Television has transformed society and virtually everyone with the financial means owns one and watches one. Whether you love the news, sports, drama, movies, or comedy, there is something for everyone on television. Some people use it as a baby-sitter, others as a relaxation tool, and some even preach against it – but it is always on our mind. So, with all of that in mind, we want to know what you think the best program ever made for TV is – from any genre. Don’t forget to give your reasons!
What is the Best TV Show Ever?
My answer: For those of you who have been watching this site for some time (especially those who have been here since the beginning) will know about my love of all things David Lynch. Therefore it will come as no surprise to you to know that I think Twin Peaks is the best TV show ever made. It created a whole new style of program and gave us something quirky and mysterious to watch every week. My only gripe is its early demise.
i reckon that family guy is the best because of its quirkey anttics n other funny random stuff thats completly funny
but thats my opinon
you are absolutely wrong. FAMILY GUY
is the WORST show in the world ever (and when i say the world i mean the entire universe) the best show ever is dr who but the most depressing show ever is THE NEWS
Spain 0-1 Switzerland
OMG
Gilmore Girls. It was witty, charming, funny, endearing, tackled real issues, and had good enough writing to not resort to shock entertainment.
Secondly, I’d have to say (for all my fellow Canadians) Degrassi Jr. High and Degrassi High (the original’s).
Best show ever made targeted at teens.
Fringe, Alias, Lost … Anything J.J. Abrams. He is truly a brilliant mind.
i think The Oprah Winfrey Show is the best show on tv right now. it talks about real problems and issues. and also, it is uplifting and inspiring. it has an easy approach that everyone from all walks of life can relate to. and come on, it has a make-over! right, ladies?
i hate reality tv shows. i am just so sick of them! specially the ones on Mtv and Discovery. I miss the old programs.
WHAT? No one agrees with me yet? I am horrified!
well, that's because no one actually likes that
LOSER!!
JFrater – “My only gripe is it’s early demise.”. Therein lies the problem with ‘Twin Peaks’. I agree with much of what you said, but the way it ended seriously undercuts it. It’s like saying the greatest novel in the world is one where the last few chapters have been ripped out or written in crayon.
Um… Jfrater… I have a confession.
I’ve never even seen Twin Peaks.
I can’t really make a good choice for this one. There are so many shows I haven’t seen.
Riley: Gilmore Girls? Are you serious?
Can’t believe I’m the first to say: The Sopranos. Hands down.
Anyway – the correct answer is ‘The Wire’.
Anthony, you have issue with The Gilmore Girls, but not Oprah or Family Guy??
The Gilmore Girls really was a great show. Have you seen it?
I´m torn between Arrested Development and Heroes, but as their so completely different I´m going to nominate them both in different categories. As far as Arrested development, I love it because it is so consistently funny, develops deep characters, works in (then) current issues, and was totally unique at the time.
I love Heroes because there is a lack of ¨good guys¨ and ¨bad guys¨. Everyone is a rounded character who works from their own motivation, whether that´s helping others or not – there is no arbitrary distinction into all good or evil.
-Tim
Iain The Wire is right up there for sure.
jfrater Twin peaks for its time was great but if it was released now it wouldn’t compare to the new shows.
I can appriciate different shows for different reasons. Acting, directing, concept, writing. The best newish show for me would have to be Dexter. The best older show I would have to say would be either Little House on the Prarie or The Waltons.
downhighway61: Yes, of course I have an issue with the Gilmore Girls. And of course I have seen it. Although Oprah is almost as painful, I think GG takes the cake for the most annoying show ever recorded. And Family Guy is amusing, so there’s no comparison there. Thus you are incorrect.
Mendacity: I forgot about Arrested Development, what an awesome show… don’t think it quite takes The Sopranos’ mantle though.
House, Fringe, and Family Guy are the best shows out there rite now….hands down
Honestly, THE OFFICE. i watch ALOT of TV, OFFICE is just the best.
Outrageous fortune……… (NZ)
I’m going to have to say Prison Break. A couple weeks ago, a friend recommended it. I got the first two seasons and watched them entirely and loved every minute of them. Now, I’m on to the third season, let’s see where it takes us:)
If not for that show, I’d go with Family Guy. It’s very quirky and stays up to date, and has a nice pace. I can watch it no matter what mood I’m in and it never gets old to me. I also appreciate how the show involves more than just the main characters. There is always a different clip involving real life events or real life people and they turn it around perfectly.
