Post Your All-Time Top 10 Television Shows

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  • chrisisall wrote: »
    Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    I was this *Holds fingers .01mm apart* close to putting that on my list....

    It's a dang fine show! Nary a dull episode.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    I was this *Holds fingers .01mm apart* close to putting that on my list....

    It's a dang fine show! Nary a dull episode.

    And the English dub is spectacular.
  • edited January 2022 Posts: 7,415
    1. Blackadder
    2. Star Trek TNG
    3. Seinfeld
    4. The King of Queens
    5. Fawlty Towers
    6. Minder
    7. Banshee
    8. 70's Dr Who
    9. Red Dwarf
    10. Hancocks half hour

    Runners up
    The Six Million Dollar Man
    Rising Damp
    Blakes 7
    Batman TAS
    The Sweeney
    Star Trek TOS
    The Incredible Hulk
    Only Fools and Horses
    Hawai five 0
    Homicide Life On The Street
    Happy Days
    Swap Shop
    Porridge
    Open All Hours
    Firefly
    The Two Ronnie's
    Cheers
    Frasier
    Roseanne
    The Fall Guy

    Good list mate. Glad to see we both fans of Minder, great series, though do you agree that it went downhill when it focused more on Arthur than Terry?
    And I should have included Hancocks Half Hour, loved Tony Hancock, marvellous delivery of dialogue!
    And I probably should have included Steptoe and Son, another classic series!
  • chrisisall wrote: »
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    I was this *Holds fingers .01mm apart* close to putting that on my list....

    It's a dang fine show! Nary a dull episode.

    And the English dub is spectacular.

    This is one I've only watched in the original Japanese—just became accustomed to the voices and can't watch it otherwise—but I have no doubt the dub is excellent as well.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited January 2022 Posts: 25,089
    Birdleson wrote: »
    @Fire_and_Ice_Returns Smallville could go through a three or four episode stretch where I thought it was the best thing on television (like those Luthor-centric storylines), and then total crap for half a season. A hard one to place for me. Do you have a favorite era or season or storyline?

    I liked Season 3, Rutger Haur made a good Morgan Edge and John Glover was excellent as Lionel Luther (my favourite character in the show). Season 5, 7 and 9 I also enjoyed. Admittedly it did lose something when the show runners changed in Season 8 (Season 8 was probably the worst season, the Doomsday arc retconned too much of the show) I found Season 9 interesting enough it had some excellent episodes that kept me watching until the end of season 10.

    I often found seasons of Smallville were good at the start for 8 or 9 episodes and then dropped in quality until near the season finale, running for 21 or 22 episodes a season it's bound to happen. If Smallville were made today it would likely get 10 to 15 episode seasons.

    Season 4 dragged with the quest for the stones though it was good seeing Jane Seymour and if I remember a writers strike happened so season 5 was delayed for some time.

    If I were to put an episode on now it would probably be season 7 and the Brainiac and Bizarro arc.

    I knew I had forgotten a great show from my list Twin Peaks
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    An interesting observation is that very few of the entries so far have anything in common.

    A great observation. The world of television really is vast.

    My own:

    Archer
    Batman: The Animated Series
    Chuck
    Cowboy Bebop
    Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    The Office
    The Sarah Connor Chronicles
    Smallville
    Stranger Things
    The Twilight Zone

    (In assembling this list, I reserve the right to turn a blind eye to one or two seasons of some of the longer running shows here.)

    Special nod to the Emma Peel seasons of The Avengers.

    Game of Thrones was great for most of its run as an honourable mention.

    Game of Thrones dropped off hard at the end and had its share of wobbly moments throughout but was indeed a real achievement of television and had some truly stunning moments. That speech of Peter Dinklage's (I believe toward the end of Season 4) was just about one of the best things I've ever seen on television.

