The Wire is the GOAT and there isn't anything that comes close for me. Fargo Season 1 is my runner up.
greatest TV series of all time list
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Last: 5 yr ago by expresswrittenconsent
Perhaps "Mini-Series" is a different category, but Lonesome Dove is, was, and always will be the tits.
Obligatory Lorrie Darlin' (well kinda)
Obligatory Lorrie Darlin' (well kinda)
The greatest argument ever made against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter.
BoydCrowder13 said:
Shows like Lost, the Office and Game of Thrones were great but they have some really terrible seasons weighing them down.
Having recently rewatched all of Lost, I have to say that the hatred for the latter seasons is really overblown, imo.
There's certainly weak episodes in S3-6, but the overall seasons were still good to great. (Not the case with GoT S7-8.)
The S3 finale ("Not Penny's boat", "We have to go back!") is in my top 5 finales of all time.
Season 4 is so good almost the entire way through, especially the last few episodes. (And obviously "The Constant.")
Seasons 5-6 are the ones that get the most criticism, and admittedly the show became plot-centric by this point, which not everyone was down for. But man, Season 6 was so much better than I remembered. The flash-sideways were such a brilliant way to continue developing the characters even while the island plotline was still happening. And honestly the final episode makes me cry more than any show I've ever seen. Just so well done. It's a shame it became a punchline.
Brian Earl Spilner said:BoydCrowder13 said:
Shows like Lost, the Office and Game of Thrones were great but they have some really terrible seasons weighing them down.
Having recently rewatched all of Lost, I have to say that the hatred for the latter seasons is really overblown, imo.
There's certainly weak episodes in S3-6, but the overall seasons were still good to great. (Not the case with GoT S7-8.)
The S3 finale ("Not Penny's boat", "We have to go back!") is in my top 5 finales of all time.
Season 4 is so good almost the entire way through, especially the last few episodes. (And obviously "The Constant.")
Seasons 5-6 are the ones that get the most criticism, and admittedly the show became plot-centric by this point, which not everyone was down for. But man, Season 6 was so much better than I remembered. The flash-sideways were such a brilliant way to continue developing the characters even while the island plotline was still happening. And honestly the final episode makes me cry more than any show I've ever seen. Just so well done. It's a shame it became a punchline.
As a character development show, it is fantastic. The plot turned to hot garbage though. Walt, meaning of the island, Widmore, the numbers, pregnant women, etc. All fell by the wayside.
Several characters became very annoying as well.
Very thoughtful list. My biggest gripe would be Silicon Valley not making the top 50. I'd also put Freaks and Geeks up there, but understand it not making it with only one season. On the other hand, Ohio State made the CFP so there is some precedent.Zombie Jon Snow said:
I'm a person who maintains lists so......here you go. I started this list in 2002 after TV Guide published their Top 50 shows of all time. I made my own and it has changed a lot - the 2nd honorable mention list is shows that were originally in my Top 50 and have been bumped over the years.
