Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:38:24 — 199.9MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Email | RSS | More
Are you ready for Part 4 of our top 100 TV Shows Countdown? We have reached the TOP 25!!! Where will your favorite shows rank? Tune into GeekCast Radio and find out! Here’s Part 4 of the GCRN Top 100 TV Shows Countdown. This episode we reveal #25 through #01! And as always “UNLEASH THE GEEK IN YOU!”
Geeks
Steve “Megatron” Phillips
Mike “TFG1” Blanchard
Dan “MovieRevolt” Clark
Kevin “OptimusSolo” Thompson
Amanda “HardCandiMandi” Kosowiec
DJ “TryingtobeDJV” Valentine
UNLEASH THE TV GEEK IN YOU!!!
Personally I wouldnt put SNL at number 1 but I think it makes sense. It’s a TV landmark. Easily top 10. Actually the top 10 overall shaped up well.
I agree.
My only big complaints with the Top 25 is that I Love Lucy is way too low. Star Trek NG is too high. It’s not a top 10 show in my eyes. Ilove it but I switched it with Lucy. Daredevil is way way too high, like was pointed out in the podcast. Glad it is the highest ranked superhero show though. Also no love for Battlestar Galactica? That should have been in the Top 100.
I believe if any Trek was in the Top list 10 it would have to be TNG. But I can see your point for being more in the Top 15. Daredevil well yeah we voted superheroes. Was good Top 10 overall.
If any Trek deserved it, it’s this one but the Top 10 overall was fairly solid.
Best thing for the Star Trek franchise? Sorry that goes to Wrath of Khan for me.
IF talking TV then TNG is the best in the Trek Universe. Films would be WOK.
I could agree to that.
I put First Contact over Wrath of Khan. Khan is a great villain but First Contact is more dynamic storytelling.
That’s crazy talk. First Contact is a fine film. Khan is legendary.
What do you mean by dynamic? Khan had much more emotion to it. And you could argue without Khan you wouldn’t even get TNG.
Except we have Star Trek: Generations that combines them all.
Yeah I know. I’m just saying I nee TNG as the resurgence and blasting off point as to where Trek went in the last 30 years.
Personally I wouldnt put SNL at number 1 but I think it makes sense. It’s a TV landmark. Easily top 10. Actually the top 10 overall shaped up well.
I agree.
You were alive to see the debut of Twilight Zone?
Yes. I was 9 years old but remember it like it was yesterday.
Wow people your age listen to podcasts lol
podcasts are AGELESS!!!!
The Muppet Show? Did not expect that. Mostly everything else was as expected for the most part. Nothing in the Top 10 that isn’t Top 10 worthy. Too much hate for Doctor Who on the record. Although glad some of those that didn’t like it could recognize it at least belongs.
I love that show as well. Twilight Zone is as classic as you get in my mind.
I own it through every medium possible, DVD, Blu Ray, and countless amount of books about that show.
My only big complaints with the Top 25 is that I Love Lucy is way too low. Star Trek NG is too high. It’s not a top 10 show in my eyes. Ilove it but I switched it with Lucy. Daredevil is way way too high, like was pointed out in the podcast. Glad it is the highest ranked superhero show though. Also no love for Battlestar Galactica? That should have been in the Top 100.
I believe if any Trek was in the Top list 10 it would have to be TNG. But I can see your point for being more in the Top 15. Daredevil well yeah we voted superheroes. Was good Top 10 overall.
Next Gen is the best thing to happen ever for the Star Trek franchise. Whenever you have a franchise as legendary as Star Trek and you are the best thing about it, there is not argument from me about it belonging where it did.
If any Trek deserved it, it’s this one but the Top 10 overall was fairly solid.
Best thing for the Star Trek franchise? Sorry that goes to Wrath of Khan for me.
in the TV Universe TNG was the best thing to happen. TOS Universe and TNG Universe are separate in my eyes when it comes to the films
Except we have Star Trek: Generations that combines them all.
Yeah I know. I’m just saying I nee TNG as the resurgence and blasting off point as to where Trek went in the last 30 years.
IF talking TV then TNG is the best in the Trek Universe. Films would be WOK.
I could agree to that.
I put First Contact over Wrath of Khan. Khan is a great villain but First Contact is more dynamic storytelling.
That’s crazy talk. First Contact is a fine film. Khan is legendary.
What do you mean by dynamic? Khan had much more emotion to it. And you could argue without Khan you wouldn’t even get TNG.
Have to agree with you on all points. That being said, we learned all of this in my college courses in media this semester so I can definitely stand behind all of what you presented.
More surprised by the lack of love for the Twilight Zone on the record. When it came out in 1959,
network TV was dominated by pretty-boy detective shows (77 Sunset Strip; Hawaiian Eye), law & order westerns (Gunsmoke; Have Gun, Will Travel), and innocuous sitcoms, (Ozzie & Harriet; Leave It to Beaver; The Donna Reed Show). If little else, most of these were entertaining in a blandly narcotizing
way. If little else, most of these were entertaining in a blandly narcotizing way. TV producers may have
wanted to experiment, but were hamstrung by a production code that was even more restrictive than the notorious motion picture code (crime must not be rewarded; moral transgressors must be punished; the sexes must not be shown in the same bed, etc.). Perhaps more important, producers were strait-jacketed by sponsors who insisted that programming should be as inclusive as possible so as not to risk offending or “confusing” any segment of the audience– all the better, of course, to sell the sponsor’s product, a not unreasonable requirement, given TV’s commercial basis.
I mention this background, because it’s hard to appreciate the cultural significance of Serling’s Twilight
Zone without it. For the above restrictions inevitably produced a product that was almost uniformly bland, superficial, and, by most accounts, boringly predictable– (One near exception was the series from that sly old subversive, Alfred Hitchcock.) But pity the poor writers who week after week had to search
for fresh water in the middle of this much traversed desert. Because of the conformist approach, two of the biggest casualties were, not unnaturally, Reality and Imagination. For rarely did any of these shows demonstrate even a nodding acquaintance with reality as most of us live it, while what imagination
was shown was, of course, channeled into safe variations on the usual. I think many of us old enough and imaginative enough at the time, knew that network programming could be a lot better than what FCC Commissioner Newton Minnow characterized as TV’s “vast cultural wasteland”.
Obviously, it would be a great overstatement to view The Twilight Zone as a magic cure for this blighted
situation. But, Serling did boldly and persistently set out to challenge the blandness, and in the process prepare the way for greater offbeat programming. Of course, TZ never claimed to introduce ‘reality’ into a weekly series– that would come later with 1971’s All in the Family. However, Serling did insist
upon that other missing ingredient, ‘imagination’– and by the bucket loads. How well I remember that 1959 evening when I tuned in “Where Is Everybody?”, the series’ pilot and first installment– Earl Holliman
wandering through a mysteriously deserted town, running smack-dab into a mirror, and winding up in a plausibly topical outcome. I expect many others besides myself were bowled over by the novelty of what we had seen. A whole new world of what TV could be opened up, thanks to Serling, and his success in getting sponsors to take a chance on an innovative concept. Even more happily, was the promise of more to come.
You were alive to see the debut of Twilight Zone?
Yes. I was 9 years old but remember it like it was yesterday.
Wow people your age listen to podcasts lol
podcasts are AGELESS!!!!
I love that show as well. Twilight Zone is as classic as you get in my mind.
I own it through every medium possible, DVD, Blu Ray, and countless amount of books about that show.
Have to agree with you on all points. That being said, we learned all of this in my college courses in media this semester so I can definitely stand behind all of what you presented.
Wow. I did not know that about Twilight Zone. Good to know.
I’m one of the few people that even likes the movie. Spielberg’s section is maybe the only bad part of that film. I wish we made more movies like that. Anthology movies are a thing of the past.
