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

[pryor15]

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If you allow miniseries the answer is Band of Brothers, by quite a margin.

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unless, you know, it isn't just American television

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I assume you're trying to imply that I ignorantly praise BoB due to lack of exposure to non-American TV. That is not the case though, as I have spent quite a bit of time watching all kinds of foreign TV. I still find BoB pretty much perfect in every aspect (based, of course, on my humble preferences).

Swede

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i'm just saying that European mini-series have been way ahead of American ones for a long time.

i haven't seen BoB, so i can't say how good it is, but i doubt it's as good as Dekalog or Scenes From a Marriage

[Dominic]

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If you allow miniseries the answer is Band of Brothers, by quite a margin.

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unless, you know, it isn't just American television

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I assume you're trying to imply that I ignorantly praise BoB due to lack of exposure to non-American TV. That is not the case though, as I have spent quite a bit of time watching all kinds of foreign TV. I still find BoB pretty much perfect in every aspect (based, of course, on my humble preferences).

Swede

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I agree completely with Swede...when it was first broadcast I thought BOB was the greatest piece of cinema I had ever seen, not just the best TV show ever. But it is a mini-series and so not really a "series"

[hyde]

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The Twilight Zone

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It's a contender.

[Enrique]

Seinfeld.
Seinfeld is just wonderful, almost every episode is golden and the ones that aren't golden are still very funny. Stringing four funny storylines into one in what seems like a perfect 220+ minute episode.

Seinfeld is the best show.

[flatline]

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If you allow miniseries the answer is Band of Brothers, by quite a margin.

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unless, you know, it isn't just American television

[/ QUOTE ]

I assume you're trying to imply that I ignorantly praise BoB due to lack of exposure to non-American TV. That is not the case though, as I have spent quite a bit of time watching all kinds of foreign TV. I still find BoB pretty much perfect in every aspect (based, of course, on my humble preferences).

Swede

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I completely agree with Swede; BoB is the best thing ever put on television, period. It kind of gets screwed in "best of" lists, because it was neither a movie or a proper series.

For best series, I'd say Seinfeld is my choice for comedy.

As for drama, that's pretty tough. I would say the best individual season is Rome: Season 1. Best overall series (keeping in mind I haven't watched all of The Wire) I would have to say The Sopranos, its just too solid in every category. HBO ftw.

[I_AM_EVIL]

Two of my favorites are shows that you either loved or hated.

Northern Exposure
The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr.

A show that has to be considered in the comedy catagory is Cheers. It had a cult like following.

[Blarg]

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Comedy: I've got to go with Seinfeld here. Never in the history of TV has a show had such a profound impact on popular culture.


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Care to elaborate?

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Animated: The Simpsons (same reason as Seinfeld, to a lesser degree)

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I don't buy the Simpsons as being less of a presence than Seinfeld.

[Blarg]

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Two of my favorites are shows that you either loved or hated.

Northern Exposure
The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr.

A show that has to be considered in the comedy catagory is Cheers. It had a cult like following.

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Cheers seemed the most consistently good long-running comedy. I liked the Diane years far better, but it was really hard to find a bad Cheers episode.

[TheDudeAbides]

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Comedy: I've got to go with Seinfeld here. Never in the history of TV has a show had such a profound impact on popular culture.


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Care to elaborate?



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Sure. Think about all the catchphrases and additions to the pop culture lexicon Seinfeld was responsible for. And it wasn't just a hit with its target demographic (whatever they may have been). My grandmother used to talk about having 'hand' in her relationship with my grandfather (even though that wasn't entirely true...lol).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwgzqbWzseo

The Simpsons, while extremely popular, didn't reach as many viewers as Seinfeld.

[fyodor]

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i haven't seen BoB, so i can't say how good it is, but i doubt it's as good as Dekalog or Scenes From a Marriage

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I was waiting for pryor to mention Dekalogue. I actually just started watching it today. Have only watched the first 2 epsisodes and I already can see it jumping pretty high on my all time tv show list.

Some absolutely brilliant stuff. The water leaking from the pipes a drop at a time as the guy lays there dying. Then the half drowned bee climbing up the spoon and out of the glass of fruit juice as the guy cheats death.

So far pretty tragic fare but also some super funny lines tossed in.

Decalogue 1 - A reporter discussing a free milk program for kids at a school.
Reporter: "But the milk's just awful, kids pour it down the toilets"
Principal: "Not here, we lock the toilets during the main break"

Decalogue 2 - A woman in an apt building at the door of a neighbor.
Woman: "Do you remember me?"
Man: "You ran over my dog two years ago"
She asks him a favour and he declines.
Woman: "Pity I didn't run over you"

I'm really looking forward to the next 8 episodes.

Faulty Towers is also right up there for me. I can't comment on anything from the last 5 years because I haven't seen a whole lot of tv in that period. For old stuff entertainment wise I always liked The Ed Sullivan Show.