Most Underrated Sitcom

[Va Lefty]

Comedy is very subjective, but I'd like your opinion. I enjoy watching all of these shows, what's your fav?

[Richardo]

1. Missed it by *that* much

Get Smart is the greatest TV comedy ever.

[regularguy]

93. I swam the length of the Mississippi River!

Would you believe width? Three times around the bathtub?
:thumbsup:

[LostInAnomie]

2. Arrested Development

I win.

[wickerwoman]

57. You beat me to it

This is easily the best sitcom of all time, tragically cut after only three seasons and most people have never seen it.

As added gravy, I read that the family is loosely based on the Bushes.

I really blame the title. It makes it sound like bland teen-fare. I didn't watch it when it was on TV mostly because the title didn't excite me, but I totally discovered it on DVD.

Best line: "The turn you into a monster and then they call you one!"

Best bit: Lucille baits the balcony with graham crackers

[Burma Jones]

86. One of the more inane reasons given for its demise is that it lacked "likeable" characters

that ratings wouldn't be strong for a show with so many unlikable characters - tell THAT to Jerry Seinfeld.......

[Manifestor_of_Light]

3. The PJs on FOX. Claymation.

I think it only ran for one season.
It was a joint project of Eddie Murphy and Ron Howard.

The adventures of Thurgood Orenthal Stubbs, the "super" (superintendent - maintenance guy) at the high rise housing projects, and his wife Muriel, crackhead Smokey, and other characters.

Funniest damn thing I've ever seen. I could not figure out why people raved about Futurama and Family Guy and ignored The PJs.

Smokey the crackhead wore a button that said "Lose Weight Now - Ask Me How".

Thurgood started saying things starting with common phrases turned into the names of famous black people, such as "Holy Moses Malone" and "Whitney Houston, we have a problem".

:rofl:

I think it died because it was realistic. The characters were not all squeaky clean role models like The Cosby Show.

"Dinosaurs" was pretty good too, back in 1994 or so, done by the Muppet people.

[ghostsofgiants]

4. I loved The PJs and Dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs, I recently discovered, often had progressive political themes. It ran form '91 to '94.

[Danger Mouse]

8. Yeah, the last episode was a horribly depressing morality tale about the environment.

They froze to death...looks like it'll be the opposite for us...

[krispos42]

53. The PJs... oh, I'd forgotten all about them!

They were funny as hell. The HUD lady was what sticks in my mind.


According to Wikipedia, it ran for three seasons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_PJs

[Bennyboy]

5. Frasier......

Way not enough love for this show. Always funny and intellegent.

[Flaxbee]

6. Frazier was one of my favorites....

It got a little old, as many long-running sitcoms do, but it was often hilarious. Helped that my dad is a psychiatrist :D

In fact, I think Frazier is really the only sitcom I've watched in the last two decades. Before that, I liked Soap.

[Va Lefty]

7. Frasier was great...

and won a lot of awards. I'm talking about shows that were not recognized at the time

[TheCentepedeShoes]

9. Dark Shadows n/t

[papapi]

50. "Dark Shadows" was NOT a sitcom. It was a serial gothic romance....

have you ever seen an episode of "Dark Shadows"?

[TheCentepedeShoes]

66. Oh yes

back in the college daze it was the thing to gather round the teevee in the SUB or the dorm lounge and catch an episode. Much hilarity ensued. :rofl:

[Dr. Strange]

73. Okay, it wasn't a sitcom for SOBER people.

Although the overwhelming urge to get scenes done in one take with no re-dos did make for the occasional laugh.

[papapi]

74. Agreed, they were on a tight budget . . .

I still watch a weeks worth occasionally. DS has a decent fan following. I've been to the festival in NY, NY three times.

[Dr. Strange]

92. I just got the DVD collection of the 90s version.

And, of course, I can't wait to see Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's take on it: http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/06/02/tim-burton-and-john-august-developing-dark-shadows

[Westegg]

101. On one episode, a fly landed on an actor's hand...

...It was a very fat fly. The kind you just know was feeding on some tasty garbage right before he buzzed onto the set. The actor (possibly "Barnabas Collins") flicked it off without missing a line. I was thrilled and amazed. Guess they didn't do second takes on that show. Yes, it was a comedy.

