2013-2014 Network Sitcoms: The Best

And here are the eight best sitcoms this season.  Here are my lists of the eight worst and eight mid-range comedies.

8. Sean Saves the World (Season 1, NBC)

I am honestly surprised that I enjoyed this so much.  Critics have been hating on this series, but it is the perfect example of what a multi-camera sitcom can do.  There is a specific energy to this and the decent dialogue works well with the limited settings.  Sean Hayes' personality really sells this show and he is entertaining to watch.  Thomas Lennon also has a great character role that he makes the most out of.  It is not ground breaking, but it is fun to watch.  It is a type of show that has not been done well in far too long.  It is physical and broad but still honest and well set up.  I hope that it maintains quality and finds an audience.  Pleasantly surprised, would suggest that people keep an open mind.

7. The Mindy Project (Season 2, Fox)

One of two sitcoms that premiered last year to make it to a second season.  It had a strong first season but it was unfocused as the supporting cast kept changing.  The cast still has not settled but it has a comfortable focus on the hilarious Ike Barinholz and stand-out Chris Messina.  Of course this not an ensemble, it is a star vehicle for Mindy Kaling who is always a great romantic comedy lead.  She is relatable and able to look foolish while being smart and attractive.  The show seems to be finding its focus.  Kaling is a great writer and showrunner as well, it seems that she has found a way to make her show work.  It should only improv from here.  Also good guest work from James Franco and Bill Hader.

6. The Middle (Season 5, ABC)

It is easy to take this show for granted.  It is not the flashiest on television and does not garner much attention, but the quality has been incredibly consistent.  The family ensemble is one of the best on television.  All five leads have impeccable chemistry and can carry their own stories.  This season the show is working with the characters' growth.  It is always funny and very sweet.

5. New Girl (Season 3, Fox)

Last year season 2 of New Girl was must see TV.  Nick and Jess had the best unresolved sexual tension on television in years.  Now the characters are reacting to their new relationship.  The show's quality is continuing and I will definitely continue to keep up with it this season.

4. Trophy Wife (Season 1, ABC)

Despite the gimmick title this series plays its situation very sincere.  To the characters the young stepmom and two ex-wives is just part of the characters' lives.  The adults are perfectly cast with performers that can combine both comedy and drama effortlessly.  The show is also stronger because the three children can all act (something missing in many of this season's new shows).  The writing is very good and it is just entertaining.  A great new series.

3. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Season 1, Fox)

Michael Schur knows how to create a sitcom better than almost anyone working in TV today and he does it again with this new series.  Great ensemble across the board.  Special mention to Terry Crews, who gets to focus his massive energy differently as he is playing such a timid character.  Andre Braugher is definitely up for an Emmy with his character who really makes this series work.  Braugher plays it very seriously, but there is some subtle humor in his very intentional delivery along with believable drama and personal issues.  A very different performance among the traditional broad sitcom star.  However for me the stand-out is the scene stealing Chelsea Peretti who is always hilarious.

2. Modern Family (Season 5, ABC)

There is some backlash for this series since it consistently does so well at the Emmys.  But that is because the show is just always funny.  The characters all work and they have very real varied dynamics.  This season premiere is one of the best episodes of the show with great jokes such as Christopher Walk-in-Closet and Cam coaching a football team while dressed like George Washington.  Just a good show that you can always count on.

1. Parks and Recreation (Season 6, NBC)

At this point the series is pretty self-sufficient.  There are enough settings, running gags and side characters in place for the writers to draw from.  The main class is well developed that their character arcs seem very natural and they can interact believably with any character.  The show may suffer with Chris Pratt's partial absence and the upcoming departure of Rashida Jones and Robe Lowe.  But it is truly the best ensemble on television and looks like it is off to another great season.

2013-2014 Network Sitcoms: The Mid-Level

There are 24 sitcoms currently airing on network television.  As I enjoy analyzing entertainment trends and making lists I have watched the first episode of each of this season's shows.  I have made a list of the eight worst sitcoms of the season, this is a list of the eight mid-level sitcoms.

