Saturday, August 30, 2014

What Are Your Favorite TV Shows of All Time?

Let's switch it up this week.

We talk about movies every day on this site pretty much exclusively. But summer is over and the best thing to come out this weekend is a movie that's 30 years old. So in honor of #EverySimpsonsEver and the start of the new fall season, let's talk TV this week. We don't get to do that much.

What are some of your all-time favorites? Are there shows you go back and revisit beginning to end on DVD? Anything you want to turn the rest of us on to? Let us know.

77 comments:

  1. Thinking about it, I would say my top 5 are

    Breaking Bad
    That '70s Show
    Full House
    Boy Meets World
    and yes, Saved By the Bell

    All five of those shows I would gladly go back and rewatch/marathon any day of the week, and many of them hold a special place in my heart from my childhood.

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  2. I gotta run but In chronological order:

    All in the Family
    Simpsons
    Sopranos
    Deadwood
    Breaking Bad

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  3. Northern Exposure
    Homicide: Life on the Street
    Magnum P.I
    Star Trek (The Original Series)

    At one time I would have also included The X-Files and Millennium, but upon revisiting them recently they seemed to have aged, or I have. Something just was not holding up.

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    1. Replace Homicide (I haven't seen it) with Mad Men or The Sopranos, and that's my list.

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    2. Homicide is so slept on. One of favs as well.

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  4. In no particular order:

    Twin Peaks
    Sports Night
    The Twilight Zone
    Star Trek
    Homicide: Life on the Street
    The Incredible Hulk (obvs, for those who follow me on twitter)

    I've watched all of those multiple times from beginning to end and they never lose that spark of greatness for me. Twilight Zone aside, it's the characters that keep me coming back to all those shows. Also, no matter how long it's been since I've watched them, each of those shows has a distinct rhythm that it's easy to fall right back into.

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    1. Sports Night is fantastic, and deserved a much longer run. Sadly, so many good shows end far too quickly.

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    2. Totally on board for "Sports Night" (best TV show work Aaron Sorkin's ever done, with a cast of actors to match the delivery of his material) and "The Incredible Hulk," maybe the best and longest-running network TV show with the smallest cast of regular actors (Bixby, Colvin and Ferrigno, two of which were essentially playing the same character).

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  5. The Twilight Zone
    The Simpsons
    Batman: The Animated Series
    The Office (BBC)
    MST3K

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    1. Don't see you too often around this parts, McVey, fellow DVD Verdict and Jury Room 4.0 contributor. Nice to see "MST3K" fans represent. :-)

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  6. Black Books, mostly because I have a sneaking ambition to run a bookstore and gripe customers who dare to actually want to buy a book.

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  7. The Andy Griffith Show
    Magnum P.I.
    The Twilight Zone
    The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr.
    Tales From the Crypt
    MST3K
    Spaced
    Lost
    Breaking Bad
    How I Met Your Mother-Though I'll admit that it didn't just not stick the landing, it fell flat on its face.
    The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
    Game of Thrones-Though I'm always a season behind.
    Batman:TAS

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    1. Ooooooh, I forgot about Tales From the Crypt. That show had some truly great stuff. Good call.

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    2. "The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr." -That was a great show, though I have not seen it in ages.

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  8. I would say,
    The Wire
    Spaced
    The Newsroom
    The first 5 seasons of The Office
    (Currently) The Americans and Justified

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  9. Boring answer but The Simpsons. TV is taking over. Fargo and True Detective are better than any movies I have seen this year.

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  10. Breaking Bad and Seinfeld are hard to beat. Sometime in the last 15 years, I would've expected myself to grow out of Seinfeld, I haven't, I still watch it almost every night. I'd also like to give a shout out to It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and the first 3 seasons of Arrested Development.

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  11. MST3K
    The Monkees
    Sherlock
    Doctor Who
    The Twilight Zone
    Rocky and Bullwinkle
    The Prisoner (the original)
    Perry Mason
    Homicide: Life on the Streets
    The Outer Limits
    Monty Python's Flying Circus
    Fawlty Towers
    The Munsters
    Star Trek (TOS)
    Max Headroom: Twenty Minutes Into the Future
    Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future
    MXC (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge)

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    1. Sweet Captain Power shout out. I remember wanting the thing where I could shoot at the TV.

