Light topic, "What was the best decade for TV Sitcoms?"

Came across this old "Taxi" clip recently. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvn-tBeLpCk. It got me to thinking that perhaps the 1970s was the golden age of the sitcom. Was wondering what others thought was the best decade for sitcoms?

Please vote and let everybody know why? For "split-decade" shows that are weighing on your choice, assume the show falls into the decade when it was at its highest quality (eg: "Cheers" spanned the 1980s and 1990s but was in its prime in the 1980s, "Seinfeld" started in the 1980s but hit its prime in the 1990s.)

Seinfeld. Period, end of sentence.

Before I get flamed, keep in mind I'm only 30 so 70% of the poll doesn't really apply to me. All I remember from the 80's was Three's Company, WKRP in Cincinnati and Golden Girls. Oh, and Balki Bartokomous from Perfect Strangers. Cheers may have been good to you, but I was 8. I guess it didn't translate.

I could watch any single episode of Seinfeld and laugh right now. Get me warmed up and I can give an acurate Seinfeld quote for any topic faced in life. It's just sublime. A classic, a legend. It's gold, Jerry, GOLD!

Quote: Face

Seinfeld. Period, end of sentence.

Remember, folks, not the best "show" but best "decade for shows."

I realize not evereyone will have seen the older ones I guess.

Quote: Face

Seinfeld. Period, end of sentence.

Big Bang Theory.

So there :P

Seinfeld doesn't hold up well on reruns. Some of the best episodes do, like the Soup Nazi, the one where George runs over old ladies and children to flee a grease fire (Firmean: How do you live with yourself? George: It's not easy), things like that. But others get boring because you already know what the joke is.

I'll give you, though, that Seinfeld ended the custom of sitcoms perforce having a "lesson" at the end, or having a dramatic or serious episode or two per season.

Quote: AZDuffman

Came across this old "Taxi" clip recently. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvn-tBeLpCk. It got me to thinking that perhaps the 1970s was the golden age of the sitcom. Was wondering what others thought was the best decade for sitcoms?

Taxi falls under split decade sitcom, but I actually think of it more of an 80s sitcom, as the issues presented were a bit more farcical than 70s sitcoms.

Despite being born in the 80s, my vote (after a lot of thought actually) goes to the 70s sitcoms. Mary Tyler Moore, All in the Family, Maude, among so many others were groundbreaking and familiar. Today's topical sitcoms would not be anywhere if it weren't for Norman Lear and others. My vote ALMOST went to the 80s, as Golden Girls and Cheers emerge from that decade, but the post about Perfect Strangers remind me why that decade was filled with so many bad ones too.

This decade also brought about successful spinoffs that, in their own right, were good shows (The Jeffersons, Maude, Rhoda). Frasier was about the only successful spinoff of 80s sitcoms (okay, MAYBE Empty Nest).

The 90s are really defined by a few choice shows, mainly Seinfeld and The Simpsons. I was never much into Seinfeld, and I appreciate the Simpsons more now than I did then. I think we are getting some good ones lately, as Modern Family and Parks and Recreation are two excellent shows. But neither one of those could tackle the issues if the 70s hadn't occurred.

Sorry if I caused confusion. I got the "decade" part, I just think Seinfeld was good enough to carry the decade all by itself. It was that good.

Quote: Face

Sorry if I caused confusion. I got the "decade" part, I just think Seinfeld was good enough to carry the decade all by itself. It was that good.

I agree, but it doesn't have to. The Simpsons, Frasier, Family Matters, Full House, News Radio, and Friends are also both decade defining and solid. Really, Friends could carry the 90s by itself if Seinfeld weren't there.

Quote: Face

I just think Seinfeld was good enough to carry the decade all by itself. It was that good.

In its time, yeah. But its very dated now, I can't
watch it. Its like All In The Family. Its was hilarious
when it was on, but the humor is outdated.
MASH holds up because its all clever one liners
and double entendre's, which is timeless. Like the
Marx Bros movies, timeless.

