TV COMEDY

[Kegg]

The Simpsons is still the barometer by which I judge all TV comedy even if I haven't watched it for years.

But also Cheers, Frasier, Futurama.... The Inbetweeners is gas, as they say.

What are some of your favorite TV comedies, current or past? And are any of them a guilty fetish?

Fetish? Um.....no. I really hope you meant "guilty pleasure," because I don't even want to know about people turning their favorite sitcom into a sexual or religious fetish.

I have a thing for Diane Chambers, alright?

 

[tomalak301]

Not a single mention of my all-time favorite, Arrested Development, yet?

I completely forgot about Arrested Development. I still haven't seen the second season yet.

 

[Canadave]

Monty Python's Flying Circus - very guilty pleasure, even 'till this day

Since when is Monty Python a guilty pleasure? It's a bleedin' classic!

 

[Showdown]

Newsradio
Friends
Fraiser
South Park
Futurama
Simpsons
My Name is Earl
Night Court
Rosanne
Big Bang Theory
Home Improvement
Coach
Scrubs
3rd Rock from the Sun

 

[Mysterion]

Get Smart
Quark
Frasier
Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Taxi
The Bob Newhart Show
Newhart
Better Off Ted
The Office (US)
30 Rock
Night Court
Newsradio
WKRP In Cincinatti
McHale's Navy
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Fawlty Towers
Black Adder (all incarnations)
Yes, Minister
Yes, Prime Minister

...and a bunch more that I can't think of right this moment.

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

Three's Company
Parker Lewis Can't Lose
The Andy Griffith Show
Gomer Pyle USMC
Dennis the Menace
The Little Rascals
Married With Children
Roseanne
The Simpsons
The Office
Entourage
Parks and Recreation
30 Rock
Freaks and Geeks
Undeclared

 

[Holdfast]

Some favourites of mine:

British:

Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister
Red Dwarf
Spaced
Blackadder
The High Life
Green Wing

American:

Friends
Frasier
Simpsons
I've also really enjoyed the few episodes of Nurse Jackie that I happen to have stumbled across. One day I'll try to catch up on them all.

There are quite a few other sitcoms that I'd be more than happy to watch the occasional episode of, but wouldn't call myself a massive fan of. For the USA, these would include: Happy Days, Cheers, Taxi, Fresh Prince, 2 1/2 Men, Scrubs, etc. And for the UK: Coupling, Men Behaving Badly, Fiddlers Three, As Time Goes By, etc. I enjoy an average sitcom much more than an average drama, so tend to cut them more slack.

 

[Q2UnME]

Monty Python's Flying Circus - very guilty pleasure, even 'till this day

Since when is Monty Python a guilty pleasure? It's a bleedin' classic!

I agree 100%, but when you have a wife that watches 30 seconds of it and just goes " " on you, it then falls into the "my guilty pleasure" category.

Q2UnME

 

[Joeman]

Andy Richter Controls the Universe

That could easily be on my list. Add another "I want to kill the bastards who canceled it!". Amazingly that usually involves Fox.

 

[Jax]

The UK has produced greats such as...

Only Fools n Horses
Father Ted
Red Dwarf
The IT Crowd
The Two Ronnies
Porridge
Open All Hours
Allo Allo
One Foot In The Grave
My Family (the first 5 years)

and theres many many more, too many

My favourite American ones are...

Scrubs
The Big Bang Theory
Friends
The Simpsons (In its peak)
South Park
Fraiser

and Despite being primarily drama's "Boston Legal" and "The West Wing" were full of great great comedy moments...BL in particular.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

^Similarly, in the vein of "dramatic" TV that is routinely very funny as well, I would add Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. And most episodes of Stargate Atlantis involved at least one really funny Dr. McKay moment.

What are some of your favorite TV comedies, current or past? And are any of them a guilty fetish?

Fetish? Um.....no. I really hope you meant "guilty pleasure," because I don't even want to know about people turning their favorite sitcom into a sexual or religious fetish.

Well, I do have a huge crush on Lisa from NewsRadio.

Many of my favorites have already been mentioned here:
Arrested Development
Frasier
NewsRadio
Red Dwarf
The Simpsons
South Park

When I was a kid, I was absolutely addicted to...
The Andy Griffith Show
Boy Meets World
Family Matters
Full House
Green Acres
I Love Lucy
Mister Ed
Out of This World
Perfect Strangers
Step by Step
I don't dare watch any of those now (except for possibly The Andy Griffith Show, I Love Lucy, or Perfect Strangers) for fear that none of them will hold up at all during adulthood.

Where's all the love for 3rd Rock from the Sun? Of all the sitcoms that have ever been made, I don't think I've ever seen another where the cast seemed to be having as much fun as they were here.

Few have seen it but I'm a huge fan of Made in Canada, a Canadian satire about unscrupulous TV producers. Please, for the love of god, release Seasons 2-5 on DVD!!!!!

 

[Nerys Myk]

Old
Andy Griffith Show
Dick Van Dyke Show
WKRP
All In the Family
That 70s Show
George Lopez
Scrubs

New
Big Bang Theory
30 Rock

 

[D Man]

Seinfeld is probably my all-time favorite comedy, especially during its epic middle years, around seasons 2-6 or so, though I'd also have to say that the Cosby Show never fails to make me laugh, either. That man is a genius. More recently, Arrested Development surely qualifies as a modern classic, and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is usually pretty sharp, too. Both versions of The Office are great as well, but I give the overall edge to the UK version, which fires on all cylinders in its incredibly cringe-worthy way.

This has to be the greatest Seinfeld moment ever, btw. (Although "and you wanna be my latex salesman" comes close.)
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeooRXYmOu8[/yt]

 

[Zachary Smith]

 

[Canadave]

Few have seen it but I'm a huge fan of Made in Canada, a Canadian satire about unscrupulous TV producers. Please, for the love of god, release Seasons 2-5 on DVD!!!!!

Yeah, Made in Canada was pretty brilliant. Can't even find it on DVD up here, though, so far as I'm aware.

In a similar vein, The Newsroom was also a very hilarious, very cynical look at a TV newsroom. A couple choice clips:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR32L9i8siU[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4RZBP4qsK8&feature=related[/yt]

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Few have seen it but I'm a huge fan of Made in Canada, a Canadian satire about unscrupulous TV producers. Please, for the love of god, release Seasons 2-5 on DVD!!!!!

Yeah, Made in Canada was pretty brilliant. Can't even find it on DVD up here, though, so far as I'm aware.

Salter Street Films managed to release Season 1 before they went broke. It's been out of print for the last 7 years or so. You can usually still get it on Amazon but it will cost you about $100 (for a mere 6 half-hour episodes with no bonus features and poorly designed menus). I bought the DVD long before the price got that high. Luckily, someone did put Season 1 up on YouTube. But even evidence of the existence of Seasons 2-5 is very scarce. In Arizona, PBS only carried the series up through Season 2.