[Brigid]

10. You forgot "Night Court."

And "Perfect Strangers" too.

[sniffa]

11. Andy Richter Controls The Universe

Such a great show, that never was given a chance. :cry:

[skooooo]

14. Had his ...

..dad as a professor in college.

:)

[sniffa]

18. No way

Lucky you. :hi:

Andy is so f'n funny, and he's often overlooked.

[skooooo]

23. Yup...

his dad was hoot too.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

16. I loved the three TVs in his bedroom.

It was his ultimate fantasy so that every time he turned over in bed, he could see a TV. :rofl:

[sniffa]

20. Thanks for reminding me

:rofl:

My favorite episode was the racism against the Irish. "How did I not notice he was Irish?"

:rofl:

[Rob H.]

71. I finally wound up buying a copy of the entire series on eBay

because for whatever reason Fox won't get off their asses and release it themselves. My favorite episode is "Holy Sheep" when Byron is converting to Zumanism.

Byron: That's Tracy, the minister’s daughter. She's super nice.
Andy: Now I see why you've joined this religion. It's the same reason I campaigned for Dukakis.
Byron: Andy, you are cynical. I believe in Zumanism. Tracy is just coming over to help me study for my Zuminion. That's, that's the rite of passage where I will officially become a man.
Keith: Maybe you can become a man with Tracy. Or at least a very sweaty boy.
Byron: I am so into her. But, unfortunately, it is against my religion to have sex for 3 months before my Zuminion.
Andy: Well, can't you get credit for the other 29 sexless years of your life?
Byron (sarcastically): Ha, ha, ha.
Byron (seriously): No. I asked.

--

Andy: Your religion is the goofy fruit of the Ha-Ha bush.


ETA: And Paget Brewster, mmmm. :loveya:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

12. Grounded for Life.

Dude, I was on the floor for the first episode. "Hey, boys don't get in trouble when they're in the backyard digging a hole." Or something like that. I was dying.
Duckie

[hellbound-liberal]

13. From your list, I'll pick Get Smart. But I have to give a shout out for Get A Life with Chris Elliot

It has similar humor but a little more outrageous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqmnQl02ywM

[jobycom]

15. The Bernie Mac Show. I win.

Bernie Mac was smart, funny, and real. Most underrated sitcom ever.

If you want to go with the best that most people haven't watched or heard of, then Frank's Place. But I don't think it was underrated, since most people acknowledge its genius. Well, most people who saw it. Maybe it should be called under-viewed, instead of underrated.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

17. Austin Stories.

[jobycom]

108. A show killed by its own success.

MTV dropped it because it got such high ratings that they knew the actors would begin demanding higher salaries, the story went.

It was a religion here in Austin. Even my conservative boss who hates television liked it. It just reminded everyone of everyone.

[Mojambo]

19. Newsradio is VERY underrated.

Overshadowed throughout its run by higher rated NBC sitcoms.

One of the best ensemble casts of all time.

[Robeson]

21. WKRP, and Barney Miller...

...were a couple of my favs.

[Redneck Socialist]

32. I second Barney Miller. n/t

[Courtesy Flush]

83. Great show! n/t

[hyphenate]

46. I'm on the same wavelength, too!

Both shows were just shy of complete chaos. That gave a nice undertone of uncertainty as to how something was going to end, and that made it more fun.

[Broken_Hero]

49. I second WKRP.....nt

[argyl]

22. The Beverly Hillbillies.Seriously. Superficially,it was a goof but it often

had a wry,satirical edge to it.Modern life as viewed by innocents.Or maybe I just smoked too much dope watching too many reruns.

Sharon Tate (RIP) had a recurring role as Janet Trego in the series.

[CBGLuthier]

78. no, you are correct

To see how bad it could have been just watch the reunion movie made after Paul Henning died. It lacked wit or anything worth watching.

Also they even snuck a few drug jokes in like Jethro calling marinara sauce marijuana sauce or Granny telling the cops she liked to smoke crawdads but first she needed a little pot. :-)

[Adsos Letter]

24. Arrested Development...totally...

and also "Are You Being Served?"

[Mojambo]

33. Underwatched? Absolutely

I don't believe it was underrated.

Deserved a MUCH higher audience. Unfortunately it was way too smart for 90% of the American TV watching public.

