Bracket Challenge: Greatest American Comedy Series (The Elite Eight)

Our quest to crown the greatest American TV comedy of all time is down to just eight combatants. This quartet of matchups will cull the fire even further.

To get the full scoop on this edition of the Bracket Challenge, you can check out the introduction to our tournament here.

We have now completed second round action in our quest to crown the greatest comedy series in American TV history. What began as a field of 32 teams has been winnowed now to an elite eight. Our remaining contestants span a period of more than 70 years and comprise a host of trailblazers and game changers for the medium. Before we get to this week’s contests, let’s look back at last week’s action and how we found ourselves here.

In our first matchup last week, the crew at the 4077th of M*A*S*H obliterated The Jeffersons in a blowout contest that was over almost as soon as it began. In a much closer, rather surprising result, All In The Family eked out a very narrow win over the US version of The Office. Perhaps this is evidence that much of the WAIM readership is either not aware of the truly groundbreaking nature of All In The Family, or maybe it’s just an outsized allegiance to a recent favorite. Either way, the Bunkers survive to see another day.

The third matchup of last week saw Arrested Development double up on Parks & Rec. I’d assumed we’d have a closer matchup here, but the Bluths reign supreme once more and find their spot in the elite eight. Last week’s final matchup saw Cheers cruise to an easy victory over the Mary Tyler Moore Show. With our field of eight locked in, let’s move on to this week’s matchups where all of the still surviving entrants will be in action.

In our first matchup of the weekend, the gang at TGS goes up against America’s favorite animated family as The Simpsons and 30 Rock duke it out. Thus far, The Simpsons has hardly broken a sweat getting to the elite eight. While I am sure there is loads of love for Liz Lemon and company, it’s very hard to see an upset in this one.

Seinfeld and I Love Lucy square off in matchup number two of the weekend as a pair of iconic series collide. Lucy and Desi literally invented the way that television looked for its first half a century. The three camera approach that was implemented on nearly every major sitcom was literally invented by Desi Arnav for I Love Lucy. Seinfeld would be a part of the last generation of shows to use this filming technique, later giving way to a single camera approach and no live audience. Now, two of the most famous arbiters of the same approach to sitcoms battle it out for a spot in the semifinals. I’d expect that Seinfeld will roll to a victory here, but an upset is not a complete impossibility.

Matchup number three pits perhaps the two most critically and commercially successful sitcoms of the 1970s. Both M*A*S*H and All In The Family pioneered a new wave of comedy series to American TV. In addition to providing regular laughs, this pair of shows also brought a new level of conscience and progressivism to America’s living rooms. All In The Family dealt directly with a bigoted progatonist who often found himself at the butt of the joke, while the backdrop of the Korean War allowed M*A*S*H to explore the moralities of armed conflict and colonialism amongst the laughs. I’d look for a narrow victory for the 4077th here, but either of these titans is worthy of moving on.

Our last contest of this round finds Cheers up against Arrested Development, a surprise elite eight entrant. The place where everybody knows your name has had a tougher than expected time getting to the elite eight. With surprisingly close victories in both rounds, the Boston bar crew comes into this contest anything but self-assured. Arrested Development on the other hand comes in soaring with a surprisingly easy win in the second round over Parks & Rec. Now, comes a stiffer brand of competition. Before this tourney began I would have thought Cheers would cruise to an easy victory. After the first two rounds, it’s tough to see this as anything other than a toss-up despite the bona fides that the older series might enjoy.

On to the elite eight matchups.

Cheers,
Matty C