6. The Office (2005 – 2013, NBC)
This American adaptation after the British eponymous series, developed by Greg Daniels is centered on the lives of a group of office employees at a paper company from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Starring Steve Carell as Michael Gary Scott, the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Inc, Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, the highest-ranking salesman with the lowest social skills and common sense, John Kransinski as Jim Halpert, the sales representative, Jenna Fischer as Pamela Beesly-Halpert, the shy artistic girlfriend of Jim, B. J. Novak as Ryan Bailey Howard, Ed Helms as Andy Bernard and James Spader as Robert California, the sitcom follows their daily interactions.
The Idioffice
Even if you have not worked in an office, you must have heard something else than complaints about the colleagues – you must have heard funny stories and all sorts of funny lines. Well, with a TV series focused mostly on the lives of a group of colleagues from such a place, we could not not show you some of the best lines, which might convince you why we chose this show to be part of our list.
“Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. BattlestarGalactica./ Bears do not… What is going on?! What are you doing?!”, “Wow that is really hard. You really think you can go all day long? Well, you always left me satisfied and smiling./ Mmmm… THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!”, “How long have you known Ms. Levinson?/ Six years and two months./ And you were directly under her the entire time?”, “I grew up on a farm. I have seen animals having sex in every position imaginable. Goat on chicken. Chicken on goat. Couple of chickens doing a goat, couple of pigs watching.”
Daring and clever
That would be two words that best describe this show. Some might say that it even surpasses the original UK production. Even after Steve Carrell’s departure and the story line becoming more down to earth, people still love it. In fact, compared to other shows whit fantastic audiences, The Office is rather underrated as all characters have some of the best moments on TV and the show keeps improving with each season.
5. Modern Family (2009 – present, ABC)
Another crazy family comes in our list and this time is the family of Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill) in Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan’s sitcom. Pritchett family is a total mess. Made out of his new wife, the gorgeous Gloria (Sofia Vergara), her son from a previous marriage, Manny (Rico Rodriguez) and their baby, but also his other two adult children, his daughter Claire (Julia Bowen) and his son Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) as well as their own partners, Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and their children, Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter), Luke (Noland Gould) and Mitchell’s and Cameron’s adopted daughter from Vietnam, Lily. The show itself is similar to the reality TV genre like Keeping Up With the Kardashians, presented in the mockumentary style, as the characters are filmed throughout their daily activities and are often talking directly into the camera.
Modern Family… Funny Family
I remember the first time ever saw a promo about this show. I was so concentrated on my painting that I did not even realize what exactly made me laugh out of the blue. Then I looked up and watched the rest of the promo. In less than a minute, I was hooked by just a few lines and so, I am expecting you to get the same after you will read the following quotes.
“I just had to plug him in. It was a nice reversal from when I had to pull the plug on my dad in the hospital.”, “Oh my god. That burger was so good, I feel like I just cheated on you.”, “Cheerleading in my college was cool. The football players were so jealous they wouldn’t even let me and my buddies, Trevor, Scotty and Ling go to their parties.”, “I’m cool dad, that’s my thang. I’m hip, I surf the web, I text. LOL: laugh out loud, OMG: oh my god, WTF: why the face.”, “Wait, I just thought of something! I’m going to be the first woman in my family not to get pregnant and drop out of college.”, “What have I said about sneaking up on me? I could’ve been shaving. This could’ve been a Sweeney Todd moment.”.
A Breath of Fresh Air
If you have a bucket list, then watching this show should be on it as everyone must watch at least once in their lives. With Ed O’Neill as the patriarchal figure once more since his role as Al Bundy in Married with Children, the genre of his most famous show has been revived to the excitement of the audiences. Now, different generations can enjoy likable amusing characters stuck in a dysfunctional family, once more. Now that was a pleasant surprise!
4. Parks and Recreation (2009 – 2015, NBC)
Similar to The Office and also under the magic touch of Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, Parks and Recreation is a sitcom following a group of workers at the parks department in Indiana. The group is made out of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a bureaucrat with high hopes and dreams of becoming the president of the United States, Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), a nurse, the sarcastic Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), the parks and recreation director Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), the cynical April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza), the optimistic Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider) and the adorable goof Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt). Together, in their apparently dull normal lives, they manage to find themselves in amusing situations that make us laugh out loud.
Quotes and Lines
When it comes to all sorts of crazy lines, Parks and Recreation does not disappoint us. Just like its mama show, this sitcom is a jewelry box full of puns and ironies. “Just call me Bond, Municipal Bond.”, “How do you make any event classy on a budget? Red carpet. My entire apartment is red carpet. On top of that, leading into my bedroom, a second red carpet. Oh, what’s this in my shoe? Red carpet insole. Everywhere I go, I’m walking on red carpet.”, “On a scale of one to Chris Brown, how pissed is he?”, “3… 2… 1, and my shift is over. What the f*** is your problem?”, “My body is like a chip, too…. A potato chip.”, “Hey, Ann, are you still a nurse or did they fire you because you slept with all the doctors?”, “Time is money; Money is power; Power is pizza; Pizza is knowledge. Let’s go!”,“I didn’t actually sell my last car. I just forgot where I parked it.”, “I’m not crying, okay? I’m just allergic to jerks!”, “There is only one bad word: taxes.”, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Don’t teach a man to fish…and feed yourself. He’s a grown man. And fishing’s not that hard.”, “Fishing relaxes me. It’s like yoga, except I still get to kill something.”.
Emmies and Globes
While nominated quite often, Parks and Recreation did also win many awards, including a Golden Globe Award. And it does deserve them all. Fans perceive it as funny, well-scripted and generally entertaining as its amazing potential has been noticed ever since its debut and has pleased millions of fans every week during its six year long run. Too bad it ended.