The Ultimate TV Comedies Bracket -- Round One, Day Eight
Bazinga!
After today’s matchups, we’ll be halfway through the first round of the Ultimate TV Comedies Bracket, and halfway through deciding which well-known, potentially iconic shows are getting the boot. I imagine today won’t be chock full of tough choices for you, but I hope you’re ready to vote.
Let’s go!
(6) The Dick Van Dyke Show vs. (59) Bewitched: Two very famous 60s-era sitcoms yes, but you have to consider that you can really draw a straight line from The Dick Van Dyke Show to modern comedies like Ted Lasso and Abbott Elementary and all things Michael Schur and so on. The Dick Van Dyke Show wasn’t just influential, but it was pretty damn funny for its time, too.
How do you vote?
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Bewitched
(27) Better Off Ted vs. (38) Atlanta: Truth be told, I have seen just one (1) episode of Atlanta, and it’s the one clipped below, thanks to the recommendation of folks like Alan Sepinwall. But I also gather that the episode I watched isn’t terribly reflective of the whole series. So I must admit ignorance here, but the flip side is that Better Off Ted is an incredibly, incredibly funny show that too many people slept on. Give it to that show. Trust me.
Better Off Ted
Atlanta
(11) The Bob Newhart Show vs. (54) The Big Bang Theory: The good news is that Bob Newhart’s moving through one way or the other, because as I understand it, he won his first Emmy for a guest spot on The Big Bang Theory. I’m glad he got his Emmy. I think you should vote for his namesake show, and it’s not just because even typing a catchphrase from The Big Bang Theory makes me grit my teeth. I know Big Bang is likely to win, but…c’mon. The Bob Newhart Show. Give it a vote.
The Bob Newhart Show
The Big Bang Theory
(22) Barry vs. (43) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: You could make an exceedingly strong argument that in its final season, Barry is…not really a comedy at all. But its setup was both very dark and very funny, and episodes like the one clipped below are among the best of recent memory, in a comedy or a drama. Sorry, Mrs. Maisel. Barry is more marvelous to me.
Barry
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Dick van Dyke vs Bewitched hurt to vote because I had to say no to one of them.
Big Bang is a nerd minstrel show. Please do not vote for it.
Barry is maybe the best thing on TV in the last decade. Everything about Maisel is great except for the mid-tier writing and occasional glaring production/continuity goof.
And Better Off Ted was such a gem. I bought it after it got cancelled and we still watch it probably once a year. So funny.