AOL's "50 Best TV Comedies -- Ever"... Yeah, WhatEVER.

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SeanFirst Name

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Because people love lists, and because it's obvious that AOL's Kimberly Potts who compiled this list never bothered to watch any animated comedies that didn't air in primetime on the major networks:

http://television.aol.com/insidetv/2008/04/01/best-tv-comedies/

The only animated comedies to make the list are Family Guy at #47, South Park at #16, and The Simpsons at #1.

Looks like absolute zero objectivity on this because she couldn't have based her choices on hard facts like ratings, longevity, and the overall funny factor. There's some classics missing too, like The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Munsters. Also noticeably, and STUPIDLY absent are MADTV, Saturday Night Live, and The Carol Burnett Show but then this is apparently a sitcom-focused list and doesn't include comedy-variety shows. In that case, it should've been titled differently. Otherwise, it looks like it was compiled by someone who's two steps away from being a complete idiot.
 
So the writer didn't list a few of your favorites, that qualifies her as being an idiot? Aren't you a nice guy.

And in all honesty, SNL is too hit or miss to be on the list. Yes, it had some classic skits, but take a good honest look at it. For as many skits that are gold, there are just as many that bomb.
 
I'm not surprised that SpongeBob Squarepants didn't make the list. SpongeBob is mainly considered to be a kids' show, which would be in an entirely separate category.
 
The only thing I'm kind of irked with is how some of the spinoffs netted higher values then the shows they were attached to (I don't care if Mork And Mindy launched Robin Williams Career: It shoudln't be higher then Happy Days). Otherwise though I don't completley agree with all of the choices (though I haven't seen some of the shows on the list) they all do seem to fit. Though even though it still has decent episodes the Simpsons only gets the #1 slot for it's longetivy not for the current calibur of it's writing or execution which are quite subar. I am glad that while not dominatiing the list there were a lot of newer yet still classic TV comedies here (Arrested Development, 30 Rock, the Office) along with some of the ones that can still probably be found on TVLand.
 
I agree, wholeheartedly. Also, on a list of the funniest shows ever, I can't help but find the lack of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" rather peculiar.
 
Honestly, if any other animated sitcom should of made it to the list, I'd say it'd be King of the Hill, since it's been pulling magic for 13 seasons straight.

The biggest offender on this list to me, though, is how Married... With Children only made it to #30, and how The Office could possibly top Scrubs is beyond me.
 
It amazes me how someone can read something and take it completely out of context. The only thing I said was "stupid" was that it didn't include some comedy-variety shows. The writer never makes it clear that it's a list of sitcoms, but that's what it is. If you're going to make a list and call it the "Best TV Comedies...Ever" then it should include some of the best TV comedies ever, and that would include such shows as SNL, MadTV, In Living Color, Monty Python's Flying Circus, and The Carol Burnett Show. And sorry, but even as a hit or miss show, SNL should at least make top 30 on a list of the best TV comedies.

Again, out of context and misquoted. She's almost an idiot because:

1) She made a sitcom list but called it a list of the "Best TV Comedies...Ever."
2) Her rankings are inconsistent, subjective, and many don't even follow popular opinion or factual statistics. Mary Tyler Moore was a better TV comedy than The Dick Van Dyke Show? Maude was better than Scrubs? Mary Tyler Moore is in the top 5? No pun intended but gimmie a break!
3) She ignored several classic sitcoms, many which still hold records for winning the most awards and being on TV the longest, and consistently had high ratings.
4) She practically ignored animated comedies altogether. The Simpsons is a given because of its longevity, although I can't say I agree that it's the #1 best TV comedy ever. And as others here have said, where's SpongeBob? Where's Futurama? Where's Ren & Stimpy? Where's Beavis & Butthead? Where's King of the Hill? Those all got great ratings, had successful series runs, achieved pop culture status, and became cult favorites.
 
In my defense, it's kind of hard not to read "two steps away from being a complete idiot" as anything but an insult. Fair enough, she could have labeled it in a more specific manner, but I think it's pretty easy to tell based on the choices. I mean, if SNL got on there, then you'd have grounds for annoyance, because then ANY comedy show, not just sitcoms, could be on there, and thus potential for even more shows left out. When you start ranking things based on what the popular concensus is as opposed to what you yourself believe, then it's not a good list. And aren't ANY lists subjective, when you get right down to it? Like? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm curious to know what you'd choose, because I'm drawing a blank right now outside of the aforementioned Andy Griffith and The Munsters. Well, what it all boils down to is, it's her opinion. And just because they're absent from the list doesn't necessarily mean she finds them to be bad shows; maybe she liked them but didn't deem them to be among the top 50 greatest.

Quite frankly, I wouldn't put a couple of those choices on there, either. B&B certainly has its moments, but I wouldn't put it in my top 50 by a long shot. KOTH, certainly, but not B&B. And R&S, while very influential to cartoony animation, really only had its glory years for two or three seasons, and the rest couldn't measure up. And that's coming from a big fan.
 
Besides, at the very heart of it, Spongebob and Ren and Stimpy were children's shows. They aren't TV comedies in the same way Friends, Fraiser and Simpsons are TV comedies. I love both shows but I completely understand why they didn't make the list.

But then again, this is the internet, where everyone needs something to complain about.
 
The Top ten, for anyone wanting to skip the list, are:

10. Friends
9. I Love Lucy
8. Roseanne
7. The Cosby Show
6. M*A*S*H
5. Cheers
4. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
3. All in the Family
2.Seinfeld
1. The Simpsons
 
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