Favourite sitcom?

[karezza]

What is the funniest sitcom?:joker:

[Niamh.]

Father Ted

[karezza]

1. Inbetweeners
2. Peep Show
3. The Office.

[CharlieO]

1. Miranda (i know its not on the list but its hilarious)
2. Inbetweeners
3. Peep show

[Josy]

Father Ted from that list.

I also like these ones though

Only Fools and Horses (Can't believe this wasn't on the list :bored:)
Still Game
The Royle Family

[GiRTh]

Frasier.

[Lee.]

There is no way I could choose 1 from that list.

If I had to narrow it down ever so slightly, it would be between;

Friends
Blackadder
Fawlty Towers
The Office
Father Ted

['Conor]

Friends >

oh i love Father Ted to

[Jords]

Friends.. barely watch any of them.

[Princess]

Friends from that and I love the American Office. An episode of Father Ted was filmed in my town,something involving a cinema?

[Scarlett.]

1. Red Dwarf
2. Blackadder
3. Father Ted
4. Friends
5. Scrubs

Four and five in no way come close to 1, 2 and 3 though

[Ramsay]

How I Met Your Mother


but its not on the list
booo

[Lee.]

Oh if we're allowed programmes not included in the list then I'm Alan Partridge.

Oh and Gavin and Stacey

[GiRTh]

Funny how Friends is running away with it on this list but on most lists by fans and critics it struggles to make the top 20. I wonder why that it?

[Lee.]

Funny how Friends is running away with it on this list but on most lists by fans and critics it struggles to make the top 20. I wonder why that it?

I never ever tire of watching Friends.. I can watch them anytime and it still makes me laugh. There aren't a lot of programmes that I couldre-watch over and over again.

[Ramsay]

Yeah i can only do that with Friends,How I Met Your Mother and Father Ted

[GiRTh]

I never ever tire of watching Friends.. I can watch them anytime and it still makes me laugh. There aren't a lot of programmes that I couldre-watch over and over again.So why is it that you love it but so many people in the industry like writers, producers and critics reckon there are loads of better sitcoms.

I find all the love for Friends quite puzzling. It was ok and the fact that it was on so often must influence all the love for it. It was OK, patchy at best and there is a period from the fifth season to the seventh season that I think is actually quite poor. Some of those episode are virtually unwatchable and definitely not funny. I can remember watching most of them stone faced barely cracking a smile all the way thru. But it started strong and ended strong, had a pretty cast and was omnipresent on our screens. Sure fire hit.:rolleyes:

[Lee.]

So why is it that you love it but so many people in the industry like writers, producers and critics reckon there are loads of better sitcoms.

I find all the love for Friends quite puzzling. It was ok and the fact that it was on so often must influence all the love for it. It was OK, patchy at best and there is a period from the fifth season to the seventh season that I think is actually quite poor. Some of those episode are virtually unwatchable and definitely not funny. I can remember watching most of them stone faced barely cracking a smile all the way thru. But it started strong and ended strong, had a pretty cast and was omnipresent on our screens. Sure fire hit.:rolleyes:



It is brilliant!

I am always right..

:tongue:

[GiRTh]

It is brilliant!

I am always right..

:tongue:Sorry, I forgot. :hugesmile:

[Lee.]

Apology accepted :hugesmile:

[Shaun]

oh this is cruel. Can't pick between The Office and Frasier.

[Shaun]

and Friends...oh god. I apologise for ever saying I love the show - I think people are just fooled into loving it because it reminds them of all the nice, fuzzy, kitsch things about the 90s. The characterisation is terrible, the development worse, and aside from the first 2 series, it was crap.

roflmao @ Inbetweeners mentioned. Not even anywhere near the same league. And Friday Night Dinner... :crazy:

[reece(:]

friends

[Suze]

So why is it that you love it but so many people in the industry like writers, producers and critics reckon there are loads of better sitcoms.

I find all the love for Friends quite puzzling. It was ok and the fact that it was on so often must influence all the love for it. It was OK, patchy at best and there is a period from the fifth season to the seventh season that I think is actually quite poor. Some of those episode are virtually unwatchable and definitely not funny. I can remember watching most of them stone faced barely cracking a smile all the way thru. But it started strong and ended strong, had a pretty cast and was omnipresent on our screens. Sure fire hit.:rolleyes:


I agree with you.

One of my favourites used to be 'Third Rock from the Sun', but there are quite a few of the better ones missing from the opening post.

