Best TV shows of all time

[BainsBane]

What are your favorite television shows of all time? Mine are:

The Wire, the best show in the history of television.
Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
Fawlty Towers

[Flashmann]

1. Man that's like trying to pick a favorite guitarist

I'll follow your lead and choose a drama a sci-fi and a brit-com.

Dallas...Yeah,I know... I liked JR.

Babylon 5

Are You Being Served

[BainsBane]

2. I never saw Babylon 5

I should check that out.

[kentauros]

62. Please do :)

Note that the first season is a bit slow at times, but the story is a five-year arc, with a beginning, middle, and end. It's also heavy on political intrigue and not simply the human-civilization kind, either

I can't view youtube vids from here, but look for the "Babylon 5 20th Anniversary" video of the cast and JMS at the Phoenix Comicon. It's hilarious and you'll get a little insight about the characters, too

Oh, and Walter Koenig plays one of the best, and complex, villains I've ever seen on TV!

[SteveG]

92. Babylon 5

IMHO is one of the best series of all times. It actually had a coherent story arc.

[kentauros]

63. Although the British have made some excellent science fiction shows, too.

Quatermass
Dr Who
Red Dwarf

[Flashmann]

69. Oh yeah...Red Dwarf was fantastic,I forgot all about that show

I've never heard of Quatermass and never could get into Dr Who...

[kentauros]

70. Quatermass pre-dated Dr Who, though Americans probably only know the movie,

"Five Million Years to Earth." The original 6-episode series was titled Quatermass and the Pit and that's also what the movie was titled in England. I have a bootleg DVD of those kinescopes, but maybe they've been officially released by now.

There have been several actors that played Dr. Quatermass, including Brian Donlevy in one of the films made from the series.

[In_The_Wind]

3. I'm loving Revenge, Scandal, Person of Interest.

[Xyzse]

4. I've been trying to watch Person of Interest for a while

I can't find it streaming any where...
Maybe Amazon, paying for each episode which I don't want to do.

[In_The_Wind]

8. We have Direct TV. I record everything to watch when I have the time.

Good luck on finding it for free.

[Xyzse]

51. Thanks... JC is just so hard to find...

It's not in netflix, hulu or on demand...
I tend to not watch shows unless there is a good possibility of doing a marathon showing.

[BainsBane]

7. What about of all time?

Rather than just current ones? I also like Person of Interest.

[In_The_Wind]

12. The X-Files, 2 1/2 Men, Jeopardy, Dynasty, CSI, In Living Color, House,

How I Met Your Mother, Law and Order, NYPD Blue, West Wing

[LeftofObama]

5. I have deemed Frasier to be the hands down best tv show of all time!

So it shall be!

[rocktivity]

6. Honorable Mention: The MTV Headbanger's Ball

The Flintstones
The Sopranos
Columbo
Married With Children
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Hart to Hart
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Keeping Up Appearances
Absolutely Fabulous
Miss Marple (starring Joan Hickson)


rocktivity

[BainsBane]

9. Joan Hickson

is by far the best Miss Marple ever.

[RebelOne]

22. I am glad some else liked "Absolutely Fabulous."

I also loved "Married With Children."

[rocktivity]

100. I didn't think it was possible to make Peg Bundy look like June Cleaver

But that's exactly what Edina Monsoon did!


rocktivity

[olddots]

10. Fernwood Tonight

Family Tree

Lets Make A Deal

[Kadie]

11. M*A*S*H

and for a current show, Person of Interest

[alphafemale]

13. "pssst...What do you do at a yellow light?"

Still slays me no matter how many times I see it.

[Ptah]

17. Okay.

Whaaat...doooeees...aaa...yeeel-looow...liiight...meeeaaan?

[femmocrat]

14. Currently: Boardwalk Empire

I can't wait for the new season!

Formerly: X-Files and Twin Peaks.

I liked most of those hour-long dramas from the 1990s-- St. Elsewhere, Northern Exposure, etc.

[Bertha Venation]

18. Is Boardwalk Empire still good?

We cancelled HBO shortly into the second season. I miss it. I miss rooting for a bad guy.

[femmocrat]

20. I think so!

It might be available on Netflix, not sure.

They killed off my favorite character, but then a lot of the characters get killed off. LOL

[AngryOldDem]

53. Who was that? There's been so many.

LOL.

I heard an interview with Steve Buscemi who said that the first thing the cast does when they get a new script is go to the last page to see if their characters are still alive.

