My Top Sitcoms Across the Decades

[icecream]

1940s- the only TV decade I have nothing. There might have been a few good sitcoms, but between national broadcast schedules not starting until 1946 and shows not shot on tape being destroyed before I Love Lucy ushered in the filmed improvement, I am very unlikely to ever see anything from this decade.

1950s
1. I Love Lucy/The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
2. The Jack Benny Program- Lots of debate exists about whether this is a true sitcom. Here at least I successfully got Jack Benny declared a sitcom with his own board.
3. Bachelor Father- This is easily the most underrated sitcom from the 50s. Great overall cast of pre-Dynasty John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran, and Sammee Tong. It is also a rare show that aired originals on all three major broadcast networks from that time which those networks are still around today. It is too bad Antenna TV dropped Bachelor Father awhile back.
4. Leave it to Beaver- around equal time between the 50s and 60s but since 50s has a lot less competition for me, I am putting it here.
5. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet- This also split time between the 50s and 60s. Like Beaver, getting put here as the competition is weaker.
6. The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

1960s
1. Petticoat Junction
2. Family Affair- A lot of publicity has been put on the rural purge CBS made. But more to blame for it was the access hour law taking effect in 1971. Because of that CBS was forced to cancel a lot more shows than they would have before. Family Affair is urban and not out in the country, so not like the many other rural ones. Whereas Mayberry RFD was a continuation of Andy Griffith's weaker color years made even weaker without Andy, Beverly Hillbillies had a nice long run of 9 seasons, and Petticoat Junction was great most of its run but never recovered from Bea Benaderet's death. Now Green Acres would have been able to keep going, along with Family Affair. But they were victims of the access hour. Even worse, just 5 years later Anissa Jones became a victim of horrible Dr. Don Carlos Moshos' bad prescriptions which were part of her way premature death from overdose.
3. The Andy Griffith Show- Black and white era, of course, was fantastic. But the color era dragging it down puts Andy below Petticoat Junction and Family Affair.
4. The Beverly Hillbillies- This very funny show really shot up on my list after the weekend binge I was able to see on Decades.
5. The Dick Van Dyke Show
6. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
6. I Dream of Jeannie- edges out Bewitched with no leading cast changes
7. Bewitched- Dick York era is slightly better than I Dream of Jeannie. But Dick Sargent era drags Bewitched down.
8. The Patty Duke Show
9. The Munsters
10. Hazel- George and Dorothy seasons are really good. But season 5 with the younger cast was a big downgrade.
11. That Girl
12. The Addams Family
13. Green Acres
14. Gilligan's Island- I liked this show more when I was younger. But Gilligan still has a great theme song, second only to The Greatest American Hero.
15. Gidget- Gidget's sole season was decent. More seasons of this would have been preferable to Sally Field replacement The Flying Nun, which was ok at best.
16. The Lucy Show

1970s- I like Eight is Enough but don't consider it a sitcom.
1. WKRP in Cincinnati- I originally put this in the 80s as over 2/3 of WKRP's run (65/90) was there. However, I moved WKRP back to the 70s as it has a lot less favorites.
2. Fawlty Towers
3. Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em- It is really a shame this highly underrated Michael Crawford Britcom isn't even available to PBS affiliates. All I have been able to see of Some Mothers is online only.
4. Barney Miller
5. M*A*S*H- This was a quality show the whole run that handled cast changes well. Did it have some clunker episodes? Yes. But clunker seasons? No. Unlike so many who only will watch a small portion of M*A*S*H or don't like it post-Radar, I consider every season to be high quality.
6. Happy Days- I also like every season of Happy Days, it did fine creatively once Fonzie became the sole lead. I had considered season 10 when Joanie left for her spin-off the weakest. However, this was before I became a Crystal Bernard fan from Wings and It's a Living, would be interesting to see now as her starting point.
7. Welcome Back, Kotter- First three seasons were really good.
8. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9. Mork and Mindy- While this show aired more episodes in the 80s, best season by far was the first all 70s season. Seasons 2 and 3 were a step down, season 4 was even worse with the birth of Mearth.
10. Are You Being Served?
11. The Partridge Family
12. The Courtship of Eddie's Father
13. C.P.O. Sharkey
14. The Bob Newhart Show
15. The Odd Couple
16. Laverne and Shirley

