Author Topic: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV  (Read 5618 times)

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Offline orcus116

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #35 on: September 18, 2011, 10:35:16 AM »
I wouldn't really use the word stellar but it was fairly amusing. Though they used a Tiger Woods joke at the very beginning and not that the payoff at the end was really that funny but that joke was outdated even when South Park did it a year and a half ago.

Offline snapple

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #36 on: September 18, 2011, 10:36:54 AM »
I wouldn't really use the word stellar but it was fairly amusing. Though they used a Tiger Woods joke at the very beginning and not that the payoff at the end was really that funny but that joke was outdated even when South Park did it a year and a half ago.

I'm beginning to think your standards on everything are just too high.

Offline orcus116

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #37 on: September 18, 2011, 10:41:02 AM »
You would think that. In some ways the show parallels the current state of Family Guy: the first three seasons are chock full of brilliant, original comedy but once popularity sank in it kinda went on autopilot with a new writing team and is now spinning its wheels just to cater to whatever lazy comedy they think the lowest brow audience will find funny. Like in the newest episode when they were talking about boiling jeans and then later on you see Frank and Charlie boiling something and it's funnier if you just assume it's the pants but then when the show reveals it it's a big "Hey guys did you get the joke?" slap in the face to the audience.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2011, 10:46:41 AM by orcus116 »

Offline Jamesman42

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #38 on: September 18, 2011, 10:42:32 AM »
Orcus puts the "sin" in standards. And if you're wondering where he does that exactly, then you clearly don't understand quality grammar and spelling.

Offline snapple

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #39 on: September 18, 2011, 10:43:35 AM »
You would think that.

Nothing wrong with it. I guess a show like Sunny just lets me not think about anything and it doesn't emotionally tie me into the show. To me, a near perfect comedy. Favorite TV show, right behind Seinfeld.

Offline GuineaPig

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #40 on: September 18, 2011, 11:00:41 AM »
3. Childrens Hospital (Adult Swim; finished season September 1)



Childrens Hospital is in sort of a weird position.  It’s a show that has been surging in popularity ever since it has been brought to television (it’s tripled its ratings in a little over two years), is ridiculously funny and smart (in a stupid sort of way), but is almost completely ignored by critics (on print and on the internet).  I mentioned in a previous post that no one’s ever mentioned it previously on DTF (or 5/8), which is strange because it pulls in nearly double the audience Archer does.  Furthermore, the show is as accessible as it can be, with almost all the episodes are available online, and the episodes are bite-sized with a running time of 11 minutes.  I guess one can chalk this up to it airing on Adult Swim.

Childrens Hospital was created by Rob Corddry during the writer’s strike of 2008, with its entire 50-minute first season “airing” online on December 8th of that year.  Intended as a one-off project, Adult Swim picked it up in 2009, and an expanded second season began airing in 2010, followed by a third this year.  Already, it’s had one spin-off (NTSF:SD:SUV), and another is in the works.  So what’s the appeal behind one of the most bizarre success stories of recent television history?

Basically, it’s hilarious.  A satire of medical dramas, it combines all the stupid elements of previous shows (most notably Grey’s Anatomy, but there’s bits of ER, House, Scrubs, and others in there) of the genre and mashes them into a long series of jokes.  The show speeds along at an incomparable pace; in a typical 11 minute episodes, there’s typically three story arcs, incorporating most of the eight or nine series regulars and two or three guest stars.  The writing is phenomenal; not only is it hilarious, but it’s also one of the smartest satires in recent memory.  All the most stupid, illogical, and ridiculous conventions of medical shows are included: characters die and come back to life, doctors are fired and then promptly rehired, sexual relationships are constantly being established and broken with no rhyme or reason, plot and continuity are ignored.  To my delight, one of my biggest pet peeves is constantly made fun of: shows pretending they aren’t set in southern California.  Ostensibly, the show is set in Brazil, but outside of one episode where constant and hilariously on the nose establishing shots of Rio de Janeiro are used, the show makes no attempt to hide the fact of where it’s filmed (which, as the characters occasionally point out, is the same place where Scrubs was shot).

Oh, and the characters.  I mentioned in the write-ups for the previous two shows that they are atypical in the way they make sure their characters remain rounded and don’t become Flanderized; Childrens Hospital does exactly the opposite.  The characters are literally one-note; Owen (Rob Huebel) is retarded, Glen (Ken Marino) is Jewish, the Chief (Megan Mullally) is a crippled sex-addict, Valerie (Malin Åkerman) is beautiful, Blake (Rob Corddry) is a clown who only believes in the healing power of magic, etc.  The plot (what there is) is just an excuse to throw them off each other in amusing ways, and it is wonderful.  Not only is the main cast a comedy dream-team, the show has also been able to reel in what might be the best guest stars of any comedy, ever (Nick Offerman! Kurtwood Smith! Nick Kroll! Jon Hamm! Michael Cera! Ed Helms! Lizzie Caplan! Adam Scott! Sarah Silverman! etc.). 

