The Top 10 Comedies of all Time

I know lists can be subjective and debated.

But then again, other people are idiots and I am right - and so is this list!

I thought I would give a run down of my top 10 comedies of all time - I have also included a link to some classic scenes if you havent seen them.

I know that there are some great comedies that wont have made the list, but I thought I would go for those that have a body of work (ie had more than 2/3 seasons to them.)

So here we go - straight in at number 10.

10) Malcolm in the Middle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxp9BaH3BSw&feature=related

A tale of Hal and Lois facing everyday trials and tribulations with their 4 sons.. The series started off with the pair having 4 sons and continued all the way through to the birth of another one. Consistently funny due to some great performances from the leads (especially Brian Cranston as Hal) and some great secondary characters, such as Greg and Otto.

The show thankfully never jumped the shark and got out at the right time. It also featured the breaking of the fourth wall not seen since Saved By the Bell.

Very clever and very funny.


9) The Simpsons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zVCN6SFFzg&feature=related

The longest running sitcom on TV. And although the stories have got a little far fetched, and maybe not as funny anymore, when at its peak, the show had very few that could match it. Once again, a disfunctional family are the centre point of the laughter, with Homer getting the most laughs along the way. The show is made all the funnier by an amazing supporting cast of characters (ralf and chief Wiggum being my faves)

Some great cameos over the years have made this a witty, cutting edge satire that transcends the cartoon format. Best episode - Homer's Phobia

8.) Scrubs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl9ZZsUX00s

The story of John Dorian who starts to work at a hospital with his friends, Turk and Elliiot. The show once again benefited from a great supporting cast of characters such as the Janitor and Doctor Cox, who was never far away with a verbal tirade for JD (or Esther/Janice/ Julie etc).

The show followed the cast through their first years in the hospital all the way up to them getting married and having children together. Even the Janitor found happiness.

It may have been higher on the list were it not for the ill advised spin off, after one of the greatest finales in TV history.

7) Fawlty Towers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78b67l_yxUc

The only show that didnt have a long running backlog of episodes. A real trail blazer that set the way for shows like the Office to be made possible (ie the cringeworthy lead protagonist). John Cleese excelled as the Torquay hotel owner, who in just 12 episodes, changed the face of sitcom history.

6) Curb Your Enthusiasm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGjElvt4nP8

Larry David, the genius behind Seinfeld, creates an improvised show with some of his friends which takes the cringeworthyness of Basil Fawlty and puts a added realism to it. Larry manages to get himself into all kinds of unbelievable situations that always seem real and deeply disturbing. A true hero of tactlessness!

5) The Office: An american Workplace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRuaeK3R08k

The spin off from Ricky Gervais' UK comedy. Now into its 7th season in the US, the show has exceeded the original by giving the characters real depth, that the original only touched on. A truly great show with awesome characters that gets better and better.

4) Married With Children

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISfdjN1aTE4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ5HAts3yFc&feature=related

The original dysfunctional family. The Shoe salesman father who has a wife who does nothing, a daughter who sleeps around and a son who is a borderline sex pest. Way ahead of its time in that it took clever, smutty humour and made you genuinely feel sorry for Al Bundy. Once again, a great supporting cast and a series that got better as the seasons rolled on.

After a casting change half way through, the show went from strength to strength.

3) South Park

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYmnP7VOyo4

The tale of 4 friends (sort of) and the town of South Park. Always topical, and always lewd, this series has gone from quite an innocent show to one of the funniest, most vulgar shows on television. But it always does it with wit and intelligence. In the last series alone, topical stories such as The BP oil spill, Tiger Woods affair and the US's obsession with Jersey Shore were covered.

And unlike the Simpsons, this has maintained its cutting edge.

2) Seinfeld

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKsUlf20DF0

The sitcom about nothing. The characters were hollow, self indulgent rogues but that was the point. No learning. No character development, just a brilliantly woven tale of excrutiating situations. The four main leads were incredible (although Gerry Seinfeld himself was the mjost boring):

Elaine - a bit of a whore around town
George - angry and workshy with over bearing parents
Kramer - the loony next door neighbour
Gerry - stand up comic who was the moral centre of the show

Brilliantly cast and the only reason why it was kept off the top spot is that the 2 part finale was absolutely terrible.


