other shows including Night Court scuttles the legitimacy of the list right away.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:57 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by ob1quixote at 10:57 AM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
The main problem with trying to rank sitcoms is that they are usually so tied to their time that watching them now and seeing them as they were then is hard.
This is very true. In some cases, the standard for comedy has simply moved on. Some are very tied to their particular time and retain very little relevance. It makes ranking very difficult, and tends to weigh in favor of more recent shows or shows that give warm feels to the people doing the ranking (which I think is tied to being a certain age/time/place when they see a particular show).
I think it's neat to see and judge shows that I've never seen, or haven't seen since I was a kid. For example, the George Burns/Gracie Allen show I find pretty funny, and just kind of weird, being a sitcom from before there really was a sitcom format (I suspect they were trying to adapt the radio show to a visual medium), and relying on the remarkable talent of Gracie Allen to carry the show.
In contrast, Hogan's Heroes plays like a particular kind of post WWII, slightly insecure, American flex, with a very safe setup (Nazis R Dum), tame jokes, and a hero that's a smarmy, smug, smart, white American male, who always woos the women, outsmarts the Germans all the time, and is funny because Nazis R Dum.
BTW, I contend that many "classic" tv shows are mostly memorable for their catchy and entertaining opening themes and sequences, whcih are often more memorable and entertaining than the shows themselves.
posted by 2N2222 at 10:58 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is very true. In some cases, the standard for comedy has simply moved on. Some are very tied to their particular time and retain very little relevance. It makes ranking very difficult, and tends to weigh in favor of more recent shows or shows that give warm feels to the people doing the ranking (which I think is tied to being a certain age/time/place when they see a particular show).
I think it's neat to see and judge shows that I've never seen, or haven't seen since I was a kid. For example, the George Burns/Gracie Allen show I find pretty funny, and just kind of weird, being a sitcom from before there really was a sitcom format (I suspect they were trying to adapt the radio show to a visual medium), and relying on the remarkable talent of Gracie Allen to carry the show.
In contrast, Hogan's Heroes plays like a particular kind of post WWII, slightly insecure, American flex, with a very safe setup (Nazis R Dum), tame jokes, and a hero that's a smarmy, smug, smart, white American male, who always woos the women, outsmarts the Germans all the time, and is funny because Nazis R Dum.
BTW, I contend that many "classic" tv shows are mostly memorable for their catchy and entertaining opening themes and sequences, whcih are often more memorable and entertaining than the shows themselves.
posted by 2N2222 at 10:58 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
As noted by others, The Young Ones, Perfect Strangers and Sports Night are the omissions here, for me.
posted by glonous keming at 11:10 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by glonous keming at 11:10 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Revisiting old sitcoms has become a fun pastime over the pandemic for me. And watching shows I never watched before. Like who remembers Gimme a Break? I had never even heard of it. It's not one of those shows like Golden Girls that's treated as a classic. But I happened to catch an episode when it came on after Facts of Life and it was well written and the comedy still holds up and some of the issues it deals with are just as relevant today as ever. Occasionally you notice some parts that are dated but it's surprisingly good for being 40 years old. I never would have discovered it had I not been watching Facts of Life.
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:22 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:22 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
::enters thread::
::looks around::
Aw, hell no. I am not doing this.
::exits::
posted by Splunge at 11:26 AM on May 8, 2021 [9 favorites]
::looks around::
Aw, hell no. I am not doing this.
::exits::
posted by Splunge at 11:26 AM on May 8, 2021 [9 favorites]
I pretty much stopped watching television around Y2K, so I don't expect to know most of these.
But if you're mentioning Green Acres, which spun off of Petticoat Junction, which came from The Beverly Hillbillies, it seems like The Beverly Hillbillies might have been considered.
posted by MtDewd at 11:31 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
But if you're mentioning Green Acres, which spun off of Petticoat Junction, which came from The Beverly Hillbillies, it seems like The Beverly Hillbillies might have been considered.
posted by MtDewd at 11:31 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
No Barney Miller? Boo!
posted by obol at 11:44 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by obol at 11:44 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Barney Miller's in there. Top fifty, I think.
posted by philip-random at 11:47 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 11:47 AM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Father Ted feels somewhat poisoned now by Linehan's descent into rabid transphobia.
