Yea I don't even know. I just thought of TV shows I try to catch when I can.
Top Ten Greatest Television Shows of All Time
- Thread starter Dr.Strangefate
- Start date
Yea I don't even know. I just thought of TV shows I try to catch when I can.
moonmaster
Without him, all of you would be lost souls roamin
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Messages
- 13,670
That was a Nine Inch Nails song. Cash was just doing a cover.
Joe Kalicki
Well-Known Member
That was Trent Reznor. Though Johnny Cash did completely OWN it.
I don't even get TV. . .
But TV shows on DVD are the greatest thing ever. I rarely even watch movies at home anymore.
EDIT: Damn quick Moony! Man, we're really hopping tonight.
(not an Easter pun)
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TwilightEL
Well-Known Member
Goodwill
Well-Known Member
Of all time? Best show ever would have to be Seinfeld. The only show that went for 9 SOLID episodes. Never once did it "jump the shark".
There have been good, groundbreaking shows, though. For example, Lost. Arguably the closest thing to movies we've got on television... It's got an enormous budget for a television show, and they kick out compelling stories for most episodes.
There was, of course, Survivor, too... It popularized reality television. At least, in my opinion.
I did also like to watch Boy Meets World and Wonder Years. Those Savage brothers were talented, huh? :lol:
There have been good, groundbreaking shows, though. For example, Lost. Arguably the closest thing to movies we've got on television... It's got an enormous budget for a television show, and they kick out compelling stories for most episodes.
There was, of course, Survivor, too... It popularized reality television. At least, in my opinion.
I did also like to watch Boy Meets World and Wonder Years. Those Savage brothers were talented, huh? :lol:
Planet-man
Well-Known Member
Iceshadow
Well-Known Member
the watcher
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 3, 2005
- Messages
- 6,530
Mine is in no particular order and I decided to add a few more.
A-Team
24
Prison Break
Smallville
Heroes
The Simpsons
Family Guy
Futurama
Law and Order, SVU, & CI
House
Arrested Development
CSI
Most Extreme Elimination Challenge
Gamehead
Wild World of Spike
Psych
Dead Zone
Monk
Scrubs
Maximum Exposure (I hated the day this got canceled)
A-Team
24
Prison Break
Smallville
Heroes
The Simpsons
Family Guy
Futurama
Law and Order, SVU, & CI
House
Arrested Development
CSI
Most Extreme Elimination Challenge
Gamehead
Wild World of Spike
Psych
Dead Zone
Monk
Scrubs
Maximum Exposure (I hated the day this got canceled)
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Random
Didn't **** any of those *****es
24--- The greatest thing of ever
South Park--- Just brilliant
Fullmetal Alchemist--- I just love it
Lost--- Just a really intriging show thatopen many doorway to new exciting series
Prison Break--- Just a great show that keeps me at the end of my seat
Beast Wars--- I just love it, great story, great animation, awesome characterizations all around a great show. Even the cheesy "cartoony" episode I can enjoy
Family Guy--- Few shows had made me laugh so hard and so often as this
Seinfeld--- Doesnt need to be said
DCAU--- I'm lumping them all together cause its hard to choose and is the best as a whole
South Park--- Just brilliant
Fullmetal Alchemist--- I just love it
Lost--- Just a really intriging show thatopen many doorway to new exciting series
Prison Break--- Just a great show that keeps me at the end of my seat
Beast Wars--- I just love it, great story, great animation, awesome characterizations all around a great show. Even the cheesy "cartoony" episode I can enjoy
Family Guy--- Few shows had made me laugh so hard and so often as this
Seinfeld--- Doesnt need to be said
DCAU--- I'm lumping them all together cause its hard to choose and is the best as a whole
Bass
Nexus of the World
It's hard to order these, mainly it's because it's like timing olympic sprinters - the difference between first and second place is dealt with in microseconds.
So I'm just creating an uber-post.
