This list was intended to be a top-ten, and ended up with more than thirty shows. I cut it to twenty. There is a lot of good stuff out there. A lot of a shows’ ranking has to do with the impact it had on me to watch it; for instance, Band of Brothers always causes emotion one way or another, whether it is “Why We Fight” (Anybody who has watched it knows why this is a big deal), or Captain Sobel running into Winters later in the series, or the church scene where the guys who didn’t make it fade away. Among others.
Game of Thrones is a mixed bag, in that it has some incredible dialog and writing, special effects and design, acting… my favorite scene is where Brienne of Tarth confides in others that she can’t become a Knight; so they in turn make her one. How they wrote and performed this scene was an example of what is missing from most shows. For the most brutal television series ever, that was a fantastic scene that won’t be replicated on common-formula network shows. It barely didn’t make my list, simply because some of it was so incredibly brutal.
The Walking Dead also has some Game of Thrones brutality in it, the upside of which is that there is real risk to the characters; they aren’t protected. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, for example, you knew everybody was going to be fine by the end of the episode, and when someone wasn’t, it was known long in advance (Tasha Yar). And that actress actually came back as a relative. So, there isn’t much at risk, hence not a lot of emotion is involved.
However, although Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead fortunately break established standards to tell a more compelling story, sometimes they just go too far. So far I’m not even going to describe some of what they do, and that is why they aren’t higher on my list. I can’t condone a show that has a pregnant woman stabbed in the stomach, for the sake of entertainment. That is too far for me if it isn’t in a direct historical context (Band of Brothers), and I’m quite numb to a lot of “action” and violence in entertainment. There is such a thing as going too far, and we shouldn’t condone an “Anything goes, so long as we are entertained” standard. At the same time, assuming that this kind of thing actually did happen in the history the show was based on… that is the dilemma.
South Park isn’t on the list, because of the same thing; they go too far with some of their subject matter, but then again, that is what makes the show so good. In the end I didn’t know where to rank it, so I left it off. Beavis and Butt-head has subject matter that is so true, and also “How did they think of that?” moments where we all relate, in places no other shows take their stories. It is less of a witty satire, but is extremely funny and should be on this list, but again, I didn’t know where to put it.
I had a lot of great favorites, that honestly aren’t full of good writing. Such as Airwolf, which is a great show, but admittedly, had a formula for each episode. As great as the actors, theme, at logistics of the show are, it could have been written better if it didn’t have to have a “wrap-it-up-in-fifty-minutes” requirement.
I also liked the original “Equalizer”, but it has been so long since I’ve seen it, I couldn’t put it anywhere.
So, of course, this list is full of facts, such as these shows have outstanding features that make them extremely watchable, but some of the placement is obviously based on my opinion and the impact the show has had on me when watching it.
1 • Band of Brothers / The Pacific
This should be required viewing for everybody; it gives us some idea of what is sacrificed to bring us what we take for granted every day.
2 • Max Headroom
A personal favorite, and cancelled far too soon; unique and well-written.
3 • Breaking Bad + El Camino / Better Call Saul
A perfect show with a perfect prequel show.
4 • Justified (seasons 1-6) (not City Primeval)
The dialog in this show is the best of all of them; I once watched them all with the sub-titles so I wouldn’t miss anything. I need to read some Elmore Leonard books (what it was based on) as he was one of the people behind the show as well.
5 • 24 (seasons 1-9) (not 24: Legacy)
Opinions vary, but I liked this show all the way through season nine; some of the things they did story-wise and logistics-wise broke ground for everybody else.
6 • The Shield
Like the Sopranos, an example of where the lead characters are actually the bad guys, but one gets lost and easily lose sight of this; the bad guys are actually often the good guys. A lot of gray areas.
7 • Dexter + Dexter: New Blood
Like Breaking Bad, what a great premise behind a show.
8 • The Sopranos + The Many Saints of Newark
Talk about becoming involved with the characters, and their development throughout the story. Poor Adriana.
9 • Mad Men
Created by the same people who did The Sopranos, but with less mob violence. Such as, none of it! Another example of investing in a show that pays off down the line.
10 • Downton Abbey
Sure, it is almost a soap opera, but everything about this show is great, and it is a wonderful look at how things were in this aspect of Great Britain during the early 1900’s.
11 • Cheers / Frasier / Wings
All of these shows were run by the same people and part of the same “universe”, and of course well-written. Nobody does this kind of comedy anymore because it isn’t easy to do.
12 • V / V: The Final Battle (miniseries, not the weekly series or 2009 reboot)
Aside from a bit of silliness with one character at the end, this is outstanding. There are two particular scenes that are particularly powerful in a way that nobody seems to write anymore. Also, fun, with a good message.
13 • Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-69 remastered)
I grew up on this series, so seeing it with remastered and refreshed visuals and updated special effects was nice. There are small improvements here and there that weren’t possible back in the day, but as mentioned in the Blu-ray extras, they wanted to keep things to how they would have been done at the time so nothing is out-of-place. There are some weaker episodes, of which I kept track of so I don’t have to watch them again, but also, some outstanding episodes I kept a list of as well. That is what happens when you have a great concept with great writers.
14 • The Office (U.S.)
The last time I watched this all the way through, I had more a sense of family between the characters at the end; I really like how each character ended up, and what a fun journey. I haven’t seen the highly acclaimed British version, but this was created by the same people so I think it would be worth a watch, too.
15 • Survivor (seasons 1-40, 2000-2020)
Before the mandated political correctness of seasons forty-one and on, this show was an extremely interesting and executed concept. The behind-the-scenes and logistics of it, along with post-show interviews add even more value. There are also moments where the show brings more than just entertainment, but real depth to interpersonal relationships, when things get real between people under stressful situations, and moral dilemmas as well as high logistical thinking.
16 • Battlestar Galactica (reboot, 2003-2009)
I never watched the original when it was first run, as that would have been heresy to Star Wars. But this reboot is just amazing example of how reboots should be done. Also, it breaks the idea that if something is a reboot, it is a bad thing. Usually, that is true, but not in this case. A perfect science-fiction show (aside from two episodes in the middle where they were forced to do stand-alone episodes. That clearly didn’t work)
17 • Sledge Hammer!
This show was created specifically for the actor David Rasche to play, and originally intended to be more of an HBO-style comedy. However, it worked great modified from that concept and broadcast on ABC. The Dirty Harry parody was like nothing else on television and hasn’t been replicated since.
18 • Twin Peaks
I found the show during the non-David Lynch-directed episodes, and really liked it. So, when I did watch the ones he directed, wow. Season three, which came out twenty-five years later, was all Lynch. One episode was so off-the-wall I couldn’t get through it, and I really don’t know what to say about it. But the show as a whole is fantastic, and an example of what a real artist can do in the medium if left alone.
19 • The Walking Dead (seasons 1-8) / Fear the Walking Dead (season 1)
This show was brutal and unpredictable, had great character development, and for me, like Survivor, was a great “What would I do in this situation” kind of show. It would really test one’s moral standards and created some outstanding drama. As things became more politically correct in later seasons, I let it go (not as interesting, more predictable), but it was a great ride for the first eight seasons. The sequel show had an outstanding first season, as it did something the original show didn’t; it showed the outbreak as it happened. Terrifying.
20 • Yellowstone
Being #20 looks like this show isn’t that great, but it is. There’s just a lot of goodness on this list and this show is quite new to me. The country music montages aren’t for me, but are appropriate to the subject matter something I fast-forward through, but doesn’t bring the show down. This show does seem to ask a question as to whether a home is worth fighting for, whether it is worth losing family members for.
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