16. Super Fun Night (Season 1, ABC)

I may be placing this too high.  This is one of many new sitcoms that I really wanted to like.  Like many people I am rooting for Rebel Wilson and loved her breakout in Pitch Perfect.  There is just nothing really going on.  No real jokes, no real set up for the series.  Wilson is a magnetic personality and if the show restructures to show her better it might have a chance.  But right now it is a disappointment, but has more potential than others.

15. Big Bang Theory (Season 7, CBS)

I have never been able to get into this series.  Out of all of the great comedies on television, I don't understand why this one is such a phenomenon.  I suppose if you liked the series so far you will like the season seven premiere.  It is not much different from any other episode I have seen.  Not terrible, but just not anything I enjoy.

14. Last Man Standing (Season 3, ABC)

I did not realize that this made it to a third season.  I watched the first episode a few years ago but it did not leave much of an impact.  This season's premiere surprised me at how enjoyable it was.  Sure it is essentially a c-level Home Improvement but it does entertain.  This is the type of show that you would watch a decade ago just because it was on.  It has a very nineties feel and is fine casual entertainment.

13. The Neighbors (Season 2, ABC)

I did not watch the first season but I enjoyed what I saw from this season's first episode.  It has a basic gimmick and knows how to get jokes out of it.  It is an interesting high concept and plays well as more family friendly entertainment.  I would honestly be interested in seeing more of it.

12. Mom (Season 1, CBS)

This series could use some more tact and plays things broader than it needs to, but there are laughs to be found.  Unlike most of the new series this year there are actually things going on and the character dynamics are well established.  Anna Faris has a ways to grow with her character but she makes a good lead for a show like this.  French Stewart's snobby chef cracked me up, Spencer Daniels had some good comedic timing and Matt L. Jones definitely knows how to deliver a line to a studio audience.  Of course the stand out is the great Allison Janney who elevates the comedy and the energy.  This is a multi-cam sitcom that is going in the right direction, hope it improves because it could be a fun series.

11. The Michael J. Fox Show (Season 1, NBC)

Hype was high for this and whenever that happens there is some let down.  I have seen all three episodes and it is not all there.  The show needed some more work in the development stage and the writing is not that great.  The ensemble is not interesting and there are no real jokes.  Still this is a star vehicle for Fox and he does great here.  Not the best material for him to work with, but he is a likable personality that is great to see working again.  Hope they figure out how to make it great.  If nothing else this is a great example how to build a show around a character with a disability.  Parkinsons is part of the character's life but not the only thing that defines him.  Which is an area where the entertainment really needs to progress.

10. Welcome to the Family (Season 1, NBC)

Not sure why critics are seeming to be so hostile towards this show.  It entertaining and the characters are all solid.  The main appeal is the chemistry between Ricardo Antonio Chavira and Mike O'Malley.  Their rivalry and conflicts are natural and relatable rather than mean.  I respect this series for acknowledging cultural differences without having to focus on stereotypes for cheap jokes.  This is a pleasant show that has some potential.  I enjoyed the premiere.

9. How I Met Your Mother (Season 9, CBS)

Like many people I really got into this show when it started rerunning frequently and I was won over by the clever writing and strong ensemble.  However in the last few seasons I have felt that the series betrayed my trust.  The show is built on the promise of the finale and to stretch it out to nine seasons they wasted a lot of times with stories and characters that didn't go anywhere.

But this season has a sense of urgency that has been missing.  The characters are gaining some of their likability and intelligence back.  Having Wayne Brady and Sherri Shepard as recurring characters adds to the comedy.  I could place this higher but I do expect this show to reach some lulls this season.  But the first few episodes are the best the show has been for some time.

2013-2014 Network Sitcoms: The Worst

There are 24 sitcoms airing on network television this fall (and then streaming on Hulu and cbs.com for the rest of us).  I watched the first episode of each series and ranked them from worst to best.  Here is the eight worst shows of the season.