Honourable Mention - The Day Today and Brasseye
Michael Palin described it as the true successor to Monty Python, and it's pretty much the UK equivalent of South Park. So controversial, that Channel 4 was forced to apologise to the public for one episode. Both produced by the same teams, The Day Today and Brasseye was ingeniously well-made parodies of the news. So well done that most people recall the first time they saw the show with, "I thought it was the real news until I realised that they were talking about John Major punching the Queen". It hysterically funny.
Honourable Mention - Heroes
This show is brilliant so far, but it has some annoying aspects such as Peter Petrelli suddenly becoming "Neo", and Suresh's terminal stupidity. But on the whole, ths show is ridiculously engaging, mystifying, and addictive. It's started slowly, but it's effectively building up both plot and character, properly, with each new episode.
Honourable Mention - Monty Python
It's a seminal comedy show that pretty much spawned imitators that continue to copy it today. However, it pisses me off. You can't get the complete collection of the most influential British comedy show in Britain because the music on it is owned by several different companies. Which is disgraceful. I want my Python, dammit!
Honourable Mention - The Visionaries
This is a kickin' cartoon that lasted only 13 episodes. I love the Transformers, and Action Force (that's G.I.Joe), but this is a brilliant cartoon from that era that never had the same fan appeal despite being quite obviously the most well-written of all its peers.
Honourable Mention - Law & Order: Criminal Intent
I buy the DVDs to this as soon as they are available. I'm a sucker for whodunnits and this is the modern-day Columbo. While it delves into pop-psychology too often and the stories can be rather bland, Vincent D'Onofrio is so captivating I can't help but rewatch it. He's bloody outstanding.
Honourable Mention - South Park
As funny as this show is, it can too easily fall to viewer fatigue for me. What I mean is, I really have to be in the mood to watch an episode a second time, which is why I don't own them on DVD yet. Regardless, when I am in the mood for them, they have me howling with laughter.
Honourable Mention - Deadwood
I only just recently got into this show, but I enjoyed it so much I had to go out and buy the DVDs. Because it's so new, it lacks the emotional resonance the other shows have, but it's startlingly well done. With the exception of maybe one character, there isn't a character I don't love, which is so rare. Not only that, but Ian McShane and Brad Dourif nearly steal the show, they're stellar in it.
Honourable Mention - Star Trek (The Original Series)
The best of the Star Trek's, the strength of this show really lies not just in its strong plotting, but in its characters. Spock is unlike any sci-fi character I've ever seen. He's actually smart. Generally in sci-fi sows you have the 'smart' one but you could drive a car through the holes in their logic. Not so with Spock, a brilliant realised character. Kirk is also superb. The thing about Kirk is despite the over-acting of the show and it's dated appearance - he's more convincing as a man of military authority than most other tv personalities. Yes, the show has a lot of bad episodes, but it has some incredible ones too. And as a friend told me, while the other Trek's have bad episodes, the bad episodes in the original series are classics.
Ten - Buffy and Angel
Unlike many spin-offs, Angel is done by the exact same team as Buffy, so I'm counting the two. I love these shows dearly; they're able to be funny and dramatic with grace and skill, and are genuinely entertaining. While both have rough patches towards the end of their run, they're still two fantastic series, and Angel and Spike are some of the best characters anywhere. That, and it's a show I share with my mum.
Nine - Red Dwarf (seasons 1-6)
Ignoring the crappy last two seasons, this show was what had me laughing all through my adolescence. Every episode is funny as hell, filled with great gags. The cast was small and knowable, and the plots were genuinely interesting. Seasons 4 and 5 are their best seasons, and contain some brilliant sci-fi concepts as well as some fantastic villains.
Eight - Columbo
Everyone knows this guy because he's the best detective ever. Better than Holmes, better than Poirot, Columbo, the humble man in the dirty mac is a genius. Each episode involves the perfect crime being committed and the fun is in watching how Columbo solves it. And he does every time. Because he's Columbo. He doesn't know where he left his notepad and pencil, but he'll find out whodunnit without any forensic evidence. Because he's Columbo.
