Mmmm...comedy
I have never been more pleased with a poll's result
than this one. There was absolutely no way I was going to vote
for anything other than "The Simpsons". I mentioned in
the previous Simpsons poll that I would wait until it won this
poll to discuss why it is so good. Well maybe I shouldn't have
opened my yap because I don't know if I really know why it is so
good.
The only thing I can tell you is why I like it. I like it
because they aren't scared to take chances. They are sometimes
ruthless in their satire but they always seem to have a heart
behind the cold exterior. Hell, their "cartoon"
characters are more well defined than the characters on just
about any other show on television. I cannot tell you how many
times I have said "Bart is a bastard! He deserves whatever
he gets." You can always count on Lisa to be the conscience,
sometimes so much that even Marge gets a little annoyed. And
Marge is the perfect Mom. She has to be, I guess, to endure their
wacky adventures. All the supporting characters add their own
brand of flavor as well and I am not sure if I have ever NOT
liked a character. You even had to like Frank "Grimy"
Grimes in his one-episode appearance.
But the best character on the show, without question, has to
be Homer Jay. I am thinking about doing a "Best Homer
Simpson Line" poll in the near future. He has had so many
great ones though, I am not sure I could narrow it down. Beyond
the stupidity and brazenness that usually defines him, he is a
really good Dad. Some of Homer's best episodes are when he and
Lisa have an adventure.
The Halloween episodes are always fun, the ultimate one
consisting of "Homer sells his soul for a doughnut",
"Mr. Burns is a vampire", and "Bart sees a gremlin
on the bus". Some of the others have had excellent segments
(Jerry Springer comes to mind) but that one was, in my opinion,
the best one as a whole.
Some people will say that the show has declined in the last
few years. I disagree. I thought that this week's episode where a
character was killed (I won't say who in case it hasn't aired
where you live) was very uplifting for me personally and had some
hilarious moments. I will agree that I have not seen an absolute
classic in a while but I don't doubt that a few more gems are
coming before it's over. Even if they don't, hell, it has made me
laugh enough already to deserve its spot on the top of this poll.
M*A*S*H finished in second place and I know that will make a
buddy of mine happy (Frannie you know who you are). He is always
telling me about episodes where this or that happened. He is the
king of M*A*S*H trivia and I think he knows just about all the
funny quotes from it. Scoop told me once that Alan Alda still
gets requests for medical advice. Now that is almost funnier than
anything on the show. They had some excellent writing on that
show, maybe the best ever. The dialogue was almost metered in a
way. I will still watch it in syndication if I happen to see it
on the tube.
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K) finished in a surprising
third. I don't know about this one. I always thought it was funny
but I could only watch it periodically. It just seemed the same
to me. A guy and two robots being smart asses in front of a movie
screen. Take away the robots and put in a wife and daughter and
you would have Scoopy's living room.
I really loved "Seinfeld" both before and after it
was the most popular show on TV. To pay homage to it, I will say....nothing.
The other show to receive over 100 votes was "Monty
Python's Flying Circus". Okay, I am going to admit something
here. I thought "The Holy Grail" and "The Life of
Brian" were two of the funniest movies I have ever seen, but
I never really liked the TV show. I don't know if I am just too
stupid to get it or what, but I just never thought it was very
funny. Having said that, I know some people whose sides actually
hurt when they watch an episode, but not me. Take the most famous
sketch, the Parrot thing. Was that funny? If it was, why? I am
not saying everyone who likes it is stupid. I am saying I am
probably the stupid one because I don't get it. Can someone tell
me what I am missing?
Well the new poll is already out but if you haven't voted yet,
let me explain something. I was a little unclear I guess when I
typed in the title. This poll was supposed to be "Best Movie"
which just happens to contain a substantial amount of nudity. Not
just Best Nudity. It's not that important. I just thought I would
mention it. Hell, maybe all the people who voted for "Basic
Instinct" think it's the best movie on the list.
The new poll on Monday will be "Celebrity whose lack of
popularity is hardest to understand." This category will
include those people (musicians, actors, comedians, whatever) who
are really good and should be popular but just haven't gained
widespread acceptance yet. Send me some noms on this one to lawdogusc@hotmail.com. I
expect I will get a WIDE variety on this one so if your nom is
not included, don't take it personally.
Comments, suggestions, and nominees to lawdogusc@hotmail.com.
You can also write to Flatcat at flatcat90@hotmail.com and
the Gist at the_gist@hotmail.com.
Poll
Topic: Best All Time Television Comedy
|
| The
Simpsons |
 18.3% - (187 Votes) |
| M*A*S*H |
13.4% - (137 Votes) |
| Mystery
Science Theater 3000 |
11.6% - (119 Votes) |
| Seinfeld |
10.9% - (111 Votes) |
| Monty
Python's Flying Circus |
10.1% - (103 Votes) |
| Cheers |
5.7% - (59 Votes) |
| Married...with
Children |
3.9% - (40 Votes) |
| All
in the Family |
3.5% - (36 Votes) |
| Fawlty
Towers |
2.8% - (29 Votes) |
| Friends |
2.3% - (24 Votes) |
| I
Love Lucy |
2% - (21 Votes) |
| Blackadder |
2% - (21 Votes) |
| The
Andy Griffith Show |
1.7% - (18 Votes) |
| Taxi |
1.3% - (14 Votes) |
| The
Dick Van Dyke Show |
1.2% - (13 Votes) |
| The
Honeymooners |
1% - (11 Votes) |
| The
Mary Tyler Moore Show |
0.8% - (9 Votes) |
| The
Larry Sanders Show |
0.8% - (9 Votes) |
| SCTV |
0.7% - (8 Votes) |
| Police
Squad |
0.5% - (6 Votes) |
| Roseanne |
0.5% - (6 Votes) |
| Frasier |
0.5% - (6 Votes) |
| Hitchhikers
Guide to the Galaxy - BBC |
0.5% - (6 Votes) |
| 'Allo,
'Allo - BBC |
0.4% - (5 Votes) |
| The
Bob Newhart Show |
0.3% - (4 Votes) |
| Your
Show of Shows |
0.3% - (4 Votes) |
| Sanford
& Son |
0.3% - (4 Votes) |
| Burns
& Allen |
0.3% - (4 Votes) |
| The
Cosby Show |
0.1% - (2 Votes) |
| Sgt.
Bilko |
0.1% - (2 Votes) |
| Murphy
Brown |
0% - (0 Votes) |
Total Votes: 1018 |