Classic TV Sitcoms - Mount Rushmost - Construction Completed

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Jeepers. Sports Night is not on the list. It ought to be though. Not sure it cracks my list because it hasn't aged well at all, but it deserves a mention.

Only 45 episodes. I had the same basic thought though.

[CrimsonFox]

Roseanne – The most depressing show on TV I think. It definitely got the flavor of lower class life. Yikes. Laurie Metcalf was great. Liked seeing Martin Mull too. I just can’t include this as a comedy for me cause I never really laughed. Didn’t watch it much because of this.

Friends – The 6 had chemistry for sure. The humor and comedy mostly came from Matthew Perry and the standout Lisa Kudrow. I admit I went through my Friends phase where I declared it was the funniest thing on TV for there was lots of comedy in it. Liked David Schwimmer at one point too. Then it kinda ran too long and people started hooking up with each other.

Murphy Brown – One of those shows I tried to watch several times and always would get so bored I would end up changing the channel. Tried to be a political and intellectual show I guess? But perhaps dates itself because of it. A FAR better show than this was Al Franken’s late nineties show Lateline that actually had real political figures appearing frequently as part of the show. I wanna vote for Lateline instead of this.

Frasier – To this day I still watchreruns of this and it still never gets old now ages. Such a fantastic cast and David Hyde Pierce’s Niles was one of my favorite characters ever. The character started developing clones seen elsewhere on this list (Caroline in the city, Veronica’s Closet) as a result. Pierce inherited whatever spirit John Larroquette had when he left Night Court. And Grammer really did a wonderful job leading the show. Leeves and Gilpin and Mahoney were all good foils and foundations to build arguments off of too. Great intellectual humor that is seldom seen

Home Improvement – I admit I did watch it a lot but of course that was a time where reruns were EVERYwhere. Probably the most formulaic sitcom ever and damn proud of it. It found some talent from Richard Karn and Jonathan Taylor Thomas…and Patricia Richardson was the most talented of the 3 Patricias in the 90s. And Tim Allen was likable that’s for sure, which is why he got a family oriented movie career out of it. It just wasn’t good…nor funny.

Seinfeld – One of the best comedies ever. What can you say about this. Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus made this show for me really. Those two made me laugh my ass off. And we all know Seinfeld was not a great actor but he really wasn’t acting. He was just throwing jokes at the screen and let everyone else act. I still hate Kramer however.

Married... with Children – Let your white trash flag fly proud peeps. OH boy another joke about how horrible your wife/husband/kids are. Love Ed O Neill and Katy Segal and especially David Garrison. But this show is like that 5 year old stain on that redneck’s wifebeater.

Coach – Moderately funny show. Meh. Jerry Van Dyke was a standout.

A Different World – Preachy and barely a comedy after they axed Lisa Bonet and Marisa Tomei. The Dwayne Wayne show. A comedy run by Debbie Allen. You figure it out.

Everybody Loves Raymond – I never got into it really. Love Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts and Brad Garrett. The show was always average for me.

Empty Nest – Love Richard Mulligan(Soap, A Fine Mess, S.O.B.) and Kristy McNichol(Family, The Pirate Movie, Lil Darlings). But they used up all their funny in their previous shows and movies. Park Overall was the standout from this show. David Leisure just continued being the annoying guy from his suburu commercial persona.

Family Matters – So ridiculously stupid. The Urkel character did not work at all despite how many catcalls it got.

The Drew Carey Show – A total guilty pleasure. Carey had such horrible delivery. But the whole show definitely had that blah wisecracking, life sucks Ohio feel to it. And had 3 awesome theme songs. And the people on here were top notch comedians…Diedrich Bader (Office Space, Voice actor inlotsa stuff), Ryan Stiles (Whose Line is it Anyway), Craig Ferguson (OMG his late night show redefined the whole genre). The writing was just kinda average however. Or maybe the acting.

Wings – A very…nice…show. Moderately funny. A strong pedigree of actors came from here…Tim Daly, Steven Weber, Tony Shalhoub, Crystal Bernard, and Thomas Hayden Church. I liked it. One of those quirky shows you watch and like and think no one else likes it.

