Yakuza Rich
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 18,043
- Reaction score
- 12,385
The Drew Carey Show - Vastly underrated and probably took the most chances comedically to refine itself and to just try new things. Actually made some pretty sweeping character and cast changes and was still really great until about the last season when Kelly was pregnant and Drew and Mimi were getting along. Favorite episode that comes to mind was when Drew and the gang took Kelly out and she stole the Jim Thome cut-out.
Seinfeld- Probably the strongest compliment I can give is that I was rather non-plussed without about the last 3-4 seasons about the show. The last year was bad, but those other seasons were really good...it's just that the prime seasons were so unbelievably good that everything else paled in comparison. Believe it or not, my favorite episode was when George was impersonating neo-**** David O'Brien.
King of Queens - I don't think its highpoint was as strong as TDCS or Seinfeld, but it's rare in that it never quite jumped the shark despite lasting a long time. Favorite episode was when Doug coached Kirby's football team.
Married With Children - At its peak it was brilliantly written, yet raunchy enough to make even the biggest comedic snob fight away a smirk. Favorite episode was the Foodie's Face-Off vs. the Darcy's.
The Honeymooners - I don't think any other sitcom transcended generations, race and religion quite like the Honeymooners. As brilliant as the writing was, every single actor was even more brilliant, particularly Jackie Gleason who could steal any angle and make it look like the funniest thing you have ever seen. Here's a guy whose character talked about slugging his wife and even to this day, most people don't seem to mind because the comedic value is so rich. Favorite episode was when Ralph goes on a game show for naming musicals.
Cheers- Having watched reruns for quite some time, I don't think Cheers has aged well comedically. But, I think it's aged well from a certain charm perspective. You have to give them credit for seamlessly switching from Coach to Woody and then Diane to Rebecca. Then adding new characters like Frasier. Favorite episode is when Coach and Harry the Hat conspire against Eddie the Hustler to win Coach's money back w/o telling the rest of the gang.
That 70's Show - At its peak it was as funny as one could possibly write a show. Part of the problem came when the cast got too big for their britches and did not care if they actually even remotely resembled a character from the 70's with Kutcher cutting his hair, Donna bleaching her hair in a modern style and tanning with Fez looking more like a model than some lonely exchange student. However, it's prime seasons were just fantastic and still dealt with the reality of the 70's for many people, war veterans who lose their jobs, economic problems, WaterGate, etc. Favorite episode was when the parents wound up accidentally eating the brownies laced in pot.
The Big Bang Theory - I guess I'm a sucker for a cliched love story. Well, that and somebody actually getting the meaning behind DEFCON 5 correctly. I also like shows where the cast really turns the character comfortably into something different from the way it was written. They also did some really smart things like cut the chord on the Leslie character in place of the Bernadette character and finding ways to creatively get Raj to talk to women. Favorite episode was the exchanging of Xmas gifts between Sheldon and Penny
Everybody Loves Raymond - along the same lines as TBBT in that the characters really developed nicely over time with Marie going from the doting grandmother who prefers Raymond the rather judgmental, but good hearted grandmother who essentially runs the family. They also did a good job of making it look like everybody did indeed love Raymond, to the point where you wanted Raymond to get his cummupance. Favorite episode was when Marie sabotaged Robert's chance of being hired by the FBI.
The Larry Sanders Show - The only part I didn't like was I couldn't stand the Artie character, mainly because it's the same typical character played by Rip Torn. I always thought the character was really annoying and the writers kinda presented it as a 'face' character instead of what it really was, the butt-kissing faux tough guy heel. The other problem was that the main character, Larry, was completely overshadowed by the comedic bonanza that was Hank Kingsly. Just a perfectly written character for a show based on Hollywood if there ever was one. My favorite episode was when Phil and Hank got into it about the OJ verdict and Phil egged Hank's car and then tried to deny the evidence in a similar fashion to OJ.
YR
Seinfeld- Probably the strongest compliment I can give is that I was rather non-plussed without about the last 3-4 seasons about the show. The last year was bad, but those other seasons were really good...it's just that the prime seasons were so unbelievably good that everything else paled in comparison. Believe it or not, my favorite episode was when George was impersonating neo-**** David O'Brien.
King of Queens - I don't think its highpoint was as strong as TDCS or Seinfeld, but it's rare in that it never quite jumped the shark despite lasting a long time. Favorite episode was when Doug coached Kirby's football team.
Married With Children - At its peak it was brilliantly written, yet raunchy enough to make even the biggest comedic snob fight away a smirk. Favorite episode was the Foodie's Face-Off vs. the Darcy's.
The Honeymooners - I don't think any other sitcom transcended generations, race and religion quite like the Honeymooners. As brilliant as the writing was, every single actor was even more brilliant, particularly Jackie Gleason who could steal any angle and make it look like the funniest thing you have ever seen. Here's a guy whose character talked about slugging his wife and even to this day, most people don't seem to mind because the comedic value is so rich. Favorite episode was when Ralph goes on a game show for naming musicals.
Cheers- Having watched reruns for quite some time, I don't think Cheers has aged well comedically. But, I think it's aged well from a certain charm perspective. You have to give them credit for seamlessly switching from Coach to Woody and then Diane to Rebecca. Then adding new characters like Frasier. Favorite episode is when Coach and Harry the Hat conspire against Eddie the Hustler to win Coach's money back w/o telling the rest of the gang.
That 70's Show - At its peak it was as funny as one could possibly write a show. Part of the problem came when the cast got too big for their britches and did not care if they actually even remotely resembled a character from the 70's with Kutcher cutting his hair, Donna bleaching her hair in a modern style and tanning with Fez looking more like a model than some lonely exchange student. However, it's prime seasons were just fantastic and still dealt with the reality of the 70's for many people, war veterans who lose their jobs, economic problems, WaterGate, etc. Favorite episode was when the parents wound up accidentally eating the brownies laced in pot.
The Big Bang Theory - I guess I'm a sucker for a cliched love story. Well, that and somebody actually getting the meaning behind DEFCON 5 correctly. I also like shows where the cast really turns the character comfortably into something different from the way it was written. They also did some really smart things like cut the chord on the Leslie character in place of the Bernadette character and finding ways to creatively get Raj to talk to women. Favorite episode was the exchanging of Xmas gifts between Sheldon and Penny
Everybody Loves Raymond - along the same lines as TBBT in that the characters really developed nicely over time with Marie going from the doting grandmother who prefers Raymond the rather judgmental, but good hearted grandmother who essentially runs the family. They also did a good job of making it look like everybody did indeed love Raymond, to the point where you wanted Raymond to get his cummupance. Favorite episode was when Marie sabotaged Robert's chance of being hired by the FBI.
The Larry Sanders Show - The only part I didn't like was I couldn't stand the Artie character, mainly because it's the same typical character played by Rip Torn. I always thought the character was really annoying and the writers kinda presented it as a 'face' character instead of what it really was, the butt-kissing faux tough guy heel. The other problem was that the main character, Larry, was completely overshadowed by the comedic bonanza that was Hank Kingsly. Just a perfectly written character for a show based on Hollywood if there ever was one. My favorite episode was when Phil and Hank got into it about the OJ verdict and Phil egged Hank's car and then tried to deny the evidence in a similar fashion to OJ.
YR
