# The Real Greatest TV Shows of All Time



## Morrus (Jun 8, 2021)

No, this isn't a list of just Swedish shows you watched on a Tuesday which feature nobody wearing glasses and star three people whose names begin with K! In this list you can list the actual greatest TV shows of all time and why!

These are in no particular order. I've tried to pick 10, but there are dozens which I could have picked. It's tough, but somebody had to do it. Plus, obviously, I haven't seen all the TV shows.

*Game of Thrones.* Despite criticism of its final season, this is one of the best shows ever made. Kept me hooked every single week.

*Blackadder.* Ignoring season 1 (hey we're ignoring Got's s8, right?) this is one of the best two comedy shows ever made. Pure genius.

*Fawlty Towers. *This is the other in the best two comedy shows. Nothing has ever made me laugh harder. Note there's no Python in this list; Python has some of the worlds best sketches, but they were hit and miss.

*Star Trek.* We can't be without Trek in this list. Question is, which one? TOS is the one which started it all. TNG is better quality (after the first couple of seasons are out of the way). Lots of people love DS9. There are others. I think I'm going to go with TNG, but it's a tough call.

*The West Wing. *I loved this show. Sure, it's idealistic, a bit preachy, and look pretty silly given the insights we've gotten into how things really work, but the characters are so engaging, and the storylines are gripping.

*BBC's Rome.* A show made by the BBC in Italy (I am given to understand it was shown on a  channel called HBO in America), the first season of this was superb. I felt it meandered a bit in the second season. Rome only just squeezes into this list.

*The Thick of It. *Malcolm Tucker before he came _Doctor Who_. That is all.

*Prime Suspect. *Helen Mirren in a gritty cop procedural. It's old, but it's so good.

*The Sopranos. *I'm not sure if it was this or _West Wing_ which started our current age of TV-better-than-movies.

*Line of Duty. *I care about one thing, and one thing only, and that's nicking bent coppers!

*Parks And Recreation. *This spot had to go to one of those types of shows._ The Office_ was a contender, but I find P&R more fun.

Honourable mentions:_ I'm Alan Partridge, The Good Place, Doctor Who, Cheers, Curb Your Enthusiasm,  Only Fools and Horses, The Office_ (both)_, The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica _(reboot)_, Buffy, Friends._


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## Hatmatter (Jun 8, 2021)

Morrus said:


> *Game of Thrones.* Despite criticism of its final season, this is one of the best shows ever made. Kept me hooked every single week.



This show is so unbelievably good. I just finished a rewatch a couple months ago and, every time I do that, I am stunned at how good it is. I am one of those people who love the final season. "The Bells" in season 8 works better and better for me each time I watch the build-up through the previous seasons when I do a complete watch through. Some times I read a book or see a film and I simply do not know how people made it as good as it is. GoT is like that for me. And, given that the readership here is mostly a bunch of D&D players, I have never seen a better dramatization of a typical D&D one-shot adventure than "Beyond the Wall" in season 7....I think that is probably my favorite episode of them all. So good. 

No Breaking Bad on your list, Morrus? Breaking Bad is so good. I think it is even better than GoT.


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## TheAlkaizer (Jun 8, 2021)

I don't watch a ton of shows because they're too time consuming. And I tend to be more critical than the average watcher I'd say. Most shows that people qualify as amazing I find good, and most shows that people quality as good I quality as barely mediocre. So, there's not many shows that comes to mind when I think about what the greatest shows are.

However, there's one exception. It's my favorite show and I consider it almost perfect in most ways; *Mad Men*. It cannot be stated enough how brilliant the writing is. It's a profound work that does not leans on eye-catching and surprising cheap drama to interest you, almost all its characters (primary, secondary or even tertiary) are well-developed, it manages to make most episodes have an arc and work on their own while also having season-wide (and show-wide) arcs for its characters and the general plot.

I haven't watched the Sopranos yet, but it's on my list!



