Posted on 04/27/2008 5:55:21 PM PDT by ConservativeStatement
Our parents told us TV would melt our brains. While it's possible "Punky Brewster" and "A-Team" did just that, along the way we saw some genius art. Television can't play 90 minutes on the big screen and vanish into the bargain bin. And it lacks one author to take it from introduction to the final page. Yet within these boundaries, there are a small number of shows that capture our attention, our obsession, and create enduring stories. How many? 35. They're listed here.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Naked City, now there’s a show I hadn’t thought of in years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_City_(TV_series)
And no Cheers?!
Some list. Like the top 100 LPs of “all time”, 75% of which are in the last 20 years. “All time” means the life of TV.
People that compile lists do not know how to take into account the context of the time in which the show aired.
I’ve been watching dozens of episodes of the original Alfred Hitchcock Presents from 1955 to 1959 or so. Even though I saw a number as a kid in the 50s, I could not really appreciate the cleverness and dry wit of so many of them. A lot less in your face than more recent stuff.
That is just an example. There are many more. Twilight Zone, Kolchak - The Night Stalker. The original Bob Newhart show.
Without a doubt!
Well, they had to have the West Wing...
Perry Mason !
BSG...Re-imagined series
THE WIRE for crying out loud.
IMO Frasier was the funniest situation comedy ever! The writing was sharp, sarcastic with that dry sense of humor, also the best ensemble cast ever put together. Sure miss it. Thank heaves for reruns.
Had to get to 27 before I came across one I regularly watched.
No B5?!??!
B5 is huge, completely unique. Star Trek is the only thing that really came close, and in the end became a string of shows that were just variations on some recycled themes.
B5 was mapped out for a 5-year run, beat all the naysayers, and is STILL making new work a decade after the series ended. It had a loyal fanbase BEFORE the first episode hit the tube.
Somebody making lists missed a big one, I think.
“Thirtysomething” should be on there. It kicked butt at the Emmys every year it was on.
Twins Peaks???
While it was different, if I was to have a show in that vein on the list it would have been “Northern Exposure”.
Oh well, whatta I know.?....
“24” - seasons 2, 3, and 4.
For breaking new ground, no show beat The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling took his flashbacks from WWII, scripts from some of the best science fiction authors ever, and converted them into a show for the ages. There hundreds of references to this show. The gremlin looking in the plane window at William Shatner, Burgess Meredith breaking his glasses, Ed Wynn stalling death until he misses his appointment with a young girl, Jonathan Winters playing the ghost of a pool shark competing with Jack Klugman for the right to be the greatest pool player ever, and on and on and on. "Willoughby, next stop Willoughby."
The Mary Tyler Moore Show hasn't stood up to the test of time nearly as well as The Bob Newhart Show. Bill Daley was a terrific foil for Newhart.
Bob (on performing a magic act as a child): They called me 'Bob Hartley, Man of mystery.' I wore a top hat and a cape.
Howard: You must have been a well-dressed kid.
Also, the ending of his series, Newhart, when the entire series turned out to be a dream of his Bob Hartley character, was the best ending of a series, ever.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents was another great show that is above many of those listed. Remember Barbara Bel Geddes killing her husband with a leg of lamb and feeding it to the cops that were investigating the crime?
Others have mentioned South Park, but it's still the most original and truly daring show of the last ten years.
Cheers was much more of a cultural phenomena than many of the shows on here:
Evening everybody.
NORM!!!!
How's the world treating you, Mr. Peterson?
Like a baby treats a diaper.
Evening everybody.
NORM!!!!
Got room for a beer, Mr. Peterson?
No, but I am willing to add on.
Andy Griffith, The Twilight Zone and Star Trek - Next Generation would have made my list.
Cops used to say that "Barney Miller" was more like police work than any other show. If you want to have a rollicking good time, sit around and listen to a bunch of off-duty cops.
One of my favorite series was on PBS, "Upstairs, Downstairs." "Regina R" & "Henry VIII's 6 Wives."
I have tried to watch "Tudors," but that skinny little actor is NOT Henry VIII. And the movie, "Elizabeth," is not, to me, Elizabeth I.
Mannix ; My Three Sons and Hogan’s Heroes !
What...no Babylon Five?
That was the best science fiction TV show of them all...ever.
Not much of a list. MST3K, Sanford & Son, The Beverly Hillbillies, Andy Griffith, Columbo, Northern Exposure, The Twilight Zone and the funniest show ever.....Get a Life.
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