The Greatest TV Shows of All Time (Kinda): The Top 10

[payn]

And really, it's kind of amazing how many Pantheon-level shows have finished up just in the past 5 years. I'm not as sold on Halt and Catch Fire, but Leftovers, Rectify, and the Americans are all right up there.

I'd argue we are in the golden age of television right now. Tons of good stuff. I did like The Americans, but something about the final season just didn't work for me.

I'd toss in Watchmen and at least and honorable mention for Pillars of the Earth, but for some reason single series are ruled out because of Firefly

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

And really, it's kind of amazing how many Pantheon-level shows have finished up just in the past 5 years. I'm not as sold on Halt and Catch Fire, but Leftovers, Rectify, and the Americans are all right up there.

I think the floodgates from the Sopranos are well and truly opened. When you combine the insatiable need for content with the launch of all these streaming services and the remaining legacy cable services ... it's been a deluge. Not to mention so much talent in the area, and the rise of the "showrunner as auteur" and truly distinctive programs.

The idea that you'd have shows as distinctive as Mr. Robot and Legion, and I couldn't find room for them, shows just how crowded the field is. The "great American novel" is no longer a bildungsroman, but a TV series with a limited lifespan.

If you didn't watch Halt and Catch Fire all the way through, give it another shot. Very few shows pivot as smartly as it did, going from the usual "anti-hero" focus to a nuanced depiction on the way people come together, and fall apart. The historical computer stuff is just a bonus!

 

[CleverNickName]

Any list of "Good TV Shows of All Time" that doesn't include The Good Place in the top three, is wrong.
I don't make the rules.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

I'd argue we are in the golden age of television right now. Tons of good stuff. I did like The Americans, but something about the final season just didn't work for me.

I'd toss in Watchmen and at least and honorable mention for Pillars of the Earth, but for some reason single series are ruled out because of Firefly

Damn, totally forgot about Watchmen!

Let's get Buffy or the Shield out of there to make room.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I'd toss in Watchmen and at least and honorable mention for Pillars of the Earth, but for some reason single series are ruled out because of Firefly

Not because of Firefly; more because of the sheer number of great miniseries getting pumped out, and the difficulty in comparing them and adding them to the list. Cherenobyl? Watchmen? Alias Grace? Mildred Pierce? Band of Brothers (either)? The Night Of ... or even better, It Takes a Hero? Angels in America? Generation Kill?

Ugh. That's off the top of my head. And those are recent ones. That's not even getting into the older, "event" ones like Roots.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Any list of "Good TV Shows of All Time" that doesn't include The Good Place in the top three, is wrong.
I don't make the rules.

Don't Derek the Thread.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Not because of Firefly; more because of the sheer number of great miniseries getting pumped out, and the difficulty in comparing them and adding them to the list. Cherenobyl? Watchmen? Alias Grace? Mildred Pierce? Band of Brothers (either)? The Night Of ... or even better, It Takes a Hero? Angels in America? Generation Kill?

Ugh. That's off the top of my head. And those are recent ones. That's not even getting into the older, "event" ones like Roots.

Totally fair. Miniseries are a very different animal.

And it doesn't qualify yet, but I'd bet money that, once it's wrapped up, I'm going to like Better Caul Saul more than Breaking Bad. Both funnier and sadder. And ... Odenkirk is better than Cranston!

(Not that Cranston is bad, at all, but I stand by it)

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Totally fair. Miniseries are a very different animal.

And it doesn't qualify yet, but I'd bet money that, once it's wrapped up, I'm going to like Better Caul Saul more than Breaking Bad. Both funnier and sadder. And ... Odenkirk is better than Cranston!

(Not that Cranston is bad, at all, but I stand by it)

Better Call Saul is really, really good. It's definitely an intense character study. But it will be interesting to see if it ... well ... sticks the landing. I think it's easy to overlook how good Breaking Bad was ... certainly in the sense that it truly paid off.

 

[payn]

Not because of Firefly; more because of the sheer number of great miniseries getting pumped out, and the difficulty in comparing them and adding them to the list. Cherenobyl? Watchmen? Alias Grace? Mildred Pierce? Band of Brothers (either)? The Night Of ... or even better, It Takes a Hero? Angels in America? Generation Kill?

Ugh. That's off the top of my head. And those are recent ones. That's not even getting into the older, "event" ones like Roots.

Its true, the critera is helpful so you dont get lists with the Simpsons, Mash, Babylon 5, and Sailor moon.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Its true, the critera is helpful so you dont get lists with the Simpsons, Mash, Babylon 5, and Sailor moon.

I think I was using an internal "no animation" rule, but didn't explicitly list it.

....and it pained me to not include B5, which would be in the top 10 Snarfiest Shows, and may make an appearance when I do the top 10 SciFi.