TV'S ALL-TIME FUNNIEST: A PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA SPECIAL (TV)
Summary
This comedy special, produced by The Paley Center for Media, examines the all-time funniest characters on television. Eight categories of sitcom characters were voted on by Nielsen viewers to determine the biggest laugh-getters. The number one choices are revealed at the end of the show, with clips and celebrity commentaries interspersed throughout. The first category is sitcom fathers. Number five is Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) on "Home Improvement." Number four is Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," featuring comments by cast member Mary Tyler Moore. Number three is Homer Simpson (voiced by Dan Castellaneta on "The Simpsons," featuring comments by Rainn Wilson of "The Office." Number two is Raymond Barone (Ray Romano) on "Everybody Loves Raymond," featuring comments by cast member Brad Garrett.
The second category is sitcom mothers. Number five is Laura Petrie (Moore) on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," featuring commentary by Moore. Number four is Marge Simpson (voiced by Julie Kavner) on "The Simpsons." Number three is Roseanne Conner (Roseanne) on "Roseanne," featuring commentary by Doris Roberts of "Everybody Loves Raymond." Number two is Marion Cunningham (Marion Ross) on "Happy Days," featuring commentary by Ross.
The third category is sitcom kids. Number five is Stewie Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) on "Family Guy." Number four is Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate) on "Married ... With Family," featuring commentary by Wilson. Number three is Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) on "Family Ties," featuring commentary by Garrett. Number two is Bart Simpson (voice by Nancy Cartwright) on "The Simpsons," featuring commentary by Angus T. Jones of "Two and a Half Men."
The fourth category is sitcom relatives. Number five is Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen) on "Two and a Half Men," featuring commentary by Jones. Number four is Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce) on "Frasier," featuring commentary by Pierce. Number three is Sofia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) on "The Golden Girls." Number two is Robert Barone (Garrett) on "Everybody Loves Raymond," featuring commentary by Garrett.
The fifth category is sitcom neighbors. Number five is Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) and Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Number four is Lenny Kosnowski (Michael McKean) and Andrew "Squiggy" Squigman (David L. Lander) on "Laverne & Shirley," featuring commentary by Ross. Number three is Gladys Kravitz (Alice Pearce) on "Bewitched." Number two is Fred Mertz (William Frawley) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) on "I Love Lucy."
The sixth category is sitcom friends. Number five is Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) on "Sex and the City" featuring commentary by Cattrall. Number four is Rose Nylund (Betty White), Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), and Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) on "The Golden Girls," with commentary by McClanahan. Number three is Will Truman (Eric McCormack), Grace Adler (Debra Messing), Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes), and Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) on "Will and Grace," featuring commentary by McCormack. Number two is Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George Costanza (Jason Alexander), and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) on "Seinfeld."
The seventh category is sitcom bosses. Number five is Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) on "30 Rock," with commentary by Wilson. Number four is Lou Grant (Ed Asner) on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," featuring commentary by Moore. Number three is Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) on "Frasier," with commentary by Pierce. Number two is Mr. Burns (voiced by Harry Shearer) on "The Simpsons."
The eighth category is sitcom co-workers. Number five is the cast of "Designing Women," featuring commentary by Harper of "Rhoda." Number four is the cast of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," featuring commentary by Moore. Number three is the cast of "Cheers," with commentary by Pierce and cast member Shelley Long. Number two is the cast of "M*A*S*H," with commentary by Wilson and McClanahan.
The number one choice for sitcom co-workers is the cast of "The Office," with commentary by Wilson. The number one choice for sitcom fathers is Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) on "The Cosby Show," featuring commentary by cast member Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The number one choice for sitcom mothers is Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) on "I Love Lucy," featuring commentary by Long and Cattrall. The number one choice for sitcom kids is Will Smith (Smith) on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
The number one choice for sitcom relatives is Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller) on "Seinfeld," featuring commentary by Stiller. The number one choice for sitcom friends is Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) on "Friends," featuring commentary by Kudrow. The number one choice for sitcom neighbors is Cosmo Kramer (Richards) on "Seinfeld," featuring commentary by Wilson and Stiller. The number one choice for sitcom bosses is Michael Scott (Steve Carell) on "The Office," featuring commentary by Wilson and Kudrow.
Finally, clips of the eight winners are blended together to interact and form the "all-time funniest dream team sitcom." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: May 9, 2008 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:25:35
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:92441
- GENRE: Specials; Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; African-American Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 2008
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Pat Mitchell … Executive Producer
- Diane Lewis … Executive Producer
- John Wolters … Executive Producer
- Brad Lachman … Executive Producer, Director
- Danette Herman … Coordinating Producer
- Bill Bracken … Supervising Producer
- Garry Bormet … Producer, Writer
- Brian Rhodes … Associate Producer
- Matt Lachman … Segment Producer
- Steven Wishnoff … Segment Producer
- Lisa Kane … Media Producer
- John Larroquette … Narrator
- Jason Alexander
- Tim Allen
- Jennifer Aniston
- Christina Applegate
- Bea Arthur
- Ed Asner
- Alec Baldwin
- Lucille Ball
- Steve Carell
- Nancy Cartwright
- Dan Castellaneta
- Kim Cattrall
- Bill Cosby
- Courteney Cox
- Kristin Davis
- Michael J. Fox
- William Frawley
- Brad Garrett
- Estelle Getty
- Kelsey Grammer
- Valerie Harper
- Sean Hayes
- Angus T. Jones
- Julie Kavner
- Lisa Kudrow
- Matt LeBlanc
- David L. Lander
- Cloris Leachman
- Shelley Long
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Seth MacFarlane
- Rue McClanahan
- Eric McCormack
- Michael McKean
- Debra Messing
- Mary Tyler Moore
- megan Mullally
- Cynthia Nixon
- Sarah Jessica Parker
- Alice Pearce
- Matthew Perry
- David Hyde Pierce
- Michael Richards
- Doris Roberts
- Ray Romano
- Roseanne (See also: Roseanne Barr; Roseanne Arnold)
- Marion Ross
- David Schwimmer
- Jerry Seinfeld
- Harry Shearer
- Charlie Sheen
- Will Smith
- Jerry Stiller
- Vivian Vance
- Dick Van Dyke
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner
- Betty White
- Rainn Wilson