1980s- I really like The Love Boat but don't consider it a sitcom. Overall what a strong decade for sitcoms.
1. Benson- What a shame this does so terribly in syndication. Seasons 2-5 are top notch. And while it was a lot more mean-spirited by the end, still would have been nice to see a final 8th season with Benson winning the election and Gatling now working for him.
2. Family Ties
3. The Wonder Years
4. Mr. Belvedere- another underrated show Antenna TV didn't keep around long enough
5. Head of the Class- Howard Hesseman era was great. But Billy Connolly was horrible. Original teacher Charlie took over for played by Roscoe Lee Browne would have been a lot better lead replacement.
6. Newhart
7. My Two Dads- Staci Keanan is such a charming lead. While I would have liked more than three seasons, that would have meant no Mad About You.
8. The Facts of Life- good show while Charlotte Rae was there. not a Cloris Leachman fan here
9. Diff'rent Strokes- good show the first five seasons. mostly unwatchable once annoying Sam ruined it
10. Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister
11. Night Court- This show could be really good. But it would have been better if they had not made Dan so sleazy.
12. Punky Brewster
13. What a Country!- I really liked the three episodes that were available online of brilliant Yakov Smirnoff's syndicated comedy. The whole series/season needs made readily available, at least put it on DVD.
14. Cheers- like Night Court, would have been better if they had toned down Sam's sleaziness. While Cheers is still a quality show, its spin-off Frasier is a lot better.
15. Taxi- straddled the decades but longer run in the 80s
16. Growing Pains
17. It's a Living- This is a tale of vastly different shows. Ann Jillian was such a dull lead that premiered in the network version, but once Crystal Bernard joined the syndicated version it started to take off. Once Ginger joined as well, that was the ideal cast and its peak.
18. Too Close for Comfort
19. Who's the Boss?
20. The Cosby Show- This is still a quality show. I can separate the actor from the character they play.
21. A Different World
22. Angie
23. Silver Spoons
24. ALF

more decades coming later

[GentlemanJim]

I'm surprised that you voiced no objection to Louie's fascination with Elaine's body?

[icecream]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

I'm surprised that you voiced no objection to Louie's fascination with Elaine's body?

Louie is a total jerk to everyone who no one likes (well played by Danny Devito though). They have to put up with Louie since he is the slimy boss who can fire them all. Sam on Cheers is well liked by his patrons and employees. Dan's popularity is mixed.

[Svenfan1234]

I'll do my top 10 (or near there) sitcoms from the 1950s to 1970s, right now:

1950s: (only have 4 true favorites for this decade)
1. I Love Lucy
2. Leave It to Beaver
3. The Burns and Allen Show
4. The Jack Benny Program

1960s:
1. Bewitched (My favorite of the 1960s, but the Dick Sargent Seasons 6-8 were pretty weak, especially the atrocious Season 8. But Seasons 1-5 were top notch and therefore are #1 in my list.)
2. The Dick Van Dyke Show (What can I say? Terrific cast & terrific writing.)
3. The Beverly Hillbillies (the early seasons were the best and very funny.)
4. The Patty Duke Show (Patty Duke was a great lead actress.)
5. Family Affair
6. Petticoat Junction
7. The Andy Griffith Show (I put it so low because although I love the B&W years, I haven't really seen enough but I know when I do I'll place it a lot higher.)
8. The Flintstones
9. The Addams Family
10. The Donna Reed Show

1970s:
1. All in the Family
2. WKRP in Cincinnati
3. One Day at a Time
4. Laverne & Shirley
5. Maude
6. Soap
7. Three's Company
8. Happy Days
9. The Bob Newhart Show
10. The Mary Tyler Moore Show

[icecream]