['Conor]

3,5,7 and 8 are best friends seasons

[Angus]

Blackadder
The I.T. Crowd
Black Books
Fawlty Towers
Friends
Peep Show
Father Ted
Rab C Nesbitt

[Kerry]

Friends,
One Foot in the Grave
Fawlty Towers


Don't watch any of the others

[mizzy25]

friends for me love it and everytien i watch it, it makes me laff. fave ever episode is ross and the leather trousers i cud watch that a hundred times and id still think it was funny

[LemonJam]

I've never laughed at friends. Genuinley.

From that list, Fawlty Towers and Blackadder are miles above the others.

[karezza]

Friends was rubbish. There were 387 episodes of which 380 were carp.

[RtooDee2]

Cheers, Fraiser, Im Alan Partrige and Curb your Enthusiasm crack me up everytime.

[InOne]

Cheers, Fraiser, Im Alan Partrige and Curb your Enthusiasm crack me up everytime.

:worship:

[Smithy]

Torn between Friends and Father Ted

[Lee.]

Friends was rubbish. There were 387 episodes of which 380 were carp.

Which 7 did you like?

[Shaun]

I used to have the first series on Virgin Media's On Demand thing...that was good :love: the powercut episode with Chandler stuck in the ATM with the supermodel <3

[karezza]

I forgot to include Malcolm in the Middle - I love this show.

[BB_Eye]

Spaced, I'm Alan Partridge and the first two seasons of Peep Show.

[Stu]

I can't take this poll serious when you consider Seinfeld is not on it. It's by far the greatest sitcom ever made and invented so, so many of the typical traits associated with modern sitcoms. Everything that came after it owes it a huge debt.

Friends is ace too. It lost it's way eventually [although Ross did a great job of channeling Kramer] but I don't get the folks who disregard it because it's not edgy enough or whatever.

[Zippy]

Friends makes me cringe with all the overacting and cheesy set ups. Never ever understood its appeal.

From that list I'd say Blackadder.

but Only fools, Absolutely fabulous, Rising damp and the Royle family are just a few classics missing. Never even heard of friday night dinner.

[Stu]

AbFab in retrospect is one of those things along with Men Behaving Badly that I look back on and wonder how I ever found it funny. It's ironic that you lambast Friends for overacting and cheesy set ups when that's AbFab's entire appeal.

It hasn't got any jokes in it, and even less wit. It's just two oblivious people running around screaming and falling over, like Kenan & Kel but with menopausal poshos instead of black teenagers. The performances of Eddie and Patsy make panto look subtle, nuanced and clever. It's that terrible kind of broad catchphrase-and-caricature non-comedy, but it doesn't even have the bite that something like Bottom has. I'm fairly sure I did wank over it when I was younger, though.

Only Fools is a good call though. I didn't even think of that - probably because it stands so alone. It's the stuff of legends.

[BB_Eye]

It wasn't just overacting and cheese that was the problem with Friends though. Just general overstated verbal quips, lack of wit and poor timing (much of it thanks to the stilted acting). I make no exaggeration, at least 9 out of 10 of the jokes fail to get even a chuckle out of me. Phoebe -incidentally the best actress in the show- seemed to have a monopoly on the remaining 1. Friends is not even close to being in the same league as Seinfeld or Roseanne.

And fair enough, Ab Fab isn't going to win any awards for subtlety. The humour is broad... but then that never made the League of Gentemen or Bo Selecta any less hilarious at their best moments. It is Ab Fab's infectious silliness that sets it apart from most other sitcoms, moreso than Bottom imho.

[Zippy]

As for American sitcoms;

Roseanne
Cheers
Ellen
Married with children
Will and Grace

I think it's fair to say that all sitcoms nosedive in quality in their latter series. Mostly because the material dries up but also because the actors often become over familiar with the roles and overplay the characters(see Jim Royle as a perfect example).

Fawlty towers got it right by ending at its peak. But that was the BBC. These days there's far too much money involved and they are dragged out way past their sell by date.

[Locke.]

1. Friends
2. Two and a Half Men
3. The Inbetweeners

[Suze]

I can't take this poll serious when you consider Seinfeld is not on it. It's by far the greatest sitcom ever made and invented so, so many of the typical traits associated with modern sitcoms. Everything that came after it owes it a huge debt.

Friends is ace too. It lost it's way eventually [although Ross did a great job of channeling Kramer] but I don't get the folks who disregard it because it's not edgy enough or whatever.

