Much better now. There isn't a clear 'anchor' show this time around, before you could tell which show (Cosby, Seinfeld, Friends, etc.) was the heavyweight for the night. All 4 of the comedies (okay, 3), do well individually. 30 Rock will get there.

put it this way. i'm asking off work for thursdays to watch NBC.

pathetic maybe. but who cares!

Personally I'd say the old lineup just for the fact I think the water cooler shows now on Thursdays are on ABC. I hear about Grey's and Ugly Betty the next day even though I don't watch them. Seinfeld was on when I was in high school and that was talked about all day Friday. I don't hear much about today's NBC shows.

I have to say the new lineup is much stronger, overall. None as great as Seinfeld, but all high qual comedies. I do not watch ER.

The Office and Scrubs are the best comedies (other than How I Met Your Mother) on TV right now. I don't care for My Name is Earl, although Jason Lee is awesome and it is still better than most comedies. 30 Rock is getting better but still has a long way to go. None are better than Friends and Seinfeld, but collectively they are the best lineup in years (although the Office is starting to get to Friends/Seinfeld status).

Initial seasons of Friends were pretty good, but I think the show was bad to mediocre after the 5th/6th season.

This lineup is definitely better. The Office and Scrubs are brilliant, Earl is good, and 30 Rock is getting better (the last episode was hilarious).

I pick the actual one. Is much better. All these shows are must see while back in the days only two of them were.

The Single Guy and "Susan" were mediocre at their best.

There is not a weak link in the new lineup.

There is also not a timeless show like Seinfeld. The Office is great. Scrubs is great (and under appreciated).

Will the Office be a Seinfeld? I don't know.

I see Seinfeld reruns sometimes, and they still hold up. Friends is not aging as well.

The surprise is "30 Rock". I have not liked SNL recently so I figured it would suck. It is pretty good an getting better.

The current schedule has an aging ER on it; the 1996 schedule had two big clunkers in The Single Guy and Suddeny Susan. Ultimately it comes down to Friends and Seinfeld against the current crop of comedies.

How are we supposed to interpret the 1996 vs. 2006 debate - do we look at the 1996 shows as they were then or do we take into account the totality of their bodies of work?

Looking purely at the shows as they stood in 1996, I'd make the argument for the 2006 schedule.

The current "Must See" lineup of EARL, OFFICE, SCRUBS and ROCK is a much better lineup than any of the previous years because I actually enjoy every one of the shows.
Of the 10 years ago lineup the only show I liked was Seinfeld.