Somehow or another, I volunteered to be a judge in the 2006 Sitcom Tournament run by a guy named Robert. I won't lie to you, I know absolutely nothing about this tournament other than I am judging, it is being held over what may be a massive email list, and to give it a home on the web, I volunteered Down With Pants! to be the official host blog of the tournament.
The tourney consists of 64 great sitcoms broken into four regions just like the NCAA tournament. However, the judges have no idea what each sitcom's seed is or what region they are in, guarding against us looking forward to matchups in later rounds. Each round will take a week or so to count all the votes.
The first round is a doozie. Some of these matchups are tough. There are 32 games (no play in game, maybe next year). Today I reveal the first 16 games, with my vote in green...
1. The Dick Van Dyke Show vs.The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - This has to be the premiere matchup of the opening round. The Dick Van Dyke Show broke new ground by being goofy and just plain fun whereas many sitcoms to that point were straightlaced and stuffy. The Fresh Prince was basically the same, fun and goofy but with an added poignancy dealing with issues of race and class. In the long run though, the Fresh Prince was a pretty basic sitcom that was propped up by the immense talent of Will Smith. The Dick Van Dyke Show was innovative and launched not one, not two, but three stars (Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore and Carl Reiner) into the upper echelon of fame in the 60's and beyond. My pick: The Dick Van Dyke Show
2. What's Happening vs. Frasier - What's Happening
3. Laverne & Shirley vs. Charles in Charge - Laverne & Shirley
4. All in the Family vs. Addams Family - Can you believe that the Addams Family was only on for two years? I know All In The Family was very important because of the issues that it tackled, but for a show to be on such a short time as the Addams Family and still be so well known and loved is quite the feat. My pick: Addams Family in what might be a huge upset.
5. Taxi vs. Good Times - Taxi
6. Facts of Life vs. Happy Days - Happy Days
7. Brady Bunch vs. Mama's Family - There is no way that I could ever pick the awful Mama's Family, but it might be possible that the Brady hatred runs strong in people, could this be an upset of Northwestern State proportions? My pick: Brady Bunch
8. The Honeymooners vs. Night Court - 39 episodes to 193. Which of these two shows would you believe lasted longer? If you picked Jackie Gleason and "to the moon!" then you would be wrong. Harry Anderson and Bull lasted for nine inexplicable seasons while The Honeymooners lasted two. My pick: The Honeymooners despite the domestic violence.
9. Welcome Back, Kotter vs. Everybody Loves Raymond - My pick: Everybody Loves Raymond. I am unapologetic for my love of this show.
10. Coach vs. The Andy Griffith Show - The Andy Griffith Show
11. Cheers vs. Ellen - This has to be the #1 seed vs. the #16 seed, but due to the groundbreaking nature of Ellen it could pull off the upset easily. It was very funny, but I think the juggernaut that is Cheers will rally and eventually bury Ellen. My vote: Cheers
12. Married, With Children vs. The Jeffersons - Wow, this is a really tough one. My vote: Married, With Children
13. The Cosby Show vs. Petticoat Junction - The Cosby Show
14. Barney Miller vs. Spin City - Barney Miller
15. Three's Company vs. Roseanne - As much as I want to pick Three's Company for kitsch value, it doesn't hold a candle to Roseanne in the long run. My vote: Roseanne
16. Sanford and Son vs. Full House - Sanford and Son
So what are your picks? Am I completely wrong about any of these? I'll admit that there are a couple of these shows that I have never watched (Barney Miller being one of them, but I never thought Spin City was any good). I won't submit my picks to the tournament director until Wednesday so I can be convinced to change my vote if a compelling argument is given.
Stay tuned. Tomorrow we unveil the second half of the 2006 Sitcom Tournament.
5 comments:
Dude, I hate Mama's Family soooo much. Good call. I tend to agree with most of your votes, including the controversial Addams Family pick.
i am a judge in this tourny too, we disagree on about 5 of these--i actually voted FOR mama's family as a protest vote against brady bunch.
plus, barney miller is a great, underrated '70s sitcom.
wow...all I can say is wow.
bigkilla - Mama's Family stunk, I never thought it was funny.
replicant - I knew someone would rebel against The Brady Bunch
xtine - Is that wow, that is nerdy or wow, that kicks ass? I'm still on the fence myself about which one I think it is.
so what if it is nerdy? that's the whole point isn't it?
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