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Top 10 TV Shows of All Time
catalogs ^ | July 6, 2010

Posted on 10/15/2010 9:08:27 PM PDT by JoeProBono

"Any top ten list is bound to be subjective, but this one has criteria: to make this list, a show must have longevity (Sports Night was great, but didn’t last), staying power (Three’s Company was funny, but hopelessly dated), strong writing (hopefully self-explanatory) and memorable moments (there’s a good reason that the final episode of M.A.S.H. was until very recently the most watched show in television history). Here are my choices, and let the debate begin."


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: seinfeld; television; top10
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10. All in the Family

Certainly dated to some extent, and it loses points for that. However, product of its time or not, this was groundbreaking television, and remains funny today. It brought open discussions of racism, homosexuality, sexism, and other topics once considered taboo into prime time, and still managed to be entertaining, not uncomfortable. Archie Bunker is no hero, but he is one of television’s great male roles.

9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

You might not expect to find a show that’s a mix of teen angst and vampire fantasy here, but this show was far different than the current Twilight obsession. Joss Whedon’s creation knew when to poke fun at itself (frequently, but with the memorable musical episode in particular), but also gave us powerful television. The scripts were intricate and well-written, and the characters drew us in, from Buffy and Angel to those in smaller roles. It gave us laughs, chills, and even tears (if your eyes didn’t well up at times, you’re made of stone). What more could a viewer ask?

8. The Simpsons

Few shows in television history have more staying power, with Homer and the rest still going strong after more than two decades. Just a check of the list of guest voices points to the show’s place in American pop culture: Tony Bennett, James Earl Jones, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Jackson, Leonard Nimoy, Bono, Stephen Hawking, and many, many others. If you were not skewered in Springfield, you were likely not that memorable.

7. The Dick Van Dyke Show

Perhaps not as familiar to younger viewers (Oh, the horror of watching black and white!), but just as watchable today as in its own time. Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore have to be on any list of the most talented leading pairs in the history of television or movies. Their chemistry is magical. Either was more than capable of carrying a show alone. The two together gave us one for the ages.

6. Lost

Too soon to tell for this one? Not at all. Ask the ever-growing legions of fans who watch, rewatch, and dissect every episode. It combines sci-fi and soap opera seamlessly, managing to appeal to a wide swath of viewers, and boasts writing to match any show ever produced. The planned six-year run also allows viewers to catch up and provides a clear beginning and end rarely seen on television. Here too, the characters have become part of our lives: who could watch without taking Jack’s side or Sawyer’s in the fight for Kate? What show has provided such intellectual depth as well as pure guilty pleasure? What show has provided better cliffhangers and unexpected twists? Hardly an episode passes without an audible gasp (if not a scream) from those watching with me. If you aren’t watching, you should be.

5. Saturday Night Live

The only show in the top ten without a plot, and the only one to surpass The Simpsons for staying power. Generation after generation stays up late for SNL, and even as one great cast after another comes and goes, the show keeps going strong. Its alumni reads like a who’s who of comedy in the last 35 years: Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, Dana Carvery, Chris Rock, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, and many more. The show has given us social conscience, memorable music, and most of all, laughter.

4. Cheers

A blueprint for sexual tension in comedy, with Sam Malone (Ted Danson) paired with first Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) and then Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley), but also much more. The constant banter of Norm and Cliff, the pompous but lovable Frasier, the trashy but also lovable Carla, and of course Coach and Woody, all became part of our culture and our lives.

3. M.A.S.H.

A comedy about surgeons in the midst of war? It sounds far-fetched, but it worked. No show has mixed comedy with drama so successfully. We laughed and cried, and loved every moment. It’s hard not to tear up even as I write this, remembering Radar delivering the news of Henry’s death, or Hawkeye’s suffering on the final episode. However, it’s equally difficult not to laugh remembering B.J. greeting Frank for the first time with “What’s up, ferret face?” and countless other moments. Some shows seem to be sent off an assembly line, but it seems safe to say that there will never be another quite like M.A.S.H.

2. The West Wing

A political show, yes, but if one can set politics aside, its greatness shines to both sides of the aisle. Nearly every time I walk into a voting booth, I wish a man like Josiah Bartlet was on the ballot. This produced more chills than anything I’ve ever seen on television. There are far too many to list, but two that stand out are Bartlet’s using Bible verses to dismantle “religious” leaders objecting to his policies, and the moment when he risks political capital by sending American soldiers to a third world African country, with no oil to defend, just humanity. His explanation: “They’ve got mothers standing in front of tanks. We’re going to go get their backs.” He can be my President any time. Agree or not, it is well worth watching. The scripts, particularly in the Aaron Sorkin years, are also incredibly witty and funny, from the pilot’s opening scene, when Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) wakes up to find he accidentally (yes, really) slept with a hooker. Just watch. You won’t be disappointed.