1. The Sopranos
2. Breaking Bad
3. The Wire
4. Cheers
5. Seinfeld
6. The Office (UK-BBC)*
7. The Andy Griffith Show
8. M*A*S*H
9. All in the Family
10. Justified
11. Game of Thrones
12. Narcos
13. LOST
14. I Love Lucy
15. The Dick Van Dyke Show
16. Mad Men
17. The Americans
18. NYPD Blue
19. 30 Rock
20. The Wonder Years
21. Star Trek: The Next Generation
22. Westworld (HBO 3 seasons)
23. The Crown (Netflix 4 seasons)
24. Downton Abbey (UK-ITV)
25. The Office (US-NBC)
26. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
27. The Cosby Show
28. Hogan's Heroes
29. My So-Called Life
30. The Simpsons
31. Hill Street Blues
32. Magnum P.I.
33. Friends
34. Sherlock
35. Peaky Blinders
36. Sex and the City
37. Frasier
38. The Larry Sanders Show
39. How I Met Your Mother
40. It's Garry Shandlings Show
41. The Bob Newhart Show
42. Twin Peaks
43. Stranger Things (Netflix 3 seasons)
44. Fargo (FX 4 seasons)
45. Better Call Saul (AMC 4 seasons)
46. Big Bang Theory
47. St. Elsewhere
48. ER
49. Orange is the New Black
50. True Detective
Honorable Mention - recent, if incomplete network and # seasons aired/watched is listed
1. Yellowstone Paramount 4 seasons
2. The Man in the High Castle
3. Ozark Netflix 3 seasons
4. The Last Kingdom Netflix 4 seasons
5. Jack Ryan Amazon 2 seasons
6. Sneaky Pete Amazon 3 seasons
7. Shooter - Netflix 2 seasons
8. Goliath - Amazon 3 Seasons
9. Red Oaks
10. Freaks and Geeks
11. Firefly
12. Cobra Kai Youtube/Netflix 2 seasons
13. The Good Place
14. Pushing Daisies
15. Silicon Valley
16. Halt and Catch Fire
17. The Deuce
18. Picard CBS AA 2 seasons
Honorable Mention originally in Top 50 list (show it was bumped for):
1. The Rockford Files (for Stranger Things)
2. Gunsmoke (for Fargo)
3. Bonanza (for Better Call Saul)
4. The Honeymooners (for Sherlock)
5. Newhart (for How I Met Your Mother)
6. Green Acres (for Justified)
7. Taxi (for Downton Abbey)
8. Bewitched (for The Americans)
9. Happy Days (for The Wire)
10. Wings (for Big Bang Theory)
11. Murphy Brown (for Game of Thrones)
12. Curb Your Enthusiasm (for Breaking Bad)
13. Dallas (for Mad Men)
14. Roseanne (for True Detective)
15. X-Files (for Orange is the New Black)
I'm a sucker for Alias. The first three seasons are great and then I admit it gets bad. But those first three seasons are so good!
SyFy Channel is doing its annual Twilight Zone marathon!
I don't think it's fair to list current shows because a big part of a show being great or not is how it wraps up. I love Better Call Saul, and even though I trust Vince Gilligan I wouldn't call it a great show yet.
My List of Greats:
Breaking Bad - strong all the way through. There are times you love and times you loathe Walter White.
The Wire - probably my favorite, but the last season was a little bit weak compare to the previous ones.
Honorable Mentions:
Mr. Robot - surprised this wasn't listed already. I thought it was really good. It had some really fun one-off episodes along the way and a poignant ending.
Newhart - most epic ending ever, no other show will ever come close
Dark - Really liked this, but I wasn't sold on how the last season unfolded
Anthology seasons & miniseries:
Band Of Brothers - watch it every year
The Pacific - Snafu! (probably why I like Mr. Robot so much)
Chernobyl - "Not Great, Not Terrible" has become a part of my lexicon because of this show.
Fargo Season 2
True Detective Season 1
My List of Greats:
Breaking Bad - strong all the way through. There are times you love and times you loathe Walter White.
The Wire - probably my favorite, but the last season was a little bit weak compare to the previous ones.
Honorable Mentions:
Mr. Robot - surprised this wasn't listed already. I thought it was really good. It had some really fun one-off episodes along the way and a poignant ending.
Newhart - most epic ending ever, no other show will ever come close
Dark - Really liked this, but I wasn't sold on how the last season unfolded
Anthology seasons & miniseries:
Band Of Brothers - watch it every year
The Pacific - Snafu! (probably why I like Mr. Robot so much)
Chernobyl - "Not Great, Not Terrible" has become a part of my lexicon because of this show.
Fargo Season 2
True Detective Season 1
Didn't realize that. Watching some select episodes on Netflix right now. Just finished 5 Characters in Search of an Exit. One of the greatest and most influential shows of all time. Surprised it's not on more people's short lists.citizenkane06 said:
SyFy Channel is doing its annual Twilight Zone marathon!
Absolutely, it's my favorite show ever, and that's a great, classic episode.
Man, what show were you watching?expresswrittenconsent said:Ag 11 said:
One of my top shows that doesn't get enough love is The Shield. One of my all time favorites
It suffers from being on FX. It's like 80 episodes (IIRC, there was a 19 episode season) and about 25 of them are filler. Some of the plots are just terrible. New stunt bosses each season. No budget for actors so you end up with 1-2 members of the strike team being nobodies who never acted again, and Chiklis unable to act real life daughter playing his kid on the show.
But it was groundbreaking and stuff like the wire or the Americans might not have happened without tiny little Chiklis killing cops and pissing off armenians.
Strike Team
Chiklis - no resume necessary
Walton Goggins - ditto
Kenneth Johnson (Lemonhead): Sons of Anarchy, Bates Motel, SWAT
David Rees Snell (Ronnie): The Unit, Sons of Anarchy
No budget for actors?
Glenn Close guest starred for an entire season
Forrest Whitaker guest starred for an entire season and change
Anthony Anderson was phenomenal as the big bad for a season, and showed up a couple of other times.
"The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is my favorite.
Hill street Blues
Barney Miller
Cheers
ER
Barney Miller
Cheers
ER
I have watched episodes from this series at least once a week since I discovered this show way back in 1991. I taped the show off of Comedy Central and Sci Fi and would watch them constantly in college. I still have those VCR tapes in a box in my closet. I have all but about 4-5 episodes on DVD and now I can put on their Twitch channel any time I need a fix.