Mad About You – A brilliant show. Paul Reiser blossomed when tackling the mystery that is “being a couple” and the timing of Reiser and Hunt was amazing. Loved John Pankow as Ira who stole whatever scene he was in.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – Now this is a story all about how Will Smith mugged his face in every scene…yeah it was silly fun. James Avery was the rock solid foundation upon which this show rested and he’s awesome. And after surviving Siver Spoons I was impressed just how funny Alfonso Ribiero was here. His chemistry with Smith was impeccable. And the oldest daughter was equally hilarious.

The Wonder Years – Meh. It was a series of Stand By Me pretty much. Lovable and cutesy with fred savage and a guy rumoured to be Marilyn Manson.

Grace Under Fire – Generically average but glad Dave Thomas from SCTV got some work out of it.

The Nanny – So earsplittingly bad. Nanny went 6 seasons yet Firefly didn’t make it past one.

Just Shoot Me! – A pretty funny show but not ballbustingly funny. Had some good people in it…David Spade finally makes it to a sitcom that lasted. George Segal, Laura San Jacimo (Sex Lies & Videotape), Wendie Malick, and Enrique whatsisname from Galaxyquest.

Boy Meets World – Only slightly better than saved by the bell. I wanted the teacher to tubroboost out of there.

Evening Shade – A gimmick for Burt and thenwife Loni right before he dumped her for a teenager. Stupid Burt. The trivia question of this show was that Michael Jeeter was the name of the breakout from this show.

Spin City – I loved this show. It had its problems. It didn’t survive well after Fox left and it became the Charlie Sheen and Heather Locklear show. The supporting cast was what made this show for me. Always liked Alan Ruck since Ferris Bueller. Michael Boatman, Richard Kind, Connie Britton, and Jennifer Espesito were all pretty awesome. Really nice to see women that are really funny. And Barry Bostwick just killed as the Mayor.


3rd Rock from the Sun – Genius. Brilliant. Hilarious. Absurdist. Pure unadulterated farce in all its glory. It took that little madcap spark that Night Court had and continued its energy. John Lithgow is a genius and his bravado drove it. The chemistry between he and comedy great Jane Curtin was so funny. French Stewart was my favorite tho. Stole every scene he was in. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kristin Stewart, and Simba Khali were also funny as hell. And more Wayne Knight! This is what I want in a fast-paced show.

Blossom – Whoa! So just chew on this factoid to make you feel old. The guy that said “Whoa!” was also the cute little kid from Gimme A Break the previous decade.

Caroline in the City – I did watch this show. Average as all get out. Tried to be another Frasier like show. Had its own Niles Crane clone in Malcolm Gets.

Dharma and Greg – Fantastic little show. Chuck Lorre’s first. Took the Odd Couple premise and spun it into marriage. Odd Couple didn’t get enough loks from us for really starting this craze of this kinda show. The supporting cast was great. Susan Sullivan and Alan Rachins were the standoutsfor me. I liked Joel Murray too. Jenna Elfman so rocks.

Suddenly Susan – So bad but probably a chick flick kinda show. Didn’t really get going until Kathy Griffin joined. Endured the David Strickland tragedy. Judd Nelson and Nester Carbonell (Lost, The Tick) emerged from here. Eric Idle too! Gee all these people and still wasn’t funny.

The Larry Sanders Show –Who hasn’t heard of it. Influential beyond belief and the second decade in a row that Shandling created an innovative show. It was great how the guest stars were encouraged to play themselves and/or whatever facsimile of themselves they wanted to play.

Veronica's Closet – I tried to like it. But it just wasn’t as good as Alley’s Cheers stuff. It also spawned yet ANOTHER Niles Crane clone in Wallace Langham’s character.

NewsRadio – One of my favorite shows of all time. Such a wonderful ensemble who all went on to greatness. Very tight and funny and the writing was just perfect. Took that spirit of WKRP and went even further with it despite getting shafted around the weekly lineup into oblivion. Sketch greats Dave Foley and Phil Hartman heading this cast with Maura Tierney, Andy Dick, Joe Rogan, Khandi Alexander, and the great Stephen Root (Office Space, King of the Hill). It isn’t often that I find a show where I find all of the supporting cast hysterical.