    I waa invested in Got until it nose dived, at one point I was buying the collectors box sets the final season stopped me being bothered. Series 3,4 and 5 just kept ramping up the quality I was addicted to the show. I will do a full show rewatch at some point, perhaps the finale season won't be as bad (unlikely 😂)
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    chrisisall wrote: »
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    I was this *Holds fingers .01mm apart* close to putting that on my list....

    It's a dang fine show! Nary a dull episode.

    And the English dub is spectacular.

    This is one I've only watched in the original Japanese—just became accustomed to the voices and can't watch it otherwise—but I have no doubt the dub is excellent as well.

    I guess it's all what you're first exposed to... but my Son says ALWAYS watch the original Japanese, unless the English dub is as good or better. He says GITSSAC is better in English. I tried the Japanese, and I agree. But that may just be us... just as an example, Space Battleship Yamato 2199 is better in Japanese (the English dub is so ho-humm...).
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,182
    Season 4 dragged with the quest for the stones though it was good seeing Jane Seymour and if I remember a writers strike happened so season 5 was delayed for some time.

    I know there were issues behind the scenes that fractured whatever storylines they wanted to do. Christopher Reeve passing away was one. Then Margot Kidder refused to reprise her role because of what they were planning with her character, who was then unceremoniously killed off screen. It was a hot mess.

    The best thing to come out of that season was Lois Lane. I was REALLY skeptical of introducing her so early, but they got good casting and the dynamic of Lois and Clark annoying the hell out of each other was a fun route to take.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    I'm happy to see so much love for Lost here. I burned through it when it was on Netflix ages back, when the show was still airing on TV, and I caught up in time to catch the final season or two live. I really enjoyed it but I don't remember it having as much staying power as I would've liked. My girlfriend and I went back and rewatched it a few months back and it totally blew me away, couldn't have even begun to imagine it had as much emotional impact as it did. It's a beauty.
  • marcmarc Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,610
    Interesting that 'Yes, Minister'/'Yes, Prime Minister' have only been mentioned once so far. The funniest and most interesting TV show I've ever seen, I think.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,089
    Season 4 dragged with the quest for the stones though it was good seeing Jane Seymour and if I remember a writers strike happened so season 5 was delayed for some time.

    I know there were issues behind the scenes that fractured whatever storylines they wanted to do. Christopher Reeve passing away was one. Then Margot Kidder refused to reprise her role because of what they were planning with her character, who was then unceremoniously killed off screen. It was a hot mess.

    The best thing to come out of that season was Lois Lane. I was REALLY skeptical of introducing her so early, but they got good casting and the dynamic of Lois and Clark annoying the hell out of each other was a fun route to take.

    That makes a lot of sense, the full change of direction is evident at the start of Season 5 they pretty much forget everything from season four (including characters) that led up to it.
  • chrisisall wrote: »
    chrisisall wrote: »
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    I was this *Holds fingers .01mm apart* close to putting that on my list....

    It's a dang fine show! Nary a dull episode.

    And the English dub is spectacular.

    This is one I've only watched in the original Japanese—just became accustomed to the voices and can't watch it otherwise—but I have no doubt the dub is excellent as well.

    I guess it's all what you're first exposed to... but my Son says ALWAYS watch the original Japanese, unless the English dub is as good or better. He says GITSSAC is better in English. I tried the Japanese, and I agree. But that may just be us... just as an example, Space Battleship Yamato 2199 is better in Japanese (the English dub is so ho-humm...).

    That's very true. We tend to fall in love with things as we first encounter them. Cowboy Bebop is one where it's nothing but the English dub for me.
    Season 4 dragged with the quest for the stones though it was good seeing Jane Seymour and if I remember a writers strike happened so season 5 was delayed for some time.

    I know there were issues behind the scenes that fractured whatever storylines they wanted to do. Christopher Reeve passing away was one. Then Margot Kidder refused to reprise her role because of what they were planning with her character, who was then unceremoniously killed off screen. It was a hot mess.

