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September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

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You’re being exiled to a deserted island (The chances of this possibly happening to me are admittedly higher than the national average) and you’ve been given permission to bring ten (and only ten) television comedies to accompany you. What are they?

This is my list.  In the event your favorite comedies didn’t make my list, it may well be because I’ve never watched them.  Or have.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#10. The Flintstones

Back when I was in elementary school, my sister and I would hurry home every day at lunchtime so we could watch this show.    Sure, it’s a sentimental favorite but a lot of the humor still holds up.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#9. The Office

The American version was good, but the original was brilliant.  Over the show’s short run, the characters became like friends – and I was sorry to see them go.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#8. The Simpsons

Yes, they’ve been on the air a while and one could argue that the quality has varied over time, but any ten randomly selected episodes are still funnier than 99% of the shows out there.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#7. South Park

Speaking of long-running, this often crude, occasionally offensive cartoon is, oh by the way, one of the most clever and incisive comedies every produced.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#6. The League

The individual stories may not always tie up quite so neatly, but the scattershot humor of this fantasy football-themed series is delightfully unexpected.  And often laugh out loud funny.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#5. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

The darkest of the comedies on this list, I love this show for its hilariously reprehensible characters and button-pushing scenarios.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#4. Arrested Development

With characters as gloriously bizarre and over-the-top as the situations in which they land themselves, this is the ultimate family comedy.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#3. Seinfeld

The show about nothing is a classic, responsible for some of television’s most memorable memes.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#2. 30 Rock

The comedic barrage comes fast and furious in a show that rarely gives you time to catch your breath.

September 18, 2015: My Top 10 Desert Island Television Comedies!

#1. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Pretty…pretty…pretty great!

Honorable Mentions: Community, The Office, Get Smart, Family Guy

What makes your list?

Today’s entry is dedicated to blog regular and birthday gal Debra!  Happy Birthday!

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33 responses

  1. Scott Avatar
    Scott

    Futurama would be on my list. And definitely agree with you on Get Smart. It’s a shame they haven’t made another movie since that remake in 2008, though the original TV series with Don Adams will forever live on in all of our memories.

    Reply
  2. dasndanger Avatar
    dasndanger

    In no particular order:

    Simpsons
    Coupling (British)
    M*A*S*H*
    Scrubs
    Sanford and Son
    Vicar of Dibley (British)
    The Thin Blue Line (British)
    Doctor in the House (British)
    Psych
    Northern Exposure (bootleg with original music)

    If sketch comedies and talk shows are allowed, then I might have to smuggle in Monty Python, The Carol Burnett Show, and Carson’s Tonight Show. And I’m sure I’ve missed something.

    das

    Reply
  3. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    “What makes your list?”

    None of yours. In no particular order, how about some REAL comedy:

    I Love Lucy
    Everybody Loves Raymond (watching right now)
    Frasier
    Brady Bunch
    Gilligan’s Island
    Saturday Night Live (all 100 years worth)
    Roseanne (I’d throw the final season in the ocean)
    Full House
    Fresh Prince of Bel Air
    Brady Bunch

    It would be more like a retreat than exile.

    Reply
  4. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    Happy birthday Das!! And happy birthday Debra!! (I’m right behind you!)

    Reply
  5. Tim G Avatar
    Tim G

    I don’t like comedies, so hopefully next will be drama/sci fi. Now that will be a tough top ten to whittle down.

    Reply
  6. dasndanger Avatar
    dasndanger

    Sorry, not my birthday. Thank god. I don’t need to age two years this year! Although, at times it feels like it. 😛

    das

    Reply
  7. duptiang Avatar
    duptiang

    Ahhh just thinking about something like this.
    M*A*S*H* (Because without war, I would never have known what peace was)
    Frasier
    Cheer
    Night Court (Marky Post)
    Big Bang Theory
    Scrubs (minus the last two seasons)
    South Park (Occasionally offensive, Mr. Slave?)
    All in the Family (Where I learned beer is a truly natural drink.)
    Good Neighbors (American title to a British show, precedes the nature food kick)
    Hogan’s Heroes (Helga, apple strudel, What is this man doing here!?)

