Picking the greatest scene in sitcom history is just impossible.
Humor has a subjectivity to it that we can never overcome. For example, some people actually think “There’s Something About Mary” is a funny movie. But there is also a more structural problem. Two of the scenes I think are among the very funniest are so funny because of the context provided by the rest of the episode. Absent that context, they just aren’t as funny. One of the things that makes the “yellow light” bit from Taxi so classic is that you do NOT need ANY context to think that scene is hilarious. It’s just great writing and performances. Yeah, it’s a little funnier if know the Reverend Jim character, but you absolutely do not have to.
So my single favorite sitcom scene suffers from this problem, and that’s the end of the “Marine Biologist” episode of Seinfeld. The fugue-like structure of Seinfeld episodes was so brilliantly resolved in that scene, and to really get what’s happening you need to know about Kramer hitting golf balls into the ocean prior to George trying to save the whale. I also love that the scene has three punchlines: the visual of the golf ball, “a Titleist?” and “heh, a hole in one.” And if you know the story behind the scene it’s even better. The episode was supposed to end with George walking off into the waves. The audience reaction on taping day was tepid. The creative team reassembled and quickly wrote that monologue and handed it to Jason Alexander, who had the ability to quickly memorize lines. The other cast members saw it for the first time moments before playing the scene. Even re-watching it now, I was laughing pretty hard.
Another contender for funniest sitcom scene that needs a bit of context is the funeral of Chuckles the Clown from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The whole episode was jokes about his death like the one Murray makes at the beginning of this clip. Mary, of course, is the prim spoilsport, as she is in reaction to Murray here. That little exchange helps with some context, but the scene is probably funnier if you’ve seen the whole episode. And, I think, if you know the Mary Richards character a bit. But even so, it deserves consideration.
I’d also nominate two involving Bob Newhart. First, the “Moo Goo Gai Pan” scene from the original “Bob Newhart Show.” Drunk middle aged men are a classic sitcom trope. No context needed there. Throw in Newhart and a telephone and it’s gold.
And the other, of course, is the end of his second series “Newhart.” This, I think, is the most brilliant finale in TV history, where it turns out the whole series was a dream of his Dr. Bob Hartley character from the first series. It played with sitcom conventions and trusted its viewers. I watched it when it aired, and when he turned on that light in that familiar yet out of place bedroom, and we see Suzanne Pleshette and hear that unmistakable voice… I about peed my pants. It is funnier if you know both shows, and if you do, it was completely hilarious.
Finally, what I think is one of the best performed scenes in sitcom history and it contains no lines. It’s an opener from Frasier where Niles lights the apartment on fire. David Hyde Pierce’s physical comedy here is off the charts. Yeah it helps a bit if you know the Niles character, but in combination with the score, there’s something timeless and Chaplin-esque about this scene. Bonus points for an excellent animal performance too. I miss Eddie. And John Mahoney.