The point is, you should watch Childrens Hospital.  In my opinion, it’s the funniest show on TV, and it certainly brings the most laughs per minute.  The show’s gotten better and better over its three seasons, and you can watch all of the episodes in a little over five hours!  What are you waiting for?

Essential episodes: “‘70s Episode,” “Childrens Hospital: A Play in Three Acts,” “Party Down”
« Last Edit: September 20, 2011, 05:45:11 AM by GuineaPig »
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Offline Sigz

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #41 on: September 18, 2011, 11:02:22 AM »
Wow, I've never even heard of that before.
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Offline LieLowTheWantedMan

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #42 on: September 18, 2011, 11:03:12 AM »
I've seen a commercial for it that caught my eye, but never watched, haha.

Offline BlobVanDam

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #43 on: September 18, 2011, 11:04:31 AM »
I CALLED IT. READ BACK A PAGE. I predicted a show in a hospital. ;) And I have mentioned it here before in a chat thread once or twice.

I LOVE Childrens Hospital, and it's spin off, National Terrorism Strike Force: San Diego: Sports Utility Vehicle.
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Offline GuineaPig

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #44 on: September 18, 2011, 11:06:07 AM »
In a related note, Rob Corddry looks incredibly like Dick Cheney.

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Offline skydivingninja

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #45 on: September 18, 2011, 11:06:56 AM »
I've been hearing about this show for a while but never watched it.  But if its the funniest show on television what shows will fill in the other two top spots? :P

Offline Sigz

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #46 on: September 18, 2011, 11:10:23 AM »
Also, just noticed it has Barry from AD and Ron from Party Down. Definitely have to check it out now.
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Offline BlobVanDam

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #47 on: September 18, 2011, 11:11:38 AM »
First episode I saw of this show, I couldn't stop laughing. It is so random, and so stupid, but so fantastic.

A urine drive to raise enough urine to send to African children who are in need of urine? Genius.
Waiting on an execution of a kid who just reached 18 so you can use his heart to save a patient before she turns 18? Genius.
An episode about racism against clowns? Genius.
An episode where a kid pretends to be dying so he can steal wishes from the make a wish foundation? GENIUS.
A character named Jewy McJewJew? GOLD.
An episode where they have to diagnose a woman with the symptom of getting fat over the past 9 months? Amazing.

I could go on. This show is amazing.
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Offline Jamesman42

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #48 on: September 18, 2011, 11:14:19 AM »
A character named Jewy McJewJew? GOLD.

I hope that was intentional. :lol :lol

Offline Sigz

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #49 on: September 18, 2011, 11:14:59 AM »
Waiting on an execution of a kid who just reached 18 so you can use his heart to save a patient before she turns 18? Genius.

 :rollin :rollin :rollin
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Offline BlobVanDam

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #50 on: September 18, 2011, 11:19:06 AM »
A character named Jewy McJewJew? GOLD.

I hope that was intentional. :lol :lol

Indeed it was. :hat
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Offline FiberglassMoon

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #51 on: September 18, 2011, 12:31:08 PM »
LOUIE

Offline GuineaPig

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #52 on: September 18, 2011, 05:49:32 PM »
Waiting on an execution of a kid who just reached 18 so you can use his heart to save a patient before she turns 18? Genius.

 :rollin :rollin :rollin

Most of the episodes can be found on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjXhF67LhYo
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Offline orcus116

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #53 on: September 18, 2011, 06:27:31 PM »
That was amazing.

Offline chrisbDTM

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #54 on: September 18, 2011, 06:29:41 PM »
louie, eastbound & down

Offline orcus116

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #55 on: September 18, 2011, 06:30:42 PM »
Community is on there.

Offline Adami

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #56 on: September 18, 2011, 06:38:52 PM »
I keep wanting to see Children's Hospital, but I don't have cable. So I added the first dvd to my netflix thing. I am pretty much under the impression that anything Ken Marino does is gold by default.


However it does have Corddry, who I have never liked in anything ever.
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Offline Jamesman42

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #57 on: September 18, 2011, 07:06:54 PM »
This is GP's thread, Louie is going to be on this list.

Offline Pirate

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #58 on: September 18, 2011, 07:10:20 PM »
just watched all CH vids on youtube, thrilled with it

Offline antigoon

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Offline GuineaPig

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #60 on: September 19, 2011, 07:11:49 PM »
2. Community (NBC; begins September 22nd)




Arrested Development
is probably the biggest martyr of recent television shows; its devoted fanbase still bemoans its cancellation, five years later.  FOX is portrayed as the evil party in the whole affair despite giving Arrested Development numerous chances to succeed, including prime time slots, strong marketing pushes, and a myriad of other approaches to sell the critically-acclaimed show to the American public.  The problem is, they weren’t interested.