After nearly 30 years, I still enjoy rewatching these movies for the 50th time. I love this show more than any other.
BoydCrowder13 said:Brian Earl Spilner said:BoydCrowder13 said:
Shows like Lost, the Office and Game of Thrones were great but they have some really terrible seasons weighing them down.
Having recently rewatched all of Lost, I have to say that the hatred for the latter seasons is really overblown, imo.
There's certainly weak episodes in S3-6, but the overall seasons were still good to great. (Not the case with GoT S7-8.)
The S3 finale ("Not Penny's boat", "We have to go back!") is in my top 5 finales of all time.
Season 4 is so good almost the entire way through, especially the last few episodes. (And obviously "The Constant.")
Seasons 5-6 are the ones that get the most criticism, and admittedly the show became plot-centric by this point, which not everyone was down for. But man, Season 6 was so much better than I remembered. The flash-sideways were such a brilliant way to continue developing the characters even while the island plotline was still happening. And honestly the final episode makes me cry more than any show I've ever seen. Just so well done. It's a shame it became a punchline.
As a character development show, it is fantastic. The plot turned to hot garbage though. Walt, meaning of the island, Widmore, the numbers, pregnant women, etc. All fell by the wayside.
Several characters became very annoying as well.
While visiting my folks I started rewatching with my mom. After the first episode she was like just tell me what ends up happening at the end. By the end of trying to explain 6 seasons I sounded like a bloody mad man.
I used to roll out of bed on Saturday mornings at the ungodly hour of 10 a.m. during college to watch this.GiveEmHellBill said:
I have watched episodes from this series at least once a week since I discovered this show way back in 1991. I taped the show off of Comedy Central and Sci Fi and would watch them constantly in college. I still have those VCR tapes in a box in my closet. I have all but about 4-5 episodes on DVD and now I can put on their Twitch channel any time I need a fix.
After nearly 30 years, I still enjoy rewatching these movies for the 50th time. I love this show more than any other.
1. Madmen
2. The Wire
3. Breaking Bad
4. Sopranos
If you go to individual seasons, the list would look different. Final season of Breaking Bad Is probably tops.
2. The Wire
3. Breaking Bad
4. Sopranos
If you go to individual seasons, the list would look different. Final season of Breaking Bad Is probably tops.
I think Breaking Bad is superior to everything because it has the most contained and cohesive story of any of them by far. And that cohesive story is extremely intelligent AND action packed at the same time.
If one knew nothing outside of what was shown on screen, they would think the writers took an extremely well written novel and made an entire 5 season series based on it. The first episode of season 2 foreshadowed the final episode of season 4 (38 episodes later). Walt and Skyler paying for Hanks therapy in season 3 enabled the blackmail DVD at the end of season 5. If it wasn't for the blackmail DVD, then it's likely Hank and Gomey would have never tried to arrest Walt alone, but would have had 1000 agents with them. Then they couldn't have that ended it nearly as well as they did. Everything had to be so well thought out for it to work and not have a bunch of lose ends. Yet behind the scenes, they had to deal with a bunch changes like Raymond Cruz quitting, the writers strike, Odenkirk being unavailable for an episode and having to bring in Banks, and a few other writing quandaries (Hank outside the RV, the M60 in the trunk, etc.). For a long while, they weren't even sure if they would have a season 5.
On top being a well thought out series as a whole, BB has some of the single greatest individual episodes of any media ever made. And that doesn't even get into the characters. WW is probably the most complete character of any show or movie ever. Skyler, Jessee, and Hank are not far behind.
To me, it's so far ahead of any other show that I'm surprised it's a debate at all. To me the Wire is #2 and probably the Americans at #3.
If one knew nothing outside of what was shown on screen, they would think the writers took an extremely well written novel and made an entire 5 season series based on it. The first episode of season 2 foreshadowed the final episode of season 4 (38 episodes later). Walt and Skyler paying for Hanks therapy in season 3 enabled the blackmail DVD at the end of season 5. If it wasn't for the blackmail DVD, then it's likely Hank and Gomey would have never tried to arrest Walt alone, but would have had 1000 agents with them. Then they couldn't have that ended it nearly as well as they did. Everything had to be so well thought out for it to work and not have a bunch of lose ends. Yet behind the scenes, they had to deal with a bunch changes like Raymond Cruz quitting, the writers strike, Odenkirk being unavailable for an episode and having to bring in Banks, and a few other writing quandaries (Hank outside the RV, the M60 in the trunk, etc.). For a long while, they weren't even sure if they would have a season 5.