I went off friends ages ago, probably because it went on for so long, and Ross began to become irritating. I did like Chandler's dry wit though.

Seinfield was mostly brill, but sometimes I think it's more due to the right combination of actors/comics than the show/formula itself. If you substituted other actors in the Seinfield roles, I doubt many could pull it off so well. Jason Alexander (George) and Michael Richards (Kramer) in particular were brilliant in it. I always preferred the earlier Cheers, with Shelley Long in them to the Kirsty Ally ones.

[Jessica.]

Father Ted then Friends.

[Tom.]

Why has noone mentioned Benidorm? :nono:

Even at its worst, as it is now, its still pretty funny!

[Locke.]

I've always thought there needed to be laughing in the background for it to be a sitcom

[Tom.]

I've always thought there needed to be laughing in the background for it to be a sitcom

Not always, just an intentionally funny 'drama' really

[GiRTh]

It wasn't just overacting and cheese that was the problem with Friends though. Just general overstated verbal quips, lack of wit and poor timing (much of it thanks to the stilted acting). I make no exaggeration, at least 9 out of 10 of the jokes fail to get even a chuckle out of me. Phoebe -incidentally the best actress in the show- seemed to have a monopoly on the remaining 1. Friends is not even close to being in the same league as Seinfeld or Roseanne.

And fair enough, Ab Fab isn't going to win any awards for subtlety. The humour is broad... but then that never made the League of Gentemen or Bo Selecta any less hilarious at their best moments. It is Ab Fab's infectious silliness that sets it apart from most other sitcoms, moreso than Bottom imho.This. Two words to re-enforce this point - Shark porn.

I can understand why Friends is the run away winner in this poll but cant understand some of the point people have made to defend it. For me, there are a number of totally unwatchable episodes that I would challenge anyone why they find it funny. Some of the episodes had way too many jokes and not nearly enough quality control. Characters would say a funny line then pull a funny face then do a funny walk presumably in the hope that the audience would laugh at something; anything.

For sure, Seinfeld should be added to this list as should my personal fave The Larry Sanders show. Friends is wildly overrated sitcom that seems to have gained popularity due to the pretty cast and clever marketing. I’m surprised some of the fans on here cant see that.

[Stu]

This. Two words to re-enforce this point - Shark porn.

I can understand why Friends is the run away winner in this poll but cant understand some of the point people have made to defend it. For me, there are a number of totally unwatchable episodes that I would challenge anyone why they find it funny. Some of the episodes had way too many jokes and not nearly enough quality control. Characters would say a funny line then pull a funny face then do a funny walk presumably in the hope that the audience would laugh at something; anything.

For sure, Seinfeld should be added to this list as should my personal fave The Larry Sanders show. Friends is wildly overrated sitcom that seems to have gained popularity due to the pretty cast and clever marketing. I’m surprised some of the fans on here cant see that.
People don't fall in love with a sitcom for years on end because the cast is pretty or because it is marketed well. If it doesn't strike a certain something with it's audience then the audience won't last. Friend's audience lasted because it's that perfect late evening television filler that's not too demanding of it's audience. It's the television equivalent of your most comftorable but not necessarily your highest quality of flashiest pair of clothes. It wasn't designed to be the smartest thing on the box. It was designed to have a likeable, somewhat goofy cast who went through believable, ordinary trials and tribulations of the human emotional range that viewers would respond to and would sympathise with.

The idea that the characters would pull a funny face or walk funny in the hope that the audience would laugh is just the show doing it's job. It's not a Stewart Lee seminar on cultural phobias.

[GiRTh]

People don't fall in love with a sitcom for years on end because the cast is pretty or because it is marketed well. If it doesn't strike a certain something with it's audience then the audience won't last. Friend's audience lasted because it's that perfect late evening television filler that's not too demanding of it's audience. It's the television equivalent of your most comfortable but not necessarily your highest quality of flashiest pair of clothes. It wasn't designed to be the smartest thing on the box. It was designed to have a likeable, somewhat goofy cast who went through believable, ordinary trials and tribulations of the human emotional range that viewers would respond to and would sympathise with.

The idea that the characters would pull a funny face or walk funny in the hope that the audience would laugh is just the show doing its job. It's not a Stewart Lee seminar on cultural phobias.I don’t think the fans of Friends actually love it. I don’t think a lot of the people who like Friends have actually seen the likes of Seinfeld, Frasier, Everybody loves Raymond or Larry Sanders, I don t think many of the Friends fans are actually sitcom fans. I definitely DO think the endless repeats, pretty cast and marketing were a huge contributing factor in the success of Friends. The show is as superficial as its fans.

