The Ultimate TV Comedies Bracket -- Round Four, Day Three
PIVOT!
OK, gang, we’re halfway through the fourth round of the Ultimate TV Comedies bracket. And we have, today, a very tough vote. Well…you may think it’s easy, but I think it’s a hard one! And it may just have to do with the obnoxious paleontology professor above this paragraph.
Let’s vote!
(1) M*A*S*H vs. (9) Community: Conceptually, I know that M*A*S*H should and probably will win. But in my heart, as much as I feel like its final seasons weren’t as impressive, I kind of want Community to win. Six rounds and a win?
What do you think?
M*A*S*H
Community
(4) Friends vs. (5) The Office (UK): OK, so I am voting for The Office. These are two of the most important sitcoms of all time, that much I would hope we can agree on. Friends inspired a vast array of shows in which friend groups bounce off each other in unexpected combinations, and the fact that teenagers today are still watching the show in reruns speaks to its weird timelessness. (Say what you want about the show, but it is a very, very, very 90s-era sitcom.) The Office not only inspired its American remake — and thus arguably other workplace sitcoms like Parks and Recreation and its ilk — but its verite style would soon find favor in Arrested Development and other modern comedies that chafe against the small-screen strictures.
And yet. Here’s my hot take about Friends: great cast, and…not-great writing. (Maybe this is a cold take, I don’t know.) The Office boasts both a great cast and exceptionally sharp, incisive scriptwriting. It also benefits from knowing when to quit. Now that said, I feel like Friends may win out here, but I vote for David Brent and his employees.
How about you?
Friends
The Office (UK)
Since this might be my last chance to speak on it, one last treatise in favor of Community (or a Winger-speech, if you will):
Lots of sitcoms are about found family- workplace shows are usually built around this concept, shows like Friends and How I Met Your Mother are about choosing your own, etc.
Community was no different, but what in my estimation makes it special is that it’s explicitly about how those people help you grow, no matter what age you are. It’s written large with Jeff and the younger characters, but everyone is stronger and better because of their time in/alongside the Study Group. In between the spot-on homages to other shows and genres, there’s a beating heart that’s in there to the very end.
Six seasons and a movie!
C’mon David Brent! There wouldn’t be shows like Community without The Office (UK)