No Right Answer: Best Sitcom Ever

[Aureliano]

This was an interesting experiment this week. I was kinda curious how well Dan and Chris would debate considering how well they work together as color commentators. As it turns out...either not so much, or Dan just got tossed the 'emo ball' this week.

As far as the choices, I can't really object. The debate wasn't really 'most enjoyable sitcom', it was more 'what sitcom best epitomizes the Platonic ideal of sitcom' without actually just being about one f-ing family like I Love Lucy or something. For that, Friends and Seinfeld are about as typical as you're gonna get.

 

[ms_sunlight]

If this was M*A*S*H versus The Phil Silvers Show or Porridge versus Rising Damp, I'd buy into it. I can't make myself give a shit about either Friends or Seinfeld. I couldn't when they were first on, either. The golden age of sitcoms was before I was old enough to watch them.

 

[Kapol]

Wow. Dan chugged that water hard. Still, my favorite Sitcom is Scrubs. I don't know if that's the best, but it's easily the one I like the most.

 

[burningdragoon]

Seinfeld had Patrick Warburton in it. So Seifeld wins.

 

[RandV80]

Haha, I almost just turned it off when I saw "Seinfeld vs Friends". Now when I got around to watching friends (co-ed college dorm with shared TV) it was pretty good, but does not compete with Seinfeld!

Or if you want to go old school, or the 'its a sitcom because of unreal situations', then I'd pick Married with Children. I mean come on, on a trip to England Al gets called out into a medieval joust by a British gentleman and walks onto the tiltyard in his high school football uniform? You just can't beat that!

 

[SpaceBat]

I find Friends to be a series with either predictable or downright retarded episode plots. I find the characters to be obnoxious and the jokes often repetitive. I really have to go with Seinfeld with this one, although I enjoy its successor (Curb) even more.

Post Watching: Well, that wasn't 'that' bad...*cough* Frasier, Cheers, Flintstones, Golden Girls, Neighbours, Home and Away, The Good Life, The IT Crowd, Father Ted, The 70's Show, Alf, Family Ties, SOAP *cough*

The only things I disagree with you on are the two bolded ones. I found Frasier to be fairly amusing and it as one of the better sitcoms around. The IT Crowd however really is THAT bad and should be put with the likes of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory IMO.

Of course, when it comes to shittyness, nothing can compare to Dharma and Greg. I honestly can't understand how that show won any awards, let alone a golden globe.

 

[g3ko]

the turkey scene with joey from friends was also in the UK Mr. Bean Christmas special(in my book, that nulifies that scene as a stand out moment).
while I enjoyed Friends, and actually recognizing certain traits of the characters in people I know, the same is applied to Seinfeld, even though the show fell off after the 4th season.
Why doesn't anyone mention Married with Children

Does nobody remember Married With Children?

Yes, my vote, Married with Children, all the way

 

[GeorgW]

Loved this episode. Great choices, great debate (Dan's got some great counter-arguments, even if he has too much hate) and great judge's ruling. I love all three shows (and I'd throw Scrubs too), but HIMYM wins out on breadth, consistent story and best characters. Friends has the best jokes though, and Seinfeld the best individual stories. Scrubs wins on emotions though.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

The IT Crowd however really is THAT bad and should be put with the likes of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory IMO.

I shall have to ask you to step outside for a game of Street Countdown.

And only one vowel.

 

[PeePantz]

Dan missed a huge opportunity in that debate: Seinfeld's lasting appeal. Seinfeld coined phrases that used in everyday life. That's how transcending this show is. You never even have to have seen Seinfeld, yet its impact on you would be unmistakeable. Terms like "man-hands" or "close talker" are all from Seinfeld. I could go on all day about this, but my point is that Friends didn't creep into our lives (hell, no show did), like Seinfeld.

 

[Hitchmeister]

I feel so old.

Leave it to Beaver
Gilligan's Island
Beverly Hillbillies
Green Acres
Shows from when SitComs meant something. There was a challenge to trying to be the best, because there were dozens fighting for that honor every week.

But face it -- all of these choices are from the wrong continent.

Fawlty Towers. There were only 12 episodes, because every single one was perfect. Any more would have risked spoiling that record.




My Captcha includes the word "England." Even Captcha knows.

 

[artanis_neravar]

The IT Crowd however really is THAT bad and should be put with the likes of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory IMO.

People always complain about other people using IMO because "it's always your opinion blah blah blah.." but I bet that if you hadn't include it the next 4 or 5 pages would have been attacks against you

 

[necromanzer52]

I'm afraid the correct answer is scrubs.

 

[artanis_neravar]

Dan missed a huge opportunity in that debate: Seinfeld's lasting appeal. Seinfeld coined phrases that used in everyday life. That's how transcending this show is. You never even have to have seen Seinfeld, yet its impact on you would be unmistakeable. Terms like "man-hands" or "close talker" are all from Seinfeld. I could go on all day about this, but my point is that Friends didn't creep into our lives (hell, no show did), like Seinfeld.

