Top 5 Sitcoms...

As many of you know, I hate a lot of sitcoms. They are generally very cliche and made for people who know nothing about comedy or writing. The one thing missing from television for many years now has been a really good sitcom. One that brings people in week after week. Remember how good sitcoms used to be and how many there were? Seinfeld, The Simpsons (stopped being funny in 2000), Friends, Night Court, Murphy Brown, etc. Pretty much every show from the 90s that people remember was a sitcom. So I decided I would rank the best sitcoms of this millennium. This is limited to shows that are 30 minutes long and are true sitcoms, not amazing shows that are also funny (Entourage, Weeds etc.) Also this is shows that primarily aired during this millennium, for example Friends doe not make the cut because it started in 95 or something. Anyways, here it is.

5.) Curb Your Enthusiasm 2000-Present
Larry David is hilarious. That's pretty much al you can say. I don't have cable so I don't get to watch this show anymore but I still watch the dvds and it is ridiculous how funny it is. The entire cast is perfect and it has grown so much and changed so much that it's kind of surprising it's still funny. A lot of times characters change and get older and move on from what was funny (Friends) that it starts to suck after a while but in it's 8th year, it is still pumping out very funny dialogue and new material which is mind boggling.















4.) Futurama 1999-2003
Not counting the new unreleased dvd movies, Futurama was an amazing show. The characters are so complimentary to each other that it really is kind of perfect. Everyone fulfills a role that is necessary but at the same time hilarious. There's not one person on the show who is everyone's favorite (possibly Bender) and I think that is really what works for it. When you have over 5 characters all being hilarious, the show is bound to be amazing.

3.) Family Guy (Original Episodes) 1999-2003
The new episodes are not funny. After it was cancelled the magic was lost. I haven't seen the movie but I've heard bad things. The original 4 seasons though were perfection. It came around during the perfect time because The Simpsons was starting to lose it's magic and Futurama wasn't doing so great. It reinvigorated the cartoon comedy and really brought a lot of Simpsons fans back to being funny again. I remember phasing out quotes from the Simpson's and instead quoting Family Guy.















2.) The Office (UK Version) 2001-2003
This is pretty much where it would be in my all time greatest sitcoms, not just in the last 8 years. It's truly perfect. The reason I still can't bring myself to watch the american version. I hear it's actually good, but how can you try and emulate perfection? You're only going to come up short. It had the greatest story arc of any sitcom ever and really the greatest ending special to a series. It's amazing how good shows can be and how untarnished their legacy when they're not dragged through lame season after lame season. The Simpsons could have been a great if not for the last 9 seasons. Friends could have done it if not for the last 3. To go out on top, and to choose to do it rather than get cancelled is pretty extraordinary.











1.) Arrested Development 2003-2006
It's time came much too soon. The best ensemble cast in a sitcom ever. Everyone was perfect. A lot of times in sitcoms people get pigeon holed into their character like in Friends (could I be any more pigeon holed). Or other times we can lose sight of the character for the actor like in Seinfeld, sometimes I saw the real life Jerry and not the character in the show. But Arrested Development was almost real. As if they weren't actors but really themselves. For every single take of every single episode. It's amazing really that it was cancelled and shows like 2 and a Half Men are still on the air. I hope the movie that is being discussed actually gets made. It would be tragic if I never got to see what happened to the Bluths...

Anyways, you can dispute whatever but you're wrong. These are the best. Go big...

-M, p, z & shredder

oh ps - it's going to be 78 today. Degrees. 78 degrees. In Michigan. In mid-April. Can anyone say 'melting-ice caps.' Please reduce, reuse and recycle! I love the weather but like Joni Mitchell said, 'I don't care about spots on my apples, leave me the birds and the bees. Please."