DAVID BIANCULLI

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ERIC GOULD

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TV’S FUNNIEST OF THE FUNNIEST: A PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA SPECIAL
September 1, 2013  | By David Bianculli

NBC, 9:00 p.m. ET

 

These specials, increasingly, have been somewhat diluted over the years, because of such uncontrollable factors as rights fees, target audience considerations, program lengths and overall approach. But the TV historian in me still wants to salute and support such efforts, even if they’re less than what they could be. Tonight’s newest two-hour network special from the Paley Center presents a countdown of the 30 funniest moments in TV history, including Golden Age classic I Love Lucy. Since the list includes Saturday Night Live and In Living Color, it obviously includes sketch shows, which means there ought to be room for SCTV and Your Show of Shows as well – but I wouldn’t count on it. And by not narrowing the focus purely to sitcoms, this show has made its task even tougher from the outset. However, the list does include Taxi, which, if it’s the scene at the DMV with Christopher Lloyd’s Rev. Jim, will forgive a multitude of sins and omissions…

 
 
 
 
 
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