Other stuff:
Anything but Love – A Jamie Lee Curtis disappointment. A romcom.
The Naked Truth – Never heard of it.
Cybill – Meh. No.
Love and War- never heard of it.
Step by Step – Don’t remember it.
Cosby – Please make it stop.
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper – What?
Hearts Afire –Never heard of it.
Ellen – Didn’t watch.
Doogie Hauser, M.D. – Meh…cute but not really funny.
Dave's World – I should have watched this show. What a travesty I didn’t.
Major Dad – Generic and meh. Simon & Simon star tries it in comedy.
Dear John – Never really watched it much. Pretty much The Alex Reiger show.
Full House – kill me now.

[CrimsonFox]

Definitely in (in order)

#1....Frasier

#2...Newsradio

#3...Third Rock From The Sun

#4...Seinfeld


-----------------

The rest are a little jumble. Strong candidates include

Dharma and Greg
Mad About You
Friends
Larry Sanders
Wings

Probably just miss...
Fresh Prince
Drew Carey
Spin City

We really only get 6? Can we please get a 7th? I think there will be the same amount of 5-6 shows fighting for the bottom 3 positions just like in the last 2 decades. I also don't think the best shows of the 90s were better or worse than the best shows of the 70s and 80s nor do i think the bad/average tv of the other decades was any worse. Sure more people were watching but I think the quality stuff was the same amount at least what resonated with people before. Please? With sugar on top?

[Alf]

in France, the 90s belong to Friends. And you know what, they re-aired it last year and my kids (15 and 13) enjoy watching it.

1 - Friends
2 - Seinfeld
3 - Married... with Children
4 - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
5 - The Nanny

6 - 21 Jump Street <---- Johnny Depp, if only for him

[CrimsonFox]

Jump street was an 80s show. (87-91) and it wasn't really a comedy was it? THought it was a light cop drama.

[Butter]

Roseanne (1988-1997), 3.72b, 9, 222, 21.6m
Murphy Brown (1988-1998), 3.21b, 10, 247, 17.1m
Frasier (1993-2004), 3.19b, 11, 264, 15.6m
Seinfeld (1989-1998), 2.86b, 9, 180, 21.3m
NewsRadio (1995-1999), 0.78b, 5, 97, NA
The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998), NA, 6, 89, NA

Everybody Loves Raymond is close, but all of those people were definitions of one-note characters. The situations were generally pretty great though. Even though Murphy Brown is indeed horribly dated, I just liked it a little more.

NewsRadio makes it on Phil Hartman and Stephen Root alone.

[CU Tiger]

Married with Children
Seinfeld - I never enjoyed it but Ill accept that as a me thing
Wonder Years
Roseanne
Home Improvement
(I'm cheating here)
The Simpsons - Seriously how is this not included?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

The Simpsons - Seriously how is this not included?

This is a great question.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The Wonder Years is intriguing. It was original and watchable.

and the greatest sitcom ever had been and will ever be put on TV.

[Buccaneer]

My vote:

The Wonder Years (1988-1993), 1.57b, 6, 115, 17.7m
Wings (1990-1997), 1.84b, 8, 172, 13.4m
Friends (1994-2004), 3.64b, 10, 236, 18.5m
Coach (1989-1997), 2.61b, 9, 197, 16.3m
A Different World (1987-1993), 2.47b, 6, 144, 22.2m
Dharma and Greg (1997-2002), 1.02b, 5, 119, 10.6m

Unlike the previous decades, it was hard to come up with 6 since I basically stopped watching TV after Wonder Years ended. I remember a number of episodes from the ones I listed and found them funny, unlike most of the others not listed.

[albionmoonlight]

Where's King of the Hill? One of the most under-rated comedies ever.

Maybe there should just be a rule about no animated shows count. That would make the exclusion of the Simpson and KOTH legal.

[cartman]

The rule excluding them is in the first post. No new episodes after 2006.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The show must have stopped airing original episodes by mid-2006 (reunions don't count).