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    2. All right, Kathy representing "MST3K," a show that isn't looked upon kindly by the F This Movie regulars (per their comments on the podcasts over the years). Me? I love them both.

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    3. I'm really the only one who has said I'm not that into MST3K. I've tried and will continue to try. Many of the regulars love it.

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    4. Maybe it's the episodes you've tried. Some are difficult for first timers.

      In your case, I wonder if the one with "The Incredible Melting Man" wouldn't be best for you. Besides being a good ol' monster movie the skits are parodying what they went through making "MST3K: The Movie". It's not on DVD yet but it is on YouTube.

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  12. Angel, Battlestar Galactica (2003-09), Boston Legal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Columbo, House of Cards (U.S. version), Luther, Mad Men, Sherlock, The Shield, The Sopranos, Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Twilight Zone (1959-64), The West Wing

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    1. Great picks! I wish we knew who you were.

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    2. Though I seek no revenge, I at last reveal myself. And thanks for the compliment. You guys do a great job with the website, and I always enjoy the podcasts. I'll also add to my other picks, Hannibal and Prime Suspect (British version).

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    3. Nice! We're thrilled to have you and your excellent taste in television.

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  13. Past: The Simpsons, The Wire, Breaking Bad, The X-Files, Lost, Batman TAS, The Sopranos, Oz, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Luther, The Practice, King of the Hill, Twin Peeks, Rome, Seinfeld, Band of Brothers, The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt, and I suppose Dexter, but really only the first four seasons (then we all know what happened).

    Present: True Detective, Game of Thrones, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, American Horror Story, South Park, 24, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm (hopefully it comes back), and Duck Dynasty (just kidding).

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  14. In rough chronological order

    The Twilight Zone
    Doctor Who
    Mystery Science Theater 3000
    Batman: The Animated Series
    South Park
    Spaced
    Futurama
    Firefly
    Malcolm in the Middle
    Kino's Journey
    Baccano!
    Breaking Bad
    My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
    Puella Magi Madoka Magica

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  15. Top 5 off the top of my head:

    Twin Peaks
    Moonlighting
    Magnum PI
    Three's Company
    Cheers

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    1. Oh, and definitely The Prisoner, Alf, Growing Pains, The Jeffersons, Silver Spoons, Ugh...F- it - too many to name.

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  16. Star Trek (TOS, Next Gen, DS9)
    Homicide: Life on the Street
    Miami Vice
    Barney Miller
    Seinfeld

    And from the Land o' Britain:
    Spaced
    Fawlty Towers
    Wire in the Blood
    Cracker
    Yes, Minister

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  17. If there is anything I have learned from this thread, it's that I apparently missed something special in Homicide: Life on the Street that I need to seek out.

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    1. I would say that Homicide: LOTS is the best cop show that was ever on. The Shield and The Wire can be debated against that though and I wouldn't necessarily disagree. Those three are untouchable.

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    2. I never got around to watching The Wire either, and I've heard SO many positive things over the years about that show.

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    3. I barreled through the first 3 seasons of Homicide (stellar stuff, particularly for network TV) and eventually made it to the season 5 episode with Kellerman's brothers and the Babe Ruth uniform. I've heard there's some good stuff to come, but that episode ("Wu's on First") was just so terrible that I haven't gone back to the series in over 2 years.

      On the plus side, Kellerman's (Reed Diamond) brothers are Eric Stoltz and Tate Donovan. Memphis Belle reunion!

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    4. Not sure how you made it to season 5, saw a bad episode and then bailed on the show? Yes, the later seasons aren't as strong as the earlier ones, but really, what show can say that?

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    5. Yeah, you're right. Bailing after one bad episode (even if it's the worst of the series so far) makes me seem like kind of an a-hole, doesn't it?