Seven - Babylon 5 and Crusade
Like Angel, Crusade is done by the same team as B5, so I joined 'em together. While Babylon 5 is at times lecturing, and filled with obvious writing ticks that can only belong to JMS, this show changed US television. Like that sci-fi show with CGI? Babylon 5 was the first live-action tv show to use CGI on a weekly basis. Before them, no one thought it was possible. In an episode of Crusade, they have a CGI human, and it looks terrible because human CGI was theoretical at the time. They pioneered it. Like that drama with a story arc spanning seasons? Babylon 5 is the first television show to have such a story arc, spanning all five of its seasons. And unlike modern-day contemporaries (with the exception of Heroes), it was done properly. There's so much in this show you can watch it multiple times and get new things out of it each time. Top show.
Six - Spaced
This is a British comedy done by the same guys who did Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. It stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and is just brilliant. The show is rather mundane - it's about two people who share a bedsit and their friends. However, they so sublimely slip into the show references from films, television, comics, books, and everything else that they can think of, they exalt the mundane trials and turn it wonderfully surreal. It's a really catchy show.
Five - Father Ted
It might just be the fact that the Irish accent is inherently funny, but Father Ted is a superb comedy. Centered around the three worst priests in Catholosicm on some ****heap of an Irish island, the show mines the fact that by having the main cast of characters be priests, doing anything un-priestly is hysterical. And it truly is.
Four - Firefly
I'm convinced if this had got a second season it would've taken everyone by storm. Look at the fan following it got from just half a season. Maybe though, it being cancelled helped it, Joss Whedon says they worked much harder because they thought each episode might be their last. And maybe it's because Nathan Fillion is just that damn good. I don't know. I don't care. This show is just heart-breakingly well done.
Three - The Sopranos
The Sopranos is just... wow. There is so much in each episode, and they way episodes build on one another is nothing short of extraordinary. The characters are incredibly engaging, so much so you really feel for them despite their being bigoted murderers. This show is so well done you love the devil.
Two - The Simpsons (seasons 3-6)
This show pretty much determined my sense of humour. Come on. It's the Simpsons. Everyone loves this show. The seasons I mention though are really the only ones I find so funny that there isn't an episode I don't like. Almost every show is a 'best of comedy' show. What's more amazing is that not only is it relentlessly funny, but the stories are exceedingly good. If you notice, they all start off somewhere which has nothing to do with the main plot, and seemlessly fall into the main plot with grace. One of the best shows ever.
One - Batman: The Animated Series
Considering this site is themed towards superhero comics, it's not too surprising I love this cartoon far too much. It's propbably the best collection of superhero stories anywhere. If someone says "reading is a function of the right side of the brain" they watched this show. And I bet they can not only name that episode, thanks to the wonderful title screens for each episode, but probably hum the theme tune to any Batman villain in the show. The show took superheroes, Batman, and his villains - and improved them all. This did what the Ultimate line tried and failed to do. It did what Marvel and DC comics have both tried and failed to do. It created an entire new animation style, spawned multiple spin-offs including Justice League Unlimited. But as great as those shows are, the original is still the best. And so, I think it's my favourite show ever.
So I'm just creating an uber-post.
Honourable Mention - The Day Today and Brasseye
Michael Palin described it as the true successor to Monty Python, and it's pretty much the UK equivalent of South Park. So controversial, that Channel 4 was forced to apologise to the public for one episode. Both produced by the same teams, The Day Today and Brasseye was ingeniously well-made parodies of the news. So well done that most people recall the first time they saw the show with, "I thought it was the real news until I realised that they were talking about John Major punching the Queen". It hysterically funny.
Honourable Mention - Heroes
This show is brilliant so far, but it has some annoying aspects such as Peter Petrelli suddenly becoming "Neo", and Suresh's terminal stupidity. But on the whole, ths show is ridiculously engaging, mystifying, and addictive. It's started slowly, but it's effectively building up both plot and character, properly, with each new episode.
Honourable Mention - Monty Python
It's a seminal comedy show that pretty much spawned imitators that continue to copy it today. However, it pisses me off. You can't get the complete collection of the most influential British comedy show in Britain because the music on it is owned by several different companies. Which is disgraceful. I want my Python, dammit!
