The Top 11 Returning Comedies this Fall

I did my fall preview. You can check it out right here. I have identified 40 shows I want to watch this fall. Am I sick? Yes. I know I am. You don't think I realize that. I relish in it. To relish in my sickness a little further, I love lists. I can't get enough of them. If I see an article or a website or a show that has a list or a countdown of anything, I have to watch. I must know what is number one. Did I see it? Was I there? Do I remember it? Are they completely wrong??? I am going to start a series of lists. I am thinking every Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday. That my friends, is called alliteration.

But today is Saturday and this list has 11. As Bluto once said, why not? I couldn't narrow it down to 10 and I didn't want to wait till Tuesday. Here is my list of the best returning comedies this fall. Ground Rules - The shows have to be returning because I haven't watched any of the new ones yet. I will do a list of the top or most anticipated new shows in my mind. Also, it has to be airing new episodes this Fall. East Bound and Down, etc. will have to wait their turn. Let the countdown begin...

11. Parks & Recreation - This show is going into its second season and I am really hoping it picks up the pace a little. The awkward pause works for Steve Carrell but I am not in need of another slice of the same pie on the same night. If one of the new comedies is any good, this one is the clubhouse leader to fall out.

10. New Adventures of Old Christine - It is a nice show. It is somewhat funny, very familiar, and it has Elaine as a desperate MILF. But it lacks in originality. It is a little vanilla.

9. Family Guy / 8. The Simpsons - I may be a little low with these shows. Five years ago they would have been much higher. I think they may be becoming a little tired and old now. But more than that, I think I am taking them for granted. I am not surprised by them. They have been good for so long now that they can't do anything but disappoint. Has there ever been higher praise for a cartoon?

7. Big Bang Theory - Season 2 comes out on DVD on September 15. It is sitting on the top of my queue right now staring at me. Since I have only seen season 1, this ranking is subject to change.

6. How I Met Your Mother - Barney rules. This show rises and falls with Barney. The other characters don't suck, but Barney makes me set my DVR every week. The episode themes are great. The Crazy-Hot line is classic. Very Seinfeldian. The characters are also my age. I actually don't care who the mother is. Is that wrong of me?

5. Californication - I still have two episodes left in season 2. This show gets bumped up a couple slots solely because of Mulder. The show is also a little bit of a cry for help, isn't it? It is so unapologetically sexually impulsive you almost miss the fact that it is smart and sometimes has a heart.

4. The Office - Pam and Jim are the first TV relationship I care about in a sitcom since Sam and Rebecca on Cheers (I am a little too young for Diane). Maybe Kevin and Winnie are a better comparison. I mean who doesn't want them together? The comedy comes from Michael playing the role of a one man band, running around like a nut trying to get these workers to laugh, cry, love, or feel anything...while they try to keep a straight face and not be terribly insulted. Jim makes snide comments and goofy faces. Dwight says something crazy. Throw in a prank and you have the office. This show has the biggest heart in all of TV.

3. Always Sunny in Philadelphia - The trend, started by Seinfeld, is that it is funny when people are selfish, borderline evil, crazy, and/or mean to each other. Arrested Development took it farther, Family Guy a little more, and this show went way farther. It is like a live action Family Guy, but meaner. It has the interwoven story lines of Seinfeld too. The show is one of the very few shows that can actually surprise you and make you laugh out loud.

2. 30 Rock - This show was a total surprise to me. A revelation of the genius of Tina Fey. I am 100% sold on her. She plays self deprecating better than anyone right now. The show basically is Tina Fey having her spirit slowly crushed by the world, her poor choices, and most of all, by her co-workers. Alec Baldwin is epic as Jack Donaghy. And nobody plays crazy like Tracy Morgan. It is the best network comedy by a clear margin.

1. Curb Your Enthusiasm - I always described this show as Seinfeld with curses. EW described it as Seinfeld on steroids and downers. Larry is the opposite of Liz Lemon. Instead of fielding insults and trying to organize chaos, Larry dishes out the insults and brings a hurricane of chaos wherever he goes. The legend of the show is that it is mostly ad libbed. The storylines are laid out as an outline and the actors fill in the spaces. The celebrities that play themselves are almost always classic. The show is everything you want it to be. I can't wait to see how the Seinfeld reunion turns out.