      I think the truth is that "Wu's on First" just ended up being the last episode I watched before other stuff got in the way. It seemed like a natural break point which has unfortunately stretched to 2 years. I do plan to go back though, just as soon as I finish Fargo and Hannibal...

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    6. Right on. Was definitely not calling you an a-hole! haha. Sometimes the written word reads harsher than if it was spoken.

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    7. No worries! You're right that it doesn't really make sense for me to drop a show after 4.5 seasons just because of one bad episode. It's just a convenient coincidence.

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  18. I think every one of mine has been named at this point: The Simpsons, Spaced, Star Trek, Star Trek: TNG, Moonlighting, Cheers, The Wire, Buffy...I'm sure there are more. I'm thinking Twin Peaks will end up on the list, but I'm working my way through it now (most of it for the third or fourth time, but I've never gotten all the way to the end...not because I don't like it).

    The Sopranos should probably be on there. Mad Men too.

    While it's not as objectively "good" as my other picks, I love Stargate Atlantis a lot and should include it.

    I'm working my way through DS9 now, so it's too early to include it. But it's really great and will most likely earn a spot too.

    I'm sure I'm forgetting some. Sorry.

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  19. Gonna have to go for

    Fawlty towers
    Boys from the blackstuff
    Trailer park boys

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    1. Trailer Park Boys?! You're my new best friend - it's practically filmed in my backyard! Have seen most of the actors around town and even spent some time chatting with Mr. Lahey. It's on Netflix - I wish more people would give it a shot! Should've been on my list too - you're even awesomer than I thought!

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    2. Cheers Sol. Thats a cool coincidence. Your lucky to chat with Mr Lahey. Hes a star. Him and Bubbles make the show for me. I did get to see them live in Manchester UK when they was on tour and got on the front row which was amazing.
      I was surprised it had not been mentioned yet. I F-ing love that show. I still cant get the "Kitties are so nice" song outta my head. Green basturd forever

      If anyone has not heard and is interested watch " mr lahey best drunk parts " on youtube. He is the best drunk you will ever see.

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  20. There are a lot of shows I love, and a lot of quality shows out there. For example, I really like probably 80% of HBO dramas, and Mad Men and Breaking Bad are among my favorite TV shows of all time.

    That said, there are very few that I've actually had the time and devotion to revisit multiple times on DVD. They are:

    The X-Files
    24
    Arrested Development
    Freaks and Geeks
    The Office (UK)

    I know I'll revisit The Wire, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, Boardwalk Empire, Justified, Mad Men and Breaking Bad down the line, but I've watched the 5 above over and over.

    Anything to turn you all on to? Upright Citizens Brigade. I may have watched the first season of that show more than any other TV DVD in my collection.

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    1. I love what I've seen of UCB, and I'm taking a trip to New York City in the next couple weeks to see a live show at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater! I'm looking forward to it!

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    2. X-Files is one of those shows I desperately want to watch all of, so I keep watching Season One and then I never keep up with it so that two years later when I want to do it again I have to start back from the beginning. I've Season One three or four times. Dammit.

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    3. The best seasons are 3-4. There are some good episodes in the latter seasons as well, but almost every episode in those earlier seasons are pretty great. As a noted horror fan, you really need to check episodes like Home, Paper Hearts, Irresistible, Pusher, Grotesque, Unruhe, Folie a Deux, and The Host. Although I suppose many of those tend to gear towards psychological horror.

      I actually have started to enjoy the Robert Patrick seasons too, as his character does make for a nice change of pace, and works well in tandem with Scully.

      I watched much of the better singular episodes recently and I have to disagree with the notion that the series doesn't hold up. Now granted that may be more of a possibility for the mythology episodes, since they didn't really tie up every storyline well. I was hoping a third movie would do that, but it's unlikely that'll ever see the light of day (I should really check out the comics).

      Oh and don't much weight into how mediocre I Want to Believe was. That movie was just a half-assed monster-of-the-week two hour episode; it would be near the bottom of the "worst of" episode list. I don't know what the heck Chris Carter was thinking, as that was essentially the dagger in getting any future properties green-lit (Xzibit in a starring role... ugh what a travesty).