Wow, you said it way better I did. Glad I’m not alone in the Twilight zone love.
Have you checked out Black Mirror? People say its the Twilight Zone of today.
WHERE THE FUCK IS “THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW”!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!! How-eh, are you kidding, how is that not on here!? You found a spot for “Daredevil” in the Top 25, but Mary Tyler Moore didn’t get in?! Okay, let’s get this out of the way, that is by far the most monumental screwup on the show yet.This demands an explanation, ’cause that’s not acceptable.
Mary Tyler Moore is a glaring omission but that’s not even close to the biggest one. Can’t wait for the wrap up show!
I think you’re underestimating how important and influential it is, (not-to-mention funny) if you can find something more glaringly omitting, I’d like to hear it, ’cause I don’t see it.
I’ll have a dozen of them in the wrap up show
I’m looking forward to your list, and others, Kevin.
As am I!
I can’t wait to hear it, I can certainly come up with more than a few myself, but I can’t think of any bigger than “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. I’m curious as to what you think ranks as a even bigger omission than that.
BOOOO!
Okay breaking down the top 10:
10. Cheers – I get it. Great theme song. Acclaimed and all of that. I just never found it very funny, but can’t deny its acclaim.
9. All in the Family – This is what I am talking about. Great choice. Should be higher. Funniest show ever IMO.
8. South Park – God I love this show, but 8 is too high. Number 10 is as far as I would go.
7. Star Trek: Next Generation: Make it so! No arguments for me. One of my all time favorites. Made me fall in love with Science Fiction.
6. The Twilight Zone: Never watched it. Before my time. Iconic for sure so I can see it here.
5. Seinfeld – Not the biggest Seinfeld fan, not a hater either. Wouldn’t be in my top 10 personally, but again like Cheers I get why its here.
4. The Simpsons: The last ten years almost make me forget about the first 10. It’s a top 10 show for sure still. It just needs to end for its own good.
3. Breaking Bad: Too high. I would put West Wing, The Wire, Sopranos, heck even The Shield here over Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad is top 25, not top 10.
2. M*A*S*H – If this wasn’t one or two you should redo the list altogether.
1. Saturday Night Live – Weirdly unexpected and expected. 40 years is a long time for any show. It’s made how many careers, affected TV more so than any other show, and a pop culture phenomenon. With all that I wouldn’t call it the number one show but there is an argument to make I guess.
I’m right there with you on these. Except with Seinfeld and Cheers. Those shows are funny as well.
Well that’s the issue with comedy. It is so subjective and hard to gauge a show based on if it makes you laugh or not with a list like this.
Do yourself a favor, check out The Twilight Zone. It’s on Netflix.
Just started last night actually. Yea it holds up tight. I burned through a few hours already.
Okay, after that bitching, wait,- where the hell is “Taxi”?! Where’s “Hill Street Blues”, c’mon! What the hell man, grrr!!!!!!!!!!!! No “Six Feet Under”, no “Columbo”, no “WKRP in Cincinnati”, no “Get Smart”, no “Dexter”, I can’t believe that didn’t make it. As Ricky Ricardo never actually did say but we think he did, “You guys got some ‘splainin’ to do”!
I’ll be waiting anxiously.
Definitely shows I expected to see on the list. Hill Street Blues in particular even though I was not at the age to watch or appreciate such a show at the time. I’ve never seen Dexter, but I know it has its following.
So my top 10 guess was way off (10. ER 9. Game of Thrones. 8. Daredevil 7. The Sopranos. 6. The Walking Dead. 5. Seinfeld. 4. Mad Men. 3. I Love Lucy 2. Breaking Bad. 1. MASH). My top 2 were very close. I’m glad though cause Simpsons and South Park deserve top 10. Same with Cheers and All in the Family. STNG I’m not 100% sold on honestly. Top 25 for sure. Top 10? Debatable.
Seriously, how is “The Mary Tyler Moore-, alright, forget it, enough of that, here some thoughts on the shows that made the list.
“The Walking Dead”-I’m a little amazed it’s this high, or that it made the list at all to be honest. I didn’t consider it, don’t think it deserves a spot on the list. I got through one season, it was fine, nothing special. As far as I can tell, it’s just an elongated version of every other zombie movie I’ve ever seen, and that’s fine, and the atmosphere is interesting, but- and I know this is a podcast site, but, I don’t think the influence of having all the damn conversation shows afterwards for series, has been that good overall, in fact I hate the influence that things like that have had. It’s analyzing a TV series,literally episode-by-episode, when we’re talking a long-running story. I mean, there’s a reason it’s at the watercooler, and not out in the open before. I don’t like how series are analyzed to that degree and it’s more detrimental, and frankly I don’t like the idea of an audience having that kind of influence on a television show anyway. I don’t consider that a positive, at all. So I certainly, definitely didn’t consider that piece of influence. Other than that “The Walking Dead”, eh, it’s fine, I don’t think it’s special other than the fact that it’s zombies and zombies aren’t really that compelling to begin with.
“ER”-I think it’s a little high myself, and I’d argue that if “St. Elsewhere” didn’t completely ruin television with it’s final episode, (Yes it did) than I think that show would be as remember if not moreso for many of things that we now credit “ER” with.
“The X-Files”- Eh, the reason that “The X-Files” holds up to me, and I never quite got this, all the, “What’s this mean?” or “Who’s that?” or all the mystery within the mystery stuff, to me it was just “Law & Order”, except with extra-terrestrials. Detectives going out and studying what happened and solving a mystery. All the other stuff, is nice but doesn’t really help me. “The X-Files” I appreciate specifically because, you can tune into the show at any time and you can just be entertained and that’s enough.
“Law & Order”-I had it a little higher, but it’s funny you brought up reruns, because “Law & Order” was actually created for reruns. Part of the issue was that drama series, generally don’t do well in reruns, which is true; comedy series are more powerful and influential and work better over a longer time period than drama series, so they last longer in reruns and are more powerful in general. Comedy is more reverent than drama, and sticks with you longer. So, Dick Wolf actually created “Law & Order” as a show that would actually be able to be a rerun series, with him believing that, with the format, he could break the show into two half-hour episodes in reruns, and have people come back for the next episode and the other half of the story the next day. But, it’s the best procedural of all-time and that’s what makes it so long-lasting as a series in it’s original run and long after.
“I Love Lucy”- I put it in the ’60s for me, because I don’t think it holds up as well as others do. I mean, it was great for the time, but I think “The Honeymooners” is the better and more influential and important show from the ’50s in hindsight. I do want to say that, “I Love Lucy” aired live, it didn’t invent the taping of series, Desi Arnaz invented the 3-camera format, where they can edit between cameras in order to air the show live and in front of a studio audience. It was actually “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show”, (Which did make my list, should’ve made more) that came up with the idea of pre-taping show and then bringing in an audience to record the laughter and then layer the track for airing.
“The Office”- I had both versions of “The Office” on my list, not this high, but I don’t have an issue with it. The mockumentary single-camera format, is definitely inventive, I definitely give that to the original because, that did reach America before the U.S. version, but it definitely found it’s spot and too high, but I had it in the ’40s somewhere, so okay.
“Game of Thrones”- I didn’t have it on the list, um, I can see an argument for it, but it’s way too high. I don’t get a lot of the acclaim it gets; I do like the show, but everybody complaining of characters dying all the time that they like, honestly I’m three seasons in and I haven’t once been able to keep track of any of the characters other than maybe Tyrion Lannister, and maybe the dragon chick; I never thought anybody else was, somebody I was cheering for. Eh, and I’m critical of fantasy in general, but I do think they do it well here. I might not know what’s going on, but I definitely feel like they know what’s going on and that there is a completely-written universe, with all the sciences and whatnot, something that I find annoying and frustrating with fantasy, so I give it credit, but I don’t rank it in the same league as some of those other dramas.
