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The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Odd Couple (1970-1975)

23 votes

Mary Tyler Moore (1970-1977)

17 votes

All in the Family (1968-1979)

24 votes

M*A*S*H (1972-1983)

24 votes

Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978)

16 votes

Barney Miller (1974-1982)

13 votes

Soap (1977-1981)

8 votes

Brady Bunch (1969-1974)

11 votes

Partridge Family (1970-1974)

4 votes

Sanford & Son (1972-1977)

8 votes

Happy Days (1974-1984)

16 votes

Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983)

3 votes

Welcome Back Kotter (1975-1979)

9 votes

One Day At a Time (1975-1984)

5 votes

Good Times (1974-1979)

7 votes

Maude (1972-1978)

1 votes

Frayed Knot Jan 25 2011 09:25 AM

Vote for [u:304kelrf]up to eight (8)[/u:304kelrf] of your favorites from the decade (more or less) of the 1970s Polls will close mid-day on Saturday.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 25 2011 09:40 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

In this category, I voted for seven. (The most yet, by the way.) Odd Couple (1970-1975) Mary Tyler Moore (1970-1977) All in the Family (1968-1979) M*A*S*H (1972-1983) Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978) Barney Miller (1974-1982) Soap (1977-1981)

Benjamin Grimm Jan 25 2011 09:41 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

My kids have been watching Happy Days recently on "The Hub" and I'm reminded that, except perhaps for the first season or two, it was simply awful.

Edgy DC Jan 25 2011 09:48 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Two seasons of excellence is a meaningful amount.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 25 2011 09:50 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Yeah, but following that by nine years of pure crap makes it a lousy show.

Willets Point Jan 25 2011 09:52 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

The 70s were truly the Golden Age of Sitcoms.

batmagadanleadoff Jan 25 2011 09:54 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

I voted for: The Odd Couple All in the Family Barney Miller Soap I never watched so much as one full episode of M*A*S*H*. But every year or so, I tell myself that I'm going to buy M*A*S*H* DVD's and work through them, in chronological order. There's just not enough time in life to read every great book, yada yada yada.

dgwphotography Jan 25 2011 09:55 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Benjamin Grimm wrote: My kids have been watching Happy Days recently on "The Hub" and I'm reminded that, except perhaps for the first season or two, it was simply awful. I completely agree. Going to the live audience format really destroyed the quality of the show.

Edgy DC Jan 25 2011 09:57 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

dgwphotography wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: My kids have been watching Happy Days recently on "The Hub" and I'm reminded that, except perhaps for the first season or two, it was simply awful. I completely agree. Going to the live audience format really destroyed the quality of the show. This is true, but was there really cause and effect? Does switching to studio stage sets really limit so much what the writers can offer and the directors can present?

themetfairy Jan 25 2011 09:57 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

This is the first category in which I had to trim it down to eight choices. The prime time of my viewing youth.

batmagadanleadoff Jan 25 2011 09:58 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

I also thought that Happy Days jumped the shark years before Fonzie jumped the shark.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 25 2011 09:59 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Edgy DC wrote: This is true, but was there really cause and effect? Does switching to studio stage sets really limit so much what the writers can offer and the directors can present? I think they just lost their way. The focus became less and less on the nostalgia and more and more on Fonzie, who became more and more of a cartoon character.

seawolf17 Jan 25 2011 10:02 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

I loved Happy Days just for the episode where Weezer played Arnold's. Brilliant show until it jumped the shark.

batmagadanleadoff Jan 25 2011 10:05 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 26 2011 08:53 PM

Edgy DC wrote: Two seasons of excellence is a meaningful amount. Benjamin Grimm wrote: Yeah, but following that by nine years of pure crap makes it a lousy show. This is how I feel about The Simpsons. Except that The Simpsons, at its four or five year peak, (Bill Clinton's first term) might've been the most creative show in TV history. I gave up on The Simpsons about 12 or 13 years ago. Like Fonzie, Homer's become a cartoon character.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 25 2011 10:37 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Weirdly, The Simpsons has suddenly and significantly picked up in the last season or so (see: Sabermetrics episode). It's worth another crack if you're home on Sunday evenings and bored. Back to the matter at hand: this is one loaded bracket. Odd Couple, MTM, AitF, MASH, Newhart I, Barney Miller, Soap, Good Times

Valadius Jan 25 2011 10:39 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

The Jeffersons doesn't qualify?

G-Fafif Jan 25 2011 10:50 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

I doubt it will sway a voter one way or the other, but All In The Family debuted in 1971 (not 1968) -- 40 years ago this month.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 25 2011 10:51 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

It's almost a signature of the sitcom format that the shows jump the shark long before they are canceled. Watching late-era M*A*S*H today makes my hair hurt, but I voted for it.

Vic Sage Jan 25 2011 10:53 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

i make no apologies for my valerie bertinelli fixation.

G-Fafif Jan 25 2011 10:56 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Didn't vote for it, but Mrs. Fafif and I not long ago watched the first season of Maude -- laugh-out loud funny for the first several episodes; this is not holding up well toward the end. And that was just the first season.

