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TIE
Lasting 9 seasons this ABC sitcom was one of the first sitcoms to fairly accurately portray how a working class family lives. For a prime-time sitcom the show did address issues that most other shows would never mention. What made the show stand out even more for me was how great the cast was. Sadly the final season of the show took a major turn in direction. And then the final episode's last 10 minutes was a huge fuck you to all the fans. If not for those two things this show would rank much higher.
5.King of the Hill
Lasting 13 seasons,this was my favorite of Fox's Animation Domination line up. It seems like a show that either you love it or you hate it. Most of the people I have talked to that hate it never lived in a small rural southern town. I have lived most of my life in areas like that so I can identify with the characters and situations on the show. I love how quirky most of the main cast is. I got a neighbor that is just like Dale. And have known so many "Bills" in my lifetime. Once the show was cancelled I haven't watched anything on Fox. And even though I have seen almost every episode 3 or 4 times, I will still go rewatch them when I catch reruns.
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4.Married with Children
For 11 seasons this sitcom was my favorite show on Fox. MWC was one of the original shows on Fox. And their first hit. I started watching the show when it premiered and up until the final season made sure to watch it each week. While Roseanne was one of the first shows to accurately portray how a working class family lives,MWC was the first I know of to have a working class family as the leads.I really enjoyed how wacky the comedy was on this show. And she never gets enough credit for this but Christina Applegate has great comedic timing. This is another show that even though I have seen every episode multiple times, I will still watch them again. For almost a year I was watching the 4am reruns of it that TBS was showing. And every X-mas eve I make sure to watch "It's a Bundyful life". Which is my favorite X-mas episode of any US based show.
4.Arrested Development
I am noticing a pattern here. Lots of the shows on my list all aired on Fox. Arrested Development is a show that I didn't get into until after the first season had aired. I had so many people tell me they thought I would enjoy it. So the summer between the first and second seasons I got a hold of the first season. Watched it in 3 days and loved it. From then till it was canceled I watched each episode as they aired. And have went back and rewatched each season. Each viewing I find jokes that I hadn't caught before. I still need to see season 4 which was made for Netflix streaming. Once it hits DVD/Blu Ray I will buy it. This is another show that like Roseanne the cast has great chemistry. It really feels like they are actually related. Before the show I had never really thought of Jason Bateman as a good actor. To me he was always that guy who was the lead in Teen Wolf Too. Now I know he has a major talent for subtle comedy.
TIE
3.All in the Family
Lasting 9 seasons and airing on CBS,All in the Family is a perfect example of a show that while I enjoyed it as a child,when I got older I saw that the show had a deeper level. It is also one of the few things my maternal grandfather and I have bonded over. He is 99 and lives by himself. Earlier this year I went to go spend the night with him. Since I knew how much he loves the show I had brought my portable DVD player along with seasons 1 and 2 of All in the family. After we had dinner I hooked the player up. And put in the first dvd. He looked at me and asked "Newt I thought you said we were going to watch Archie Bunker. Why are you putting a CD into that box?" I explained to him that a dvd was a cd that had video on it. We ended up watching 6 hours of All in the family. I haven't seen him laugh so much in years. This show was so good at not only being funny but also talking about various social issues. From the generation gap between Archie and Meathead. To Archie's racism. One of the highlights of my trip to the Smithsonian American History museum was getting to see Archie and Edith's chairs.
Like All in the Family,Night Court is a show that I loved as a kid. But going back and watching it now I see how lots of the show went over my head. Starting in 1984 as a mid season replacement,this NBC sitcom lasted 9 seasons. It was part of NBC's Thursday night line up. And while Cosby show,Different World and Cheers have pretty much stayed on the air in syndication or reruns on cable. Night Court has disappeared from the airwaves. I was so happy when just today I discovered that Encore Classics is now showing it everyday at 4pm central. The first 3 seasons were of a more realistic style of comedy. But after that the show became this great mash up of realistic and slapstick style comedy. My podcast just recently did a indepth talk about Night Court. Asshat Podcast episode 23 is the episode. The Night Court talk is the middle segment.
