Write-in Poll: 10 Best and 10 Worst TV Sitcoms

[KentB3]

In early 1985, author Vince Waldron conducted a poll of 45 professional television critics to determine the classic comedies that would become the subject of his new book Classic Sitcoms: A Celebration of the Best in Prime-Time Comedy. Ten years later, I did the same this for a class project in college. I would to ask your opinions, to see what results we get on this forum. Here are my picks, as of this post, not in an particular order:

Best:
1.) I Love Lucy
2.) All in the Family
3.) The Andy Griffith Show
4.) The Dick Van Dyke Show
5.) The Mary Tyler Moore Show
6.) The Cosby Show
7.) M*A*S*H
8.) Cheers
9.) Home Improvement
10.) The Big Bang Theory

Runners-Up:
11.) The Honeymooners
12.) The Bob Newhart Show
13.) Happy Days
14.) The Golden Girls
15.) Who's the Boss?


Worst:
1.) Anything But Love
2.) Green Acres
3.) The Ropers
4.) Three's a Crowd
5.) Marblehead Manor
6.) Bob
7.) Clueless
8.) Bless this House
9.) 2 Broke Girls
10.) Cavemen

As for runners-up for "Worst", its much harder to come up with worst sitcoms than best, also I try to be on the positive side more than negative!

Your picks?

[Plater of Everything]

Best (in order)
1: Newhart
2: Alf
3: Wings
4: Family Affair
5: Becker
6: My Mother the Car
7: Step by Step
8: The Andy Griffith Show
9: Three's Company
10: Leave it to Beaver

Runners Up:
11: Green Acres
12: Petticoat Junction
13: Happy Days
14: Gilligan's Island

Worst (in order)
1: Your Family or Mine
2: Two Broke Girls
3: Doogie Howser
4: Hogan's Heroes
5: Gidget
6: It's About Time
7: Sabrina
8: Family Ties
9: Saved by the Bell
10: The Brady Bunch

Runners Up
11: My Three Sons
12: 227
13: The Bob Newhart Show
14: The Partridge Family

[Retro4Life]

Nice idea. I'm a little hard pressed to think of "worst" sitcoms because if I truly think the premise of a show is awful, I basically don't watch it, so it's hard to judge, you know?

Anyway, here we go:

BEST

1) All in the Family
2) Mary Tyler Moore
3) M*A*S*H
4) WKRP in Cincinnati
5) Taxi
6) Leave it to Beaver
7) Bob Newhart (original)
8) Barney Miller
9) The Andy Griffith Show
10) The Beverly Hillbillies

WORST

1) Two and a Half Men
2) How I Met Your Mother
3) My Mother, the Car
4) Two Broke Girls
5) Delta House
6) Life With Lucy
7) Baby Talk
8) Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 (for the title alone)
9) Family Matters
10) Joanie Loves Chachi

[MA]

Great idea! And some interesting choices (opinions) too!

[William Hogan Jr]

Best: 1. The Beverly Hillbillies, 2. Bewitched, 3. Gilligan's Island, 4. Green Acres, 5. My Three Sons, 6. I Love Lucy, 7. Andy Griffith Show, 8. The Munsters, 9. The Addams Family, 10. Alf. Worst 1. Two Broke Girls, 2. The Big Bang Theory, 3. Roseanne, 4. The Simpsons, 5. Friends, 6. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 7. The Cosby Show, 8. Good Times, 9. The Golden Girls, 10. Maude.

[IllinoisTVFan]

The worst: The Mommies. Horrible show.

[PhoenixAcres]

Best:

1. Green Acres
2. Dick Van Dyke
3. Get Smart
4. I Love Lucy
5. Father Knows Best
6. Newhart
7. Beverly Hillbillies
8. Leave it to Beaver
9. Gilligan's Island
10. Andy Griffith

Worst:

I don't have a list for that right now

[tlc38tlc38]

My top 10 favorites (in no particular order)

1. Mama's Family
2. I Love Lucy
3. Green Acres
4. Petticoat Junction
5. The Beverly Hillbillies
6. Hazel
7. The Jeffersons
8. The Andy Griffith Show
9. Newhart
10. Designing Women

Top 5 runners-up:
Leave It to Beaver
Family Matters
Step by Step
ALF
Alice

[icecream]

Best 10
1. Benson
2. Corner Gas
3. WKRP in Cincinnati
4. Frasier
5. Wings
6. The Wonder Years
7. Dag
8. Petticoat Junction
9. Family Affair
10. Murphy Brown

Worst 10
1. Will and Grace
2. South Park
3. Married with Children
4. Family Guy
5. Two and a Half Men
6. 2 Broke Girls
7. Modern Family
8. 30 Rock
9. How I Met Your Mother
10. Roseanne

[AMackII]

Best:
1) Cheers
2) Senifeld
3) The Andy Griffith Show
4) Pettitcoat Junction
5) Happy Days
6) Newhart
7) The Doris Day Show
8) One Day at the Time(Original)
9) Sanford and Son
10) Three's Company

