your top five best TV shows list

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by 93curr, Aug 18, 2005.

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  1. Linus

    Linus Senior Member

    Location:
    Melb. Australia
    5 that haven't been mentioned yet:

    Soap
    Brass (British send up of Brideshead Revisited)
    The Big Valley
    Benny Hill Show - the early 70s ones.
    Branded - Chuck Connors
     
  2. R. Cat Conrad

    R. Cat Conrad Almost Famous

    Location:
    D/FW Metroplex
    Great thread; got me to thinking in several directions on my own preferneces:

    Really tough call; if I had to speculate on just 5, the narrowing would be based on four factors:

    1) longevity

    2) number of great episodes

    3) series avoids "jumping the shark"

    4) repeated viewability of individual episodes or series' story arcs.

    Using that criteria here are my five choices; no particular order (which could even change if I think long enough about it):

    1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel (since the series overlap & Angel is a spin-off)
    2. Have Gun Will Travel
    3. Babylon 5
    4. Fugitive (original series)
    5. Stargate SG-1

    :whistle: Honorable mentions a-plenty:

    3rd Watch
    NYPD Blue
    Highlander (except for 6th Season; series jumped the shark BIG TIME)
    Next Generation (Star Trek Universe; weak 1st Season, but great series on the whole)
    Cracker (BBC series w/Robbie Coltraine; far superior to American copy)
    Alien Nation
    Wise Guy (great 1st season; gradual decline w/shorter, less interesting story arcs)
    Quantum Leap
    Twilight Zone (original series)
    Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1st couple of seasons; then rapid decline into camp)
    Red Dwarf (British SF comedy)
    Adventures of Superman (George Reeves; 1st season especially; just call it a guilty pleasure)

    :agree: Great Series in the making (these are still in production or recent additions that rock):

    Doctor Who (BBC; latest incarnation with tongue'n cheek adult humor, improved FX & great stories)
    4400 (excellent plot of supposed alien abducties returning home w/problems adjusting)
    Dead Zone (based on Stephen King idea about coma victim awakening w/2nd sight)
    Numbers (well written drama about genius using math to solve cases w/FBI brother)
    Lost (not sure where it's going, but it is compelling)

    :sigh: Great failed TV series (a moment of silence for some truly magnificent series which the networks axed before their time):

    Firefly
    Briscoe County Junior
    Miracles
    Outer Limits (original series; lasted 2 seasons)
    Profit
    Invisible Man
    Dark Angel

    :shake: Interesting series that shifted gears to bolster so-so ratings only to end up jumping the shark anyway & being bounced by Admiral Nielsen from the network's fleet:


    Boomtown (1st season GREAT; 2nd season, UGH!) :hurlleft:
    Roswell (1st season excellent; 2nd season, :wtf: WTF?!)
    Enterprise (terrible 1st season; overhaul was too little; too late; by 2rd season we'd already quit watching)

    :yawn: Series which have either finished their purpose or jumped the shark long ago, but have so far managed to outswim it):

    Alias (goofy confetti-plotting, with logic & suspended disbelief tossed out the window)
    24 (the plots have gradually become lame & soapy; logic stretched to limits)
    ER (the show should've died with Anthony Edward's character)

    :biglaugh: I'd like to add more to this list, but I've already gotten carried away (obviously)!

    :cheers:
    Cat
     
  3. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

    Location:
    ---------------
    Not to burst your bubble but Alien Nation only went for one season. So much for longevity.
     
  4. Ben Sinise

    Ben Sinise Forum Reticent

    Location:
    Sydney
    In no particular order -

    MASH
    Star Trek
    The Sopranos
    Fawlty Towers
    The Twilight Zone
     
  5. R. Cat Conrad

    R. Cat Conrad Almost Famous

    Location:
    D/FW Metroplex

    Not to be argumentative Scott, but the series was a bit more successful than that. You're right that it was cancelled too early though. The problem with the Fox Network had to do with growing pains and the costs involved for continuing the SF series. HOWEVER, even though it only ran one season (technically), it was later revived in a series of movies that fleshed out various plot threads with the original cast.

    It's limited original run is the very reason I didn't list it among my Top 5, but it was a great series and deserving of honorable mention. You are probably correct that it would've been better to have placed it in the category among those cancelled too soon, but the revival of the series in Made for TV movies worked quite well, doing nothing to disparage memories of the original series, so I feel that it's fair to regard this series as successful.

    No bursted bubble, nor sour milk. :winkgrin:

    :cheers:
    Cat
     
  6. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    Top Five that I own on DVD:

    Star Trek
    Twilight Zone
    The Prisoner
    M*A*S*H (not yet completed due to availability)
    Quantum Leap (not yet completed due to availability)

    Top five that I want that are not on DVD:

    Time Tunnel
    The Fugitive (David Janssen)
    The Invaders
    Nowhere Man
    Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
     
  7. RickH

    RickH Connoisseur of deep album cuts

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    The Andy Griffith Show
    Twilight Zone
    X Files
    Outer Limits (original)
    SCTV
     
  8. brew ziggins

    brew ziggins Forum Prisoner

    Location:
    The Village
    Top Five Ended Shows

    The Prisoner
    Twin Peaks
    The Avengers
    Seinfeld
    M*A*S*H


    Top Five Shows Still Filming

    Deadwood
    The Daily Show
    Entourage
    Sopranos
    The West Wing
     
  9. Wufnpoof

    Wufnpoof Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    I think "Malcolm in the Middle" deserves to be on somebody's list. :thumbsup:
     
  10. pjaizz

    pjaizz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    Oh yes, my favorite show perhaps of all time (though I have a special spot for the Zone as well).