2.Eastbound and Down
As of the time of me writing this Eastbound and Down's 4th and final season has finished airing not that long ago. I hope we get another season. But if it is truly ended I will say it had a great ending. I came into this show very late. For years I was having people tell me how much they thought I would love this show. But many times before I have had people tell me how great various HBO shows are. And when I went and watched them I was disappointed. Back in March I rented season 1 from Netflix. Then watched it in one sitting. Quickly put the discs into the mailbox and moved seasons 2 and 3 to the top of my Netflix queue. In about a week I saw all three seasons. At the time season 3 was suppose to be the last season. It is a fairly simple story. Kenny Powers is a retired Major League baseball pitcher. Who's anger and drug issues caused the end of his career. And now he is trying to learn how to live a normal life. Kenny is the biggest asshole I have ever seen on a TV show. Another thing I love about the show is my father and I have very little in common. But we have bonded over this show. With a sitcom all I ask is 2 good laughs each episode. With this show usually with in the first 5 minutes I have laughed at least 3 times. There is certain scenes where I have seen them 4 or 5 times and I still laugh so hard at them my sides are hurting.
I remember during the summer of 1999 hearing about this new show that was going to air on NBC. The pilot was getting rave reviews. Hearing a short description of the plot I knew I had to watch it. Set in a suburb outside Detroit in 1980,the show follows two groups of friends. Our main star is Linda Cardellini as Lindsey Weir. She was for years this geeky young lady. Then the death of her grandmother causes her to change her life. She starts hanging out with the so called "freaks" of the school. The other group the show follows is Lindsey's little brother Sam. And his two best friends Bill and Neil. All three of them are huge geeks. When the show first hit the airwaves it aired at 7pm central time on Saturday nights. And I would not leave the house to go out partying or whatever until after it aired. And not only is this show my favorite US based comedic show,it is my favorite TV show ever.What appeals to me about the show is how for the first time with an American show set in high school they try their best to be honest and truthful. This isn't Saved by the Bell or 90210. Sadly the show got shitty ratings. So NBC moved it to Monday nights at 7pm. It aired in that slot for a short time. Then was yanked off the schedule. The official reason was low ratings. But I have heard for years the real reason was the following. The last episode to air on a Monday was about how Lindsey's boyfriend Nick is a huge pothead. For over a week he can't find any pot. Finally he gets some and Nick and Lindsey go back to his place and he gets high. She makes a comment on how she finds it sad that the highlight of his week is getting high. And how she thinks he is addicted to pot. He tells her "Really you think I am addicted. Here take it!" Then he throws her his bag of weed. He also talks about how can she judge him for this when she has never tried it. She leaves and goes back to her house. And we get a long scene where she is trying to roll a joint. She smokes it. And then is reminded by her father she is suppose to babysit one of the neighbor's kid that night. She does the smart thing and gets a sober friend to come with her. I have heard from many sources that NBC got a bunch of calls and letter complaining about this episode.Saying that it was promoting drug use. I don't see it that way. We see Lindsey having a bad time while she is high and in no way did the show glamorize smoking pot. Well after the show was taken off the air it go nominated for all kinds of awards. NBC tried to get the cast to sign for another season. But lots of them had already gotten new jobs. Sometime in May of 2000 NBC one night aired 3 of the 4 episodes they hadn't aired. The following fall Fox Family picked up the rights to air the show. And the show became fairly popular. Since then the 18 episodes have aired on various channels. The DVD set has been a huge seller. I love how the show was great at blending comedy and drama. Really there is so many moments in this show that stand out to me. But I have rambled way too long about Freaks and Geeks. If you haven't seen it currently it airs on FXX. And last time I checked it was on Netflix streaming. Go check it out.
