Manimal got left out?!
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 ...
I really miss it. I liked the fact that the writers didn't dumb it down, and kept all sorts of highbrow literary and artistic references in it. I think the decline started when Niles and Daphne got together. The sexual tension prior to that was priceless.
Rule 1: Any US show copied from a Brit show will be crap by comparison - no exceptions
Yes that even applies to Three's Company
Any attempt at a "list" like this one absolutely needs to be separated by genre. Check out this thread from a few years ago:
Amos & Andy.
A friend from work loaned me the 4 dvd set of Firefly’s one season a few months ago. I’d never heard of it. I watched the fist show just to humor him - had it on in the background while I worked on my novel. Didn’t take long to latch on to it. Very good show and the theme song spun through my mind for quite some time.
Agree on WKRP. Wish TV Land would play it.
Oh, and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color should be on the list.
” Poldark “
One of my all-time faves . Have the complete DVD box sets .
How about Upstairs Downstairs ; Duchess Of Duke Street and Lillie ? The Pallisers ?
Oh, and Vitameatavegamin.
The Millionare
They tried, but didn’t want to pay the royalties on all the old classic rock that Johnny Fever played, so they put in songs like “Achy Breaky Heart.” It ruined a lot of the ambiance of the show. I liked it when it was absurdist, but it got very serious towards the end, and I didn’t care for it nearly as much.
I’m over 60 and I know my list would be very different … ;-) Of course, I can remember Howdy Doody and Claribel the Clown – LOL!
They can’t play the original show without changing it.
It seems that the RIAA is miffed that the show doesn’t have the rights to play the music they played. If the show is on, they have to substitute the musical soundtrack. That’d ruin it.
Wow, I thought I was the only person on earth that remembered Kolchak. That show gave me the creeps, I couldn’t get enough.
” The Millionaire “ ...Wow , that was a fave as a tot . Thanks for reminding me of it !
This is the list from NY Post: (my comments by each)
1 THE SOPRANOS - wrong, never watched it, not interested in make believe thugs - we have real ones to think about..Hitlery for instance.
(1999-2007, HBO)
2 ALL IN THE FAMILY = would not be number 2 for me but belongs in the list. I would put The Jeffersons (spinoff) above All in the Family.
(1971-79, CBS)
3 THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (1986-present, syndication) (gag I guess so - but don’t watch it).
4 AMERICAN IDOL (2002- present, FOX) I watch it - but best show? I guess.
5 THE WEST WING (1999-2006, NBC) ABSOLUTELY NOT - NEVER!
6 MARY TYLER MOORE (1970-77, CBS) Yes. Funniest thing I saw on TV for many years was the funeral of Chuckles the Clown where MTM cannot stop laughing....
7 DALLAS (1978-91, CBS) Not a soap opera fan and that was simply a glorified soap opera - did not watch it.
8 24 (2001- present, FOX) ....did not watch it but heard it was good.
9 TWIN PEAKS (1990-91, ABC) Nope - never watched it....
10 SESAME STREET I am old enough to be BST - before Sesame Street....but guess it needs to be on here
(1969-present, PBS)
11 THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARSON (1962-92, NBC) YES
12 60 MINUTES Was once appreciated. That ended a decade or two ago....It, like West Wing, should NOT be on here.
(1968-present, CBS)
13 THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW (1948-71, CBS) YES. First viewing of the Beatles.....plus so much more.
14 I LOVE LUCY (1951-57, CBS) Absolutely the best! My #1. Along with the early Andy Griffith shows.
15 LAW & ORDER — sorry hate it.
(1990-present, NBC)
16 MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS....never saw it.
(1969-1974, PBS)
17 THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW (1967-79, CBS) Yes. The Scarlett O Hara scene is the most classic comedy scene of all time...imho...from a variety show.
18 THE SIMPSONS (1989-present, FOX) -—sorry no.
19 SEX AND THE CITY (1998-2004, HBO)-—sickening - no
20 ER (1994-present, NBC) sorry - no (but Where is Dr. Kildaire or Ben Casey???? These were the original Dr shows! and they were good - in their day! Esp Dr. Kildaire...but my best friend liked Ben Casey better.
21 THE HONEYMOONERS (1955-56, CBS) = Yes - am old enough to remember watching it.
22 MIAMI VICE (1984-89, NBC) Give me a break - NO.
23 SEINFELD (1990-98, NBC) Absolutely yes - but they need to add Will and Grace which, IMHO, supplanted Seinfeld as the best comedy on TV....
24 GUNSMOKE (1955-75, CBS) YES. But where are all the other GREAT Western series? Especially Rawhide-—where we first saw that hunk Clint Eastwood..... But also the Maverick series..Wyatt Earp...the Rifleman....many more.
25 ROWAN & MARTIN’S LAUGH-IN (1968-73, NBC)....I guess so...it did make me laugh - but it was the debauched 60’s in front of our eyes.
26 HILL STREET BLUES (1981-87, NBC) Yes
27. STAR TREK(1966-1969, NBC) Yes
28THE X-FILES (1993-2002, Fox) Nope - sorry. Never watched.
29 THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (1961-66, CBS) Yes.
30 SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1975-present, NBC) Guess so...don’t watch it now...but surely in the past had some of the best talent...
31 JEOPARDY! (1964-75; 1978-79; 1984-present, NBC and syndication). Ok.
32MOONLIGHTING (1985-89, ABC) Was great show - but top 35?
33 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (1966-73, CBS) Yes - watched every episode. I also liked “I Spy” where Bill Cosby made his dramatic debut.
34The Cosby Show (1984-92, NBC) Yes. I love watching the reruns - every one of them. Would put Cosby Show in top 10.
35 GENERAL HOSPITAL (1963-present, ABC) Yuck...guess so-—but why not All My Children if you are going to do a daytime soap?
As others have said - this list MUST include:
Andy Griffith Show
Jack Benny Show
The Beverly HIllbillies (rediscovering this one on reruns)
Combat (great WWII show)
The old Disney shows....many were THE Best
Rawhide (as stated above)
Adventures in Paradise (no one remembers this one?)
The Fugitive
Dr. Kildaire (as stated above)
Father Knows Best
Amos and Andy
Twilight Zone - as others have said
Hitchcock hour - as others have said
Will and Grace - outrageous mucn of the time but very funny
and, yes, I loved Sonny and Cher also!
I know I have forgotten many other great ones of old....nice walk down memory lane.
OOH Yes and Yes
OTOH if you are going to limit it to 35, I can see omitting mini series
The Gripping Hand: I would also rule ineligible: quiz, reality, variety, and chat shows
Which would all room for Get Smart, MASH, Barney Miller, Soap, Family Ties, Northern Exposure, Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Manimal got left out?!
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