What is the best TV show of all time? (any genre)

[Allanah]

For me, The Wire is the best television show of all time. When season 4 ended a few months ago, I was literally saddened, just the best season of TV I've ever seen. If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and rent or buy Season 1. You'll be hooked.

I keep hearing this from people, so I'll have to check it out one of these days.

I can't really say what I think the best show of all-time is, because I'm only 24 and have obviously missed out on a lot of great television that's simply older than I am. I do have to give The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy tons of credit for still being funny over 50 years after they ended.

But the best show I've ever seen has got to be Deadwood. Incredible writing, a perfect cast, and the sets and costuming were fantastic as well. And even though it's a drama, it can be funnier than any sitcom out there. Another great thing is that the episodes have a high re-watchability factor; because the dialogue is pretty dense, you always catch something new. I don't like westerns, but I loved this show.

 

[No spoken words]

Deadwood is incredible, yes. I miss it.

 

[Lila64]

I Love Lucy
Cheers
Seinfeld
M*A*S*H

They all still stand the test of time.
And Friends was pretty good as well. Family Ties, Murphy Brown,... Seems like I choose comedies

 

[Irvine511]

The Simpsons (up until 1998)
The Sopranos
Six Feet Under
All in the Family
The Wire
The Cosby Show

 

[deep]

/\ good list - except I never watched the Cosbys

did you catch the back seasons of the Wire?

I think the early ones are better than last season.

 

[dmalezi]

I really miss That 70's Show

 

[No spoken words]

/\ good list - except I never watched the Cosbys

did you catch the back seasons of the Wire?

I think the early ones are better than last season.

I think all 4 seasons of The Wire are great, but to me, the 4th is the best.

Oh, and Deep, I watched "A Perfect Spy" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" not too long ago.

 

[deep]

I think I just really liked Stringer Bell, and miss that character.

Ray McAnally was great in A Perfect Spy. It has probably been 15+ years since I have watched it, I hope you enjoyed it.
When a person has read the book first, they are often disappointed.

 

[No spoken words]

I read the book first, like always, but still really enjoyed the mini-series. Paced slowly, written intelligently, and well acted. Loved it. A lot of LeCarre's stuff has been well done on TV or film. Not all of it, but a good amount of it.

Stringer was great, agreed. I just like how bold the writers are, to take the show in the direction they went in Season 4. And, I really really cared about those kids, I have never been so hooked.

 

[intedomine]

The Mole

Or at least the first four seasons of the Australian version.

Pure genius.

In terms of other shows, feel good factor has to count for something, so Friends and some of theose older Yank and Brit sitcoms must be considered.

While Keeping Up Appearances, Extras and Seinfeld are all extremely clever, the characters are cast as so wonderfully frustrating that they are all somewhat cringeworthy. Not a bad thing, but not something you might be in the mood for 24/7.

24 is the greatest drama of all time, while Postman Pat & Fireman Sam win out in the Kids category.

Honorable mention to Sesame Street, Who Dares Wins, Survivor, Midsomer Murders, Puddle Lane and Hey Dad

 

[dietcokeofevil]

SPECTREMAN!!!!

 

[shari schultz]

MASH
Bob Newhart
Barney Miller
WKRP
St. Elsewhere
The Cosby Show
Seinfeld
Sports Night

The best?
A tie for me
MASH and Sports Night

 

[BonosBaby12]

I Love Lucy
Three's Company

Absolutely love how some of my nieces and nephews enjoy these shows too

 

[one4u2]

Seinfeld
Friends
Threes Company- hilarious
Third Watch

 

[RavenBlue]

I'd have to go with M*A*S*H. It was well acted, funny but had serious poignant parts as well and never lost its charm. Great show.

 

[patske]

Nr. 1!!!
Frasier



Cheers
Seinfeld
The simpsons
Band of Brothers
I Claudius

Belgian television
Terug naar Oosterdonck
In de Gloria
Het Eiland

And a special mention for...
Dick Turpin!

 

[Snowlock]

Best for me would have to be:

The Sopranos (although season 6 is booorrrrrring)

Followed by:

The Office (US)
Family Guy (first two seasons)
Band of Brothers
The Simpsons
X Files


Honorable mentions:

Miami Vice
Friends
Newsradio (The Phil Hartmen years)
Titus
Big Brother
Survivor
Saturday Night Live (1988-1992)
Three's Company
Andy Griffith Show
Mad TV (2003-)

I always pretty much hated Sienfeld; way too whiney and neurotic. His stand up is funny though.



