Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

Not individual episodes, but the show for its whole run.


1) Hill Street Blues (this is how you make a cop show with real characters)
2) Northern Exposure (near-perfect ensemble comedy)
3) Seinfeld (as funny now as it was then)
4) Deadwood (violence, sex, a real plot, imperfect heroes, great villains)
5) Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (humor, great interpersonal relationships, and some of the best single episodes of any show ever)

Dexter and Heroes haven't been around long enough to make my list, but I'm hoping they will prove worthy.

Yours?

Re: Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

1.sopranos
2.seinfeld
3.the office (british)
4.south park
5.simpsons

Re: Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

1. Lost

Re: Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

1. Seinfeld
2. The Office (UK)
3. Friends
4. Frasier
5. Hm, Futurama or Family Ties? (I love Lucy?)

Re: Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

1 Seinfeld
2 Cheers
3 Mash
4 All in the Family
5 Simpsons

Re: Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

1. Homicide - Great cast and just perfectly written. It worked on all cylinders and I will never know why it didn't get better ratings.

2. Simpsons - We bitch about the quality now, but that is only because it was so incredibly good in its prime.

3. Seinfeld - So few bad episodes.

4. Twilight Zone - The best episodes were some of the best shows ever put on television. I have always wondered why this couldn't be remade successfully. I can still just sit and watch a marathon of Twilight Zone even though I wasn't born when it was on the air.

5. Buffy - It took me a long time to accept that I should be watching this show. It ebbed and flowed a bit but no show was better at subverting your expectations of what it was supposed to be. For evidence of this look at Charmed, which is what Buffy could have, and should have, been given the network it was on and its demographics.

Re: Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

[ QUOTE ]
1. Homicide - Great cast and just perfectly written. It worked on all cylinders and I will never know why it didn't get better ratings.

[/ QUOTE ]

This was going to be my addition. Andre Braugher as Detective Pempleton is probably my favorite TV character of all time.

Another great thing about Netflix is they have this sort of series (minus the commercials [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]) on DVD. I would think this series ages well so try it if you missed it.

~ Rick

Re: Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

Anyone who likes Homicide has to watch The Wire, same guys who did Homicide but made for HBO so it can be grittier and more realistic.

Re: Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

West Wing
Simpsons
Married...With Children
Seinfeld
Friends

I'm not saying I liked these the best, but these for one reason or another stand out from the rest.

Re: Top 5 TV programs of all time
 

Addams Family - Why isn't this one DVD yet?
Absolutely Fabulous - maybe nostalgic for me.
Twilight Zone -
Simpsons - just that it has been on for so long is a testament.
There really has been so many great shows, I can't possibly complete this list.