Worst:
1) Hogan's Heroes
2) My Mother the Car
3) F Troop
4) Married with Children
5) Life with Lucy
6) Sledge Hammer
7) Ned and Stacey
8) Bosom Buddies
9) Saved by the Bell: The New Class
10) Yes Dear

[Samme]

Best:
1. The Andy Griffith Show
2. The Dick Van Dyke Show
3. Seinfeld
4. Leave it to Beaver
5. Gomer Pyle USMC
6. The Honeymooners
7. The King of Queens
8. The Odd Couple
9. Car 54 Where Are You
10. Laverne & Shirley

Runners-up: Frasier, MTM, The Munsters, Taxi, Gilligan's Island

Worst:
1. Roseanne
2. One Day at a Time
3. Scrubs
4. The Middle
5. 30 Rock
6. Modern Family
7. Welcome Back, Kotter
8. Family Ties
9. Benson
10. WKRP in Cincinnati

Runners-Up: Soap, The Cosby Show, New Girl, and easily 20 more.

[Adamantium]

This is a combination of shows I personally love/hate and of ones I feel belong on a best/worst list - which are really two different categories.

It’s also worthy of note that I’ve seen very few sitcoms from this decade, and if I haven’t seen a good amount of it, I’m not going to judge it.

Best (in ALPHABETICAL Order)

1. The Andy Griffith Show - This is one of the few shows from its era that people in their teens/early twenties today seem to really like. Or so I’ve experienced. There’s something special about the town created for this series, and the many citizens of that town. This series mixed humor with heart, and that turned out to have a long lasting affect. Long live Andy, Barney, Opie, Floyd and the rest of the citizens of Mayberry!

2. Cheers - A great long-running sitcom that didn’t feel like it ever wore out its welcome. Great characters. Great humor. Interesting and funny stories. “Cheers” is one of the best sitcoms of all-time! And if your name is Norm, then it’s a place where everybody knows your name!

3. The Honeymooners - The classic 39 are truly classics that still hold up today. Oh sure, some may argue that it promotes spousal abuse, but those people just don’t understand the series at all. Ralph would NEVER lay a hand on Alice. He just had a big temper. But it showed that (even in the “nifty fifties”) married couples argued and fought. And then of course there’s the comic duo of Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton. They’re great together.

4. I Love Lucy - One of the first (if not *the* first) truly great sitcoms. The marriage of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo is one of sitcom’s finest. Plus their friendship with their landlords, the Mertzes is always a treat to watch. It’s also fun watching them go from living in their New York City apartment, to taking vacations together, to moving to the country. Sure it can be a little formulaic, but it’s a funny formula, and the characters remain funny through out.

5. Married…with Children - It’s raunchy humor at its finest. Al Bundy is one of the great sitcom characters, married to his high school sweetheart that sixteen years in, he can’t stand (although divorce is not an option for them). He’s got two kids that drive him crazy, a neighbor that’s out to get him, a horrible job selling women’s shoes, and a curse on his family name. This was the sitcom that put the fledgling FOX network on the map. Can I get a Whoa Bundy?!!

6. NewsRadio - One of the funniest sitcoms ever made. It’s cleverly written with a humor that’s both smart and goofy. It’s got one of the best ensembles in sitcom history. There are only two downfalls. One is that it was a low-rated show (thanks to NBC moving it around their schedule a lot), and the untimely death of Phil Hartman, following the fourth season. It limped along for another year but there was a dark shadow hovering over the series pretty much from then on. Still though, despite the tragedy, it was a superb sitcom.

7. The Odd Couple - While the first year wasn’t that great, things really improved for the second season once a studio audience was added and Jack Klugman and Tony Randall made the characters of Oscar and Felix their own. A great sitcom that has unfortunately been botched on DVD.

8. Seinfeld - While I find this show to be overrated, it’s still an important sitcom for its day. It pretty much changed the way sitcoms were done. Fresh off the heels of a decade filled with “very special episodes,” “Seinfeld” took a more cynical approach to story telling.

9. Taxi - Just a great sitcom. It’s got heart. It’s got humor. It’s got a great soundtrack by Bob James. Wonderful, memorable characters (such as Louie DePalma and Jim Ignatowski). This show usually remained realistic (although sometimes it got a little too silly). The episodes didn’t always have a happy ending, and yet it’s one of the best sitcoms I’ve ever seen.

10. Wings - An underrated gem, that lasted eight seasons and was funny for the majority of that run (I’m not a big fan of the first or final seasons). This show was hysterical thanks to the likes of Brian Hackett, Lowell Mather, and, well pretty much everyone in the cast. But it also had some touching moments, and moments that required the actors to get a bit dramatic, without the feeling of a “very special episode.” Joe and Brian Hackett are my favorite sitcom brothers, and this is just a feel-good show to watch.

And then there’s “Friends,” which is an extremely popular sitcom, and one I even like, but I have a hard time putting it in a top ten “best of” list. Sorry “Friends” fans.

