Welcome to another Wildcard Wednesday! I was going to use this post to launch our annual Holiday Contest, but many of the prizes I initially planned to award the winners have already been (or will soon be) shared with all subscribed readers. And because these are only fun for me when they’re genuinely revealing (like our first contest, when I made my list of 50 favorite sitcom episodes from the 1970s), I’ve opted instead to just give you what the answers would have been. The prompt was going to be my 40 favorite sitcom episodes that I highlighted this year (until the end of November) on Sitcom Tuesdays. They come from Frasier, The John Larroquette Show, Mad About You, Friends, NewsRadio, and The Drew Carey Show.
The Best of Sitcom Tuesdays — 2018 Edition
FRASIER (1993-2004, NBC)
01. “My Coffee With Niles” (1994)
02. “The Matchmaker” (1994)
03. “An Affair To Forget” (1995)
04. “The Two Mrs. Cranes” (1996)
05. “Ham Radio” (1997)
06. “Halloween” (1997)
07. “Ski Lodge” (1998)
08. “Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz” (1998)
09. “Dinner Party” (1999)
10. “Out With Dad” (2000)
11. “High Holidays” (2003)
THE JOHN LARROQUETTE SHOW (1993-1996, NBC)
12. “Pilot” (1993)
13. “The Past Comes Back” (1993)
14. “God” (1993)
15. “Another Average Night” (1994)
MAD ABOUT YOU (1992-1999, NBC)
16. “The Ride Home” (1994)
17. “Giblets For Murray” (1994)
18. “The City” (1994)
19. “Our Fifteen Minutes” (1995)
20. “Jamie’s Parents” (1996)
21. “The Penis” (1997)
22. “Citizen Buchman” (1997)
FRIENDS (1994-2004, NBC)
23. “The One With The Prom Video” (1996)
24. “The One With Two Parties” (1996)
25. “The One With Barry And Mindy’s Wedding” (1996)
26. “The One Where No One’s Ready” (1996)
27. “The One With The Football” (1996)
28. “The One With The Embryos” (1998)
29. “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” (1999)
30. “The One Where Ross Got High” (1999)
31. “The One With The Videotape” (2001)
NEWSRADIO (1995-1999, NBC)
32. “The Cane” (1995)
33. “Massage Chair” (1996)
34. “Arcade” (1996)
35. “Complaint Box” (1997)
THE DREW CAREY SHOW (1995-2004, ABC)
36. “Drew Blows His Promotion” (1997)
37. “New York And Queens” (1997)
38. “The Bachelor Party” (1998)
39. “Drew And The Gang Law” (1999)
40. “Drew And Kate Boink” (2000)
And now, something else — a poll. Once we complete coverage (next year) of sitcoms that premiered in the ’90s, I intend to go back and look at some from the ’50s and ’60s that I skipped. You can vote only once but can select up to SIX series. (I won’t end up doing all of them, mind you.) I will share the results next month, when the poll closes. Thank you!
Come back next week for another Wildcard post! And tune in Tuesday for more Drew Carey!
I put Dobie Gillis as an other but mostly want to see you cover Phil Silvers
Hi, Track! Thanks for reading and commenting.
That’s a great choice for “other” — I quite like many of those episodes. I’m going to add it to the list of options.
Plus the fast dialogue was something not done in a lot of sitcoms
I think it definitely had its own rhythm! Thanks for commenting about the series so I could add it to the list.
I already voted on the list, but another suggestion/possibility, you have done some posts on December Bride, certainly not the strongest series, but I like what I’ve seen of it, and the great cast, Spring Byington-Verna Felton-Harry Morgan and its Desilu connection make it interesting. Thanks for all your research and generosity in sharing it.
Hi, Kenneth! Thanks for reading and commenting.
DECEMBER BRIDE is fascinating because it’s a Desilu multi-cam that looks and sometimes even sounds a lot like a certain beloved classic.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s a great candidate for Sitcom Tuesday coverage — both in terms of quality and for the fact that only about 80% of the episodes are known to circulate, making it impossible to discuss the best of any season and confidently feel like I’ve actually highlighted the best.
But I’m a big Verna Felton fan, and whenever I can work the series into a Wildcard Wednesday post, it’s a pleasure!
Voted. Hope you do BURNS & ALLEN and JEANNIE. Also voted for GHOST & MRS. MUIR!
Hi, Nat! Thanks for reading and commenting.
I’ve gotten three write-in votes for THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR so far — it might make a good companion to I DREAM OF JEANNIE (which, thus far, is among the most popular choices in the poll)! Stay tuned…