My Five Favorite Sitcoms Of All Time

I’ve been known to watch a lot of TV, although now I watch mostly sports-related programming. I used to watch a lot of sitcoms, though. Here are my five favorites.

 

5. Spin City

I almost can’t believe Spin is this low. I loved Spin when it was on…well, I did pre-Heather Locklear. The show just wasn’t the same once she joined the cast and Jennifer Esposito (Stacy) left. The first three seasons, especially Seasons 2 and 3, were about as good as a sitcom can get. I pretty much stopped watching once Locklear (and eventually Charlie Sheen) were on the show. Oddly enough, the show that immediately replaced it as my favorite is up next.

4. Sports Night

When I tell you I loved this show…man. If I remember correctly, the show was pretty much done for after Robert Guillaume suffered a stroke. The writing team worked it into the storyline, but the show lost a lot of steam. The show used a dry comedy, and the writers employed much more continuity than those who write most sitcoms. I guess The West Wing is partly to blame for the show’s demise, as Aaron Sorkin decided to focus more on it rather than continue Sports Night after ABC canceled it.

3. 8 Simple Rules

The first season produced more laughs per episode, minute, whatever than any season of any show I’ve ever watched. Obviously, everything changed when John Ritter died. I couldn’t watch the show anymore: not “I didn’t want to”, as was the case with Spin…I couldn’t. When I first had real trouble sleeping, I watched a lot of Three’s Company. That was how I grew to appreciate Ritter. Heard about 8 Simple Rules being developed and it was a wrap. Greatness, that first season was. I’ve never seen a post-Ritter show, and only watched the “death” episode once…last year.

2. All In The Family

Episode for episode, it can’t touch the three below it. However, it has a lasting impact that no show before or since will ever have…and it’s pretty funny too. It’s the greatest show of all time, and there’s no rational argument for anything else. Here is an 8 1/2 minute clip that captures everything about this show…

…oh yeah, and it begat the #1 show on this list.

1. The Jeffersons

You want me to stay inside my place? Run a Jeffersons marathon. I’m not going anywhere unless I absolutely have to. It did get a little crazy toward the end and I never was too crazy about Mother Jefferson, but everything else was priceless: especially the interactions George had with…just about everyone. Norman Lear waited for Sherman Helmsley to finish a previous stint before he started the show: best decision ever. No one played any role any better than he played George Jefferson, and no one outside of Stone Cold Steve Austin had people tuning every week to see what he was going to do. I just can’t say enough about that show.