*** Cyclone Fanatic Sitcom Tournament: Selection Show ***

mynameisjonas

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I don’t know why but when I think sitcom I think shows with a laugh track and not newer shows. I know I’m wrong but for some reason that’s where my brain goes.
 

cyfanatic13

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My hot take is that Parks and Rec is better than The Office (at least after its first 1.5 seasons). I think the character development on Parks and Rec is more complete and makes more sense, and I think they also did a better job with some creativity in the later seasons to keep it from getting stale.
Didn’t even see you say this before I said what I said
 
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Cycsk

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Will be interesting to see how voting goes, I assume there will be a few matchups of young vs old.

I wouldn't call myself an afficienado by any stretch, but there are a bunch of old ones included here that I've never watched:

WKRP (never even heard of)
Green Acres
Newhart/Bob Newhart
Family Ties
Kotter
Larry Sanders Show
MTM Show
Laverne & Shirley
Newsradio
Taxi

That's not to suggest any of these don't belong, but I won't be voting for any of them.


@CycloneRulzzz

The post above made me think that I have seen almost all of them. But there are a bunch of new ones that I haven't seen.

Thus, I've got a proposed rule: "Don't vote against a show you haven't seen."

Shows shouldn't win or lose just because a bunch of young or old folks haven't seen it.
 

FriendlySpartan

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@CycloneRulzzz

The post above made me think that I have seen almost all of them. But there are a bunch of new ones that I haven't seen.

Thus, I've got a proposed rule: "Don't vote against a show you haven't seen."

Shows shouldn't win or lose just because a bunch of young or old folks haven't seen it.
That only works if the brackets were done by year of the show. I have heard of all of these shows but everything before 1980ish I doubt I have seen more than a handful of episodes that might have been on nick at nite. You’re basically ruling out anyone under 40 from voting for most of these.
 

Tailg8er

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Feb 25, 2011
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@CycloneRulzzz

The post above made me think that I have seen almost all of them. But there are a bunch of new ones that I haven't seen.

Thus, I've got a proposed rule: "Don't vote against a show you haven't seen."

Shows shouldn't win or lose just because a bunch of young or old folks haven't seen it.

Eh, I think it balances out. Like Spartan said, it would lower participation quite a bit if half the board (either half) can't vote in half the polls.

Plus, certain shows would win my vote regardless of who they're up against (The Office, for instance), so I'm voting for those either way.

It's fine, our votes will just cancel out.
 

RoseClone

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Complete Scranton Region

1 The Office
16 Green Acres
8 WKRP in Cincinnati
9 That '70s Show
5 The Andy Griffith Show
12 Will & Grace
4 I Love Lucy
13 3rd Rock From the Sun
6 Roseanne
11 Newhart vs. 11 The Bob Newhart Show
3 Happy Days
14 The Middle
7 Family Ties
10 Parks and Recreation
2 Friends
15 Golden Girls
Only 3 shows have gone off the air rated #1 and two of them are in this bracket as 4 and 5 seeds. ‍Doesn't seem right.
 
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ISUCyclones2015

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There was some weight given to older shows that carved the path, blazed the trail, etc., and created the TV landscape that later shows were able to build upon. Do appreciate the input though.
So I assume this argument is why Mary Tyler Moore show got lifted to a 2 seed (along with that upper midwest bias). But then you snub one of the most modern and progressive woman forward sitcoms of all time in Sex and the City.

The amount of shows per decade have a healthy balance but the seeding is extremely skewed older. Like I love Laverne and Shirley but it shouldn't be above Roseanne or Home Improvement or the same seed as How I Met Your Mother
 

Gonzo

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Behind you
So I assume this argument is why Mary Tyler Moore show got lifted to a 2 seed (along with that upper midwest bias). But then you snub one of the most modern and progressive woman forward sitcoms of all time in Sex and the City.

The amount of shows per decade have a healthy balance but the seeding is extremely skewed older. Like I love Laverne and Shirley but it shouldn't be above Roseanne or Home Improvement or the same seed as How I Met Your Mother
Lots of arguments can be made lots of different ways for lots of different shows for sure. Everyone has their opinions, which is what will make the voting interesting and fun.
 

cyclones500

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So I assume this argument is why Mary Tyler Moore show got lifted to a 2 seed (along with that upper midwest bias). But then you snub one of the most modern and progressive woman forward sitcoms of all time in Sex and the City.

The amount of shows per decade have a healthy balance but the seeding is extremely skewed older. Like I love Laverne and Shirley but it shouldn't be above Roseanne or Home Improvement or the same seed as How I Met Your Mother
We did discuss Sex and the City, we determined maybe it doesn't fit sitcom but more of rom-com ... it's a fine line there, and one could make an argument of category for several shows that did get into the field.

Although we spent extensive effort in discussion, time isn't limitless, we're willing to admit there could be flaws and that if we went back to do it again there could be changes. It's good to hear all feedback, for sure, because if we do another tournament on different topic, some of these ideas could be applicable.
 

ISUCyclones2015

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We did discuss Sex and the City, we determined maybe it doesn't fit sitcom but more of rom-com ... it's a fine line there, and one could make an argument of category for several shows that did get into the field.

Although we spent extensive effort in discussion, time isn't limitless, we're willing to admit there could be flaws and that if we went back to do it again there could be changes. It's good to hear all feedback, for sure, because if we do another tournament on different topic, some of these ideas could be applicable.
Oh don’t take it as me not appreciating the work you all did for the seeding. We argue about the March Madness tournament in the same way like “what were they thinking?!”

So we’re just arguing the same way but this time the selection committee is reading our banter lol

When it comes to is it a sitcom or not, I think a bunch of the ones you listed don’t fit the exact definition of what a sitcom was back in the 70s-90s. Like most from 2000 onwards aren’t even in front of a live (or laugh track) audience which was the classic format.

Also why the decision of excluding animated shows? I don’t think you could fill up a 64 team bracket with good animated shows. There’s probably 10-12 that are good enough and that you could swap in for some of these.
 

Gonzo

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Oh don’t take it as me not appreciating the work you all did for the seeding. We argue about the March Madness tournament in the same way like “what were they thinking?!”

So we’re just arguing the same way but this time the selection committee is reading our banter lol

When it comes to is it a sitcom or not, I think a bunch of the ones you listed don’t fit the exact definition of what a sitcom was back in the 70s-90s. Like most from 2000 onwards aren’t even in front of a live (or laugh track) audience which was the classic format.

Also why the decision of excluding animated shows? I don’t think you could fill up a 64 team bracket with good animated shows. There’s probably 10-12 that are good enough and that you could swap in for some of these.
Intentional decision to have animated shows as its own bracket. Mainly because of the number of non-animated sitcoms over the nearly 75 years worthy of consideration. If we can't fit 64 animated shows we can do 32, but there's going to be a ton there and the thinking was it would be best to have a separate tourney for those.
 
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algonacy

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I agree with your decision about animated shows.

I think selecting the definition to use for the word sitcom might have been the hardest decision to make and I appreciate how hard that might have been. For example, I don't think Orange meets the definition of sitcom (nor Sex in the City), but of course that is just my opinion. Someone mentioned the laugh track idea and that might very well be the most defining characteristic of a sitcom and a good solution, but that would have eliminated some good shows from the voting too. (whether a live audience or added laugh track is irrelevant to the answer). Anyway, I look forward to continuing this journey through the voting.
 

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