[rowech]

Most of these shows I watched from their inception. There are three shows that are no brainers due to that. There is one show I will vote for that I don't think I could fully appreciate until I was married and I think has built more of a following now than when it ran. There's one show that I will vote for not because I liked it but because of how many people were watching it during my college years.

There are then five other shows I can vote for my last spot. Roseanne for the first half of its run showed Midwest family life so well. Then it went haywire. Home Improvement was a solid show from start to finish for me. It was the same every episode but some of the best shows are. I've been watching reruns of this lately and it still makes me laugh. Married with Children was in many ways the show that launched Fox. I know there were some others around the same time but it had a lot of buzz when it first came out. That said, the middle years were the best of the show to me. Coach is one of my all-time favorites but I don't think it is worthy of nomination. Third Rock was so funny early on but it wore on me some. So I guess my votes are:

Friends (reluctantly)
Frasier
Seinfeld
Everybody Loves Raymond
The Wonder Years (one of my all-time favs)

and....

and....

You know what -- I sacrificed by voting for Friends so I'm going sentimental favorite and casting a vote for Coach.

[Umbrella]

Does Saved By The Bell qualify? It ran from 89-92, so it's midpoint is in the 90's. It wasn't a great show, but it certainly has a cultural impact.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by cartman

The rule excluding them is in the first post. No new episodes after 2006.

I think that is a bad rule. Everyone knows the Simpsons died in 2000 or so. They've just been on life support since then. The Simpsons and Seinfeld were the best comedy shows of the 90s.

The Simpsons seem to be getting punished for having one of the longest runs in television history.

[kcchief19]

We'll start with the four I will be stunned if they aren't in the final six:

Roseanne. I wasn't a fan of this show when it aired, but the syndication repeats beat me into submission. I know he won some awards, but John Goodman is the glue that made this show work; not sure another actor could have pulled it off as well. Laurie Metcalf was also excellent as always. Strong writing, although the show suffered a bit during the Tom Arnold Era. Only knock against Roseanne -- Worst. Final Season. Ever. Groundbreaking in its depiction of real life in middle America fighting to stay just above the poverty line.

Friends. The first successful Gen X sitcom, breaking ground both good and bad. On one hand, it meant that every TV network spent the rest of the '90s trying to develop the next "Friends," which meant we had to sift through a local of crappy sitcoms. It also launched the careers of the entire cast in a way that I'm not sure any other show has. Despite its stellar ratings out of the box, I actually think season one was an absolute abomination and a trainwreck; Marcel the Monkey, Paolo the Italian Guy, etc. If it weren't for all the leads being hot and borrowing a lot of jokes from other shows, I don't think it would have worked. I think the show got so much better later on, then jumped the shark when it tried to fix up Rachel and Joey. Rallied for a great finish though.

Frasier. Arguably the most classic sitcom of all time. It helped that Frasier was an established character, but I think Frasier was out of the box in season one of the best shows of all time. The cast was brilliant and perfect and the characters were well defined from the start. The writing was superb. The show wasn't always the funniest and wasn't necessarily a water cooler show, but it could be smart, witty, serious and madcap, sometimes at the same time.

Seinfeld. Whether you liked it or hated it, one of the most innovative sitcoms of all-time. Seinfeld broached topics and tore down barriers like no other network show of the '80s and '90s. Jerry was no actor, but Jason Alexander, Michael Richards and Julia Louis-Dreyfus were. Brilliantly written and certainly the most talked about show of the last 30 years. I wonder what this show would have been like during the social media age -- The Contest, The Yadda Yadda and a few others might have broken Twitter.

The show I think should make it but is less guaranteed than these four ...

Murphy Brown. A brilliantly written show built around a singular star. The cast had its moments, but they were mostly two-dimensional characters built around Candice Bergen. An incredibly influential show both inside entertainment and in the real world. So many characters and themes have been inspired over the years by Murphy Brown. Murphy Brown played a role in a presidential election and even factored into an episode of Seinfeld.

