There's little I like more than a top, feature-length comedy, but to be honest, if it's non-stop laughs I'm after, you can't beat the fast pace and gags-per-minute ratio of a classic sitcom. And there are plenty to choose from, even more so in recent years. Whenever someone tells me they have trouble finding the time to watch a movie, besides imploring them to make the time (sleep less, neglect work and avoid time-consuming social situations), I suggest sitcoms. Because if you're honestly too busy to spend a half an hour in front of the box, you seriously need to re-think your priorities. That's why this week I'm recommending my top twenty live action TV sitcoms, all of which are available to rent from Blockbuster Online.

Chances are you've heard of all these shows already, so I'm not going to bang on about plots and characters, or how incredibly funny they all are. That's a given. But if you have so far managed to miss any of them, I'm jealous. I wish I could watch them all again, for the first time. As for what else I won't be doing, don't expect phrases like "wickedly funny" or "endlessly inventive" to pop up, because I'd only have to use them twenty times, or find twenty different ways of saying the exact same thing. Either way, it's a repetitive horror I won't subject you to. Ultimately, for the purposes of this week's View, all I really want to do is nudge you in the direction of several hundred hilarious hours of classic television, easily broken down into easily digestible, 22 to 30 minute 'chunklets'. Rather than simply list the titles though, I've added a representative quote from each show. Let the sitcoms speak for themselves. All you have to do is listen, then add them to your list, and when they arrive through your door, fill the cracks in your day with sitcom-induced hysterics.

Arrested Development (2003-Present)
"I'm tired of trying to find happiness through lies and self-medicating. If you need me, I'll be at the bar."

Peep Show (2003-Present)
"Do women wear socks? Well, 'yes, sometimes,' is the answer to that one."

The Office (2001-2003)
"Avoid employing unlucky people - throw half of the pile of CVs in the bin without reading them."

Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-Present)
"I don't like talking to people I know, but strangers I have no problem with."

Black Books (2000-2004)
"I'm a quitter. I come from a long line of quitters. It's amazing I'm here at all."

Spaced (1999-2001)
"You can't dangle the bogus carrot of possible reconciliation in front of my face whilst riding some other donkey."

The League of Gentlemen (1999-2002)
"How much to leave the shop and never come back? Seventy? Eighty? All right, a pound."

Big Train (1998-2002)
"To put it in simple terms, the ratio of chefs to the amount of food being prepared is proving detrimental to the broth."

I'm Alan Partridge (1997-2002)
"Smell my cheese, you mother!"

Father Ted (1995-1998)
"Well, Ted, as I said last time, it won't happen again."

Friends (1994-2004)
"If you want to receive e-mails about my upcoming shows, then please give me money so I can buy a computer."

Frasier (1993-2004)
"I'm a resident alien here from England - you know, the country that used to own you people."

The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998)
"You'll have to forgive Hank. His heart's in the right place but he keeps his brain in a box at home."

Drop the Dead Donkey (1990-1998)
"We do rather appear to have an ongoing underwear entanglement situation."

Seinfeld (1989-1998)
"Do you ever get down on your knees and thank God you know me and have access to my dementia?"

Blackadder (1983-1989)
"If you want something done properly, kill Baldrick before you start."

Cheers (1982-1993)
"Hey Sam, speaking of bars burning down, guess what I did?"

Fawlty Towers (1975-1979)
"It's all right. He's only choking."

Porridge (1973-1977)
"I don't quite know how to put this, gentlemen, but there is a thief among us."

Steptoe and Son (1962-1974)
"You are morally, spiritually and physically a festering fly-blown heap of accumulated filth."

See you next week!

Marshall

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