On top being a well thought out series as a whole, BB has some of the single greatest individual episodes of any media ever made. And that doesn't even get into the characters. WW is probably the most complete character of any show or movie ever. Skyler, Jessee, and Hank are not far behind.
To me, it's so far ahead of any other show that I'm surprised it's a debate at all. To me the Wire is #2 and probably the Americans at #3.
Can't believe there isn't more Friends mentions in here. This and Seinfeld were perhaps the greatest sitcom one-two punch on television, ever. There's a reason HBO backed the truck up for the rights to a show that's been over for 20 years. I still remember sports bars having Friends finale watching parties... this is not normal and is the mark of its 10 year impact.
And yes, count me in for Lost. That was another show that caught the attention of water cooler discussion of the nation and had a highly anticipated finale... the overall show was tremendous and I had no problems with the finale.
And yes, count me in for Lost. That was another show that caught the attention of water cooler discussion of the nation and had a highly anticipated finale... the overall show was tremendous and I had no problems with the finale.
imjustsayin said:
Can't believe there isn't more Friends mentions in here. This and Seinfeld were perhaps the greatest sitcom one-two punch on television, ever. There's a reason HBO backed the truck up for the rights to a show that's been over for 20 years. I still remember sports bars having Friends finale watching parties... this is not normal and is the mark of its 10 year impact.
And yes, count me in for Lost. That was another show that caught the attention of water cooler discussion of the nation and had a highly anticipated finale... the overall show was tremendous and I had no problems with the finale.
Probably because friends sucks
The Dirty Sock said:BoydCrowder13 said:Brian Earl Spilner said:BoydCrowder13 said:
Shows like Lost, the Office and Game of Thrones were great but they have some really terrible seasons weighing them down.
Having recently rewatched all of Lost, I have to say that the hatred for the latter seasons is really overblown, imo.
There's certainly weak episodes in S3-6, but the overall seasons were still good to great. (Not the case with GoT S7-8.)
The S3 finale ("Not Penny's boat", "We have to go back!") is in my top 5 finales of all time.
Season 4 is so good almost the entire way through, especially the last few episodes. (And obviously "The Constant.")
Seasons 5-6 are the ones that get the most criticism, and admittedly the show became plot-centric by this point, which not everyone was down for. But man, Season 6 was so much better than I remembered. The flash-sideways were such a brilliant way to continue developing the characters even while the island plotline was still happening. And honestly the final episode makes me cry more than any show I've ever seen. Just so well done. It's a shame it became a punchline.
As a character development show, it is fantastic. The plot turned to hot garbage though. Walt, meaning of the island, Widmore, the numbers, pregnant women, etc. All fell by the wayside.
Several characters became very annoying as well.
While visiting my folks I started rewatching with my mom. After the first episode she was like just tell me what ends up happening at the end. By the end of trying to explain 6 seasons I sounded like a bloody mad man.
Like the scene where Hurley explains everything that happened on the island to his mom?
Brian Earl Spilner said:The Dirty Sock said:BoydCrowder13 said:Brian Earl Spilner said:BoydCrowder13 said:
Shows like Lost, the Office and Game of Thrones were great but they have some really terrible seasons weighing them down.
Having recently rewatched all of Lost, I have to say that the hatred for the latter seasons is really overblown, imo.
There's certainly weak episodes in S3-6, but the overall seasons were still good to great. (Not the case with GoT S7-8.)
The S3 finale ("Not Penny's boat", "We have to go back!") is in my top 5 finales of all time.
Season 4 is so good almost the entire way through, especially the last few episodes. (And obviously "The Constant.")
Seasons 5-6 are the ones that get the most criticism, and admittedly the show became plot-centric by this point, which not everyone was down for. But man, Season 6 was so much better than I remembered. The flash-sideways were such a brilliant way to continue developing the characters even while the island plotline was still happening. And honestly the final episode makes me cry more than any show I've ever seen. Just so well done. It's a shame it became a punchline.
As a character development show, it is fantastic. The plot turned to hot garbage though. Walt, meaning of the island, Widmore, the numbers, pregnant women, etc. All fell by the wayside.
Several characters became very annoying as well.
While visiting my folks I started rewatching with my mom. After the first episode she was like just tell me what ends up happening at the end. By the end of trying to explain 6 seasons I sounded like a bloody mad man.
Like the scene where Hurley explains everything that happened on the island to his mom?
Except that was only half the story. Then the second half was all time travel and ***t with some supernatural good vs evil bizarro tale. Hurleys mom said she believed him. My mom said huh wtf imma watch Gilmore girls
Been waiting for a scrubs inclusion.