We are going to say it’s a tie for those two.
As far as runner-ups…I’m going to say Boondocks. Yes, another animated show. I think the voice acting is brilliant and this show is hilarious. This show also incorporates real life happenings and turns them around in a genius way.
Dexter, Weeds, Life
I get the feeling this topic will bring up a lot of ‘diverse’ opinions. It’s less than 20 comments in, and I can’t believe some of the stuff I’ve read. I watched a Family Guy DVD once (Xmas present) – quite the crash course in aversion therapy.
Firefly was brilliant. (Not including that pathetic excuse of a tie up movie, Serenity, either.)
And House. (oh, I want to see all the disagreeing on this one)
Early episodes particularly.
I’m old. I enjoyed Tour Of Duty series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_of_Duty_(TV_series)
Tour of Duty was an American television drama series on CBS which ran from September 1987 to April 1990. The show follows an American infantry platoon on a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. It was the first television series to regularly show Americans in combat in Vietnam and was one of several similarly-themed series to be produced in the wake of the acclaimed Oliver Stone film, Platoon. The show was created by Steve Duncan and L. Travis Clark, and produced by Zev Braun. It ran for three seasons as 58 one-hour episodes.
Damn, I’m not good at picking definite favourites, so here are just some of the programmes I love: Ren and Stimpy, Futurama, Family Guy and South Park for cartoons….. I’ve just realised I don’t really watch a lot of programmes that aren’t cartoons. As far as TV series go, the only ones I’ve ever really gotten into are Twin Peaks, Monty Python (thanks to my dad for introducing me to them!!), The Mighty Boosh…..eh….oh there was a really cool and confusing Japanese TV series called MPD-Psycho. I used to watch the X-Files when it first came out and a lot of the earlier episodes were pretty good but I wouldn’t really watch them now. To be honest, I find a lot of TV these days to be rubbish, though it still doesn’t stop me from switching on the box every night after work. I never got into Lost, or Prison Break, or Desperate Housewives, or House or Bones or any of that *****e. I watched one episode of Lost ‘cos the folks were watching it and never again. I think because the parents watch so many series just for the sake of watching something every Tuesday at 9 I rebel against them. Oh yeah, and Bottom/The Young Ones – I love Rik Mayall!! (Of course, I still watch The Simpsons but even the old ones are beginning to get tiresome).
Just thought of an older show that is definitely a good one…Red Dwarf. Anybody ever get into that? I’ve seen up to the sixth series, hard to find (at least for me) anything past that. Like I said though, definitely could be thrown up for consideration for a ‘Best TV Show Ever’ category.
I’ve seen the first two seasons of Red Dwarf. I’d like to check out the rest sometime …
OH.
Doctor Who.
Probably my all-time favorite TV series. All ten doctors have been completely amazing. XD
Ever?
I love House MD at the moment.
I think I’d vote for Mr Ed as an older show, though I’d also include Aussie show: Hey Hey It’s Saturday too.
For me, Blackadder is definitely number one on my list forever. Other shows that I loved are: Arrested Development, Monk and Men(Boys?)Behaving Badly, and right now I like Grey’s Anatomy and the Office. Oh, I have also loved all the CSI’s (Las Vegas, Miami, New York).
Can we nominate reality shows: The Amazing Race and Baby Borrowers.
# Southpark
Satirical comedy at its greatest.
However i also agree on Outrageous fortune with Kristie.
I’m actually confused at the fact that I’ve seen Family Guy and Gilmore Girls being mentioned but The Simpsons only once and Seinfeld ZERO TIMES, which is arguably the best show ever. For me it’s a toss-up between those two.
And people, he did say best show ever, not necessarily on tv right now.
Dexter is hands-down the best show I’ve ever seen. Intelligent, funny, dark and thrilling all at once.
Buffy…
Unleashed Joss Whedon and some much needed snark to the world of television.
There are a lot of shows mentioned that I personally love, but I don’t think my affection alone can qualify them. A lot of people like present day shows but the honest truth is most of them are retreads of other concepts that have already been done, just adding your generic extra quirk to give an ‘edge’.
