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America's Best Sitcom - Seinfeld vs Mash Runoff

Started by RedRaven,

59 posts in this topic

the blob

the blob

Posted
Posted

I dunno, MASH was kind of a drama-com though. There was nothing funny about Hawkeye having a nervous breakdown, whereas any nervous breakdown by Elaine or George would have been hilarious. (Kramer was already nuts.)

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comix4fun

comix4fun

Posted
Posted
I dunno, MASH was kind of a drama-com though. There was nothing funny about Hawkeye having a nervous breakdown, whereas any nervous breakdown by Elaine or George would have been hilarious. (Kramer was already nuts.)

 

 

No kidding.

 

Hawkeye's nervous breakdown episode where he is hiding on the bus with Korean civilians and they are hiding from the North Korean patrol and he keeps telling a lady in the back to quiet the chicken she is carrying or they will be found and killed and it turns out the woman was carrying her baby and she smothered the child and killed it to keep from being found out?

 

That right there eliminates it from the running as a sit-com. Fricken episode gave me nightmares.

 

 

That's kind of the rubric to gauge whether a show is a sitcom or not.

 

1) Is it nightmare inducing?

2) Are children murdered on any given episode?

3) Have they ever run a "very special episode of...." show?

 

If you answered yes to any of the above your show is probably NOT a sitcom.

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goldust40

goldust40

Posted
Posted
The great thing about Seinfeld is that it never had a serious moment... never. How many sit coms can you think of that never had the serious, weepy moment? Seinfeld never had it and knew never to take itself seriously.

 

Even when George's fiancee dies from licking toxic envelopes there is no sentiment...just relief on George's part. On the other hand it did expose the underlying psychosis in all the characters, which was a serious point, in a subtle way.

 

Cheers toned down the schmaltz factor, Seinfeld did away with it completely.

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nwpassage

nwpassage

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Posted
The great thing about Seinfeld is that it never had a serious moment... never. How many sit coms can you think of that never had the serious, weepy moment? Seinfeld never had it and knew never to take itself seriously.

 

Married with Children, my personal write in.

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TheDanimal

TheDanimal

Posted
Posted

I'm only 27 years old but saw all sorts of re-runs as a kid. I love a lot of them but I always turned the channel when Mash came on..just never liked it! Seinfeld rules for me!

 

Best "old" show to me is Star Trek, Brady Bunch, All in the Family

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fastballspecial

fastballspecial

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MASH transcended comedy to become something more. I used MASH in my history classes when discussing the Korean War and its effects on the military and their families. Its biting comedy with drama included made it brillant.

 

Sienfeld is a comedy pure and simple. It was very good, but thats all it was.

 

Years have gone by and MASH's last episode until the Superbowl this year was the most watched TV show I think. I remember my mother crying during the last episode when I was very young. The ending to Seinfeld I barely remember and it was several years later.

 

It seems here its a generation thing.

 

 

 

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TheDanimal

TheDanimal

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Posted

I don't think it's a generational thing. It's a matter of taste. I collect mostly silver age comics, am an expert on horror films from the first talkies to the modern day, and appreciate antiques and everything in between. I just never got Mash or found it funny. Personal opinion. Though I would see how you would think Seinfeld would be a generational thing as it IS my era. I happen to think Seinfeld is the funniest show ever and I just love the characters....last episode was weak though!

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