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    4. Quote from Patrick. "X-Files is one of those shows I desperately want to watch all of, so I keep watching Season One and then I never keep up with it so that two years later when I want to do it again I have to start back from the beginning. I've Season One three or four times. Dammit."

      PBS in full effect. The Patrick Bromley Syndrome. Brilliant. Made me laugh

      Ive heard 24 gets really good too but I also have to watch from the beginning. When you follow the yellow brick road you start at the start. I try not to start something if I know I cant finish. And there are just too many films to see to start 24 from the beginning and try to finish. I accept failure here. Also game of thrones. Not enough hours in the day. And scary movie month is coming soon. Nice

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    5. There's a fan-favorite standalone episode from Season 5 of "The X-Files," "Bad Blood," written by "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan. I recently turned someone at work that was on the edge about getting on board "The X-Files" into a fan of the show after watching this episode. I'd strongly urge you to watch it, Patrick (if you haven't already), then use that as the push to get you to the hump of S1 and then latch onto the good episodes in S2-S4 (of which there are dozens) so you can get to the good stuff in S5 and beyond.

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    6. Then of course there's the season six episode "Drive" with Vince Gilligan's first interaction with Bryan Cranston. It's a very good episode as well, and without it does Gilligan even cast him as Walter White? Breaking Bad owes a lot to The X-Files actually, as many of the crew came over with Gilligan.

      In looking back Gilligan wrote many of the better episodes of The X-Files, which lends credence to all the praise he is receiving these days. But then he also wrote Home Fries and Hancock, so maybe that doesn't translate to the big screen? Although Hancock was a solid movie up until the lame twist they force in.

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    7. ^^^ That would make for an interesting podcast on "F This Movie": "Hancock," and from there how heavyweight TV talent (Gandolfini and David Chase for "The Sopranos," Hamm and Matt Weiner for "Mad Men," Gilligan and Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad," David E. Kelly from "L.A. Law" and "The Practice," etc.) fail to translate that talent and potential into a movie that lives up to the reputation of their TV work. There are exceptions (John Travolta, Tom Hanks, Robin Williams and Will Smith exploding into movie super star status after being TV stars) but for the most part these days Emmy-caliber talent fails to deliver critical or financial hits when they move on to do movies. Heck, so many talented movie directors (Michael Lehmann, Keith Gordon, "Savage" Steve Holland, Steven Soderbergh, etc.) have been forced or are choosing to make a living directing TV because there's no room for them in the hit-or-die-on-a-weekend box office mentality of Hollywood these days.

      A podcast about this would make for a fascinating mix of movie and TV talk, which this Weekend Column proves are not mutually exclusive, especially since a lot of the best story-telling and acting being done today is happening at the TV/cable level and not the "Transformers"-infested mainstream cinema level.

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  21. The Big Bang Theory
    South Park
    Batman TAS

    24 (Just ignore or fast forward through the Kim Bauer storyline in Season 2 & everything in Season 6. The Live Another Day miniseries proved there’s still a lot of gas left in the tank. Give me a season 10 Damn it!)

    Friday the 13th The Series: It’s sort of a guilty pleasure of nostalgia, but I first got hooked on it because it would come on right after Star Trek TNG. I couldn’t have been the only kid in the 80’s that had a crush on Louise Robey. Back then, it was considered too violent & gory for TV, but it does have a certain cheesy charm to it.

    Night Court: I liked it a lot as kid & Encore Classics started rerunning them a few months ago & most of the jokes & wacky character stuff still holds up. It has Bull & John Larroquette in his prime, folks.

    Strike Back: Look past the Cinemax mandated gratuitous nudity & sex scenes; this is the best action show on TV right now.

    La Femme Nikita: It would come on after WWF Monday Night Raw in the late 90’s & it was the first action show where I saw the good guys were willing to get their hands dirty. HARDCORE TORTURE! The cast had such great chemistry especially with Roy Dupuis & Peta Wilson. The boss “Operations” was one of the most ruthless anti-heroes this side of Jack Bauer.

