AnotherGuy
Hero
Gosh I scratched it out while you posted. I did a rethink and too thought better of it.
As for Frasier I forgot "the century" part.
The 50 Best Television Shows of this Century!
As for Frasier I forgot "the century" part.
Clint_L
Hero
It's an aggressively middlebrow American list, with tons of shows on it that I am just not interested in watching because, well, I'm not American, so they just don't hold the same fascination for me - American culture loves navel-gazing.
Shows that I would have included:
Watchmen. WTF? How is this not in the top 10?
Schitt's Creek. You find room for Jane the Virgin and not this far superior feel-good comedy?
Adventure Time. Foundational for the 2000s shift in animation.
Futurama
Stranger Things - wildly inconsistent but that first season alone qualifies it, and the last season certainly takes big swings and is pretty entertaining.
Gravity Falls - this omission makes me question the entire list
John Oliver
The Bear
The Good Place
What We Do in the Shadows
Andor
Way too low:
Breaking Bad
Better Call Saul
Game of Thrones - sure, season 7 was meh and season 8 is bad, but seasons 1-6 are fantastic
Fleabag
Overrated:
The Sopranos. I would put it in top twenty, and it actually benefits from Season 1 being left off the list. But I've recently been rewatching it because my kid likes learning about classic TV shows and...it doesn't completely hold up. The cast is great, but it is more formulaic than I remembered. Each season has basically the same plot. And as male mid-life crisis shows go, Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad are both better.
Seriously?
Sex and the City - I hate this show with a passion
Chernobyl - this one irritates me no end because I'm a history buff. This series bears only passing resemblance to historical events, and its depiction of radiation poisoning is ludicrous. No, you don't gradually turn into a skinless freak out of a horror film, and unborn babies can't catch radiation poisoning from their dad, thus saving their mom. I mean, WTF? (Just in general: radiation exposure is not contagious. That's why you can't catch a sunburn off your kid).
Glad to see: Survivor! Edit: lotsa Survivor hate out there! I like it because it puts a bunch of people in a really tough physical situation, so that despite knowing that they are on TV, and being occasionally pestered by producers trying to direct the story, they are sufficiently in extremis for real human drama to happen. It's sometimes banal but often enough hilarious, exhausting, exhilarating, sad and everything else...sometimes at the same time. It is an absolutely great conversation show; fans can argue endlessly about whether a player's strategy made sense, whether they deserved to win, etc., not to mention the ethics of it all.
Shows that I would have included:
Watchmen. WTF? How is this not in the top 10?
Schitt's Creek. You find room for Jane the Virgin and not this far superior feel-good comedy?
Adventure Time. Foundational for the 2000s shift in animation.
Futurama
Stranger Things - wildly inconsistent but that first season alone qualifies it, and the last season certainly takes big swings and is pretty entertaining.
Gravity Falls - this omission makes me question the entire list
John Oliver
The Bear
The Good Place
What We Do in the Shadows
Andor
Way too low:
Breaking Bad
Better Call Saul
Game of Thrones - sure, season 7 was meh and season 8 is bad, but seasons 1-6 are fantastic
Fleabag
Overrated:
The Sopranos. I would put it in top twenty, and it actually benefits from Season 1 being left off the list. But I've recently been rewatching it because my kid likes learning about classic TV shows and...it doesn't completely hold up. The cast is great, but it is more formulaic than I remembered. Each season has basically the same plot. And as male mid-life crisis shows go, Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad are both better.
Seriously?
Sex and the City - I hate this show with a passion
Chernobyl - this one irritates me no end because I'm a history buff. This series bears only passing resemblance to historical events, and its depiction of radiation poisoning is ludicrous. No, you don't gradually turn into a skinless freak out of a horror film, and unborn babies can't catch radiation poisoning from their dad, thus saving their mom. I mean, WTF? (Just in general: radiation exposure is not contagious. That's why you can't catch a sunburn off your kid).
Glad to see: Survivor! Edit: lotsa Survivor hate out there! I like it because it puts a bunch of people in a really tough physical situation, so that despite knowing that they are on TV, and being occasionally pestered by producers trying to direct the story, they are sufficiently in extremis for real human drama to happen. It's sometimes banal but often enough hilarious, exhausting, exhilarating, sad and everything else...sometimes at the same time. It is an absolutely great conversation show; fans can argue endlessly about whether a player's strategy made sense, whether they deserved to win, etc., not to mention the ethics of it all.
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Clint_L
Hero
It really is one of the best shows I've seen. There's nothing else like it.
Gladius Legis
Legend
Game of Thrones should not be on the list. It was bad for literally as many seasons as it was good.
Some of my faves of the past 20+ years didn’t last very long and/or got transferred to subscription services. In no particular order:
The Walking Dead
Copper
Terriers
Apparitions
Samurai Jack
Venture Brothers
Archer
Evil
The Orville
Hannibal
Coupling
Unforgotten
Line of Duty
Community
The War Next Door
Arrested Development
Lucifer
Prodigal Son
What We Do in the Shadows
The Expanse
The Magicians
Good Eats
The Walking Dead
Copper
Terriers
Apparitions
Samurai Jack
Venture Brothers
Archer
Evil
The Orville
Hannibal
Coupling
Unforgotten
Line of Duty
Community
The War Next Door
Arrested Development
Lucifer
Prodigal Son
What We Do in the Shadows
The Expanse
The Magicians
Good Eats
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Marc Radle
Legend
Parks and Rec was a fantastic show (it’s easily one of my favorite comedies from that period) so I’m glad it made the list!
Pretty shocked that the Office didn’t though.
Pretty shocked that the Office didn’t though.
payn
He'll flip ya...Flip ya for real...
Funny thing about WD is it feels like the zombie of TV shows. Internet webisdoes, spin off series, talk shows, etc...
nerfherder
Explorer
A lot of shows I've never heard of, and some that I loved.
Personally, I would add:
The IT Crowd
Ghosts
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
Ted Lasso
Gavin & Stacey
Dr Who (ignoring the first 871 from the 20th century)
Personally, I would add:
The IT Crowd
Ghosts
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
Ted Lasso
Gavin & Stacey
Dr Who (ignoring the first 871 from the 20th century)
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Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
All great thoughts! My instant reaction is this (especially with regard to the original list)-
I think that they probably were biased heavily in favor (favour?) of American television, which makes sense given that they were American critics, but also explains the omission of TV from other English-language countries.
I also think that this list, and these types of lists / accolades, tend to value drama (or dramedy like Atlanta and Reservation Dogs) over comedy. Just think about the near-total absence of comedies from the Best Picture winners at the Oscars ... there's Annie Hall and ... uh ....
Yeah.
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