Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 29, 2024, 12:35:20 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Greatest Ever Sitcoms - Channel 5

Started by 23 Daves, January 01, 2015, 03:28:39 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

23 Daves

So, this was on last night, and remains available to watch online for a month here: http://www.channel5.com/shows/greatest-ever-sitcoms/episodes/greatest-ever-sitcoms Probably best to watch the rundown online, actually, so you can spin past the mindless talking head analysis of local radio DJs speculating about why comedy works.

It's an eccentric and often unexpected list, though, which was compiled by a viewer vote although I don't remember seeing any promotion for it. A lot isn't there you'd frankly expect to be a shoe-in -
Spoiler alert
"Some Mothers Do 'Ave' Em"
[close]
doesn't register,
Spoiler alert
"Only Fools and Horses"
[close]
finishes far lower down the table than you'd expect, and perhaps most thrillingly of all for CaB readers,
Spoiler alert
"Ever Decreasing Circles"
[close]
hits the top ten and
Spoiler alert
Ricky Gervais has no entries in the chart at all. Christ, couldn't he even be bothered to start a Twitter campaign?
[close]

Obviously, there's some pure guff in there too and if it's a cult programme, you can generally forget about it appearing. I tire of these lists in general, but they are also strangely fascinating in that they do show how the public's taste shifts and changes - I'm sure I remember "Citizen Smith" rocketing up an equivalent poll in the nineties but it's dead in the water in these affairs now.

biggytitbo

Bit weird that Ever Decreasing Circles wouldn't suddenly register. Has it been repeated recently perhaps?

Gavin M

BBC 4 repeated about a dozen episodes at the start of 2014 - plus Briers' death may have contributed to more people seeking it out/looking back at it.

The C5 player doesn't seem to work for me - don't suppose anybody could find the rundown list anywhere?

MuteBanana

Channel 4 were also doing one but for Channel 4 shows only.

Spoiler alert
Father Ted was number one.
[close]

It's not available on 4oD for some reason. Never mind.

23 Daves

Quote from: Gavin M on January 01, 2015, 04:02:09 PM
BBC 4 repeated about a dozen episodes at the start of 2014 - plus Briers' death may have contributed to more people seeking it out/looking back at it.

The C5 player doesn't seem to work for me - don't suppose anybody could find the rundown list anywhere?

I've been looking for that online, but they don't seem to have published it. A kindly Cabber might of course type them up for you - but I might wait a couple of days to see if they appear through other means before going to the time and trouble of doing that data entry job.

Red Dwarf was at number 9, that's all we need to know.

great_badir

Anyone care to post the top 10 (if not the entire list)?  Save us from having to sit through all the wank mentioned above.

Keebleman

Quote from: great_badir on January 02, 2015, 12:39:13 PM
Anyone care to post the top 10 (if not the entire list)?  Save us from having to sit through all the wank mentioned above.

1. L for Lester
2. The Incredible Mr Limpet
3. That's My Boy
4. Yus My Dear
5. Take a Letter Mr Jones
6. No Place Like Home
7. Chintz
8. Room Service
9. Red Dwarf
10. Ever Decreasing Circles

Impressive achievement by Brian Murphy in bagging the top two spots.

Tiny Poster


       
  • Swinging
  • The Vicar Of Dibley
  • Suburban Shootout
  • 8 Simple Rules
  • Respectable
  • Angelo's
  • Goodies and The Beanstalk
  • Tibs and Fibs
  • Red Dwarf
  • Ever Decreasing Circles

great_badir

Gah - Married for Life misses out again!

mcbpete

Quote from: great_badir on January 02, 2015, 12:39:13 PM
Anyone care to post the top 10 (if not the entire list)?  Save us from having to sit through all the wank mentioned above.
S'cuse any typos:


**** #50 Man About The House ****
**** #49 Twenty Twelve ****
**** #48 Malcolm In The Middle ****
**** #47 To The Manor Born ****
**** #46 Men Behaving Badly ****
**** #45 Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ****
**** #44 Steptoe And Son ****
**** #43 Birds of A Feather ****
**** #42 Royale Family ****
**** #41 Parks & Recreation ****

**** #40 Open All Hours ****
**** #39 Outnumbered ****
**** #38 Gavin & Stacey ****
**** #37 Dinner Ladies ****
**** #36 Will & Grace ****
**** #35 The Golden Girls ****
**** #34 Keeping Up Appearances ****
**** #33 30 Rock ****
**** #32 The Good Life ****
**** #31 Miranda ****

**** #30 Hi-De-Hi ! ****
**** #29 One Foot In The Grave ****
**** #28 Cheers ****
**** #27 M*A*S*H ****
**** #26 Modern Family ****
**** #25 Mrs. Brown's Boys ****
**** #24 Vicar of Dibley ****
**** #23 The New Statesman ****
**** #22 Yes Minister ****
**** #21 Seinfeld ****