“The West Wing”-Way too low, and only having two Aaron Sorkin shows on the list, also way too low.
“Mad Men”-A little high for me, but alright.
“The Wire”-I never thought “The Wire” completely worked. I mentioned this a lot on a Facebook conversation before, but I think David Simon’s best show is “Treme”, because it really is just a mosaic of characters from a neighborhood, which I think is what he wanted to do with “The Wire”, but I never thought he completely succeeded. I always thought it was unable to really determine if it was this cop show or this neighborhood and I never thought it was as compelling as others. No, good show, not great; shouldn’t be on the list.
“The Muppet Show”-Too high, but okay. I actually had it on my list, but I had “Sesame Street” ranked ahead of it ’cause of importance, but “The Muppet Show” is definitely the one I’d rather watch.
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”-I had it higher, I think it’s about right. What he did, by essentially turning the comedy and into the news format, I mean, it was timing as much as anything, it’s the Fox News world and this is the natural response to that, but it’s still so revolutionary; this should be the highest-ranked Variety-talk show, and it’s influence is everywhere. Consider this, counting Colbert twice, you have John Oliver’s show, you have Larry Wilmore, now Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee has her own show in a bit, that’s seven Variety-Talk Series on television, with or creating legacies of their own, that began on Jon Stewart; no show in that genre is that influential. It has changed the entire genre, and Stewart is the new standard. Above Carson, above Letterman.
“The Sopranos”-I never thought this show was actually as good as others did either. It made my list pretty high; it’s a great show, but I was always more detached from it. In fact, I didn’t even have it as the highest-ranked HBO Family Drama, I have “Six Feet Under” above it, which I thought was just as great and equally inventive within the genre, (And somehow it missed the list, WTF?) but I don’t have too many issues though, just too high for me, but not surprised it’s up here.
“Cheers”-Too low. “Cheers” is the most influential sitcom ever! Seriously, it invented the idea of two characters with sexual chemistry getting together, but taking a long time and having a “Do they or don’t they” storyline, that was “Cheers” that invented that. That alone, puts it on the list, and even more than that, it should be higher.
“All in the Family”-Again, too low.
“South Park” vs. “The Simpsons”-I never really understood why or when people thought “The Simpsons” was, just so great. Like, it’s a good show, I’m glad it’s on, but it’s as good as always been to me; I’ve never ranked as the best show on TV, I’ve never really thought it was so much funnier than others, or more important, which I have with “South Park”, more than once.
“Star Trek: The Next Generation”-Way too high. Great show, there’s no way that’s the 3rd best Drama series of all-time! It made my list, nowhere near that high but alright.
“The Twilight Zone”- Okay, I do think it’s a little high, but I ranked it pretty high too, it was in my Top 20, and I’m glad that classical anthology series did make this list. I do wish I knew more about “Playhouse 90” or “Studio One”, or “Omnibus” to defend where those shows should’ve been on the list, but I’m okay with it up here.
“Breaking Bad”-Okay, but personally too high for me. I don’t think it’s gonna hold up as well, say in ten years, but it’s up there. I am happy that, sitcoms basically owned the Top Ten,
“Saturday Night Live”-I’m okay with it. I had “M*A*S*H” number one, “SNL” was Top 20 for me, eh, it’s fine. I can see that. Not a bad choice. Although I do like “Caroline in the City”.
I’m definitely interested in wondering what shows maybe made a lot of lists, but didn’t get enough points or other interesting anomalies of that nature. Definitely curious at some of the shows that should be on here and aren’t, but we’ll see. I’ll keep an ear out for the finale recap.
How does I Love Lucy not hold up? That’s like saying Chaplin doesn’t hold up. Its the type of comedy that is universal through generations.
Uh, I don’t know, if you watch a lot of “I Love Lucy”, a lot of it is still, pretty much a remnant of it’s time. There’s still a lot of, women should be in the home, and not go out working humor, there’s a lot of pretty ancient, un-PC ways of the world that the show leans on for it’s jokes at times. It’s still funny, but honestly, it can kinda hard to watch at times. It’s definitely of it’s era, and I think that’s kinda how people should observe it today. A lot of the fifties TV doesn’t hold up because of this, I didn’t see “Leave It to Beaver” or “Father Knows Best” or even something that was pretty sharp for the time like “Life with Elizabeth” make the list, and while “I Love Lucy” isn’t the worst offender of this, eh, there’s still quite a few knocks against it for me. Yes, as just comedy, done well, it holds up, and yes, nobody else can or has actually done that comedy as well as Lucille Ball did it on “I Love Lucy”, or even some of her subsequent shows, but I wouldn’t put her in say, the same league as some of the great vaudevillians like you are, comparing it to Chaplin. Uh, yeah, I put her a notch below those greats. I mean, it’s not fault, it’s the era, but in hindsight, going through the ’50s era of comedy on television, I’d say there are funnier and more influential shows and comedians of that era that do hold up.
I don’t watch I Love Lucy on the regular, I mean who does, but when I do I still laugh. Yea its a product of its time like everything is, Honeymooners jokes about beating his wife. You might as well be knocking Star Wars for not using enough CGI in Empire Strikes back.
Lucy is one of the all time greats. 60 years later and she is still the most well known TV actress. How many shows of the time had a white woman married to an ethnic minority? There is no question its one of the greatest shows of all time and should be in the top 10.
There’s a lot there, I’ll admit, and yeah, “The Honeymooners” have jokes about wife-beating, but they’re really about the dynamic between husband and wife. The overbearing bloated superego of a husband and the strong-willed loving, but not submissive wife. I mean, versions of “The Honeymooners” are still being made. You can go through each era of television and find one of two modern versions of “The Honeymooners”, in my lifetime, “Mad About You”, “Home Improvement”, “Roseanne” to a certain extent, “The King of Queens”, hell, “Everybody Loves Raymond” even. This dynamic is still the bare blueprints of an entire genre, and everything else is a variation on the theme. I can’t think of too many good or even wildly successful reworking of any of Lucille Ball’s series dynamics, and you can attribute a lot of that to just how talented Lucille Ball was and that the show’s were essentially designed around her talents, but I can make the same argument for how “The Patty Duke Show” was also made based around showing off all of it’s star’s talents, and that’s not making anybody’s Top 100 lists. (At least I hope not) A lot of what makes “I Love Lucy” so stand out is that, it was the beginning of television and it was the first really big series, not that it was necessarily great, it was just the best of a entertainment medium that was still defining itself. It does hold up well even with it being so dated, which is why I did have it on my ballot, but yeah, I don’t see it’s influence on much of television anymore and yeah, product of the time, you gotta consider that, but honestly look at the landscape and point of the Lucille Ball heirs over the years and you’re not gonna get as great or as important or influential a list of shows as people would think. Just because it’s aged better than some of it’s contemporaries doesn’t mean it hasn’t aged. So, to me, I do think it’s a bit, absurd that we rank “I Love Lucy” so high, still. 60 years later, I think we can look closely now and say, it’s a great and important show, but it isn’t at the top of the all-time bests lists like it once was.
The thought that something could have been an all-time best at one point and over time somehow becomes worse is a bit absurd to me. Yea maybe there have been more shows to help fill the higher ranks but to say ‘isn’t at the top like it once was’ when nothing has happened to change the quality of the show or make it diminish is just bizarre to me.