My somewhat sentimental but worthy final selection:

NewsRadio. Without a doubt one of my favorite shows of all time. The writing was brilliant and the cast was hysterical. How Phil Hartman did not win an Emmy every single year this show was on the air is baffling to me. The final season was deservedly rough after the tragic loss of Hartman, but the shows with him were brilliant TV. The irony is that NBC treated this show just as poorly as CBS treated WKRP. It never had a permanent home on the schedule, resulting in 11 different time slots in 6 seasons. That is simply criminal. Amazingly none of those 11 time slots were on Thursday. Put this show on after Friends or Seinfeld, and it was a smash.

On the bubble for me:
Everybody Loves Raymond, but I'm not everybody. I found Brad Garrett funny and Peter Boyle/Doris Roberts entertaining, but I Ray Romano bored me. Home Improvement was the same way, and I largely find them to be the exact same show, derived from the same plot of taking a standup comic and working their material into the show, which in turn was a take off of Seinfeld. The stand ups by Tim Allen and Ray Romano were much better than their shows.

Married ... with Children I think has the next best case for being in the discussion, but again it was just not my cup of tea. Ed O'Neil was brilliant, but I generally find him more entertaining on Modern Family. It was groundbreaking in its way, and kept the Fox network alive long enough for The Simpsons to come along and save the day.

My most enjoyable show I'm leaving off is Wings. A very likable ensemble cast, it was witty and smart. It wasn't flashy, and never dominated the ratings. It was simply a solid, enjoyable show.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Dharma and Greg was always a favorite and I believe it was Chuck Lorre's first show. At least the first one he did those "blogs" at the end of each episode.

(He's the guy that created Two and a Half Men, BIg Bang Theory, etc.

Must have been the scree notes, because I think he did Cybil and Grace Under Fire before this. I always think of him as a Roseanne guy, but I don't he was originally on the show.

Dharma and Greg was a fascinating show. It started out brilliantly and was like a meteor in pop culture. When it crashed, it crashed by the end it was an unwatchable mess.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I think that is a bad rule. Everyone knows the Simpsons died in 2000 or so. They've just been on life support since then. The Simpsons and Seinfeld were the best comedy shows of the 90s.

The Simpsons seem to be getting punished for having one of the longest runs in television history.

Agreed they were on for the entirety of the 90s, yet somehow dont qualify for the 90s because they carried on.

Almost seems like a rule designed specifically to exclude the Simpsons.

They still get my vote.

[kcchief19]

A lot of die-hard Simpsons considered the show having ended at season 10.

[Kodos]

Yep, the 90s were the most relevant era for the Simpsons. It is criminal to exclude them.

[Buccaneer]

kcchief, if a show is equally loved and hated like Sienfeld (I fall into the latter), why should it have to be on the list? I mean, if it's scored, it sounds like it would only get a 5 or 6 and thus, no where near the elite part of the list. I would suspect that Rosanne is like that too, maybe.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

kcchief, if a show is equally loved and hated like Sienfeld (I fall into the latter), why should it have to be on the list? I mean, if it's scored, it sounds like it would only get a 5 or 6 and thus, no where near the elite part of the list. I would suspect that Rosanne is like that too, maybe.

I think, for me, there is a major delineation between "my favorites" and "the best"...for example to me Friends and Seinfeld were both un-watchable. Horrible. I probably never made it through more than 3 full episodes of either. But I recognize the impact they had, from Friends literally driving the hair style of every girl I dated for 5 years to Seinfeld and all its catch phrases that even a non-watcher could instantly identify.

Likewise I think MwC is a HUGE culturally important show for 1- Single handedly saving Fox and 2- pushing a lot of boundaries for what the FCC would allow.

In Contrast Coach goes down as one of my probably Top 5 of all time. But I dont consider it to be culturally significant nor widely as accepted as the 2 above which I consider to be mindless fad pandering...

[kcchief19]

Couple of other thoughts inspired by some of the great comments of others:

* The Wonder Years is a show I should like but don't. I generally found Kevin pretty unlikable. He did a lot of stupid things and was kind of whiny. The only thing likable about the show to me (other than the Daniel Stern voiceovers) was Danica McKellar. I'm still in love with Danica McKellar. I wonder how Gen X guys would feel about the show if not for Winnie Cooper?

