My Top-10 Sitcoms of The Last 50 Years

Reaganite Republican ^ | 22 October 2015 | Reaganite Republican

[Reaganite Republican]

Newhart (1982-1990) -Please forgive me but I actually like Bob Newhart's second major sitcom series -at the Stratford Inn in Vermont- more than the first 'shrink' series with Mary Tyler Moore, as good as that one was. In fact I think the 80s series Newhart is one of the most underrated comedy shows ever- watched it every week with friends when they were new, too funny.

Interestingly, all 184 shows are -here- on this YouTube playlist.

Cheers -This would probably make everybody's list, but honestly I never go back and watch them anymore... too much saturation I guess, and it just doesn't seem quite as clever as it did at the time. Still, too substantial to leave off... I watched every single episode for years for a reason, and it launched a few careers.

Taxi  -This or Sanford & Son really might be my very all-time favorites... pretty much the best entertainment on 70s television, imo. The characters are simply superb, Danny DeVito an absolute comedy genius supported by a top-notch cast. The writing was clever and kept you riveted to every episode, I love this show. I think my favorite is when Jim burned Louie's apartment to a blackened crisp lol.

Hogan's Heroes  -Kind of silly but I just grew up with it since I was five and loved the characters. They represented pretty much what American Baby Boom kids thought of the Germans in the 1960s... until later in the 70s when we saw what kind of cars they could put together. Was in the same room as Werner Klemperer once, somebody I worked with knew him well... seemed like a nice-enough guy.

Married with Children  -Still funny if you watch it now, and was truly something fresh and revolutionary at the time... really seemed pretty radical when it was new and the casting was brilliant. Met Katey Sagal briefly once. It's funny how not that long ago this show seemed 'naughty', when it's sexual innuendo and mini-skirted babes are nothing compared to the garbage they put on TV now.

Gilligan's Island  -I know it's pretty goofy but I watched it all the time when I was a little kid and think Mary Anne was my first crush ever when I was about 8 lol... great show.

Addams Family  -these are fantastic, what can you say. Show had a cool look and feel too. You're either Munsters or AF and I was always a bit more of an AF kid/guy, the characters were more polished and hilariously complex/eccentric, I love it. I think I got interested in investment by watching Gomez at the stock ticker.

Sanford and Son  -this is close to my favorite sitcom of all time, every character is a laugh riot, including Michelle Obama lookalike Aunt Esther (SHUT UP Fred, you heathen!). And for some reason I get a kick out of 'Grady'.

All in the Family  -this one again pertinent... listen to Archie rail against the libs, I'll be damned if he wasn't right about everything!!!

Fawlty Towers -not quite as nutty as Monty Python shows but pretty comical nonetheless: these were also shown on PBS in The States back then, with John Cleese at his finest as aspiring-yet-bumbling innkeep. I think my favorite one is where he bumps his head and goes into 'Nazi' mode, deeply insulting his German guests.

I left out cartoons like Simpsons and some other good shows lose points with me for grating political message, i.e. M*A*S*H. For some reason I was never much of a Seinfeld fan, although his standup stage act was great in the 80s. 

Then some others just didn't age all that well, like perhaps The Jeffersons or Good Times. Happy Days is pretty corny too if you go back and watch one of those these days... creating ageless comedy is an elusive art.

Green Acres, Bewitched, Brady Bunch, Andy Griffith,, and Get Smart might also get Honorable Mentions, fwiw- what say you?

[Feckless]

Somebody had a series of "Too Good to be Cancelled" a few years back and I got to watch them again.

Also, I liked "Action" with Jay Mohr. Sick but funny.

[TexasCajun]

[fhayek]

Green Acres was Kafka in a cornfield. Very underrated in my opinion.

[HamiltonJay]

Without question 1 of the top 10 moments of TV during my lifetime has to be the parking lot being bombed with turkeys in WKRP...

That show had a lot of moments that were funny, but that scene is without question one of the funniest ever to hit the airwaves in my lifetime.

As to best Sitcoms.... I think MASH in its early days, sure, but it jumped the shark and ran too long.

I think Big Bang is one of the best on TV today, not sure if it makes it into the top 10 though.. OF course today’s sitcoms are mostly crap.... know the punchline long before it gets there, dead pan acting, horribly lazy writing... etc.

I think “The IT Crowd” is probably the best sit come made in the last decade, but it was a British show.

Mrs Browns Boys is just flat out crazy lunacy laughable, but it is very crass, and again a British show.

Trying to come up with a top 10 of all time is hard, because of of the time differences... What was cutting edge in 1950s is cliche now, so its hard to fairly judge it since the storyline/humor from the classics have been stolen so many times they are now hack kneed so hard to view them with honest assessment.

Its not a sitcom, but I think the Carol Burnett Show certainly was one of the funniest shows ever to be put on TV.

I’d have to think long and hard to come up with a top 10 just during my lifetime, let alone of all time.

[Nea Wood]

Niles was originally supposed to be an occasional guest star, but the chemistry between Niles and Frasier was so good, he became a regular character.

It was great casting, too, as they really did look like brothers.

[TomGuy]

I read somewhere that the finale episode of Newhart had to be altered or removed from the DVD releases due to copyright or some similar legal situation.

It now seems the original is only available on some 'questionable' websites.

In an interview years later, Suzanne said she and the wife on Newhart sort of came up with the finale idea.

[TexasCajun]

Hehe ...almost posted to the Live Benghazi Thread.

[HamiltonJay]

It certainly was the best Finale of any show I can think of.

[MUDDOG]

He was great in “The Big Lebowski.”

[TexasCajun]

Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!

[Nea Wood]

The woman who played “Julia,” the loudmouthed liberal on that show, was a conservative in real life. Must have been a very good actress.

[stayathomemom]

We saw them on cable on MeTV. They are not running them now. Hope they do again though.

[TexasCajun]

Almost forgot:

[ExNewsExSpook]

“As god is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”

[HamiltonJay]

I never got into Raymond, every episode was the same thing...

He’d do something stupid... his wife would over-react to it.... a whole lot of him trying to get sex from her innuendos... throw in some craziness from the relatives... and end.

It had some funny moments, but never found it top tier.

[TexasCajun]

Here's another oldie:

All the guys just knew Alyssa Milano was going to be babe.

[Maceman]

Married with Children was white trash garbage.

But it was REALLY funny white trash garbage.

[TomGuy]

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger! Danger!

[TexasCajun]

Taking a trip down memory lane while waiting on Live Benghazi to come back.

[verga]

One I haven’t seen mentioned..Are You Being Served.

Another Brit com I loved. And showing my age here "Doctor in the House" About Medical students at a British hospital.