'80s Region

Ah, the '80s. So many great sitcoms. The last post was the Classic Region, but these are the ones that are classics to me, the ones I grew up on. As before, winning shows are in bold.

1ST ROUND

1) Cheers vs. 32) The Charmings
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Snow White lived in a modern, suburban setting? Neither have I. But amazingly, someone did.

16) Night Court vs. 17) Punky Brewster
I'm slightly ashamed to admit I had a crush on Markie Post back in the day. I'm not at all ashamed to admit I have a crush on Soleil Moon Frye now.

9) Growing Pains vs. 24) The Facts of Life
DiCaprio and Pitt oust Clooney in this battle of future Hollywood leading men. Poor Tootie.

8) Family Ties vs. 25) Empty Nest
No your eyes aren't deceiving you. The star of Empty Nest is the one and only Barnaby Barnacle from Babes In Toyland. But it's not enough to knock off Alex P. Keaton.

5) Moonlighting vs. 28) Bosom Buddies
Tom Hanks is like the high school phenom who leaves college after one year for the NBA, while Peter Scolari wonders what might have been.

12) Doogie Howser, M.D. vs. 21) Charles In Charge
I got season 1 of Charles on DVD for Christmas, and I'm surprised I haven't devoted an entire blog post to it yet. I probably will some day. Doogie goes down faster here than Neil Patrick Harris on Splash Mountain, as depicted on my parents' fridge. Seriously. But the theme song was surprisingly epic.

13) ALF vs. 20) Perfect Strangers
I also got the first two seasons of Perfect Strangers for Christmas. When it comes to illegal aliens, I'll take Cousin Balki over Alf.

4) Married With Children vs. 29) Square Pegs
Sarah Jessica Parker was a square peg, and Katey Sagal was a whiny Peg. Pretty much a toss up, so I'll go with the one I've seen more of.

3) The Dukes of Hazzard vs. 30) Police Squad!
John Stamos will always be the "other" Uncle Jesse to me.

14) Webster vs. 19) Designing Women
I wanted to live in Webster's house when I was a kid. That dumbwaiter was the coolest thing ever.

11) Who's the Boss? vs. 22) Head of the Class
As if there weren't enough good reasons to be a baseball player, there's always the chance you could date Alyssa Milano. But if you're more nerd than athlete, you may still get to sit next to Simone or Robin Givens in class. I'm more nerd than athlete.

6) WKRP in Cincinnati vs. 27) Coach
But I do like sports, so it's a shame that Coach is about as good as it gets for sports-themed sitcoms.

7) Diff'rent Strokes vs. 26) Mr. Belvedere
I was a big Belvedere fan, but not as big as these guys, so his show loses in the first round.

10) The Wonder Years vs. 23) Silver Spoons
Ok, Ricky Schroder's house might have been even cooler than Webster's. But Fred Savage had the better show.

15) Golden Girls vs. 18) Mork & Mindy
I will not respond to the rumor that I own a tape from a college TV production class in which I played the Bea Arthur role in a "Golden Boys" episode.

2) The Cosby Show vs. 31) Small Wonder
Billy Corgan must be so glad his involvement with Small Wonder is just an urban legend. Yikes.

2ND ROUND

1) Cheers vs. 17) Punky Brewster
As great as Punky was, I don't know if she has any clips that can top this one. Or this one.

8) Family Ties vs. 9) Growing Pains
Super-sub Tom Hanks helps Family Ties pull out the victory in one of those classic "you-hate-to-see-anyone-lose-this-one" contests.

5) Moonlighting vs. 21) Charles In Charge
In looking for a clip, I've discovered that Moonlighting seems to be one of the dramedies I tried to leave out of this bracket. Oh well, I'm not changing it now.

4) Married With Children vs. 20) Perfect Strangers
Is Al Bundy better than this '80s Odd Couple? Don't be ridiculous!

3) The Dukes of Hazzard vs. 14) Webster
When in doubt, go with the show that you had pajamas of when you were a kid.

6) WKRP in Cincinnati vs. 22) Head of the Class
In the Battle of Howard Hesseman, I give the nod to the show that first exposed me to Little Shop of Horrors, which is still my favorite musical.

7) Diff'rent Strokes vs. 10) Wonder Years
Since Arnold can't hear the inner monologue, he would never say "Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Kevin?" And without the charm of that catch phrase, Diff'rent Strokes doesn't stand a chance.

2) The Cosby Show vs. 15) Golden Girls
The Cosby kids seemed to have a lot of grandfathers. Maybe they could hook up with the Golden Girls. That might be some consolation back in St. Olaf.

3RD ROUND

1) Cheers vs. 8) Family Ties
Many consider Cheers the best sitcom of all-time, so to them it may be blasphemous that I have it bowing out so early in the tournament, and perhaps equally blasphemous that I prefer Rebecca to Diane. It was an adult-oriented sitcom, and I was a kid when it was on, and that's probably the main reason I don't rate it as high as others.

20) Perfect Strangers vs. 21) Charles In Charge
After watching my Christmas DVDs, it's clear that Charles and not Balki would be doing the dance of joy after these two square off.

3) Dukes of Hazzard vs. 22) Head of the Class
A remake with Jessica Simpson is less egregious than Billy Connolly taking over as the teacher.

2) The Cosby Show vs. 10) The Wonder Years
Cliff and Claire Huxtable never seem to work much, so they should be well-rested as this long tourney drags on.

REGIONAL SEMIFINAL

8) Family Ties vs. 21) Charles In Charge
I told you...stay tuned for a super-long post at some point about how great Charles In Charge is.

2) The Cosby Show vs. 3) The Dukes of Hazzard
Everything Adam Sandler touches turns to gold.

REGIONAL FINAL

21) Charles In Charge vs. 2) The Cosby Show
I only own season 1 of Charles. If they had kept the original family in later seasons, and never let Chaz Lamborghini see the light of day (not once but twice!), it may have been the greatest sitcom ever. Now the door is open for the pudding pop man.

NIT Bound: Benson, Kate & Allie, Mama's Family, Major Dad, The Hogan Family, Amen, and a show that would have probably made the final four if my old roommate Will was doing this bracket--Misfits of Science.