The list is a bit shallow on UK sitcom history. As noted, yes, The Young Ones and The Good Life, but also for consideration: Only Fools & Horses; Yes Minister; The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin; Porridge; Open All Hours; Dad's Army; Steptoe and Son.
From the US, would have liked Ramy to make the list.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:49 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
The list is a bit shallow on UK sitcom history. As noted, yes, The Young Ones and The Good Life, but also for consideration: Only Fools & Horses; Yes Minister; The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin; Porridge; Open All Hours; Dad's Army; Steptoe and Son.
From the US, would have liked Ramy to make the list.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:49 AM on May 8, 2021 [7 favorites]
Sounds like a hot take but isn’t: Futurama is a better show than The Simpsons.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 11:53 AM on May 8, 2021 [16 favorites]
posted by sara is disenchanted at 11:53 AM on May 8, 2021 [16 favorites]
Growing up, my father watched a lot of sitcoms, specifically of the bad mid-2000's variety. I have seen a lot of Everybody Loves Raymond for instance, and I've no idea why it's on this list. It certainly could be better than the other shows I was forced to watch, According to Jim, King of Queens, etc. But man it grates. I'm not sure what my dad sees in it other than a reinforcement of what he views as the natural social hierarchy or something, but to have a list of great sitcoms include it reads more like they haven't watched the show.
posted by Carillon at 12:09 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Carillon at 12:09 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Everybody Loves Raymond also seemed like an odd inclusion to me. It seemed to be on channel 4 at around 9am for ever. It seemed like some sort of ether, meant to deaden the soul rather than uplift the spirit.
posted by biffa at 12:33 PM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by biffa at 12:33 PM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
I once offhandedly said to a coworker “Why ‘Friends’? Why not ‘Desperate Codependents Sabotaging Each Others’ Chances at Happiness Out of Fear of Being the One Left Alone’?”
She laughed.
The next day she came in and said “Every night, after work and before dinner, I watch Friends. Last night I realized that you are absolutely right; it’s a terrible show about terrible people. You may never talk to me about tv shows again.”
Which, fair.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:55 PM on May 8, 2021 [24 favorites]
She laughed.
The next day she came in and said “Every night, after work and before dinner, I watch Friends. Last night I realized that you are absolutely right; it’s a terrible show about terrible people. You may never talk to me about tv shows again.”
Which, fair.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:55 PM on May 8, 2021 [24 favorites]
The sit-com with the most male writers’ room ever is number 1? Not a surprise considering RS.
posted by Ideefixe at 1:05 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 1:05 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Where is "Small Wonder"?
Back in college, the internet was still newish, and I had a class where the assignment was to build a website. Me and my group partners decided to build a Small Wonder fan site as a joke. The idea was the show was so obscure and so bad that it'd be clear we were having a goof. Well, in the research phase we discovered there were already.... um... a number of Small Wonder fan sites and chat boards. And the theme of them was.... ummmmmm.... deeply focused on Vicky in ways that were, well, disturbing. I remember this as my first glance at how not-innocent the internet could be.
We opted for a site about the university's bike repair co-op instead.
posted by elwoodwiles at 2:16 PM on May 8, 2021 [11 favorites]
Back in college, the internet was still newish, and I had a class where the assignment was to build a website. Me and my group partners decided to build a Small Wonder fan site as a joke. The idea was the show was so obscure and so bad that it'd be clear we were having a goof. Well, in the research phase we discovered there were already.... um... a number of Small Wonder fan sites and chat boards. And the theme of them was.... ummmmmm.... deeply focused on Vicky in ways that were, well, disturbing. I remember this as my first glance at how not-innocent the internet could be.
We opted for a site about the university's bike repair co-op instead.
posted by elwoodwiles at 2:16 PM on May 8, 2021 [11 favorites]
Well, that's a list. There's some things on it that I liked.
I'm like the anti-fan of much of 1990's television comedy, but I can't deny there were influential works that many people enjoyed and still remember.
I'm like the fan of 1960's goofy absurdist television comedy, stuff like Bewitched, Gilligan, Monkees, Beverly Hillbillies, I Dream of Jeanie, etc. Some of it hasn't dated well.
Green Acres was like the best show of all time at least for story concepts.
posted by ovvl at 2:16 PM on May 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
I'm like the anti-fan of much of 1990's television comedy, but I can't deny there were influential works that many people enjoyed and still remember.
