mike777 Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Have you watched every sitcom ever made? Naturally lists are centered around the taste of the person making it. Noone has seen everything. Perhaps some Brazilian sitcom should be on the list - I have no idea. And neither do you. On other topics, perhaps we should define exactly what is meant by sitcom (and no, I do not mean in the ILL sense suggested earlier). I would not have considered HHG a sitcom personally. And Dr Who? Really? I know some of the older episodes look pretty funny now but honestly, how to insult a large proportion of British science fiction fans in a single swoop! As for the list in the link, I looked through it, considered it a joke and moved on. It was clearly just cobbled together in a few minutes in an attempt to get visitors to the website. Let's at least start from a sensible basepoint if we are going to have this discussion. actually I have watched all the major contenders....pretty much a strawman about all shows....only you raised that issue. And no, personal taste should not be the only issue/factor, would expect there to be many many factors agree Dr. Who and Hitchhiker are not sitcoms..but they do have humor and are great shows. agree with your main and last point :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberyeti Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Ya where manners and good taste mattered...now we can joke and sing about rape and laugh... and in some cases make a boatload of money..spirit of the law? Don't get this reference As Ken put it boobs and more boobs.....heck with sexual assualt...Boobs and female nudity are everywhere, some of the worst offences are in computer games (check out TERA, particularly the Elin race video and Blade and Soul for particularly egregious examples), both of these are Korean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMars Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Why is no one mentioning Mary Tyler Moore? (Or the Dick van Dyke show if you prefer?) I second the mentions of Married with Children, Keeping Up Appearances, and Are You Being Served? Roseanne was hilarious for much of its run, but the last season (or two) was pretty bad, and kind of drags the whole show down. Big Bang Theory is awful. Anyway, I also agree with those that said that this list is a joke, put on by a no-name website. It probably is one of those sites made just to draw clicks and get ad dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 I had the impression that the site belongs to the people that own hulu, so it would be an attempt to draw in people to spend money on hulu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Why is no one mentioning Mary Tyler Moore? Yes, I was about to bring up MTM (which I found funnier than DvD). Also I would like to add my voice to those who have mentioned I Love Lucy. There have been a lot of decent sitcoms, but in my opinion Lucy is the only one that made you laugh until you pissed yourself. By the way, some people have mentioned Blackadder (which would be on ANY list that included British shows) and Jeeves and Wooster (which I don't feel is, strictly speaking, a sitcom.) Am I the only one who is disappointed that Stephen Fry never appeared on House? Here are my two skits from A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricK Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 The Phil Silvers Show (Sgt Bilko) would make my top ten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 Gomer Pyle? Perhaps not top ten, but close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 There are a number of series that I liked but maybe at times in my life when I just wasn't watching all that much tv. One of those was Taxi, and my favorite character, Jim, was played by the guy (Chris Lloyd) who is listed as one of the creators of Modern Family. (Which I also like but don't always get around to watching.) Anyway, in Taxi, one of the other characters crashes into Jim and tells him to get out of the way. Jim has his usual dazed look and says "What? Am I here?". I feel a sort of kinship with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winstonm Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 There are a number of series that I liked but maybe at times in my life when I just wasn't watching all that much tv. One of those was Taxi, and my favorite character, Jim, was played by the guy (Chris Lloyd) who is listed as one of the creators of Modern Family. (Which I also like but don't always get around to watching.) Anyway, in Taxi, one of the other characters crashes into Jim and tells him to get out of the way. Jim has his usual dazed look and says "What? Am I here?". I feel a sort of kinship with him. My favorite Taxi moment came when Jim (Chris Lloyd) had to take his written driver's test and and asked Tony Danza, "What does a yellow light mean?", to which Tony replied, "Slow down," so Jim continued, "W-h-a-t d-o-e-s a y-e-l-l-o-w l-i-g-h-t m-e-a-n?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 One of those was Taxi, and my favorite character, Jim, was played by the guy (Chris Lloyd) who is listed as one of the creators of Modern Family. They're not the same person. Christopher Lloyd actor = http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000502/Christopher Lloyd writer/producer = http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0515941/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 My favorite Taxi moment came when Jim (Chris Lloyd) had to take his written driver's test and and asked Tony Danza, "What does a yellow light mean?", to which Tony replied, "Slow down," so Jim continued, "W-h-a-t d-o-e-s a y-e-l-l-o-w l-i-g-h-t m-e-a-n?"Definitely one of the best sitcom scenes ever. It's frequently shown on retrospectives, and always has me ROFLMAO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 Christopher Lloyd the actor was born in 1938. IMDB doesn't say when Christopher Lloyd the screenwriter was born, but his father, David Lloyd, also a screenwriter, was born in 1934. So I'd guess the actor is some 20 years older than the screenwriter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 The writer's Wikipedia page says he was born in 1960. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lloyd_(screenwriter) And both IMdb entries have pictures -- they're obviously not the same people (although it's Hollywood, where they do marvels with makeup). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 They're not the same person. Christopher Lloyd actor = http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000502/Christopher Lloyd writer/producer = http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0515941/ Huh. Thanks! Yes, 1938 certainly seems right for the actor. At times, Becky and I have commented that some of the humor in Modern Family is reminiscent of humor in Taxi. Maybe we were influenced by the name. At any rate, Jim was a memorable character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billw55 Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 Beacause the British know when to stop. Americans just drag an idea out for as long as it is marketable. A good example of this is The Office. The Tim/Donna story ended with their first kiss; it was perfect. I was bawling like a baby while I watched that. In The Office: An American Workplace, their counterparts have got married, bought a house, and were expecting a child, who has probably been born. The thrill, at least from the viewers' perspective, is gone. Also, I heard that the David Brent character has left -- yet they are carrying on. It seems the show would be pointless without him. I completely agree with this. A five year old does something and his parents laugh. So he does it again. And again. And again. This is much the way I see American tv. If the Brits don't do this, I congratulate them.I understand quitting while you are ahead, and before the material/premise/humor go stale. And I admit, many an American program has crossed this line. But 12 episodes still seems a little short. Would any of you say that you would not have wanted another series of Fawlty Towers, had the creative team been willing or able to do it? Speaking of fine shows with short production runs, I would cite Firefly .. not a sitcom of course, but good stuff. I wish there was was more adult sci-fi made, but the American market just doesn't seem to support this genre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 There were two examples of this staying too long, neither a sitcom, that I got caught up in. I really liked the first season of Treme, I never missed an episode. I was disappointed that there was to be a second season, and I never much got into it. The second example was Saving Grace. Of course it was a somewhat silly premise, the hard living hard drinking Grace runs someone down, says w/o much intended meaning "God help me" and an angel shows up and says "What did you have in mind?". But I liked it. For one season. Back to sitcoms: I agree with VMars that Roseanne was very good and, also, it stayed to long. I would say the same about Mary Tyler Moore and Cheers. I never cared for Frazier but I know many do. Possibly it has something to do with it's origins being with MTM. At some point I just had enough of that show, its characters, and its writers. Again I have one of these favorite moments from Cheers: Coach: I've got to get home and work on the novel.Dianne: Coach, you are writing a book!Coach: No, reading one. I may be the only person who did not watch I Love Lucy all that much. Or the Honeymooners either for that matter, although I think I preferred Honeymooners to Lucy. It was a long time ago, memory fades. From roughly that era, a bit earlier I think, I watched Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca (skits, not sitcom) every week. Also there was a short lived show with Ernie Kovacs. I have some distant memory of him chopping vegetables to the beat of the 1812 Overture. Whatever he was, he was an original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 Not a sitcom, but... I remember, when I was about five, visiting my grandparents. They had a TV, black and white, little tiny screen. I was watching cartoons. My grandmother walked in, said "it's time for Groucho" and changed the channel. Man, was I pissed! Groucho? Who the heck is Groucho? He's not even funny. Gimme back my cartoons! Nope. In later years I came to realize that Groucho was funny - just not to a five year old, particularly one who's just been deprived of his cartoons. B-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vampyr Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 When I was about the same age I stayed up ridiculously late every night to watch "You Bet Your Life" with my parents. I really enjoyed Groucho in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aberlour10 Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 The sitcoms with british humor are simply unbeatable. I also liked much these british old fashioned series like a "Upstairs, downstairs" with Gordon Jackson as a butler... a great picture of the english social life at the beginning of the 20th century. Married with Children...primitive humor say all...but nobody managed to ridicule the American Dream so much as Al Bundy done. And its great!http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winstonm Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 If Gunsmoke is not in the top 10, you'll all hang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike777 Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 If Gunsmoke is not in the top 10, you'll all hang. Gunsmoke aint a sitcom....situation comedy....:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggwhiz Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 What the writers (especially) managed to cobble together for Laugh-In as a replacement show was truly extraordinary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbradley62 Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 What the writers (especially) managed to cobble together for Laugh-In as a replacement show was truly extraordinary.Also not a situation comedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggwhiz Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Also not a situation comedy. Yeah, I posted that late at night. However, I was in South Africa from 97-2000. They didn't have any network tv until the late 70's and even then bought the cheapest schlock they could get. I watched an episode of "The Beachcombers" (the worst Canadian thing of all time) and saw Bruno Gerussi dubbed into Zulu. Since that traumatic experience anything I say about tv in general should be ignored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winstonm Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 Gunsmoke aint a sitcom....situation comedy....:)You mean they were serious? :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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