Spiderman & His Amazing Friends and Thundarr were good too.

I didn't think I liked TV this much.

 

[gump]

The West Wing, by a mile. It had the most brilliantly written characters ever as well as the most fantastic dialogues. I haven't seen a cast so amazing on TV. True, it lost its touch in Season 5 with Sorkin's departure, but it regained it in Seasons 6 and specially 7. A true classic!

 

[bono_212]

Ok, I thought about it, and the only shows I ever have taken the time to follow in the time that I've been alive, I believe would be the best shows for me, these were:

Get Smart
Monk
24
House
I Love Lucy
The Bob Newhart Show
XPlay
Law and Order: SVU

and I have a huge amount of love for Looney Tunes until about the '50s.

and, I only list it last because I didn't really follow it that much, Fraiser.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Arrested Development reigns supreme.

The final countdown...

 

[guill]

My Little Pony

 

[UnforgettableLemon]

Classics-

Andy Griffith
I Dream of Jeannie
Bewitched
I Love Lucy
Dick Van Dyke Show
Mary Tyler Moore Show
Welcome Back Kotter
Taxi
Happy Days

New Classics-

Quantum Leap
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Angel
Firefly (yes, I have a whedon bias)
The Simpsons
Family Guy
X-Files
Queer as Folk
LOST
House, M.D.

Top Spot overall - The Sopranos

Honorable Mentions - Will and Grace, SNL, Behind the Music, Batman: The Animated Series

 

[Blue Room]

Pretty much most shows HBO has or had.

Sopranos
Deadwood (my favorite) unfortunately not renewed
Rome
Entourage
OZ (disturbing at times but good TV)

Non HBO

Seinfeld (I can watch repeats of this show anytime)
Cheers

Mini series

Band Of Brothers (back to the HBO theme)

 

[U2Soar]

Good to see a couple nods each for St. Elsewhere (80s) and West Wing (00s). I would also add Northern Exposure (90s).

 

[bono_man2002]

I don't think I could narrow it down.

In Terms of comedy shows, I love Arrested Development, Scrubs, Seinfeld, Home Improvement.

Everybody Loves Raymond also had some really good episodes, though I started to really not enjoy the show towards the last couple of seasons, mainly the last.....Just didn't enjoy it. Maybe when the DVD prices for each series drop here, i'll go back, and maybe it'll change my opinion.

The First 4 seasons of 24 were fantastic - Its funny how Elisha left the show and it went downhil

The O.C. was alright too, yeah, its not everyones cup of tea...but there was some good episodes, save for most of the episodes of the final season, the Oliver saga, and some other little things that turned me off the show.

Scrubs and Seinfeld and Arrested Development remain the only three shows I can watch any episode any time, and no matter how many times, will still enjoy* it

(*=ok, if i watch it 10 times in a row its going to get boring, you know what I mean )

And lets not forget The Glass House, I guess if you don't live in Australia you'll have probably never heard of it....Oh How I Miss Ye'olde Glass House

 

[MsMofoGone]

"Classic TV" is the BEST in my book ... (although, I'm adding a few from today's era too) !!

Here's some off the top of my head.


Crime / Suspense Dramas ::

The Six Million-Dollar Man
The Bionic Woman
Wonder Woman
Family
It Takes A Thief
Room 222
Get Christy Love
The Streets Of San Francisco
McCloud
McMillian and Wife
Mannix
The Rockford Files
Emergency
Dragnet
Adam-12
Perry Mason
Ironside
Baretta
Charlie's Angels
Starsky and Hutch
Hart to Hart
Hawaii Five-O
The Mod Squad
Police Story
The Rookies
S.W.A.T.
Simon and Simon
Police Woman
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Angel
Kolchak : The Night Stalker
Miami Vice
Matlock
Quantum Leap
MacGuyver
The Pretender
Cold Case
24
E.R.
Prison Break


Comedies ::

Get Smart
M.A.S.H.
The Brady Bunch
Petticoat Junction
Green Acres
Nanny and The Professor
Gilligan's Island
McHale's Navy
Sgt. Bilko
The Andy Griffith Show
The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour
Donny and Marie
I Dream Of Jeannie
Bewitched
Angie
Welcome Back, Kotter
Happy Days
Laverne and Shirley
Mork and Mindy
All In The Family
The Jeffersons
Maude
W.K.R.P. in Cincinnati
One Day At A Time
The Facts Of Life
Different Strokes
The Love Boat
Three's Company
Saved By The Bell
Fantasy Island
Roseanne
Home Improvement
Full House
Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
Friends