I'm like the fan of 1960's goofy absurdist television comedy, stuff like Bewitched, Gilligan, Monkees, Beverly Hillbillies, I Dream of Jeanie, etc. Some of it hasn't dated well.
Green Acres was like the best show of all time at least for story concepts.
posted by ovvl at 2:16 PM on May 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
I'm generally not a sitcom person. But I will say this in defense of Friends. Despite its bigotry, having characters who are horrible people, etc., it has made me laugh. Something Seinfeld never did.
Whenever people talk about sitcoms and Seinfeld comes up, I feel like this (xkcd comic). The jokes to me are no funnier than the Big Bang Theory, although I will acknowledge that Seinfeld had a much larger impact on culture. Maybe I just missed the period in which to watch it. I was 14 when it ended, and by the time I tried it again the world had just moved on.
Then again, maybe, despite living in New York City for a dozen years and part of those down the street from Tom's Diner (still doing the restaurant equivalent of the Cheers bar) I'm just too much of a masshole at heart. That or I'm just missing a certain comedy gene.
posted by Hactar at 3:14 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Whenever people talk about sitcoms and Seinfeld comes up, I feel like this (xkcd comic). The jokes to me are no funnier than the Big Bang Theory, although I will acknowledge that Seinfeld had a much larger impact on culture. Maybe I just missed the period in which to watch it. I was 14 when it ended, and by the time I tried it again the world had just moved on.
Then again, maybe, despite living in New York City for a dozen years and part of those down the street from Tom's Diner (still doing the restaurant equivalent of the Cheers bar) I'm just too much of a masshole at heart. That or I'm just missing a certain comedy gene.
posted by Hactar at 3:14 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Green Acres was like the best show of all time at least for story concepts.
(In flashback, an Oliver-ancestor is meeting a Lisa-ancestor for the first time.)
Lisa exclaims (in her accent): Put your money where your mouse is!
Oliver: What mouse?
Lisa (pointing): That mouse!
(Sure enough, there's a mouse sitting on the table between them.)
Oliver: That's not my mouse. Scat! (Flicks mouse from table.)
Mouse: Eeep!
There was no rationale for this bit of business at all, other than to take note of Lisa's Hungarian accent. Totally surreal!
posted by SPrintF at 3:27 PM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
(In flashback, an Oliver-ancestor is meeting a Lisa-ancestor for the first time.)
Lisa exclaims (in her accent): Put your money where your mouse is!
Oliver: What mouse?
Lisa (pointing): That mouse!
(Sure enough, there's a mouse sitting on the table between them.)
Oliver: That's not my mouse. Scat! (Flicks mouse from table.)
Mouse: Eeep!
There was no rationale for this bit of business at all, other than to take note of Lisa's Hungarian accent. Totally surreal!
posted by SPrintF at 3:27 PM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
Yeah, even when there have been funny ideas, Seinfeld has never been more than repellent. I think the series would have been vastly improved if all the characters had been murdered at the end of every episode, Jerry Cornelius-style.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:29 PM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:29 PM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Seinfeld was, simply put, a contest between four friends to determine which of them was the objectively worst human being in the universe on a given day. George was the usual winner, but it was often quite competitive. For the most part, the core four were oblivious to their own flaws.
This is why It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia works so well, because it uses the same dynamic but the core five are _consciously aware_ that they are five of, let's say, the ten worst human beings in the universe on a given day.
posted by delfin at 3:29 PM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
This is why It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia works so well, because it uses the same dynamic but the core five are _consciously aware_ that they are five of, let's say, the ten worst human beings in the universe on a given day.
posted by delfin at 3:29 PM on May 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
What no Beverly Hills Buntz this is bullshit
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:42 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:42 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Cosby Show shouldn’t be forgotten
My parents watched this and I caught an episode in 1987. I didn't turn the tv back on until 2004. It's dreck.
posted by dobbs at 5:21 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
My parents watched this and I caught an episode in 1987. I didn't turn the tv back on until 2004. It's dreck.
posted by dobbs at 5:21 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
WHERE IS "QUARK"?!??!
I wonder how many today even know this show existed? I haven't seen it since it was first broadcast, and it didn't last long enough to even be worth the rerun. I wonder if it holds up?
I have not seen it since its original broadcast either. As to whether it holds up: Tim Thomerson plays a character named Gene/Jean and... well, here’s Wikipedia:
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:41 PM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
I wonder how many today even know this show existed? I haven't seen it since it was first broadcast, and it didn't last long enough to even be worth the rerun. I wonder if it holds up?