* The list of disasters from NBC trying to find another Thursday night hit is long and awful. A lot of them drew eyeballs, but does anyone every say, "Gee, I wish Veronica's Closet was available on Netflix?"

* My secret shame was "Caroline in the City." Blame it on a Lea Thompson crush. I also love "Space Camp" for the same reason.

* John Lithgow was absolutely hysterical in "Third Rock."

* Somewhat surprised at the lack of TGIF love from this demographic. I figured Full House had an outside shot at Mount Rushmore.

* The Larry Sanders Show is probably underrated, mostly due to the cable thing. I didn't have cable during its original run, and I still haven't watched the entire series. But what I've seen I like, and a lot of comedy writers today were inspired by the show.

* The funny thing about "A Different World" is that it was setup as a Lisa Bonet vehicle and was so much better when she was gone. Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison were an enjoyable duo to watch.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

kcchief, if a show is equally loved and hated like Sienfeld (I fall into the latter), why should it have to be on the list? I mean, if it's scored, it sounds like it would only get a 5 or 6 and thus, no where near the elite part of the list. I would suspect that Rosanne is like that too, maybe.

I'm not sure I grant the premise that it's equally loved and hated; I think it a plurality love it, a majority like and a vocal minority hate it. That's why I think it's a no-brainer

I'd argue that even if it's not your cup of tea, you can recognize it's cultural impact, ratings and success. I fully expect a few people to leave it off their list, just like I did with "All in the Family." I fully expected it to make the Mount Rushmore, even though I found it dreadful.

I'd argue that Seinfeld was actually better at social issues than AITF was. Seinfeld dealt with bigotry, racism, homosexuality and many other social issues. Yet as has been noted, no one thinks of Seinfeld or Costanza as a hero. They ended up in jail for being awful people.

[Solecismic]

Before voting begins, I wanted to explain tie-breakers. Ties will be decided on total number of episodes (length of the show's run if a second tie-breaker is needed). No particular reason, but at least it will be consistent.

Votes for ineligible shows will not be included in the totals. Don't have a cow about it. If it really bothers you, we can just say animated shows aren't sitcoms in the classic sense.

Sports Night is eligible for the '90s. Nothing prevents its nomination. I loved it myself, but I don't think it lasted long enough to be included.

[cuervo72]

Wait...are we voting for six or seven? I've been voting for seven but I'm seeing a few for six this time around.

This is going to be harder than I thought. Seinfeld and Frasier are automatics for me, and I feel like even though I have seen little of it (damned pay cable), Larry Sanders belongs on here. I think Murphy Brown was stronger than it might get credit for here. Friends I liked in college but then dropped cold, so I'm probably keeping it off. Raymond is on just by sheer mass of awards. Loved NewsRadio, but I do worry that it's the WKRP of the 90s (which was good enough for the last round I guess). But so, so damned funny. Rosanne and Home Improvement may have had ups and downs, but they were great for ABC for a long time.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

I'm not sure I grant the premise that it's equally loved and hated; I think it a plurality love it, a majority like and a vocal minority hate it. That's why I think it's a no-brainer

I'd argue that even if it's not your cup of tea, you can recognize it's cultural impact, ratings and success. I fully expect a few people to leave it off their list, just like I did with "All in the Family." I fully expected it to make the Mount Rushmore, even though I found it dreadful.

I'd argue that Seinfeld was actually better at social issues than AITF was. Seinfeld dealt with bigotry, racism, homosexuality and many other social issues. Yet as has been noted, no one thinks of Seinfeld or Costanza as a hero. They ended up in jail for being awful people.

Thank you, I understand. I had always argued about the distinction between 'best' and 'favorite' (as in who do you think should win vs want to win), but that's very hard to do in a subjective topic like this.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Votes for ineligible shows will not be included in the totals. Don't have a cow about it.

.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Thank you, I understand. I had always argued about the distinction between 'best' and 'favorite' (as in who do you think should win vs want to win), but that's very hard to do in a subjective topic like this.