I don’t think it’s that absurd, especially for television. I mean, you gotta remember back then that, there wasn’t much else to compare it to at the time. This was the beginning of the genre, and they were still figuring out, what this television contraption is and how to use it. There was three networks, national ones, (There was the Dumont Network too, but let’s discount that for now) and basically they were shoving anything they can onto television, ’cause, well, they needed things to put on it; they didn’t have much. Think of something like “The Ed Sullivan Show”, which was basically a bunch of random acts coming out. That was early television, just, you can do something, here, there’s the camera, you’re live, now do the thing!” That’s what television was at that time. I mean, “I Love Lucy” we’re basically giving it credit by putting it up so high, for doing a lot of things, first. Not necessarily well, or better, although a lot of times it was, but first. I mean, the reason it was considered the best is that it was one of the few things that was even on. So, the standard was, fairly low to begin with. This is something that I think people forget about television these days, basically, the novelties of a screen in the house that played moving pictures, was shocking enough, for a real long time actually, all through the ’50s at least, and I’d argue into well into the ’60s, was big enough that, basically anything that happened to be on the air, would be entertaining to them, and it’s not like there were the options we had today. I mean, television’s finally somewhat mass-produced in the late ’40s, then, Milton Berle is the first big star, in 1950, and that’s it, pretty much, and then Lucy came along and owned television from then on. I mean, at that time, it was novel to say, have somebody on TV literally be covered in ice cream, or shoving chocolates down their blouses, the spectacle was the entertainment. “I Love Lucy” is basically one of the first time they really started figuring out the art form of television, and that’s something, hell that’s a lot, but compared what we eventually would be able to do with that artform, I dunno. I have a difficult going to “I Love Lucy” and then say, “This holds up equally to “M*A*S*H”, or “All in the Family” or “Breaking Bad” or “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” seriously how did that not-! (Pauses, clears throat) Sorry. The standard for what was entertaining on television wasn’t really in existence at this time, and it certainly wasn’t refined. That’s why it’s not that absurd to put knock it down a bit. As we evolve so does our tastes as well as the skillset of the medium and for better or worst this puts a lot of those early shows in a different light. “I Love Lucy” it does fall a bit in my mind ’cause of this. A lot of shows from that era fall a lot further, don’t get me wrong, we are talking degrees essentially but overall, yeah, it doesn’t quite hold up to that standard of putting it right near the top of these lists.
I disagree with with basically 100% of everything you said here. I absolutely hate when people judge something or the success of something by taking it completely out of the context in which it existed in and was created in. Besides the point that you’re trying to make about ‘shock and awe’ being enough for shows not to actually matter being completely inaccurate and the silly comment about the ed Sullivan show….a show should be judged based on how well it achieved what it set out to achieve. It wasn’t trying to impact people fifty years in the future, it was trying to resonate with the audience of its time and speak to its generation which it succeeded in for quite some time. Your argument is like saying the Mickey mantle Yankees shouldn’t be considered in a conversation about the best baseball teams of all time…hence the use of the words absurd and ludicrous!
“I have to compare it to everything else of television, ’cause that’s
what it’s still competing against. It still has to hold up against the
rest of television.”
I disagree with this with every ounce of my body.
I-eh… (Shrugs) I don’t know how to respond to that. That’s how television is analyzed. From a business perspective, from an analytical perspective, literally from a ratings perspective, even from a fan or popularity perspective, that’s….- i know streaming’s changing that a bit, but even, like, Netflix and Amazon could just be considered another channel, really. That’s television to me. I mean, like, when you’re watching a movie, like in a theater where, (Although that’s changing too) you’re not watching against, watching every other film ever made. You’re in the world of the movie, and everything to the outside world is literal and figurative darkness. Television, it’s completely the opposite. You’re consciously picking one show, over numerous others to watch, and if you change your mind halfway through, boom flip the channel. I don’t see how to see it any other way honestly.
“That’s how television is analyzed. From a business perspective, from an
analytical perspective, literally from a ratings perspective, even from a
fan or popularity perspective”
Now you are throwing out things as fact that are far from that. Television when it comes to re-runs and syndication often times is not analyzed in that way. Sorry but it’s just not. New shows especially on the major networks, yes. Re-runs of 30-50 years old, not so much. You can compare all superhero shows within the last 10 years to each other, or all the sitcoms, but you can’t and shouldn’t really compare something from the 50s or 60s or 70s to shows today using the exact same metrics. Again its akin to comparing Star Wars from the 70s against a sci-fi show film from 2014 and marking it down for visual effects. Or as I said before saying the 1928 yankees aren’t good because …and then come up with some metric from 2015. That’s beyond ridiculous.
This whole ‘era’ argument you keep putting out there makes no sense to me…
Well,… I can tell that I’m going through a lot of ’50s television myself at the moment, and the more I dig into it, I fine that the less and less impressive “I Love Lucy” is to me, at least compared to where we and most everybody else seems to rank it.
I’m just glad I don’t have the same outlook on what TV is and is not supposed to be that you do my friend. Love hearing your comments but simply do not agree with most of what you have to say when it comes to television! :)
The Muppet Show? Did not expect that. Mostly everything else was as expected for the most part. Nothing in the Top 10 that isn’t Top 10 worthy. Too much hate for Doctor Who on the record. Although glad some of those that didn’t like it could recognize it at least belongs.
Just finished. Still processing it all. Just have to thank you all cause this has been one hell of a good time. Sad to see it end.
Absolutely.
WHERE THE FUCK IS “THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW”!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!! How-eh, are you kidding, how is that not on here!? You found a spot for “Daredevil” in the Top 25, but Mary Tyler Moore didn’t get in?! Okay, let’s get this out of the way, that is by far the most monumental screwup on the show yet.This demands an explanation, ’cause that’s not acceptable.
Mary Tyler Moore is a glaring omission but that’s not even close to the biggest one. Can’t wait for the wrap up show!
I think you’re underestimating how important and influential it is, (not-to-mention funny) if you can find something more glaringly omitting, I’d like to hear it, ’cause I don’t see it.
I’ll have a dozen of them in the wrap up show
I’m looking forward to your list, and others, Kevin.
As am I!
I can’t wait to hear it, I can certainly come up with more than a few myself, but I can’t think of any bigger than “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. I’m curious as to what you think ranks as a even bigger omission than that.
She didn’t make it after all.
BOOOO!
Okay breaking down the top 10:
10. Cheers – I get it. Great theme song. Acclaimed and all of that. I just never found it very funny, but can’t deny its acclaim.
9. All in the Family – This is what I am talking about. Great choice. Should be higher. Funniest show ever IMO.
8. South Park – God I love this show, but 8 is too high. Number 10 is as far as I would go.
7. Star Trek: Next Generation: Make it so! No arguments for me. One of my all time favorites. Made me fall in love with Science Fiction.
6. The Twilight Zone: Never watched it. Before my time. Iconic for sure so I can see it here.
5. Seinfeld – Not the biggest Seinfeld fan, not a hater either. Wouldn’t be in my top 10 personally, but again like Cheers I get why its here.
4. The Simpsons: The last ten years almost make me forget about the first 10. It’s a top 10 show for sure still. It just needs to end for its own good.
3. Breaking Bad: Too high. I would put West Wing, The Wire, Sopranos, heck even The Shield here over Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad is top 25, not top 10.
2. M*A*S*H – If this wasn’t one or two you should redo the list altogether.
1. Saturday Night Live – Weirdly unexpected and expected. 40 years is a long time for any show. It’s made how many careers, affected TV more so than any other show, and a pop culture phenomenon. With all that I wouldn’t call it the number one show but there is an argument to make I guess.
I’m right there with you on these. Except with Seinfeld and Cheers. Those shows are funny as well.
Well that’s the issue with comedy. It is so subjective and hard to gauge a show based on if it makes you laugh or not with a list like this.