1990s
1. Frasier- incredibly sharp writing and acting for much of the first seven seasons. Seasons 8 and 9 were a big step down (not surprising with the brilliant creator of Frasier sadly killed on 9-11), season 10 improved with Millicent Martin being a regular. 11 was mixed, but the original series finale was really good. This shouldn't have been revived now with no more John Mahoney, leave Frasier's greatness in the 90s and don't tarnish the legacy.
2. Wings- While not quite as good as Frasier, Wings is much better than more popular sitcoms from the 90s. Also, Wings is better than higher profile Cheers from the same producers.
3. Coach
4. Murphy Brown
5. Home Improvement
6. Boy Meets World- First four seasons were the best, season 5 was decent.
7. Mad About You
8. Seinfeld
9. 3rd Rock from the Sun- Season 1 of Mork and Mindy is better. But for the whole run, 3rd Rock is more consistent quality wise for the alien comedies. Most of the cast is good, but I don't like the Dubceks at all, especially Vicki.
10. The Nanny
11. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (live action)- ABC era was easily better than the WB.
12. Family Matters
13. The Jeff Foxworthy Show- Season 1's Karen was a lot better than season 2's Karen. I haven't seen this in a few years, didn't realize G.W. Bailey who went on to Major Crimes was a cast member here.
14. Sister, Sister- I would rather have something like this come to Rewind (assuming I will even get the channel) than dreck like Drew Carey and Suddenly Susan.
15. Grace Under Fire
16. Caroline in the City
17. Blossom- I liked most of these characters but not perverted Joey. Unlike Ted Danson and John Laroquette though, Joey Lawrence is not a good actor. Best part of Blossom was Six with her fast talking (even funnier when Six's fast talking mom joined her). I guess you could say I'm a Sixist.
18. Cosby
19. Mr. Bean (live action)
20. Two of a Kind* Michelle was really annoying on Full House. But I remember liking the Olsen twins here. However, I have not seen Two of a Kind since it originally aired on ABC back when the 20th century was still current, putting an asterisk as I don't know if it would hold up for me now.

[cnnbcbs]

50s
1. I Love Lucy. Was able to maintain quality for most of its run.
2. Phil Silvers Show. Silvers was magnificent as the scheming Sgt. Bilko
3. Jack Benny
4. Abbott and Costello. One of the greatest comedy teams. Cited by Jerry Seinfeld as an inspiration.

60s
1. Get Smart. Near perfect blend of comedy and action. Adams and Feldon were electric together.
2. Bewitched. Used to prefer I Dream of Jeannie.
3. I Dream of Jeannie
4. Hazel. Discovered this show on Antenna TV. Cute show.
5. That Girl
6. Lucy Show. Gale Gordon really complimented Ms. Ball and her schtick.

70s
1.WKRP
2. Alice
3. Soap. First year and a half were a great blend of comedy and soap opera. Show couldn't maintain the quality but still should've been given a season 5.
4. Maude
5. Happy Days. About when Chachi is introduced is where things get rolling. The later seasons are "so bad, its good" material.
6. Barney Miller
80s
1. Perfect Strangers
2. Mr Belvedere
3. ALF
4. Night Court
5. Cheers
6. Family Ties
7. Growing Pains
8. Who's the Boss?
9. Newhart

90s
1. Frasier. Such sharp writing.
2. Seinfeld
3. NewsRadio
4. 3rd Rock From the Sun
5. Friends
6. Wings
7. Caroline in the City
8. John Larroquette Show
9. Just Shoot Me

[icecream]

2000s- Selection starts getting a lot weaker here.
1. Corner Gas- This Canadian sitcom ran circles around most of the US ones from the time period.
2. DAG- best one season sitcom of all time, I wish it would be released on DVD.
3. Hope and Faith- the last sitcom to get cancelled after three full seasons before the syndication renewal period took effect
4. Reba
5. Back to You- At the time I was not happy about its cancellation. But that ended up being a good thing with The Middle coming.
6. George Lopez- First five seasons were good. Final season without Masiela Lusha was a lot weaker.
7. Everybody Loves Raymond- While the supporting cast is fantastic, lousy whiny lead Ray Romano brings it down.
8. Ruby and the Rockits
9. According to Jim- would have been a lot better without Andy
10. Life with Bonnie- 1st season was better, Bonnie Hunt shouldn't have fired Samantha Browne-Walters.
11. Less Than Perfect
12. 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter- Replacing John Ritter with no talent hack David Spade was such an insult to his legacy.
13. Complete Savages
14. Surviving Suburbia

