50 Funniest Comedies Of All Time

[Buftex]

Another click site like BR rates them....

 

http://www.complex.c...es-of-all-time/

 

50. Community

49. Everybody Loves Raymond

48. NewsRadio

47. How I Met Your Mother

46. The Big Bang Theory

45. M*A*S*H

44. Freaks and Geeks

43. Eastbound & Down

42. Workaholics

41. The Wayans Bros.

39. Roseanne

39. Malcolm in the Middle

38. That '70s Show

37. The Mary Tyler Moore Show

36. Get a Life

35. Everybody Hates Chris

34. Police Squad!

33. Extras

32. Flight of the Conchords

31. All in the Family

30. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

29. Reno 911!

28. Married... with Children

27. Friends

26. Scrubs

25. Modern Family

24. Night Court

23. Louie

22. Newhart

21. Will and Grace

20. Sanford and Son

19. The Golden Girls

18. The Bernie Mac Show

17. The Honeymooners

16. The Abbott and Costello Show

15. The Larry Sanders Show

14. The Three Stooges

13. Cheers

12. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

11. Parks and Recreation

10. The Cosby Show

9. Taxi

8. I Love Lucy

7. The Office

6. Martin

5. Seinfeld

4. Party Down

3. Curb Your Enthusiasm

2. 30 Rock

 

and, in #1......

 

 

1. Arrested Development

 

 

I think all of my essentials are on here, so I can't quible too much...unless we were talking about where they are ranked. Might be a few a would omit (mostly cuz I haven't seen them) while including others (WKRP, Strangers With Candy)...but all in all not bad. "Mary Tyler Moore" would rank much higher... not only was it hilarious (and pioneering in "adult" comedy) they knew when to pull the plug, and didn't let it go on too long (see "MASH"...early years are some of the funniest stuff ever...later years merely tolerable, cuz it was, afterall, "MASH").

Edited February 27, 2013 by Buftex

[Fan in San Diego]

Where is Archie Bunker?

[Delete This Account]

Questions:

1) which Office. BBC one was/is far superior than NBC one.

2) please, with the Flight of the Conchords. it was good but not so good that it's one notch behind All in the Family.

3) speaking of All in the Family, really? 31st?

 

Complaint:

the biggest and most glaring omission is the failure to list "The Dick Van Dyke Show." rank it where ever you will, and I'd have it in my top 15, but failing to include that show in a list of top-50 is wrong.

that's like someone failing to include The Simpsons on the list ... oh, sorry, they did that, too.

 

utter fail.

 

jw

[Dante]

What, no Get Smart?? Did it miss the list by that much??

Not sure where I would place it but would be up there. Do you have the box set? Worth it. Andy where is South Park and Simpsons?

 

Martin above Cheers, Honeymooners and Larry Sanders, Married With Children! WTF?

Edited February 27, 2013 by Dante

[Buftex]

Where is Archie Bunker?

 

#31

 

Questions:

1) which Office. BBC one was/is far superior than NBC one.

2) please, with the Flight of the Conchords. it was good but not so good that it's one notch behind All in the Family.

3) speaking of All in the Family, really? 31st?

 

Complaint:

the biggest and most glaring omission is the failure to list "The Dick Van Dyke Show." rank it where ever you will, and I'd have it in my top 15, but failing to include that show in a list of top-50 is wrong.

that's like someone failing to include The Simpsons on the list ... oh, sorry, they did that, too.

 

utter fail.

 

jw

 

Yeah...I would agree, but, obviously, this thing is not geared specifically toward an older demo...so it includes newer shows, which, I suspect, anybody over, say, 35, wouldn't even consider...and vice versa..."Dick Van Dyke" is an all-time great show, but one step removed from yesteryear.

 

And, of course, it all pretty sujective...I always hated "I Love Lucy"...never thought it was funny, even when I was a kid, and i thought pretty much everything was funny. But, just to show I am an equal opportunity hater, I think "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is pretty awful too...

Edited February 27, 2013 by Buftex

[Chef Jim]

#31

 

 

 

Yeah...I would agree, but, obviously, this thing is not geared specifically toward an older demo...so it includes newer shows, which, I suspect, anybody over, say, 35, wouldn't even consider...and vice versa..."Dick Van Dyke" is an all-time great show, but one step removed from yesteryear.

 

And, of course, it all pretty sujective...I always hated "I Love Lucy"...never thought it was funny, even when I was a kid, and i thought pretty much everything was funny.

 

Then why title it The Best Comedies of All Time? It should be The Best Comedies of the Past 20 With a Few Oldies to Keep the Old Farts Quiet.

 

And you didn't watch I Love Lucy because it was funny, you watched it to partake in the mastery of one of TV's best female clowns. The show may not have been overly funny but Lucille Ball was brilliant. I was lucky to cook for her almost every night during the last few months of her life.

