View Full Version : Three's Company vs. Married with Children vs Frasier vs. Taxi


george ho
03-05-2013, 04:40 AM
I want you to rank these shows from most to least of all four in Quality, Replay Value, Agelessness, Humor, other factors not mentioned. By the way, I haven't set up polls. Below are my examples. Write your own.

Quality is based on writing, acting, directing, etc.

Taxi
Frasier
Three's Company
Married... with Children


Replay Value is based on the feeling to ever watch all, if not most, episodes again and again.

Taxi
Married... with Children
Three's Company
Frasier


Agelessness is based on references, structure, fashion, stories relating to today's world, etc.

Three's Company
Frasier
Taxi
Married... with Children

Swapped Taxi and MWC because... as I said, MWC quickly aged. All of them have repetitive style and references about characters themselves, but I picked 3's Company as better aged... well, due to '70s and '80s style, great replay value, and basic, simplistic stories ever made.

Humor is based on laughter, especially out loud.

Married... with Children
Three's Company
Taxi
Frasier


OTHER NON-LISTED FACTORS:

Great Syndication Value is based on current distributors' enthusiam toward airing shows on off-net syndication and viewers' enthusiam and such:

Frasier
Married... with Children
Three's Company
Taxi

That's because I'm basing it on KDOC's schedule and how it fares well on today's off-network television. It even have MWC once per day and Frasier twice per day. Other shows are no longer available on my area. I wanted to put MWC above Frasier, but... I don't know. Well, cable could count, but I did not based on it.

Mass Appeal is based on appealing old shows today and the way that shows provide:

Three's Company
Frasier
Married... with Children
Taxi


I'm missing other factors. You can insert your own factors not listed above. You're probably thinking, "Two sophisticated shows against two other broad comedies? What were you thinking?" However, somehow, even "great" shows are hard to watch today because... you feel depressed when watching it.

For example, FRASIER is depressing to watch, even if humorous and lighthearted, while THREE'S COMPANY is a silly, yet very heartwarming show that inspired FRASIER. MARRIED WITH CHILDREN quickly aged due to fashion (look at tacky women's clothes and hairdos; THREE'S COMPANY does better than that) and '80s and '90s references, like Oprah or Roseanne (well, they'll be remembered until when?), but some episodes stand out very well. TAXI, while very great for me to watch again, has gotten too old, too sad, and too heartaching for everyone else nowadays. Its humor is silly for current masses, especially when it involves Jim or Latka. The visuals looks bad if a station uses old tapes (haven't seen a DVD yet).

EDIT: If factoring all shows is too complicated for you, you don't need to factor them. In fact, try simply reviewing each in at least one paragraph or two... or more.

gilligan fanatic
03-05-2013, 09:25 AM
I like Married With Children and Three's Company, but I am not really a Taxi fan and I haven't seen enough of Frasier to have an opinion.

robyrob
03-05-2013, 11:24 PM
this all seems very complicated

george ho
03-06-2013, 01:58 AM
this all seems very complicated
If you mean factoring, you don't have to. I've modified original post, just in case.

Ihavealife2uknow
03-06-2013, 02:57 AM
I can't fairly judge Frasier or Taxi. I've never watched Frasier and I did watch Taxi but I was really young and barely remember it now.

Three's Company outweighs Married With Children in every category though for me.

comedyfreak
03-06-2013, 09:26 AM
Taxi- I was never really a fan of the show. It did have good writing and a good cast. I would not watch the reruns.

Frasier- I didn't watch when originally aired though, I became a fan after watching in syndication. Great cast well acted directed and written.

Married With Children- I liked this show when it originally aired, like the reruns great casting and writing.

Three's Company- I really liked this show when originally shown and in syndication, great cast, writing. I will watch whenever it's shown and I also have all the dvd season sets.

Neutronman67
03-06-2013, 02:25 PM
I choose Taxi the acting was good every single episode was full of adventure and entertainment and you can relate to the characters in the show,Louie was the best one in the show he was funny and aggressive he gets to boss people twice his size lol

george ho
03-06-2013, 02:39 PM
Now let's relate ourselves to their own main characters, especially in real-life:

Married... with Children has a horrible family: a loser father, a luckless son, a dumb promiscuous daughter, and a lazy mother, who have no luck on long-term success. Next door is a shy-turned-feisty woman who has two relationships: one a hard-worker and other a slob. I don't know... other than Al's NO MAAM and Peg's socialization with women, the show did not explore their stable, loving relationships with other people. I wouldn't be friends with Al; he's very cynical. I could try other characters, but I would rather hang out with Marcy and her long-term lovers. Well, like Cheers characters, the Bundys do not seem to be the people you want to discuss with.

Three's Company has great roommates to be friends with. Like Wings characters, they have good topics to discuss and are amiable. But I wouldn't want to mess with tenants, either the Ropers or the Don Knotts character.

Taxi is full of taxi drivers with depressing lives, but some would be nice. Lou (Danny DeVito) is very mean and vicious to be friends with, but there are also good people. However, Latka (Andy Kaufman) has bad English usage, but I would manage. If I want to make friends, being a taxi driver wouldn't be it.

Frasier has a shallow titular character, who became more shallow after Cheers ended. But he might show some humanity. As for Roz (Peri Piplin), since I'm not Frasier, I wouldn't stand her putdowns and love failures. Like Frasier, his brother Niles has use of obscure words that I don't understand. Their father Martin is a decent guy to have a nice chat with, but he's very old and... I'm not the housekeeper Daphne, whom he gets along with very well. I'd rather be friends with recurring characters, like Bulldog the womanizer, the flamboyant food critic, or a weird socially-inept guy who has a crush on Roz.

So how do you relate yourselves?

icecream
03-06-2013, 03:26 PM
1. Frasier
2. Taxi
3. Three's Company
4. Married with Children

visaman666
03-10-2013, 02:55 AM
Unlike most of you, I'm old enough to have seen all of these shows in during their respective network runs.

In order of what I watch today.

Fraser
Married With Children
Three's Company (haven't been able to watch since John Ritter's passing)
Taxi

In order of sexiest female costars or guest stars

Fraser
Married With Children
Three's Company
Taxi

Neutronman67
03-10-2013, 08:41 PM
Yeah Three's company has been getting bad treatments on tv stations since john ritters death back in 2003.

imanoldguy
12-23-2015, 05:06 PM
1. Frasier- Great acting, excellent supporting cast,well-written
2. Married With Children- there's just something about Al Bundy that makes me like him so much
It also has a good sense of humor
3. Taxi- It's OK but it's one of those shows I could take or leave. An occasional viewing for me is good enough
4. Threes Company- I don't like the show at all. Terrible acting, not so good looking cast, not my sense of humor