    Honorable mentions: Happy Days, Gilligan’s Island, That 70’s show, Monty Python
    Sorry Joe but some of your picks curbed my enthusiasm to laugh as some of mine could do to others.

    Reply
  8. Did somebody Say Bacon Pics? Avatar
    Did somebody Say Bacon Pics?

    ~Happy Birthday Das!!~ And happy b-day in advance ( ’cause I wont be here this wknd), to the always delightful PonyTail! xo

    Das,

    Here’s a bacon clip, having a dance party in honor of your special day!

    Reply
  9. Paul Young Avatar
    Paul Young

    You forgot Frasier and Modern Family: same writers and the best episodes are where minor misunderstandings snow ball into absurdity…

    Reply
  10. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    @ Did somebody Say Bacon Pics (Drea) – Hey it’s not my birthday either! LOL! And I see Tricky Joe has corrected his blog making me look drunk or something. I thought we had already had Das’ birthday this year and that Joe really meant Debra. But what do I know? Joe leads, I follow. (And I’ve definitely had my birthday already this year too.) 😆

    Reply
  11. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    And I’m watching Frasier right now!

    Reply
  12. Drea Avatar
    Drea

    My list, in no particular order, (because I love them all equally)

    *The Abbott & Costello Series.
    *The 1st cast of Saturday night live (Susan ‘Gilda’ Radner & John Bellushi never failed to make me laugh out loud!)
    *The original Adams Family ( Uncle Fester and his light bulb tricks were a hoot!).
    *Cheers
    *The Flintstones
    *The Jetsons
    *Bugs bunny & friends (my name is Elmer J Fudd. I own a mansion & a yacht)
    *Seinfeld
    *Hogans Heros
    *The Original Lost In Space (Danger Will Robinson! Danger! Danger!) – it was never specifically billed as a comedy but it often made me laugh

    Honorable mentions: House Of Lies, I love Lucy, Monty Python, The original Get Smart with Don Adams, Mash, Curb your enthusiasm, & Akemi’s you tube video series. ( not all of them- but her joy and humor in many of them are absolutely contagious!)

    Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/user/akemiaota xo

    Reply
  13. Drea Avatar
    Drea

    @Das! That’s ok if it’s not your b-day, you deserve a dance party anyway! 🙂

    Reply
  14. gforce Avatar
    gforce

    Totally agree on the Simpsons – even at its worst it’s better than most comedies. Likewise with The Office, but my absolute favourite is Arrested Development. That show was just brilliant, and the last Netflix only season was just as good as it ever was.

    Reply
  15. maggiemayday Avatar
    maggiemayday

    The Ernie Kovaks Show, in all its various incarnations for a starter, and certainly SNL, Big Bang Theory, Bob’s Burgers, Futurama, The Carol Burnett Show, The Andy Griffith Show, South Park, The Simpson’s, and Monty Python.

    Reply
  16. Tim Hendrix Avatar
    Tim Hendrix

    I agree with most of your list and started hitting on some ideas of my own. It seems my fellow blog addicts have covered most of those. Comedy is tough and so subjective. For instance, no one ever laughs at my jokes even though I know they’re really funny.

    Happy Birthday Debra and all you others. Darned good months for birthdays. I’ve been challenged to 63 situps and 63 pushups for mine this coming Wednesday. Then a doctor’s visit.

    How about a list of the most reviled comedies? I would venture to guess that we’ll see a few crossovers from everyone’s lists.

    Scientific fact: A lack of Dark Matter makes one listless with intense feelings of ennui and bouts of impatience.

    Write us up some good stuff for season 2, Joe.

    Reply
  17. glowyzoey Avatar
    glowyzoey

    In no particular order:
    Fawlty Towers
    Frasier
    Cheers
    MASH
    Corner Gas
    Taxi (the first couple of seasons)
    Night Court
    Get Smart
    The Flintstones (I did the same thing, ran home for lunch to watch)
    The Big Bang Theory

    Reply
  18. glowyzoey Avatar
    glowyzoey

    Speaking of Taxi (see my last post) back in the day I wanted to write for a comedy series. I read somewhere that if you asked nicely some tv shows’ production companies would send you a script, so I wrote and asked nicely of the Taxi people. They sent me a script! Big thrill! Didn’t do anything about it. Never submitted a script of my own or got an agent or any of those professional type things. The script got left behind in a move, unfortunately. :-/

    “Good night, Mr. Walters.”