Honourable Mention - The Visionaries
This is a kickin' cartoon that lasted only 13 episodes. I love the Transformers, and Action Force (that's G.I.Joe), but this is a brilliant cartoon from that era that never had the same fan appeal despite being quite obviously the most well-written of all its peers.
Honourable Mention - Law & Order: Criminal Intent
I buy the DVDs to this as soon as they are available. I'm a sucker for whodunnits and this is the modern-day Columbo. While it delves into pop-psychology too often and the stories can be rather bland, Vincent D'Onofrio is so captivating I can't help but rewatch it. He's bloody outstanding.
Honourable Mention - South Park
As funny as this show is, it can too easily fall to viewer fatigue for me. What I mean is, I really have to be in the mood to watch an episode a second time, which is why I don't own them on DVD yet. Regardless, when I am in the mood for them, they have me howling with laughter.
Honourable Mention - Deadwood
I only just recently got into this show, but I enjoyed it so much I had to go out and buy the DVDs. Because it's so new, it lacks the emotional resonance the other shows have, but it's startlingly well done. With the exception of maybe one character, there isn't a character I don't love, which is so rare. Not only that, but Ian McShane and Brad Dourif nearly steal the show, they're stellar in it.
Honourable Mention - Star Trek (The Original Series)
The best of the Star Trek's, the strength of this show really lies not just in its strong plotting, but in its characters. Spock is unlike any sci-fi character I've ever seen. He's actually smart. Generally in sci-fi sows you have the 'smart' one but you could drive a car through the holes in their logic. Not so with Spock, a brilliant realised character. Kirk is also superb. The thing about Kirk is despite the over-acting of the show and it's dated appearance - he's more convincing as a man of military authority than most other tv personalities. Yes, the show has a lot of bad episodes, but it has some incredible ones too. And as a friend told me, while the other Trek's have bad episodes, the bad episodes in the original series are classics.
Ten - Buffy and Angel
Unlike many spin-offs, Angel is done by the exact same team as Buffy, so I'm counting the two. I love these shows dearly; they're able to be funny and dramatic with grace and skill, and are genuinely entertaining. While both have rough patches towards the end of their run, they're still two fantastic series, and Angel and Spike are some of the best characters anywhere. That, and it's a show I share with my mum.
Nine - Red Dwarf (seasons 1-6)
Ignoring the crappy last two seasons, this show was what had me laughing all through my adolescence. Every episode is funny as hell, filled with great gags. The cast was small and knowable, and the plots were genuinely interesting. Seasons 4 and 5 are their best seasons, and contain some brilliant sci-fi concepts as well as some fantastic villains.
Eight - Columbo
Everyone knows this guy because he's the best detective ever. Better than Holmes, better than Poirot, Columbo, the humble man in the dirty mac is a genius. Each episode involves the perfect crime being committed and the fun is in watching how Columbo solves it. And he does every time. Because he's Columbo. He doesn't know where he left his notepad and pencil, but he'll find out whodunnit without any forensic evidence. Because he's Columbo.
Seven - Babylon 5 and Crusade
Like Angel, Crusade is done by the same team as B5, so I joined 'em together. While Babylon 5 is at times lecturing, and filled with obvious writing ticks that can only belong to JMS, this show changed US television. Like that sci-fi show with CGI? Babylon 5 was the first live-action tv show to use CGI on a weekly basis. Before them, no one thought it was possible. In an episode of Crusade, they have a CGI human, and it looks terrible because human CGI was theoretical at the time. They pioneered it. Like that drama with a story arc spanning seasons? Babylon 5 is the first television show to have such a story arc, spanning all five of its seasons. And unlike modern-day contemporaries (with the exception of Heroes), it was done properly. There's so much in this show you can watch it multiple times and get new things out of it each time. Top show.
Six - Spaced
This is a British comedy done by the same guys who did Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. It stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and is just brilliant. The show is rather mundane - it's about two people who share a bedsit and their friends. However, they so sublimely slip into the show references from films, television, comics, books, and everything else that they can think of, they exalt the mundane trials and turn it wonderfully surreal. It's a really catchy show.
