What was the best era of NBC Thursday nights? 80's, 90's or 2000's

[HustleBun]

Must-See TV!!

Arguably it started during the era of Cheers, when NBC started pairing it with Wings, Cosby Show, Family Ties, Night Court, etc- but it became a staple during the era of Seinfeld. When Friends finally bowed out, NBC was already struggling to find solid replacements for their Thursday night lineup. With The Office, they struck gold again. Pairing it with shows like 30 Rock, Community and Parks assured another rock solid block that I didn't think we would ever see again.

Of course there tons of shows during these eras that I didn't mention - Just Shoot Me, Suddenly Susan, Will and Grace, Caroline in the City, Veronica's Closet- but I picked the four from each era that made the biggest impact.

I should also note that Frasier's inclusion is odd. It was initially the last show in the block, right after Seinfeld, before NBC felt that it was strong enough to carry it's own night. After Seinfeld ended Frasier returned to the block as an attempt to recoop on the ratings gap that Seinfeld left, even slotting it into it's 9pm block.

I was a 90's kid but I also recognize the strength of what NBC had from 2008-2012.
I'm not sure what I would pick myself.

...btw ER's influence can't be ignored either.

 

[fracas]

Might just be my age (27) but nothing beats the late 2000s

My all-time favorite show with Parks and Rec plus HEAVY hitters in The Office, Community and 30 Rock? Not even close imo

 

[CloseTalker]

Seinfeld alone wins this, but having Frasier as backup just seals the deal. I'm also not going to be one of the Era cool kids that pretends Friends wasn't pretty funny too, even if it is third place here

 

[chairhome]

I probably watched Fox mostly as a kid. Martin, Living Single, even Roc. Fresh prince probably belongs up in the poll somewhere, but I didn't watch any of the other shows. So 2000s for me, mainly for The Office.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

I don't remember what mad about you even is but Friends/Seinfeld/Frazier was the trifecta. Office was good but I never really cared for parks or community.

 

[Vertpin]

Oof…cheers or frasier….hrmmm….

 

[thekonamicode]

2000s easily and it's not even close. That lineup should have been illegal, it was so good. By the way, I'm 39.

 

[Deleted member 1086]

man that 80s list is terrible compared to the other two…

 

[Josh5890]

That 90's trifecta is hard to beat, but 80's was also really special. Cheers and Cosby Show alone are great.

 

[ShaggsMagoo]

Cheers is probably the greatest sitcom ever created and as much as Bill Cosby sucks, the Cosby Show was a ratings juggernaut, so the 80's wins for me. Also weren't Mad about you and Fraiser more Tuesday night shows than Must See TV Thursday nights?

Edit: Also, the four shows you have listed for the 2000's doesn't include the greatest sitcom to air on the block in that decade, Scrubs.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Also Seinfeld, Friends, and Frasier were all like 10 seasons, and 2 of them went into the the 2000s, and generally speaking every season was good. Unheard of these days.

Always sunny is up there but definitely less universal appeal.

Office surprised to see went 9 seasons tbh, but once Michael Scott/Carrell left it should have ended so it doesn't really count.

 

[CloseTalker]

Also Seinfeld, Friends, and Frasier were all like 10 seasons, and 2 of them went into the the 2000s, and generally speaking every season was good. Unheard of these days.

Always sunny is up there but definitely less universal appeal.

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That's true. Seinfeld, Frasier, and Friends all remained pretty consistent levels of quality. Community and The Office....didn't

 

[Mona]

2000s is great, but c'mon its the 90s

 

[Kuribo’s Shoe]

Those are all golden eras. Other gems like News Radio make a case for the 90s, but The Single Guy and Caroline in the City worsen the arguement.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

The answer is always the 90s (for all best era questions).

 

[SwampBastard]

I really don't know if I can pick one. Seinfeld is the best show on that list by a country mile, but I don't personally have much use for the rest of the shows in its group. 30 Rock is a top three sitcom for me, and I love Community, but I don't love P&R and I like The Office even less (overall; the first 2-3 seasons are great and Steve Carell is genuinely amazing as Michael Scott, but the show eventually got really, really bad). I'm tempted to give it to the 80s. The Cosby Show and Cheers are two of the greatest sitcoms of all time, and Family Ties and Night Court are both really solid, so while I don't think it has the highest highs, it's got the highest floor.

 

[opus]

Are we talking about eras, or Thursday night programming blocks? Because looking at the Must See TV wiki, the Mad About You/Friends/Seinfeld/Frasier block was never actually a thing, even though I remember it being so. The closest it got was MAY/Wings/Seinfeld/Frasier in the 93/94 season.