    “indistinct mumble”

    Reply
  19. DALLAS MARSHALL (@MrsTigercat) Avatar
    DALLAS MARSHALL (@MrsTigercat)

    I don’t do a lot of comedies, so I’ll probably round out my list with drama or scifi:

    M*A*S*H
    The Carol Burnett Show
    The first five years of Saturday Night Live
    Happy Days
    The Brady Bunch
    Stargate SG-1
    Stargate Universe
    Star Trek: TNG
    Star Trek: DS9
    Gun Smoke or Bonanza

    Reply
  20. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    Everyone mentioned a few great shows. I’d be hard pressed to find “just” ten of my favorite shows.

    Big Bang Theory is one show we watch over and over. No matter how many times we watch the same episode, we still laugh.

    Futurama is very re-watchable too.

    I’ll have to check out the British version of Office. Everyone keeps saying how good it is.

    On Netflix, I’ve finished “The Fall”, “Luther”, “Murdock Mysteries” and now I’m starting on “Longmire” season four. “Doc Martin” is a quirky fun watch too. Does anyone else have Netflix suggestions for a mystery watcher? BTW, I love British mysteries.

    Could I take Netflix to this deserted island? 😉

    Reply
  21. ceresis64 Avatar
    ceresis64

    Happy Birthday to those who’ve had the blog dedications #awesome 👍

    In no particular order –

    >Only Fools and Horses
    >The Vicar of Dibley
    >Blackadder
    >The Simpsons
    >Yes, Minister
    >Red Dwarf
    >The Big Bang Theory
    >M*A*S*H
    >Happy Days
    >Porridge

    Reply
  22. Debra Avatar
    Debra

    Thank you for the birthday wishes! I had, thanks to a wonderful daughter, a very good relaxing day… ended with watching The Bastard Executioner. It certainly tops both GOT and Sons of Anarchy for violence.

    I not sure it’s worth listing mine as most are things few here probably watched (Vicar of Dibley, Black Adder, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Benny Hill, Last of Summer Wine and other Brit stuff). I liked Cheers and All in The Family.. but not “faves” I’d take with me. I’m currently watching Last Man on Earth, Blunt and Man Seeking Woman. Not going to make that top list either though but the scene with Cupid Intervention may be a top moment:
    https://youtu.be/w50iGLJ6MBs

    Reply
  23. RichS Avatar
    RichS

    Hmm tricky, here goes in no particular order.(plenty of Brit stuff as that’s where I hail from)..

    Family Guy
    Father Ted
    Red Dwarf
    Boston Legal
    Fawlty Towers
    Porridge
    Blackadder
    Only Fools and Horses
    Dads Army
    Married With Children

    The Simpsons was great but its repeated so much here its got very old…

    Honourable mentions to Police Squad, Open All Hours, Big Bang Theory, Yes, Minister, One Foot in the Grave, Ab Fab.

    Rich

    Reply
  24. Jonathan Avatar
    Jonathan

    I dunno @MrsTigercat, I know it had it’s serious moments, but I always thought stargate sg-1 was a comedy.

    My list, no particular order

    Seinfeld
    Frasier
    Utopia (the british sci fi black comedy)
    Misfits
    Red Dwarf
    Simpsons
    Stargate sg1- (see above)
    Whose line is it anyway
    How i Met your mother (minus last episode)
    Flight of the conchords

    Runner up
    Scandal (Huck is hilarious,if tragic)

    Reply
  25. Dave D. Avatar
    Dave D.