**** #20 Dad's Army ****
**** #19 Spaced ****
**** #18 Arrested Development ****
**** #17 Absolutely Fabulous ****
**** #16 Inbetweeners ****
**** #15 Porridge ****
**** #14  Big Bang Theory ****
**** #13 The IT Crowd ****
**** #12 Peep Show ****
**** #11 Frasier ****

**** #10 Ever Decreasing Circles ****
**** #9 Red Dwarf ****
**** #8 I'm Alan Partridge ****
**** #7 Only Fools And Horses ****
**** #6 Allo Allo ****
**** #5 The Young Ones ****
**** #4 Fawlty Towers ****
**** #3 Friends ****
**** #2 Father Ted ****
**** #1 Blackadder ****

madhair60


lazarou

I'm glad we seem to have collectively got past that whole "being a bit embarrassed about the Young Ones" phase, at least[nb]And by "we", I mean Channel 5 viewers[nb]Which does not include me[nb]Although I do like the Young Ones a lot[/nb][/nb].[/nb].

DrGreggles

How was this voted for?
It was supposedly a public vote, but I'm assuming that they just had a list of 50 on a website that you had to select from which just gets arranged into a certain order.

I'm not really a fan of The Office (UK), but it seems odd that it didn't make the list at all.
Unless Gervais forgot to tell everyone about it on Twitter...

Lapsedcat

I agree about The Office not making the list... quite bizarre. In fact, I'd go as far as suggesting rum practise, but who gains from its omission is still unclear... while not a big fan of the programme I can appreciate its importance and influence and to eschew it from the list smacks of horseplay at best, nefariousness at worst.

The Office US is top twenty of all time, and in my top five. This list is funnier than most of the shows on it.

newbridge


I know it's a bit of an out there claim but I'd say if Citizen Kane or The Godfather were released as TV shows, they'd be the greatest TV shows EVER.

greenman

Quote from: Bored of Canada on January 03, 2015, 04:08:55 AM
I know it's a bit of an out there claim but I'd say if Citizen Kane or The Godfather were released as TV shows, they'd be the greatest TV shows EVER.

You could argue the Godfather was with the "Saga" release that merged the first two in chronological order and added a load of extra material.

Quincey

I'm surprised Dad's Army was so low down, and that Allo Allo was so high up. I got the complete Dad's Army for Christmas, and it's excellent.


Lapsedcat

By the way, nice to see they ALMOST - I repeat, ALMOST - succeeded in airbrushing the first series of Blackadder from the sequence celebrating that programme's number one position. I say almost, because they slipped up, the daft fuckers, some Channel 5 work experience wonk managed to slip in a still frame from "The Blackadder" - Edmund looking like a right slippery customer - thankfully there were no further breaches of protocol and the great unwashed were left assuming they only made three series of the show (Elizabethan, Regency, World War One). Well done, Channel 5!

The real balls up there is that Rising Damp isn't on the list.

Nowhere Man

Steptoe and Son...44? Meanwhile Miranda and Mrs Browns boys are both in the top 30? I should know better but i'm in despair at that.

jobotic

No Reggie Perrin?

Yeah, Man About The House, Men Behaving Badly and Miranda are all better than that crap. FFS.

MojoJojo

Quote from: Lapsedcat on January 03, 2015, 01:02:38 AM
I agree about The Office not making the list... quite bizarre. In fact, I'd go as far as suggesting rum practise, but who gains from its omission is still unclear... while not a big fan of the programme I can appreciate its importance and influence and to eschew it from the list smacks of horseplay at best, nefariousness at worst.

Possibly not counted as a sitcom because of the mockumentary style?

I know it's normally described as a sitcom, but it's not genre sitcom if you get my meaning.

Probably a bigger omission is the Simpsons.

DrGreggles

Quote from: MojoJojo on January 05, 2015, 10:19:40 AM
Possibly not counted as a sitcom because of the mockumentary style?

Arrested Development was in there.

MojoJojo

Not really a mockumentary is it?

I'll cite the fountain of truth:

QuoteArrested Development is an American television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz, which originally aired on Fox for three seasons from November 2, 2003 to February 10, 2006.

QuoteThe Office is a popular mockumentary/cringe comedy sitcom that was first made in the United Kingdom

RenegadeScrew

Obviously lots to despair at here - like the inclusion of Mr Faux Fine Gael's Boys/Miranda - but look on the bright side - some twat born in January 84 discovered 'ever decreasing circles' this weekend.  The first episode aired when I was 9 days old!!

And PS.  a poll on Channel 5 is a poll on Channel 5.  I was much more perturbed by the reactions on this website to Miranda falling over/breaking fourth wall in perpetuity in the recent Christmas special, especially when contrasted to the negative reactions to (albeit below par) Charlie 'Hiroshima' Brooker's 2014 wipe.

Surprised the vehicle of shit that is Lee Mack's sitcom thing didn't make it in.

Always next year.

Captain Z


MojoJojo

Fair do's. I'd still say the Simpsons was a bigger omission.