Saturday, March 23, 2013

Greatest sitcoms

I have been following the bracket that vulture.com has been putting on for the last month or so in regards to the greatest sitcoms of all time.  As the sitcom has become the dinosaur of television with very few even getting a go at it and very few outside of Louie, Sunny, Parks and Rec and the old main stays South Park and The Simpsons (still going strong) even worth the writing talent to watch.  Most have become parodies of themselves as the era of dark drama television has taken over (NCIS, CSI, Homeland, Thrones, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, etc.).  Click on the link http://www.vulture.com/2013/03/seinfeld-vs-simpsons-sitcom-smackdown.html to view a great article written by David Lipsky about the matchup that I had the hardest time deciding about which was greater, The Simpsons or Seinfeld.  The article leaves you wanting to watch both for the memories that it cues in your mind about a time when these TV shows were what people watched and talked about as they taught us something about ourselves through humor.  It amazing how many of the episodes discussed will stick in your mind years later.  I have always considered Seinfeld the best of all time and I probably still do.  When comparing it to The Simpsons, which has similarities but is also very different, it becomes difficult to crown one better than the other.  The Simpsons has been going strong for over 20 years.  When I was a kid, I was told I wasn't allowed to watch The Simpsons so naturally the show gained my interest and was put on a pedestal.  Just like Howard Stern used to be shocking, The Simpsons are probably the most family friendly mild humored show on TV today! I could never decide between these two, but if I had too, I would give it to The Simpsons based on longevity, creativity, and the fact that "D'oh" is now in the dictionary.  Tough choice, as Seinfeld can never be duplicated and either way the golden era for the sitcom is long since over.  Louie is very dark humor that many average viewers just don't get and Sunny is Seinfeld on speed and many viewers don't get that either, I think they are both the best out there for a sitcom, but they aren't on major networks and they cost almost no money to make which you can then argue the talent behind the writing to make it work as they both do.  Each of the last seasons were probably the best yet!  Check out the article for a great walk down memory lane and if you grew up in the nineties, you have a hard decision to make.

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