    Great choices by most but my list would include:
    IT crowd
    Big Bang Theory
    News Radio
    Hogan’s Heroes
    Psych
    Yes, Minister
    Seinfeld
    Dick Van Dyke Show
    Simpsons
    and maybe a stretch but Mystery Science Theater 3000

    Reply
  26. SiSi Avatar
    SiSi

    Here’s my list–although I’d probably have a different list tomorrow! In no particular order

    Frasier
    Big Bang Theory
    Murphy Brown
    Designing Women (the first few seasons)
    Newhart and The Bob Newhart Show
    Andy Griffith
    I Love Lucy
    MASH
    Parks and Recreation
    WKRP in Cincinnati

    Also love Vicar of Dibley, Corner Gas, The Carol Burnett Show,and Doc Martin.

    Tam Dixon, try New Tricks for a British mystery that’s also pretty funny. Start with Season 1–the cast changes after 8-9 years. It’s about a group of retired London coppers who come back to work as part of team to solve cold cases. One of my favorites.

    Reply
  27. Kathy C Avatar
    Kathy C

    My list would be as follows:
    Big Bang Theory
    Mad About You
    Home Improvement
    M*A*S*H
    Scrubs
    Fresh Prince of Bel Air
    Happy Days
    3rd Rock From the Sun
    Scooby Doo
    WKRP in Cincinnati (thank you SiSi for reminding me about that one)

    Reply
  28. glowyzoey Avatar
    glowyzoey

    Goodness, I forgot several wonderful comedies: Dick Van Dyke, WKRP In Cincinnati, Mad About You, Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Murphy Brown! Better add Carol Burnett and Home Improvement in there, too. So my top ten is actually top 17. Laughter is always good. More laughter is even better. 🙂 Thank you to everyone who had these on their lists and jogged my memory.

    Reply
  29. astrumporta Avatar
    astrumporta

    I love your list from top to bottom. What type of humor would you say is 30 Rock, Seinfeld, or Curb Your Enthusiasm? Whatever it is, it pings my brain. I might substitute Modern Family for Flintstones, but otherwise I’m with you. 🙂

    Reply
  30. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Sherlock’s too short for deserted island, but when will you get around to watching it? There’s only three months to catch up until the Christmas Special. Oh, and in case you miss that, just another year until season 4.

    Reply
  31. Silwy Wabbit Twicks R4 Kids! Avatar
    Silwy Wabbit Twicks R4 Kids!

    @PonyTail

    Got home a bit earlier than previously thought I would from my astronomy ed event volunteering at Kennedy Center. Waaay too funny! Between the two of us, I think we manage to confuse the heck outta Stephen & Tim!
    When you said –> “I’m right behind you” I thought that meant you were next in line to celebrate a bday!

    So when is your birthday?? And Happy belated b-day whenever it was 🙂 xo

    OMG! JOE! I can’t believe I forgot to mention one of my most favorite comedy series and I cant believe no one else mentioned it! –> WEEDS! with Mary Louise Parker!

    I’d easily trade Lost In Space from my list for it! Granted, its ‘a dark comedy’, But writing & direction for it was definitely cool! If you haven’t seen it, ‘put it on watch list’ and give it a chance. You have to watch at least a few episodes before it sucks ya in and makes ya wanna watch more but its worth the investment. 🙂

    And Geeeez! What is wrong with you people! No one else even mentioned Bugs Bunny! Every single ep was hilarious!!!

    Sorry Curb your Enthusiasm only gets an honorable mention from me Joe, It was actually ‘pretty great’. But I grew up around comedian Billy Crystal’s Family back east, before moving to Colorado in 92 so, one ‘Guilt Embracing’ styled comedy on my list is quite enough, considering I had more than my fill of it in real life. -And- my own family was one of only 2 in the whole town, back then, that were Greek! so you can imagine what that was like, eh!! LOL
    Though I do sometimes miss Birdie & Max. Birdie was sweet & Max was always a hoot! 😀

    Reply
  32. fsmn36 Avatar
    fsmn36

    I am just not a “comedy as a genre” fan. They’re often sitcoms which annoy me. I enjoy my dramas to have good (often, dry and witty or sarcastic) humor amidst their action and “drama”. Probably the only ones I’d put on any kind of comedy list would be The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, and Don’t Trust the B in Apt 23.

    Reply
  33. PBMom Avatar
    PBMom

    Too tired to come up with a list. 🙁

    Reply

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