TV Tuesday: My Favorite Comedies (Part One)

Day 40
It should come as no surprise that since I am a movie fanatic I am also a TV junkie. From a very early age I was “glued to the tube” (which probably explains why I had to get glasses when I was seven years old). I remember watching lots and lots of TV growing up, and this habit stuck with me up until…well, now. NOTE: To rationalize this behavior I need to point out that I read books too, so I am able to pry myself away from the television screen every now and then.

Anyway, as professed TV addict I want to post a list of some of my favorite sitcoms and comedy TV shows. And of course being the type of person that I am (afraid of commitment, afraid to show favoritism, afraid to offend) this is just Part One of an alphabetical list of my favorites:

Absolutely Fabulous (1992-1995)

* There is something about British comedy that I just love. It has to do with the accents, because the British have a way of making anything sound good, funny and classy. And Ab Fab was about two horribly self-involved, boozy, classless women who managed to seem classy and lovable because of their beautiful accents. Edina “Eddie” Monsoon and Patsy Stone were a perfect comic duo, such memorably awful, tacky, offensive yet funny and beloved characters. Cheers, “sweetie, darlings!”


The Brady Bunch (1969-1974)

* Yep, I’m a “Bradymaniac”; I own all 5 seasons of the show on DVD, I have several pop culture/trivia/biographical books about the show; one year I even had a Brady Bunch calendar. And this from someone who was born the year the show ended. I became a fan when I watched this show in reruns years ago. I love the whole, bloomin’ Brady Bunch: Mike (nice perm), Carol (nice shag haircut), Greg (AKA Johnny Bravo), Marcia (“Oh my nose!”), Peter (“Pork chops and applesauce”), Jan (“Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!”), Bobby (Former Safety Monitor), Cindy (The New Shirley Temple), and Alice (“Oh, Alice!”)

Friends (1994-2004)

* I am best friends with Friends, although to be honest I was not a best friend during the first season. Sorry, I just couldn’t stand Ross’ monkey Marcel (good riddance, ya hairy pest!), but in the second season with the Ross-Rachel relationship I was hooked! These are the kinds of people that I'd want as friends. I own 9 of the 10 seasons (couldn’t bring myself to buy the first season) and I love this show! Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Phoebe and Joey…I have this to say to you all: “I’ll be there for you!”

The Golden Girls (1985-1992)

* I watched this show every Saturday night and got such a kick out of it. As I matured my sense of humor matured and I gained a whole new appreciation for this show, for the jokes that had once gone over my head. This was a perfect ensemble: Dorothy was great with the sarcasm, the snappy one-liners; Blanche was great at providing the more risque and bawdy humor; Rose was great at playing naïve and simple; and Sophia was great at being tactless and grouchy. These girls were truly “comic gold.”

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988-1999)

* Fans of this show are called “MSTies” and I am definitely one of them. I discovered this show by accident with my brother Josh (later the rest of my family watched and became fans of this show!) MST3K is the perfect show because it is the only way to be able to sit through horrible, cheesy, utterly crappy movies, thanks to the hilarious commentary provided by Joel (who was later replaced by Mike) and two robots, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot. There were so many jokes (using songs, pop culture references, movie quotes, TV shows, celebrities) that it was sometimes difficult to catch all of the humor. And depending on your interests some jokes would be gut-busting while others would be more head-scratching; no matter, though, I always laughed myself sick! I get “MSTie” just thinking about this show!

There you have it: some of my favorite TV comedies; more of my favorite TV comedies to be revealed in a future post!