Edgy DC Jan 25 2011 10:57 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: It's almost a signature of the sitcom format that the shows jump the shark long before they are canceled. It's certainly (at least in part) a product of how much equity they garnered up front.

G-Fafif Jan 25 2011 11:01 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: It's almost a signature of the sitcom format that the shows jump the shark long before they are canceled. Watching late-era M*A*S*H today makes my hair hurt, but I voted for it. And thus, the out-on-top brilliance of Mary Tyler Moore. Its voluntarily closing shop after seven seasons would be like Albert Pujols signing on for no more than a two-year contract and then calling it a day after 2013.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 25 2011 12:24 PM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

I recently read a book about standup comics of the 1960's and 1970's, and there was a reference to Freddie Prinze. It's almost mind-boggling (and certainly an indication of how desperately NBC would want to cling to one of its very few hits at the time) that Chico and the Man would attempt to continue after Prinze's tragic death. It was Prinze's vehicle, and they tried to replace him with a Hispanic version of Cousin Oliver. So yeah, most sitcoms do hang on way too long.

Edgy DC Jan 25 2011 12:37 PM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Market position is too big a commodity to give up, even if your original protagonist is gone. Eight Simple Rules continued without John Ritter, Happy Days without Ron Howard, The Facts of Life without Charlotte Rae, and The Waltons without Richard Thomas, The Andy Griffth Show continued without Andy Griffith! Life must go on!

seawolf17 Jan 25 2011 12:39 PM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I recently read a book about standup comics of the 1960's and 1970's, and there was a reference to Freddie Prinze. It's almost mind-boggling (and certainly an indication of how desperately NBC would want to cling to one of its very few hits at the time) that Chico and the Man would attempt to continue after Prinze's tragic death. It was Prinze's vehicle, and they tried to replace him with a Hispanic version of Cousin Oliver. So yeah, most sitcoms do hang on way too long. Freddie Prinze jumped the shark when, on the same day in March 1976, he and my mom both had brilliant, hardworking children who would go on to bed Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Ashie62 Jan 25 2011 09:56 PM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Vic Sage wrote: i make no apologies for my valerie bertinelli fixation. You and me both. Susan Dey also.

Frayed Knot Jan 26 2011 06:28 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Vic Sage wrote: i make no apologies for my valerie bertinelli fixation. Then or now!

Benjamin Grimm Jan 26 2011 06:34 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Valerie Bertinelli was (and is) fantastic, but the show was awful. And I never understood how she and MacKenzie Phillips could be cast as sisters.

dgwphotography Jan 26 2011 07:37 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Vic Sage wrote: i make no apologies for my valerie bertinelli fixation. Nor should you. She is still amazing...

seawolf17 Jan 26 2011 07:43 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

dgwphotography wrote: Vic Sage wrote: i make no apologies for my valerie bertinelli fixation. Nor should you. She is still amazing... "Really, dude. Bitch is crazy."

Vic Sage Jan 26 2011 08:45 AM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

Frayed Knot wrote: Vic Sage wrote: i make no apologies for my valerie bertinelli fixation. Then or now! frankly, she's hotter now than then.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 26 2011 12:00 PM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

This was the golden age of TV theme songs, too. The Brady song, Kotter, M*A*S*H* (if you like that sort of thing), Good Times, AitF... One Day had a great, bouncy one, as did Sanford (my second-favorite theme of all-time).

Vic Sage Jan 26 2011 02:19 PM Re: The World Series of TV Sit-Coms - Group C

My take: Odd Couple - maybe the best sitcom ever; still watchable and funny. Mary Tyler Moore - groundbreaking in its day and, more importantly, genuinely funny All in the Family - ditto; except it derailed toward the end. M*A*S*H - ditto, and ditto. Bob Newhart Show - Believable marriage, surrounded by psychos at work and next door. Hit all the right notes, great ensemble, consistently funny. Barney Miller - dour cops, trying to make it thru the shift with a modicum of dignity. Funny, high caliber ensemble. Used to watch with my dad, who totally loved it. It was definitely a show for dads. Soap - wacky spoof of soaps was a cultural touchstone for a while, but wore out its welcome. Brady Bunch - i hated hated hated this show. Partridge Family - Danny made it work; its basically unwatchable now. Sanford & Son - Redd Foxx sanitized for the masses; not bad in its day. Happy Days - i hated hated hated this show, too. Laverne & Shirley - for some reason, though, i didn't mind how insane this show was. Maybe it was my affection for Lenny & Squiggy. Welcome Back Kotter - Formulaic, and Gabe Kaplan was the least funny thing about it, but did you know that "Horsack" means "the cattle are dying"... it says so right here in this note from Epstein's mother. One Day At a Time - i've already confessed my ongoing affections for Valerie Bertinelli, but i should also now admit that i thought Schneider was an intriguing character. Part stalker, part father surrogate, all man in a feminized world. Good Times - it was not exactly Dyn-o-mite! Maude - this All IN THE FAMILY spin-off had its qualities, but heavy-handedness rendered it inert.