Hey,
I'm getting ready to watch one of my favorite shows, Two and Half Men. The kids are sleeping, or perhaps they are squirming in their respective beds but they're at least quiet, and I'm planning to bring some ice cream upstairs to eat in bed with the wife. Peppermint stick. Friendly's special holiday flavor.
Two and Half Men is hilarious. The writers push the limits of acceptable network material. This gets me thinking of TV's all-time best sitcoms. This, of course, is skewed from the point of view of a 34-year-old. I've never watched more than 10 seconds of I Love Lucy.
Just my opinion, here, and I'd love to hear yours.
Yes, I've watched too much TV in my time, much to the detriment of my SAT scores.
Top Ten All-Time Sitcoms
10. Gilligan's Island
9. Mork and Mindy
8. Two and a Half Men
7. Friends
6. The Office
5. Scrubs
4. All in the Family
3. Cheers
2. Three's Company
1. Seinfeld
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7 comments:
I never cared for All in the Family. Three's Company, although good, never made me think, "Hey, this is so good. It must be a top ten sitcom. I loved Mork and Mindy, but TOP TEN? Hmmmm?
I'll replace those three with a classic, a future classic and a contemporary masterpiece of "20 something" writing. Here's my list.
10. Everybody Loves Raymond
9. Friends
8. Scrubs
7. Cheers
6. Two and a Half Men
5. How I Met Your Mother
4. Seinfeld
3. Gilligan's Island
2. M*A*S*H
1. The Office
Yup, I'm as surprised as you are about my number 1. I guess I think it's that good. Seinfeld at number 4 is weird too, but I loved Gilligan and I spent many college night with the 4077 in syndication. I laughed way too much to leave Raymond off the list. 5 and 6 could switch, depending on when you ask me; they're very similar shows, as far as walking the line goes.
I wonder how many of our contemporaries would blast us for leaving The Simpsons off.
Ice cream in bed? You go suburban-dude. I'll let my imagination go with that, even though I know the reality of it.
Yeah, M*A*S*H was definitely an important one to get on that list. In recent years I have become a non-tv watcher, not by conscious decision but rather because I find other things I want to do - that aren't necessarily more entertaining, but they keep ME entertained.
From that list, I also agree with Gilligan's Island. I've always been a fan of corny humor - fits my personality to a "T". Because I knew Dave loves The Office and because my Penn State daughter carves out that time period every week to get together with several friends to watch it, I decided to give it a shot. I lasted about three minutes... granted, I didn't give it a fair shot. I caught it when the show was already in progress, I was taking care of clothes in my closet and dresser at the same time, and more than likely was formulating a list in my head of the 30 things I wanted to accomplish before I had to go to bed two hours later. One of these days, I'll actually turn the TV on when it comes on and give it a real shot. I won't even get up or turn it off until I know for a fact that it's concluded.
When Friends was on I never watched it. I always heard people raving about it... I was busy reading, writing and taking care of the kids. Then, when we drove to Disney World in 2002 (yep, DROVE because I don't fly!) we had Friends episodes on DVD to watch as we rode. It was one of those situations that I describe above... I'd never given it a chance. Because I was a captive audience - literally (Jim was driving) - I had to watch from beginning to end. I remember wearing headphones and laughing out loud. This, of course, makes one look like an idiot to the others in the car. But after that, I would have added it to the list, too.
I DID watch I Love Lucy when I was really little and loved it. I was always more into the dramas that touched my heart (or at least had really good looking leading men). So, with that in mind... my all time favorite shows I watched when I was younger....
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
The Waltons
Little House on the Prairie
Big Valley
Six Million Dollar Man
Star Trek (but I wasn't a trekkie... I only watched the original series)
Those are the only ones I can think of now... Probably a "30-something suburban guy" never even heard of some of those... or definitely never saw the first run episodes. To take off on a line from one of Dave's favorite sitcoms.. "Those were the days..."
OK, this is going to kill me!!!!!! I just ran a whole post again, and messed up something... so you're not going to get the whole thing. Here's the quick synopsis of what I said...