[HopsGuy]

 

 

Complaint:

the biggest and most glaring omission is the failure to list "The Dick Van Dyke Show." rank it where ever you will, and I'd have it in my top 15, but failing to include that show in a list of top-50 is wrong.

that's like someone failing to include The Simpsons on the list ... oh, sorry, they did that, too.

 

utter fail.

 

jw

 

I saw Dick Van Dyke on some show a few months ago. He was at a Whole Foods in LA. It must be near his house and he was just randomly there when they were reporting about whatever. He's 87 and seems 25 years younger. He was kidding with the employees because he knew them all. He had such a vitality about him you couldn't help but smile. What a talent. I bet he could go on stage at any comedy club and do 20 minutes just pulling stories from his life.

 

IMHO, Timberlake is the closest we have like that today (singing, acting, dancing, comedy, etc).

[Delete This Account]

since we're dealing with comedy and lists, i'd rank this list of comedies as among the worst i've ever seen -- well, today at least ...

 

jw

[Buftex]

Then why title it The Best Comedies of All Time? It should be The Best Comedies of the Past 20 With a Few Oldies to Keep the Old Farts Quiet.

 

And you didn't watch I Love Lucy because it was funny, you watched it to partake in the mastery of one of TV's best female clowns. The show may not have been overly funny but Lucille Ball was brilliant. I was lucky to cook for her almost every night during the last few months of her life.

 

Now that is cool... I always think it is cool to hear tales of the legends from people who knew them from dealing with them in a sort of non-showbiz angle...you get a lot more insight into the person. The Sinatra story you told a while back was great...was she really sick before she passed? I seem to remember she died from heart issues. Did you get to interact with her much?

 

And, I am sorry, I wasn't meaning to diminish Lucille Ball...I realize, she is considered one of the great female comics of all time, and "I Love Lucy" one of the real groundbreaking shows of its' day...just using that as an example of how subjective comedy is, and trying to pick one of the "old fart" shows that I never really appreciated. There aren't many of them...but hey, at gun-point, I would prefer "I Love Lucy" over about half the shows on the list..my overall point was, it is pretty silly (though fun) to try to come up with the "best 50 comedies of all-time" when what is "funny" is so arguable.

 

I saw Dick Van Dyke on some show a few months ago. He was at a Whole Foods in LA. It must be near his house and he was just randomly there when they were reporting about whatever. He's 87 and seems 25 years younger. He was kidding with the employees because he knew them all. He had such a vitality about him you couldn't help but smile. What a talent. I bet he could go on stage at any comedy club and do 20 minutes just pulling stories from his life.

 

IMHO, Timberlake is the closest we have like that today (singing, acting, dancing, comedy, etc).

 

Letterman did a whole hour (actually, minus schtick and commercials, probably closer to 20 minutes) with Van Dyke not too long ago...I was amazed at how sharp he was...seems like he could still be doing comedy today in some forum. Seems like a tremedously nice guy too...

Edited February 27, 2013 by Buftex

[shrader]

it is pretty silly (though fun) to try to come up with the "best 50 comedies of all-time" when what is "funny" is so arguable.

 

Which is why I always get a good laugh when arguments about top 10/20/50 lists wind up getting so heated. It's all completely subjective. There is no such thing as the "greatest show of all time". I guess titling your list "My favorite shows of all time" doesn't draw the same amount of clicks though.

 

If I had to put a list together, I wouldn't even dare to put numbers to it. I'd just throw shows like Seinfeld, Cheers, the Simpsons, and Married with Children out there as stuff I can watch at any time.

[Delete This Account]

Which is why I always get a good laugh when arguments about top 10/20/50 lists wind up getting so heated. It's all completely subjective. There is no such thing as the "greatest show of all time". I guess titling your list "My favorite shows of all time" doesn't draw the same amount of clicks though.

 

If I had to put a list together, I wouldn't even dare to put numbers to it. I'd just throw shows like Seinfeld, Cheers, the Simpsons, and Married with Children out there as stuff I can watch at any time.

 

and yet, you contradict yourself by putting Cheers ahead of the Simpsons!?!

 

 

jw

Edited February 27, 2013 by john wawrow

[Dibs]

Which is why I always get a good laugh when arguments about top 10/20/50 lists wind up getting so heated. It's all completely subjective. There is no such thing as the "greatest show of all time". I guess titling your list "My favorite shows of all time" doesn't draw the same amount of clicks though.

 

If I had to put a list together, I wouldn't even dare to put numbers to it. I'd just throw shows like Seinfeld, Cheers, the Simpsons, and Married with Children out there as stuff I can watch at any time.