1) Frazier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_saJankLNHc

Originally a spin off from Cheers, this followed the titular Dr Crane moving to Seattle to look after his widowed father who had just been shot in the hip. It introduced a great supporting cast in Daphne (the fathers psychic physiotherapist), his Brother Niles (who was as snobby as Frasier) and Roz, Frasiers radio producer.

The show built some fantastic running arcs (such as Frasiers quest to find the perfect woman, and Niles' attraction to Daphne). The show mixed very high brow comedy (amazing bearing in mind its American target audience) but was never afraid to employ pure slapstick, as seen in the great episode of the ski lodge.

The series dipped around season 8 but came back for 3 brilliant seasons before bowing out with a wholly satisfying finale.

The show ran longer than friends, unbelievably, but unlike that other American sitcom staple, this has aged brilliantly and still raises many a smile every episode.

So there you have it, my top 10. The top 10! If you have never had the opportunity to see any of these, please track them down.

No way should Scrubs be above The Simpsons. Ever.

the US office is so funny lol

Two and a half men

Everybody loves raymond

etc

cricketfan90 wrote:the US office is so funny lol

Two and a half men

Everybody loves raymond

etc

The British Office was the original and best. Everybody Loves Raymond and Two and a Half Men I just cannot agree on. Sorry CF...but they are just awful.

I'd say the same about Malcolm In The Middle to be honest.

Comedy is such a subjective topic! I loathe pretty much anything with Ricky Gervais, did like what I saw of Two and a Half Men and thought Fawlty Towers was very overrated (except for the Siberian hamster).

For me Frazier, Father Ted, 30 Rock and Just Shoot Me are all better (opinion!); Episodes was clever if not laugh out loud funny all the time and for something esoteric (accepted it's not a series) try "Dinner for One" which gets shown on pretty much every German TV channel on New Year's Eve - it's in English and they can't understand why we've never heard of it. Quite funny especially after a few viewings but possibly that's just the NYE effect? (There's even a Lego version on YouTube)

Can't agree more with DT on Two and a Half Men. Absolutely shocking.

I have a very childish humour so my types of comedy are Family Guy and American Dad. Brilliant!

Fawlty Towers is epic.
One of the best out there. The set up was so simple with a handfull of characters that worked so well.

The Germans was a great episode, it had it all. The dodgy fire alarm, the funny walk, the talking moose. Quality !

PLEASE don't let Only Fools and Horses be in the top 5

I agree with Scrubs over Simpsons, apart from the last remaining series of Scrubs it maintained a high level of comedy throughout. Simpsons hasn't been funny in years.

Keeping Up Appearences should be in a Top 10 IMO. Brillant brillant comedy, wish they would do one more.

I'd add Allo' Allo' as well.

If Blackadder is at number 1 and Red Dwarf is at 2 then i'm happy with the list.

not to jump in Hobo's top ten and I won't go into full detail on why etc but mine would be...

1. Blackadder
2. Father Ted
3. Phoenix Nights
4. Alan Partridge
5. The Mighty Boosh
6. Red Dwarf
7. Peep Show
8. Brass Eye
9. Spaced
10. Inbetweeners

And yes they're all British.

Nice list Hero,the only thing i would add is black books in the place of the inbetweeners.

that was actually 11 on my list!!!

Big shout out as well for Some Mothers Do Ave Em.

inbetweeners, south park, and family guy are also awesome

Looking at Hero's list, I should have included Blackadder (certainly from 2 - 4, not sure about series 1) and Red Dwarf, and agree Black Books should join them. There was also a series, now rather old, called Brass about the factory owning Bradley Hardacre (Timothy West); his dreadful family, the early Unions and Keir Hardie's cap and some awful puns - one episode features the line "get back to Germany von Braun, and take your rocket with you" after a less than impressive Guy Fawkes night - possibly deserves a place in the list and definitely cult status. The Good Life?

Possibly 'Allo, 'Allo as it seemed to amuse so many nationalities, although I've heard nothing about the fate of the series in Germany; they bought it fairly recently. However, please no Some Mothers ..

I'm not sure of a top 10, or the order in which they would be...

I'd have Family Guy, Black Books, Scrubs, Green Wing, Curb Your Enthusiasm (From the little I've seen of it), The Office, Mighty Boosh and Knowing Me, Knowing You.

That's all I can think of for now.

The Office
Faulty Towers
Only Fools And Horses
Cheers
South Park
Family Guy
Father Ted
Dads Army
Operation Good Guys
Still Game

I have updated the list - I forgot about Blackadder and would have put that in above Fawlty Towers in the list, knocking Malcolm out of the top 10.