    Spiderman TAS: I agree Batman TAS was better, but I’m more of a Spiderman fan & I thought it got Peter Parker/Spiderman perfectly. Christopher Daniel Barnes is the definite voice of Spiderman to me as most fans consider Kevin Conroy to be the definitive Batman voice.

    BTW, I never forgave Saved by the Bell after Kelly broke up with Zack. Never!

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    1. Nice callback to the 90's animated "Spider-Man." I'd kill to have a complete DVD Box Set of the entire series so I could follow all the many multiple-episode story arcs in sequence. If ever an animated cartoon was made for multi-episode binging (like several movies divided over many episodes) this is it.

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    2. I always thought X-Men TAS was superior to Spider-Man. Spider-Man got downright silly toward the end of its run, while X-Men was good all the way through.

      Sure Storm and Jubilee could be downright annoying, but they did a great job with prominent stories like Days of Future Past, The Dark Phoenix Saga, and Phalanx Covenant. The show also had some of my favorite characterizations of Cyclops, Gambit, and Rogue.

      Wolverine and the X-Men was also quite good for the one season it was on the air. A shame it didn't make it to a second season when they teased Age of Apocalypse.

      Now X-Men, Spider-Man, and other Marvel series do pale in comparison to the Bruce Timm DCU, but as a child of the 90s I thought all of it was pretty great. Too bad I can't say the same for modern superhero animated series which is often unbearable to sit through.

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  22. Scrubs is my ultimate comfort food. I know it's probably not a healthy thing to be consuming, but it doesn't ask a lot of me. It just gets me.

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    1. When Scrubs is at its best -- those first few seasons (and the musical episode later on) -- I would absolutely put it on my list. That show was so good at mixing really silly comedy with gut-punch drama and character work. Until it became a shadow of itself. Oh well.

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    2. For some reason, I've tried and failed to re-watch Scrubs. It's one of my favorite comedies and I own every season (yes, even S9), but I rarely get past the first disc of S1 before something intervening. It's just weird.

      I think The Office (US) followed a similar trajectory in quality as seasons 1-5 were all good to great. Fortunately for Scrubs, they managed to more-or-less return to form in S8, whereas, in my opinion, the Office began a slow decline in quality that they never rebounded from.

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  23. The Twilight Zone ( so ahead of its time)
    Lost ( has to be watched at least twice, it's a completely different show when you're not concentrated on the "mysteries")
    Breaking Bad
    Seinfeld
    The Simpsons
    Game of Thrones
    Dexter
    And I'm really enjoying The Leftovers so far

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  24. Oh, I forgot Pushing Daisies! (Like I said, comfort food)

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    1. I loved Pushing Daisies! I am still sad it got cancelled. I love the visual style, characters, writing and the actors. Least we can still re-watch the episodes we do have.

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  25. THE BEST OF THE BEST:

    --The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994-98)
    : the only TV show that I don't need to watch anymore (though I occasionally do) since I've basically memorized the entire series. It's fused to my mind/soul, it's part of my being.

    --Late Night with David Letterman (1982-1993): I've quit watching late night TV (it just doesn't interest me anymore) but as long as YouTube is filled with videos of Letterman's golden-era bits and complete shows I will be happy. Even more than Carson in his heyday, to me Dave's NBC show represents American TV comedy at its absolute, creatively-unleashed best.

    --Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988-1999): A simple concept executed with such brilliant simplicity it inspired a cultural backlash against "old" and "bad" movies by know-nothing yuppies that missed the show's point entirely. Underneath their riffs, jokes and sarcastic comments, Mike/Tom and the bots (aka the Best Brains gang) had genuine affection for the movies they were roasting, giving their wise-ass humor a pathos missing from contemporary savagery-at-the-flick venom (even from Rifftrax and, to a lesser extent, Cinematic Titanic).

