Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies of All Time

The large, glossy, evocative photographs alone justify the value of this highly recommended 335-page book. The write-ups for each show, while brief, ranging from two to five pages, are well-written and researched and there is a detailed, small-font, six-page index. Most commendably, unlike other sitcom books which grudgingly include a handful of the usual black-and-white entries, such as "I Love Lucy", "The Honeymooners" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show", and then concentrate on the 1980s and 90s, just over half (fifty-two, to be exact) of all titles appearing here, had premiered between 1949 and 1970. Among the 101 titles, are two cartoon shows ("The Flintstones" and "The Simpsons") structured as sitcoms. Listed below, for the record, are the shows which the authors selected as "the 101 greatest TV comedies of all time":29 shows -- 1950s and 1960s [produced live or recorded on black-and-white film]: 1. The Goldbergs (1949-54), 2. The Life of Riley (1949-50, 1953-58), 3. The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950-58), 4. The Jack Benny Program (1950-65), 5. The Amos 'n' Andy Show (1951-53), 6. I Love Lucy (1951-57), 7. I Married Joan (1952-55), 8. Mr. Peepers (1952-55), 9. My Little Margie (1952-55), 10. Our Miss Brooks (1952-56), 11. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-65 in bw, 1965-66 in color), 12. Topper (1953-55), 13. Private Secretary/The Ann Sothern Show (1953-61), 14. Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show (1953-1964), 15. December Bride (1954-59), 16. Father Knows Best (1954-60), 17. The Honeymooners (1955-56), 18. The Bob Cummings Show (1955-59), 19. The Phil Silvers Show (1955-59), 20. Leave It to Beaver (1957-63), 21. The Real McCoys (1957-63), 22. The Donna Reed Show (1958-63), 23. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-63), 24. Car 54 Where Are You (1961-63), 25. The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66), 26. Mister Ed (1961-66), 27. The Patty Duke Show (1963-66), 28. The Addams Family (1964-66), 29. The Munsters (1964-66)20 shows -- 1960s [produced on black-and-white film and color film (as of September 1966, all primetime programming has been in color)]: 1. The Flintstones (color 1960-66), 2. The Andy Griffith Show (bw 1960-65, color 1965-68), 3. My Three Sons (bw 1960-65, color 1965-72), 4. Hazel (bw 1961-64, color 1964-66), 5. The Beverly Hillbillies (bw 1962-65, color 1965-71), 6. The Lucy Show/Here's Lucy (bw 1962-65, color 1965-74), 7. My Favorite Martian (bw 1963-65, color 1965-66), 8. Petticoat Junction (bw 1963-65, color 1965-70), 9. Gilligan's Island (bw 1964-65, color 1965-67), 10. Bewitched (bw 1964-66, color 1966-71), 11. Get Smart (color 1965-70), 12. I Dream of Jeannie (bw 1965-66, color 1965-70), 13. Green Acres (color 1965-71), 14. Hogan's Heroes (color 1965-71), 15. The Monkees (1966-68), 16. Family Affair (1966-71), 17. That Girl (1966-71), 18. The Flying Nun (1967-70), 19. Julia (1968-71), 20. The Brady Bunch (1969-74)21 shows -- 1970s [all titles not labeled "film" were produced on videotape]: 1. The Partridge Family (film 1970-74), 2. The Odd Couple (film 1970-75), 3. Mary Tyler Moore (film 1970-77), 4. All in the Family (1971-79), 5. Sanford and Son (1972-76), 6. The Bob Newhart Show (film 1972-78), 7. Maude (1972-78), 8. M*A*S*H* (film 1972-83), 9. Good Times (1974-79), 10. Happy Days (film 1974-84), 11. Barney Miller (1975-82), 12. One Day at a Time (1975-84), 13. The Jeffersons (1975-85), 14. Laverne & Shirley (film 1976-83), 15. Alice (1976-85), 16. Soap (1977-81), 17. Three's Company (1977-84), 18. WKRP in Cincinnati (1978-82), 19. Taxi (film 1978-83), 20. Diff'rent Strokes (1978-86), 21. The Facts of Life (1979-88)14 shows -- 1980s [videotape]: 1. Family Ties (1982-89), 2. Newhart (videotape 1982-83, film 1983-90), 3. Cheers (1982-93), 4. The Cosby Show (1984-92), 5. The Golden Girls (1985-92), 6. Growing Pains (1985-92), 7. It's Garry Shandling's Show (1986-90), 8. Designing Women (1986-93), 9. Perfect Strangers (1986-93), 10. Married...with Children (1987-97), 11. Roseanne (1988-97), 12. Murphy Brown (1988-98), 13. Saved by the Bell (1989-94), 14. Coach (1989-97)14 shows -- 1990s [videotape and digital recording]: 1. Evening Shade (1990-94), 2. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-96), 3. Wings (1990-97), 4. Seinfeld (1990-98), 5. The Simpsons (1990-present), 6. The Nanny (1993-99), 7. Frasier (1993-2004), 8. Ellen (1994-98), 9. Friends (1994-2004), 10. Newsradio (1995-99), 11. Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005), 12. 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001), 13. That '70s Show (1998-2006), 14. Will & Grace (1998-2006)3 shows -- 2000s [digital recording]: 1. Malcolm in the Middle (2000-06), 2. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-present), 3. Scrubs (2001-present)The book also includes eleven photo spreads: 1. "Flops" [two pages], 2. "Brilliant but Cancelled" [one page], 3. "Pets" [one page], 4. "Military Sitcoms" [one page], 5. "Character Actors" [two pages], 6. "Sitcoms from Radio Shows" [one page], 7. "Sitcoms from Movies" [one page], 8. "Cheesecake and Beefcake" [one page], 9. "Movie Stars Who Tried Television", 10. "Flops Part II" [two pages], 11. "Character Actors Part II" [two pages]

I may be biased because one of the authors is a friend of mine...but I was a film/TV studies major at Fordham, and took a class literally called "TV Sitcoms" as part of my core requirements. If only this book had been written prior to 2001, I've no doubt it would have a been a text book for the class. The beauty of this book (and all of Frank and Ken's work) is the fact that they skip the obvious. We all know the things our TV sitcoms and actors are infamous for. We've seen all the photos...except WE DON'T. I don't know how they got access to so many never before seen photos of each show. I am so proud to have this and their 101 Broadway Musicals book in my library! This book is a must-have for anyone who loves pop culture and sitcoms from the 20th century, and even further! I can't praise it enough...and you can see. I'm a verified purchase! :)

I love TVs and I always enjoy reading about shows and TV sets and I loved this book so much fun to read.

Family matters listed . Who's the boss got little credit under the show taxi but not enough

good.

If your really into classic sitcoms and to the modern day ones, this book is worth checking out for any die hard fans of classic television shows!

This is one of my favorite books. I was unable to go to sleep for two nights in a row because I just couldn't put it down! So much great information about the shows and anecdotes about the characters and actors playing them. I will reread this many times.

This book provides a nice retrospective of t.v.'s greatest and most memorable sitcoms. Although fans of individual series will learn little, if nothing, new, the text is fun and readable. By far the best feature of this volume are its striking color photographs. Fans will finally get to see what the Petries' living room and bedroom looked like in color, as well as the casts of The Addams Family and Father Knows Best, among others.