Favourite US TV Comedy Series

Razor sharp scripts, perfect characters, perfect casting and eminently watchable. Few comedies will ever better it for consistency and treating its audience as intelligent people.

That said the appearances of the supposedly English Clive (with an accent that even a Mary Poppins-era Dick Van Dyke would recoil at) and Simon (a Mancunian with a cockney accent) never fails to make my toes curl.

If it wasn't for Cheers then there'd be no Frasier and thankfully the 'parent' show was just as funny. Some would argue more so but arguing about which was best seems pointless.

It's hard to describe Arrested Development without using the words dysfunctional and family in the same sentence so I'm not going to bother. Utterly bizarre and has enough characters in it for you to find someone to root for.

Its cancellation after three series probably cemented its place in comedy heaven: gone before the inevitable decline began.

Few comedies stand up to repeat viewing but this is one of them, if only for the incidental blink and you miss them details in the background.

Be warned though, the final scene of the episode 'Jurassic Bark' will have you crying your eyes out* and there are few programmes that can do that - let alone an animated comedy about the future.

* I didn't cry, obviously. I'm made of stern stuff.

Of course its appearance in this list is based on those early years when it was funny and unmissable.

People say it's a copy of The Simpsons and this is true in one respect: its appearance in this list is based on those early years when it was funny and unmissable.

Would it be as watchable without Tina Fey? I've no idea and I really don't want to find out.

I know! Its Canadian and not American but it hardly seems worth setting up a favourite Canadian Comedy Series list for just one item.

Little seen in the UK as it was on FX but deserves a wider audience.

It's hard not to resort to cliché in describing this series but 'off beat' sums it up perfectly and sadly, like a lot of good shows, cancelled long before its time.

It was funny when I was a lot younger and stayed up to late to watch it and it's still funny now. Plus with the added bonus of being able to stop up even later and watch it on DVD.