Never heard any of those in real life.

I feel so old.

Leave it to Beaver
Gilligan's Island
Beverly Hillbillies
Green Acres
Shows from when SitComs meant something. There was a challenge to trying to be the best, because there were dozens fighting for that honor every week.

But face it -- all of these choices are from the wrong continent.

How so?

 

[Hitchmeister]

Dan missed a huge opportunity in that debate: Seinfeld's lasting appeal. Seinfeld coined phrases that used in everyday life. That's how transcending this show is. You never even have to have seen Seinfeld, yet its impact on you would be unmistakeable. Terms like "man-hands" or "close talker" are all from Seinfeld. I could go on all day about this, but my point is that Friends didn't creep into our lives (hell, no show did), like Seinfeld.

Never heard any of those in real life.

I feel so old.

Leave it to Beaver
Gilligan's Island
Beverly Hillbillies
Green Acres
Shows from when SitComs meant something. There was a challenge to trying to be the best, because there were dozens fighting for that honor every week.

But face it -- all of these choices are from the wrong continent.

How so?

Read the next line.

 

[artanis_neravar]

Dan missed a huge opportunity in that debate: Seinfeld's lasting appeal. Seinfeld coined phrases that used in everyday life. That's how transcending this show is. You never even have to have seen Seinfeld, yet its impact on you would be unmistakeable. Terms like "man-hands" or "close talker" are all from Seinfeld. I could go on all day about this, but my point is that Friends didn't creep into our lives (hell, no show did), like Seinfeld.

Never heard any of those in real life.

I feel so old.

Leave it to Beaver
Gilligan's Island
Beverly Hillbillies
Green Acres
Shows from when SitComs meant something. There was a challenge to trying to be the best, because there were dozens fighting for that honor every week.

But face it -- all of these choices are from the wrong continent.

How so?

Read the next line.

Fawlty Towers. There were only 12 episodes, because every single one was perfect. Any more would have risked spoiling that record.

My Captcha includes the word "England." Even Captcha knows.

Still doesn't explain it

 

[Bloodysoldier]

Where is my M.A.S.H or CHEERS?

 

[Stewart Marshall]

Arrested Development?

Why?

I'm glad you asked...

Arrested Development is about family. What could be more universal? Arrested Development at it's heart is essentially how your family hold you back. Now this is a theme that is so universal, it probably happens many times in one person's life.

For instance, young person, edge of adulthood, feels repressed by the family unit trying to hold them back, trying to reel them in.

However, later in life, settled down a bit, got a career: pow! family*

Then older family moves away finally lets you go, and you want to go back, see The Godfather Part 3 (nobody argues with Al Pacino, not even in that movie).

Oh yeah, not everyone has family's. I say to you... Luke Skywalker. Both his parents are, apparently, dead and he still gets wrapped in all this with his Owen and Beru.

Arrested Development addresses all these things sometimes at the same time. It does it with sheer wit and class, and will tell you about 7 different kinds of jokes in one episode.

You've got a great ensemble. Friends has 6, oh that's impressive- Arrested Development has 9! 9 main characters and none ever feel rushed, or unused. And that's not including the amazing array of recurring characters (Henry Winkler I'm looking at you).

So, you've got a Universal Theme, a fantastic ensemble of characters and actors, great writing. What am I forgetting?

Oh yeah...

All these characters are nuts! They're totally totally nuts. Because you can do that when you've got a Universal theme, you can let your characters go wild. For instance, How I Met Your Mother. A show essentially about dating and coupling, in the city, a really big city. This show really doesn't have much going on for say an old farmer, where as does he have a family? I'm pretty sure he does, unless he's creepy old hermit, but I'm not sure any sitcom's really going to be up that guy's street... I digress.

Meanwhile a show like Community's really aimed at who exactly...?

I mean, it about students. Except Joel McHale's 40, Chevy Chase's 68... Okay, so it's oddball unconventional students. Okay, right, cool. We've already got a pretty narrow audience here, let's hope they don't do anything weird... Well, actually, they didn't for the entire first season, which looked like a relationship drama with some nods to Geek Culture. Then... they did a claymation episode. That's a narrowing audience demographic.

What else don't people like actually? What do you want to avoid in Sitcoms?

Smug (I'm looking at you later series of Friends)

And wow does Community have that in spades, particularly in representation of author-insert character Abed. I could go on but no about of intelligence or charisma can make smug funny... and wow, I've watched Community try.

So yeah...

*It happens like that, seriously, if you don't know, it's about to happen to you...

 

[Casual Shinji]

Is that Alfred Molina?

OT: Anyway, Seinfeld wins. If only because of George's argument that even Moses picked his nose.