Morrus said:


> *BBC's Rome.* A show made by the BBC in Italy (I am given to understand it was shown on a channel called HBO in America), the first season of this was superb. I felt it meandered a bit in the second season. Rome only just squeezes into this list.



Isn't it a full co-production between HBO and BBC? I'm pretty sure it was initially pitched to HBO and they seeked a production partner, ending up financing like 80% of the production of the first season.



Morrus said:


> *Game of Thrones.* Despite criticism of its final season, this is one of the best shows ever made. Kept me hooked every single week.



Even though I lived and breathed ASOIAF for years, I can't in good conscience count Game of Thrones as one of the best shows. A few of its seasons are among the best TV seasons I've watched and are highly respectful of the source material. But it really went downhill. Music, sets, costumes, acting and all that have been spectacular until the very end. But it can't be emphasized how bad the last two or three seasons were. They can still be enjoyed, tons of people did. But for me, it can't be a spectacular flight if your plane doesn't land.


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## Morrus (Jun 8, 2021)

Hatmatter said:


> No Breaking Bad on your list, Morrus? Breaking Bad is so good. I think it is even better than GoT.



Better Call Saul is better, and it didn’t make my list either.


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## Ryujin (Jun 8, 2021)

Morrus said:


> No, this isn't a list of just Swedish shows you watched on a Tuesday which feature nobody wearing glasses and star three people whose names begin with K! In this list you can list the actual greatest TV shows of all time and why!
> 
> These are in no particular order. I've tried to ick 10, but there are dozens which I could have picked. It's tough, but somebody had to do it. Plus, obviously, I haven't seen all the TV shows.
> 
> ...



There's going to be a certain amount of difference in the list, due to exposure and culture, but my list would look a lot like yours. For example I have no reference for shows like "The Thick of It" or "Prime Suspect", but suspect they'd be up on my list if I did. In their place I might substitute a long lost gem like "Kolchak: The Night Stalker", which some would see as the forerunner of shows like "The X Files." It did "monster of the week" but in that campy, comedic '70s way. 

When it comes to Star Trek I would go for TOS, simply because it broke so many cultural barriers in its time and set the DNA of what followed. I agree that it's a tough choice.


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## fnordland (Jun 8, 2021)

I second *Parks and Recreation* and I would like to suggest *Taxi* a comedy from the late 70s. Both feature ensemble casts who would go on to have extraordinary careers.

My recommendation is *Heimat*, the story of a German village from 1919-1980. Filmed by a painter with a wonderful soundtrack it is a moving depiction of many lives through multiple families. The cinematography is rich, the acting is superb and the music ties it all together.

These shows have a beginning, middle and end. I think the major fault of many shows is that I have no confidence in the show runner to have that sequence. It becomes one endless twist after the other, the writers behaving like jailors to the audience, janking the chain of their captives. When you have put in effort to convince the audience then pull the rug from under them I'm just going to walk away. Why should I watch your series when you are just going to change everything or give the villain total plot immunity. This is why I did not watch *GoT*.

Thank you for me reminding me about *Rome*. An all star cast and so evocative in set design. Thirteenth!


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## Morrus (Jun 8, 2021)

TheAlkaizer said:


> Isn't it a full co-production between HBO and BBC? I'm pretty sure it was initially pitched to HBO and they seeked a production partner, ending up financing like 80% of the production of the first season.



I mean, sure, they paid for the catering.  Somebody paid for the _Mona Lisa_, but da Vinci painted it.


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## Islayre d'Argolh (Jun 8, 2021)

*The wire* : from my point of view, the best TV show ever. There is two kind of television : the Wire and everything else.

*Buffy the vampire slayer* (& *Angel*) : Buffy is the perfect "working class superhero". Some episodes are just fully awsomes (Hush, the Zeppo, the body, etc.)
*True detective (season 1*) : the season 2 is far from bad (dont' know about the season 3) but cannot stand the comparison with the dark magic of the first one.
*Batman* (TAS) : was amazed as a child, still am as a grown-up showing it to my little girls.