    The best thing to come out of that season was Lois Lane. I was REALLY skeptical of introducing her so early, but they got good casting and the dynamic of Lois and Clark annoying the hell out of each other was a fun route to take.

    I was skeptical of how well they were going to handle Lois too, just simply because of how compelling the romance had been between Clark and Lana. I didn't see how they could possibly get Clark and Lois to live up to that. But they pulled it off.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,182
    I never made it to the later seasons, so I didn’t catch any of the romance. Hell, I had a HUGE crush on Chloe and thought Clark was a total doofus for letting her pass by. Lana was fine in the first season, but at a certain point, maybe S3, she started to get on my nerves with her passive aggressive attitude. They should have just let go the character when she moved to France.

    Speaking of other botched storylines. Ian Somerhalder was supposed to be revealed as Bruce Wayne incognito, when he was traveling around the country during his youth. The name Adam Knight is a combination of Adam West and The Dark Knight. But when WB got wind of it they told the writers to nix that idea because they were about to do BATMAN BEGINS. This is also why Wonder Woman never appears. Certain DC characters were essentially forbidden to the show. So that’s why the Adam Knight storyline mutated into an out of left field zombie thing. Somerhalder was PISSED with how that story got botched. There’s even an episode where they had to hire a body double for the character because they didn’t secure the actor for an episode.
  • Of course losing Rosenbaum was a blow as well. That took a lot of the wind out of the show's sails, but they kept on keeping on and wrapped things up well.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited January 2022 Posts: 7,021
    You want 10? Well, here's 11. In alphabetical order.

    Columbo
    Freakazoid!
    Futurama
    Hey Arnold!
    House M.D.
    Los simuladores
    Mr. Bean
    Pinky and the Brain
    The Flintstones
    The Simpsons
    Yo soy Betty, la fea


    I haven't necessarily seen every episode of these shows, but what I've seen, I've enjoyed very much.

    Edit: I should probably also mention the first three seasons of SpongeBob SquarePants.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,089
    mattjoes wrote: »
    You want 10? Well, here's 11. In alphabetical order.

    Columbo
    Freakazoid!
    Futurama
    Hey Arnold!
    House M.D.
    Los simuladores
    Mr. Bean
    Pinky and the Brain
    The Flintstones
    The Simpsons
    Yo soy Betty, la fea


    I haven't necessarily seen every episode of these shows, but what I've seen, I've enjoyed very much.

    Edit: I should probably also mention the first three seasons of SpongeBob SquarePants.

    I bought all the Pinky and the Brain episides several years ago, the show was a lot of fun, I have still not got round to watching them all.
    Of course losing Rosenbaum was a blow as well. That took a lot of the wind out of the show's sails, but they kept on keeping on and wrapped things up well.

    I listen to Rosenbaum's podcast he has some good guests on including past fellow Smallville cast members as well as Hollywood stars.
    ---
    Chloe in real life (Alison Mack) got herself into all kinds of trouble.
  • BennyBenny Shaken not stirredAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 15,133
    In no particular order...

    1. The Office (UK)
    2. Only Fools And Horses
    3. Seinfeld
    4. The A Team
    5. Schitts Creek
    6. Fawlty Towers
    7. Ozark
    8. Hannibal
    9. Community
    10. Downton Abbey

  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    marc wrote: »
    Interesting that 'Yes, Minister'/'Yes, Prime Minister' have only been mentioned once so far. The funniest and most interesting TV show I've ever seen, I think.