I DID watch I Love Lucy when I was really little, but they were probably in reruns by then - really, seriously! I also agree that M*A*S*H is an important one for the list. Gilligan's Island also gets to stay there because that corny humor is so much "me". I only gave The Office a three minute try once... and that was because I knew Dave and also my Penn State daughter are hooked on it. Those three minutes didn't do much for me... but in all fairness, I caught it in the middle of the show AND I was taking care of laundry in my closet and probably thinking of the 30 other things I wanted to accomplish before I went to bed two hours later. So, at some point I'll give it a try.
I was a late-comer to Friends, but I agree that's a great sit-com. I've only watched it on DVD. When we drove to Disney World in 2002 (yep, drove because I don't fly!) we had the DVDs with us, and so I decided to try one. With the headphones on, I was laughing raucously while everyone else in the van (husband and two teen aged kids) were listening to sedate music. - Yes, teenagers can actually listen to sedate music. But, from the first episode I watched, I then went through a few of the seasons on DVD. I didn't finish them because the trip wasn't that long, but perhaps some day I'll catch more.
Even though it wasn't a sit-com, and all time top of the lister was The Carol Burnett show for laughter. There's no one who can top Harvey Korman and Tim Conway when the two of them got going. Yep, that dates me - but at least the show's cast members are all still alive and well - and still working - so I guess I'm not THAT old.
Oops, and somehow that first post made it on there without me knowing it. Sorry to repeat myself... ok, so it's showing MY age!
As I was driving in today, my mind wandered to my blog response, and Laurie's 2.5 - 3 responses. "What about Silver Spoons... Oh and Different Strokes." How many others did I not even consider? I compiled the list below of sitcoms that probably make a B-list of mine somewhere, in no particular order. I don't think any of them crack my top ten, though. There's a bunch of "oh, yea's".
Growing Pains (I had a crush on carol)
Who's the Boss (I had a crush on Myrna)
Happy Days (No crushes)
Home Improvement (The youngest son was a riot, no crush)
It's Your Move (I may be the only person to remember this one)
Mad About You (I had a crush on Jamie)
The Bob Newhart Show (Vague memories of watching this with my dad not understanding any of it)
Newhart (The best series finale of all time)
WKRP (I had a crush on Jennifer, Loni Anderson, and I was too young to know why)
Night Court (Funny enough)
What's Happening (I watched this a lot)
The Odd Couple (A parental favorite that engrained in my psyche)
Roseanne (I feel dirty typing that)
Yes, Dear (I had a crush on Kim)
Welcome Back Kotter (As a teacher, it's so appreciated now)
Wings (Lowell and Antonio made that show)
Silver Spoons (Remeber Derrick?)
Different Strokes (I had a crush on Kimberly)
Beverly Hillbillies (Oh, Ellie Mae)
Green Acres (Great in syndication after school show)
Bewitched (I watched this)
The Cosby Show (I had a crush on Denise)
My Two Dads (In another life, I could have a crush on Gre....I did not think that)
Bosom Buddies (What a cast! Sonny! Sonny! Sonny Sonny!)
The Brady Bunch (No comment necessary)
The Wonder Years (I had a crush on Winnie, still do)
The Facts of Life (classic Yup, you guessed it, Jo..crush)
Family Ties (Loved Alex P. Keaton, no crush, but Mallary...)
Frasier (I had a crush on Daphne)
Get Smart (Missed it by that much)
One Day at a Time (I did not have a crush on Snyder)
How's that for trip down memory lane?
I indeed should have put an asterisk next to M*A*S*H (another asterisk) because it goes down in the cultural lore of the 1970s/80s. But, again, like I Love Lucy, I just hadn't logged enough hours watching it to get it on my Top 10.
Happy Days nearly made my list. It's probably in the 11 to 13 range. I also liked Family Ties, in some measure because of Mallory. Could never get into "Raymond" because of Raymond himself. This is the same reason I can't watch "My Name is Earl." Can't stand Jason Lee. Too many movie roles as characters I disliked.
I left off "Ed", only because it was an hourlong "dramedy" - drama and comedy. But, man, "Ed" was awesome. I liked it so much I wanted to move to Stuckeyville.
I think it's cool that Jeremy, Laurie and I all like Gilligan's Island.
Six Million Dollar Man was fantastic - I liked the episodes when he fought Bigfoot the most - as was Knight Rider and CHIPS, but those obviously aren't sitcoms. The Waltons? Was there even color TV then?
What about the A-Team or Dukes of Hazard
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