Honourable mentions:_ The Good Place, Rome, Friends, Oz, the Queen's gambit, the IT crowd, the Simpsons, Show me a hero._


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## Hatmatter (Jun 8, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Better Call Saul is better, and it didn’t make my list either.



I only made it through season 3 of Better Call Caul so far, but it is outstanding for sure.


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## Blue (Jun 8, 2021)

Hatmatter said:


> I only made it through season 3 of Better Call Caul so far, but it is outstanding for sure.



Do I need to have watched Breaking Bad to watch it?


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## Morrus (Jun 8, 2021)

Blue said:


> Do I need to have watched Breaking Bad to watch it?



Nah, its a prequel and stands alone.


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## billd91 (Jun 8, 2021)

Morrus said:


> *Blackadder.* Ignoring season 1 (hey we're ignoring Got's s8, right?) this is one of the best two comedy shows ever made. Pure genius.



Why on earth would you ignore season 1? It's a bit different with Blackadder's character not as established, but it's still damn funny.


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## Morrus (Jun 8, 2021)

billd91 said:


> Why on earth would you ignore season 1? It's a bit different with Blackadder's character not as established, but it's still damn funny.



It's just a totally different show. It was completely reinvented for s2.


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## Gradine (Jun 8, 2021)

Serious list time

*Duck Tales* (2017) - No seriously, though, this is such a great damn show. The humor works, the heartwarming stuff works, the moments of nostalgia work, the triplets have defined personalities, the cast is amazing (including the always under-appreciated Paget Brewster). Sure, it throws a lot of stuff at the wall; it's just that nearly everything sticks.
*Bluey *(AUS) - If you don't have young kids I wouldn't go out of your way to watch it, but if you do have young kids watch this with them immediately. I think it's on Disney+. Genuinely funny, genuinely heartwarming, and it always has a wonderful lesson (for kids and, sometimes, for parents).
*The Witcher *- Yeah it's not all kiddy stuff on this list. The Witcher isn't going to win any awards for deep storytelling, but it's exactly what it needed to be, which is _fun_.
*The Good Place - *The only sitcom that is consistently excellent all the way through (don't @ me), and it did it while being both hilarious and having actual insight in the human condition.
*Lost - *Say what you will, but Lost changed the face of TV, and it did it with unique storytelling and characters that were always compelling (if not always or even often likeable). People hate on it a lot because it left a lot of mysteries of the island unexplained (and the magic bathplug at the end _was _a little weak), but that's never what the show was about.
*Battlestar Galactica *- It's become trendy to look back on this show with disdain, and in some ways that's fair (*Caprica *being awful didn't help, and BSG had some clunker episodes, and the last five minutes of the show were just plain terrible), but this show was as big as it was for as long as it was because it was _good_. I dare you to find a more compelling hour of TV, from beginning to end, than "33". I'll wait.
*Haunting of Bly Manor *- I was worried about this, because *Hill House *was also very good, but *Bly Manor *is better in every conceivable way. Both seasons are very good. There's not a lot of jump scares here; the horror is very slow burn and melancholy.
*Deadwood *- Ended before its time, this is another show with an absolutely phenomenal cast that makes us root for both good guys and the bad guys. Quite possibly the best dialogue on television. There's something almost Shakespearean about the writing, right down to the fool's monologue (warning: language).
*Buffy the Vampire Slayer *- A show that somehow holds up both better _and _worse than you'd expect it to. Reckoning with Joss Whedon's legacy makes it difficult to not color perceptions of his presentation of "female empowerment". It's also one of the whitest shows set in Southern California I've ever seen (*Deadwood*, of all things, has a more diverse cast). Still, this is the only show that can compete with Lost in terms of how much it's contributed to the face of modern TV, and that's for a reason. Nobody was really doing storytelling like this on TV, and more than anything, _that's _the aspect that holds. (Also, Season 6's allegory for depression works way better than people want to give it credit for).
*She-ra and the Princesses of Power *- Someone asked the right question at the right time: "What if Buffy, but _even more gay" _and the end result was this very excellent series. It had some missteps (A non-binary character? Yay! They're a shapeshifting con artist who thrives on chaos? Uhh...) but if you ended up missing out on this for whatever reason, it's worth a shot. The animation is a _little _rough, but the writing and characters more than make up for it.
Not Appearing on This List:

*Avatar the Last Airbender *- Recently re-watched it and... it doesn't hold up as well as I remembered? The Aang/Katara stuff in general was realllly rough. Toph still rules though.
*Angel *- Occasionally better than Buffy; usually worse though, and it had longer (and deeper) rough patches. Gunn still rules though.
*Breaking Bad *- Along with Sopranos and The Wire, these are shows that I can recognize as having quality, but feature stories and characters that I just don't care about at all.
*Brooklyn 9-9 *- At it's best it competes with *The Good Place *(by the same production company, if I recall correctly), but it has some more distinct downturns and missteps. Rosa still rules though.


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## Umbran (Jun 8, 2021)

So, I'm not a fan of ranking my personal favorite shows.  

Greatest of all time, in terms of TV history and impact, most of what's getting mentioned here is still going to be small potatoes compared to the historic greats -  the Ed Sullivan Show, 60 Minutes, The Honeymooners, Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, I Love Lucy.

Maybe Star Trek fits in there on cultural impact.


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## Sacrosanct (Jun 8, 2021)

Morrus said:


> It's just a totally different show. It was completely reinvented for s2.



I thought season 1 was the best, in no small part due to Brian Blessed


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## Morrus (Jun 8, 2021)

Umbran said:


> So, I'm not a fan of ranking my personal favorite shows.
> 
> Greatest of all time, in terms of TV history and impact, most of what's getting mentioned here is still going to be small potatoes compared to the historic greats -  the Ed Sullivan Show, 60 Minutes, The Honeymooners, Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, I Love Lucy.



I’ve seen the Simpsons. No idea what the rest are!


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## Sacrosanct (Jun 8, 2021)

As far as British Comedies go, while I am a fan of the older shows (BA, Faulty Towers), I have to rank Season 2 of Cuckoo (Tyler Laughtner was a huge pleasant surprise for me) and all but season 1 of IT Crowd.  Those are two my all time favorite comedy shows, regardless of nationality.


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## Imaculata (Jun 8, 2021)

Season 1 of the Haunting of Hillhouse is fantastic, and some of the best acting I have seen on tv. I'm less of a fan of Blymanor, it didn't really click with me.

Cobra Kai is also fantastic. It manages to be both funny, sincere drama, and nostalgic. A loving tribute to a movie that no one knew they wanted a tv show of. The writing in each episode is stellar.

Better Call Saul is also great, but is it as good or better than Breaking Bad? Personally, I feel the stakes are not as high. But it still is a great show.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has stood the test of time. There are just so many great episodes. My favourite episodes are: Conversations with Dead People, The Wish, Hush, The Zeppo, Bewitched Bothered & Bewildered, Help, Dopplegangland, Passion, Revelations, Innocense, Halloween, Lovers Walk, Crush, The Body, Killed by Death, Earshot, Something Blue, Restless, Fool for Love, The Gift, Forever, Normal Again, Him, Bad Girls, and Once More with Feeling.

If that seem like a lot of episodes to list as favourites... yeah...


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## Morrus (Jun 8, 2021)

Imaculata said:


> Season 1 of the Haunting of Hillhouse is fantastic, and some of the best acting I have seen on tv. I'm less of a fan of Blymanor, it didn't really click with me.
> 
> Cobra Kai is also fantastic. It manages to be both funny, sincere drama, and nostalgic. A loving tribute to a movie that no one knew they wanted a tv show of. The writing in each episode is stellar.