What’s the purpose of that introductory paragraph?  Context.  For FOX, Arrested Development drew in low ratings, averaging ~ 6 million viewers during its second season.  In its own second season, Community pulled in an average of a little more than 4 million viewers, and its audience had shrunk to 3.3 million by the season finale.  It’s easy to think (or naïvely hope) that quality will inevitably draw people in, but it doesn’t seem to manifest itself in reality.  More importantly, it’s not in the interest in a network’s bottom line to protect a show like Community, that’s admired but little-watched; they’d take a mammoth hit like Two and a Half Men any day of the week.  The only reason Community wasn’t cancelled after its first twelve episodes is that NBC is a mess that is having trouble producing a hit comedy.

The point is, I’m grateful for two seasons of Community.  I’m grateful there’s going to be a third.  I’m grateful that network politics and the hope of syndication makes it slightly more likely there’s going to be a fourth.  It’s a phenomenal show, and it’s phenomenal for the same reasons that not many people watch it.  Sitcoms breed on familiarity; that the characters, settings, situations, and overall tone won’t change week-to-week.  Viewers tune in expecting and craving this familiarity; many of television’s most enduring and popular shows were unique in their ability to tap this desire (Cheers would be a great example).  For most of its excellent second season, Community tossed this convention out the window.  The initial premise of the show long abandoned, it shifted tones, concepts, and genres from episode-to-episode.  It was enough to disorient some regular viewers, and no doubt has a polarizing effect on potential viewers. 

Community started off somewhat tepid, but like many comedies, it quickly found out what worked and what didn’t, and adapted accordingly.  The show moved away leading man Joel McHale (as excellent as he is) in order to place more emphasis on the ensemble.  Britta (Gillian Jacobs) transformed from a clichéd love interest to a much more funny (and endearing) character, Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) formed one of the better bromances of all time, and the roles of Alison Brie and Yvette Nicole Brown were enlarged significantly.  While this juggling has created some problems (the writers clearly had trouble integrating Ken Jeong and Chevy Chase in the second season), the creativity bursting at the seams more than makes up for it. 

Watching an episode of Community (much more so in season 2) is sort of like rolling the dice; you’re not quite sure what’s going to happen.  There are so many delightful surprises in the show’s run that I don’t even want to spoil them for anyone else.  It’s far from perfect, but it’s so energetic and creative that its strengths vastly overwhelm its weaknesses.  It’s hilarious, unpredictable, and occasionally very moving.  I understand why people don’t watch it, but that doesn’t give you an excuse not to try it.  But do it quick, before it becomes another bemoaned martyr of fantastic, original television.
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Offline tjanuranus

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #61 on: September 19, 2011, 08:16:18 PM »
Community and Curb are the two funniest shows on TV for sure.

Offline bucksanchez51

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #62 on: September 19, 2011, 10:49:31 PM »
i would have The League on my list but i don't disagree with anything so far

Offline AcidLameLTE

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #63 on: September 20, 2011, 12:56:04 AM »
Children's Hospital sounds amazing. I'm checking it out now.

Offline BlobVanDam

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #64 on: September 20, 2011, 01:03:52 AM »
Children's Hospital sounds amazing. I'm checking it out now.

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Seriously, watch all of them now.
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Offline AcidLameLTE

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #65 on: September 20, 2011, 01:16:21 AM »
I would do but my internet is being a douche.

Offline Genowyn

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #66 on: September 20, 2011, 08:52:54 AM »
So I guess I'm the only one who found that CH episode posted to be about 90% unfunny? There were three or four jokes that were funny, and while they were very, very funny, the rest was meh.

imo

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Offline TempusVox

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #67 on: September 20, 2011, 04:08:21 PM »
Tempus Vox Top 5

1) Modern Family---best sitcom in years
2) Big Bang Theory
3) Louie
4) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
5) Community

Honorable Mention

Archer
Rules of Engagement
The Middle
Bored to Death
Wilfred
Eastbound and Down
How I Met Your Mother

and have also enjoyed Death Valley thus far.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2011, 04:38:21 PM by TempusVox »
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Offline MasterShakezula

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #68 on: September 20, 2011, 04:09:48 PM »
Anyone here into How I Met Your Mother?

Offline Adami

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Re: The 5 Best Comedies (Currently) on TV
« Reply #69 on: September 20, 2011, 06:40:16 PM »
Anyone here into How I Met Your Mother?

I am. However to a lesser extent than I used to be. It used to be amazing, then they introduced the whole "lilly will eventually be pregnant....but not today!" thing and it became sooooo boring. The only thing that saved the last season or so was John Lithgow. That man could carry anything, he's brilliant and his entire arc with Barney was great.
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