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The 25 Greatest TV Shows of All-Time

I was recently looking at a list of 100 greatest television shows of all-time and realized just how bad the shows on TV right now are.   There was not one current show other than a news show and three variety shows, two of which have pretty much jumped the shark.

In making my list, I tried not to romanticize my childhood, so there will be no Incredible Hulk or Six Million Dollar Man.  I tried not to overstate what's fresh in my mind, so there will be no Master Chef.  I'm using two criteria.  First, how much did this show impact me at the time and second, would I watch this again and have it still impact me.

As many know, I stray from the norm, so there will be no Seinfeld or Friends.  There will be no Lost or American Idol.  There will be no reality shows.  There will be no single events, such as the Super Bowl.  There will be no specials, though mini series will be included.  For the sake of this blog, I have gotten rid of foreign TV, so there will be no Monty Python (which would definitely be on the list) or Father Ted.  There will be no single sport wrap-up shows, so no NFL Primetime or Baseball tonight. There will be no late night talk shows, so no Johnny Carson or David Letterman.  And finally, there will be no news, so no 60 Minutes or Sunday Morning.  This will only be series or mini series with one exception.  With my limited parameters, I was able to dwindle my list down to 35 shows.  Here are the one's who missed the boat:  The Bob Newhart Show, General Hospital (yes), Married with Children, Sandford and Son, Soap, South Park, Star Trek, Dynasty, Dallas and finally The Sopranos.

I would like to take one moment to comment on the Sopranos.  I'm basing my decision to exclude it from the top 25, because of it's failure to stay consistent.  The first season is arguably one of the top ten shows of all-time.  The second is arguably in the top twenty.  The third is awful and what followed can only be described as horrific.  The show got so bad, I must admit, I have never seen any episodes from the final season.  That being said, the first two were so good, they deserved mention.

I also want to preface this with the fact I have never seen The Wire, Arrested Development and I'm waiting for Dexter to end before passing judgement, because I fear this coming season may jump the shark.  That being said, if I included Dexter, it would be in the top five.

On to the list.

25. Get a Life - Chris Elliot plays a lovable loser who is a 40 year old paper boy who lives with his parents.  His real life father, Bob (of Bob & Ray) fame is the scene stealer.  Best Episode: He builds a submarine in his bathtub.

24. Roots - powerful miniseries starring Levar Burton as Kunta Kinte.  Still as powerful today as it was back then.  Best Scene: When the slave owner whips him and he refuses to acknowledge his slave name of Toby.

23. Cheers - Ted Danson & a motley crew of misfits spend their lives in a bar.  This almost didn't make my list due to the Kirstie Alley years, but Woody saved it so many nights.  I honestly didn't like this show when it was first on, but discovered recently it was pretty damn good.  Best episode:  The pilot, when Diane gets jilted.

22. C.S.I. - When this show began it was groundbreaking.  It's lost some of it's luster and I am far from a regular, but the above average acting always gives it a little punch.  Best Episode: The season finale directed by Quentin Tarrentino.  One of the single best TV episodes ever.

21. Sesame Street/The Muppets - Obviously these had to make the list.  They're something we all grew up on and even though they have introduced so many annoying new characters on Sesame Street, it's stood the test of time. The Muppets, when they were on were brilliant.  I combined the two because of similarities and Kermit!

20. The Naked Chef - Jamie Oliver makes cooking look simple.  I was tempted to put Jules & Jacques, but this is the show that really got me into cooking and cooking shows.  Best episode: He makes this ridiculous meal after his mates come back from a night of drinking.  All in one frying pan.

19. I Love Lucy - Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez are the most odd couple in TV history and they were real.  Some shows missed their mark, but the moments when Lucy and Fred are on screen are incredible.  Best Episode: The chocolates on the conveyor belt.

18. Criminal Minds - some people thinking it's a little hokey, but in my opinion it's the best drama on TV.  Acting isn't incredible, but the plots make up for any lapses.  I do like the earlier one's with Mandy Patankin a little more, but Best Episode: The season five two part finale; Two Hell.....and Back.

17. The Odd Couple - probably the best buddy program in TV history.  The concept has been redone a million times and never as well as Tony Randall and Jack Klugman did it.  Best Episode: Don't really remember, but I remember a great one where Felix steps in for a famous ballet dancer.

16.  The Honeymooners - Jackie Gleason and Art Carney get all the credit, but I think it was the women that truly made this show funny.  Some people think it's the funniest show ever.  Best Episode: A psychiatrist tells Ralph to stay away from Norton.

