My wife and I are in a bit of a disagreement right now as to what constitutes a “situational comedy.”  To be exact, the term sitcom applies to a comedic story with ongoing or recurring characters.  It was developed to distinguish these more involved comedies from their stand-up and sketch comedy cousins.  SNL is not a sitcom, neither is The Chappelle Show.  They will not be included on this list.  I also will exclude pay cable (see my article on Top 5 Dramas) and specifically in this case, the BBC.  Frankly, if I did include BBC shows, there would only be one Yankee production on the list.

 Guess which one and you get a lollipop!

Since sitcoms were first broadcast on U.S. radios in the 1920s, I have an absolute mountain of potential candidates.  It was hard to toss aside some personal faves like Bossom Buddies, WKRP in Cincinnati, or Hogan’s Heroes, but ultimately I tried to really narrow down the comedies that transcended their genre and became integral components of our popular culture.  Except for #2, which is just my personal all-time favorite!

5.  Married… with Children

The Bundy’s turned the FOX Network from an upstart party crasher to a full fledged major network channel.  It ran for 11 seasons, producing nearly 300 episodes by obliterating the family sitcom paradigm.  It was much more a commentary than a stylized view of a nuclear family.  Things never got resolved and they never really got better.  In other words, it was real and hilarious.

4. M*A*S*H

As much a commentary on the Vietnam War during which it aired as the Korean War it depicted, M*A*S*H was 251 episodes of uncomfortable hilarity.  With razor sharp writing, the men and women of the 4077th painted a delicate picture of a surgical unit at war, mixing broad humor with pointed social observations.  At once a time capsule and timeless, M*A*S*H is a rare sitcom full of importance as well as jokes.

3. Seinfeld

Along with Star Wars, I don’t think there is a more quotable property on the planet.  180 episodes and I’m pretty sure we can all remember most of them.  The show about nothing was in fact about everything, touching base with every mundane subject conceivable.  The result?  The characters never learn anything, but persist as themselves throughout which leads to one of the greatest finales in history.  The final shot of them in the jail cell is brilliant.  I think I’ll re-watch it for Festivus!

2. The Office (U.S.)

No offense to the fantastic Gervais original, but I’m a Dunder Mifflin fan.  For me, the U.S. version is an entirely different animal and successful on levels the Brits would have never conceived.  Season two is the single greatest season of comedy I’ve ever watched.  The writing is over the moon and the cast is superb.  I can watch this show over and over and over.  With 100 plus episodes already in the can (most of which I can quote verbatim), The Office is destined for the Hall of Fame.

1. I Love Lucy

To this day, I cannot pass an episode of I Love Lucy without bursting into laughter.  Sure some of the conventions are dated (two single beds), but the characters and jokes are timeless.  Desi and Lucy truly are two of the greatest actors of all time and whip smart business partners to boot.  Their Desilu productions became a keystone to the fledgling industry as Lucy helped to define the modern sitcom style by being amongst the first to use a live audience and three cameras.  Nearly 50 years since it went off the air, I Love Lucy remains one of the most memorable shows ever broadcast; a shining example of how to do comedy right.

Honorable Mention: Cheers

Sort of out of syndication circulation these days, I think many have forgotten just how hilarious this show really was.  Whenever you can simplify a premise down to something like a bar, it eases the process to the point where you can really concentrate on the humor and the characters and Cheers definitely delivered on character!  Plus, after the finale the cast was totally blitzed on live TV!