Monday, April 28, 2008

Best TV Ever

The New York Post has compiled a list of what they call the 35 Best Shows on TV Ever. Here’s the list, though you can read the whole article if you want to see their rationale for the shows they’ve picked.

Their choices make sense for the most part, I suppose, but I do cringe at Oprah and American Idol being on this list. They seem to be on it just because they have a huge following. That doesn’t make them good.

I love that Twin Peaks is on the list – a highly under-rated and much maligned show and probably the best thing that was ever on TV, in my opinion. Of course, maybe if I saw it now I’d change my mind.

Seinfeld, way down on the list, is still good, though I often can’t help thinking how different the show would have been if they’d had cell phones. So much of the show is dependant on not being able to communicate for various reasons.

SNL, Laugh-in, Mission Impossible, Law & Order – all among my faves. And the Dick Van Dyke Show! My goal in life when I was a kid was to work as a writer on the Allan Brady Show with Rob, Sally and Buddy. Instead I ended up working somewhere much more hilarious.

Did they miss any really good shows? I think maybe Bewitched and Tales of the Wells Fargo should have been on the list.


Sopranos
All in the Family
Oprah
American Idol
West Wing
Mary Tyler Moore Show
Dallas
24
Twin Peaks
Sesame Street
Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
60 Minutes
Ed Sullivan Show
I Love Lucy
Law & Order
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Carol Burnett Show
Simpsons
Sex & the City
ER
Honeymooners
Miami Vice
Seinfeld
Gunsmoke
Rown & Martin’s Laugh-in
Hill Street Blues
Star Trek
X-Files
Dick Van Dyke Show
Saturday Night Live
Jeopardy
Moonlighting
Mission Impossible
Cosby Show
General Hospital

14 comments:

Jazz said...

Oprah? American Idol? General Hospital (longevity doesn't necessarily make it good).

And where is Six Feet Under? That can't NOT be on the list. It's one of the best TV shows evah!

JB said...

I agree - Six Feet Under was an amazing show. I wish it could have continued for a few more seasons, but I guess they felt thay did as much as they could with it.

My personal list would also include Lost, Monk and The Shield...and certainly not talk shows or talent shows, like Oprah or American Idol...also not The West Wing, because (although many American shows are not) it's simply too American for me to get into.

XUP said...

jazz- talk shows & reality shows have really heralded the decline of TV in my opinion, so I don't know what they're doing on this list. Soaps? Meh - they have a place.

jb - I don't have cable so I miss a lot of stuff that I understand is pretty good. I got totally lost after the first few episodes of Lost & gave up on that.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the Six Feet Under crowd. Great show. You should check out the series from the library and gradually work your way through them.

JB said...

Yes, what 'onthecurb' said! Get it from the library! I'm pretty sure Six Feet Under is a show you could watch with your daughter (although she shouldn't watch it without you, I don't think. I believe there are some aspects of it which would require parental guidance), but it's just brilliant acting and writing throughout. "Real" fans of the show would always wait with baited breath to see how the show would open every week!

XUP said...

jb - I can't wait until your kids are teenagers.

Cycling Goddess said...

Glaring omissions! Here's my list:

Six Feet Under (can't say enough about it!)
Fraser
Cheers
Absolutely Fabulous (British version if you please)
Coronation Street (need I say more?)

The list goes on... lol

XUP said...

HP - I wonder why Cheers wasn't on the list - or MASH? AF and Corrie aren't on because they're UK. I think this list is only American TV -- which is also why Beachcombers didn't make the cut, I suppose (har har har)

Anonymous said...

MASH, Six Feet Under, TV Nation, St. Elsewhere.

Bob said...

The Trouble With Tracy; King of Kensington; Pardon My French; Bizarre!; Friendly Giant; Mr. Dressup...
I could go on, but I won't.

XUP said...

Thanks Bob. I'm sure if we ever did a list of the best 35 Canadian TV shows ever, they'd all be on it

JB said...

Please.
The Trouble With Tracy would only be on the 'Best 35 Canadian Shows Ever Made' if there were only 35 total shows ever made!
...and it would be #35.

Jennifer said...

I can't believe that The Wire didn't make the list! It's the best TV show I've ever seen. Also My So-Called Life.

J.

XUP said...

jb- I was kidding.
jo- their choices are kind of odd.