 

The problem that I always have with Top 10/20/50/100 lists is that regardless of the topic, the compilers of these lists(if an individual) seem to do no research and use very little thought when doing them.....or they are based upon public voting.....which is usually skewed towards a particular type of persons opinion(usually young....often pretentious intellectual).

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

(usually young....often pretentious intellectual).

 

Good thing we don't have any of those types around here.

[Chilly]

Then why title it The Best Comedies of All Time? It should be The Best Comedies of the Past 20 With a Few Oldies to Keep the Old Farts Quiet.

 

And you didn't watch I Love Lucy because it was funny, you watched it to partake in the mastery of one of TV's best female clowns. The show may not have been overly funny but Lucille Ball was brilliant. I was lucky to cook for her almost every night during the last few months of her life.

 

It's titled correctly.

 

It's just that the list in your head is "The funniest comedies of all time to an old fart".

 

Edited February 27, 2013 by BlueFire

[Buftex]

It's titled correctly.

 

It's just that the list in your head is "The funniest comedies of all time to an old fart".

 

 

As an old fart, I take exception to your foolhardy youthfulness!

[Chef Jim]

Now that is cool... I always think it is cool to hear tales of the legends from people who knew them from dealing with them in a sort of non-showbiz angle...you get a lot more insight into the person. The Sinatra story you told a while back was great...was she really sick before she passed? I seem to remember she died from heart issues. Did you get to interact with her much?

 

And, I am sorry, I wasn't meaning to diminish Lucille Ball...I realize, she is considered one of the great female comics of all time, and "I Love Lucy" one of the real groundbreaking shows of its' day...just using that as an example of how subjective comedy is, and trying to pick one of the "old fart" shows that I never really appreciated. There aren't many of them...but hey, at gun-point, I would prefer "I Love Lucy" over about half the shows on the list..my overall point was, it is pretty silly (though fun) to try to come up with the "best 50 comedies of all-time" when what is "funny" is so arguable.

 

 

 

Nah, I was a lowly sous-chef at Nicky Blair's on sunset so I was chained to the stove and fed meat scraps twice a day. She was trying to resurect her career with some show that she and her husband were doing. They'd come in almost every night from the studio and have dinner. They had their special booth. I looked it up and it wasn't the last few months is was shortly before she passed but not that soon. It was so cool. Ran it to some real cool Hollywood types working there.

 

And I knew you weren't diminishing Lucy. I like the show but never really loved it. I've watched it a ton over my life time mainly because I always thought the 50's were a cool time.

 

Which is why I always get a good laugh when arguments about top 10/20/50 lists wind up getting so heated. It's all completely subjective. There is no such thing as the "greatest show of all time". I guess titling your list "My favorite shows of all time" doesn't draw the same amount of clicks though.

 

If I had to put a list together, I wouldn't even dare to put numbers to it. I'd just throw shows like Seinfeld, Cheers, the Simpsons, and Married with Children out there as stuff I can watch at any time.

 

Of course it's 100% subjective. Hell if I were to put together a list of the best 50 shows ever it would include HR Puff n Stuff and The Banana Splits.

[Buftex]

 

Of course it's 100% subjective. Hell if I were to put together a list of the best 50 shows ever it would include HR Puff n Stuff and The Banana Splits.

 

I feel dumb...but it was only in the last 10 years or so (and I am 48) that I realized the double entendre of the title of this show...the talking flute kind of creeped me out as a kid.

[eball]

Man, include that one in my list of better shows. Best of the 90s easily. Better than Seinfeld.

 

Blasphemy. I still watch 1-2 episodes of Seinfeld each night while the Mrs. and I are getting dinner ready. TBS airs three back-to-back-to-back from 6:30-8. Best sitcom ever in my book. And mind you, I liked Frasier as well, but there's no way I'm sitting and watching reruns of that.

 

Cheers and MASH are top five on my list as well. At the end of the day, Modern Family might creep up there. Have never seen an episode of Arrested Development but plan to do so on Netflix one of these days.

[GOBILLS78]

"Workaholics" made this list.

 

Again, "Workaholics" made this list.

[The Big Cat]

Blasphemy. I still watch 1-2 episodes of Seinfeld each night while the Mrs. and I are getting dinner ready. TBS airs three back-to-back-to-back from 6:30-8. Best sitcom ever in my book. And mind you, I liked Frasier as well, but there's no way I'm sitting and watching reruns of that.

 

Cheers and MASH are top five on my list as well. At the end of the day, Modern Family might creep up there. Have never seen an episode of Arrested Development but plan to do so on Netflix one of these days.

 

No offense, man, and while it doesn't neccessarily need to be tops, like it is on this particular list, if you haven't seen an episode of Arrested Development you are virtually a non-contributor to a discussion about television comedies.