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Which is your favorite comedy tv show and why?
For me, its Arrested Development and South Park. I love AD for its meta-humour and inside jokes. However, I liked only the first three seasons. Here is a great video explaining what makes AD different. South Park for great satire and taking the humourous approach on complex topics. This video explains better than I could.
So, which are your favorite comedy tv shows and why do you recommend them?
Better off Ted, Coupling
Better off Ted died too soon! Such a great and hilarious show.
Coupling, especially its writing, was in its own class entirely. Absolutely agree.
BoT was good, too. Ended too soon.
Arrested Development and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are pretty great!
Parks and Recreation, if you can get past the first season. Great characters and rhythm, fresh and totally funny but not silly. And Aubrey Plaza + Chris Pratt.
30 Rock, close to absurd, supercreative, fantastic character dynamics.
And The Sarah Silverman Program, really absurd but not snobby. Loved the monologues as well.
E: can't spell
P&R has great chemistry among the characters, that's what makes it sooo good: Amy + Nick, Amy + Adam, Adam + Rob, Chris + Aubrey
Jerry + everyone.
I think this is one of the best written TV shows ever, purely because of how many jokes they stuffed into each and every episode.
We're on our 2nd rewatch of P&R. I watched S1 in real time thinking it was another The Office and lost interest in the show for its whole run. Coming back to it recently, I started with Ben & Chris joining, finished the series, then rewatched S1. It's not great, but it's not as bad as I remember.
I haven't rewatched it, but saw some of the first episodes of S1 while some friends started it and I thought it wasn't that great. I remembered it started slow, but it was a bit too much.
I have yet to watch The Office... I heard the US version is better, what do you think?
The US version is more American! And I mean that in a positive way.. The characters are more likeable, there are more sweet moments, a bigger focus on personal relationships, and the show has more of a warmth than the British version. The British office might have an edge as far as pure humour, but, I prefer the American one.
Haha, makes sense. Yeah, I'm going to go with the US version. Thanks.
It's kind of a cop out, but they are different shows at this point. For its first 2 seasons, The Office (US) feels very dour and depressing, much like The Office (UK) was designed to be. But from season 3 and on, they changed the tone to be more positive; they made the show a full ensemble giving side characters more screen time (instead of focusing on the 5 main cast members). Plus with 9 seasons compared 2 series + a special, you get a very different ending for all the characters. The US version is "better" in that regard, but both shows have different aims.
Thanks for the explanation. I think I'll check the US version.
I LOVED Parks and Rec. The characters, the editing, the writing, Jean Ralphio and Mona Lisa! <3
But it's weird it doesn't have the same re-watchability as The Office.
Definitely Archer for me. As far as the earlier seasons, it hits such a unique niche of a spy-office comedy that is also wildly inappropriate. It also helps that it has great characters, writing and is genuinely funny. Unfortunately the most recent seasons have kind of gotten weird, so I kind of hope they lay it to rest soon with a good ending.
I love Archer, especially the earlier seasons. I like the later seasons, probably more than most I've talked to, but I get the shows changed a lot. I'm sort of glad they have an ending in mind.
Whoa, this is kind of weird, I literally just replied on your other thread lol. So you like the newer seasons? IMO I feel like they kind of lost the magic of the earlier ones, plus since its all a dream, there never really feels like theres any progress. Still, any Archer is good Archer I guess.
And I literally just commented on one of your posts too lol.
Yeah, the all a dream thing was kinda weird, but I just really like the drawing style. It was an interesting way to deal with Woodhouse's death.
Yeah, I guess that's true, the ending of Dreamland was kind of beautiful, and it really shed light on how Archer views those closest to him. He's not the asshole that people perceive on the outside, he just has a really odd way of expressing his appreciation.
Also, I've been noticing the same few people in every thread I go in. It's odd, but I kind of like it. Kind of like a tight-knit vibe.
It is kinda nice noticing specific people. I don't think I've ever joined a new community early enough for this.
Well, glad I got to meet you!
Same here!
I had a feeling I wouldn't be the only one to say Archer. lol
I do miss the setting of the earlier seasons, but my favorite thing about the series is the characters themselves, which persist no matter where and when they are. One thing that I particularly enjoyed about the show is how they developed Pam and Cheryl from "stereotypical white, chubby, ineffective head of HR" and "ditzy, loose secretary" to "irreverent she-bro who's a sleeper badass" and "batshit crazy doesn't begin to cover it."
Oh yes! I loved that show, forgot about it, then rediscovered it.
I watch it whenever I need to just put something on. It's so brilliant
There's this app called Mobdro that streams all seasons 24/7
Exactly. Definitely the funniest show I've seen. I watch it any time it's on.
Curb Your Enthusiasm - Great portrayal of everyday minutia and scenarios I find myself in frequently.
Futurama - Very re-watchable, doesn't rely entirely on comedy to entertain, and has several of my favorite fictional characters, like Zapp Brannigan and Zoidberg.
The Colbert Report - Some of the best one-liners and improvisation that I've ever seen.
Others:
Arrested Development
South Park
Spongebob Squarepants (first 3 seasons)
The Boondocks
Dead Like Me-- I think this nailed the dramedy/coming-of-age comedy in a way that few shows do. Also the first show by Bryan Fuller (the producer of American Gods), and sadly underappreciated.
What a fun show that was. Too bad it got cancelled.
I loved dead like me, and I love Bryan Fuller's style. I was really into Pushing Daisies as well, so much so that I actually cried from disappointment when it was cancelled, haha.
