Top 5 TV shows of all time

All in the Family
Sopranos
Seinfeld
Columbo
MASH

Frank Ricard wrote:All in the Family
Sopranos
Seinfeld
Columbo
MASH

Pretty solid list, I would swap out All in the Family for Married With Children..same sort of show but with TandA and racist jokes.

For Comedies, Cheers and Seinfeld are pretty much untouchable, IMO. But I want to mention a couple of others that haven't been discussed:

The Honeymooners - Not sure if sitcoms would exist without it.

Dick Van Dyke Show - One of the most underrated sitcoms to people under about 60 years old, but I think it really holds up (and I'm only in my mid-40s). Not a cheesy Leave it to Beaver type, but really just some great comedic writing.

Welcome Back, Kotter - Also seems to be underrated, maybe because it went downhill so bad the last couple of seasons when Travolta left and they brought in that Beau dude as a replacement. The first few seasons are just a shade behind Cheers and Seinfeld for me.

-------
Dramas. Good calls on Miami Vice and Magnum. Remington Steele was another of my favorites. And Lost has to be in any conversation. There aren't many dramas from the 60s and 70s that I ever got into very much on re-runs.

Cable should have it's own special category, because they can do so much more on cable, even basic ad-supported cable, than they could ever do on network TV, even today. Give Miami Vice a platform like HBO, and it could have been even more off the charts. But compare some of those 80s dramas to network TV today, and they still blow away pretty much everything. That's one reason that Lost should be on any list, because for a network show to be that intelligent and well executed in the 00's is definitely the exception, rather than the rule of the last 20 years or so.

1. The Andy Griffith Show (black and white ones)
2. Happy Days (old ones)
3. Cheers
4. Seinfeld
5. The Wonder years

You people need to watch The Wire.

Turtleneck wrote:You people need to watch The Wire.

if you'll notice, all of my shows are pretty much pre-1988 or so. I'm not even sure how to work our remote control.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:

Turtleneck wrote:You people need to watch The Wire.

if you'll notice, all of my shows are pretty much pre-1988 or so. I'm not even sure how to work our remote control.

I don't have cable. Watch TV via the Internet.

I always liked Earth2

Rocinante wrote:I always liked Earth2

I like the show Defiance a lot. A couple non-earth types that are pretty hot, and Julie Benz (from Dexter)

Gunsmoke
Seinfeld
Taxi
Frasier
Cheers

All for being excellent shows and sustaining it over long periods.  

MASH got too preachy and way too much Hawkeye's self righteous shit over the last few years or it would be there.

If you lumped the 2 Bob Newhart shows into 1 it might edge Cheers out.

Northern Exposure just wasn't on quite long enough, same as the Honeymooners.  (I  know Taxi was sorta short lived too but look at the freaking cast of Taxi.  Some of the most talented actors/actresses of our time and some GREAT episodes.)

2 others that are even more obscure but were hilariously funny were: TV Nation by Michael Moore when he was trying to be funny, not a lying scold.   Fernwood/America 2Night with Martin Mull and Fred Willard.

Frank Ricard wrote:All in the Family
Sopranos
Seinfeld
Columbo
MASH

I've been watching Columbo occasionally the last month or so, 1st time I've seen it in reruns in a looooong time.   It's still an OK show but for some reason it doesn't hold up to quite what my memory of it was.   Anyone else seen it lately with thoughts on why that would be?

Shocking that Americans would only list American shows.

Cym Jim wrote:Shocking that Americans would only list American shows.

Right-o - we only watch British tripe after it's been properly Americanized.  e.g. Steptoe & Son becoming Sanford & Son.

Cym Jim wrote:Shocking that Americans would only list American shows.

Don't they only play Benny Hill reruns where you're from?

What's the criteria? Is it on longevity and quality, or is it on cultural impact?

1. Cheers (my all-time favorite show and sustained greatness for 11 seasons)
2. Seinfeld (didn't pick up until season 3-4, but it's still incredibly funny after all these years)
3. The Wire
4. The Simpsons
5. MASH

steveschneider wrote:Seinfeld #1
Cheers #2
MASH #3
Simpsons #4
Taxi #5

Revising my list...