    Thanks to the writing, so much of the original show and the follow up, is still relevant today.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,112
    I’m admittedly more of a film-person than a tv-person, but here are my favourites:

    1. 1992 (Italy, 2015)
    2. Miami Vice (USA, 1984)
    3. Zorro (USA, 1957)
    4. Stella Blómkvist (Iceland, 2017)
    5. Chernobyl (USA/UK, 2019)
    6. Karppi (Finland, 2018)
    7. 1993 (Italy, 2017)
    8. Friends (USA, 1994)
    9. How I Met Your Mother (USA, 2005)
    10. Weissensee (Germany, 2010)

  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,996
    Mathis1 wrote: »
    1. Blackadder
    2. Star Trek TNG
    3. Seinfeld
    4. The King of Queens
    5. Fawlty Towers
    6. Minder
    7. Banshee
    8. 70's Dr Who
    9. Red Dwarf
    10. Hancocks half hour

    Runners up
    The Six Million Dollar Man
    Rising Damp
    Blakes 7
    Batman TAS
    The Sweeney
    Star Trek TOS
    The Incredible Hulk
    Only Fools and Horses
    Hawai five 0
    Homicide Life On The Street
    Happy Days
    Swap Shop
    Porridge
    Open All Hours
    Firefly
    The Two Ronnie's
    Cheers
    Frasier
    Roseanne
    The Fall Guy

    Good list mate. Glad to see we both fans of Minder, great series, though do you agree that it went downhill when it focused more on Arthur than Terry?
    And I should have included Hancocks Half Hour, loved Tony Hancock, marvellous delivery of dialogue!
    And I probably should have included Steptoe and Son, another classic series!

    Thanks @Mathis1
    Agree on Minder. The later series were weaker. At its best though it was untouchable.

    I used to love watching Hancock with my dad. We don't have much in common but we have similar taste in comedy.

    There's probably loads of shows I've missed out that I have loved.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited January 2022 Posts: 7,021
    mattjoes wrote: »
    You want 10? Well, here's 11. In alphabetical order.

    Columbo
    Freakazoid!
    Futurama
    Hey Arnold!
    House M.D.
    Los simuladores
    Mr. Bean
    Pinky and the Brain
    The Flintstones
    The Simpsons
    Yo soy Betty, la fea


    I haven't necessarily seen every episode of these shows, but what I've seen, I've enjoyed very much.

    Edit: I should probably also mention the first three seasons of SpongeBob SquarePants.

    I bought all the Pinky and the Brain episides several years ago, the show was a lot of fun, I have still not got round to watching them all.

    Great fun indeed. I was, uh, pondering what are my favorite episodes. Here's some:

    - The one where the Brain sues the company for the microwave accident (featuring "Christopher Walken" as the defense lawyer).
    - The one where Brain starts a country in an island and no one in the US government wants to admit they don't know where it is located, for fear of appearing ignorant ("we can't go to war with a country we can't find!").
    - The Pinky Protocol, featuring Oliver Stone.
    - The one where Pinky and the Brain enter a reality show.
    - The one where they create a life-sized copy of the Earth made out of papier-mâché.
    - The one where the Brain becomes a lounge singer who opens a casino and ends up in debt to the "mob" (in reality I think it's just a woman who owns a cookie shop).
    - The one where they break into Fort Knox using a chemical compound to make the guards sneeze uncontrollably, but don't consider the fact they are too small to move the gold bars themselves, with painful consequences.
    - The spoof of Where Eagles Dare.

    I haven't seen the revival episodes. But I'm pondering it.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    The Six Million Dollar Man
    ST: TOS
    ST: TNG
    X-Files
    The Sopranos
    The Wire
    Breaking Bad
    Batman ‘66-68
    Ozark
    Three’s Company
  • marcmarc Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,610
    marc wrote: »
    Interesting that 'Yes, Minister'/'Yes, Prime Minister' have only been mentioned once so far. The funniest and most interesting TV show I've ever seen, I think.

    Thanks to the writing, so much of the original show and the follow up, is still relevant today.

    Absolutely. It's actually breathtaking, the way it shows political corruption.

