50 best TV shows "of all time"

[matgb]

Heh, another amusing "best ever" list that, for the most part, concentrates on the last few years only at Empire Magazine. Aint it Cool smugly observes: Britain’s Empire magazine has chosen the 50 best TV shows ever made. Turns out they think only 39 of them are American shows! which partially reflects the nature of Empire's readership and the point that until recently British TV didn't normally even try to make the sort of shows listed, let alone get given a decent budget. As Film Fodder points out, and as you'd expect from Empire, about 40% of the best TV *ever* was in our genre. with "our" meaning SF&F there, naturally. It's actually not a bad little list. So, y'know, couldn't resist...

1. Bold the ones you've got some DVDs of
2. italicise the ones you'd happily watch, rent or buy the DVDs for
3. strikeout what you didn't like or actively avoided
4. leave the ones you have no knowledge of blank.
5. Bold and italic for not got everything but would like.

NB: I'm including SB's collection (I'm sat next to the combined shelves), but our likes/dislikes don't exactly coincide—she'd put multiple strikethroughs on #42 whereas I'm a bit meh having previously liked a fair bit.  Feel free to tell me how wrong headed I am for liking something and/or not having watched something already, The Wire is italicised despite never having seen it, purely on strength of recommendation from the last time I saw this sort of thing.

50. Quantum Leap
49. Prison Break
48. Veronica Mars
47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
46. Sex And The City

45. Farscape
44. Cracker
43. Star Trek (TOS)
42. Only Fools And Horses
41. Band of Brothers

40. Life On Mars
39. Monty Python's Flying Circus
38. Curb Your Enthusiasm
37. Star Trek: The Next Generation
36. Father Ted

35. Alias
34. Frasier
33. CSI: Las Vegas
32. Babylon 5
31. Deadwood

30. Dexter
29. ER
28. Fawlty Towers
27. Six Feet Under
26. Red Dwarf

25. Futurama
24. Twin Peaks
23. The Office UK
22. The Shield
21. Angel

20. Blackadder
19. Scrubs
18. Arrested Development
17. South Park
16. Doctor Who

15. Heroes
14. Firefly
13. Battlestar Galactica
12. Family Guy
11. Seinfeld

10. Spaced
09. The X-Files
08. The Wire
07. Friends
06. 24

05. Lost
04. The West Wing
03. The Sopranos
02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01. The Simpsons

Original story via, meme by me because, well, why not?

ETA: A bit of digging reveals this to be from a poll of Empire readers. I've bought the mag once or twice for a special feature, buying it regularly? Takes a very special type of person...

Comments

[andrewducker]

You don't own all the first four seasons of The West Wing?

What are you thinking???

[matgb]

Well, initially it was "I'll buy that when I've got a DVD player", it then became "I'll buy that when I'm not horribly in debt" then it became "I really ought to have got around to buying that already" and now it's "they didn't have series one or two on the shelf".

A friend had everything when I lived in Exeter, which made it slightly easier.

If there was an easy way to do these that included "mark the ones you can't believe you've still not got" then West Wing would be top.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Okay, they're clearly insane.

They've got Heroes on there, and 24, and then the top 5... Buffy? Lost? The Fucking Simpsons?

If this was a list of the top 50 most pointless wastes of celluloid in history, sure, I'll agree with the Simpsons in spot #1. Until then, fuck no. There has *never* been a joke in The Simpsons that wasn't both A) done somewhere else, better, first, and B) clearly identifiable as such.

PS: Three Star Trek Shows make the list, and yet there's no House? Definitely defective.

[andrewducker]

Meh.

I like House, but it's the same joke over and over. It's lasted so long because it's a _great_ joke, but it's not classic TV.

And I'll take Buffy over 24 any day of the week :->

(And Spaced over both, obviously)

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

My point is not that House is perfect TV.

My point is that House is better than Star Trek.
And Heroes.[1]
And 24.
And Buffy.
And Lost.
And The Simpsons, but that's a given. Infomercials are better than The Simpsons.

(I'd take Buffy over 24, too. And I'd stab myself IN THE HEAD rather than watch Buffy.)

My point, in fact, is that a good chunk of that list is complete unwatchable crap.

[1]: It started good. It could have been good. And they the writers all went stupid, and never recovered.

[matgb]

There's a small problem with this assertion. House may or may not be the best show ever.

In the UK, it's broadcast on Five. I believe Five does have viewers. I don't know any, but they may exist. This is probably also why CSI is as badly rated and why no one watches Grey's Anatomy.

In my old town, you couldn't get 5 at all unless you got cable or satellite, and a lot of people don't.

The best show ever won't get any viewers on Five, at least none that count. Plus it's a poll of Empire readers (I did some digging, I thought it was a staff ranking which Future frequently do for features) ergo the sample is biased towards people prepared to buy Empire magazine.

Ergo, in a vote of idiots, a show that a lot can't see isn't going to do well, even if it has got Hugh in it.

And, um, I like the Simpsons, still. Always did, the humour appeals. Oh, and I'm only 6 episodes into Heroes.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I'm only 6 episodes into Heroes.

Okay.

You know that feeling you have, right now, that this is a fun show and that it's entertaining and that they know what they're doing and are building towards something cool?

