1.The Simpsons - Classic, greatest comedy show (sitcom?) EVER, animated or non animated.
2.Family Guy - Really funny jokes that are just completely random, and all kinds of cultural references. Glad that it's coming back.
3.Roseanne - People make fun of me sometimes cuz I'm a guy and I like this show, I don't tend to care, I love it, VERY realistic outlook on family life, none of that herky-perky stuff you see on Full House, and not as depressing as Good Times. Most original show I've seen, it completely broke out of the tradition of sitcoms, filled with twists and turns.
4.GTO - Anime with the greatest teacher ever, it can be hilarious or serious, it's great, check it out.
5.South Park - People tend to say that this show is "iofftopicture" loaded only with potty humor and cussing,most of the people that say this never even seen the show, just judging everything on commercials and the Guiness record that the South Park movie holds, (most cuss words in a movie) these people should watch the show before judging. There's very funny humor and very clever messages that state wht's wrong with this world, it's not all cussing.
1. Blackadder ( I prefer the second series, especially in comparison to the very different 1st series which, while groundbreaking in many ways, wasn't as accessible as the later ones)
2. Father Ted (my gfs fave, but not quite mine )
3. Fawlty Towers
4. Black Books
5. Red Dwarf (but only pre-Kochanski - introduction of that character as a regular ruined it. Had to mess up a good thing! )
6. Yes Minister/Drop the Dead Donkey (two of the best satirical sitcoms around, though the former was obviously rather more sharply pointed )
7. Monty Python (though the series wasn't consistently great, despite what people may think )
8. The Simpsons/Futurama/Family Guy/Undergrads (though I only ever saw that last one in Canada - presumably it has a wider syndication than that?)
9. Have I Got News For You/Whose Line Is It Anyway (not sitcoms, but still great comedy)
10. Dead Ringers/Just A Minute (the two BEST radio comedy shows, unless you count the original Hitchhikers guide as a comedy rather than a play or something like that. DR was much better on the radio, but I will hopefully be going along to the TV version soon, if I get the tickets).
Personally, I think Only Fools and Horses is vastly overrated and suceeds mainly through public sentimentality rather than any inherent comic genius - like Jack Dee said, a soap-com. Then again, I'm probably just peeved Blackadder didn't win that Best British Sitcom thing.
I can see that Will & Grace, and Friends have been mentioned only once. I like both of them. Some of the comedies mentioned above can't be found on our TV. A friend of mine from Australia gave me a tape of Acropolis Now. Funny as well
I have to disagree with that one!! There are some pure comedy genius moments in only fools, because it was so long running i can see why you think its just nostalgic feelings towards the series. It doesnt help that they repeat the same episodes, so that you can sometimes get a jaded view of the series. But who can forget the episode where del and rodders are dressed as batman and robin and come running thru the smoke, i nearly died it was so funny, and when del fell thru the bar top in the wine bar, i nearly wet myself!
It is one of the most consistenlty funny tv progs, and the fact it ran for so long is a testament to the writing skill.
I feel it ran out of steam a long time ago, and should have bowed out gracefully rather than becoming ever more sentimental and almost pseudo-dramatic rather than comic. The shining example is, and probably always will be, Fawlty Towers - two series of utter genius, left to posterity without the indignity of watching it decline over the years with increasingly less entertaining and less well written episodes. This has unfortunately happened to various long running comedies, including one of my favourites, Red Dwarf.
Just IMO, of course - comedy is subjective, the same things don't make everyone laugh and vice versa.
Family Guy, Trigger Happy TV, Reno 911, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, South Park, Scrubs, and The Daily Show. Not in any particular order. Notice the heavy load of comedy central shows
I've become rather disappointed with Coupling since they got rid of Jeff - its really lost of lot of momentum because of that. The new guy is trying to play his character the same as Jeff, but its not working.
I really enjoyed the earlier episodes, but since then its gone downhill. Also, the subject matter is pretty limited (though still brilliantly pulled off in the earlier series).
1. Blackadder 2
2. Monty Pythons Flying Circus
3. Q (Spike Milligan)
4. Ripping Yarns (What Michael Palin did after Monty Python)
5. The Simpsons
6. Futurama
7. Family guy
8. Derek & Clive (On the radio)
9. Open all hours (Pure Class)
10. Victor Lewis Smith (On the radio)
Some of this might not mean much to those who are either american, young, or have led a sheltered existence.