Best Sitcom Bracket on Twitter

[andybernard]

My own personal preference from the original bracket:

Cheers
Home Improvement
The Office
Always Sunny

The Office over Cheers in the finals.

I also had two 16 seeds over 1s as I've never been a big Seinfeld fan and I loved Coach. Same with That 70s Show over Friends.

 

[andybernard]

I was a huge fan of Will Forte's show, Last Man on Earth. Unfortunately it only lasted 4 seasons. Premised on the eerily accurate pandemic that occurred *ironically* right after it was canceled.

 

[cyclones500]

Makes sense. Would just want to make sure deserving shows don't get left out because they're in a packed timeframe and less deserving shows get in just to fill up a timeframe.

Maybe we could incorporate the four Rulzzz time frames to ensure we have a good balance of earlier and more recent, with roughly one-fourth from each , to determine the field, but not separate the regions by era. Just an idea.

 

[dafarmer]

Whoever came up with this list should be permanently banned. I get more laughs out of an old Henny Youngman video than from most of the show on here.

 

[cy4life94]

See post 36. Would you be interested in being on it?

I don’t think I have the necessary experience to rank most of the shows so I am probably out. I could be an alternate if you are desperate though.

 

[cyclones500]

I don’t think I have the necessary experience to rank most of the shows so I am probably out. I could be an alternate if you are desperate though.

Maybe you can serve as committee chairman. We'll select the field, all you have to do is talk to the media and try to justify our choices.

 

[cytor]

Picking the best comedy is like picking the best rock music song. Really can't be done.

 

[cyclones500]

I have an idea, incorporating Rulzzz timeline divisions, but might require more work than we desire. Still making notes and trying to simplify and leaving soon for a social event, so I might not post until later tonight or tomorrow.

Meantime suggestions might come along that are better anyway.

 

[Gonzo]

I have an idea, incorporating Rulzzz timeline divisions, but might require more work than we desire. Still making notes and trying to simplify and leaving soon for a social event, so I might not post until later tonight or tomorrow.

Meantime suggestions might come along that are better anyway.

Is the list finalized?

 

[cyclones500]

Is the list finalized?

Rulzzz updated his list (post #29) - I hadn't seen the update. A few other nominees may have come in since then.

 

[dahliaclone]

Whoever came up with this list should be permanently banned. I get more laughs out of an old Henny Youngman video than from most of the show on here.

it's honestly so so so laughably bad

 

[CySmurf]

I didn't list it at first because referring to it as a "sitcom" seems wrong somehow. you know? Almost demeaning...

I think they considered it a dramedy. Part drama, part comedy.

 

[Gonzo]

This post I'll list nominations for a CF bracket. I'll post a few no doubters to get us started.

1. Seinfeld 34. Golden Girls
2. Mash 35. King of Queens
3. The Office 36. It's Always Sunny
4. Cheers 37. Andy Griffith
5. Simpsons 38. Night Court
6. Happy Days 39. Scrubs
7. Taxi 40. Malcolm in the Middle
8. Curb Your Enthusiasm 41. Gilligan's Island
9. Arrested Development 42. Brady Bunch
10. How I met Your Mother 43. Family Guy
11. Mary Tyler Moore Show 44. Two and a half Men
12. Friends 45. Everybody Loves Raymond
13. All in the Family 46. D*ck Van Dyke
14.Laverne & Shirley 47. Newhart
15. Sanford & Son 48. Three's Company
16. The Jeffersons 49. Spin City
17. Welcome Back Kotter 50. Community
18. Frasier 51. Coach
19. Modern Family 52. Wonder Years
20. WKRP in Cincinnati 53. Roseanne
21. Big Bang Theory 54. Futurama
22. That 70's Show 55. 3rd Rock from the Sun
23. I Love Lucy 56. Freaks and Geeks
24. Parks and Rec 57. Growing Pains
25. 30 Rock 58. The Middle
26. Home Improvement 59. Schitt's Creek
27. Married with Children 60. New Girl
28. Brooklyn Nine Nine 61. Family Ties
29. Full House 62. Letterkenny
30. Boy Meets World 63. Leave it to Beaver
31. Saved by the Bell 64. Orange is the New Black
32. Fresh Prince 65. Casual
33. South Park 66. Green Acres
67. Lassie
68. Mom

Veep, Munsters,

So if we separate out animated shows that'd cut Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, Futurama. That'd open 4 spots for other possibilities including Veep and Munsters. A few others that come to mind are:

Facts of Life
News Radio
Different Strokes
Murphy Brown
A Different World
The Larry Sanders Show
Will and Grace

 

[cyclones500]

I didn't list it at first because referring to it as a "sitcom" seems wrong somehow. you know? Almost demeaning...

MASH evolved from being a comedy with dramatic elements to a drama with comic elements. Creators pushed to not have a laugh track, network wouldn't budget, finally settled on compromise - no laff-box during scenes in the O.R.

Canned laughter doesn't really fit the tone. Something can be comic/black comedy, still be "funny" but the context for MASH requires a proper balance.

 

[ClonerJams]

Way overseeded:
Big Bang Theory as a 4
How I met your Mother as a 2 (I like this show, but come on)
Frasier as a 1 (Again, I like this show but should be more of a 4 or 5 seed)

Underseeded:
Coach as a 16
King of Queens as a 14
That 70's Show as a 16
Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia as an 8 (should be a top 3 seed)
Southpark as a 5 (Again, top 3 seed)

In the end, Seinfeld is the winner.

 

[Gonzo]

Was thinking
50-60's
70-85
85-00
00-Now

Based on the current list of 64 (after removing animated shows), here's the breakdown of numbers for each of these eras:

50-60s - 8
70-85 - 15
85-00 - 20
00-Now - 21

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

Based on the current list of 64 (after removing animated shows), here's the breakdown of numbers for each of these eras:

50-60s - 8
70-85 - 15
85-00 - 20
00-Now - 21

Thanks for doing that research. It is heavier as the years go on. We may have slightly move some shows down to the next group or do we find 16 from each era and have to make some tough cuts.

 

[Gonzo]

Thanks for doing that research. It is heavier as the years go on. We may have slightly move some shows down to the next group or do we find 16 from each era and have to make some tough cuts.

Yeah it might be tough bracketing them off based on era. Looking at the 50s-60s, in relation to all 68, I'm not sure I'd see a #1 or even a #2 seed. Other eras like 70-85 are absolutely stacked.

 

[cyclones500]

I think the idea of having somewhat balanced representation among the four basic periods suggested by @CycloneRulzzz is legit. Based on @Gonzo count, it might require starting from scratch (to some extent) for selecting the field ... similar to what Rulzzz said, "might have to go with 16 each and make tough choices."

It doesn't have to be exactly 16 shows from each, but if we want it to be a consideration, it should be closer to that target.

Rulzzz period/era separation is good, but I’d adjust it to this*:
1950-69
1970-84
1985-99
2000-present
*mainly to avoid duplication, e.g. 1985 is at end of Period 2 and beginning of Period 3 in Plan A.

Add'l note --> For series whose run overlaps two periods, lean toward the one containing the majority of the show's seasons.

In post #88, I said I jotted ideas of a full framework for the process, but I haven't posted it yet -- the 4 periods is part of the vision.

 

[cyclones500]

My final note for tonight/early morning -- I don't want to get TOO geek-wonky for a CF Sitcom Tournament, but some of the discussion sprang from analysis of the Twitter bracket/seeding ... if we're motivated to do a little better, it'll require some strategy.