I have not seen it since its original broadcast either. As to whether it holds up: Tim Thomerson plays a character named Gene/Jean and... well, here’s Wikipedia:
Gene/Jean (Tim Thomerson) is a "transmute", a humanoid being with a complete set of both male and female chromosomes. He/she serves as the ship's engineer. The gender confusion manifests in a split personality—when Gene's macho male side is in control, he is gung-ho, angry and violent with a pathological hatred of the Klingon-like "Gorgons", while the much more mild-mannered Jean personality is stereotypically feminine and demure, pacifistic and a bit of a coward. He/she will frequently switch personalities with no warning, and usually at the worst possible time.How well do we think it will have held up?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:41 PM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
I was a television program director for my first career, and (the one good) part of my my job was having to be familiar with every television show that aired on my network, the competing networks, and anywhere that might appear in syndication. (This was, mostly, before cable had original programming.) Nowadays, the only first-run sitcom I watch religiously is Bob Hearts Abishola. Before that, it was The Good Place. So, I recognize there's going to be (or should be) a huge difference between a "best" sitcom list and a "funniest" sitcom list.
First thing I noticed is that Remember W.E.N.N. is missing. It was AMC's first first-run show, long before Mad Men, and it was genius.
Next, Newsradio, Barney Miller, and Living Single are too low. Once, after a breakup, I stayed in bed and watched a three-day marathon of Barney Miller, and I credit it with my surviving.
I get that humor is subjective. There are shows on this list where I cringe just seeing promos for them; my idea of hell would be having to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I always found Sex and the City depressing. I've never made it past the first seasons of The Office and Parks & Rec, no matter how many times people try to tell me they get funnier and shmoopier; they just make me cringe. I prefer wordplay to farce, and honestly can't stand people being mean to one another; that's what drama is for.
Finally, my fondness for a show can be overridden my love of the characters. Yes, Friends was too white and problematic in so many other ways, but I have watched the scene where Monica proposes to Chandler dozens of times and cry every time. Joey talking about a "moo" point still makes me laugh:
Joey: If he doesn't like you, then this is all just a moo point.
Rachel: Huh. A moo point?
Joey: Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion, you know, it just doesn't matter. It's "moo".
Rachel: Have I been living with him for too long, or did that all just make sense?
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:52 PM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
First thing I noticed is that Remember W.E.N.N. is missing. It was AMC's first first-run show, long before Mad Men, and it was genius.
Next, Newsradio, Barney Miller, and Living Single are too low. Once, after a breakup, I stayed in bed and watched a three-day marathon of Barney Miller, and I credit it with my surviving.
I get that humor is subjective. There are shows on this list where I cringe just seeing promos for them; my idea of hell would be having to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I always found Sex and the City depressing. I've never made it past the first seasons of The Office and Parks & Rec, no matter how many times people try to tell me they get funnier and shmoopier; they just make me cringe. I prefer wordplay to farce, and honestly can't stand people being mean to one another; that's what drama is for.
Finally, my fondness for a show can be overridden my love of the characters. Yes, Friends was too white and problematic in so many other ways, but I have watched the scene where Monica proposes to Chandler dozens of times and cry every time. Joey talking about a "moo" point still makes me laugh:
Joey: If he doesn't like you, then this is all just a moo point.
Rachel: Huh. A moo point?
Joey: Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion, you know, it just doesn't matter. It's "moo".
Rachel: Have I been living with him for too long, or did that all just make sense?
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:52 PM on May 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
WHERE IS "QUARK"?!??!
I wonder how many today even know this show existed? I haven't seen it since it was first broadcast, and it didn't last long enough to even be worth the rerun. I wonder if it holds up?
I have the pilot on my harddrive, and ricochet biscuit mentions just one of the problematic issues. There are more. It did not age well.
posted by mikelieman at 6:17 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
I wonder how many today even know this show existed? I haven't seen it since it was first broadcast, and it didn't last long enough to even be worth the rerun. I wonder if it holds up?
I have the pilot on my harddrive, and ricochet biscuit mentions just one of the problematic issues. There are more. It did not age well.
posted by mikelieman at 6:17 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
I know the purpose of listicles like this is to make us argue about them, and because of that they may never be written 100% in good faith, just to make sure people argue, but still. I’m really not on board with a lot of the choices on their list being sitcoms at all. Spongebob? Sex and the City? The Larry Sanders Show? They’re all funny and belong on lists of some sort, and Larry Sanders was so good it pretty much invented a whole new genre of tv comedy. But I think Garry Shandling would have been infuriated to see it on a list of sitcoms.
