26 Cheers (1982-1993)
from here on out we are talking about shows that are generally very good and occasionally brilliant though possibly with some languors. cheers probably didn't need to go on for as long as it did but it was a total licence to print money and such a tentpole in primetime and other obnoxious insider phrases that it kind of had to. 275 episodes. i mean damn.
its initial flourishing from a non-serial that presented a tight 22 minutes of situation-resolution replete with jokes and points of cosy familiarity and clever twists to its development as a romantic comedy with well-established barfly-en-scene was an artistically successful one. there's even bits of later series that are still witty and charming, like a friend you had who grew up and moved away and developed non-you priorities but still showed flashes of that initial attractive spirit. like you think you can't replace someone like coach...and there's woody harrelson.
what appeals primarily now (well maybe not 'primarily') is that it is clearly written for sentient adults to enjoy. a lot of contemporary sitcom has such obvious signposting toward where the joke is or where the emotion is that i don't feel like laughing or feeling much at all. and i don't want to use this list to gripe about bad things, but it seems like such a huge contrast between how a great american sitcom like this (or others abovenamed) operate and the poor offerings of the latter day.
not many shows have a supporting cast as perfect as this. at times sam (ted danson) seems to melt into them.
27 World on a Wire (1972)
rainer werner fassbinder is considered the enfant terrible of the new german cinema partly because he was so insanely prolific (30+ films in about 14 years of activity) and partly because he was a huge narcissistic asshole with a reputation for debauchery. i'd probably have hated him personally but his work bristles with so much anger and healthy disrespect for given wisdoms that i can't help but feel affectionate to the daft bastard.
here we have a sci-fi narrative - similar in some respects to the matrix (is this world a simulation?) - but with total disdain for much of sci-fi convention. instead it plays like an avant-melodrama that science-fiction seems to intrude on in a most unwelcome way. some of the camerawork and acting very unusual and designed for you to notice it, constantly estranging you from being "locked in" to the moment. the first half-hour makes little sense until you've seen it all and maybe 20 mins could be lost from the middle. but it's completely different than anything hbo/netflix/bbc are trying at the moment!
28 Deadwood (2004-2006)
it took a depressing night job to make me bother with this but i'm glad i did in the end. excessive swearing generally doesn't convince me of any authenticity and deadwood leans into that quite boldly. it takes an act of generosity to look past that to see a very solid drama lurking beneath.
what i particularly liked about it is recognising the other potential in the situation painted. deadwood is just outside of american territory but just before the dakota territory annexes it and forces a wild town into the new civilisation. people are revelling and fearful of total freedom and creating myths about injuns on the trail to keep people tied to this chaotic shitheap. businessmen recognise freedoms in the market and attempt to resist encroachment.
29 Early Doors (2003-2004)
a small and patient sitcom with only two series of mostly immaculate work. similar to cheers in some respects only naked regionalism wins out over the demands of network sitcom needing plot and 'action' to drive the half hour onward.
the second series ends on an earned sentimental note but it keeps an impressive command of flawed characters doing very little but reporting on their lives as a central genesis for comedy. barely a serial in many respects as it is too busy being funny.
30 Arrested Development (2003-2019)
i've not seen the remixed fourth series or the fifth series. a recent rewatch indicates the third series, a metacommentary on its own imminent cancellation, was heading to self-parody. but before that there are aspects of one of the funniest shows made in america.
american industrial practices around visual media rejects editing as a basis of what creates interest in a show. instead there has been an overwhelming trajectory toward the storyteller and the showrunner, with the performer in second place. arrested development makes a case almost single-handedly for the power of sly and pacy editing driving humour, never settling into comfortable patterns, and constantly overturning what you think you know. the performances are good across the board and the writing has a referential power. however, made as a traditional sitcom, arrested development fails.