1. Seinfeld

No other show, not even SNL, so completely seeped into American culture. No topic was taboo. What other show could base its most memorable episodes on masturbation and shrinkage and yet not be offensive? “Regifting,” “double-dipping,” “close talker,” and so many other phrases are now part of our lexicon. No other show is as quotable, and as with M.A.S.H., Cheers, and (coming soon) Lost, the final episode was an event to be planned for and shared with friends. The relative failure of the cast members separately only shows that the whole in this case was far greater than the sum of its parts, and very simply the best show in the history of television.

1 posted on 10/15/2010 9:08:34 PM PDT by JoeProBono
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To: JoeProBono

Weird. I wasn’t a fan of any of those.


2 posted on 10/15/2010 9:12:23 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (It's time to do something about "Public Servants Gone Wild".)
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To: JoeProBono

The Gong Show

“Have you got a nickel?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUkzIx382mM


3 posted on 10/15/2010 9:14:40 PM PDT by Bean Counter (Now what kind of a geroo are you anyway?)
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To: FlingWingFlyer

4 posted on 10/15/2010 9:15:11 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Visualize)
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To: JoeProBono

The West Wing?!?!?!?!

I can’t stand tear-jerkers like Gray’s Anatomy or so-called classic comedies like I Love Lucy but they are Citizen Kane compared to a show that was a recital of liberal shibboleths under the rubric of a weekly dramatic series.


5 posted on 10/15/2010 9:15:15 PM PDT by relictele (Me lumen vos umbra regit)
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To: JoeProBono
Including Saturday Night Live in this list almost negates the whole thing. That show has become a painful parody of itself. It hasn't been remotely funny since the 80s.

Also, I might be one of the only weird people who never liked Seinfeld.
6 posted on 10/15/2010 9:15:24 PM PDT by fr_freak
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To: relictele

7 posted on 10/15/2010 9:17:19 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Visualize)
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To: JoeProBono

The Beverly Hillbillies has to be on that list!


8 posted on 10/15/2010 9:17:19 PM PDT by Slump Tester (What if I'm pregnant Teddy? Errr-ahh -Calm down Mary Jo, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it)
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To: FlingWingFlyer

Amen.

I guess I am out of the loop. The only program on the list I have ever watched ... “All in the Family” and only occasionally. And at 64 years of age, I have had the opportunity to watch rhem all.


9 posted on 10/15/2010 9:17:32 PM PDT by doc1019 (Martyrdom is a great thing, until it is your turn.)
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To: JoeProBono

Good list. I will agree with listing Seinfeld, All in the Family, West Wing, Mash and Cheers. I would throw in Fraser, Hawaii Five-O, ER, Happy Days (pre-shark), and CSI (Grisham only).


10 posted on 10/15/2010 9:18:55 PM PDT by Patrick1 (I'm a soldier of good fortune, I'm guarding the Yucatan.)
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To: JoeProBono

Yikes. Buffy????

Try The Avengers, Get Smart, Gunsmoke, Lucy, Twilight Zone, Dean Martin, Carson, Benny Hill, Monty Python, Kung Fu, King of the Hill, MNF, Wild Wild West


11 posted on 10/15/2010 9:19:35 PM PDT by pissant (THE Conservative party: www.falconparty.com)
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To: JoeProBono
Aww. And I was really pulling for The View.
12 posted on 10/15/2010 9:19:49 PM PDT by fhayek
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To: FlingWingFlyer

Same here. Can’t sit through any of ‘em.


13 posted on 10/15/2010 9:20:33 PM PDT by Celtic Cross (I AM the Impeccable Hat.)
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To: JoeProBono

In no order.....

All in the Family

I Love Lucy

Mary Tyler Moore

Andy Griffith Show

Bonanza

Carol Burnett Show

Twilight Zone

The Honeymooners

Dick Van Dyke Show

Gunsmoke


14 posted on 10/15/2010 9:20:59 PM PDT by massmike (...So this is what happens when OJ's jury elects the president....)
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To: FlingWingFlyer
Weird. I wasn’t a fan of any of those.

That's because we're OLD!!..:=)

15 posted on 10/15/2010 9:21:25 PM PDT by PROCON (18 More Days Until Independence Day, Woo-Hoo!!)
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To: fr_freak
Also, I might be one of the only weird people who never liked Seinfeld.

I'd never even watched a single episode by the time it was over. I've seen a couple since...meh.

I was a fan of Cheers, but I thought the spinoff Frasier had some of the wittiest writing I'd ever seen on TV. As for the rest of the list I'll go along with Buffy and The Simpsons.

16 posted on 10/15/2010 9:21:26 PM PDT by Abin Sur
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To: Patrick1

17 posted on 10/15/2010 9:21:35 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Visualize)
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To: fhayek
Aww. And I was really pulling for The View.

IBTZ!..:=)

18 posted on 10/15/2010 9:22:47 PM PDT by PROCON (18 More Days Until Independence Day, Woo-Hoo!!)
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To: JoeProBono

In the modern era we have start listing Deadwood, The Wire, and Mad Men.


19 posted on 10/15/2010 9:22:59 PM PDT by Patrick1 (I'm a soldier of good fortune, I'm guarding the Yucatan.)
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To: pissant

20 posted on 10/15/2010 9:23:16 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Visualize)
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