HBO ran a commercial for the new season before Game of Thrones the other night...too distracted so I didn't really see it.

[femmocrat]

55. Spoiler alert .... just in case someone didn't see them all.

Jimmy Darmody (season two).

Oooh... I didn't see the preview. I'll have to watch for it. BTW.... DirecTV is offering FREE HBO, STARZ, and Cinemax this weekend! I will wear out my DVR.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

15. Northern Exposure, All In The Family, I Love Lucy, MTM and Bob Newhart, Designing Women

oh yeah, The Closer will stand the test of time, too - I think.

[fizzgig]

72. northern exposure was a great show

didn't like it as much after fleischman left, tho.

[hlthe2b]

90. Yeah... NE was among my favorites the first several seasons...

When Fleischman left, it sort of lost its charm... Now, knowing what a really repulsive RWer Janine Turner is, makes it a bit hard to watch.. I have three seasons on DVD and just sort of ignore her. Normally, knowing an actor is a RethUG doesn't bother me so much, but she has really been pretty creepy in her comments in recent years.

[Chan790]

16. My three.

Six Feet Under

Misfits (The first season and only the first season...though the season 4 finale was hilarious. It's too bad they will NEVER show this series on US TV.)

Fringe

Honorable mentions to a lot of US cable series and British series...by comparison, American TV is not very good.

[sinkingfeeling]

58. Oops, wrong place.

[Initech]

19. Currently airing: Breaking Bad, Dexter, Psych

All time:

Arrested Development
Seinfeld
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Mr. Show
The Simpsons (seasons 3 - 11)
Family Guy
Futurama
30 Rock

[RebelOne]

21. My favorite was the British show "Absolutely Fabulous." n/t

[kevinbgoode1]

32. omg. . .I forgot about that one. . .I loved that program!

I used to meet buddies at a bar on nights it was airing and the whole place would watch the show and laugh. . .

[sarge43]

23. Mine

Concur with The Wire and Battlestar.
Rome
The West Wing
Dexter
Castle
WKRP
Hill Street Blues
Upstairs, downstairs
Sherlock
Poldark
Whitechapel
Dream On

[Doc_Technical]

24. jeopardy

[Still Blue in PDX]

25. The Dick Van Dyke Show

The Smothers Comedy Brothers Hour
Rocky and Bullwinkle

More recently:
almost all of the Masterpiece Mystery offerings
Fringe
Firefly
Supernatural - don't know if this is really the BEST, but it's my one of my favourites.

I absolutely loved Murder, She Wrote when it originally aired, but on rewatching, it simply doesn't hold up.

[Aristus]

26. The West Wing.

All-time favorite.

[AngryOldDem]

54. I second this. n/t

[Mr.Bill]

27. Sopranos

[Auggie]

60. My choice too

[NRaleighLiberal]

28. Six Feet Under. Sopranos. Upstairs, Downstairs. St. Elsewhere. ER.

[MrsBrady]

29. little house on the prairie

the big bang theory
anything Star Trek

yes, my tastes are diverse.

[First Speaker]

30. Monty Python, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Columbo, X-Files, East Side, West Side...

...MASH, Star Trek TNG, Night Court, Dr Who, David Suchet as Poirot...that'll do to start with...

[kevinbgoode1]

31. So many good ones. . .but my number one is probably The Avengers (the Emma Peel years)

when I was a teen. . .I cried when the last episode with Diana Rigg aired. . but I also loved Larry Casey and The Rat Patrol, Wackiest Ship in the Army. . .TV was pretty bland in the 70's for me, but All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore and Maude were great. . .more recently, I have to say I like the Canadian shows like Wind At My Back and Bomb Girls, the U.S. things like Jericho, Desperate Housewives, Hart of Dixie. . .

I hate all those reality shows except The Great Race. . .

[Kali]

33. the ONLY one I have watched in years

Breaking Bad

before that? hmmm - MASH, Star Trek (the original), Seinfeld, Roseanne, Married With Children, Barney Miller, ABC Soaps, Addams Family, Columbo (and the other mystery shows around the same time), Gunsmoke, Wild Wild West, Get Smart, I Dream of Jeanie...pfffttt too hard to pick but obviously I seem to lean to comedies

[JBoy]

34. Black Sheep Squadron

So macho you could smell the testosterone through the TV

[hlthe2b]

85. he wasn't very tall (Five Foot 8, I think), but boy was he well built!

I had such a crush on him going back to his (incredibly tight pants) Wild Wild West days...LOL

Too bad he's a RWer...