    "Ministers should never know more than they need to know. ... Like secret agents, they could be captured and tortured."
    "You mean by terrorists?"
    "By the BBC, Bernard."
  • Some very fine lists on here. Here are my top (non-Soviet)) series:
    1. Mad Men
    2. Game of Thrones
    3. Twin Peaks
    4. Chernobyl
    5. Dark
    6. Penny Dreadful
    7. Peaky Blinders
    8. Rome
    9. Sherlock
    10. The Crown

    Honourable mention: Homeland, House of Cards (US), Succession

    Favourite sitcoms: 'Allo 'Allo, The Simpsons, Seinfeld

    I'm ashamed to say that I haven't yet made it through some of the most popular dramas yet including The Wire, The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Lost, and Breaking Bad.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    edited January 2022 Posts: 45,489
    I see many mention Seinfeld here, and it was lots of fun, but personally I like Curb Your Enthusiasm even better.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    1. Star Trek The Original Series.
    2. M*A*S*H
    3. The Orville
    4. Columbo
    5. Batman The Animated Series
    6. Better Call Saul
    7. Breaking Bad
    8. The Sopranos
    9. Twin Peaks
    10. The X Files
  • Posts: 1,075
    Peaky Blinders, X-Files, Vikings, any Alan Partridge.
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    edited January 2022 Posts: 4,515
    Macgyver. I wish Paramount release simalar box for Mission Impossible series include 47 disc it have cost 30-35 more (135 €) with a bigger box with 8 disc more and litle bigger booklet. Or one large boxset with all 46 earlier released slimcases and at 47 case for bonus disc.
    Knight Rider. Missing S3, because of audio errors. Missing 2008 ''2009'' series too.
    The A-Team
    Miami Vice. Finaly complete it last year with last three seasons.
    Airwolf. Missing S3 because it cost to much.
    The Incredible Hulk.

    The Saint. Wish there release other 4 seasons too in simalar sets atleast..
    Batman Animated series. Wish there release s3&4 on dvd too.

    I like to have / see Kojak too but that wil not happen before Universal re-release s1, release s2 with pilot of season 1 as extra.

    Tv only:
    Swatt. Watching Season 4 and today start recording Season 5. Season 3 was very good, so far s4 is more like S2.
    Killing Eve. Waiting on S4/final season. First not feel need for s3, already going to strugle with s2.
    The Handsmaid Tale. Watching Season 3, recording season 4. After Season 3 i can finaly take longer break. Problem be that all 3 seasons be in one year and push me to watch 2 episodes a weak now.
    Macgyver new series. Waiting on S4&5/final season. Season 3 was way better then S2 exept closer the end of season.
    The Good Doctor. Watching Season 4.
    The Last Ship. Waiting on Season 5/final season. There wait very long with Season 4, first i don't whant to watch it.

    I also hope we will get CSI return. I follow it since Season 4 or so. CSI New York was my favorite. CSI Cypher was oke, Miami i watched only a view episodes.

    Earlier tv series:

    Mad Men. Channel never showed s7, also i hoped tv series dive in the 70's.
    Homeland
    24.
    Scorpion. Second half of Season 2 & S3 be very good and inspecialy S3. But first half of S2 be bad and S4 even more.
    Bones. Start with Season 4, but happy it end. Don't need return.
    Loise and Clark. The Superman i grow up with besides animated series from 40's.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    M_Balje wrote: »
    Airwolf. Missing S3 because it cost to much.
    I have all the seasons. 3 wasn't very good, actually. And I'm a big Airwolf fan....
  • KenAustinKenAustin United States
    Posts: 226
    1- The Mandalorian
    2- The Book of Boba Fett
    3- Punisher
    4- Band of Brothers
    5- Smallville
    6- Game of Thrones
    7- Batman Animated Series
    8- Airwolf
    9- Clone Wars
    10- The Bad Batch
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    I see many mention Seinfeld here, and it was lots of fun, but personally I like Curb Your Enthusiasm even better.

    Same here. Then again, I never really got into Seinfeld. I tend to avoid shows with laugh tracks, they're piercing and irritating to me.
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