The top 10 all-time sitcoms on television

In keeping with my theme of being nice for the Holiday season, I was pondering what my next writing assignment should be and decided to stay in entertainment mode. As I have stated before during the holiday season I take a vacation from usual political ranting and stay in nice mode. I am upholding my allegiance to that objective right now. So for today I am going to humbly submit my list of what I believe to be the best sitcoms on TV to date. Of course taste are going to vary but for me these shows were hilarious and well written. It was a tough little list to compile as I feel there are some shows that I could not list as I had to narrow it down to ten. For starts a good comedy is well written , and to me that means bodily function jokes are out. Modern day comedy from my observations in both movies and television try to pass off a lot of gross out and body and fart jokes as comedy. Woody Allen in his best movies like " Annie Hall " never had to resort to such a cheap tactic. So there has to be an element of sophistication to the writing as well . Anyway I have to give honorable mention to some that did not make the list, including " MASH " because sometimes MASH dealt with some very serious subject matter although it was a fine show.Among those on the honorable mention list are

1 The Carol Burnett Show - One of the funniest Cast Ensembles ever for a 1 hour variety show

2 Laugh In - The social conscience of the sixties presented in hilarious fashion

3 Welcome back Kotter

4 Happy Days

5 Friends

6 Gilligans Island ( This one is for Jess , but I liked it too )

Now lets get to work and go for my top ten best sitcoms of all time

  Barney Miller ran from January 1975 to 1982 and was one of the best and most intelligently written sitcoms of all time. There was nothing that I looked forward to more then a Thursday night at the 12th precinct for having a good laugh. All the Detectives were quirky and hilarious including Abe Vigoda as Fish , the late Jack Soo as Yemana , Ron Glass as the stuffy and snobby Harris. And last I saw Ron Glass he was in the Sci Fi movie " Serenity.And Steve Landesberg as the intellectual of the crew. And I had to just laugh out loud because the 12th precinct also brought in some of the funniest criminals I have ever seen.

The Simpsons have been around for 20 years now.And have definitely had a social impact. I must confess I have only watched a few episodes, however on the ones I have watched I have definitely gotten my fair share of laughs.And now in 2009 they have started their 21st season. You have to say something for longevity. And I suspect they still have many seasons ahead of them as they continue to parody modern life and pop culture. And like here on Hubpages there is no shortage of topic matter to poke fun at.

Married with Children for me has to rank a little higher because when MWC debuted in April of 1987 FOX was still a fledgling network at that time . MWC gave Fox network some cache as the comedies popularity increased and built a loyal fanbase. And lets face the facts was there a funnier dysfunctional family then the Bundys ? Both Bud and Kelly were absolutely clueless . Peg Bundy had not an iota of domestic goddess in her and must have made Martha Stewart cringe ! And my favorite Ed O Neill in the primary role as Al Bundy to me still ranks as the funniest Dad to ever come across a TV screen. Ed O Neill could make you roll on the floor with just facial expressions and not utter a word of dialogue. An absolutely epic comedy

 Frasier was spawned from the TV show " Cheers " and that is one of the reasons I put Cheers ahead of it in the rankings. Frasier ran from September 1993 to  May 2004 . And for me personally I found it to be one of the most intelligent and well written comedies ever. David Hyde Pierce as Niles Crane could not have been better cast as Frasiers brother.Martin Crane played by John Mahoney was absolutely hilariuous which to me was great acting as I have seen him in many serious and dramatic roles on both TV and in movies. And Jane Leeves as Daphne  and Peri Gilpin as Ros were perfect compliments to this fine cast . A sure fire winner.

Cheers came out in 1982 and ran till 1993 . Sam Malone and the crew had one of the funnest bars in Boston one could ever want to be a patron at. And I love that city and wish I could go there sometime.His regulars Norm and Cliff were two of the funniest barflys that you could ever watch. It was also the launching pad for Woody Harrelson who has turned out to be one of the better actors in modern times. And Shelley Long as Diane Chambers turned out to be the perfect foil for the womanizing Sam Malone played by Ted Danson. I still like to catch a show from time to time in syndication, and also it started the trend of must see TV when NBC virtually owned Thursday nights in America.