Cartoons / Kids TV :

The Bozo Show
The Ray Rayner Show
Captain Kangaroo and Friends
Sha-zam and The Mighty Isis
The World of Sid and Marty Krofft (including H.R. Pufnstuf and Siegmund the Sea Monster)
The Greatest American Hero
Pee-Wee's Playhouse
Mighty Mouse
Underdog
all Looney Tunes characters (including Bugs Bunny and Friends)
Magilla Gorilla
Atom Ant
The Ant and The Aardvark
Pink Panther
The Wacky Races
The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop
Spiderman (the 67 collection)
Super Friends
Marmaduke
Jen
Plastic Man
He-Man and The Masters Of The Universe
She-Ra !! Princess Of Power

 

[Screwtape2]

Kolchak : The Night Stalker

It's a crime how underrated this show is. Darren McGavin was such a great actor. His conclusions at the end of each episode were just chilling. It was so ahead of its time and wouldn't look like any other show until Twin Peaks and The X-Files.

 

[MsMofoGone]

Originally posted by Screwtape2

It's a crime how underrated this show is. Darren McGavin was such a great actor. His conclusions at the end of each episode were just chilling. It was so ahead of its time and wouldn't look like any other show until Twin Peaks and The X-Files.

Exactly right !!

Although, the Night Stalker TV series was made because of the two original movies that were first aired back in 1971 "The Night Stalker" and in 1973 "The Night Strangler" ... which (if you haven't ever seen them) are worth getting. They are available on a double feature DVD presentation ... and I believe are even more heart-throbbing than the series was.

 

[one4u2]

I can't believe I forgot to mention Will & Grace!

 

[Lila64]

"Classic TV" is the BEST in my book ... (although, I'm adding a few from today's era too) !!

Here's some off the top of my head.


Crime / Suspense Dramas ::

The Six Million-Dollar Man
The Bionic Woman
Wonder Woman
Family
It Takes A Thief
Room 222
Get Christy Love
The Streets Of San Francisco
McCloud
McMillian and Wife
Mannix
The Rockford Files
Emergency
Dragnet
Adam-12
Perry Mason
Ironside
Baretta
Charlie's Angels
Starsky and Hutch
Hart to Hart
Hawaii Five-O
The Mod Squad
Police Story
The Rookies
S.W.A.T.
Simon and Simon
Police Woman
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Angel
Kolchak : The Night Stalker
Miami Vice
Matlock
Quantum Leap
MacGuyver
The Pretender
Cold Case
24
E.R.
Prison Break


Comedies ::

Get Smart
M.A.S.H.
The Brady Bunch
Petticoat Junction
Green Acres
Nanny and The Professor
Gilligan's Island
McHale's Navy
Sgt. Bilko
The Andy Griffith Show
The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour
Donny and Marie
I Dream Of Jeannie
Bewitched
Angie
Welcome Back, Kotter
Happy Days
Laverne and Shirley
Mork and Mindy
All In The Family
The Jeffersons
Maude
W.K.R.P. in Cincinnati
One Day At A Time
The Facts Of Life
Different Strokes
The Love Boat
Three's Company
Saved By The Bell
Fantasy Island
Roseanne
Home Improvement
Full House
Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
Friends


Cartoons / Kids TV :

The Bozo Show
The Ray Rayner Show
Captain Kangaroo and Friends
Sha-zam and The Mighty Isis
The World of Sid and Marty Krofft (including H.R. Pufnstuf and Siegmund the Sea Monster)
The Greatest American Hero
Pee-Wee's Playhouse
Mighty Mouse
Underdog
all Looney Tunes characters (including Bugs Bunny and Friends)
Magilla Gorilla
Atom Ant
The Ant and The Aardvark
Pink Panther
The Wacky Races
The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop
Spiderman (the 67 collection)
Super Friends
Marmaduke
Jen
Plastic Man
He-Man and The Masters Of The Universe
She-Ra !! Princess Of Power

I think you even missed some.

No love for Kojak? Family Ties? Courtship Of Eddie's Father? (Just trying to be nostalgic here)