Meanwhile, NewsRadio and Night Court were too low, Friends was too high, Roseanne belonged in the top 10, and I don’t see how they left out Mork & Mindy, Newhart, Bewitched, Laverne and Shirley, or (I’ll say it) Welcome Back Kotter.
Signed,
Epstein’s Mother.
posted by Mchelly at 6:43 PM on May 8, 2021 [10 favorites]
Meanwhile, NewsRadio and Night Court were too low, Friends was too high, Roseanne belonged in the top 10, and I don’t see how they left out Mork & Mindy, Newhart, Bewitched, Laverne and Shirley, or (I’ll say it) Welcome Back Kotter.
Signed,
Epstein’s Mother.
posted by Mchelly at 6:43 PM on May 8, 2021 [10 favorites]
I'd have ranked the Canadian series The Newsroom ahead of about a third of this list, too, but it never really got much traction outside Canada.
Oh my god that show is funny. Painfully funny.
Slings & Arrows
I don't think it fit their definition of sitcom - they ruled out "comedy-drama hybrids that ran around an hour", among other things.
I thought that too until I saw some of the other shows on the list like Fleabag and Good Times and M*A*S*H all of which had both drama and comedy. I don't think I ever cried in an episode of Slings & Arrows but there was a child abuse episode in Good Times I saw when i was about 10 and it has haunted me since. M*A*S*H of course had many dramatic moments.
But really its just a list ... and my purpose is to convince everyone to watch Slings & Arrows! If you love Shakespeare and theater even more so.
posted by chapps at 6:55 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Oh my god that show is funny. Painfully funny.
Slings & Arrows
I don't think it fit their definition of sitcom - they ruled out "comedy-drama hybrids that ran around an hour", among other things.
I thought that too until I saw some of the other shows on the list like Fleabag and Good Times and M*A*S*H all of which had both drama and comedy. I don't think I ever cried in an episode of Slings & Arrows but there was a child abuse episode in Good Times I saw when i was about 10 and it has haunted me since. M*A*S*H of course had many dramatic moments.
But really its just a list ... and my purpose is to convince everyone to watch Slings & Arrows! If you love Shakespeare and theater even more so.
posted by chapps at 6:55 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
"...there was a child abuse episode in Good Times..."
The little girl was played by Janet Jackson! She ended up with a recurring role when she was adopted by Wilona.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:16 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
The little girl was played by Janet Jackson! She ended up with a recurring role when she was adopted by Wilona.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:16 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Sanford and Son was way too low on the list, they misspelled Demond Wilson's name, neglected to mention LaWanda Page and the cast of secondary characters that Redd Foxx hired to give a chance at the spotlight to all the black comics he came up with. I always found it more entertaining than All in the Family.
posted by readery at 7:17 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by readery at 7:17 PM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Rolling Stone‘s final form turned out to be square. Ironic.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:42 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:42 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
No show could be number 1 other than the Simpsons. Yes it's been on for roughly 15 - 23 years too long but it still has more good episodes than the total episode count of nearly every other show on this list.
posted by Reyturner at 10:28 PM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Reyturner at 10:28 PM on May 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Archer?
A Gen x wet dream.
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 11:25 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
A Gen x wet dream.
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 11:25 PM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
I can understand skipping Garth Marenghi's Darkplace because it may be too obscure -- and is it even a sitcom? You be the judge -- but where is The IT Crowd? I saw Father Ted on the list and thought they understood and that it would just be up in the top three where it belongs, but alas, it was not.
Why am I so angry about this?
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 11:54 PM on May 8, 2021
Why am I so angry about this?
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 11:54 PM on May 8, 2021
Did I somehow miss it or was 3rd Rock From The Sun not on this list?
posted by stillnocturnal at 2:17 AM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by stillnocturnal at 2:17 AM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
I am not about to click through to any Rolling Stone listicle but I am enjoying the discussion, especially for the realization that there are many here who love what I always felt was a seriously under-watched show, and thus I proffer a sincere "Gazizza!" to all my dilznoofuses out there.
posted by Nerd of the North at 4:20 AM on May 9, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by Nerd of the North at 4:20 AM on May 9, 2021 [6 favorites]
No Black Books ?
posted by Pouteria at 5:33 AM on May 9, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Pouteria at 5:33 AM on May 9, 2021 [5 favorites]
I'd have ranked the Canadian series The Newsroom ahead of about a third of this list, too, but it never really got much traction outside Canada.