Silicon Valley - I’m on...umm..more rewatches than I care to admit, and I keep finding little tucked away jokes that give a nod back to a season or two. The show is fun and was was written for rewatching.
P & R - it’s silly and has heart
Scrubs - again silly with heart. My Dr. friend says it’s this show above all other ER type shows that comes closest to his work environment and relationships that form in that environment.
E: can’t believe I forgot South Park! I’ve been watching since the show started. I remember that when I was in college the local cable service didn’t offer Comedy Central. There was a cool pizza joint + bar with satellite TV that ran happy hour (with great deals on pizza and beer) for the first couple of seasons. The owners were more excited about the show than most of its broke college patrons, and certainly liked sharing the experience more than profits those nights. They’d record it an play it a second time too.
Also I remembered just now that SP was the first really viral video. A friend gave me a 6th generation vhs copy of the Spirit of Christmas that he sent thru the mail. That’s how viral worked back in the days of AOL dial-up and being excited to upgrade to a 56k modem. How the fuck did I learn anything back then? Right, I guess there were libraries and owning books. I don’t know if I could go back to a world pre internet proliferation. The times have changed. Anyhow viral video, thru USPS, recorded onto VHS - you know you have something special when folks would go to all that trouble for a shitty cardboard cutout cartoon.
I loved You're the Worst and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.
I liked You're the worst, but I didn't think it was exceptionally funny. It did, however, excel in the drama department, in part because it was a comedy. It did a phenomenal job in educating the public on mental health issues.
Did you watch the season 4 AD remix, “fateful consequences”?
the one which was recently released? nope, I haven't.
Yes, Minister because it's clever and satirical and I love seeing how government works. Sir Humphrey Appleby is one of the best comedic characters ever created, and Nigel Hawthorne performs the role perfectly.
Frasier is a close runner-up. It's... well... I don't really know why I like it. I just do.
Psych
I can't believe no one else has mentioned it. It's really funny, easy to watch and it's guaranteed to cheer you up and put you in a good mood.
I am so sad that Cary Elwes was not able to be in the Psych Movie, especially since he was the one that leaked they were doing the movie. Despereaux would have been great addition, maybe for the next one. But Psych was amazing, the chemistry of Hill and Roday is indescribable.
The Office. The first season and a half were a bit difficult to like but it really took off after that. Steve Carell deserves all the praise he gets. Annoying characters were made very endearing through very neat character development. Definitely, one of those shows which affects how you see your everyday life.
Some gems that some folks have either overlooked, not heard of, or have forgotten:
edit: IMDB links
+1 for Vice Principals.
Fantastic show, and I absolutely agree with their decision to keep it just two seasons. I feel as if it would've dragged on way too much otherwise, and this limitation helped every episode feel fresh.
I need to get around to watching Eastbound and Down, it's in the backlog that I'll probably never clear.
If you loved Vice Principals, definitely burn through Eastbound and Down. Kenny Powers is basically Neal Gamby times two... and some of the other characters will blow your mind.
30 Rock - it's so absurd and silly. The jokes are great.
Futurama - the jokes are smart and the stories are entertaining.
Superstore - the supporting characters are so hilarious. Their one liners make the show. Also it's an onpoint portrayal of working retail.
Frisky Dingo
Since I see cartoons in the list above, how about Bob's Burgers? It's witty and it isn't the typical dysfunctional family cartoon.
For me it's:
*A Touch Of Cloth
*Bottom
*Black books
and basically any sketch show tbh. I can treally make the list any smaller without getting into fluff reasoning. I grew up on Rick and Aide with their earlier stuff but fell in love with bottom, especially their live shows.
A touch of cloth is written by the same guy as Black mirror (Charlie Brooker) and its chock full of puns like you. would. not. beleive. It's insanely well written too so while they're aiming high, imo they nailed it.
And Black Books is just really hard to explain but I think its my sienfeld. I keep imagining new episidoes and finding things irl that remind me of the show. Plus the little book of calm is cute
How I met your mother has become a classic , it's so short you can view several episodes after a hard day sat work.
It has its flaws but Neil Patrick Harris always brings a smile to my face.
I really like the Good Place. Binge watched the first season when it first came onto netflix here. Loved the second season as well. Its very light hearted, but has some very good themes on character development as well as general and specific philosophical questions. And the plot twists are phenomenal!
Always Sunny
Parks and Rec
Entourage
The Mick
AP Bio
Friends
Archer's original seasons
The League minus the last season
You're the Worst
The Good Place
Brooklyn 99. Silly but sharp with firecracker dialog and all the pleasures of a typical police procedural. Loveable characters with an overall positive vibe.
Community. I love shows like The Office, Parks & Rec, Brooklyn Nine Nine, etc, but they all feel like a similar show with different characters. Community has a different tone and more memorable characters to me; every one of the main characters (and a lot of the side characters too) brought something unique to the table and it's probably the only show that I thought would feel completely different if one character left (and it did, the seasons without Troy and Pierce felt almost like a different show to me).
I also loved the parody episodes and how each season finale got super weird.
Nathan For You is the funniest show I have seen in YEARS.
Arrested Development is a favorite of mine, though I'm one of the people in the minority who enjoyed seasons 4 and 5. I thought the timeline stuff with season 4 was pretty clever, though it's a shame there wasn't more interaction between the cast. Season 5 felt like a return to form to the original seasons.
I also like Archer, though I haven't seen the most recent couple of seasons yet. I like the similar sense of humor it and Arrested Development have (with all the in-jokes and meta references).
Recently I also really enjoyed the Santa Clarita Diet.