All of these lists are starting to get more and more specific. This one is a list of the ten best sitcoms since 1980. Soon we'll have the 8 1/2 best hour long dramas that appeared between 1988 and 1994 on Sunday nights (that start with "J").
But lists always get us talking and this one has some great picks. Arrested Development fanatics will be glad to see their show on the list (I won't tell you where you'll have to click the link above), along with shows like Scrubs, Cheers, and Sports Night. But there is one show that is obviously missing. There might be more than one show that isn't on the list that should be, of course, but this show stood out to me immediately. Can you guess what it is? I'll name it after the jump but don't click ahead until you read the list and guess yourself.
It's NewsRadio! Come on, that has to get on a "best sitcoms since 1980" list before Malcolm in the Middle, doesn't it?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-05-2008 @ 4:34PM
nairb said...
Umm.....Frasier??
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6-05-2008 @ 4:35PM
annacsmith08 said...
ummm... Friends? Frasier? anyone? c'mon...
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6-05-2008 @ 4:36PM
Bob Sassone said...
Yeah, Friends is one of my favorite shows of all-time, but it was NewsRadio that popped into my head immediately, also one of my favorites.
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6-05-2008 @ 11:15PM
Alicia said...
Oh Yea... I said NewsRadio too. My gawd that show was funny.
6-05-2008 @ 4:45PM
Donna said...
I miss the shows like "Full House" or "Perfect Strangers" (and the latter's spin-off "Family Matters"). Or how about "Bosom Buddies"? Hey, whatever happened to Miller-Boyett Productions anyhow? They also had lots of good sitcoms BEFORE 1980. We need them back.
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6-05-2008 @ 4:48PM
jonathan Reed said...
You're missing a really obvious one here:
The Larry Sanders Show!
Also, if it's including shows on my side of the pond then what about Fawlty Towers and Spaced?
And what about South Park?
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6-05-2008 @ 4:48PM
C C said...
I look at this list and I think I'd rather watch reruns of Designing Women (from the first five seasons, that is) ahead of any show on there.
I have to give props, however, for him calling Sports Night "Aaron Sorkin's best show". It was. I still hold a grudge against Sorkin for not continuing the show. Showtime was interested in picking it up after ABC cancelled it; Sorkin decided to focus his energies on The West Wing, a show that I've always felt was overrated and overpraised.
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6-05-2008 @ 4:49PM
Jimmy said...
Frasier is the only omission that jumped out at me.
One could also make an argument for the Larry Sanders Show and/or Ricky Gervais' Extras.
I always enjoyed Malcolm, but I don't think Scrubs should be on the list.
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6-05-2008 @ 4:53PM
Tacocartguy said...
How about 30 Rock?
I mean, damn, how many mouth-breathing-Appalachians and sheep rapists does one show need to get some recognition?
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6-05-2008 @ 5:00PM
Randy Clark said...
I realize that most people have forgotten about it and I can understand that, but Action really is one of the best sitcoms since 1980.
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6-05-2008 @ 5:23PM
C Symank said...
Futurama was hilarious (though I though Bender's Big Score was pretty stupid and I haven't seen the latest "movie") and Friends was consistently better through it's run than several of the shows listed. I'd put them ahead of Malcom and Scrubs (which I love by ya gotta admit has gotten really stupid over the past season and a half). And while the first nine or so years of the Simpsons was GOLD, I wish that someone would put the show out of it's misery.
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6-06-2008 @ 8:43AM
tcc3 said...
You know, it used to be that "only the 1st 4 seasons were gold" back during the 6-10th season timeframe.
I'm not saying the quality hasn't declined, but I think it troughed last year (before the movie). Much improved this year.
People have been bitching about the simpsons for half the time its been on the air. Some historical perspective tends to change perceptions.
6-05-2008 @ 5:28PM
sdm said...
I hated Sports Night. Just hated it. I'm glad it was cancelled & it should not - NOT - be on this list.
Just sayin,
sdm
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6-05-2008 @ 6:03PM
Edd said...
I'm an Arrested Development devotee, and I honestly rate it as the best comedy of the last few decades, it's just breathtaking - pretty funny when you'd just see an episode, but when you watch the whole series from the start it's the funniest television show ever!
I'd throw the UK comedies Spaced, I'm Alan Partridge, and Peep Show in there, as well as South Park.
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6-05-2008 @ 6:59PM
Leota said...
Peep Show is awesome!
6-05-2008 @ 6:23PM
ShadowGod said...
What a crappy list. Malcom in the Middle and Scrubs both are *horrible*.
Where's Seinfeld? Where's South Park? Frasier? Come on!
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6-05-2008 @ 7:09PM
Andrew said...
Seinfeld is #2.
6-05-2008 @ 6:21PM
Andrew said...
Friends.
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6-05-2008 @ 6:28PM
doug said...
My guess is the writer hasn't watched SportsNight since it went off the air. It does not hold up at all, despite being great when it was on. Maybe because it was so different back then. Terribly disappointing upon further review. Soap must be late 70s. But this was a chance to bring it up anyway.
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6-05-2008 @ 6:33PM
Ryan said...
Don't you all take this list too seriously. It's just one guy from some no-name website/magazine posting on his blog expressing what HE thought of as his favorite sitcoms.
Sometimes people forget there IS a difference between "best" and "favorite." He is one of them. Though at time I am one of those people too. So I'm not judging really.
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