EWB's All-Time Favorite TV Show Tournament

[TKz]

I'm assuming that people in the US primarily find Louie really funny because it is a world away from some of the other tosh that the networks try and pass off as comedy.

I mean, it is good......but it looks like a diamond nestling in the turd that is the majority of other US sitcoms/comedy TV.

It must look like a diamond the size of a house compared to pretty much every british show in the last twenty years, then. >_>

Hey, I'm just being honest. US produce some awesome comedy. They also produce a load of absolute wank. Most of the best stuff over the years in the UK you either wouldn't know or probably wouldn't get (not in a 'HAHA US DON'T GET HUMOUR, more in a contextual way).....stuff like The Day Today, Brass Eye, and so on so forth.

Oh, no, I'm British. I get the humor. I just don't find it funny. I'll take the US' Community, The Office (which is far superior to the UK one), Parks and Recreation, Louie, Arrested Development, How I Met Your Mother... pretty much most of it. Not that there isn't crap from the US too, but the amount of fantastic stuff they put out, both drama and comedy, completely dwarfs the UK's, both in quality and quantity.

Thinking about it, the only UK comedy I'd put on par with those from the last... twenty years, would be Black Books. Maybe Extras, at a stretch.

[deli]

Not to mention Fawlty Towers. WHICH YOU GUYS VOTED OFF IN THE SECOND ROUND.

[Liam]

I'm assuming that people in the US primarily find Louie really funny because it is a world away from some of the other tosh that the networks try and pass off as comedy.

I mean, it is good......but it looks like a diamond nestling in the turd that is the majority of other US sitcoms/comedy TV.

It must look like a diamond the size of a house compared to pretty much every british show in the last twenty years, then. >_>

Hey, I'm just being honest. US produce some awesome comedy. They also produce a load of absolute wank. Most of the best stuff over the years in the UK you either wouldn't know or probably wouldn't get (not in a 'HAHA US DON'T GET HUMOUR, more in a contextual way).....stuff like The Day Today, Brass Eye, and so on so forth.

Oh, no, I'm British. I get the humor. I just don't find it funny.

Dunno why I thought you were from the US for a second there. How bizarre.

It speaks volumes to me that a lot of the most successful comedies of recent times in the US are the ones which have good, watchable storylines, but aren't actually very funny.

Glad you mentioned HIMYM, as that was one of the main ones I was thinking of. Good to watch, not particularly funny.

And of course the US have produced a lot more both in quantity and quality........that is kinda basic differences in scale.

[TKz]

How I Met Your Mother is a fairly poor example, especially since it's been on decline for a long time, but are you seriously saying that shows like Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, aren't "very funny"?

I mean I guess it's all a matter of opinion, but wow.

[GoGo Yubari]

I do have to say that with the exception of "Training," which I'd rank as one of the best comedy episodes of all time, nothing in the UK Office is I think as good as seasons two or three of the US Office, and I watched the UK version first.

[Liam]

At what point did I say ALL US COMEDIES ARE RUBBISH?

I like all of the ones you listed, including HIMYM, even though it isn't amazingly funny.

The Office is somewhat similar. It has its moments, but it isn't the funniest thing ever. I also prefer the nature of the original UK version more.....I doubt it ages as well though.

EDIT: With both the versions of The Office, I find the length both ran intruiging. In only running for 12 episodes (or however many it is), The UK Office didn't have as many opportunities to wow, and the relationships you build up with the characters wouldn't be as as deep, as they have been and gone, unlike the US Office. However, it also didn't have an opportunity to really decline, something that the nature of US comedies (many series, many episode) could lead to for the US Office.

[SRN]

Now A-Team is out as well?!

...

Maybe it is about time for me to watch, you know, new stuff.

[TKz]

At what point did I say ALL US COMEDIES ARE RUBBISH?

I like all of the ones you listed, including HIMYM, even though it isn't amazingly funny.

The Office is somewhat similar. It has its moments, but it isn't the funniest thing ever. I also prefer the nature of the original UK version more.....I doubt it ages as well though.

You didn't. I never said you did. I was just responding to this...

Dunno why I thought you were from the US for a second there. How bizarre.

It speaks volumes to me that a lot of the most successful comedies of recent times in the US are the ones which have good, watchable storylines, but aren't actually very funny.

Glad you mentioned HIMYM, as that was one of the main ones I was thinking of. Good to watch, not particularly funny.

And of course the US have produced a lot more both in quantity and quality........that is kinda basic differences in scale.

I'm pretty sure the ones I listed, I'd classify as the "most successful comedies of recent times in the US". And I really don't agree that they're all just good storylines without any actual funny parts.

[Liam]

I was thinking primarily of Friends and How I Met Your Mother. Both had nationwide broadcast over here, and naturally, with Friends, was shown around the world.

Community is struggling to remain on TV in US, last I heard. As much as I love Arrested Development, it was clearly cult as it got cancelled as people weren't watching it. P&R, I honestly don't know how successful it is outside of its cult following online.

I guess this is where we are starting to differ on what we see as 'successful'.

[GoGo Yubari]

Oh, stupid shit that appeals to broad audiences is popular, but that's how entertainment's been for a long time.

[Liam]

Oh, stupid shit that appeals to broad audiences is popular, but that's how entertainment's been for a long time.

As I said, that is where we are starting to differ on what is 'successful'.

Does Big Bang Theory do better numbers than Community or P&R? Legitimately interested, as I would believe that BBT is successful, if not critically amazing. Syndicated all over the world, yadda yadda yadda.

[thatshortguy]

Does Big Bang Theory do better numbers than Community or P&R? Legitimately interested, as I would believe that BBT is successful, if not critically amazing. Syndicated all over the world, yadda yadda yadda.