[Adsos Letter]

37. agreed...and some of the funniest stuff to come down the pike recently...

I have all seasons on DVD.

"Beads."

"Bees?"

"Beads!"

"BEADS?!!!"

"I don't think Job's on board with this..." :rofl:

[Mojambo]

38. "There's no I in Teamocil, at least not where you think..."

Dr. Funke's 100 Percent Natural Good Time Family Band Solution.

[wickerwoman]

58. Mind the Poppins!

Bloody Yanks!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

81. I agree. Critics rightfully rated it highly. Sadly, more people didn't watch.

It still is one of my favorite television comedies of all time.

[asdjrocky]

25. For me it was WKRP.

One of the reasons I became a DJ. The turkey episode was one of the funniest moments ever on TV.

[Adsos Letter]

27. "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!!!"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[asdjrocky]

28. OMG you made me laugh.

Remember how Les Nessman always had a bandage on some part of his body?

[Adsos Letter]

29. yup...and Herb Tarlac and his suits...

:rofl: ...and Lonnie Anderson :woohoo:

[asdjrocky]

30. And when I got my first radio job

I found out that Lonnie was about the only thing about that show that was true. We always had a babe at the front desk at every radio station I ever worked at. And I've been fired from every decent radio station in Ca at least once.

And oh yeah.... booger.

[Adsos Letter]

31. !

:rofl:

[csziggy]

56. Venus on Herb's suit: Somewhere there's a Volkswagen without seat covers.

[GreenPartyVoter]

94. That very episode was on the other night

[jobycom]

35. Underrated? Wasn't it one of the highest rated and acclaimed in tv history?

[asdjrocky]

40. Is that you Howard? nt

[jobycom]

98. Who are you? The Phone Cops? I don't know any Howard. nt

[hyphenate]

47. One of my favorite running gags was Les's invisible door

to his "office."

And I had a crush on Gary Sandy for a long time. :)

[Adsos Letter]

26. Also...the older seasons of Malcolm In the Middle"...

"you're not the boss of me..."

[Fox Mulder]

44. I was just going to post "Malcolm in the Middle".

That show was genius.

[Adsos Letter]

45. It was, indeed. It is one of the few series I have on DVD.

[Guava Jelly]

34. scrubs

:)

[grilled onions]

36. Peoples Choice

Jackie Cooper and his adorable basset hound who gets every funny line in that sitcom.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. Wow, you must be old like me

:-)

[FloridaJudy]

61. You mean I didn't hallucinate that talking dog?

I was staying home from school at my granny's house with a high fever when I saw that show. I think it got shoveled in between Korla Pandit and December Bride. It was all really weird when you've got a temperature of 104.

[yellowdogintexas]

110. oh wow, from the depths of my childhood. I did love that show nt

[Kat45]

41. "Stilll Standing" was my favorite show in the years it was on.

I loved that show, and the main characters reminded me of some of my friends.

[Carrieyazel]

42. The John Larroquette Show- Funniest sitcom of the 90's. Got little respect.

Great cast too. Everyone on it was funny, and it took real chances.

[Mojambo]

51. Good call. n/t

[Va Lefty]

67. Excellent choice

I forgot about that one, I definitely would have put it in the poll

[jobycom]

100. Yes! nt

[yellowdogintexas]

113. I loved that show. He is a great actor. nt

[ironflange]

116. First season: dark and brilliant

Then the Brainiacs at NBC decided dark and brilliant was a bad thing, moved all the characters to the day shift, and it was downhill from there.

I think John Larroquette deserves a lot better than what he got after "Night Court." "Payne" had to be one of the worst ever; in that show, he always looked like he was looking for a hole in the ground to hide in.

[hyphenate]

43. Barney Miller

WKRP in Cincinnati-

I think MASH should be listed as well

oh, I have to add Dave's World and Newhart and Bob Newhart shows. (Chicago shrink and Vermont Inn owner--there was another one I can't remember)

Oh, and I want to also add Home Improvement. :)

[Doug.Goodall]

63. I don't think Barney Miller had a laugh track

Viewers got to laugh when they thought it was funny, not on command from the writers.

[1]

48. buffalo bill. dabney coleman, geena davis...

that shit was funny...