Oh my god that show is funny. Painfully funny.
Between this and Made in Canada, I recall the mid-to-late-nineties as a golden age for Canadian sitcoms set in media institutions (and featuring Peter Keleghan).
I haven’t seen The Newsroom (Canada) since it aired but I recall the writing as pretty sharp. Ken Finkleman’s character of George Findlay is our anti-hero, a tv exec with shady morals. At one point, as I recall, he is hiring an assistant so he can maneuver a winsome twentysomething he has designs on into his office. To his annoyance, a much better-qualified woman also applies, but she is fortyish and much less susceptible to his meagre charms (read: sees right through his bullshit). In her interview, he is trying to dissuade the better-qualified applicant:
“This is really a young person’s job. There’s a lot of running around.”
“I rock climb.”
“... we have elevators.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:25 AM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
Oh my god that show is funny. Painfully funny.
Between this and Made in Canada, I recall the mid-to-late-nineties as a golden age for Canadian sitcoms set in media institutions (and featuring Peter Keleghan).
I haven’t seen The Newsroom (Canada) since it aired but I recall the writing as pretty sharp. Ken Finkleman’s character of George Findlay is our anti-hero, a tv exec with shady morals. At one point, as I recall, he is hiring an assistant so he can maneuver a winsome twentysomething he has designs on into his office. To his annoyance, a much better-qualified woman also applies, but she is fortyish and much less susceptible to his meagre charms (read: sees right through his bullshit). In her interview, he is trying to dissuade the better-qualified applicant:
“This is really a young person’s job. There’s a lot of running around.”
“I rock climb.”
“... we have elevators.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:25 AM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
I accidentally caught an episode of MASH a while back and was surprised at how sexist and smarmy it was. I mean, even back in the day I sensed it was sexist, but the smarminess surprised me a little.
MASH is one of those transition shows where they are at least trying to be inclusive (at least the first season). Lots of scenes where Hawkeye berates people for racist language and straight up tells them to cut it out. But it treats women so horribly.
To me "M*A*S*H" seems like a kind of progressive bargain. It's saying, "Racism is very very bad, and not funny -- but it's okay to be as sexist as you wanna be, lol @ the prudes!" I tried to re-watch it awhile ago and came away realizing sexism runs deeper than racism.
posted by fleacircus at 10:08 AM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
MASH is one of those transition shows where they are at least trying to be inclusive (at least the first season). Lots of scenes where Hawkeye berates people for racist language and straight up tells them to cut it out. But it treats women so horribly.
To me "M*A*S*H" seems like a kind of progressive bargain. It's saying, "Racism is very very bad, and not funny -- but it's okay to be as sexist as you wanna be, lol @ the prudes!" I tried to re-watch it awhile ago and came away realizing sexism runs deeper than racism.
posted by fleacircus at 10:08 AM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
THE FUNNIEST SITCOM IS THIS LIST
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:08 PM on May 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:08 PM on May 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm just glad 'You're The Worst' got a mention. Such a good show.
posted by h00py at 10:02 PM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by h00py at 10:02 PM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
No Freaks & Geeks?
Too far over the dramedy border.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:35 AM on May 10, 2021
Too far over the dramedy border.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:35 AM on May 10, 2021
Hey did I miss Silicon Valley on this list? Because that is the funniest thing I've seen from the past decade. Big-Head on the cover of Wired.
posted by ovvl at 5:42 PM on May 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by ovvl at 5:42 PM on May 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
Green Acres was like the best show of all time at least for story concepts.
Surrealism in 60s prime time. Whodathunkit? It was one of my faves as a kid.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:33 AM on May 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Surrealism in 60s prime time. Whodathunkit? It was one of my faves as a kid.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:33 AM on May 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Unless I missed it, where's Golden Girls?
Maybe too obscure to rank, but Parker Lewis Can't Lose just floated to the forefront of my mind. Also, Dream On (which was a meta-sitcom in that it spliced in old footage from other shows).
Also, there's a lot of 80s/90s pablum that somehow feels wrong to overlook.