Cobra Kai is really good! Not top 10 for me, but it’s ready good!


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## Umbran (Jun 8, 2021)

Morrus said:


> I’ve seen the Simpsons. No idea what the rest are!




They are all historical heavyweights of American television.

The Ed Sullivan Show was the seminal variety show - the precursor to the modern "late night tv talk show".  It ran from 1948 to 1971.

The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy were among the founders of the "sitcom" genre, back in the 1950s.

Saturday Night Live was (and still is) the leader of sketch comedy shows, having run from 1971 to the present, and is known for having been a starting place for a great many leading comedians.

60 Minutes is a "news magazine" show that's been running for 53 seasons now.


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## Zaukrie (Jun 8, 2021)

Tough, but with giving it zero thought, here are some shows I've loved and (more recent ones I always recommend to people):

MASH
Game of Thrones
Battlestar
Next Generation
Ted Lasso (ya, it's not done, but it is so very good)
The Americans (might be the highest "floor" show ever, with consistently great episodes)
Broadchurch
X Files
Expanse
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Rome
Firefly
Sherlock

There are more, but if someone asked what they should watch, those would all be on the list

(Stranger Things season 1 also, but after that? Not as great)


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## Ryujin (Jun 8, 2021)

Umbran said:


> They are all historical heavyweights of American television.
> 
> The Ed Sullivan Show was the seminal variety show - the precursor to the modern "late night tv talk show".  It ran from 1948 to 1971.
> 
> ...



Saturday Night Live is good and bad, in cycles, but I don't think that anyone can deny its impact on modern entertainment in North America. Other networks tried to recreate the lightning in a bottle, but failed miserably. Fox had two runs at it; "The Edge", in the early '90s, and "Mad TV", which managed a 10 year run but was never as popular and SNL. Oddly enough, though she didn't stick in my mind from previous roles ("Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Leprechaun", etc.), I did consciously notice Jennifer Aniston for the first time on "The Edge."


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## Hatmatter (Jun 8, 2021)

Blue said:


> Do I need to have watched Breaking Bad to watch it?



Hi Blue, 

Like most spin-offs, one can derive more from it if one is familiar with the original because of the nods to Breaking Bad and because of directions you know that characters are headed, but it stands on its own as well. Perhaps it would even be interesting to watch as a prequel of sorts before watching Breaking Bad.


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## Ralif Redhammer (Jun 8, 2021)

Blackadder and Fawlty Towers are just so funny and so sharp. And if you count Blackadder season 4 as the end of the series, well, that's about as pithy and moving an end to a comedy show as you could get.

Game of Thrones is absolutely up there. If you had told kid Ralif that there was going to be a sprawling epic fantasy series on TV with dragons, undead, and magic swords AND it was going to be one of the most popular television shows of its time, he wouldn't have believed it.


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## Ryujin (Jun 8, 2021)

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Blackadder and Fawlty Towers are just so funny and so sharp. And if you count Blackadder season 4 as the end of the series, well, that's about as pithy and moving an end to a comedy show as you could get.
> 
> Game of Thrones is absolutely up there. If you had told kid Ralif that there was going to be a sprawling epic fantasy series on TV with dragons, undead, and magic swords AND it was going to be one of the most popular television shows of its time, he wouldn't have believed it.



What if you told Young Ralif that it would have full frontal nudity?


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## Gradine (Jun 8, 2021)

Imaculata said:


> Season 1 of the Haunting of Hillhouse is fantastic, and some of the best acting I have seen on tv. I'm less of a fan of Blymanor, it didn't really click with me.



It's a very different style of horror, and like the show calls out at the end, it really is more of a love story than anything, but still a deeply tragic one.

Ironically, I found the acting very hit-or-miss in Hill House and much more consistent in Bly Manor. I never thought I'd live to see the day that Timothy Hutton phones it in, but here we are. The younger version of the dad (fun fact: he was Elliot for E.T.!) nailed it though.