[papapi]

52. "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman"

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

88. My first choice! I read down the list to see if anyone else mentioned it! I would Love to watch it

again! :)

[wain]

115. You can!!

http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Hartman-1/dp/B000MEYKA0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1214871879&sr=8-1

[krispos42]

54. "Whoopi"

I thought it was funny :shrug:

[MorningGlow]

55. How about some Britcoms that were sorely underrated Stateside?

I'm thinking Doctor in the House, Butterflies, The Young Ones, Good Neighbors...I know there are plenty more, but those are the ones I thought of right away. I started being a huge anglophile in my teens, and I couldn't get enough of the Brit stuff on PBS (this was back in the old days before--gasp--cable, satellite, BBC America). Of course, there were plenty of sucky sitcoms from across the pond, as well--I was never so much of an anglophile that I couldn't see crap for what it was. But damn, I laughed my ass off watching so many of them.

[yellowdogintexas]

111. one good thing about Texas: KERA in Dallas is Your Britcom Station

normally there are about 10 to 12 series running on KERA from across the pond. A lively mix of new, old and in between.

KERA started it all by running Monty Python ..they were the FIRST.

I LOVE BritComs.
are you familiar with
'Allo, 'Allo
Last of the Summer Wine
To the Manor Born
Open All Hours
Waiting for God

which are some of our favorites that resurface here periodically.
currently we are getting As Time Goes By, Yes Prime MInister, Open All Hours, Keeping Up Appearances, Last of the Summer Wine, Red Dwarf, Father Ted, Coupling, My Hero, Are You Being Served? that I can remember right this minute. There is a Canadian one mixed in there, and we may be getting Monty Python really late on Sat Night.

[FloridaJudy]

59. Titus

Back when I had a working TV. But then I always had a warped sense of humor.

[Zavulon]

120. My choice as well.

It tackled a lot of uncomfortable issues (alcoholism, insanity, racism, rape, homosexuality and gay bashing, etc.) and was still hilarious from start to finish.

I'll never forget actually pulling a muscle laughing over a scene showing Titus beating up a drag racer in front of his girlfriend to the tune of "precious and few are the moments we two can share..." :rofl:

[Drunken Irishman]

60. Roseanne...I think, outside of the last season, it's one of the greatest.

It felt so real and was much like my family growing up. You know, rarely do TV shows speak to the working class in that type of way and Roseanne did it in such an amazing fashion. It's always rated as one of the best, but it's a top-5 sitcom in my opinion.

For your list, though, I voted for Grounded For Life.

I wonder why? :D

[JVS]

62. a lot of those shows just sucked.

[DFW]

64. The Addams Family

"You rang?"

[last_texas_dem]

65. I've plugged this one on here too much already

but I'd have to go with one of my all-time favorite shows, "Freaks and Geeks." It actually developed a decent-sized cult following eventually, but too late to avoid it being cancelled after only one season. Because it does have a bit of a cult, it's better-known and thus less "underrated" than it would otherwise be, but I still think it's a relatively obscure, yet awesome show. Who knows? Perhaps it wouldn't have held up over time and what makes it great is that it didn't have time to become weak, lasting only one season. I still wish there had been more episodes, though!

[Theres-a]

68. Petticoat Junction

[av8rdave]

69. Call me strange, but I loved "Northern Exposure"

[yellowdogintexas]

112. Not Strange. Intelligent nt

[pokerfan]

70. Sports Night?

Critically acclaimed, award winning, and a loyal following. ABC jerked it all over the dial and failed to promote it for whatever reason.

Sports Night had the dubious distinction of being the highest rated series to be canceled that year.

[DarkTirade]

72. I've only seen three of those.

And not a whole lot of those three. :shrug:

[KatyMan]

75. What about Wings?

That was always a great show

[Tommy_Carcetti]

77. I'll second Wings.

It was hilarious, but I didn't discover it until long after it had gone off the air.

[Sir Jeffrey]

91. I agree...

Wings had a great story and the characters interacted well with each other.

The show lost a bit of appeal to me after Lowell left the show, but anytime I can catch a rerun it always makes me laugh.

[MissMillie]

76. Newhart

outstanding stuff

[NewJeffCT]

79. The short-lived series "Police Squad"

With Leslie Nielsen, that later went on to become a few movies that recycled a lot of the same jokes (only, it worked way better in a 30 minute sitcom format!)