1. Only fools and horse
2. Father Ted
3. Family Guy
4. Alan Partridge
5. Pheonix Nights

Final list up.

That was an anti-climax!

King Beer wrote:That was an anti-climax!

No number 1 was Frasier not an evening of passion with King Beer

Hobo wrote:

King Beer wrote:That was an anti-climax!

No number 1 was Frasier not an evening of passion with King Beer

I don't satisfy women. I satisfy myself.

Where is Father Ted on that list, it would have to be top ten at least brilliant programme with not one bad episode

My top ten would be:

1.Modern Family
2.Mighty Boosh
3.Scrubs
4.Father Ted
5.Raising Hope
6.Family Guy
7.My Name is Earl
8.Blackadder
9.Not Going Out
10.Simpsons

Poor list IMO Hobo.
But then i'm not really into the Comedy Central stuff.

Heres my Top Ten:

1. Gavin & Stacey.
2. The IT Crowd.
3. The Inbetweeners.
4. My Name is Earl.
5. The Peep Show.
6. The Office (Ricky Gervais)
7. Bo Selecta!
8. The Simpsons.
9. The Big Bang Theory.
10. Family Guy.

The Last 2 shouldn't really be on the list but i couldn't think!

Dx Dan. wrote:Poor list IMO Hobo.
But then i'm not really into the Comedy Central stuff.

Heres my Top Ten:

1. Gavin & Stacey.
2. The IT Crowd.
3. The Inbetweeners.
4. My Name is Earl.
5. The Peep Show.
6. The Office (Ricky Gervais)
7. Bo Selecta!
8. The Simpsons.
9. The Big Bang Theory.
10. Family Guy.

The Last 2 shouldn't really be on the list but i couldn't think!

Your list is very here and now (as in modern comedies).

The only one from my list that I regret putting on there is Malcolm in the Middle which I would have replaced with Blackadder II.

Lists are subjective but mine is more right than yours!

I think there should be a vote on who picked the best top ten.
(as I will win)

If I can just ask where the hell is Friends on your lists?

It's obviously all down to opinion. I think Scrubs and 2 and a half men are incredibly irritating. The Inbetweeners is just potty-mouthed toilet humour for adolescents, in my opinion.

I love shows like Alan Partridge, Brass Eye, The Day Today and Peep Show.

Blackadder is the best ever for me.

My favourite comedy has to be Family Guy.

Haha Hobo, my top 5 are all brilliant.
But i'll be honest with you, i have never watched Frazier or Seinfield which are your top two.
But South Park? really?, its a poor show IMO.
Lastly the the american version of The Office is nowhere near as good as the original UK version!

Rather surprised no one has mentioned Yes Minister or Yes Prime Minister yet, or wouldn't people call these comedies. I think they're hilarious myself.

For what it's worth
1) Yes Minister/Prime Minister
2) Fawlty Towers
3) Seinfeld
4) The Big Bang Theory (though I've only watched seasons 1 and 2 so far)
5) The Simpsons

But then again I don't watch many TV series, so these are probably the only five I can think of which I've watched regularly off the top of my head.

Here is mine...
1 - Family Guy
2 - Two and a Half Men (I gave my number as the local chinese chippy to so many girls a few years ago after 1 brilliant episode that it deserves to be in just for that lol)
3 - The Simpsons
4 - Raymond
5 - Red Dwarf (But only seasons 1 - 6)
6 - Men Behaving Badly
7 - My Name is Earl
8 - 2 pints (again only the early ones before it went on for too long)
9 - Early Doors
10 - Phoenix Nights

With Honourable mentions to Friends, Fraser, Malcolm in the Middle (Just for Reese alone he was so funny!), early Scrubs and American Dad.

My Top Ten in no particular order is:

Father Ted
The Royle Family
The Office
Phoenix Nights
Alan Partridge
Blackadder
Faulty Towers
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads
Peep Show
The Inbetweeners

Not good at compiling top 10's; as you say it's very subjective and trying to compare 1960's classics
with current stuff where you have to know the in-crowd-in-joke to know where to laugh is impossible.