Before there was Frasier helming the radio as a psychiatrist , there was Bob Newhart plying his trade in Chicago from 1972 thru 1978. And along the way had America laughing along with him at his home and office. What also made this show exceptional was Bob was always the straightman as opposed to the characters who were at his home and office . And Bob Newhart was one of the funniest straightmen that one could ever hope to laugh at. The late and lovely Suzanne Pleshette played Bobs supportive but sarcastic wife Emily and also Bob had some of the funniest patients ever. You wondered how they were able to be loose on the streets. My particular favorite was Mr. Carlin played by Jack Riley, this guy would leave you on the floor rolling as you wondered if he had ever had a good day in his life ! Bob Newhart also had a couple of other TV shows too but this one was the crown jewel of the comedies that he had produced

 Those were the days was the opening number to what had turned out to be one of the most significant TV shows that has ever graced our TV screens.All in the family came on our screens in 1971 and was based upon a British television show called " Till death do us part " . Archie Bunker was a narrow minded and bigoted individual who had to be one of the funniest narrow minded people that has come across our screens. This show came on at the tail end of the 60s social upheaval and change that has taken place in American society and Archie had more then a few opinions on all that.Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner were fabulous as Gloria and the irrepresible Meathead . And Jean Stapleton as Edith has to be one of the funniest wives ever to watch. All in the Family ran from 1971 to 1979 and spawned "Maude " and " Good Times " as well as "Archie Bunkers  place " . While all of those were good shows none of them could possibly replace the laughter and social relevance of this all timer

 There is no way any list of greatest TV sitcoms is complete without " I love Lucy " . I love Lucy debuted in 1951 and ran till 1960 it is one of the all time crown jewels of American TV comedy . The Ricardos and Fred and Ethel Murtz could be best buddies and rivals all in the same episode and you would just be howling in laughter ! Lucy has had so many classic episodes I do not have enough space to list them all . But right now 50 plus years later somewhere on the globe Lucy is playing in syndication somewhere and there is someone rolling on the floor as we speak. How is that for longevity ? Lucy will always be the standard all sitcoms are measured by .

 The Mary Tyler Moore show succeeded on a couple of different levels. First and foremost the cast and all supporting players were just incredibly funny. Second as the seasons went on not only did you laugh at all these characters you came to care about them as well. Of course starting with MTM and also Ed Asner as Lou Grant who was so popular he even got his own show. And then of course you had Gavin Macleod as Murray the ever sarcastic writer. And Ted Knight as Ted Baxter the most dim witted news anchor there has ever been for us to laugh at ! Just an absolutely fabulous cast. And plus some good support cast as well Betty White as the nosy and vain Sue Ann Nivens and John Amos as Gordy the straight man of the bunch who was also a riot as well . Each and every cast member had continued success well after MTMs run on television. I think that says alot about the talent on this program. An absolute diamond as sitcoms go.

Seinfeld is the I love Lucy of the modern era. It is in syndication on so many channels you cannot help but run into it on your TV somewhere. Jerry , Elaine , George and Cosmo Kramer for me go down as the funniest quartet of characters ever. Also both the Costanza and Seinfeld parents were just way to funny and would make any human being neurotic with their mannerisms. Newman was one of the funniest foils that I have ever laughed at on the television screen ever ! And I can go on and on but I have a feeling most of you will be in agreement with me on this one.

 Among the modern comedies there are three in particular that I like ,The big bang theory , King of Queens and I think two and a half men will end up on this list soon. But I hope you enjoyed my selections and that you enjoy your day. Oh and by the Merry Christmas , Happy Chanukah , and happy hoildays to you. See ya hubbers ! Football is on now and I have priorities