    The only time I have written to a network about a show...I was mortified when CBS ended "Frank" after only one season. And they "rewarded" Tim Reid with some lame detective show with his wife afterwards...ugh!
     
  11. Chip Z

    Chip Z Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland, OH, USA
    I haven't seen Firefly, but the trailer for Serenity is pretty lame. (I've seen it the last 2 weekends.)

    Some favorites off the top of my head:
    Buffy
    The Office (BBC)
    24
    Rescue Me
    The Shield

    When Sopranos was/is good, it's up there too.
     
  12. Veltri

    Veltri ♪♫♫♪♪♫♫♪

    Location:
    Canada
    Glad to see Larry Sanders and Babylon 5 on so many lists...

    These plus Twin Peaks, Mr. Bean and the very short-lived Police Squad.
     
  13. progrocker

    progrocker Senior Member

    In no particular order....

    1. M*A*S*H(with Major Burns)
    2. All in the Family
    3. The Twilight Zone
    4. The Sopranos
    5. Monty Python's Flying Circus
     
  14. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    In order of preference :

    Homicide
    The Sopranos
    Seinfeld
    NYPD Blue
    St Elsewhere
     
  15. rd1

    rd1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Ga.
    All Creatures Great and Small (seasons 1-3)
    Homicide
    Married, with Children (seasons 1-5)
    Monty Python's Flying Circus
    Night Court


    (Honorable mention, Laugh In, Barney Miller,Seinfeld, Law and Order)


    Bob
     
  16. 4_everyman

    4_everyman The Sexual Intellectual

    Location:
    Gillette, Wyoming
    In no particular order:

    * Babylon 5
    * Hill Street Blues
    * Star Trek (original series)
    * St. Elsewhere
    * Star Trek: The Next Generation
     
  17. Rich Malloy

    Rich Malloy Forum Resident

    Twin Peaks
    Fawlty Towers
    The Sopranos
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    The Office (UK)

    Special Mentions:
    Riget/Hospital
    Homicide: Life on the Street
     
  18. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but I also like the show "Sliders". I've been enjoying the heck out of the two boxed sets of seasons one, two, and three!
     
  19. Phantom409

    Phantom409 New Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    My five favorites (in descending order):

    1. Rockford Files
    2. SCTV
    3. Twilight Zone
    4. The Simpsons
    5. You'll Never Get Rich / Sgt. Bilko

    Runners-up - which could make the list on another day: Route 66, Twin Peaks (too many valleys in the second season), Honey West, The Honeymooners, Maverick, Batman Animated Series, The Fugitive, Perry Mason, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Kung Fu, Geeks and Freaks, Crime Story, Futurama, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Hullaballoo, Love That Bob, Private Eye, You Bet Your Life, Cheyenne, Fernwood 2Nite, Have Gun Will Travel, Green Acres, Jazz Casual, Mr. Ed, Hawaii Five-O, Ramar of the Jungle, and the second season of Millennium.

    I've seen many, many episodes of The Andy Griffith Show over the years, but it's a revelation watching the early shows one after another on the wonderful DVD season sets. There are so many great things: the black and white photography, wonderful characters, sharp humor (Aaron Ruben who oversaw the scripts was a Bilko alumni who went on to Sanford and Son), and the sheer weirdness. Often there are odd, very striking closeups and unusual bits of business that anticipate Twin Peaks and "The Merv Griffin Show" on SCTV.
     
  20. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    for me:

    seinfeld
    sopranos
    twin peaks
    cheers
    the tonight show starring johnny carson
     
  21. Extremely tough, but here's mine in no particular order:

    Doctor Who
    The Simpsons
    The Honeymooners
    The Outer Limits (original)
    The Prisoner

    Runners Up: Fawlty Towers, Monty Python, The Avengers, Family Guy, King of the Hill, The Newsroom, Twilight Zone (original), Andy Griffith, Taxi, Ed Sullivan, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek, Next Generation, Lost In Space
     
  22. bldg blok

    bldg blok Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elmira, NY
    1) Mystery Science Theater 3000
    2) The Sopranos
    3) Arrested Development
    4) The Simpsons
    5) Seinfeld

    Tie for honorable mention- Futurama and Mr. Show with Bob and Dave.
     
  23. Beatlelennon65

    Beatlelennon65 Active Member

    In no order
    The Simpsons- I dont car if that quality has gone down, it's still better than most of the **** on tv. 7 strong seasons gets this series on the top 5

    All In The Family- Just for the issues this series brought up on prime time

    Cheers- One of my all time favorites

    Star Trek- TOS Great Sci-Fi

    Seinfeld- Classic
     
  24. Rando

    Rando Active Member

    In no order:

    Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Darren McGavin oozes cool, and that theme song still gives me goosebumps.)
    Twin Peaks (Who can ever forget a murder, shot with the camera rotating 360-degrees, while Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" plays in the background? Brilliant!)
    The Prisoner (Probably the single most intelligent show ever made.)
    The Sopranos (Each episode is like a miniature film; the cast performances are flawless.)
    SNL - The First 3 Seasons (No other show could make me stay up that late in the 70s.)
     
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