The good people of this Internet space have spoken. OK, more like clicked their mouse button, but they voted nonetheless.
And the winner of Sitcom Madness is . . . "The Honeymooners."
With an easy 558-490 win over "All in the Family," Ralph Kramden and company took home the subjective title of greatest sitcom of all-time. Below are some clips from the show. Thanks to all who played along.
Here we go, folks. It's the championship round. From 64 to 2 shows. Who will Sitcom Madness? Who knows, but this 64-show tournament has taken on an old-school feel.
The Matchup: "All in the Family" vs. "The Honeymooners."
The Bracket: View the updated bracket
The Voting Schedule: Poll open from 12 p.m. April 7 to noon April 9.
We'll announce the big winner and celebrate at 12:30 p.m.
Jerry Seinfeld was so distraught about the early returns from the polls in the Elite 8, that he flipped his 1967 Fiat in East Hampton this past Saturday.
He's OK, but his sitcom, the No. 1 seed in the Art Vandelay bracket, didn't do as well in Sitcom Madness. "Seinfeld" got smoked by No. 2 All in the Family, setting a trend as the three remaining top seeds fell in the Elite 8.
Ralph Kramden hopped in his "Honeymooners" bus and drove right over those six "Friends" at the coffee shop. "Lucy" whined her way past the troops in "M*A*S*H*" and everyone seems to love Raymond instead of that Simpson family that hasn't aged a bit in nearly 20 years.
The Voting Schedule
Final Four: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. April 3 to noon April 7.
Championship: Poll open from 12:15 p.m. April 7 to noon April 9.
We'll announce the big winner and celebrate at 12:30 p.m.
While the NCAA tournament has its Final Four full of No. 1 seeds for the first time in its history, Sitcom Madness will not experience a similar fate.
After teetering on the edge in the first two rounds, The Cosby Show finally fell victim to the madness, losing out to No. 4 The Simpsons in the Hillman College bracket.
In the Fun Bobby bracket, No. 3 The Honeymooners figured out how to stop the juggernaut that was No. 2 Cheers. Cheers trailed by 10 votes on Saturday afternoon, but then Sam "Mayday" Malone entered the game and The Honeymooners teed off and won by 105 votes.
As for the rest of the brackets, chalk, chalk and chalk.
The Voting Schedule
Elite Eight: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. March 31 to noon April 3.
Final Four: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. April 3 to noon April 7.
Championship: Poll open from 12:15 p.m. April 7 to noon April 9.
We'll announce the big winner and celebrate at 12:30 p.m.
OK, folks, now the maddening part of Sitcom Madness really comes into play. We're down to the Sweet 16 in our tournament to determine the greatest television sitcom of all-time.
The chalk made it through the second round for the most part, with only No. 6 The Wonder Years pulling off a big upset over No. 3 The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Again, top-seeded The Cosby Show struggled to advance in the Hillman College bracket, needing a buzzer-beater to beat No. 8 Gilligan's Island by 20 votes.
The Voting Schedule
Sweet Sixteen: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. March 27 to noon March 31.
Elite Eight: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. March 31 to noon April 3.
Final Four: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. April 3 to noon April 7.
Championship: Poll open from 12:15 p.m. April 7 to noon April 9.
We'll announce the big winner and celebrate at 12:30 p.m.
The Voting Booth
With only 16 shows left and eight "games" total to be played in the regional semifinals, we made it easier for you to vote and put all the battles into one poll. So start voting now in the Sweet 16 round of Sitcom Madness!
Oh those pesky 12 seeds!
Three 12 seeds advanced to the second round of Sitcom Madness, a stunning development. Usually one or two make it through, but not three. This speaks to the volume of love we have for our television shows, or a poor job of seeding by the selection committee, but we prefer the former.
See the updated bracket below with final first-round vote tallies. The Cosby Show was the only top seed not to reach four digits. And the Art Vandelay bracket is all whacked out. Crazy stuff.
The polls are open for the second round so get to voting.
The Voting Schedule
Second round: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. March 24 to noon March 27.
Sweet Sixteen: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. March 27 to noon March 31.
Elite Eight: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. March 31 to noon April 3.
Final Four: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. April 3 to noon April 7.
Championship: Poll open from 12:15 p.m. April 7 to noon April 9.
We'll announce the big winner and celebrate at 12:30 p.m.
The Voting Booth
• Vote: The Art Vandelay Bracket
• Vote: The Hillman College Bracket
• Vote: The 4077th Bracket
• Vote: The Fun Bobby Bracket
Pet Rock, like the rest of you, grew up watching television and continues to do so in our slightly later years.
So when Big Bank Hank suggested we do a 64-show tournament to determine television's best sitcom, the only question was "How the heck do we narrow down the field?"
Well, the bubble burst on about 25 shows, but such is life. This is Sitcom Madness, where there's no mercy for the marginally funny shows. Bring the funny or get off the air.
We know we've angered some folks with our field of 64, but again, such is life when you attempt these massive tournaments. Unlike the real March Madness, there's no consolation NIT tournament for TV shows. We call that "Canceled because of low ratings." The field of 64 considered all 30-minute sitcoms from across all eras. We go all the way back to "The Honeymooners" and stay current with "How I Met Your Mother."
You may be partial to the shows you grew up watching, which is fine with us. But the beauty of Sitcom Madness is that people of all ages grew up watching TV shows, including people right now who see "30 Rock" and "Entourage" as the best television can offer. Embrace all walks of life, we say here at Pet Rock.
Here's how Sitcom Madness works: We've got 64 shows and one giant bracket, just like the NCAA March Madness tournament. In each round of Sitcom Madness, you'll have a few days to vote as many times as you like for your favorite show. Pretty basic stuff. The real excitement here is seeing which shows advance. There are some extremely tough battles in the first round.
The four brackets are named after random characters, concepts and/or recurring themes from the bracket's No. 1 seed. Here's the breakdown:
Seinfeld is the No. 1 seed in the Art Vandelay bracket.
The Cosby Show is the No. 1 seed in the Hillman College bracket.
M*A*S*H* is the No. 1 seed in the 4077th bracket
Friends is the No. 1 seed in the Fun Bobby bracket.
The Voting Schedule
First round: Polls close at noon Monday, March 24.
Second round: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. March 24 to noon March 27.
Sweet Sixteen: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. March 27 to noon March 31.
Elite Eight: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. March 31 to noon April 3.
Final Four: Polls open from 12:15 p.m. April 3 to noon April 7.
Championship: Poll open from 12:15 p.m. April 7 to noon April 9.
We'll announce the big winner and celebrate at 12:30 p.m.
The Voting Booth
• Vote: The Art Vandelay Bracket
• Vote: The Hillman College Bracket
• Vote: The 4077th Bracket
• Vote: The Fun Bobby Bracket