Imaculata said:


> Buffy the Vampire Slayer has stood the test of time. There are just so many great episodes. My favourite episodes are: Conversations with Dead People, The Wish, Hush, The Zeppo, Bewitched Bothered & Bewildered, Help, Dopplegangland, Passion, Revelations, Innocense, Halloween, Lovers Walk, Crush, The Body, Killed by Death, Earshot, Something Blue, Restless, Fool for Love, The Gift, Forever, Normal Again, Him, Bad Girls, and Once More with Feeling.
> 
> If that seem like a lot of episodes to list as favourites... yeah...



I'm surprised not to see Tabula Rasa on there, actually. Otherwise, solid list.


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## Gradine (Jun 8, 2021)

Game of Thrones fell off the wagon well before the final season, which was definitely the show at its worst, but it was a steady decline in quality after the 4th season (the excellent first 10 minutes of the Season 6 finale notwithstanding). I think it proved that D&D are pretty great at adaptation but terrible at storytelling on their own.


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## Morrus (Jun 8, 2021)

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Blackadder and Fawlty Towers are just so funny and so sharp. And if you count Blackadder season 4 as the end of the series, well, that's about as pithy and moving an end to a comedy show as you could get.



Well, they all die at the end of every series.


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## Hatmatter (Jun 8, 2021)

Gradine said:


> Game of Thrones fell off the wagon well before the final season, which was definitely the show at its worst, but it was a steady decline in quality after the 4th season (the excellent first 10 minutes of the Season 6 finale notwithstanding). I think it proved that D&D are pretty great at adaptation but terrible at storytelling on their own.



My favorite seasons are later on..probably season 7.


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## Zaukrie (Jun 8, 2021)

Gradine said:


> Game of Thrones fell off the wagon well before the final season, which was definitely the show at its worst, but it was a steady decline in quality after the 4th season (the excellent first 10 minutes of the Season 6 finale notwithstanding). I think it proved that D&D are pretty great at adaptation but terrible at storytelling on their own.



IMO it proved no such thing. It proved that great writing is better than ok writing......


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## Imaculata (Jun 8, 2021)

Gradine said:


> I'm surprised not to see Tabula Rasa on there, actually. Otherwise, solid list.




Tabula Rasa is a fun episode, but it is very similar in concept to several other episodes of Buffy in which the characters are put in different roles, such as Halloween. It is a bit of a repetition.


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## Gradine (Jun 8, 2021)

Imaculata said:


> Tabula Rasa is a fun episode, but it is very similar in concept to several other episodes of Buffy in which the characters are put in different roles, such as Halloween. It is a bit of a repetition.



<shrug> To each their own. I actually thought Tabula Rasa was much more compelling than Halloween, not even the best Ethan-Rayne-creates-Chaos episode (that would be Band Candy). 

Hush still stands as one of the best episode of TV, ever.


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## Ralif Redhammer (Jun 8, 2021)

Probably he would've blushed and hid his head under a napkin (like I did the time I suggested the family watch The Man Who Fell To Earth one Thanksgiving, because Bowie's cool, right?).



Ryujin said:


> What if you told Young Ralif that it would have full frontal nudity?




Something about the starkness of season 4's ending, that final shot, the poignant music fading into silence and the wind, hit stronger for me.



Morrus said:


> Well, they all die at the end of every series.


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## CleverNickName (Jun 8, 2021)

I didn't care all that much for _Game of Thrones_...I thought it was overrated.  My friends kept talking it up constantly, and I really tried, but it just never measured up to the hype they were giving.  I thought _The Adventures of Broody Special-Man_ (or "The Witcher") was a better fantasy show in my opinion.  But it's not "complete," so it's not allowed.

The best show I've watched lately was _Steven Universe._  It has some of the best world-building I've seen in a fantasy show, and some of the strongest character development.  But it's a cartoon, and that's also not allowed.

