[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]

Originally Posted by RtooDee2

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

[Smithy]

Torn between Friends and Father Ted

[Lee.]

Originally Posted by karezza

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 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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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?

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.]

Originally Posted by Locke.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by GiRTh

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.