The Top 100 American Situation Comedies: An Objective Ranking

A number of books and articles have been written ranking the best situation comedies of all time.

These have all had something in common--subjective criteria based on the authors' opinions. This book attempts an objective ranking of the best 100 American sitcoms, based on a mathematical formula taking into account four factors: ratings, longevity, peer acceptance and spawning of other programs (spin-offs).

The authors considered a field of 377 series which met at least one of four criteria: aired for at least three seasons; rated among top 30 series in at least one season; received at least one major Emmy nomination; or spawned at least one other series. A critical essay is provided for each series, along with air dates and cast listings.

Mitchell E. Shapiro, a professor in the School of Communication at the University of Miami (Florida), is currently the director of honors (and former academic associate dean). The author of six books, he has published numerous scholarly articles in various journals.

B>Tom Jicha has been writing about TV and radio for 35 years. He was formerly the TV/Radio editor of The Miami News and the TV/Radio writer for the Fort Lauderdale News and Sun Sentinel. He is a former president of the Television Critics Association. He lives in Miami, Florida.