Exactly. So if you remove the ‘is it funny’ and just look at influence, impact, and acclaim they deserve the stop they landed at.
Do yourself a favor, check out The Twilight Zone. It’s on Netflix.
Just started last night actually. Yea it holds up tight. I burned through a few hours already.
Okay, after that bitching, wait,- where the hell is “Taxi”?! Where’s “Hill Street Blues”, c’mon! What the hell man, grrr!!!!!!!!!!!! No “Six Feet Under”, no “Columbo”, no “WKRP in Cincinnati”, no “Get Smart”, no “Dexter”, I can’t believe that didn’t make it. As Ricky Ricardo never actually did say but we think he did, “You guys got some ‘splainin’ to do”!
You’re getting ahead of yourself, we will discuss shows that didn’t make it in the next episode
I’ll be waiting anxiously.
Definitely shows I expected to see on the list. Hill Street Blues in particular even though I was not at the age to watch or appreciate such a show at the time. I’ve never seen Dexter, but I know it has its following.
A lot of people selling Star Trek TNG way short. It definitely deserves Top 20!!!!!!!!
Top 10 for sure. Top 10 little more debatable. Either way its not egregious to have it whee it landed.
Definitely is too strong of a word for me. There is an argument for top 20. I do not see one for Top 10.
100% agree with this!
Seriously, how is “The Mary Tyler Moore-, alright, forget it, enough of that, here some thoughts on the shows that made the list.
“The Walking Dead”-I’m a little amazed it’s this high, or that it made the list at all to be honest. I didn’t consider it, don’t think it deserves a spot on the list. I got through one season, it was fine, nothing special. As far as I can tell, it’s just an elongated version of every other zombie movie I’ve ever seen, and that’s fine, and the atmosphere is interesting, but- and I know this is a podcast site, but, I don’t think the influence of having all the damn conversation shows afterwards for series, has been that good overall, in fact I hate the influence that things like that have had. It’s analyzing a TV series,literally episode-by-episode, when we’re talking a long-running story. I mean, there’s a reason it’s at the watercooler, and not out in the open before. I don’t like how series are analyzed to that degree and it’s more detrimental, and frankly I don’t like the idea of an audience having that kind of influence on a television show anyway. I don’t consider that a positive, at all. So I certainly, definitely didn’t consider that piece of influence. Other than that “The Walking Dead”, eh, it’s fine, I don’t think it’s special other than the fact that it’s zombies and zombies aren’t really that compelling to begin with.
“ER”-I think it’s a little high myself, and I’d argue that if “St. Elsewhere” didn’t completely ruin television with it’s final episode, (Yes it did) than I think that show would be as remember if not moreso for many of things that we now credit “ER” with.
“The X-Files”- Eh, the reason that “The X-Files” holds up to me, and I never quite got this, all the, “What’s this mean?” or “Who’s that?” or all the mystery within the mystery stuff, to me it was just “Law & Order”, except with extra-terrestrials. Detectives going out and studying what happened and solving a mystery. All the other stuff, is nice but doesn’t really help me. “The X-Files” I appreciate specifically because, you can tune into the show at any time and you can just be entertained and that’s enough.
“Law & Order”-I had it a little higher, but it’s funny you brought up reruns, because “Law & Order” was actually created for reruns. Part of the issue was that drama series, generally don’t do well in reruns, which is true; comedy series are more powerful and influential and work better over a longer time period than drama series, so they last longer in reruns and are more powerful in general. Comedy is more reverent than drama, and sticks with you longer. So, Dick Wolf actually created “Law & Order” as a show that would actually be able to be a rerun series, with him believing that, with the format, he could break the show into two half-hour episodes in reruns, and have people come back for the next episode and the other half of the story the next day. But, it’s the best procedural of all-time and that’s what makes it so long-lasting as a series in it’s original run and long after.
“I Love Lucy”- I put it in the ’60s for me, because I don’t think it holds up as well as others do. I mean, it was great for the time, but I think “The Honeymooners” is the better and more influential and important show from the ’50s in hindsight. I do want to say that, “I Love Lucy” aired live, it didn’t invent the taping of series, Desi Arnaz invented the 3-camera format, where they can edit between cameras in order to air the show live and in front of a studio audience. It was actually “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show”, (Which did make my list, should’ve made more) that came up with the idea of pre-taping show and then bringing in an audience to record the laughter and then layer the track for airing.
“The Office”- I had both versions of “The Office” on my list, not this high, but I don’t have an issue with it. The mockumentary single-camera format, is definitely inventive, I definitely give that to the original because, that did reach America before the U.S. version, but it definitely found it’s spot and too high, but I had it in the ’40s somewhere, so okay.
“Game of Thrones”- I didn’t have it on the list, um, I can see an argument for it, but it’s way too high. I don’t get a lot of the acclaim it gets; I do like the show, but everybody complaining of characters dying all the time that they like, honestly I’m three seasons in and I haven’t once been able to keep track of any of the characters other than maybe Tyrion Lannister, and maybe the dragon chick; I never thought anybody else was, somebody I was cheering for. Eh, and I’m critical of fantasy in general, but I do think they do it well here. I might not know what’s going on, but I definitely feel like they know what’s going on and that there is a completely-written universe, with all the sciences and whatnot, something that I find annoying and frustrating with fantasy, so I give it credit, but I don’t rank it in the same league as some of those other dramas.
“The West Wing”-Way too low, and only having two Aaron Sorkin shows on the list, also way too low.
“Mad Men”-A little high for me, but alright.
“The Wire”-I never thought “The Wire” completely worked. I mentioned this a lot on a Facebook conversation before, but I think David Simon’s best show is “Treme”, because it really is just a mosaic of characters from a neighborhood, which I think is what he wanted to do with “The Wire”, but I never thought he completely succeeded. I always thought it was unable to really determine if it was this cop show or this neighborhood and I never thought it was as compelling as others. No, good show, not great; shouldn’t be on the list.
“The Muppet Show”-Too high, but okay. I actually had it on my list, but I had “Sesame Street” ranked ahead of it ’cause of importance, but “The Muppet Show” is definitely the one I’d rather watch.
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”-I had it higher, I think it’s about right. What he did, by essentially turning the comedy and into the news format, I mean, it was timing as much as anything, it’s the Fox News world and this is the natural response to that, but it’s still so revolutionary; this should be the highest-ranked Variety-talk show, and it’s influence is everywhere. Consider this, counting Colbert twice, you have John Oliver’s show, you have Larry Wilmore, now Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee has her own show in a bit, that’s seven Variety-Talk Series on television, with or creating legacies of their own, that began on Jon Stewart; no show in that genre is that influential. It has changed the entire genre, and Stewart is the new standard. Above Carson, above Letterman.
“The Sopranos”-I never thought this show was actually as good as others did either. It made my list pretty high; it’s a great show, but I was always more detached from it. In fact, I didn’t even have it as the highest-ranked HBO Family Drama, I have “Six Feet Under” above it, which I thought was just as great and equally inventive within the genre, (And somehow it missed the list, WTF?) but I don’t have too many issues though, just too high for me, but not surprised it’s up here.
“Cheers”-Too low. “Cheers” is the most influential sitcom ever! Seriously, it invented the idea of two characters with sexual chemistry getting together, but taking a long time and having a “Do they or don’t they” storyline, that was “Cheers” that invented that. That alone, puts it on the list, and even more than that, it should be higher.
“All in the Family”-Again, too low.
“South Park” vs. “The Simpsons”-I never really understood why or when people thought “The Simpsons” was, just so great. Like, it’s a good show, I’m glad it’s on, but it’s as good as always been to me; I’ve never ranked as the best show on TV, I’ve never really thought it was so much funnier than others, or more important, which I have with “South Park”, more than once.