Big Bang Theory eats a lot of other shows in the ratings. I would dare say it's one of the highest rated TV shows currently running.

Edit: For reference, the last five episodes of each show:

Community: 3.09, 3.00, 3.48, 3.87, 4.75

Parks & Recreation: 3.66, 3.77, 3.43, 3.45, 3.60

The Big Bang Theory: 13.29, 13.96, 15.04, 16.20, 15.65

For funsies, compare that to another reasonably popular EWB show:

The Voice: 9.00, 10.52, 8.45, 10.67, 12.00

Now, mind you, The Voice's season premiers do serious numbers, but drop off quickly (as is the case with a lot of reality TV in the States). Meanwhile, Big Bang pulls those ratings consistently. They haven't "suffered" a rating below 10.00 since 2009.

[TKz]

I was thinking primarily of Friends and How I Met Your Mother. Both had nationwide broadcast over here, and naturally, with Friends, was shown around the world.

Community is struggling to remain on TV in US, last I heard. As much as I love Arrested Development, it was clearly cult as it got cancelled as people weren't watching it. P&R, I honestly don't know how successful it is outside of its cult following online.

Fair enough on that point, I read success more as critically rather than popularity. I'd say my point still stands that the US has produced a lot better and a lot more comedy in recent years than the UK. But again, it's all opinion and what you personally find funny, I've never been very entertained by any British shows outside the greats (Fawlty Towers, Blackadder) whilst the US has been producing shows that I've found genuinely funny and entertaining for as long as I can remember.

[Liam]

Does Big Bang Theory do better numbers than Community or P&R? Legitimately interested, as I would believe that BBT is successful, if not critically amazing. Syndicated all over the world, yadda yadda yadda.

Big Bang Theory eats a lot of other shows in the ratings. I would dare say it's one of the highest rated TV shows currently running.

Yeah, that is another one for me then. I find the interactions between characters, and the over-arching storyline (at least on the first couple of seasons) interesting, if not particularly funny.

But yeah Tkz, different strokes and all that.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

I'm assuming that people in the US primarily find Louie really funny because it is a world away from some of the other tosh that the networks try and pass off as comedy.

I mean, it is good......but it looks like a diamond nestling in the turd that is the majority of other US sitcoms/comedy TV.

It must look like a diamond the size of a house compared to pretty much every british show in the last twenty years, then. >_>

Hey, I'm just being honest. US produce some awesome comedy. They also produce a load of absolute wank. Most of the best stuff over the years in the UK you either wouldn't know or probably wouldn't get (not in a 'HAHA US DON'T GET HUMOUR, more in a contextual way).....stuff like The Day Today, Brass Eye, and so on so forth.

Oh, no, I'm British. I get the humor. I just don't find it funny. I'll take the US' Community, The Office (which is far superior to the UK one), Parks and Recreation, Louie, Arrested Development, How I Met Your Mother... pretty much most of it. Not that there isn't crap from the US too, but the amount of fantastic stuff they put out, both drama and comedy, completely dwarfs the UK's, both in quality and quantity.

Thinking about it, the only UK comedy I'd put on par with those from the last... twenty years, would be Black Books. Maybe Extras, at a stretch.

I think there's quite a few that are on par with those (and I'm a massive fan of Community and HIMYM) over the last twenty years. You have greats such as Only Fools and Horses (though in fairness it didn't run on a weekly/regular basis over the period you mentioned) and then shows such as The Vicar Of Dibley, Father Ted, One Foot In The Grave, Men Behaving Badly, My Family, Bottom, The League Of Gentlemen and many many more, most of which I'd put on par with almost all of the shows you mentioned.

Of course it's all down to opinion though, personally I'm not too fussed as I adore both.

[Josh]

I'd love for us to do this next year or the year after, just to see how different the results would be.

I can't imagine running this just one year later. It's an "All-Time" list, and not too many shows would be added for consideration in just a year.

Hell, this may be the only one we ever do with this kind of scope.

Futurama and Scrubs need to die.

EASTERN BRACKET

1) Community vs. 2) Seinfeld

CENTRAL BRACKET

4) Breaking Bad vs. 15) Sons of Anarchy

MOUNTAIN BRACKET

1) The Simpsons vs. 2) Scrubs

PACIFIC BRACKET

1) Arrested Development vs. 6) Futurama

And this has basically turned into EWB's favourite sitcom.

Again, please vote via PM.

[Lint]

Oh, stupid shit that appeals to broad audiences is popular, but that's how entertainment's been for a long time.

As I said, that is where we are starting to differ on what is 'successful'.

Does Big Bang Theory do better numbers than Community or P&R? Legitimately interested, as I would believe that BBT is successful, if not critically amazing. Syndicated all over the world, yadda yadda yadda.

WEll, just last week, a rerun of Big Bang Theory pulled in better numbers then a new episode of The Office

[Guest mr. potato head]

Big Bang Theory is the highest-rated show in Canada, or at least it was as of about a year ago.

I used to wonder what that said about this country, then I looked closer at who I know who actually watches the show, and decided it just means our parents are cooler than your parents

[Lint]

Zero has said it a few times, and I agree..BBT is the equivalent of blackface for nerds..

[Nick Adams]

Really? 'Cause Jim Parsons strikes me as being just as awkward as Sheldon, just not the brilliant scientist that he plays on screen. And the guy playing Wolowitz has always been typecast as a geek/nerd (I hate to mention A Cinderella Story, but he was in there). Mayim Bialik is in fact a genius, so... yeah, "blackface for nerds" seems to overstate the case.

Of course, since EWB clearly doesn't like it incredibly well, I feel like I'm beating a dead horse.