    --The Incredible Hulk (1977-1982): By focusing on Banner and the everyday tragedy of his alter ego taking over his life Kenneth Johnson brought pathos into a comic book tale (brought to life by Joe Harnell's hauntingly memorable Lonely Man piano theme) that could be adaptable to then-network TV standards. Though dated and sometimes cheesy, the cast (particularly Bill Bixby and the underrated Jack Colvin's portrayal of Jack McGee) really anchors this show into solid dramatic footing.

    The Sopranos: The gold standard of contemporary hour-long dramas, the one all newcomers seak to match and few (Breaking Bad) come close. Endlessly rewatchable, acted within an inch of perfection (if you ignore the kids) and often funnier that any comedy wishes it could be (a trait it shared with the better X-Files episodes that played it tongue-in-cheek). James Gandolfini passing away with so soon guarantees The Sopranos will be the I Love Lucy or Star Trek of this TV generation: an ever-green immortal.

    GOOD, BUT HAVE LOST A LITTLE LUSTER:

    Heidi: A Girl of the Alps (charming '73 anime adaptation of Johanna Spyri's classic tale), The Law & Order franchise (the best cop-show TV universe ever allowed to grow, strong-enough to support hundreds of hours of easily-rewatchable comfort TV food), Dexter (ending shit the bed, but four of the eight seasons are near-perfection), The X-Files (even when it went off-rails in latter seasons it was still entertaining; S9's "Improbable" is a personal favorite), Sailor Moon (best anime series, with characters/music that are timeless), Sports Night (the best cast ever assembled to deliver Aaron Sorking-penned dialogue) .

    THE REST OF THE BEST:

    Dream On, Spider-Man '67, Weeds, Battlestar Galactica
    (remake), Gatchaman, The Price Is Right, Jimmy Kimmel Live (only late night show left that's heir to classic Letterman-style humor), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Gunslinger Girls, The Larry Sanders Show, Big Brother, Firefly, Candy Candy, Primeval, What's My Line? (John Daly version from '50 to '67), Big Love, Ranma 1/2, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Mazinger Z, The Amazing Race, Match Game '73-'82.

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    1. I love watching What's my Line! Some of those games are really fun to play with a group if you can get a bunch of friends that are up for it!

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  26. As much as I like your choices (Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my favourites as well) I am surprised to see that there isn't much diversity here. If you ever want to branch out I am available for a chat! I think some of you might really Like The IT Crowd, Being Human and Misfists.

    I will say us Brits aren't proud of many things. But we are very proud of our T.V shows. (That and our music I think.) Especially the comedy. So picking only a few is quite hard.

    British Drama/Dramedy: Last Tango in Halifax, Scott & Bailey, Silk, Broadchurch, Foyle's War, At Home with the Braithwaites, Doc Martin, Skins, Downton Abbey, Life on Mars, New Tricks.

    British comedy shows: Absolutely Fabulous, Acorn Antiques, The IT Crowd, French & Saunders, Episodes, Dinnerladies, The Vicar of Dibley, Green Wing, Jam and Jerusalem, Blackadder II, Fawlty Towers, Bad Education, Smack the Pony,

    Father Ted, Twenty Twelve, Mount Pleasant, Allo Allo, Miranda, Not Going Out, Let Them Eat Cake, Gavin and Stacey, Coupling, Grandma's House, The Good Life, Keeping up Appearances, Last of the Summer Wine, Morecambe and Wise, One Foot in the Grave, Shaun the Sheep

    Favourite American TV Shows:
    Orange is the New Black, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Pushing Up Daisies, The Carol Burnett Show, Life Unexpected, Switched at Birth, Charmed, The L Word, Will and Grace, Friends, Cougar Town, Community, 30 Rock, Sex and the City. I used to really like Glee before it jumped the shark. And Firefly is great.

    Massive arse list but I am hoping it will get some of you to check out more British T.V!

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    1. I forgot Creature Comforts, that is great fun!

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    2. I LOVED Life on Mars! I just wish that Ashes to Ashes would get a region 1 DVD release. Unless you wouldn't recommend it.