“Star Trek: The Next Generation”-Way too high. Great show, there’s no way that’s the 3rd best Drama series of all-time! It made my list, nowhere near that high but alright.
“The Twilight Zone”- Okay, I do think it’s a little high, but I ranked it pretty high too, it was in my Top 20, and I’m glad that classical anthology series did make this list. I do wish I knew more about “Playhouse 90” or “Studio One”, or “Omnibus” to defend where those shows should’ve been on the list, but I’m okay with it up here.
“Breaking Bad”-Okay, but personally too high for me. I don’t think it’s gonna hold up as well, say in ten years, but it’s up there. I am happy that, sitcoms basically owned the Top Ten,
“Saturday Night Live”-I’m okay with it. I had “M*A*S*H” number one, “SNL” was Top 20 for me, eh, it’s fine. I can see that. Not a bad choice. Although I do like “Caroline in the City”.
I’m definitely interested in wondering what shows maybe made a lot of lists, but didn’t get enough points or other interesting anomalies of that nature. Definitely curious at some of the shows that should be on here and aren’t, but we’ll see. I’ll keep an ear out for the finale recap.
How does I Love Lucy not hold up? That’s like saying Chaplin doesn’t hold up. Its the type of comedy that is universal through generations.
Uh, I don’t know, if you watch a lot of “I Love Lucy”, a lot of it is still, pretty much a remnant of it’s time. There’s still a lot of, women should be in the home, and not go out working humor, there’s a lot of pretty ancient, un-PC ways of the world that the show leans on for it’s jokes at times. It’s still funny, but honestly, it can kinda hard to watch at times. It’s definitely of it’s era, and I think that’s kinda how people should observe it today. A lot of the fifties TV doesn’t hold up because of this, I didn’t see “Leave It to Beaver” or “Father Knows Best” or even something that was pretty sharp for the time like “Life with Elizabeth” make the list, and while “I Love Lucy” isn’t the worst offender of this, eh, there’s still quite a few knocks against it for me. Yes, as just comedy, done well, it holds up, and yes, nobody else can or has actually done that comedy as well as Lucille Ball did it on “I Love Lucy”, or even some of her subsequent shows, but I wouldn’t put her in say, the same league as some of the great vaudevillians like you are, comparing it to Chaplin. Uh, yeah, I put her a notch below those greats. I mean, it’s not fault, it’s the era, but in hindsight, going through the ’50s era of comedy on television, I’d say there are funnier and more influential shows and comedians of that era that do hold up.
I don’t watch I Love Lucy on the regular, I mean who does, but when I do I still laugh. Yea its a product of its time like everything is, Honeymooners jokes about beating his wife. You might as well be knocking Star Wars for not using enough CGI in Empire Strikes back.
Lucy is one of the all time greats. 60 years later and she is still the most well known TV actress. How many shows of the time had a white woman married to an ethnic minority? There is no question its one of the greatest shows of all time and should be in the top 10.
There’s a lot there, I’ll admit, and yeah, “The Honeymooners” have jokes about wife-beating, but they’re really about the dynamic between husband and wife. The overbearing bloated superego of a husband and the strong-willed loving, but not submissive wife. I mean, versions of “The Honeymooners” are still being made. You can go through each era of television and find one of two modern versions of “The Honeymooners”, in my lifetime, “Mad About You”, “Home Improvement”, “Roseanne” to a certain extent, “The King of Queens”, hell, “Everybody Loves Raymond” even. This dynamic is still the bare blueprints of an entire genre, and everything else is a variation on the theme. I can’t think of too many good or even wildly successful reworking of any of Lucille Ball’s series dynamics, and you can attribute a lot of that to just how talented Lucille Ball was and that the show’s were essentially designed around her talents, but I can make the same argument for how “The Patty Duke Show” was also made based around showing off all of it’s star’s talents, and that’s not making anybody’s Top 100 lists. (At least I hope not) A lot of what makes “I Love Lucy” so stand out is that, it was the beginning of television and it was the first really big series, not that it was necessarily great, it was just the best of a entertainment medium that was still defining itself. It does hold up well even with it being so dated, which is why I did have it on my ballot, but yeah, I don’t see it’s influence on much of television anymore and yeah, product of the time, you gotta consider that, but honestly look at the landscape and point of the Lucille Ball heirs over the years and you’re not gonna get as great or as important or influential a list of shows as people would think. Just because it’s aged better than some of it’s contemporaries doesn’t mean it hasn’t aged. So, to me, I do think it’s a bit, absurd that we rank “I Love Lucy” so high, still. 60 years later, I think we can look closely now and say, it’s a great and important show, but it isn’t at the top of the all-time bests lists like it once was.
The thought that something could have been an all-time best at one point and over time somehow becomes worse is a bit absurd to me. Yea maybe there have been more shows to help fill the higher ranks but to say ‘isn’t at the top like it once was’ when nothing has happened to change the quality of the show or make it diminish is just bizarre to me.
I don’t think it’s that absurd, especially for television. I mean, you gotta remember back then that, there wasn’t much else to compare it to at the time. This was the beginning of the genre, and they were still figuring out, what this television contraption is and how to use it. There was three networks, national ones, (There was the Dumont Network too, but let’s discount that for now) and basically they were shoving anything they can onto television, ’cause, well, they needed things to put on it; they didn’t have much. Think of something like “The Ed Sullivan Show”, which was basically a bunch of random acts coming out. That was early television, just, you can do something, here, there’s the camera, you’re live, now do the thing!” That’s what television was at that time. I mean, “I Love Lucy” we’re basically giving it credit by putting it up so high, for doing a lot of things, first. Not necessarily well, or better, although a lot of times it was, but first. I mean, the reason it was considered the best is that it was one of the few things that was even on. So, the standard was, fairly low to begin with. This is something that I think people forget about television these days, basically, the novelties of a screen in the house that played moving pictures, was shocking enough, for a real long time actually, all through the ’50s at least, and I’d argue into well into the ’60s, was big enough that, basically anything that happened to be on the air, would be entertaining to them, and it’s not like there were the options we had today. I mean, television’s finally somewhat mass-produced in the late ’40s, then, Milton Berle is the first big star, in 1950, and that’s it, pretty much, and then Lucy came along and owned television from then on. I mean, at that time, it was novel to say, have somebody on TV literally be covered in ice cream, or shoving chocolates down their blouses, the spectacle was the entertainment. “I Love Lucy” is basically one of the first time they really started figuring out the art form of television, and that’s something, hell that’s a lot, but compared what we eventually would be able to do with that artform, I dunno. I have a difficult going to “I Love Lucy” and then say, “This holds up equally to “M*A*S*H”, or “All in the Family” or “Breaking Bad” or “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” seriously how did that not-! (Pauses, clears throat) Sorry. The standard for what was entertaining on television wasn’t really in existence at this time, and it certainly wasn’t refined. That’s why it’s not that absurd to put knock it down a bit. As we evolve so does our tastes as well as the skillset of the medium and for better or worst this puts a lot of those early shows in a different light. “I Love Lucy” it does fall a bit in my mind ’cause of this. A lot of shows from that era fall a lot further, don’t get me wrong, we are talking degrees essentially but overall, yeah, it doesn’t quite hold up to that standard of putting it right near the top of these lists.
I disagree with with basically 100% of everything you said here. I absolutely hate when people judge something or the success of something by taking it completely out of the context in which it existed in and was created in. Besides the point that you’re trying to make about ‘shock and awe’ being enough for shows not to actually matter being completely inaccurate and the silly comment about the ed Sullivan show….a show should be judged based on how well it achieved what it set out to achieve. It wasn’t trying to impact people fifty years in the future, it was trying to resonate with the audience of its time and speak to its generation which it succeeded in for quite some time. Your argument is like saying the Mickey mantle Yankees shouldn’t be considered in a conversation about the best baseball teams of all time…hence the use of the words absurd and ludicrous!