I don’t dislike Friends I just fell it’s wildly overrated by its fans who seem like they’ve never actually seen any other show. Friends started strong and finished strong but I still maintain that some episodes are un-watchable. You won’t laugh cuz it’s not funny.

I think a show where characters say a funny line then pull a funny face then do a funny walk has no right to be hailed as the best of all time by anybody. Also, when you take into the account the subtle and clever comedy of so many shows that were around at the time. In most of the polls I’ve seen conducted by ‘comedy’ people Friends struggles to make the top 20. I think that’s about right. It was never that great and I think you even inadvertently admit this in your post.

[reece(:]

Very stereotypical to judge all Friends fans as sitcom newcomers mind..

[Tom.]

Friends is good but its only so popular because its always on, so people of all ages have had a chance to watch it.

Quite surprised that some people haven't mentioned The Simpsons or Family Guy yet, both being animated sitcoms.

[Shaun]

oh The Simpsons is definitely in the top 5 comedy shows of all time. Family Guy got weak after the first 4 series though... American Dad is now much better. And I guess South Park deserves a mention too, though I'm not a fan (I get that it makes clever observations - I just can't get past how irritating the voices are)

[Zippy]

There's no point arguing over comedy. You either get it or you don't.

I will say that Friends has been on TV incessantly for nearly 17 years and there are many teen voters here who will have grown up with it their entire life. I'd say thats pretty much why its way in the lead.

[Beastie]

What about Sex and the City??? lol

[James]

Out of those, and based on how much I laughed in how short a time recently I think I'd have to say the first two series of The Inbetweeners. Though Fawlty Towers is obviously a classic.

I don’t think the fans of Friends actually love it. I don’t think a lot of the people who like Friends have actually seen the likes of Seinfeld, Frasier, Everybody loves Raymond or Larry Sanders, I don t think many of the Friends fans are actually sitcom fans. I definitely DO think the endless repeats, pretty cast and marketing were a huge contributing factor in the success of Friends. The show is as superficial as its fans.

I don’t dislike Friends I just fell it’s wildly overrated by its fans who seem like they’ve never actually seen any other show. Friends started strong and finished strong but I still maintain that some episodes are un-watchable. You won’t laugh cuz it’s not funny.

I think a show where characters say a funny line then pull a funny face then do a funny walk has no right to be hailed as the best of all time by anybody. Also, when you take into the account the subtle and clever comedy of so many shows that were around at the time. In most of the polls I’ve seen conducted by ‘comedy’ people Friends struggles to make the top 20. I think that’s about right. It was never that great and I think you even inadvertently admit this in your post.

I started off really disliking Friends, and I only got into it on the repeats. At its best I found the writing to be very good. I actually think, and I'm being serious, that some of the writing is actually quite subversive, especially for a US prime-time show.

Problem with it was it went on for too long, and the 6-main-character format meant they had to keep pairing off the characters into relationships which I didn't think worked too well. I can't really get into other US sitcoms so can't compare it to those.

I like Red Dwarf as well, by the way. It was very well written - funny and clever at its best too.

[karezza]

I can't take this poll serious when you consider Seinfeld is not on it. It's by far the greatest sitcom ever made and invented so, so many of the typical traits associated with modern sitcoms. Everything that came after it owes it a huge debt.

Friends is ace too. It lost it's way eventually [although Ross did a great job of channeling Kramer] but I don't get the folks who disregard it because it's not edgy enough or whatever.

Seinfeld is too Jewish for me - I can only take so much Jewishness.:wavey:

Bus-wankers - Inbetweeners.

[Niamh.]

There's no point arguing over comedy. You either get it or you don't.

I will say that Friends has been on TV incessantly for nearly 17 years and there are many teen voters here who will have grown up with it their entire life. I'd say thats pretty much why its way in the lead.

I agree, I love Friends, probably because like you said, I was a teenager when it came out and grew up with it. Having said that It's not my favourite of those listed, Father Ted is. Friends just kind of has sentimental value I suppose

[Stu]

I don’t think the fans of Friends actually love it. I don’t think a lot of the people who like Friends have actually seen the likes of Seinfeld, Frasier, Everybody loves Raymond or Larry Sanders, I don t think many of the Friends fans are actually sitcom fans. I definitely DO think the endless repeats, pretty cast and marketing were a huge contributing factor in the success of Friends. The show is as superficial as its fans.