Enjoy that feeling. You'll miss it when it's gone.

(Seriously. Stop *at least* three episodes before the end of season 1. Choose this point and stick to it. The show ends there. They never made any more episodes. This is sad, but it is less sad than the alternative.)

[matgb]

he show ends there. They never made any more episodes. This is sad, but it is less sad than the alternative.

Oh how I wish I'd listened.

Just watched the last ep. It was just...

Completely went to pieces about 4 episodes before the end and nothing made sense anymore. Ah well. Hiro gets to go play around in feudal Japan for a bit.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Season 2 is not better.

For the love of Bob, trust me on this one.

[burkesworks.livejournal.com]

Another worthless list. And the omission of The Prisoner on any list so dominated by sf is criminal; are the pollsters' powers of recall and critical faculties as frothy and ephemeral as the bubbles on their Starbuck's lattes?

[gominokouhai]

Agreed. Also: wot no Avengers?

[matgb]

Like I said, "all time" does seem to mean "last few years", I can't find a methodology and am not going to go look for a copy of the magazine. Scratch that, front page of the site says "as voted by you".

Ergo, it's "best TV shows of those I can remember and I wasn't given many prompts". The Prisoner was the first series of SB's that I watched after I moved in, so I do concur, it's just that I'm not an Empire reader. Self selecting sample, statistical bias in favour of the 20 something and stupid(ish).

[getawaywithit.livejournal.com]

I think the 'last few years' point is proved spectacularly by the fact that the results of this posted on their website show that they believe Doctor Who started in 2005. And a list that can find three slots for Trek-related shows but not include The Prisoner, M*A*S*H or Edge of Darkness does not make me think well of the critical facilities of Empire readers.

[fearmeforiampink]

It's a poll. Therefore 'all time' does mean 'last few years'

[andrewducker]

Exactly.

It's a poll of those readers of Empire magazine who could be arsed to fill in a form and send it back in.

That's a tad self-selecting, innit?

[matgb]

Until I did more digging, I'd got the impression it was "as selected by the staff", which Future have been known to do. It's not.

Given this limitation, it's impressive how far up some of the older things actually are.

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

WHERE'S FUCKING EDGE OF FUCKING DARKNESS?

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

I'd do this, but, you know... ;)

[matgb]

You could link to it and point out the differences?

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

That would involve effort.

[caramel-betty.livejournal.com]

19. Scrubs

WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOD?

Jesus H Christ.

[matgb]

Empire readers. Empire readers who complete polls and send them back.

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

I knew this list was going to be utter shite when I saw Friends was ranked higher than Blackadder.

Technically it should not be ranked higher than anything.

[matgb]

Now now, massivelt succesful comedy show which launched many careers and a spin off, sold many many DVDs and videos. It was bound to get votes. Depressing, innit.

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

I agree with the presence of 03, 08, 10, 16, 28, 40 and 41 there.

But where's The Prisoner? Where's Edge of Darkness?

Was this written by sixteen year olds?

[matgb]

written by sixteen year olds?

Worse, voted on by Empire readers.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I can heartily recommend Dexter as one of the current must-see ones (a serial killer who kills "those who deserve it" i.e. bad guys and works as a blood spatter expert at the crime lab). It's on ITV 1, Wednesdays, 10:35. It's an ongoing plot arc, though so you might want to grab the first 5 eps from a torrent before you start.

But yeah, as an all time best of list, it's rather poor.

[matgb]

OK, I'd not heard of it before I read through their write ups, but it did look vaguely interesting, might give it a go, read a synopsis or something. Maybe.

[andrewducker]

Download episode one. Give it a go. It's great. If a tad unpleasant :->

[gaeriwitch.livejournal.com]

I agree. Check out the first couple of episodes and see whether you don't become a fan. I was a bit hesitant at first, but I think it's really among the top American series currently shooting. Just the opening credits are great. Check them out on youtube :)

[susanne-est-moi.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh you don't like CSI?

*myocardial infarction*

[nannyo.livejournal.com]

PREEECISELY.

[matgb]

It's on Channel Five. See comments above about this issue.

[andrewhickey.livejournal.com]

Dear God...even just looking at SF/genre stuff there's no Original Who (accept no substitutes), Prisoner, Quatermass, or The Avengers.
Not a single documentary or factual program on the list - no Life On Earth, Civilisation, Ascent of Man. No Sky At Night. No Power Of Nightmares.
No Boys From The Blackstuff or Saturday Night Live or Beiderbecke Affair.
*NO MORECAMBE AND WISE*
No Brass Eye or Look Around You.
No Old Grey Whistle Test or The Tube.
No Young Ones.
No Yes Minister.
No children's programming - no Chocky or Grange Hill or Dangermouse.
No Goodies or Newsnight, no Steptoe or University Challenge.
No Hancock. No Face To Face. No Unpleasant World of Penn & Teller.
No Jackanory

And I don't own a TV. Have these people even *seen* one?!

[matgb]

Empire readers. Plus poll of readers always biases towards last few years, partially because they're frequently young, partially because that's the way memory works.

Give them a list of 100 shows of all time and ask them to number their top ten, you might get a better result, but I doubt it.

Maybe we could work out a way of running our own internet poll?