So within the strict criteria established in earlier threads, _M*A*S*H_ is the best that I've ever seen.  The television show takes place in an era of American history that few people are very proud of, and even fewer will ever learn about in school.  McCarthyism, the ethics of war, the moral dilemma of duty vs. humanity, etc.  The characters are absurd and clownish, but the real joke is the whole premise: is anything more ridiculous than having a hospital in a war zone?  "First, they shoot them to pieces.  Then they ask us to put them back together again.  Why?  So they can shoot them to pieces again!"
 -Hawkeye, probably


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## Gradine (Jun 8, 2021)

CleverNickName said:


> I didn't care all that much for _Game of Thrones_...I thought it was overrated.  My friends kept talking it up constantly, and I really tried, but it just never measured up to the hype they were giving.  I thought _The Adventures of Broody Special-Man_ (or "The Witcher") was a better fantasy show in my opinion.  But it's not "complete," so it's not allowed.
> 
> The best show I've watched lately was _Steven Universe._  It has some of the best world-building I've seen in a fantasy show, and some of the strongest character development.  But it's a cartoon, and that's also not allowed.
> 
> ...



I mean, I think those are the rules for the previous thread (and even then only for the OP); this is the thread where anything goes.

And +1 on Steven Universe.


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## Ralif Redhammer (Jun 8, 2021)

Steven Universe is so good. Wholesome, creative, and well-written. I'm so behind on episodes, I really need to get back to it (See also Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts).



CleverNickName said:


> The best show I've watched lately was _Steven Universe._  It has some of the best world-building I've seen in a fantasy show, and some of the strongest character development.  But it's a cartoon, and that's also not allowed.


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## DrunkonDuty (Jun 9, 2021)

Another +1 on _Steven Universe_. If I wind up doing a non-facetious best TV shows list I think it will be on it.


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## Gladius Legis (Jun 10, 2021)

Game of Thrones is half of an all-time great show (Seasons 1-4) and half of an abomination of TV (5-8).

The West Wing has aged extremely poorly. I don't believe I could watch it nowadays and keep a straight face. It's just so hopelessly naive about American politics.

The Simpsons ... if you limit it to the first 8 seasons, it's the best sitcom of all time. Seasons 9 and 10 feature a stark decline, and Seasons 11+ are just worthless.


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## Zardnaar (Jun 17, 2021)

Umbran said:


> So, I'm not a fan of ranking my personal favorite shows.
> 
> Greatest of all time, in terms of TV history and impact, most of what's getting mentioned here is still going to be small potatoes compared to the historic greats -  the Ed Sullivan Show, 60 Minutes, The Honeymooners, Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, I Love Lucy.
> 
> Maybe Star Trek fits in there on cultural impact.




 MASH using that criteria. 

 Sopranos
Breaking Bad
The Wire

 The boring top 3.  

 Rome was great only 2 seasons. Black adder is awesome but there's lots of other British shows to compete with. It's very good. 

  I'm going to throw in the Simpsons. Watching it now 18 seasons in and it's still doing alright. Not as good as early stuff but still.

 Parks and Rec. Yeah I'll go with this. Best American comedy of all time Community and The Office had some negatives. 

 Star Trek jyst to inconsistent for me. DS9 is the only good one that's consistent the rest are very hit or miss. 

 GoT wasn't just the last season niticuble decline from season 5 onwards, the first 4 seasons though would make it. 

 Justified. Good from start to finish and it stuck the landing. That's going on. Stargate Atlantis probably my favorite sci Fi fairly consistent start to finish. I'll add that. 

 Last place is hard. Orange is the New Black final season was weak but was great overall. I'm going with next favorite sci Fi show not sure if that's SG1, Farscape or B5.



Z's Top 10 (personal list no particular order)

The Wire
Breaking Bad
The Sopranos.
The Simpsons.
Parks and Rec
A British comedy (pick your favorite Blackadder, Red Dwarf etc)
Justified
Star Gate Atlantis
Next Favorite Sci Fi show

 If we did best comedies and could include British stuff I think 7/10 would be British.