It's definitely hard, and I'm with you that their is a distinction between "best" and "favorite."

For example, I think the best sitcom of the '90s were probably Frasier, Seinfeld and Friends in that order. My favorite sitcoms were Seinfeld, Friends and NewsRadio in that order. I like Frasier a lot, but I don't own the DVDs or watch it on Netflix. I watch Seinfeld, Friends and NewsRadio all the time. I think there were also popular sitcoms that weren't great. Home Improvement is the poster child for that category.

This is a fun experiment for me. I enjoy looking back on what I used to watch and evaluating those shows and what I think now versus then, maybe reconsidering something I previously ignored.

[CrimsonFox]

I've never considered awards to be any sign that something was good, at least when we are talking about the Emmies.

They always nominate the same candidates over and over again regardless of quality or who was missing. A political system if ever there was one.

They'd always find that one hilarious breakout character that was hilarious that one season and then blindly give them the emmy until the show went off the air.

I am not voting for anything that I did not find funny. I think that is the biggest factor of what makes the "best" sitcom for me.

I'm scratching my head at what seems to be people voting for things that they never watched or watched and didn't like.

But saying all that, yes "best" and "funny" are subjective and people have different tastes...that's why we get our own votes.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Kodos

.

[Kodos]

#SimpsonsVotesMatter

[stevew]

Isn't Coach coming back? That would exclude it. And Fuller House is pretty much the same thing as Full house as well. What do the judges say?

[stevew]

Actually Coach got nixed. Didn't see that news.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Kodos

#SimpsonsVotesMatter

#YellowLivesMatter

[stevew]

My votes

Wonder Years
Doogie Howser-deleting.
Fresh Prince-adding
Seinfeld
Friends
Frasier
Everybody Loves Raymond

Others-Coach, Home Improvement, Murphy Brown, Roseanne, 3rd Rock all were favorites and I did like Newsradio as well.

[Solecismic]

Doogie... I guess it wasn't a terrible show. Or maybe it was. I can't separate it from that truly awful Jon Cryer show in my mind. The one before the Charlie Sheen show.

I'm still thinking about the last two to round out my vote. More than most decades, this is about going down the list of more popular shows, eliminating them because I really thought they were awful, then trying to settle on "acceptable" but not too obscure.

It's harder with the '90s because viewership was so much more scattered. If we did the '00s, this would be much harder. But I also like the rule that it has to have been off the air since 2005. Gives it time to settle into history.

I find it remarkable that more than 1% of our population visits the real Mount Rushmore every year. I've never been. Incidentally, there is a very small connection between Mount Rushmore and one classic television show. Do any of you know it (without cheating and looking it up)?

So, still on the list for the final two spots: Coach, Raymond, Wonder Years, Grace Under Fire, Cybill (just a big fan of hers, going all the way back to The Last Picture Show, which is my favorite movie of all-time). I'm not tremendously enthusiastic about any of these, so I might default to the Emmy standard.

[JAG]

Two random notes:

I was in the same class as David Hyde Pierce's niece. He gave the commencement speech at my high school for his nephew (who was in my brother's class) and I still remember some of it to this day.

One early morning some years ago my wife woke me up with tears streaming down her face and could barely stop laughing. She then proceeds to tell me about an episode of Murphy Brown with Shawn Wallace and I can't stop laughing either. Eventually tracked it down to see it and we still pull it up every now and then (The Best and Not So Brightest if you're interested, may no longer be that funny as a result of the current election).

[larrymcg421]

This was by far the easiest list for me to compile.

Roseanne (1988-1997), 3.72b, 9, 222, 21.6m
Friends (1994-2004), 3.64b, 10, 236, 18.5m
Murphy Brown (1988-1998), 3.21b, 10, 247, 17.1m
Frasier (1993-2004), 3.19b, 11, 264, 15.6m
Seinfeld (1989-1998), 2.86b, 9, 180, 21.3m
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005), 2.35b, 9, 210, 13.5m

[CrimsonFox]

You're finished, List Nazi!

NO LIST FOR YOU!