I don’t dislike Friends I just fell it’s wildly overrated by its fans who seem like they’ve never actually seen any other show. Friends started strong and finished strong but I still maintain that some episodes are un-watchable. You won’t laugh cuz it’s not funny.

I think a show where characters say a funny line then pull a funny face then do a funny walk has no right to be hailed as the best of all time by anybody. Also, when you take into the account the subtle and clever comedy of so many shows that were around at the time. In most of the polls I’ve seen conducted by ‘comedy’ people Friends struggles to make the top 20. I think that’s about right. It was never that great and I think you even inadvertently admit this in your post.
You lost me at 'Everybody Loves Raymond'.

Gotta give a shout out too to That 70's Show, which isin't mentioned in the poll. Kurtwood Smith owns that show. Let's pretend the awful final season never happened.

[Niamh.]

Also, Scrubs and My name is Earl are good.

[Shaun]

Scrubs is probably the worst :bored:

[Stu]

Scrubs was okay until it eventually became the televisual equivalent of slow acting AIDS. And it frustrates me because John C McGinley can do so much better. It's got a likeable supporting cast but it's an enabaler of this ~zany, whacky style of humour that people who enjoy should die in fires.

It doesn't help that Zach Braff makes my teeth crack with anger. He is the single most unlikeable actor I think I've ever seen. From his cancerous turn in Scrubs as the vile JD to his disgusting disease-ridden Generation X-aping Garden State to pretty much anything he ever gets involved in, the mutant taints the very celluloid that captures him. A loathsome creature, worthy of nothing.

Why the hell would he have a single friend left by the end of the first season? He is a slimy twat.

[Enid]

Frasier and The Office.

[Shaun]

-falls in love with Enid- :lovedup:

and I agree with you there Stu, it might be better if it had a decent lead character. Bob, Dr. Cox and Ted are pretty good characters - Turk and Elliott have their moments too. But Carla's bossy act and JD's "I'm going to think about life :(" balls got old.

[Tom.]

The Office was the worst programme on TV until OMG Peaches Geldof thing and The Only Way is Essex came along

[Niamh.]

Scrubs is probably the worst :bored:

Scrubs was okay until it eventually became the televisual equivalent of slow acting AIDS. And it frustrates me because John C McGinley can do so much better. It's got a likeable supporting cast but it's an enabaler of this ~zany, whacky style of humour that people who enjoy should die in fires.

It doesn't help that Zach Braff makes my teeth crack with anger. He is the single most unlikeable actor I think I've ever seen. From his cancerous turn in Scrubs as the vile JD to his disgusting disease-ridden Generation X-aping Garden State to pretty much anything he ever gets involved in, the mutant taints the very celluloid that captures him. A loathsome creature, worthy of nothing.

Why the hell would he have a single friend left by the end of the first season? He is a slimy twat.

http://www.b105.com/blog/media/zach.jpg

[Zippy]

The Office was the worst programme on TV until OMG Peaches Geldof thing and The Only Way is Essex came along

:nono: shut up!

[Shaun]

The Office was the worst programme on TV until OMG Peaches Geldof thing and The Only Way is Essex came along

probably went over your head.

[LemonJam]

I love Scrubs. Then again I have a pretty goofy sense of humour that's hit and miss with each person really. I find the characters are quite relatable as well which is always a bonus in my eyes.

[Niamh.]

I love Scrubs. Then again I have a pretty goofy sense of humour that's hit and miss with each person really. I find the characters are quite relatable as well which is always a bonus in my eyes.

YAY. thank You:worship:

[Zippy]

dare I mention...

http://cdn2.iofferphoto.com/img/item/193/100/408/GN95.jpg

:joker:

[Niall]

Where's How I Met Your Mother/The Simpsons/Family Guy? :(

[Stu]

I don't really think animated sitcoms should be considered in the same discussion. It never really works that way.

Family Guy is an embarrasment anyway. The Simpsons for it's part if clearly the best TV show ever. It stands alone.

[Tom.]

probably went over your head.

I did get it, I just thought it was boring and tedious. And I can't stand Ricky Gervais either, he's about as funny as a brain tumour

I don't really think animated sitcoms should be considered in the same discussion. It never really works that way.

Family Guy is an embarrasment anyway. The Simpsons for it's part if clearly the best TV show ever. It stands alone.

Simpsons is flogging a dead horse, its been rubbish for years but at its best it was probably the best show ever.