15. Magnum P.I. - now many people would consider this to be a guilty pleasure, but the show had some very intense episodes.  Tom Selleck was the man when this show was on and his relationship with Higgins was not only funny, but at times truly touching.  Best Episode: (tie) The shark encounter while surfing & the season finale when Magnum confronts the Russian.

14. M*A*S*H - the stellar cast and comical look at war was a phenomenon that was hard to explain when the show started.  While some cast members came and went, the show stayed true.  Best Episode: The series finale.

13. X-Files - I didn't like this show when it first came out, but then started watching repeat marathons on FX.  Watched the entire series within weeks.  Acting isn't great, but the whacked out plot lines were.  Best Episode: Squeeze (and later Tooms) which had the greatest "monster" in TV history.

12. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - republicans think it's a news show pointing the finger at them, democrats think its a news show poking fun of republicans.  It's actually a comedy show that points the finger and pokes fun of the ineptness of the people we elect.  Best Episode: Strictly for comedic reasons, Paul Rudd dancing during his entrance and the ensuing interview while he was hyping Role Models (which is one of the most underrated comedies ever).

11.  Saturday Night Live - with a cast list of tons of superstars, this show has gone from being the single funniest show in the history of television to the worst show in TV.  The musical guests have always kept it relevant even during it's lean years.  Best Episode: Any of the Steve Martin hosted shows.

10. I Claudius - while originally aired on the BBC, this masterpiece theater miniseries was the second greatest one season series of all-time.  Derek Jacobi, John Hurt and Patrick Stewart telling the tale of Claudius under Caligula's reign.  The entire series is the best episode.

9. Family Guy - Seth Macfarlane is a genius.  He manages to be completely politically incorrect and gets away with it, because he goes after everyone.  Best Episode: Stewie asking Brian about his novel.

8. SportsCenter - ESPN signature show. It's lost it's luster as of late, but it changed the way people followed sports and allowed everyone to get to truly know the athletes by more than just numbers and box scores.  Best Episode: Charley Steiner laughing at Carl Lewis' Star Spangled Banner rendition.

7. St. Elsewhere - long before ER and other hospital crap, this groundbreaking show touched topics that were completely taboo, such as aids and rape.  The first season was actually terrible and instead of scrapping the entire show, they changed the actors and it changed it forever.  Best Episode: The Series Finale with the hospital seen in the snow globe.  Next to the Bob Newhart Show, possibly the greatest series finale finale scene ever.

6. Hill Street Blues - with a cast of character you loved or hated, the show represented every aspect of the justice system, from beat cop to district attorneys.  Best Episode: Belker's rape.  One of the most shocking scenes ever and the resulting trauma led to incredible shows.

5. Brideshead Revisited - The greatest miniseries ever made.  With a cast that included Laurence Olivier, John Geilgud, Claire Bloom, Anthony Andrews and Jeremy Irons you could have had them read a Wheaties box and it would be genius.  This was so much more.  Another BBC masterpiece that PBS luckily replayed for American Audiences.   Best Episode: A drunken Sebastian crashes his car while with Charles (I don't know when Less than Zero was written, but I have to believe it was influenced by this episode).

4. The Shield - the show came so close to jumping the shark, but never did.  The finale was so incredible it made up for some of the shortcomings of the final season.  The first season, one could argue is up for greatest season ever for a drama.  Week after week it only got better.  Best Episode: Rapper Sticky Fingaz and another gang member are put into a storage container to work our their differences by Mackey.  The result was not what was expected.

3. All in the Family - Probably the greatest TV character of all-time is Archie Bunker.  Many have listed this as the greatest show of all-time and I can't disagree, I would say my top three are about as equal as they come.  This show was a live action Family Guy thirty years before.  Best Episode: Arguably the single greatest episode of comedy ever was the show in which Sammy Davis appeared and kissed Archie.

2. Roseanne - People may not like Roseanne Barr, but this show was incredible.  It was so real that you couldn't not appreciate it.  It was a real look at a family that used humor to cope with all it's other problems.  Best Episode: Darlene reads her poem.  I cry every time I see it.

I will preface my number one by saying it's not only the best show, but the single most underrated show on TV.  I once new a girl whose father was a big wig at Fox and she said it killed them to cancel this, because all the people at Fox loved it, but the ratings just weren't there.

1. Millennium - While some call it a poor man's X-Files, Lance Henriksen was outstanding as the person who had the ability to see what the killer sees.  The show was so dark, some people just couldn't handle it.  The first season is outstanding and contained a pilot like no other.  That being said, the best episode was called Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me, which was a break in the action of the show and took a comedic twist.  It featured four devils sitting in a coffee shop talking about what they had done.  Frank Black isn't even in the show until the end if I remember.

Did you expect I'd list something normal?  I'd love to hear suggestions of shows you think I might have forgotten about

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