The Ultimate TV Comedies Bracket -- Round One, Day Ten

They alive, dammit!

The long history of the TV sitcom is represented pretty reasonably by today’s set of titles in the first round of the Ultimate TV Comedies Bracket, and there’s almost a guarantee that some of you — I am looking at all of the TV critics out there — are going to disagree with the placement of one title.

Who’s ready for the vote? Let’s go!

(8) Barney Miller vs. (57) Diff’rent Strokes: Barney Miller ought to walk away with this one, with no question at all. Yes, Gary Coleman had a memorable catchphrase on Diff’rent Strokes, but that was it.

Barney Miller

Diff’rent Strokes

(25) Only Murders in the Building vs. (40) Get Smart: This one’s tough. I adore the first season of Only Murders in the Building; I thought the second season was only a slight step down, and was sadly less enamored with the most recent season. But that first season was brilliant. And just think, if this one is close, we can all say that Maxwell Smart missed it…by that much.

How do you vote?

Only Murders in the Building

Get Smart

(9) Community vs. (56) Laverne and Shirley: I am no longer a huge Dan Harmon fan, but back in the day, I was a very, very big fanboy of Community. No question on this one, though I do like Squiggy and Lenny. (The original Troy and Abed? Discuss in the comments.)

Community

Laverne and Shirley

(24) Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt vs. (41) The Wonder Years: Here is one of the rare times when the argument can be made against a show being a true TV comedy. Is The Wonder Years (and please note, you’re voting for or against the original, not the recent remake) a comedy? Certainly not the way that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is. What it was for sure was a tender coming-of-age story that effectively captured a moment in American history very effectively, and did so in an often creatively neat package. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt had the better theme song (sorry, Joe Cocker), but…I gotta give it to Daniel Stern, Dan Lauria, Fred Savage, and the others.

What do you think?

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

The Wonder Years