Small Wonder.
Mr. Belvedere.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:18 PM on May 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Maybe too obscure to rank, but Parker Lewis Can't Lose just floated to the forefront of my mind. Also, Dream On (which was a meta-sitcom in that it spliced in old footage from other shows).
Also, there's a lot of 80s/90s pablum that somehow feels wrong to overlook.
Small Wonder.
Mr. Belvedere.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:18 PM on May 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Wonder Years.
And relatedly, here's Rolling Stone in 2016 listing its 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time; interesting to observe which sitcoms made it onto that list but not onto the best-sitcoms list. (Quite a few, at first eyeball.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 2:50 PM on May 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
And relatedly, here's Rolling Stone in 2016 listing its 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time; interesting to observe which sitcoms made it onto that list but not onto the best-sitcoms list. (Quite a few, at first eyeball.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 2:50 PM on May 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Unless I missed it, where's Golden Girls?
It's at 32.
posted by Mitheral at 4:45 PM on May 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
From the article: The Wonder Years seemed to fall just too far over the drama side of the line
posted by The Gooch at 6:50 AM on May 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by The Gooch at 6:50 AM on May 12, 2021 [1 favorite]
Two omissions I noted were information, rather than shows:
1. There were a few blurbs that left out someone I thought was a big part of that show's greatness - for example, the Night Court blurb didn't mention the great Selma Diamond.
2. The links to streaming services (watch this on Netflix, watch that on Hulu) were appreciated - but there's no mention at all of DVD. A surprising number of these are available on DVD, including at least one Netflix show (unusual, Netflix doesn't put much of their content on DVD). A whole bunch of shows, new and old - Night Court, Sanford and Son, Designing Women, Newsradio, Bob's Burgers, Frasier, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, MASH (with a no-laugh-track option!), Schitt's Creek - have had releases on DVD, which is a great way to find them at your library as libraries start to reopen (assuming you have a DVD player somewhere).
Interesting list. Good to be reacquainted with a lot of things I'd forgotten about. (And I learned about Bluey!)
Thanks for posting this, kliuless!
posted by kristi at 3:24 PM on May 12, 2021
1. There were a few blurbs that left out someone I thought was a big part of that show's greatness - for example, the Night Court blurb didn't mention the great Selma Diamond.
2. The links to streaming services (watch this on Netflix, watch that on Hulu) were appreciated - but there's no mention at all of DVD. A surprising number of these are available on DVD, including at least one Netflix show (unusual, Netflix doesn't put much of their content on DVD). A whole bunch of shows, new and old - Night Court, Sanford and Son, Designing Women, Newsradio, Bob's Burgers, Frasier, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, MASH (with a no-laugh-track option!), Schitt's Creek - have had releases on DVD, which is a great way to find them at your library as libraries start to reopen (assuming you have a DVD player somewhere).
Interesting list. Good to be reacquainted with a lot of things I'd forgotten about. (And I learned about Bluey!)
Thanks for posting this, kliuless!
posted by kristi at 3:24 PM on May 12, 2021
In what world does GILLIGAN'S ISLAND not rate as a top 100 sitcom?!?!
posted by chaz at 1:21 AM on May 13, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by chaz at 1:21 AM on May 13, 2021 [3 favorites]
Name me a real word that sounds more like Orwell’s Newspeak rhan “sitcom”.
At the risk of a derail, I will answer in earnest. “Unpublished:” not in the sense of “not yet published” or “never published,”’but in the Facebook sense of “closed down.”
A page I’d had up for a year vanished because I apparently wasn’t nice enough to actual dyed-in-the-wool white supremacists. One day a message appeared from Facebook: “Your page, _________, has been unpublished.”
Amazing combo of Newspeak and the passive voice.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:05 PM on May 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
At the risk of a derail, I will answer in earnest. “Unpublished:” not in the sense of “not yet published” or “never published,”’but in the Facebook sense of “closed down.”
A page I’d had up for a year vanished because I apparently wasn’t nice enough to actual dyed-in-the-wool white supremacists. One day a message appeared from Facebook: “Your page, _________, has been unpublished.”
Amazing combo of Newspeak and the passive voice.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:05 PM on May 13, 2021 [2 favorites]
« Older Scientists aren't infallible: airborne... | Happy 4th Anniversary of Tom Holland on Lip Sync... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 11:57 PM on May 7, 2021 [33 favorites]