Cleverest sitcom? Page 5

To rephrase (for clarity) the original question a bit, I suppose it's more "What is the most high-brow sitcom in terms of its setting and content?"

To which I still can't think of a better answer than Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. There have been some which have been close in terms of setting (Chambers, The New Statesman, No Job For A Lady, even Is It Legal?, spring to mind), and some very clever in their content (I suppose this part of it is where H2G2 comes in), but I'm struggling to think of anything else that pairs the two as well as YM/Y,PM.

I think Frasier is definitely up there. These guys aren't your average American Joe-smuck! Up until that came out, what American sitcom wasn't about the "working class"?

If it's based purely on setting then in theory Lab Rats is cleverer than Yes Minister.

Quote: Leevil @ July 16 2009, 1:47 AM BST

I think Frasier is definitely up there. These guys aren't your average American Joe-smuck! Up until that came out, what American sitcom wasn't about the "working class"?

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Er, The Addams Family, Mork & Mindy, Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, The Facts of Life, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, Get Smart, Family Ties, Seinfeld, Friends, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Moonlighting, F-Troop, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I could go on... Unless by "working classes" you mean people who do any kind of work. "Working classes" generally tends to refer to the social strata of lower-income folk involved in manual/menial labour.

I agree with a previous poster - One Foot in the Grave.

Quote: Kenneth @ July 17 2009, 1:21 AM BST

Er, The Addams Family, Mork & Mindy, Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, The Facts of Life, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, Get Smart, Family Ties, Seinfeld, Friends, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Moonlighting, F-Troop, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I could go on... Unless by "working classes" you mean people who do any kind of work. "Working classes" generally tends to refer to the social strata of lower-income folk involved in manual/menial labour.

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Fair enough

Cleverest sitcom ever was George & Mildred... Complex, flawed characters in a complex, flawed world. Subtle little nuances of the human condition.
I liked the budgie!

As much as I love George & Mildred, and as much as that may be technically correct, this thread is more about setting and subject (Westminster and politics) than the writing and subtleties!

Quote: paul gittins @ July 20 2009, 12:33 AM BST

Cleverest sitcom ever was George & Mildred... Complex, flawed characters in a complex, flawed world. Subtle little nuances of the human condition.
I liked the budgie!

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I disliked the budgie in George & Mildred, almost as much as I disliked the budgie in Bless This House and the dog in Married With Children.

I'd like to suggest alternatives to Yes Minister/Prime Minister, but nothing comes to mind if cleverness is defined as clever wordplay.

It's not.

Quote: Robert D @ July 17 2009, 3:27 AM BST

I agree with a previous poster - One Foot in the Grave.

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And Love Soup too.

Quote: Chappers @ July 20 2009, 2:12 PM BST

And Love Soup too.

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Never saw this, but was put off by the dreadful title alone.

Quote: Tim Walker @ July 20 2009, 2:27 PM BST

Never saw this, but was put off by the dreadful title alone.

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It's not such a bad title, is it? Mind you, I was watching the extras on Arrested Development and I was surprised to learn that Mitch Hurwitz really didn't like Arrested Development as a title. He thought it was a bit too clever, in that it referred to both the characters stunted emotional growth, and the stillborn building development they lived on.

Quote: Tim Walker @ July 16 2009, 12:05 AM BST

Or most contrived, depending on your point of view.

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All narrative is contrived. It can be done well, it can be done badly!

Quote: Tim Walker @ July 20 2009, 2:27 PM BST

Never saw this, but was put off by the dreadful title alone.

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Originally it was called Jersusalem Soup.

Quote: Marc P @ July 20 2009, 2:39 PM BST

Originally it was called Jersusalem Soup.

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Pity it wasn't, then we'd have had at least one decent show with Jeresulam in the title.