Five - Father Ted
It might just be the fact that the Irish accent is inherently funny, but Father Ted is a superb comedy. Centered around the three worst priests in Catholosicm on some ****heap of an Irish island, the show mines the fact that by having the main cast of characters be priests, doing anything un-priestly is hysterical. And it truly is.
Four - Firefly
I'm convinced if this had got a second season it would've taken everyone by storm. Look at the fan following it got from just half a season. Maybe though, it being cancelled helped it, Joss Whedon says they worked much harder because they thought each episode might be their last. And maybe it's because Nathan Fillion is just that damn good. I don't know. I don't care. This show is just heart-breakingly well done.
Three - The Sopranos
The Sopranos is just... wow. There is so much in each episode, and they way episodes build on one another is nothing short of extraordinary. The characters are incredibly engaging, so much so you really feel for them despite their being bigoted murderers. This show is so well done you love the devil.
Two - The Simpsons (seasons 3-6)
This show pretty much determined my sense of humour. Come on. It's the Simpsons. Everyone loves this show. The seasons I mention though are really the only ones I find so funny that there isn't an episode I don't like. Almost every show is a 'best of comedy' show. What's more amazing is that not only is it relentlessly funny, but the stories are exceedingly good. If you notice, they all start off somewhere which has nothing to do with the main plot, and seemlessly fall into the main plot with grace. One of the best shows ever.
One - Batman: The Animated Series
Considering this site is themed towards superhero comics, it's not too surprising I love this cartoon far too much. It's propbably the best collection of superhero stories anywhere. If someone says "reading is a function of the right side of the brain" they watched this show. And I bet they can not only name that episode, thanks to the wonderful title screens for each episode, but probably hum the theme tune to any Batman villain in the show. The show took superheroes, Batman, and his villains - and improved them all. This did what the Ultimate line tried and failed to do. It did what Marvel and DC comics have both tried and failed to do. It created an entire new animation style, spawned multiple spin-offs including Justice League Unlimited. But as great as those shows are, the original is still the best. And so, I think it's my favourite show ever.
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Planet-man
Well-Known Member
Perchance to Dream.
*hums the Mad Hatter theme*
I also recently taught myself how to play the Joker's theme on piano. God bless the late Shirley Walker.
This is so completely true.
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Bass
Nexus of the World
Perchance to Dream.
*hums the Mad Hatter theme*
:shock: She died?!?!?!?! :cry:
Joe Kalicki
Well-Known Member
I started watching the first episode of Visionaries on Youtube and already ten seconds in there's Cobra Commander. All these shows rule.
I'm not sure if I ever even saw the Visionaries cartoon before, but I know I had some of the toys. I had toys from about every 80's toyline there was (even My Little Pony) and all those cartoons ruled.
My list would probably look like this:
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
GI Joe
Transformers
The Real Ghostbusters
Thundercats
Silverhawks
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
MASK
Voltron
COPS
I'm not sure if I ever even saw the Visionaries cartoon before, but I know I had some of the toys. I had toys from about every 80's toyline there was (even My Little Pony) and all those cartoons ruled.
My list would probably look like this:
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
GI Joe
Transformers
The Real Ghostbusters
Thundercats
Silverhawks
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
MASK
Voltron
COPS
thee great one
Master of TOG-fu.
Are we counting anime shows too? I think of that as a different genre really.
Random
Didn't **** any of those *****es
Well I said FMA because it is on my all time greatest tv show list, anime or not
Dr.Strangefate
He Sees You When You're Sleeping. He Knows When Yo
Top Ten Anime Series of All Time (in my book)
10. Love Hina - Guilty Pleasure Series... Probably a bit of Nostalgia tied in there too.
9. Outlaw Star - I love Gene Starwind. And Jim Hawkins. But mostly Gene
8. Cardcaptors Sakura - You know what? Shut it. This series is wonderful and you know it.
7. Read or Die - Fun Superhero Spies who work for a library! Woo!
6. Cowboy Bebop - For Serious.
5. Gravitation - Shounen-Ai Rock Music Series
4. Jungle Wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu (aka Hare + Guu) - Random fun for the whole family!
3. Ranma 1/2 - I will always, unconditionally, love Ranma
2. Fruits Basket - Really Tied for number one with Eva. Best romance series ever.
1. Neon Genesis Evangelion - Don't care what the crazy people who hate this show think, I am a HUGE fan of this series and always will be. Shinji might be obnoxious, but its the supporting cast and the ideas of this series that make me love it so hard.