Worst (in ALPHABETICAL Order)
NOTE: I’m not including short-lived shows, but rather shows that are well known, mostly popular sitcoms.

1. According to Jim - Just a bland, unfunny show that had a long, successful run. I don’t always bash Jim Belushi like some do, and to be honest, he’s probably the best part of this sitcom, but it’s still an unfunny sitcom.

2. The Beverly Hillbillies - A funny concept, but this show is dull, ran way too long, and isn’t all that funny. Oh I know it has a lot of fans (including my dad), but it’s one of the rare ‘60s sitcoms that I just can’t get into.

3. George Lopez - Just not funny.

4. Malcolm in the Middle - This is a sitcom that feels like it’s supposed to be a smart and funny show, and yet, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed at a single episode. The dad is the only one who’s kinda funny (but that comes as no surprise as Bryan Cranston is great), but its humor just misses with me.

5. The Nanny - Not funny and with a lead female who’s got an annoying voice and laugh. I could overlook her voice and laugh if the show was funny, however.

6. Sanford and Son - This popular ‘70s sitcom seemed to just repeat the same few jokes in every episode. I could never get into it, although it’s another show my dad loves and considers one of his favorites.

7. Two and a Half Men - The worst sitcom ever made. In my opinion, of course. It’s also one of the highest rated of the past decade, which amazes me. Some people say the show turned to crap once Charlie Sheen left, but I disagree. It was always crap. I’ve watched about twenty or so episodes from the various seasons, and I only laughed once… ONCE! You’d expect more out of the #1 sitcom in the ratings. Characters would speak, the audience would laugh, and I’d think to myself “THAT was supposed to be a joke?” or “THAT”S the joke they went with for that one?” Just a terrible, terrible show… that everyone I know seems to love.

8. 2 Broke Girls - I admit I haven’t seen much of this show. But what I’ve seen was unfunny. Much like “Two and a Half Men,” the character would say a line, the audience would laugh, and I’d think to myself “That was supposed to be a joke?”

9. WKRP in Cincinnati - This one is gonna hurt some people on this board, lol. It seems to have a lot of followers here. However, I just don’t think it’s funny. The acting is good, but the writing is lame. I finally caved in and bought the DVDs, watched the first season (among various random episodes from the subsequent seasons), and didn’t laugh once. Even the famous turkey episode was just amusing to me. I was thinking maybe I’m biased because I love “NewsRadio” and these two shows seem to always get compared, but no. I remember even before “NewsRadio” debuted, I didn’t think “WKRP” was any good.

10. Will & Grace - This show is too obnoxious to me to be funny. I like Debra Messing as Stacey on “Ned and Stacey”, and to be honest, she was okay on this show too, but it’s everyone else I can’t stand. I really tried to like this show, but it fails to make me laugh. And to think the once great Jim Burrows directed this show. He’s really fallen from his “Taxi” and “Cheers” days. It’s getting a revival, and while I’m happy for the cast and its fans, I have no desire to watch it, and wish they’d revive another show instead.

And then there’s a couple shows that are terrible, yet I like them anyways. They’re “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “Saved by the Bell: The New Class.” Both shows are poorly written and terribly acted, yet… I don’t know. It’s kinda fun watching them.

[Svenfan1234]

Top 10 sitcoms I love (in no particular order):
1. WKRP in Cincinnati
2. All in the Family
3. Cheers
4. One Day at a Time
5. Murphy Brown
6. Empty Nest
7. Bewitched
8. Diff'rent Strokes
9. Rhoda
10. I Love Lucy

Worst:
1. The Big Bang Theory
2. 2 Broke Girls
3. Malcolm in the Middle
4. Married... with Children
5. Hogan's Heroes
6. F Troop
7. McHale's Navy
8. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
9. George Lopez
10. C.P.O. Sharkey

[icecream]

Originally Posted by Samme

Worst:
1. Roseanne
2. One Day at a Time
3. Scrubs
4. The Middle
5. 30 Rock
6. Modern Family
7. Welcome Back, Kotter
8. Family Ties
9. Benson
10. WKRP in Cincinnati

Runners-Up: Soap, The Cosby Show, New Girl, and easily 20 more.

Wow. I really like The Middle, Family Ties, Benson (my overall #1), and WKRP in Cincinnati. I haven't seen Welcome Back, Kotter much but that will change when it comes to Antenna TV next month.

[Tubehead]

best
#1 the honey mooners
#2 I love Lucy
#3 Sanford & son
#4 the jerffson’s
#5 family ties
#6 the wonder years
#7 boy meets world
#8 saved by the bell
#9 family matters
#10 home inmprovment

runners up
#11 perfect strangers
#12 night court
#!13 step by step
#14 Quantum leap
#15 early edition

worst
#1 the cobsy show
#2 mash
#3 green acres
#4 all in the family
#5 the nanny
#6 friends
#7 Seinfeld
#8 every one loves Raymond
#9 blossom
#10 2 & an half man

runners up:
#11 how I met your mother
#12 the office
#13 bewitched
#14 the brandy bunch
#15 star trek