90's TV

Seinfeld, Friends and Simpsons were the three main shows we watched in class. Personally, Seinfeld is the best, which was heavily influenced by the fact that I watched it with my dad all the time growing up. However, I enjoy Seinfeld because it mixes slapstick and situational humor along with a varying cast. Seinfeld has an array of characters with Kramers hippie style and Costanza's competitive personality combined with dozens of side characters that are involved. Seinfeld also featured several plot lines that each character followed. By comparison, Friends has always seemed like a cheap rip off of Seinfeld with less diversity of plot and characters. Friends has a linear plot that is similar for most characters and revolves completely on the main characters. Also the portrayal of the characters was interesting, with Elaine working for a prestigious publishing company while the women of Friends are unemployed or are waitresses. The final show was the Simpsons which is difficult to compare to the other shows. The Simpsons provided a similar plot to Seinfeld with a mix of slapstick and situational comedy, but added an aspect of satire. I enjoy the Simpsons because of the array of comedy, but the low level of quality of the show does take away from the value of the show. Overall I would say Seinfeld was the best with the Simpsons and then Friends.