The Ultimate TV Comedies Bracket -- Round Two, Day Seven
I'm a locksmith.
…and I’m a locksmith. (I made that reference in the first round. I know. But that’s only because I’m referencing the greatest one-liner in TV history.) Anyway, we’re just two days away from the Thanksgiving holiday, and that means we’re two days away from the end of the second round of the Ultimate TV Comedies bracket.
As a reminder: after tomorrow’s post, we’ll take a brief pause in the bracket until Monday, November 27, so we can all come down from the food coma of the holiday. But for now, it’s time to vote!
(2) The Simpsons vs. (34) black-ish: On one hand, I’m not going to mount a defense of the entirety of The Simpsons. I am very much in the potentially crabby camp of folks who think the show peaked around season 8 or 9. But those first eight or nine seasons are essentially flawless. What other show would bring together Frasier and Niles to play a pair of homicidal maniacs?
The Simpsons
black-ish
(15) Police Squad! vs. (47) Malcolm in the Middle: I imagine that Malcolm in the Middle, which ran longer and was far better known during its airing, is going to win here. I get it. But I am not going to say I like it! (I was never a fan of Malcolm, as much as I think Bryan Cranston is an amazing actor.) Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin is one of the great comic performances of the 1980s, and should not be ignored.
Will you surprise me today and vote for the lieutenant?
Police Squad!
Malcolm in the Middle
(7) Parks and Recreation vs. (26) Abbott Elementary: I get the sense — as noted in the last round, I’ve not seen any of Abbott Elementary — that these two shows are tonally very similar. I am very pro-education and am glad that there’s a show about the public school system that isn’t meant to demonize it. (From what I gather. Maybe I’m wrong!) But Parks and Recreation, for its idealistic flaws, is still a modern favorite of mine. It gave us some truly killer performances, including what seems likely to be the high of Chris Pratt’s career. (Until Garfield opens next year, of course.)
How do you vote?
Parks and Recreation
Abbott Elementary
(10) The Mary Tyler Moore Show vs. (42) New Girl: It’s kind of fitting that these two shows are heading off against each other, because it’s a bit of a straight line from Mary “I’m gonna make it after all” Tyler Moore to Zooey “Who’s that girl?” Deschanel. There’s a lot to love about New Girl, but you don’t get there without Mary Richards, so…I gotta vote for the journalist with spunk.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
New Girl
Ask me again in a few years and I bet I pick Abbott over Parks. And that's wild, because Parks is one of my favorite shows of all time.
New Girl really morphed into a show much weirder and sharper than it had any right to be and still contains one of my favorite TV ensembles. You don’t gave New Girl without TMTMS and there’s some great performances there that hold up but it didn’t do much for me in terms of laughs rewatching as an adult.