About sitcoms.

My favorite sitcom was The Honeymooners. That was in the 1950s . . . in the 1980s, i didn't watch television (and still don't, except for movies or the news). Just about every sitcom which came along afterward used the same situations and gags as The Honeymooners, so i was unimpressed. All in the Family broke some ground for American television--it was a copy of a Britcom. Barney Miller was brilliant, Taxi not so much. Those were from the 70s, though, i believe.

Since I grew up in the 80's:
MASH (more when it started in syndication then when it was on prime time); Cheers; Newhart; Family Ties; Murphy Brown; and the Cosby Show.

Oh and WKRP which creeped into the 80's. It has one of the single most hilarious episodes of all time: "Turkeys Away" (Oct/30/78)

I watched far too much television and well since I know now that I was relatively indiscriminate in my television viewing I know a lot of what I watched and somewhat enjoyed back then would not age gracefully and be rewatchable these days unlike many 80's fetishists who over-sentimentalize their coming of age television experiences.

I have been a fan of many sitcoms all my life, beginning with radio shows in the 1940s and on into the 21st century. As a kid, I liked The Great Gildersleve the most. Later on, it was The Honeymooners. Then Mary Tyler Moore. All in the Family. M*A*S*H*. The Cosby Show. Roseanne. Seinfeld. Currently, I watch 2 1/2 Men. These are not the only shows I liked, but they are my top favorites.

After rejecting myriad sitcoms for one reason or another, I finally decided that I liked the Dick Van Dyke Show well enough to mention it here. There were no characters I actively disliked (unusual for me), and it actually made me laugh on occasion.