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## DrunkonDuty (Jun 17, 2021)

Okay, I'm in.

The top (-ish) 10 TV shows of all time, in no particular order.

Steven Universe
Bluey
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Game of Thrones (seasons 1-5.)
Community
Jessica Jones (This was tough, Luke Cage was in the running, and Daredevil too if we ignore season2.)
Big Mouth
The Simpsons (at it's best it's fantastic, even at its worst it's still okay.)
Blackadder (Seasons 2 & 4 are the best but all are good, yes even season 1.)
Madmen (dog damn it is pretty to watch.)

Probably also in the top 10:
Stranger Things
Nighty Night 
Futurama
The Young Ones (very much of it's time but my teenaged self couldn't get enough of it.)
Black Books
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. (yeah, okay, not really top 10 material, but I wanted to mention it.)


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## GreyLord (Jun 17, 2021)

How can you guys have a real greatest TV shows and NOT include 

Doctor Who?

38 seasons/series and still (we hope) going...


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## Zardnaar (Jun 17, 2021)

GreyLord said:


> How can you guys have a real greatest TV shows and NOT include
> 
> Doctor Who?
> 
> 38 seasons/series and still (we hope) going...




 To inconsistent IMHO old and new.

 There's shows with no dud seasons and argueably no dud episodes.


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## Grendel_Khan (Jun 17, 2021)

Blue said:


> Do I need to have watched Breaking Bad to watch it?



Respectfully disagree with Morrus about this one--I think you should absolutely watch Breaking Bad before Better Call Saul (even though I like Better Call better). It's the rare prequel that really really works _because_ it's a prequel. It also does some time and narrative jumps that don't really make a ton of sense without having seen BB first.

Also, BB is a really good show! It's not a slog in any way.


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## Stalker0 (Jun 18, 2021)

Zardnaar said:


> To inconsistent IMHO old and new.
> 
> There's shows with no dud seasons and argueably no dud episodes.



You could also argue that Dr Who is more an anthology show, with effectively a new cast every few years. So I think if you were to say "Dr Who" you would need to pick which Dr and make that your pick.

I would go with Parks and Rec for American comedy, I honestly can't think of an episode it didn't like, that show was hysterical.


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## Zardnaar (Jun 18, 2021)

Stalker0 said:


> You could also argue that Dr Who is more an anthology show, with effectively a new cast every few years. So I think if you were to say "Dr Who" you would need to pick which Dr and make that your pick.
> 
> I would go with Parks and Rec for American comedy, I honestly can't think of an episode it didn't like, that show was hysterical.




 Parks and Rec would be it for US comedy. Community was good but quality dropped in later seasons with the loss of the best characters.


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## GuyBoy (Jun 25, 2021)

In no particular order:
Game of Thrones
True Detective, series 1 and 3
The Wire
Mare of Easttown
Fawlty Towers


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## WayneLigon (Jun 28, 2021)

Star Trek: TOS
Firefly
Futurama
The Simpsons
All In The Family
Twilight Zone (original)
Angel 
Game of Thrones
Dr. Who (Either series)


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## Sithlord (Jun 28, 2021)

It’s a tie for me between Andy Griffith, green acres, and Hee Haw.


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## Ryujin (Jun 28, 2021)

I think that a case could be made for "Due South" as one of the top shows of all time. At least for the first couple of seasons. A show shot in Toronto, doubling for Chicago, about a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, working at the local (Chicago) consulate, looking for the murderer of his father, who was also a RCMP officer. It used every trope about the Sgt. Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police type of Hollywood character while laughing at how Canadians think that Americans think of Canadians. The triple-fake was hilarious. No add in music by iconic Canadian performers and add in the BBC involvement to see that seasons 3 & 4 were made, for added hilarity.


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