2010s
1. The Middle- This is by far the best US sitcom to come from the 21st century, nothing else comes close. Only 21st century sitcom that beats it overall is Corner Gas.
2. The Kids Are Alright- best one season sitcom after DAG. ABC sucks screwing this over for Liz Meriwether's pair of garbage comedies.
3. Galavant
4. Raising Hope
5. Man With a Plan
6. Speechless
7. The Big Bang Theory- can have really good moments but is too inconsistent
8. Malibu Country
9. The Cool Kids
10. Last Man Standing- ABC version only. While I have stuck with FOX, only good part of theirs is Jay Leno's appearances.
11. Growing Up Fisher- This even got good ratings but NBC's horrible president cancelled GUF because it wasn't cynical enough for her network.
12. Life in Pieces
13. Working Class- only CMT original that has ever been worth watching
14. Carol's Second Act- some of a disappointment creatively. But season 2 that didn't happen was poised to improve with Kelsey Grammer being a regular and the twist in the finale.
15. Fam- Shannon stole the show here. The two leads were very average though, nothing special about them.
16. Abby's
17. Alex, Inc.

Current/2020s
1. Young Sheldon
2. The Neighborhood
3. B Positive- I hope CBS stands behind this show's quality as is and doesn't listen to cancel culture. Considering the slack they have cut Michael Weatherly, they can do the same with Thomas Middleditch.
4. Broke
5. Call Me Kat
6. Outmatched
7. The Moodys

[RetroGuy2000]

Some very good shows listed here.

For those looking to fill out their 1950s and 1960s lists with some hilarious classics, I can recommend the following, not listed above:

The Honeymooners (classic 39 episodes+DuMont episodes)
How to Marry a Millionaire (aired on the NTA Film Network, and stars Barbara Eden in her pre-Jeannie role)
Father Knows Best
Blondie (the 1957 NBC series, not the 1968 CBS series)

[GentlemanJim]

The total absence of Herman's Head and My Name is Earl makes all the other selections suspect, IMO

[biffbronson]

1950s:

1. I Love Lucy -- obviously exemplary
2. The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet -- setting the mold for the full family TV sitcom
3. Your Show of Shows -- skit comedy of the type that became a variety show staple

There are several other comedy series I like from the era, like Make Room for Daddy, The Life of Riley, Our Miss Brooks, Love That Bob, I Married Joan, and Betty White, but I just wanted to list 3 very noteworthy ones.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Some very good shows listed here.

For those looking to fill out their 1950s and 1960s lists with some hilarious classics, I can recommend the following, not listed above:

The Honeymooners (classic 39 episodes+DuMont episodes)
How to Marry a Millionaire (aired on the NTA Film Network, and stars Barbara Eden in her pre-Jeannie role)
Father Knows Best
Blondie (the 1957 NBC series, not the 1968 CBS series)

For Father Knows Best get the DVDs! Better to start with seasons 3 thru 6, during which time they won all the Emmys.

Blondie also came out on DVD, and they found the original masters. Great quality.

[merlinjones]

50s

I Love Lucy
The Donna Reed Show
Leave it to Beaver
Father Knows Best
The Burns & Allen Show
The Jack Benny Program
Make Room for Daddy

60s

Bewitched
The Andy Griffith Show
I Dream of Jeannie
The Beverly Hillbillies
Green Acres
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Petticoat Junction
Gilligan's Island
The Munsters
The Flintstones
The Jetsons
Get Smart
Gidget
The Addams Family
The Monkees
HR Pufnstuf
The Patty Duke Show
Gomer Pyle USMC
Hogan's Heroes
My Three Sons
Family Affair
My Favorite Martian
The Mothers in Law
McHale's Navy
F Troop
That Girl
Mr. Ed
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
The Flying Nun

70s

Mary Tyler Moore
The Brady Bunch
The Bob Newhart Show
The Partridge Family
Nanny and the Professor
MASH
All in the Family
Maude
The Jeffersons
Happy Days
Three's Company
Laverne & Shirley
When Things Were Rotten

80s

Cheers
Taxi
Pee Wee's Playhouse
Square Pegs
Mama's Family
The Golden Girls

90s

Seinfeld
Absolutely Fabulous
Friends
Frasier
Keeping Up Appearances
The Simpsons

2000+

That 70s Show
The Big Bang Theory
Reno 911
Will & Grace
South Park

[Adamantium]

Here's my list.