Quote: rdw4potus

I agree, but it doesn't have to. The Simpsons, Frasier, Family Matters, Full House, News Radio, and Friends are also both decade defining and solid. Really, Friends could carry the 90s by itself if Seinfeld weren't there.

Good point. After your (not even complete) list, yeah, 90's for sure now. Even with Seinfeld gone.

And yeah, some of Seinfeld is dated. There are jokes that kids just a little younger than me simply wouldn't get because they're politically based. But I find the majority of the show is timeless. Often I think "man, that's my work life now" and it's not until seeing Keith Hernandez that I remember this is from nearly 20 years ago. (BTW, I DESPISE Keith Hernandez!! ;))

I went with the nineties, but then I was watching most TV in the nineties. British sit Comsat probably got better in this last decade, but the yanks ruled the roost in 90s. For me at least.

MASH however wins in general... Can watch them time and again.

Quote: thecesspit

MASH however wins in general... Can watch them time and again.

I see MASH a few times a month. Its still relevant,
its been off for 30 years and could be on tomorrow.

Quote: rdw4potus

I agree, but it doesn't have to. The Simpsons, Frasier, Family Matters, Full House, News Radio, and Friends are also both decade defining and solid. Really, Friends could carry the 90s by itself if Seinfeld weren't there.

I could never take anybody's post about 90s sitcoms seriously in a list that includes FAMILY MATTERS AND FULL HOUSE!?!?!

Those two shows were dreck, plain and simple. After posting, I thought about adding Roseanne, as it paved the way for some good comedienne shows (Ellen, Grace Under Fire), but really Ellen (the original series) was a ripoff of Mary Tyler Moore Show and Grace Under Fire jumped the shark a few times. My vote for 70s still stands.

Regardless of which decade you pick, Betty White has been on a show during that decade.
50s: Life With Elizabeth
60s: Password and other game shows (I know, not sitcoms, but c'mon it's Betty frickin' White)
70s: Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White Show
80s: Mama's Family, Golden Girls
90s: Golden Palace, many guest shots
2000s: Boston Legal
2010s: Hot in Cleveland

Quote: Tiltpoul

I could never take anybody's post about 90s sitcoms seriously in a list that includes FAMILY MATTERS AND FULL HOUSE!?!?!

Those two shows were dreck, plain and simple.

LOL! Fair point. To be clear, I wasn't saying that I liked them. Just that they had their audience and that their staying power added to the 90's prowess. For instance, Family Matters anchored a comedy block that ran on Friday night and succeeded. That's kind of hard to do.

When I think about sitComs, I think about the 70s which had All in the Family, MTM, Bob NewHart and MASH (CBS Saturday/Sunday/Mondays) , Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and Three's Company (ABC Tuesday). All excellent. You also had Carol Burnett (not a sitcom), WKRP, Taxi, the Odd Couple, and Barney Miller.

The 80s and 90s for SitComs were really defined by NBC Thursdays: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Mad About You, Wings, Frasier, Night Court, and Seinfeld.

I'd have to say the 70s. While the 80s were great for its staples and the 90s probably had Seinfeld, it is only one bright star.

Quote: boymimbo

The 80s and 90s for SitComs were really defined by NBC Thursdays: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Mad About You, Wings, Frasier, Night Court, and Seinfeld.

I'd have to say the 70s. While the 80s were great for its staples and the 90s probably had Seinfeld, it is only one bright star.

Am I the only one who didn't forget about "Friends?" I think it is the second best of the 90s. I still get a kick out of watching old episodes. One of the best ensemble shows and also created the model for the modern "young/hip" sitcom -- for better or for worse.

It is hard to believe that the depth of the talent in "Taxi" will ever exist again in one television sitcom. Every single actor, including most of the frequent guest appearances,was amazing. Today, they would have to break them up and put them in their own series.

