From the WGA/TV Guide via Deadline
1. The Sopranos – HBO – Created by David Chase
2. Seinfeld – NBC – Created by Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
3. The Twilight Zone (1959) – CBS – Season One writers: Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Robert Presnell, Jr., Rod Serling
4. All in the Family – CBS – Developed for Television by Norman Lear, Based on Till Death Do Us Part, Created by Johnny Speight
5. M*A*S*H – CBS – Developed for Television by Larry Gelbart
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show – CBS – Created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns
7. Mad Men – AMC – Created by Matthew Weiner
8. Cheers – NBC – Created by Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows
9. The Wire – HBO – Created by David Simon
10. The West Wing – NBC – Created by Aaron Sorkin
I guess we should expect yankee centric from the WGA and very mainstream from the likes of TV Guide, but the list is more than a bit anemic.
Deadwood and Oz broke ground on what could be said (and shown) with their almost poetic cascade obscene vernacular.
Six Feet Under and Twin Peaks pushed the envelope for unusual characters and storylines that held your interest (for a season or two, at least).
My So Called Life and Freaks n’ Geeks were brilliant at redefining how youth was portrayed on the tube.
Prime Suspect gave us the first “real” female protagonist worth caring about, despite – or perhaps because of – her personal flaws.
Have all the facets of the male psyche and m/m relationships been better portrayed in TV than in Band of Brothers or Lonesome Dove?
For sheer fun – Rome, Pride and Prejudice, State of Play, Coupling from Britain and the addictive comic book qualities of Strike Back and Spartacus from Down Under.
Best TV series of all time? The Brits did it with Brideshead Revisited. It was subtle, complex, and – most important to any series – finite.
OMG I know! Finite! That’s something the Brits do so well compared to the Americans – they know when enough is enough. Most of the best and best-loved British TV shows of all time finished after just a few short series, often at the peak of their popularity. The obsession with ratings isn’t nearly as strong over here, and the respect for quality seems much stronger. Many of the best American shows are ruined by being run far past their welcome.
steve50, Since every other series you name is among my all-time favorites , looks like I need to investigate Strike Back — and find out who’s responsible for not telling me of its existence sooner.
Hey gang, we’re moving the comments for this item to the TV page since that’s where the full list can be found.
“Breaking Bad” should be in the top 10.
Never got Mad Men. Got one and a half episodes into it before I knew I wasn’t gonna be able to stomach it.
I liked “Mad Men” until I watched the 5th season. It went downhill in a severe way.
If you only watched 55 minutes of Mad Men, Paddy, then you never got it because you’ve never seen it.
I never watched a full episode of Lost, and I can’t imagine what the big deal is, because there is no possible way for me to know what I’m missing. I’ll get around to it one day, but until then I am not going to judge a series if I never gave it a chance to get its hooks into me.
If I sound stern it’s only because I like you and want you to discover a pleasure that comes from a complexity that the first episode never even hints at.
(Jeff Wells gave up on The Wire after 2 episodes. I don’t urge him to watch any more because I sort of enjoy seeing him look silly for saying it’s not all that. You’re a friend, so I care how you sound.)
It took me almost half a season before Battlestar Galactica broke through my skepticism.