[JBoy]

87. Then you'll like this page:

http://mynewplaidpants.blogspot.ca/2009/02/how-many-episodes.html

[hlthe2b]

88. Oh, my! I think I'm gonna take a little break from DU.....LOL

[pinboy3niner]

35. I hope somebody mentioned Carol Burnettt

Because how could we forget these classics...

[BainsBane]

36. and Lucy

[geardaddy]

64. +1000

[Godhumor]

37. My big 3 are HBO shows: Deadwood, The Wire, Game of Thrones

Comedy honorable mentions:
The Simpsons
Archer
Arrested Development
Seinfeld

[BainsBane]

38. I was waiting for someone to mention Game of Thrones

It's my favorite show on the air now, but I deliberately chose older shows that I know stand the test of time. Do you remember the HBO show Carnival? I loved that, but they canceled it too soon.

[Eddie Haskell]

39. Leave it to Beaver

Malcolm in the Middle
Cheers

[BainsBane]

40. I'm thinking you might be slightly biased

Just a hunch


I did an image search for Eddie Haskell and I turned up a look-alike.

[derby378]

41. The Uncle Floyd Show

It deserves a special mention because of its primordial influence on my sense of humor. That and Monty Python.

[handmade34]

42. The Muppet Show

(never watched much TV... only a bit when kids were young... loved Bill Nye the Science Guy

also The Nature of Things w/David Suzuki

[DebJ]

43. Game of Thrones.

I'm not one to watch anything more than once, except on a rare occasion and then only when it has
been some years since I last saw it. But I am watching Season 1 for the third time and just bought
Season 2. And I've read all the books.

[AsahinaKimi]

44. Holy cow..this might be hard.. but okay..here goes..(American TV Shows only)

1.Due South

2. Witchblade

3. Anything Star Trek
original
Next Generation
DS9
Voyager

Two Honorable mentions:

[sakabatou]

45. Cowboy Bebop

[AsahinaKimi]

46. agree..

I didn't mention any Japanese shows, cause it would take me forever to figure out, but as for Anime, that was a great one.
Besides...Where can you find a opening like this!!!

long version:

Classic!!!

[sakabatou]

71. And in 5 more years, it'll be 20 years old (I think)

[fizzgig]

73. spike is my animated boyfriend

[sakabatou]

74. XD

[Whisp]

47. Mary Tyler Moore

X Files
Kolcheck (?) an oldie that Darin McGavin starred in
LOST I really got sucked into that one
Andy Griffith
Beverly Hillbillies
The Man From UNCLE
All in The Family
Three's Company

kind of lost interest in tv series in the 80s and after except for a couple here and there. I don't know if shows weren't as funny anymore or that my sense of humour changed. I know I don't have any sense of humour or interest in tv shows these days. What crep!

Oops, missed The Simpsons. Funny shit forever.

[BainsBane]

48. Whisp

Three's Company? Really?

[Whisp]

49. I know! but that was how long ago, I was young!

and I liked Jack a lot.

[BainsBane]

50. He was cute

I really loved Cagney and Lacy and more recently the Closer.

[Whisp]

52. Cagney and Lacy, Yes.

Really liked that one.

[lame54]

77. Three's Company?...

Hell yeah

John Ritter and Don Knotts together

Comedy genius

[pink-o]

56. I'd love to see old episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E

My sister and I begged our parents to let us stay up and watch it on Friday nights, with the suave Napoleon and hip Illya. I bet it would come across horribly sexist today, but we still love Sean as James Bond, which is what UNCLE was based on.

Anyway, Illya is now Duckie on NCIS and Robert Vaughn has done a lot of terrific acting since 1964. Nice that they're both still working.

[winter is coming]

57. My Name Is Earl.

I don't usually like comedies, but I love that one.

[sinkingfeeling]

59. M*A*S*H, Family Ties, Carol Burnett, Smothers Brothers, CSI, and

Welcome Back, Kotter.

[area51]

61. Dark Shadows, the original show (not the '91 version)

Original BBC Life on Mars

[Liberal Veteran]

75. But the '91 version had the best David Collins.

And he grew up to be Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

[geardaddy]

65. SCTV

Monty Python's Flying Circus
M*A*S*H
Carol Burnett
Kid's in the Hall

[kentauros]

67. Take off, eh!

[kentauros]

66. Here's the few I liken as the best

Babylon 5
The West Wing
Rocky & Bullwinkle
Red Dwarf
SCTV
Poirot (with David Suchet)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (with Jeremy Brett)
Lovejoy
Chef! (Lenny Henry)
Father Ted
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Frontline

Hmm, quite a few of those were from PBS...