The shows are listed in alphabetical order...

Live-action, American sitcoms only...

1950s:
1. The Abbott and Costello Show
2. Father Knows Best
3. The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show
4. The Honeymooners
5. How to Marry a Millionaire
6. I Love Lucy
7. Leave It To Beaver
8. Make Room for Daddy (aka ‘The Danny Thomas Show’)
9. The Phil Silvers Show (aka ‘Sgt. Bilko’)
10. The Real McCoys

1960s: (this was difficult to only select 10)
1. The Andy Griffith Show
2. Bewitched
3. Car 54, Where Are You?
4. The Dick Van Dyke Show
5. F Troop
6. The Joey Bishop Show
7. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
8. Mister Ed
9. The Munsters
10. My Three Sons

1970s: (this was also difficult to only select 10)
1. Alice
2. Chico and the Man
3. Happy Days
4. Laverne & Shirley
5. M*A*S*H
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7. The Odd Couple
8. One Day at a Time
9. Rhoda
10. Taxi

1980s:
1. Charles in Charge
2. Cheers
3. Dear John
4. Diff’rent Strokes
5. The Facts of Life
6. Gimme a Break!
7. Head of the Class
8. Newhart
9. Night Court
10. Perfect Strangers

1990s: (this was also difficult to select just 10)
1. Blossom
2. Boy Meets World
4. Ellen
6. Hey Dude
7. Married… with Children
8. Ned and Stacey
9. NewsRadio
10. Saved by the Bell: The New Class
10. Spin City
10. Wings

2000s:
1. Andy Richter Controls the Universe
2. Becker
3. Curb Your Enthusiasm
4. 8 Simple Rules…
5. George Lopez
6. The King of Queens
7. The Office
8. Reno 911!
9. That ‘70s Show
10. ‘til Death

2010s:
1. The Big Bang Theory
2. Community
3. Dr. Ken
4. Girl Meets World
5. Liv and Maddie
6. The Middle
7. Mom
8. Parks & Recreation
9. Superior Donuts
10. Superstore

[stevea]

The thing I like about these last two posts is that it includes older sitcoms that seem to have lost some appreciation: Make Room For Daddy/Danny Thomas Show (11 seasons, and CBS wanted more), Father Knows Best (6 seasons, approx. 6 Emmys, and was so popular when Robert Young pulled the plug, that it continued for 2 or 3 more seasons in prime-time repeats on CBS and ABC), and My Three Sons (12 seasons, 5 on ABC and 7 on CBS--ABC lost it only because they didn't want to go color).

I also would like to "pile on" to the appreciation of Burns and Allen. This sitcoms was SO innovative for its time. And FUNNY! Its original films are probably in a mess for the same reason as Ozzie and Harriet--cutting up the negatives to add narratives for summer repeats. Putting out decent DVDs for this show would have been a real chore, but it should have been done--but what we have now is the typical hacked-up Viacom syndication episodes.

[Adamantium]

Originally Posted by stevea

The thing I like about these last two posts is that it includes older sitcoms that seem to have lost some appreciation: Make Room For Daddy/Danny Thomas Show (11 seasons, and CBS wanted more), Father Knows Best (6 seasons, approx. 6 Emmys, and was so popular when Robert Young pulled the plug, that it continued for 2 or 3 more seasons in prime-time repeats on CBS and ABC), and My Three Sons (11 seasons, 5 on ABC and 6 on CBS--ABC lost it only because they didn't want to go color).

I also would like to "pile on" to the appreciation of Burns and Allen. This sitcoms was SO innovative for its time. And FUNNY! Its original films are probably in a mess for the same reason as Ozzie and Harriet--cutting up the negatives to add narratives for summer repeats. Putting out decent DVDs for this show would have been a real chore, but it should have been done--but what we have now is the typical hacked-up Viacom syndication episodes.

My Three Sons has always been my Holy Grail show when it comes to DVD releases. Of course, the releases we got were edited with poor quality and only the first five out of twelve (which, I admit, are my favorite seasons but I'm an all or none kind of guy).

I saw The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show for the first time when Antenna TV started showing it a few years ago and I simply fell in love with it. I wish all of the episodes were available on either DVD or to stream.