Meanwhile, Cosby/Family Ties/Cheers/Night Court was an anchor of mid-80s Thursday night, and served as the lead-in for shows that would later become a centerpiece of 90s Thursday night...Seinfeld and Wings. It's probably more accurate to say Friends and Seinfeld were the tentpoles up Thursday night in the 90s, while there was more consistency in the 80s.

As for 2010s Thursday night...man, NBC really fucked that gravy train up, because there's zero consistency in that programming block at all.

 

[amusix]

I never found Seinfeld funny...it was always too whiny for my tastes.

If I were to make my ideal lineup of 4 from those shows, it'd be Cheers, Night Court, Community, and Parks and Rec.

Since Cosby and Family ties is not nearly as good as Office and 30 Rock, the best lineup is 2000's

 

[HustleBun]

Cheers is probably the greatest sitcom ever created and as much as Bill Cosby sucks, the Cosby Show was a ratings juggernaut, so the 80's wins for me. Also weren't Mad about you and Fraiser more Tuesday night shows than Must See TV Thursday nights?

Edit: Also, the four shows you have listed for the 2000's doesn't include the greatest sitcom to air on the block in that decade, Scrubs.

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Explained in the OP.
Frasier was initially the final show in the block but NBC felt it was strong enough to carry it's own night and moved it to Tuesdays where it remained for 4-5 years. When Seinfeld was set to end, Frasier was brought back into the Thursday night block and remained there for the full remainder of the series (2-3 years).

Scrubs is a weird one too. It was introduced during the Friends/Will and Grace era for one year, then was bumped to a later slot for half a season, then moved to another slot for half a season, then vanished from the Thursday night block for two full years. When it returned to Thursday nights, NBC changed it's air-time three times before it vanished from the block permanently.

So while Frasier's time on the Thursday night block was untouched and consistent, poor Scrubs was shuffled, fired, re-hired, shuffled again.

Fair to say that Scrubs wasn't always treated very well.

Are we talking about eras, or Thursday night programming blocks? Because looking at the Must See TV wiki, the Mad About You/Friends/Seinfeld/Frasier block was never actually a thing

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Explained in the OP and it was the most consistent group of four shows in that era.

As for 2010s Thursday night...man, NBC really fucked that gravy train up, because there's zero consistency in that programming block at all.

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You weren't kidding. After the Community/Office/Parks era, things are pretty unstable.

Mind you, The Good Place is incredible but wtf is The Slap? Ugh Biggest Loser...

 

[thewienke]

30 Rock itself even had an episode about how the 90s were the halcyon days for "must see TV". NBC's decline from the 90s is a general running joke besides that.

So it's the 90s

 

[johnsmith]

Community/Parks and Rec/The Office/30 Rock was the best sitcom lineup of all time. During the 90s Seinfeld was the only one of those shows I even watched.

 

[bionic77]

Seinfeld and Simpsons are the two greatest comedies that I have ever seen. But for NBC Seinfeld was the peak (IMO)>

Cosby show was also pretty insane for the first few years, but overall I think the Office was a much better show (though it was not a standard sitcom trying to get you to laugh every 30 seconds).

I don't think the 00s had a show as good as Seinfeld but they had more good shows. That makes it a tough choice for me.

 

[The Albatross]

90s or 2000s, lean 90s.

I hate Friends as an adult, but loved it as a teenager. Seinfeld is probably the greatest sitcom of all time or near enough to it. Frazier is/was solid. Mad About You was cute.

It's a pretty epic sitcom lineup that appeals to a broad array of ages.

 

[Superpupperbabysassy]

My favorite line up was Cosby/Different World/Cheers/Wings.

 

[BringBackSonics]

I'm old..so I grew up watching Night Court and Cheers.

 

[HustleBun]

I hate Friends as an adult, but loved it as a teenager. Seinfeld is probably the greatest sitcom of all time or near enough to it. Frazier is/was solid. Mad About You was cute.

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Agreed on all accounts.
Friends has gotten worse with time but Seinfeld has only gotten better.

...well maybe not every episode.
There are at least three separate episodes that are metaphors for sexual assault. Actually one of them isn't even a metaphor.

 

[opus]

Mind you, The Good Place is incredible but wtf is The Slap?

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It's literally a show about someone slapping someone else's child. And it was a remake, if I remember correctly!

 

[Martinski]

Seinfeld make it the 90s even though not a big fan of friends or Frasier.