Where have all the good sitcoms gone?

[Wally_in_Cincy]

I meant to tape Dharma and Greg the other night cause it had a pool scene. I accidentally taped Will and Grace. As i suffered thru this stupid show waiting for the pool scene that never materialized I thought "Where have all the good sitcoms gone?"

I used to love Thursday night in the 80's. You could watch Cosby, Family Ties, Cheers, and Night Court, then top it off with the wonderful "Hill Street Blues".

All you have now is Friends, which is ok despite all the cheap sex jokes. Just Shoot Me is only funny when David Spade is onscreen. Sigh....

So, my favorites, in order (the shark jumps are my opinion only):

(For reference, if you've never seen this website check out www.jumptheshark.com)

1. Andy Griffith. A true classic.
Jumped the shark when: Barney left the show

2. Seinfeld. Michael Richards was hilarious on "Fridays" and "Marblehead Manor" but had never made it BIG. Seinfeld and Louis-Dreyfuss were successful to some degree. But when these 4 came together the chemistry was phenomenol.
Jumped the shark when: Never did. Well, maybe the finale.

2. I Love Lucy.
Jumped the shark when: Never did. Even the follow-up show "The Lucy Show" was funny. Proves her comedic genius.

3. All in the Family. Another classic. Could this show be made in today's ultra-sensitive environment? I think not.
Jumped the shark when: Michael and Gloria moved out. Really went downhill when Archie bought the bar.

4. Cheers. Great ensemble cast.
Jumped the shark when: Sam and Diane got together.

5. M*A*S*H . Speaks for itself.
Jumped the shark when: never did IMO

6. Taxi. Great writing, great cast....my favorite episode was when Latka turned into Vic Ferrari. "Hey Alex babe, that's quite a load of guano you dumped on me" [img]/ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

7. Married with Children. A bit bawdy for its time slot but hey, it's FOX [img]/ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

8. The Simpsons. Seems like every episode is a new classic.

9. Night Court. Fast moving and ribald. Like a burlesque show in your living room.

10. Dick Van Dyke. If you haven't seen it in awhile check it out. His physical comedy is second only to Lucy.

11. Mary Tyler Moore.

12. Beverly Hillbillies. Country folks in the city. Jethro was an obvious ripoff of Stockdale from No Time for Sargeants.

13. Green Acres. City folks in the country. (BTW The female Ralph was the girl in To Kill a Mockingbird who accused the black guy of rape).

An honorable mention goes to "Just the Ten of Us". Anybody remember that? There were 8 kids and 4 of them were hot teenage girls. The jiggle factor on that show was very high. I'm surprised it didn't make it.

I'm tired of typing now. I know I missed some. Any favorites?

[Rich R.]

Wally, if you liked "All in the Family", try "Becker" on Sunday nights. Not quite as good, but it has its moments.

[Voodoo Daddy]

Top Tens...I feel like David Letterman. Ok, here goes...

10]Three's Company...hated it all but Suzanne Sommers [img]/ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]!!
9]Titus...Fox had a hit but [img]/ccboard/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] dogged it.
8]The Simpsons...still makes me laugh
7]Gilligan Island...Ginger and Mary-Ann, yummy!!
6]King of the Hill..."That boy aint right"
5]Green Acres...Arnold Zyphil that pig made the show!!
4]Mash... [img]/ccboard/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]was as good as it got.
3]Home Improvement...Tim Taylor...RRRR RRRR RRRR, HAHAHAHA!
2]That 70's Show...wow, thats funny stuff. An instant classic
1]All in the Family..."A.Bunker, 704 Howser St. Queens, NY"...truely set the tone for what we watch today...

[Harold Acosta]

1. MASH
2. Cosby
3. Taxi
4. Bewitch
5. I dream of Jeanie
6. Who's the Boss
7. Cheers
8. Fraser
9. Drew Carey
10. Three's Company (without Jack)

There was another sitcom, scenario was at Hillman College, alma mater of Cosby, can't remember the name. It was pretty good. Followed the Cosby show if not mistaken.

[9 Ball Girl]

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote Harold Acosta:</font><hr> There was another sitcom, scenario was at Hillman College, alma mater of Cosby, can't remember the name. It was pretty good. Followed the Cosby show if not mistaken.<hr /></blockquote>

A Different World starred Lisa Bonet, 2nd oldest of the Cosby clan. Just to add a few of my favs in no particular order:

1. One Day At A Time
2. The Jeffersons
3. What's Happening
4. Welcome Back Kotter (don't remember the show but I was in love with John Travolta! [img]/ccboard/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]
5. Melrose Place (my Monday nite guilty pleasure)
6. The Little Rascals (does this count?)

[Rich R.]

How about,

Barney Miller
WKRP in Cincinatti

For those with a few more years under their belts,

No Time for Sargents
The Life of Riley

[Fred Agnir]

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote Harold Acosta:</font><hr> 2. Cosby...


There was another sitcom, scenario was at Hillman College, alma mater of Cosby, can't remember the name. It was pretty good. Followed the Cosby show if not mistaken.<hr /></blockquote>
A Different World

[Harold Acosta]

1. George Jefferson was a little bit too flashy. Didn't like his character. Mistreated "Louise" too much but sometimes was O.K.

2. Welcome back Kotter was O.k but Travolta wasn't at his best. Show was so, so.

3. One day at a time, too girly.

4. Melrose Place, didn't care about it.

5. Little rascals, O.K.

[Harold Acosta]

1. Andy Griffith. Excellent show. Opy made my day, he was redheaded like me.

2. Seinfeld. Didn't like it. Characters too wacky, specially George Constanza.

3. I Love Lucy. Lucy screamed too much. Too silly. Ricky Ricardo did an excellent performance.

4. All in the Family. Archie Bunker too racist. Didn't like the show one bit. O'conners image was a bit vindicated with "In the Heat of the Night."

5. Cheers. Great ensemble cast except for Diane and Rebecca. The rest of the characters were great.

6. M*A*S*H. One of the best shows I ever seen. I was in the Army at the time and didn't miss the show for anything, not even a party.

7. Taxi. Great cast. Didn't like Latka. Too silly and stupid.

8. Married with Children. A bit bawdy for its time slot but hey, it's FOX. Agree with you.

9. The Simpsons. Biggest piece of junk ever seen.

10. Night Court. At least it was an alternative viewing show. I give it an O.K.

11. Dick Van Dyke. Liked his comedy better than Lucy.

12. Mary Tyler Moore. Cried too much.

13. Beverly Hillbillies. Country folks in the city. Could have done without Jethro.

14. Green Acres. City folks in the country. Didnt care watching, never got the hang of it.

[9 Ball Girl]

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote Harold Acosta:</font><hr> 9. The Simpsons. Biggest piece of junk ever seen.<hr /></blockquote>

Why Harold, why?! This is one of my favorites!!!

Wendy~~I loves ya anyway!

Oh yeah, while we're on the subject, although this doesn't count as a sitcom, I loved, absolutely loved the Jerry Springer Show when he had the fights back in 1999-2000. After a hard day's work, I used to go home, pop in my tape where I recorded the shows, and veg out!