It was canceled because the network said people had to pay too much attention to it because of all the jokes (like the prison boxer who had a robe that read "Penn State" on one side and "State Pen" on the other)

[meegbear]

84. I have the DVD with all 6 episodes ...

it's great to watch when you're down; always makes me laugh.

[ironflange]

117. "In Color!"

:rofl:

I feel very privileged in having seen all six when they were first run.

Leslie Nielsen was grand marshal of the Stampede Parade lots of years ago. I went to see it. When he went past, I yelled, "Don't call me Shirley!" He heard me, pointed, and laughed.

[NewJeffCT]

122. I used to like the beginning

where they would have, "And guest starring William Shatner" (or somebody else)

Then, they'd have a quick clip of Shatner getting up from a restaurant table and getting shot - and that would be the guest appearance for the show.

[Courtesy Flush]

80. Green Acres!

A great surreal farce set in a rural twilight zone. I loved it.

[terrya]

82. "The Critic"

I have the entire series on dvd. I loved it. Hilarious stuff. :-)

[Tommy_Carcetti]

85. Hee-Haw: The Next Generation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W42IY_SgCY4

I remember seeing that when it first came out and just cracking up hysterically.

The Critic reminded me a lot of pre-cancellation hiatus Family Guy.

[Burma Jones]

87. Action, with Jay Mohr and the brilliant Illiana Douglas - Fox, 1999 to 2000

Not to mention Buddy Hackett and R. Lee Ermey

[Tommy_Carcetti]

89. Another good one was Coach

Surprisingly funny.

[Blue-Jay]

90. Hello Larry

[underpants]

95. I will add to some great choices already posted--Reno 911

I was going to say Scrubs as it is like a live action version of Family Guy (stream of consciousness humor) in that like Reno 911 it has been moved all over the schedule (on ABC next season) so it is hard to build an audience or for viewers (like me) to have a set time and day to watch it.

Reno is very very funny.

[JackBeck]

96. Strangers With Candy.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

97. Oh, hells yes.

Or as Jerri Blank would say, "That's hi-lar-ious!"

[JackBeck]

102. We say that quite often.

As well as other notable catch-phrases from the show.

We even named our cat Suki, after Jerri's pet chicken in the anorexia/debate team episode.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

103. "Suki--so loyal, so loving"

"So moist and tender"

"Suk-ulent!"

(I love how Deborah Rush--Jerri's stepmom--had to keep herself from cracking up after saying that line.)

[JackBeck]

105. Yes!

One of my many favorite scenes.

JackBeck fun fact: I can briefly be seen on a DVD "Strangers" extra.

[terrya]

99. Absolutely agree

Amy Sedaris...AND Stephen Colbert! Laugh out loud funny. The film from a couple of years ago was hilarious, also. :-)

[JackBeck]

104. Monday nights were "Strangers" nights at the bar.

If the show made any money for any of the parties involved, I'd ask for some residuals for the amount of people I introduced to that show.

"Good times!"

[progressoid]

106. I just checked out the first season from the library.

Gonna watch it all week!

[JackBeck]

107. Enjoy!

I've found that multiple viewings are necessary in order to catch things that may have been missed during an initial viewing.

[KamaAina]

109. Spin City

particularly while Michael J. was still on it. Charlie Sheen gave it the old college try, but...

[PeaceNikki]

114. 3rd Rock from the Sun

[Arugula Latte]

118. I doubt it was the most underrated, but, you know, I have to admit I thought "Perfect Strangers"

was a pretty funny show.

Yes, very slapsticky. Very schticky. But, there was something about the interaction of Balki and the American Cousin that cracked me up.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

124. Perfect Strangers was good, goofy fun.

I loved it as a kid growing up. I saw a few repeats a couple of months ago, and while it was still pretty stupid, it was also still funny.

[ironflange]

119. Small Wonder

:silly:


"May I please have some Oreos and a cool glass of your DNA sample?"

[Zavulon]

121. Of the ones you've listed, I'd pick Still Standing.

My real choice would be Titus, though. Absolutely hilarious, and available for cheap at Amazon.

[AwakeAtLast]

Titus

That show made me howl out loud.

That, and I have some strange affinity for blond guys.

[AwakeAtLast]

123. Double post

That's happened twice to me today. :shrug: