Okay then, what is the best show in TV History?

[Actual God]

My favorites, in order...

DRAMA

Wire
Sopranos
Deadwood
West Wing
Law and Order (the whole opus)


COMEDY

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Office (UK)
Seinfeld
Office (USA)
Simpsons

[Blarg]

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I'll gonna make a case for All in the Family. It was very topical of the times and its main character was a lovable bigot. This show was very funny, but also dealt with some very serious issues such as the Edith rape episode and Archie's lack of a high school diploma. The show dealt with every issue of the times in away that manged to be funny and often quite poignant.

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This show definitely was hugely influential. It took on racism and made political criticisms in ways that comedies just didn't do back then, and was very controversial. Best yet, it made some serious issues really funny, and exposed how ridiculous a lot of thinking was.

One favorite example: Archie explains his idea to control airplane hijacking: "First, you pass out the pistols..."

Another: Archie deals with his segregated club, the Kings of Queens, that might be shut down for its segregation by inviting a black guy to become a token member. He reassuringly advises him that he doesn't even have to come at all, hint hint, etc etc. The guy happily takes him up on the offer to become a member, and really grinds it in to a shocked Archie, saying he'll invite all his pals from the neighborhood and the club will be so black, they'll have to rename it the "Kings of Queens ... of Spades!" The look on Archie's face was priceless!

Interestingly enough, the star, Carroll O'Connor, was widely vilified by blacks, as if he were endorsing Archie's behavior and not merely acting out a part -- and furthermore a part designed to ridicule Archie's prejudices and shortcomings, not endorse them.

Very good, very important show.

[Tigermoth]

I've never seen a lot of the older shows mentioned here, like AITF and Twilight Zone, so I can't comment there, but as for the newer ones, I'd have to say:

Drama: Deadwood/The Wire/Sopranos/Six Feet Under (why has no one mentioned that yet?)
SciFi: Battlestar Galactica, hands down
Comedy: British Office, Futurama (again...), Simpsons (earlier seasons, haven't seen much in the last 5 years)

Also, it may not be up everyone's alleys, but the first season of Veronica Mars had some outstandingly smart dialogue and great acting, and it's loosely based on Twin Peaks. Seasons 2 and 3 are still better than most TV, but they aren't as great as 1.

Lost and 24 never had much of an appeal for me; I get exasperated by cliffhanger endings.

I don't have cable, so I basically just watch stuff on recommendation. Looks like I'll be giving BoB a try.

There was an interesting article recently (NYTimes? Salon? If I find it, I'll post the link) about how TV shows have started being significantly better than movies. More time for character development, better scriptwriters, and actors who can actually act and weren't hired just to look pretty.

Adding to the Seinfeld vs Simpsons argument, I don't think there's really much of a question as to which has been more influential. I've even watched The Simpsons in German. Hugely popular there. It's interesting to know, though, that Seinfeld is VERY popular in Sweden, for some reason. But I think a lot of the Simpsons phrases have matriculated so cleanly into popular culture that we aren't even aware of why we use them. Sort of Shakespearean in that way. When we quote Seinfeld, we're always very aware that we're quoting Seinfeld (as are our listeners), which seems fitting. Correct me if I'm wrong here; I haven't seen much Seinfeld, and this might be more of a general impression I have of the show and its impact.

Except for my favorite: I'm not not licking frogs! (Although, now that I think about this, I have heard several variations on this...)

[JuntMonkey]

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Six Feet Under (why has no one mentioned that yet?)


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I guess because the thread is supposed to be about the best show in TV history, not "mediocre to good shows in TV history".

[Michaelson]

I've never seen a program that has even come close to the scope and ambition of The Wire and The Sopranos. Unlike television series of the past that were almost without exception prisoners of an essentially limited format (namely: neat and tidy self contained episodes), The Wire and The Sopranos have unravelled at their own pace and developed into incredibly intricate serialised masterworks. Nothing that I have seen even comes close, however I'm sure the success of these two series will lead to more productions like them. I'm Australian and don't really know what the story is with HBO, but one way or another they have done an absolutely fantastic service to the medium of television. I disagree with the articles I have read of late suggesting that television has surpassed film, but The Wire and The Sopranos demonstrate that it has the capacity to.

honorable mentions. Fawlty Towers and Yes Minister/Prime Minister (was YM/YPM shown in the US? probably not) have both had incredibly long lives for sitcoms. I predict that the UK version of The Office also will (as opposed to the US version, which I enjoy, but at the end of the day is a pale imitation).

The early seasons of The Simpsons, particularly the first 5 or so IMO, have been able to sustain well in excess of 30 viewings each from me, and never seem to date. After season 5 I thought it was a mixed bag, and finally just outright drek.

Re: Seinfeld, I suspect that in 10 or 15 years time it will still be enjoyable viewing for those who watched the show during its first run, but it won't be a show their kids watch. It's always hard to judge with these sorts of things, though.

And for any Australians, it's hard to go past Scales of Justice and Blue Murder as miniseries of the highest order. And Frontline is as relevant today as it was when it was made.

[mrkilla]

Wut do I win?

I just "recieved" all the episodes of this show still really super funny to me. My GF can't stand that I can watch 5-10 episodes in a row. There is actually a "MASH bash" in dowtown buffalo this weekend I might attend.

[LilGreen]

David Kelley is to television what Stu Ungar was to poker.

[4 High]

I dont know if i could ever choose between The West Wing, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5 or TNG/DS9.

[sethypooh21]

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I was going to come in and post The Wire as the answer.

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The only problem is that the thread ends there, as that is the unambiguously righteous and correct answer.

[MrMon]

I find it interesting that a lot of the nominees have relatively few episodes. And although I haven't got an absolute favorite, it makes me respect Seinfeld even more, because it managed to be brilliant for so long and over so many episodes, even if the finale did suck.

I would submit that it's a lot easier to come up with 6-10 episodes a year than 24. And some of these series have only one season, or just 2-3, let alone 9.