What is the Funniest Sitcom?

The situation comedy genre has been a staple of American television viewing nearly as long as televisions themselves have been in existence. Although many like to think that television has come a very long way since its first waves of popularity, the truth is that some things really haven't changed. The longevity of the sitcom as a genre speaks volumes about its adaptability and appeal. While these characteristics are interesting from a historical perspective, the question we're all asking is: Which one should I watch?

Well, although we here at wiseGEEK can't know your personal preferences, and many of the lesser-known sitcoms are no longer available in reruns, we decided we'd do some research and develop a strategy for answering this very important question.

wiseGEEK chose 18 sitcoms for our analysis, based on a combination of two factors: Availability in reruns and popularity of series in its first run. You may notice that some of the shows we looked at are not from a particularly popular series, but what they lack in popularity, they make up for in rerun availability.

Our data collection process was simple: Each sitcom was analyzed for the number of laughs over the 30-minute time slot, as well as the Laugh Intensity for each occurrence. Laugh Intensity (LI) ratings are based on a 4-point scale; snickers, giggles, or chuckles ranking a 1, and knee-slapping, tear-wiping, wake-up-your-roommate guffaws ranking a 4.

TLV: Total Laugh Volume

These scores are the sum of the collected data. We simply added up the Laugh Intensity scores for all recorded laughter to determine which shows had the most (and least) amount of laughter, and call that the Total Laugh Volume (TLV).

LPM: Laughs per Minute

Each show's Laugh per Minute (LpM) score was determined by taking the TLV and dividing it by the total number of minutes of show time. We carefully subtracted time wasted on credits and commercials in order to avoid punishing sitcoms rerunning on networks that show too many commercials.

LII: Laugh Intensity Index

The Laugh Intensity Index (LII) takes the TLV score, and divides it by the number of laughs recorded for the show. In this way, we can determine which shows have a higher Laugh Intensity per laugh than other shows. Where some shows rate high on the previous two measures, repeated chuckles will not help you in this analysis. For the shows topping the Laugh Intensity Index, if you're laughing, it's probably more than just responding to the peer pressure of the laugh track.

Laugh More, Laugh Harder

The chart above is designed to compare the Total Laugh Volume and the Laugh Intensity Index for each show. We created this comparison by assigning the top performer in each category the same bar size; shows with longer blue bars have more laugher, while shows with longer yellow bars have more intense laughter. We won't judge you for which you prefer, we just want you to be able to make an informed decision.