Seinfeld #1
Cheers #2
Simpsons #3
Twilight Zone #4
Star Trek #5

Turtleneck wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote:if you'll notice, all of my shows are pretty much pre-1988 or so. I'm not even sure how to work our remote control.

I don't have cable. Watch TV via the Internet.

I would have no idea how to even do that.

Many of the shows folks are listing were before or in early VCR era.  Other than sports, we don't have much network "appointment" TV evenings.  Magnum PI dominated Thursday's for CBS and Dallas owned Fridays.  The Sopranos was a game changer for cable and drama shows on the networks will have a hard time competing.

In kind of chronological order for comedy

The Dick VanDyk Show
Mary Tyler Moore
Mash
Newhart (the first one)
Seinfeld

There were also Cheers, Newhart (2nd one).  First 15 years of The Simpsons, 3rd Rock and the current Big Bang.

The Twilight Zone is the toughest to catogorize and networks didn't know what to do with it for 5 years.

I think this is an impossible question because for dramatic value T.V. is better now than it has ever been. But saying that, the nostalgia associated with older shows I loved brings them up in my mind.

most of my classic TV shows are sitcoms.. The Andy Griffith Show (though I don't know if "sitcom" is appropriate for a show of that era), Happy Days, etc.

I recall loving Six Feet Under - I was a wreck at the end of the series finale.

Breaking Bad

Cym Jim wrote:Shocking that Americans would only list American shows.

Shocking that you chose to contribute hypersensitive pansy ass snark in yet another thread. If you think there are shows in other countries that deserve mention then just list them.

Code_Warrior wrote:

Cym Jim wrote:Shocking that Americans would only list American shows.

Shocking that you chose to contribute hypersensitive pansy ass snark in yet another thread. If you think there are shows in other countries that deserve mention then just list them.

The thing is that Americans dominate the TV industry, even more so than we dominate the movie and music industries. American shows are huge parts of pop culture in other countries, and for years and years they have been easy to watch abroad. The reverse is not true. I've found Brits to reference the likes of Seinfeld and the Simpsons just as much as Americans do. Choosing to watch TV shows from other countries is like watching the NIT. Sure, there's a bit of entertainment there, but if it were on opposite the NCAA Tourney, what is any sane person not vested in the NIT teams going to watch?

I can't believe I forgot Newhart (the second one) until someone mentioned it? Another of my very favorites, and another that is pretty underrated. The characters were absolutely brilliant, from George, to Michael, to Larry/Darryl/Darryl, and all the rest of the townspeople. Lots of shows have a couple of great hilarious characters, but it's difficult to do so many so well. Newhart and Seinfeld both did a tremendous job with that.

I was a fan of Wings.

1) Beverly Hillbillies.
- Number 1 TV show from 1962 through 1964 ( Nielsen)
- Per Nielsen- of ALL Broadcasts including Super Bowls, Specials, Final Shows, Beatles on Ed Sullivan- The Beverly Hillbillies have the #34, #44, #48, #55, #56, #58, #61, #66, #81, #82, #91, #95 ( 2 episodes tied) rated broadcasts. This is based on share.

No other show comes close to number of high rated broadcasts. From 1962-1965, it was a ratings monster which was not seen before, or since.  

BEVERLY HILLBILLIES RULE ALL TIMES RATING!!!

Jethro Bodeen wrote:1) Beverly Hillbillies.
- Number 1 TV show from 1962 through 1964 ( Nielsen)
- Per Nielsen- of ALL Broadcasts including Super Bowls, Specials, Final Shows, Beatles on Ed Sullivan- The Beverly Hillbillies have the #34, #44, #48, #55, #56, #58, #61, #66, #81, #82, #91, #95 ( 2 episodes tied) rated broadcasts. This is based on share.

No other show comes close to number of high rated broadcasts. From 1962-1965, it was a ratings monster which was not seen before, or since.  

BEVERLY HILLBILLIES RULE ALL TIMES RATING!!!

Only because of Elly May

Oh Ellie Mae Clampett.

Rocinante wrote:Oh Ellie Mae Clampett.

I got critters from her!