[charlie and algernon]

68. West Wing, LOST, Cosby Show, Perfect Strangers, Looney Tunes

[applegrove]

76. I'm watching M*A*S*H. It is even better

Last edited Wed Jun 12, 2013, 05:37 PM - Edit history (1)

than I remembered. The dialogue is better than anything. And for Liberals it is a fantastic place to rest and reboot. Better even then the West Wing. Constantly phrases like "We are all in this together" are spoken. It is quite poignant to see how politically liberal the USA was back in the 1970s. I highly recommend it.

[hlthe2b]

86. I have that entire series on DVD... Always easy to pull out and be entertained...

even cold nights on the treadmill.

It may have been preachy in later years, but I loved it and the entire cast. How common is THAT when there is so much turnover during a series?!

[applegrove]

89. I didn't appreciate how great the acting was till now. Love it. I'm watching

it from start to finish on DVD. Will take me about 3 months. Well worth it.

[libodem]

78. I can not think of the name of it

But if I give you some clues maybe you can help me remember it.

It was about a family who sold the soul of their first born son to the devil. When the kid gets to be of age, Satan comes to collect and gives him the job of tracking down lost souls from Hell who try to escape. Every week he would receive a vessel to collect the soul in. He worked at a big box store with his friends and eventual girlfriend.
It was well cast.

I think it started with a 'D'? I'd watch the whole series again if I could remember what it was called. Help.

[burnodo]

80. haha...could it have been that good?

It sounds familiar. Do you remember any of the actors or actresses?

[libodem]

82. No, but the Satan character

Is well known. I've seen him in a lot of stuff.


I've been trying to think of it for a while. I was really hoping someone would remember from the description.
Darn it all.

[pengillian101]

93. Here ya go. "Reaper" Links inside.

I remember liking that also.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?_adv_prop=image&fr=yhs-FreeCause-shopathome_001&va=TV+REAPER&hspart=FreeCause&hsimp=yhs-shopathome_001

[libodem]

95. Oh thank you

One of the guys who worked st the big box store, with the main character, looked very much like my middle son. It was a bonus.

[burnodo]

79. Hill Street Blues

Last edited Wed Jun 12, 2013, 05:27 PM - Edit history (1)

BG and The Wire are great choices

[wakemewhenitsover]

81. Deserving of mention: Spaced

(In addition to many already cited)

[MrSlayer]

83. Deadwood.

My favorite show ever and nothing will ever be better.

But I do like South Park, Rome, Dexter and a ton of other cable shows.

[nomorenomore08]

84. "Simpsons," "X-Files," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Breaking Bad."

Not a very extensive list, but then again I've never been a big TV watcher. Recently I've been watching Season 1 of "American Horror Story" which I enjoy quite a bit.

[Ilsa]

91. Supernatural. Those two guys are adorable!

And sometimes the stories are hilarious because they don't take themselves too seriously.

[dmr]

94. Bewitched

and, The Closer.

[BainsBane]

96. I love the Closer.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

97. Star Trek, Arrested Development

30 Rock
Greg the Bunny
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Batman (w/ Adam West)
World At War

Honorable mentions to Sanford & Son, The Odd Couple, Big Bang Theory, Futurama & The Sopranos

[Demo_Chris]

98. Fraiser / Star Trek TNG / Breaking Bad / M*A*S*H / Deadliest Catch / X Files / Simpsons

[PasadenaTrudy]

99. Columbo

Still my favorite Adam-12 and Dragnet are fun too. I'm a native Angeleno, obviously!

[ZombieHorde]

101. Live Action: Walking Dead, Dexter, first season of Heroes,

Boardwalk Empire, Voyager, The Daily Show, True Blood, Breaking Bad, ...

Animated: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Samurai Champloo, Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls, Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, American Dad, ...

I like a lot of shows.

[rurallib]

102. Smothers Brothers

People would stop their lives for the Smothers Brothers
Then for us it was shows like Roseanne and the Twilight Zone (man does that have staying power.)

[From The Ashes]

103. my favorites are:

Star Trek (all incarnations except Enterprise)
NCIS
Criminal Minds
The Newsroom
Are You Being Served?
Monty Python
MASH

[Broken_Hero]

104. Hmm, I think

I have to go with Justice League Unlimited as my top favorite, followed by the Justice League, and X files.