So, to show my age, the oldies I liked would include:

All Gas and Gaiters (as a 10-year-old Irish Catholic I loved it because my parents felt they had to disapprove)
Steptoe & Son and Til Death Us Do Part (for very similar reasons)
Porridge (anything Ronnie Barker made was worth watching)
Last of the Summer Wine (and I was just a teen when that started!)
Mork and Mindy (perfect counter to all the films like Close Encounters)
Fools and Horses (especially the early years, but worth a laugh right to the end)
M*A*S*H (great comedy in the most unlikely situation)
Citizen Smith (about as revolutionary as most us ever really got)
Yes Minister/Prime Minister (in England by then and realising how futile politics was)

.... more latterly:

Men Behaving Badly (laughed at the Young Ones when I was, but MBB was funnier)
Vicar of Dibley (laughed at Father Ted 'cos I'm Irish, but VoD was funnier)
One Foot in The Grave (superbly silly and maybe I was getting a bit like a middle-aged Victor!)

.... and currently:

Outnumbered (the best family comedy for years, sort of younger version of My Family)
$h*! My Dad Says (makes watching Shatner in re-runs of Star Trek impossible)
The Big C (slightly dark - C is for Cancer - but has a nice balance)

............... all done in the "best possible taste" but in no particular order

Mine would be:

1.Blackadder
2.Fawlty Towers
3.Family Guy
4.Two and a Half Men
5.Frasier
6.Only Fools and Horses
7.South Park
8.Simpsons
9.American Dad
10.Peep Show

Terry and June.

Where is family guy.


I might agree that Frasier should be number one though.

Quite simply British sitcoms are by far the best and I just love non-pc humour:-

On The Buses (so much so I wrote a book about it)
Porridge
Man About The House
Steptoe And Son
Rising Damp
Only Fools And Hoses
Bottom
Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads
Fawlty Towers
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em

1. Fawlty Towers
2. Peep Show
3. Family Guy
4. Outnumbered
5. The Inbetweeners
6. Phoenix Nights
7. My Name is Earl
8. Friends (unpopular choice for some reason?)


Can't think of anymore I've watched enough of to comment on.

I am really surprised Peep Show isn't in more lists; David Mitchell at his very best.

And although Friends might not be excellent, I think the fact I have probably watched every episode at least 6 or 7 times and can still laugh is testament that it's actually pretty good.

I used to love Married With Children in the late '80s.

Other personal favourites:

The Young Ones
The Comic Strip Presents...
Absolutely (a sketch show used to be on Channel 4 years ago)
Porridge
The Two Ronnies
Barry Welsh is Coming...
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Blackadder series

Good to see a few mentions for Yes Minister / Yes Prime Minister - the only excuse for it not being on a list of best comedies is that it was actually a documentary of how the British Government works.

MASH definitely should be on a lot more lists - I assume the absence is simply that some of you are too young.

Friends was a very good show (my wife is going through the box set at the moment, and it has at least a couple laugh out loud moments per episode, usually provided by Chandler) - OK, it is shown to overkill on E4 and that seems to have undermined people's opinion of it, but that shouldn't detract from it being considered very good.

Obviously, Blackadder (especially seasons 2 and 4) was brilliant, as was Fawlty Towers.

Monty Python had its funny moments, but has not aged well, and becasue it was so experiemental some bits miss by a long way. The films are generally better because they were tighter and the absurdities had to kind of fit into the narrative rather than just being a one-off sketch.

Oh, and anyone who has included anything written by or starring that up himself self indulgent tw*t Ricky Gervais should be banned from these boards and probably locked in a room away from any sharp objects for their own safety.

dummy_half wrote:Oh, and anyone who has included anything written by or starring that up himself self indulgent tw*t Ricky Gervais should be banned from these boards and probably locked in a room away from any sharp objects for their own safety.

Ricky Gervais is a very funny man! I also think this whole arrogance thing is all part of his act, kind of like Simon Cowell. I find his arrogant persona just as hilarious as his characters in his shows. The Office and Extras were both top notch, the Ricky Gervais show is also very funny, and although it does focus on Karl Pilkington, a lot of the time the laughs come from Ricky's reaction to it.

Gervais' stand up is also very good. His presenting of the award ceremonies was also very funny, the only thing he has failed to do well is films. The Invention of Lying and that ghost one were both poor for his standards.

best comedy is friday night dinner lol all 6 episodes

Ricky Gervais is irritating. He didn't make a very good pop star either. Seona Dancing anyone???

Father Ted for me is the funniest show ever. The fast show rates up there as well as Men behaving badly :-)

Ramilas, you won't be happy but apparently $h*! My Dad Says has been cancelled by CBS.