your top five best TV shows list

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

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  1. Aman

    Aman Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Village, NYC
    1. Seinfeld
    2. Arrested Development
    3. The Simpsons
    4. The X-Files
    5. Aqua Teen Hunger Force (How could I leave that one out?!)
     
  2. Phantom409

    Phantom409 New Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I forgot one show which could possibly make my list and should have certainly been at the head of my runner-up list: TRAILER PARK BOYS. A very funny and inventive show, where all of the characters are compelling and, as in the best sitcoms, deepen from season to season. I also forgot to list DEADWOOD, THE SOPRANOS, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, THE BOB NEWHART SHOW, and BARNEY MILLER.

    I liked the first season of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, which I watched on DVD. However on the AD DVD extras, the creators go on about how unique the cinema verite style of their show is. TRAILER PARK BOYS had been filmed in that style for a couple of years before AD debuted - much more effectively, imho, as they often incorporate the camera men and sound guys in the action and humor.
     
  3. tojo1962

    tojo1962 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Idaho
    Seinfeld
    Curb Your Enthusiasm
    Simpsons
    Dream On (HBO 1990s)
    Late Night w/ David Letterman (1980s / early 90s)
    Get a Life (w/Chris Elliot)
    30something
     
  4. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1st season/B&W)
    Remington Steele (1st season)
    Seeing Things
    The Fugitive
    Medium
     
  5. ksmitty

    ksmitty Senior Member

    Another show I was thinking of that I didn't see mentioned here is "The Wonder Years"
    I always liked that show and it was one that my wife enjoyed too. No DVD releases of any season yet either. Fred Savage was great in that series I thought.
     
  6. snowman

    snowman Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    Absolutely Fabulous
    I'm Alan Partridge (brilliant, my favourite) .
    X-Files
    Columbo
    Fawlty Towers

    Don't make 'em like this anymore :( .
     
  7. RDK

    RDK Active Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Currently...

    24
    Lost
    Desperate Housewives
    Battlestar Gallactica
    Veronica Mars
    Justice League Unlimited
    Curb Your Enthusiasm

    As for "vintage" shows, there's too many to list, but most are remembered fondly out of nostalgia and really don't hold up as well as we remember. Overall, some of the shows from the last few years are as good as anything that's ever been on TV (especially when it comes to dramas). The writing has improved tremendously since the 60s and 70s.
     
  8. Lost
    Twin Peaks
    The Avengers
    The Prisoner
    Seinfeld

    Honorable mention (ie, ask me again tomorrow and these will be in the top five):

    Hill Street Blues
    St. Elsewhere
    My So-Called Life
    M*A*S*H
    The White Shadow

    Wow! After reading this thread, I see a lot of you agree with me. Anyway, after reading the thread, I'd like to also add:

    Remington Steele (first season only--great 80's noir camp)
    Moonlighting (what Remington Steel was trying to be, although funnier)
    Get A Life (Chris Elliot is unreal).
     
  9. Phantom409

    Phantom409 New Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    1) RDK said:
    "As for "vintage" shows, there's too many to list, but most are remembered fondly out of nostalgia and really don't hold up as well as we remember. Overall, some of the shows from the last few years are as good as anything that's ever been on TV (especially when it comes to dramas). The writing has improved tremendously since the 60s and 70s."

    Welll... to each his own, but I've been having the opposite experience. Thanks to DVD season sets, where you can actually watch a show develop from inception to end, COMPLETE episodes, and superior presentation than I can ever remember, I'm enjoying many vintage shows more than I thought I would. And for me, the major factor is the quality of the shows, not nostalgia.

    A good example is TWILIGHT ZONE. Watching this, several episodes at a time, the great episodes resonate strongly due to the artistry of the show: the beautiful black and white photography, the excellent acting, the poetic writing, and the wonderful music. The lesser episodes are better than I remember; there was so much craft involved with the show that it never dipped below a certain level of quality. The show is very evocative of the early sixties, but it also transcends that era and still hooks younger viewers. Serling had a very strong vision for the show, yet there was plenty of room for ambiguity and other talented people to express themselves. The amazing thing is that Serling kept up the quality for several seasons, fighting the suits on all sorts of asinine matters. I originally experienced TWILIGHT ZONE in re-runs, but there hasn't been a science fiction show I've liked as much over the years. The only thing that comes close is the original STAR TREK, the original OUTER LIMITS, the first couple of seasons of X FILES, and the second season of MILLENNIUM. (There are many other science fiction shows, I've enjoyed, such as FIREFLY and BABYLON 5, but they aren't in my Pantheon.) There has been all kinds of money tossed on science fiction shows over the years, and there's even a channel dedicated to it.

    I like LOST, but the quality already seemed to be slipping in the last couple of episodes, and I really wonder if Abrams will resolve most of the intriguing questions he is raising in a satisfying manner. (I was burned by X FILES, I guess.) The current BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is fun (which I suppose is the version you are referring to), but I have a hard time putting that even in the same ballpark as the original STAR TREK, let alone TWILIGHT ZONE. I strongly disagree that writing has "improved tremendously" over the years, as I'm happy whenever it approaches the level of Serling, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, et al.

    I could go through from genre to genre, but I'll stop with comedy ensemble shows. I liked Dave Chapelle, to a lesser degree the current SNL team, and uh... I can't think of anyone else.... Is it nostalgia, or just sound judgement, to rank SCTV, Monty Python, the first SNL group, Fernwood 2Night, and going back to the stone age, "Your Show of Shows" on a higher level, squarely in the Pantheon? Most of these shows are available on DVD and have aged like fine wine. In other words, as great as Bill Murray and Jim Carrey can be, they ain't going to supplant Chaplin, Keaton, the Marx Brothers, or W.C. Fields.

    IMHO, of course!

    2) HGL2001 said:
    "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"

    The flier in the MILLENNIUM SEASON 3 set stated that TIME TUNNEL and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA are coming in 2006 from Fox.
     
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