I don’t think I’m taking it out of context, if anything I’m putting it in context. I mean, that’s how the history of television, hell, all art forms work like that. It’s not like we’re still putting Melies, Edison or Muybridge films at the top of our best movies lists. At the beginning, they’re learning what to do and what the medium is capable of, and then later on, they begin to master it. And, yes, that was the standard, I mean, people used to continually watch the Star-Spangled Banner plan over a blank screen when the TV day was over, back when TV channels actually went off. This was that era of television, for better or for worst. And it’s not totally fair to judge it on modern eyes, I’ll grant you that, but that’s also sorta what we have to do anyway, since we are in modern times, and while “I Love Lucy” is still great, there are some shows and stars that hold up better from that era. I stand by that. Re-checking my list, I ranked “I Love Lucy” 3rd, among ’50s sitcoms. (Well, 4th if you consider “The Jack Benny Program” a sitcom), and I had a drama or two and a few sketch shows ahead of it. It’s honorable that it speaks to the television audience of it’s time, but television is the one medium I do discount that, because, well, everything is still in reruns, so technically, it’s still on the air. I have to compare it to everything else of television, ’cause that’s what it’s still competing against. It still has to hold up against the rest of television. Sure, they didn’t realize that at the time, but they caught on soon enough. I tend to think that’s a great standard to judge modern shows to be honest, “Do this thing that I know nothing about, interesting enough to watch over a rerun of something that I know is good?” That’s television right there.
And that “The Ed Sullivan Show” is not at all inaccurate, hell there’s still quite a few parts of television that are basically, find something to put on TV and then roll the camera. The early morning news shows come to mind, especially “Today”.
“I have to compare it to everything else of television, ’cause that’s
what it’s still competing against. It still has to hold up against the
rest of television.”
I disagree with this with every ounce of my body.
I-eh… (Shrugs) I don’t know how to respond to that. That’s how television is analyzed. From a business perspective, from an analytical perspective, literally from a ratings perspective, even from a fan or popularity perspective, that’s….- i know streaming’s changing that a bit, but even, like, Netflix and Amazon could just be considered another channel, really. That’s television to me. I mean, like, when you’re watching a movie, like in a theater where, (Although that’s changing too) you’re not watching against, watching every other film ever made. You’re in the world of the movie, and everything to the outside world is literal and figurative darkness. Television, it’s completely the opposite. You’re consciously picking one show, over numerous others to watch, and if you change your mind halfway through, boom flip the channel. I don’t see how to see it any other way honestly.
“That’s how television is analyzed. From a business perspective, from an
analytical perspective, literally from a ratings perspective, even from a
fan or popularity perspective”
Now you are throwing out things as fact that are far from that. Television when it comes to re-runs and syndication often times is not analyzed in that way. Sorry but it’s just not. New shows especially on the major networks, yes. Re-runs of 30-50 years old, not so much. You can compare all superhero shows within the last 10 years to each other, or all the sitcoms, but you can’t and shouldn’t really compare something from the 50s or 60s or 70s to shows today using the exact same metrics. Again its akin to comparing Star Wars from the 70s against a sci-fi show film from 2014 and marking it down for visual effects. Or as I said before saying the 1928 yankees aren’t good because …and then come up with some metric from 2015. That’s beyond ridiculous.
We’re gonna have to disagree then, ’cause to me, this is the one thing that truly distinguishes television from every other art form, in that, you do indeed analyze it from that perspective, ’cause, it’s not like, the ’28 Yankees are playing the Yankees today, no, but that is the situation you’re in when a TV show is on the air. There’s still an “I Love Lucy” or a “M*A*S*H” or a “Gilligan’s Island” or whatever on against, everything else. And if you think rerun ratings don’t matter, there’s plenty of shows that are pretty damn good and big in their day, even award worthy that, well, you just don’t see on TV, ’cause they don’t do well in reruns. When the last time you ran into an episode of “Picket Fences” recently, or “Lou Grant”, or even a comedy like “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” or even a “Murphy Brown”, you never see. We’re disagree on this, but television is the one art form that is constantly competing against it’s own past, as well as shows in the present shows, so I don’t think it’s unfair to compare them, at all.
This whole ‘era’ argument you keep putting out there makes no sense to me…
Well,… I can tell that I’m going through a lot of ’50s television myself at the moment, and the more I dig into it, I fine that the less and less impressive “I Love Lucy” is to me, at least compared to where we and most everybody else seems to rank it.
I’m just glad I don’t have the same outlook on what TV is and is not supposed to be that you do my friend. Love hearing your comments but simply do not agree with most of what you have to say when it comes to television! :)
Just finished. Still processing it all. Just have to thank you all cause this has been one hell of a good time. Sad to see it end.
Absolutely.
A lot of people selling Star Trek TNG way short. It definitely deserves Top 20!!!!!!!!
Top 10 for sure. Top 10 little more debatable. Either way its not egregious to have it whee it landed.
Definitely is too strong of a word for me. There is an argument for top 20. I do not see one for Top 10.
100% agree with this!
Wow. I did not know that about Twilight Zone. Good to know.
I Love Lucy is way too low. Top 15 or 10 easily. Breaking Bad too high. I’d switch those too. Muppet Show is way too high. I like that show but lets not get crazy here. Have not see The Wire or West Wing. Now have more reason too. I do have to mention that clip of West Wing got to me for some reason, and I’ve never seen the show. I do love Sorkin’s writing. I avoided it because I care little for politics.
Some shows that come tom ind that didn’t make it that should have: Taxi, CSI, Columbo, Hannibal, The Americans, Night Court, Fawlty Towers, House, Murphy Brown, Gilligan’s Island, Red Dwarf, and WKRP in Cincinatti
Night Court one of my all time favorites.
I was surprised not to see Taxi, Gilligan’s Island, House, or Murphy Brown. Night Court would have been good to see on the list. I have heard good things about Hannibal.
We’ll be going over the shows that almost made the list in the next record. You may be happy or sad to here many of those you listed were quite close to making it.
I am looking to star watching the shows high on the list i have yet to see. What should I start first: The Wire, West Wing, Breaking Bad, or ER?
I would go by order of release date. You’ll see the progression of TV that way.
Ehh,But don’t feel the need to watch it all. At most watch the first ten seasons. After that it’s not nearly as good.
I’d love to do it that way. Not many classic shows easily accessible though
You’d be surprised. MASH is on Netflix along with a lot of other classic TV shows. Try checking out network aps as well. NBC, CBS, Fox, and so on have their own aps- usually free- with access to a lot of their classic shows.
Well it depends on what you have access to. West Wing and Breaking Bad are on Netflix. The Wire on Amazon Prime and HBO go. Don’t know about ER though. That may not be streaming anywhere. I would just say if you are going to see The Wire and/or Breaking Bad be patient. They move slowly, especially The Wire.
For the last time.
The Good Surprises:
The Muppets Show showing up. Was the unexpected moment of the countdown so far.
Star Trek: Next Generation being in the Top 10. So much good in that show. The best written of all Star Trek shows.
M*A*S*H being in the Top 2. Glad to see it. Based on the lis twas thinking it would be 5 or 6 tops.
The Bad Surprises.
I Love Lucy not being higher. 19 is way too low.
All the hate for The Simpsons. 99% of the people that say the Simpsons isn’t any good anymore haven’t watch it. Its still far superior to any other Fox Animated show except Bob’s Burgers.
Battlestar Galactica not making it anywhere. On a Geek list? For shame.