      I've also watched Fawlty Towers, Gervais' shows, That Mitchell and Webb Look and (most of) Spooks.

      I'm all for broadening my horizons, so I might have to check some of these out, if I can find the time...

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    3. Life of Mars was really good! Glad to hear you have tried and enjoyed a few British T.V Shows! I love Extras and I have just started Peep Show, and really enjoying it. I really want to watch Ashes to Ashes, it has a great cast. The cool thing about British T.V shows is that it is a much smaller time commitment than American T.V. Broadchurch only has 8 episodes so far for instance. The IT crowd only has 25. A lot of the ones I listed are really easy to sit through and even ones you probably will want to go back to and re-watch. I can't tell you how many times I have re-watched episodes of Ab Fab and a few of the others!

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  27. The Wire
    The West Wing
    Spaced
    Community
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    Battlestar Galactica
    Sherlock
    Parks and Recreation
    Firefly

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  28. My favorite show of all time has to be Smallville. It's not objectively as "good" as some others on my or any other lists; but I loved it through each of its ten seasons and have been a Superman fan my entire life. I really miss it now that it's gone.

    Others favorites are:
    Breaking Bad (probably the "best" show I've ever seen)
    Batman: The Animated Series
    Rome
    LOST
    Mystery Science Theater 3000
    Star Trek (TNG, DS9)
    Fargo
    Arrested Development
    Deadwood
    Firefly
    Fringe
    Orange is the New Black
    Hannibal

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  29. Just from the amount of comments and something I have been thinking about recently. This thread goes to show how much tv shows have come on in the last ten years. My only quibble. To steal a word JB would use is there are far too many great tv shows trying to take me away from my true love. Movies
    Movies come first. Once I retire in about 20 yrs I'll catch up with all of 24. Game of thrones. Deadwood. Walking dead. Yes I know but its zombies. Maybe even this Extant thing too

    But for now its Movies.

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    1. I understand that. I feel that it is about balance and how you balance is up to you. But I feel that even if you make room for a few shows a year it is worth it. Otherwise you might miss out on things like the public conversation, great characters as well as crew and cast who will go on to be in films. It is so fun getting behind some people's careers from TV and see them go on to do films. True there aren't enough hours of the day. It is always a frustration. It is worth even three or four shows a year I feel. (Really liking your comments Dennis great having you!)

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    2. Thank you Gabby for you lovely compliment.
      I did manage to watch all of Luther and Sherlock this year which I have not yet mentioned. These were both really great. I suppose my real problem is the PBS thing and some of the shows like Deadwood and 24 have been around for ages. So to start from the beggining is a big commitment.
      Dexter. Dammit. Forgot about that one. I really enjoyed Dexter. Best seasons were the John lithgow season and the Season with Giancarlo Esposito. Aka Pollos. The Chicken man. He was f ing great.
      True fact. Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter were married at one point. Dexter married his sister. Thats just wrong ;)

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  30. The West Wing, Sports Night, Buffy, Galactica (the new one), Star Trek: DS9 & TNG, Twin Peaks, Boston Legal, Jeeves & Wooster, Monty Python's Flying Circus and QI.

    Guilty pleasures include Eureka and Warehouse 13.

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  31. Speaking of Breaking bad which im sure most agree is amazing.
    Did you know originally In 2008, Mathew Broderick was offered the role of Walter White in Breaking Bad. Matthew turned down the role for an unknown reason. I cant even imagine Broderick in this role. John Cusack also turned down the part.
    Well done Malcom in the middle. You did good

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  32. I can't believe no one has mentioned All In The Family yet. I went back and watched some episodes last week and 2 things came to mind- 1) The writing and acting is off the charts great. 2) There's no way it could be on TV in today's world.

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  33. The Wire
    The Simpsons
    Avatar: The Last Airbender
    Freaks and Geeks
    Firefly

    Mr. Show and Monty Python would be tied for a sixth spot as favorite sketch show.

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  34. I skimmed a few of the posts, but did no one pick The Larry Sanders Show? C'mon.

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