I found this on Florinda's blog a couple of weeks ago, and then promptly forgot about it (you know, I do not have as many brain cells as I used to).
This originated from a list published in a British magazine called "Empire." The rules of the meme are to:
1. Bold the shows of which you’ve watched every episode,
2. Italicize the shows of which you’ve seen at least one episode,
3. Star * the shows you consider “the best”
4. Post your answers
Since the list is British, there are a number of choices that I'm not familiar with -- but there were still enough to work with. But since I am such a self-avowed couch potato (I used to tell people I majored in Radio-TV-Film so I could write off my love of Mary Tyler Moore reruns as "research") I thought it would be a fun exercise:
50.Quantum Leap
49. Prison Break
48. Veronica Mars
47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
46. Sex & the City *
45. Farscape
44. Cracker
43. Star Trek (I'm assuming that this is the original. I wonder if I get bonus points for watching the episodes when they originally aired?)
42. Only Fools and Horses
41. Band of Brothers
40. Life on Mars* (I've posted before about this series as one of the BEST TV dramas I've ever seen. ABC will be airing an American version this fall, but I don't have high hopes for it - they are re-casting and re-shooting the pilot. Do yourself a favor and buy or rent the DVD version! I've also seen all the episodes of this series' spin-off, Ashes to Ashes, which is available for download on British iTunes.)
39. Monty Python's Flying Circus (I've seen a lot of these, but cannot be certain I've seen them all)
38. Curb Your Enthusiasm (I saw every episode of the first two seasons)
37. Star Trek: The Next Generation (I was friends with one of the producers back in the day, so I watched out of support... but it was such a good show, I would have watched anyway.)
36. Father Ted
35. Alias
34. Frasier
33. CSI: Las Vegas
32. Babylon 5
31. Deadwood
30. Dexter (I know. I should catch up with this one.)
29. ER (I lost interest after they killed off Dr. Greene. I understand about cast changes, but for some reason I get really upset when they decide to kill a beloved character. But don't you think I should get some brownie points for actually being in an episode of this series?
28. Fawlty Towers*
27. Six Feet Under*
26. Red Dwarf
25. Futurama
24. Twin Peaks
23. The Office UK* (Fans of the American version would enjoy seeing where it all began!)
22. The Shield
21. Angel
20. Blackadder
19. Scrubs
18. Arrested Development*
17. South Park (Can you believe I've never seen this?)
16. Doctor Who (I LOVE the new, 21st century Doctor, and have seen every episode that's aired so far here. I've also seen more episodes than I care to admit of the old ones, thanks to Brit husband who grew up on it and cannot get enough. As much as I complain about the cheap costumes and cheesy special effects, I have to admit that the writers of these episodes knew how to spin a tale. )
15. Heroes (I love, love, LOVE this show and am looking forward to its return in the Fall!)
14. Firefly
13. Battlestar Galactica
12. Family Guy
11. Seinfeld* (I know I've seen most of these; can not be positive I have seen them all.)
10. Spaced
09. The X-Files
08. The Wire
07. Friends
06. 24 (By the time I heard that this was good, it was in the middle, and I hate to start something like this in the middle. So I have never seen it!)
05. Lost (See what I had to say about 24.)
04. The West Wing
03. The Sopranos*
02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01. The Simpsons*
Florinda added this to the meme: As noted, this list originates in the UK, so some of the shows included may not be familiar - and quite a few all-American classics, particularly comedies, are left out. After you've marked the list, add your own "5 Greatest TV Shows That Were Left Out of the 50 Greatest TV Shows."
Here are mine:
1. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
2. The Bob Newhart Show AND Newhart (I know, they were two shows... however, the I feel that the finale of the latter series was the most brilliant piece of TV comedy writing I have ever seen. It took place in the bedroom from the old show and Bob proclaims that the entire new show was just a dream. About six months after the show ended, I found myself working at MTM on the same floor as Mark Egan and Mark Solomon, who wrote that final episode, and they were kind enough to let me read the script, which included a fake ending to throw off the tabloids. I was struck by the fact that the FAKE ending -- where Dick Loudon dies after being hit by a golf ball and has a meeting with God -- was as hilarious as the rest of the script, and it's a shame that so few people got to see that.
3. M*A*S*H
4. Taxi
5. Cheers
Where do your all-time favorite shows rank on the list? Which ones are missing? Do you agree or disagree with the selections? Comment here, and if you post this yourself, come on back to let me know so I can check it out!
I'm glad I'm limited to just five, because I could probably come up with another couple of dozen US shows and then I'd be writing this post all day!
Here's how Florinda ended her post, and I'm just going to reprint her words:
Where do your all-time favorite shows rank on the list? Which ones are missing? Do you agree or disagree with the selections? Comment here, and if you post this yourself, come on back to let me know so I can check it out!
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