All the Doctor Who hate. Its too British? Come one now. Let’s not be closed minded.
HEY I TRIED!!! 1 ep per doctor of the 2005 series. yup too British for me!
That’s the wrong way to do it. Doctor Who is all about the relationships that form between the characters. You won’t get that jumping around.
Yeah you’re supposed to watch one whole era of a doctor over jumping between them. They’re all different iterations of the character.
yes I know but I started with S1 E1 of the 2005 series entitled Rose….. omg I could barely stand it. I would rather RIP out my eyes then ever watch that again.
I figured I should start at the beginning, which may have been a misjudgment. I doubt it is a show for me, but I give it the credit it is due because I know there is something there that resonates and has staying power.
The Pilot is pretty awful. Most fans even acknowledge that. It was the warning I got going in. The second episode is much improved when they go to see the Earth die.
The pilot is easily the worst episode of the entire series. It gets better from there. The 1st season overall isn’t great. Gets better and season 2. I’m a Matt Smith fan personally. So I recommend his run the most.
It’s not a show for everyone. You have to be able to look over the bad special effects. For those that like it, that’s a charming aspect of the show. And I love that Doctor Who is a character that thinks through situations rather than shoots his way out.
That’s true. Especially in the earlier seasons.
Have you seen Sherlock? That show is super British and super good.
nope British TV anhd I do not mix. unless it’s Fawlty Towers
I Love Lucy is way too low. Top 15 or 10 easily. Breaking Bad too high. I’d switch those too. Muppet Show is way too high. I like that show but lets not get crazy here. Have not see The Wire or West Wing. Now have more reason too. I do have to mention that clip of West Wing got to me for some reason, and I’ve never seen the show. I do love Sorkin’s writing. I avoided it because I care little for politics.
I am looking to star watching the shows high on the list i have yet to see. What should I start first: The Wire, West Wing, Breaking Bad, or ER?
I would go by order of release date. You’ll see the progression of TV that way.
Ehh,But don’t feel the need to watch it all. At most watch the first ten seasons. After that it’s not nearly as good.
For me it never got ‘bad’ until the final season.
I’d love to do it that way. Not many classic shows easily accessible though
You’d be surprised. MASH is on Netflix along with a lot of other classic TV shows. Try checking out network aps as well. NBC, CBS, Fox, and so on have their own aps- usually free- with access to a lot of their classic shows.
Well it depends on what you have access to. West Wing and Breaking Bad are on Netflix. The Wire on Amazon Prime and HBO go. Don’t know about ER though. That may not be streaming anywhere. I would just say if you are going to see The Wire and/or Breaking Bad be patient. They move slowly, especially The Wire.
Good point. ER is only available for pay.
For the last time.
The Good Surprises:
The Muppets Show showing up. Was the unexpected moment of the countdown so far.
Star Trek: Next Generation being in the Top 10. So much good in that show. The best written of all Star Trek shows.
M*A*S*H being in the Top 2. Glad to see it. Based on the lis twas thinking it would be 5 or 6 tops.
The Bad Surprises.
I Love Lucy not being higher. 19 is way too low.
All the hate for The Simpsons. 99% of the people that say the Simpsons isn’t any good anymore haven’t watch it. Its still far superior to any other Fox Animated show except Bob’s Burgers.
Battlestar Galactica not making it anywhere. On a Geek list? For shame.
All the Doctor Who hate. Its too British? Come one now. Let’s not be closed minded.
HEY I TRIED!!! 1 ep per doctor of the 2005 series. yup too British for me!
That’s the wrong way to do it. Doctor Who is all about the relationships that form between the characters. You won’t get that jumping around.
Yeah you’re supposed to watch one whole era of a doctor over jumping between them. They’re all different iterations of the character.
yes I know but I started with S1 E1 of the 2005 series entitled Rose….. omg I could barely stand it. I would rather RIP out my eyes then ever watch that again.
I figured I should start at the beginning, which may have been a misjudgment. I doubt it is a show for me, but I give it the credit it is due because I know there is something there that resonates and has staying power.
The Pilot is pretty awful. Most fans even acknowledge that. It was the warning I got going in. The second episode is much improved when they go to see the Earth die.
The pilot is easily the worst episode of the entire series. It gets better from there. The 1st season overall isn’t great. Gets better and season 2. I’m a Matt Smith fan personally. So I recommend his run the most.
I learned my torturous lesson in suffering through marathoning all 5 seasons of Breaking Bad. NEVER again. nope nuh uh. And YES I know that’s very close minded of me.
What’s wrong with marathoning all 5 seasons of Breaking Bad?
It’s not a show for everyone. You have to be able to look over the bad special effects. For those that like it, that’s a charming aspect of the show. And I love that Doctor Who is a character that thinks through situations rather than shoots his way out.
That’s true. Especially in the earlier seasons.
Have you seen Sherlock? That show is super British and super good.
nope British TV anhd I do not mix. unless it’s Fawlty Towers
I’m one of the few people that even likes the movie. Spielberg’s section is maybe the only bad part of that film. I wish we made more movies like that. Anthology movies are a thing of the past.
See we redeemed ourselves the closer to #1 it got!
There will be in the wrap up episode post.
When is that coming out. I can barely remember everything that made it myself as well.
the finale ep will be out Friday December 11th
Night Court one of my all time favorites.
The top 25 was filled with many of the shows you would hope and expect to see. And, hey, I picked the #1 show. I picked it because of its staying power, the careers it has launched, the cultural impact it has had, and the many sketches that still resonate today. The 40th anniversary show stands out as a testament to the impact that show has had on entertainment, and while there are other more consistent shows, I still feel that SNL has to be among the top shows of all time.
I was very glad to see All In The Family in there. That show is still hilarious. I mean, the clip you played during the podcast had me laughing out loud.
I feel like the placements were good, for the most part. No major complaints except for Daredevil. Let’s face it, it is probably the best of the superhero shows, but it is too high. And I do like that series, don’t get me wrong.
See we redeemed ourselves the closer to #1 it got!
Yes I Figured you’d like knowing you got number 1 right on the money.
Will you be placing a written version of the list anywhere? So we can see it all in once place. I have a decent idea of what was on it but I can’t remember everything.
There will be in the wrap up episode post.
When is that coming out. I can barely remember everything that made it myself as well.
the finale ep will be out Friday December 11th
We’ll be putting one on the site. If you have any questions like if a show made it or not I’d be happy to answer them on these boards.
I was surprised not to see Taxi, Gilligan’s Island, House, or Murphy Brown. Night Court would have been good to see on the list. I have heard good things about Hannibal.
Wow, you said it way better I did. Glad I’m not alone in the Twilight zone love.
We’ll be going over the shows that almost made the list in the next record. You may be happy or sad to here many of those you listed were quite close to making it.
Yes I Figured you’d like knowing you got number 1 right on the money.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Guys this was a great deal of fun to listen to. Can’t say I agreed with a lot of what you put on and where but cool project none the less. Happy to see The Office as the highest ranking new comedy. its one of my favorites. Breaking Bad as well. I would flip flop number 1 and 2 other than that nothing about the final ten I could object to.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Have you checked out Black Mirror? People say its the Twilight Zone of today.
Is there any chance of doing this again one day but having a bunch of us listeners make our lists and see how they match up?
Potentially, but we’d pool all listener lists to make a master list, just as we do with all Top 100s.
That would be cool. I’m curious what changes would occur.
As a matter of fact there will be an even in 2016 with that very style…
Is there any chance of doing this again one day but having a bunch of us listeners make our lists and see how they match up?
Potentially, but we’d pool all listener lists to make a master list, just as we do with all Top 100s.
That would be cool. I’m curious what changes would occur.
As a matter of fact there will be an even in 2016 with that very style…