I dont think it warrents its own thread, but feel free to post your other lists here.
JonnyFreeze
Well-Known Member
Visionaries did indeed rock! i remember wanting some visionaries action figures so bad but never got them. ive been tempted to pick up the visionairies dvd its going pretty cheap sometimes
Joe Kalicki
Well-Known Member
Yeah, after watching the first part of the first episode I really kind of want the DVD as soon as I can afford it. I even looked online for pictures of the toys so I could remember which ones I had.
(I'm agreeing with my mortal nemesis in the battle-to-the-death Greatest UC Memember tournament)
Dr.Strangefate
He Sees You When You're Sleeping. He Knows When Yo
While I'm being a crazy mofo:
Top Ten Animated Series of All Time, Excluding Anime (in my book)
10. Mission Hill - I'm one of the only people I know who loved this series... but i do, seriously and sincerely love it
9. Clone High - Anyone who has seen this should agree with me. Stupid India had to get it cancelled, but i still love it. Got the DVDs from Canada... Its clever and absurd
8. South Park - Funny as Hell, but only if watched occasionally
7. Powerpuff Girls (the early stuff) - The perfect parody of the Superhero Series... There's a lot of heart, and you have to love the style of the show, and the things it got away with... (Like having an embodiment of The Devil as a villain). I look forward to the first season being released.
6. Futurama - MUCH better than the Simpsons. Always good for a laugh.
5. Invader ZIM - Do I really need to say anything about this show? I got sick of it a while back when some kids i knew were overquoting it, but then I rediscovered it and fell in love
4. Justice League Unlimited - For Season Two's Cadmus Arc.
3. Batman: The Animated Series - While it had its weak points, it redefined batman for my generation, and affected the ongoing series more than any one writer ever has.
2. Daria - I can't believe I forgot this show! This was one of the BEST shows of the Nineties and one of my alltime favorites (it'd be in my top 15 all-time tv shows)
1. Venture Bros. - It's on my real top ten, what would you expect?
Close but no Cigar: Batman Beyond, The Oblongs, The Simpsons, Dexter's Laboratory, The Fairly Oddparents, and the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
Top Ten Animated Series of All Time, Excluding Anime (in my book)
10. Mission Hill - I'm one of the only people I know who loved this series... but i do, seriously and sincerely love it
9. Clone High - Anyone who has seen this should agree with me. Stupid India had to get it cancelled, but i still love it. Got the DVDs from Canada... Its clever and absurd
8. South Park - Funny as Hell, but only if watched occasionally
7. Powerpuff Girls (the early stuff) - The perfect parody of the Superhero Series... There's a lot of heart, and you have to love the style of the show, and the things it got away with... (Like having an embodiment of The Devil as a villain). I look forward to the first season being released.
6. Futurama - MUCH better than the Simpsons. Always good for a laugh.
5. Invader ZIM - Do I really need to say anything about this show? I got sick of it a while back when some kids i knew were overquoting it, but then I rediscovered it and fell in love
4. Justice League Unlimited - For Season Two's Cadmus Arc.
3. Batman: The Animated Series - While it had its weak points, it redefined batman for my generation, and affected the ongoing series more than any one writer ever has.
2. Daria - I can't believe I forgot this show! This was one of the BEST shows of the Nineties and one of my alltime favorites (it'd be in my top 15 all-time tv shows)
1. Venture Bros. - It's on my real top ten, what would you expect?
Close but no Cigar: Batman Beyond, The Oblongs, The Simpsons, Dexter's Laboratory, The Fairly Oddparents, and the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
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