[albionmoonlight]

Friends: I don’t think it holds up. It was anti-intellectual and always went for the cheap gag. I use this show to demonstrate what was wrong about the 90s. But I can’t imagine a 90s sitcom Mount Rushmore without it.

Fraiser: When I said that MASH and the Simpsons were my vote for the two greatest sitcoms ever, I forgot about Fraiser. I can’t say enough good stuff about this show.

Seinfeld: Never as big a fan as others were, but, like with Friends, it just seems like it HAS to be on this list.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Would not have gotten my vote when it went off the air. But it has held up and aged well. And being the place where people learned that Will Smith could act has to mean something.

NewsRadio: An extremely well done and influential show. My logic here is kind of a lesser version of my logic for It’s Garry Shandlings Show. Lots of contemporary comedy borrows from stuff they did here.

The Wonder Years: I struggled finding a 6th. I actually really liked Coach, but it really was just a show. I didn’t see Murphy Brown. I agree with Jim that Rosanne was borderline unwatchable. So . . . I will go with a show that was always good, often touching, and highly original.

[stevew]

Seinfeld really holds up and is still quite funny. Watched it all on Hulu a month or two ago

[laser]

Friends
Everybody Loves Raymond
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Seinfeld
Full House
The Wonder Years

[flere-imsaho]

I never got into Seinfeld.

[Solecismic]

Voting is open through the weekend.

My vote:

Frasier
Seinfeld
Murphy Brown
Friends
The Wonder Years
Married... with Children (I forgot about the impact of Michigan's Terry Rakolta on television viewing - there is an historic element to including this show, even though it wasn't great).
(removing Grace Under Fire - it deserves more love, but Brett Butler was insufferable, apparently).

[Suicane75]

Fascinated by those who say they can't stand Roseanne. I agree the final years were dreadful, but I don't think I've ever met anyone who has seen the first 6 or so seasons and didn't think they were fantastic.

[Suicane75]

Frasier, Seinfeld, NewsRadio, Larry Sanders, Dharma & Greg are definite for me. A lot of thought going into the final spot.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by rowech

Most of these shows I watched from their inception. There are three shows that are no brainers due to that. There is one show I will vote for that I don't think I could fully appreciate until I was married and I think has built more of a following now than when it ran. There's one show that I will vote for not because I liked it but because of how many people were watching it during my college years.

There are then five other shows I can vote for my last spot. Roseanne for the first half of its run showed Midwest family life so well. Then it went haywire. Home Improvement was a solid show from start to finish for me. It was the same every episode but some of the best shows are. I've been watching reruns of this lately and it still makes me laugh. Married with Children was in many ways the show that launched Fox. I know there were some others around the same time but it had a lot of buzz when it first came out. That said, the middle years were the best of the show to me. Coach is one of my all-time favorites but I don't think it is worthy of nomination. Third Rock was so funny early on but it wore on me some. So I guess my votes are:

Friends (reluctantly)
Frasier
Seinfeld
Everybody Loves Raymond
The Wonder Years (one of my all-time favs)

and....

and....

You know what -- I sacrificed by voting for Friends so I'm going sentimental favorite and casting a vote for Coach.

As somebody mentioned, it looks like we started voting for six shows despite having voted for seven shows in the 70s and 80s. So, I'll cast my 7th vote for Roseanne.

[CrimsonFox]

I just watched a post-chandler-monica marriage episode with Danny Devito playing a stripper. Busted a gut. Who said that show wasn't funny...

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Roseanne. [/b]I wasn't a fan of this show when it aired, but the syndication repeats beat me into submission. I know he won some awards, but John Goodman is the glue that made this show work;

This one thousand percent. Without Goodman I don't think the show would have survived. I like ROseanne a bit more now but back then her voice was more grating than Fran drescher's and the media circus that she encouraged to follow her was likewise a turnoff.

Sad that there isn't more love for 3rd ROck from the Sun. You all ought to give it a watch on netflix sometime. It seems it is far underrated. THe Curtin/Lithgow Chemistry was wonderful as was the Stewart/Levitt combo. Great supporting cast. Watch the Evil Dick episodes.