Best Comedy Shows Of All Time
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005): Everybody loves put-upon Ray, who tries to please wife Debra, nosy ‘rents Marie and Frank and jealous bro Robert. The Barones didn’t always have happy days, but their dysfunctional family was one of the most realistic.
Family Guy (1999-present): The naughty and pop culture-obsessed ‘Family Guy’ is loaded with some of TV’s best characters: offensive patriarch Peter, Brian the sauced dog and Peter Lorre-sound-a-like baby Stewie, whose botched matricidal missions are second in hilarity only to his perpetually thwarted plots for world domination.
Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983): Not since Lucy and Ethel wreaked havoc on the chocolate factory had two female buddies sparked so many chuckles. Lenny and Squiggy provided their share of wackiness, but the heart of the show was the bottle-cappin’ roomies’ friendship and pursuit of love, happiness and milk ‘n’ Pepsi.
Green Acres (1965-1971): CBS had its own genre of rural sitcoms with ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ ‘Petticoat Junction’ and ‘Acres,’ a standout for surreal antics involving TV-watching pig Arnold, the Monroe brothers (one of whom was female) and leads Oliver and Lisa, who still wore their fancy city duds after moving to their Hooterville farm.
Arrested Development (2003-2006): Bluths, we hardly knew ye. Three seasons of dysfunctional family hilarity and banana-stand shenanigans weren’t nearly enough. The show gave us GOB, Buster and Michael Cera — and, at last, a forum for Jason Bateman to showcase his comedy chops.
Sanford & Son (1972-1977): Father and son, junkyard partners: Both those relationships fueled the tug of war between Fred, who schemed to keep his son by his side, and Lamont, who strove to break free. Of course, it didn’t take a big dummy to see they really loved each other, though the scheming was often more fun.
Will & Grace (1998-2006): Sure, gay lawyer Will and his best friend/ex-girlfriend Grace were likable enough. But it was Will’s self-obsessed, Cher-lovin’ pal Jack and Grace’s boozy, equally self-obsessed receptionist Karen who provided the laugh-out-loud scenes; fans even suggested renaming the series ‘Jack & Karen.’
Mork & Mindy (1978-1982): ‘Mork’ was the perfect series to launch Robin Williams into superstardom, as his manic monologues and physical humor befitted an alien who was charged with studying Earthlings. Mork wasn’t supposed to fall in love with roomie Mindy, but he did, then hatched (literally) giant baby Mearth.
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