Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The funniest, and one of the best shows on TV several years running is Always Sunny in Philadelphia now on FXX. Nothing on network tv even compares to the genius of this show.
The funniest, and one of the best shows on TV several years running is Always Sunny in Philadelphia now on FXX. Nothing on network tv even compares to the genius of this show.
I've never watched it. I'll have to remember that one day when I have time to binge.
The funniest, and one of the best shows on TV several years running is Always Sunny in Philadelphia now on FXX. Nothing on network tv even compares to the genius of this show.
Yeah, that is a good one, lol. I've probably seen all the episodes at least 5x each and they never seem to get old.
I'd have to say my favorite epi is "The Gang Hits The Road"
I like to laugh, so I like a good sitcom. The Big Bang Theory is good, but I think it's best days are behind it. Already characters are getting married, and next thing you know someone is going to have a baby. Then you know it's about to end its run. Not every show, but the ones that start off as a group of friends.
There are some good ones out there, but few and far between. You only mentioned Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond. Are you one of those people who didn't like Seinfeld?
Oh, I adored Seinfeld!!! I also liked Two and a Half Men, for a while. It started out quite funny, but became unwatchable IMO.
I like the family sitcom because it allows me to watch it with my kids without having to get uncomfortable. I tried to watch Big Bang Theory with them, and right off the bat it was sex joke after sex joke. They're getting older so it's not as big a deal, though it's still uncomfortable with that level of sex talk.
It seems that ABC has the family sitcoms, CBS has the raunchy sitcoms even if they're shows about families like Two and a Half Men or Moms, and I don't even know what NBC has. I don't think I've watched a sitcom on NBC since Seinfeld went off the air. They're great for dramas though.
But "family" sitcoms can get a bit raunchy too at times. Claire and Phil on Valentine's Day at the bar with their fake characters? And Haley is always prancing around in little sexy outfits. And not all non-family sitcoms are raunchy. I guess it's in the eye of the beholder but I don't really consider the BBT all that raunchy all the time, not like "Two Broke Girls" or "Two And A Half Men" both of which are non-stop raunchy.
I liked "Two Broke Girls" when it first came on the air. I liked the premise of two girls struggling to make a success of themselves in New York but then it just became one penis joke after another. Ho hum. Okay I heard you the first hundred times. They do have a very talented cast though. They can do better.
I like "The Goldbergs." There are some funny dialogues between the characters at times like the one between Adam and Bev where they argue about who she's going to live with when she's old. It escalates to the point where it morphs from future speculation to the present as if they were deciding right then and there. It's really funny and the two actors pull it off beautifully.
My complaint with the raunchy sitcoms isn't that I am offended by over-raunchiness. I am just bored by it. especially when it is presented as a substitute for well written comedy.
I thought sitcoms were funny until seinfeld. There few good ones after Seinfeld. Like friends and Frasier. Nowadays, I can't watch a sitcom anymore because they are just not funny. The older shows actually knew what comedy was. These days its all about potty humor and sex jokes.
I haven't read most of the posts - thread is too long now - but I'll take the risk at being the lone pariah to mention "Mike & Molly" as a comedy I find hilarious. I think the lines and the writing are great, and while I like all the actors and characters on the show, it's unique in that the whole supporting cast is funnier than the two main ones.
Like Minerva, I liked the first season of "Two Broke Girls" but the writers trashed the show with too much sex thrown in it. It isn't even funny anymore.
I'm also a fan of "Schitt's Creek", although it is radically different. But I'm on the morbid side.
I noticed "All In the Family" and "Sanford & Son" (one of my all-time favorites) was mentioned. These shows would never fly today in the advent of 'political correctness'.
I haven't read most of the posts - thread is too long now - but I'll take the risk at being the lone pariah to mention "Mike & Molly" as a comedy I find hilarious. I think the lines and the writing are great, and while I like all the actors and characters on the show, it's unique in that the whole supporting cast is funnier than the two main ones.
Like Minerva, I liked the first season of "Two Broke Girls" but the writers trashed the show with too much sex thrown in it. It isn't even funny anymore.
I'm also a fan of "Schitt's Creek", although it is radically different. But I'm on the morbid side.
I noticed "All In the Family" and "Sanford & Son" (one of my all-time favorites) was mentioned. These shows would never fly today in the advent of 'political correctness'.
Sometimes though, "All In The Family" wasn't meant to be funny. I just watched an episode last night where the Bunkers had a swastika painted on their door. It was meant for a Jewish family down the block. A man from a Jewish defense organization came to the Bunkers' door telling them what had happened saying his group would fight the perpetrators for them even though they knew it wasn't meant for the Bunkers.
Archie of course was all for it. Mike and Gloria argued against it. So there was a lot of dialogue in the debate between peace and fighting between liberals Mike and Gloria and conservative Archie. In the end, the vigilante was told that the bad guys had been made aware of their mistake and were on their way to get the real target. He left the Bunkers house.
As the Bunkers argue about how these situations should be handled, peace v fighting, they hear an explosion outside.The young man they had just been talking to is blown up in his car. That's were the story ends.
So something like that is very relevant today because it still goes on. Today's sitcoms don't address those kinds of subjects but the 70's sitcoms were about more than just comedy. Norman Lear who was the sitcom king in those days brought a lot of social commentary to his shows.
I agree though, that as far as being PC, many today wouldn't have gotten the episode where Ron Glass so brilliantly portrayed Archie's and Mike's stereotypical views of black men in conflicting flashback stories. It was satire but in today's world, I don't think it would be accepted.
I think reality TV has ended the days of quality sitcoms. Apparently it's what the younger generation wants to see, and it's inexpensive for studios to produce. I'm just glad I grew up in an era where I got to enjoy Three's company, the Jefferson's, and Good Times. Those shows still make me bust a gut in laughter to this day...
You were born too late. I love Lucy, Sid Cesar, Burns & Allen, Dick Van Dyke, The Beverly Hillbillies, and even non-funny stuff like Ozzie & Harriet, The Real McCoys, Make Room For Daddy, Family Affair, Patty Duke and even Family were the Gold Standard. Golden Girls was hilarious but a fluke.
"That Was The Week That Was" was a hilarious entirely nouveau-idea, political satire show (c. 1964-65, Johnson era) but you can't even find it anywhere. I bet the liberals in Hollywood burned it. There was a Canadian version (name escapes me, same era) but you can't find that anywhere either.
I pulled cable over 10 years ago - don't miss it a bit.
[quote=Minervah;39743608]Sometimes though, "All In The Family" wasn't meant to be funny.
quote]
Excellent point! The show could be as serious as it could be funny. And it did, indeed, address a lot of volatile, controversial things that no one else dared to touch.
A few months ago I was changing channels and stopped at the episode where Archie breaks down and cries after Edith died. Probably the most profound, solemn moment of all because it's a side of him that no one ever expected to see.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