24. Dads (Season 1, Fox)

This show is so bad that it made me miss Whitney.  Yeah, that bad.  Just a waste of talent, air space and my time.  It is indeed racist.  No matter how edgy the producers claim they are being it is just old men shouting out stereotypes for no reason.  It is not like they can use the excuse that they are from "a different generation," they are men in their early to mid-sixties.  The show is sexist two.  Making a female employee dress up like a school girl to close a business deal is not funny.  There is nothing going on, no real jokes or characters.  It is unlikable, boring and just bad.  Lower than the bottom of the barrel, hurry up and cancel this.

23. 2 Broke Girls (Season 3, CBS)

I did not even finish the first episode of this season it was so bad.  I am ranking it higher than Dads because it actually attempts to make jokes.  In fact the whole series appears to be stereotypical characters spouting out poorly delivered punchlines that somehow get a laugh from the studio audience.  There are no real characters or stories here, just broadness.  Essentially a Disney Channel sitcom that makes cheap jokes about sex.

22. Two and a Half Men (Season 11, CBS)

I have never held much hostility towards Two and a Half Men.  Of course it is not great, but for most of its run it was entertaining.  The kind of show you could watch just because it was on and enjoy keeping up with the likable characters.  Well the sitcom somehow made to 11 seasons (an almost impossible feat in this day and age).  The characters are painful to watch and it is recycling jokes.  This season adds Amber Tamblyn as Charlie's illegitimate lesbian daughter.  Which gives the characters an opportunity to mention how much they miss a character that died several years ago.  This series has no legs left and needs to die.

21. Back in the Game (Season 1, ABC)

There are things that should work, but this is one of the more forgettable premieres of the season (and there were a lot of them).  Maggie Lawson is good lead, but there is not much for her to do.  The cast of kids have little personality outside of their basic stereotypes.  James Caan plays his grumpy old man role well but it is completely out of place in a comedy.  It is just not enjoyable, Ben Koldyke is the only actor who provides some sort of joy and energy.  This show should have a very short run.

20. We Are Men (Season 1, CBS)

One of many new series to waste a talented cast.  Kal Penn is the only one who manages to be somewhat entertaining although Shalhoub occasionally comes close.  Chris Smith, the lead point of view character, is bland and almost unlikable.  There is nothing new here.  Tony Shalhoub dates younger women, Jerry O'Connell always takes his shirt off, the dynamics of the men has all been seen before.  It is unentertaining and based in misogyny.

19. The Millers (Season 1, CBS)

More wasted talent.  This is very poorly written and directed.  Will Arnett adds nothing and Jayma Mays seems out of place.  If this series survives it will be due to the supporting cast's ability to rise above the insultingly immature material.  Beau Bridges makes an enteraining TV dad, Nelson Franklin and J.B. Smoove understand how to make a small role work on a sitcom.  The stand-out and only saving grace of the unfunny show is Margo Martindale.  She adds class and commitment to this role.  Even if her character's only purpose seems to be to fart that does not stop her from entertaining the audience.  But she deserves better and so does the audience.

18. The Crazy Ones (Season 1, CBS)

We have seen Robin Williams on auto-pilot so many times, why do we need an entire series for the legendary entertainer to not try?  There are no jokes in the script, it seems as if David E. Kelley planned this as a drama but some executive through an improvising Williams into it.  And while Williams can make up a lot on the spot there is no context for it and it honestly isn't funny.  The amount of product placement in the pilot is astounding.  There is nothing for the audience to relate to or be interested by.  It is pleasant at times and has some potential.  Hamish Linklater and Amanda Setton make good supporting players.  But it isn't funny and the father-daughter dynamic is non-existent.

17. The Goldbergs (Season 1, ABC)

Not as offensively horrible as the rest of these, but it did not grab me either.  I am sure that many will enjoy the eighties nostalgia, but I was born in 1991.  I need a reason to care about these characters and all they really do is yell.  The kids seem like a copy of the cast of The Middle with the older son seeming like an expy of Charlie McDermott.  It isn't sweet enough to make up for its lack of laughs.  I can see this getting a following or improving, but not for me.