Not the same genre as these others great shows but it's worth a mention.
Not the same genre as these others great shows but it's worth a mention.
Of the ones on your "never seen" list...
Mad Men and The Wire are must see.
Those are my top 2 ever.
The Sopranos is also incredible.
Mad Men and The Wire are must see.
Those are my top 2 ever.
The Sopranos is also incredible.
I honestly do not and have not ever understood the hatred for GoT towards the end. The show was awesome start to finish. Never had a show forced me up off the couch and pace back and forth with anxiety for what is to come like GoT did.
Ragoo said:
I honestly do not and have not ever understood the hatred for GoT towards the end. The show was awesome start to finish. Never had a show forced me up off the couch and pace back and forth with anxiety for what is to come like GoT did.
It became a different show after the 4-5th season. I watch a ton of GoT clips on YouTube and most of the good ones are the character interactions from the early seasons. The show became spectacle driven towards the end and most of the conversations became very one dimensional. Don't get me wrong it was still worth watching but the show depth lacked in the final seasons.
that is just the lifecycle of a show. Spend a lot of time up front introducing characters, their background, how they interact, how their stories overlap, etc. then progress the narrative. At some point you know who the characters are it is time to see their story to completion.The Dirty Sock said:Ragoo said:
I honestly do not and have not ever understood the hatred for GoT towards the end. The show was awesome start to finish. Never had a show forced me up off the couch and pace back and forth with anxiety for what is to come like GoT did.
It became a different show after the 4-5th season. I watch a ton of GoT clips on YouTube and most of the good ones are the character interactions from the early seasons. The show became spectacle driven towards the end and most of the conversations became very one dimensional. Don't get me wrong it was still worth watching but the show depth lacked in the final seasons.
I imagine to get to the completion while taking the same time as they did upfront it would have had to drag on another 3-4 seasons. So they cut a little bit of the dialogue in favor of finishing the story. I am okay with that.
I think one of the best ways to show how bad they **** the bed with GoTs is complete lack of cultural impact from the series.
If the series wasn't a disappointment we would have a thread on the upcoming prequels that would be at least as active as the Lord of the Rings upcoming show...but no one is anticipating it. People might be looking forward to it, but no one is longing for it.
Again, there were episodes that were some of the best TV ever made. There were even entire seasons that were some of the best seasons of tv ever made. But when looked at as a whole there was so much missing, rushed and abondoned that the finished product was pretty damned terrible. An ending that made zero sense, a resolution of the white walkers that was just lazy and completely unsatisfactory, characters and plot lines that were built up to just be abondoned.
Do you anyone that has said " need to quarantine, guess it's time to rewatch GoT!!!"? I know a few that did that with other shows on this list (justified, various star treks, sopranos, the wire, hell even Dexter) but not GoT.
If the series wasn't a disappointment we would have a thread on the upcoming prequels that would be at least as active as the Lord of the Rings upcoming show...but no one is anticipating it. People might be looking forward to it, but no one is longing for it.
Again, there were episodes that were some of the best TV ever made. There were even entire seasons that were some of the best seasons of tv ever made. But when looked at as a whole there was so much missing, rushed and abondoned that the finished product was pretty damned terrible. An ending that made zero sense, a resolution of the white walkers that was just lazy and completely unsatisfactory, characters and plot lines that were built up to just be abondoned.
Do you anyone that has said " need to quarantine, guess it's time to rewatch GoT!!!"? I know a few that did that with other shows on this list (justified, various star treks, sopranos, the wire, hell even Dexter) but not GoT.
Because I imagine those same people watched GoT in real time. They are probably circling back to these other series.
I used to never watch shows more than once. But as of now, I've seen BB 4 times, The Wire 3 times, The Americans twice.
I have no desire to ever see GoT again.
I have no desire to ever see GoT again.
Band of Brothers fits every category, tv show, movie, miniseries.
It is so damned good it can do whatever it wants. I feel like I need to watch it again.
It is so damned good it can do whatever it wants. I feel like I need to watch it again.
Formerly tv1113
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Wild West - the original with Robert Conrad
The Rat Patrol
Good times...
Wild West - the original with Robert Conrad
The Rat Patrol
Good times...
Blacksheep wqs my favorite show growing up. Need to rewatch. Rat patrol was awesome too. Domt rememmber wild west.Gilligan said:
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Wild West - the original with Robert Conrad
The Rat Patrol
Good times...
No love for The West Wing? I did not watch it when it was first run. My daughter recently got me to watch it and it is fantastic - at least the first 4 seasons the Aaron Sorkin wrote.
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