As much as I love the 70's sitcoms (Brady Bunch, Happy Days, The Muppet Show) and other TV shows (SNL, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Benny Hill), I have to give the nod to the 50's. The shows were groundbreaking, and many of the "situations" are still being redone on modern shows today. "I Love Lucy" has never been off the air since it first went on the air in 1951. "The Honeymooners" is timelessly funny, and one of my favorite shows of all time.

You forgot to mention Mary Lou Henner's spectacular memory.

Quote: Face

And yeah, some of Seinfeld is dated. There are jokes that kids just a little younger than me simply wouldn't get because they're politically based. But I find the majority of the show is timeless. Often I think "man, that's my work life now" and it's not until seeing Keith Hernandez that I remember this is from nearly 20 years ago. (BTW, I DESPISE Keith Hernandez!! ;))

I will say in the last 1-2 years I have noticed the younger people I work with completely miss any "Seinfeld" references. When you say, "Seinfeld" they say they never watched it. This is seems amazing at first as in the day you could make even the slightest quote from the show and almost everyone smiled at it. I told one of my fellow managers in a sour mood, "relax and have a muffin-top," which made his mood better instantly.

Then I realize the show went off the air 13 years ago and has been gone longer than it was on. In just a few years it will have the same relevance that "Happy Days" had to real life when it was on.

Anyone else feel old?

Still, I feel there will never again be a show with the same watercooler-effect as "Seinfeld" had.

Obviously, Seinfeld references play big in my life. Mimbo is a Seinfeld reference. My wife and I call either other "Schmoopie" (when George and Susan get all cuddly with each other because Jerry and his girlfriend are). When I think of some of the scenes, it just makes me laugh out loud. The quotes are amazing: "i'm still master of my domain". "No soup for you!", "Yada yada yada", "not that there's anything wrong with that".

Friends was more serious, and I watched the show regularly and still watch reruns, but there aren't memorable lines from the show, at all. Fraser's the same way. These were excellent sitcoms, but Seinfeld I think really topped all of them. Larry David's "Curb", would be equally as groundbreaking if it was aired during the same time as Seinfeld. Curve Your Enthusiasm makes me howl. LD just gets himself into awful situations as he has no social graces, like when he instructs a girl scout (daughter of the LA Dodgers owner) through the bathroom door how to insert a tampon during her first period. He thinks he's being nice, but that scene was just uncomfortably perfect. Excellent TV.

70s sitcoms were more meaningful however. All in the Family was groundbreaking because Archie Bunker was allowed to be a complete asshole, on air, and get away with it, while Stivic played the opposite, with Gloria and Edith in the middle. M*A*S*H played the folly of war and was needed in a time during Vietnam and its afterlife. Mary Tyler Moore put females in starring roles. All were funny.

Quote: boymimbo

My wife and I call either other "Schmoopie" (when George and Susan get all cuddly with each other because Jerry and his girlfriend are).

Actually that's what Jerry and his girlfriend called each other in the Soup nazi episode. George's annoyed at them and begins to get cuddly with Susan to get them back. Only Susan likes the public displays of affection and keeps them going.

I don't know every Seinfeld ep, but I saw that one several times.

the one I liked was a similar attempt set in LA, called "It's like, you know." Also helmed by Larry David as far as I know. It lasted half a season, I think. there was one scene I loved, because I totally identified with it:

Character (I forget his name): Didn't you hear me whan I said "no mayo."
Waiter: Yes. But I didn't believe you.

Seen most eveerything from the 60's to recent. Reruns of Honeymooners, Hogan's Heroes, MASH, Three's Company, All in the Family, Seinfeld, Big Bang, Two-and-a-Half Men.

Nothing beats the kids shows aka Sitcoms of the 60's.... nothin. We all got too old for them, but if you were a kid then, there was a bunch of stuff. Now by the 80's/90's that SAME group prolly likes Seifeld/Friends, as ADULTS. You have been marketted. LOL. So I guess if you're *Thirty-Something* you have yet a different answer than an old fart of 54.

N&B