I think the Wire is a notable exception based simply on the style of writing it employed- it says something when Harvard has their own panels discussing the innovations of the techniques being used in the style and classes are being taught with it’s content as subjects of study.
Hands-down though, the best TV show ever made was without a doubt, M*A*S*H*. That’s not just my opinion, it’s generally agreed upon in the industry. Most shows mentioned already are very excellent in key areas and have great things about them, but M*A*S*H* was the standard that no one has ever been able to trump, in writing, tackling relevant topics, humour and sorrow. It was ground breaking for it’s time, and television has never been the same since. You can’t say that about nearly any modern programming.
In my opinion, I have shows I personally enjoy a lot more to my tastes, but that doesn’t make them the best program ever created. I’m thinking if you were to poll the heads of the industry on the matter (which has been done several times to the same conclusion) you’ll find most agree that M*A*S*H* is still considered the best program ever put on television.
Anyone watch Peep Show?
The Wire
and then Oz
“Friends” anyone???
Blii Cosby ^^
I meant Bill Cosby lol
Everyone i know love & often quote FRIENDS & The SIMPSONS. So I’d definitely vote for those.. As for the older generations… I have absolutely no idea.. maybe ‘I Love Lucy’??? dunno..
But my personal favourites besides the 1st two.. are Buffy, House, all CSI & Supernatural!!!!!!!!
oh also ‘Whose line is it anyways’!!!
I thought Six Feet Under was great, especially the portrayal of the mother–one of the few multi-faceted older woman characters out there. The final episode had me crying, which I believe I have done in response to a TV show only a handful of times.
MASH was, of course, wonderful. (Final show one of the other times I’ve cried.)
I love House right now, very well written, though utterly preposterous at the same time.
24, The Office, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Friends, Seinfeld…
What is the best TV show ever? Wow, I don’t think I have the credentials to answer this question. My local radio station put the question out there a little differently a couple of weeks ago, which got me thinking on this subject. They asked listeners “If you could only watch one show ever again, which one would you pick?” Now, this I can grasp and after careful consideration, I chose The Simpsons. Tons of material, loveable characters, and consistent laughs. I guess I’m easily amused.
My plug for Outragious Fortune, great writing, storylines, irreverent, beautifully unPC, captured the essential Westiness and very NZ, hope the world sees this one, its choice bro.
Mythbusters is my number one show as of now, I can watch it all day long and learn new things, very intellectually stimulating.
Family Guy is a perennial. Never misses, the randomness of the references are classic. (Hitler on a unicycle juggling fish, what more can viewers want!)
Scrubs -
One of the best shows ive seen. Especially the first four seasons. Its extremely funny but at the same time it teaches you about life and the decisions u have to make. U can relate to it. Highly recommend it.
9/10
Heroes -
Great show. Great story and everyone wants to have super powers lol. I know its far from reality yet at the same time it has less fantasy than some of the other superhero shows. Ordinary people waking up with extrodinary powers. Isnt that the dream???
9/10
House -
Great show. Great character. House is just awsum. But it did get a bit routine. But the new eps are pretty good.
8.5/10
Family guy -
Has some of the funniest and most random jokes ever. extremely funny. So many memorable moments.
9/10
How i met your mother -
Pretty good show. Suprisingly funny. Mainly thanx to Neil Patrik Harris.
8/10
Out of the relatively new shows Dexter (9/10, acting and freshness),fringe(8/10) and The Mentalist(8/10) are a stand out for me.
Great TV; Father Ted, The Sweeney, Boy’s from the black stuff, Life on Earth, The Flintstones, Prime suspect, Spitting image, the World at War, Match of the Day, Only fools and horses, Porridge, the Simpsons and Soap. Programs that have made me happy, sad or just think differently about life.
60 Minutes.
1. Scrubs
2. Ghost Hunters
3. Family Guy
“Friends”
Two and a half men!
I also like ‘The X-Files’, ‘Lost’, ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’, ‘Full House’, ‘My Wife and Kids’ and ‘Seinfeld’.
arrested development, here’s hoping that the much talked about movie actually happens.
for fans of the show: a link to a great quote page
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367279/quotes
All in the Family will be my first pick; they smashed barriers and broke all the taboos. They dealt with racial inequality, bigotry, *****ism, rape (Jean Stapleton received and emmy for that particular episode I think) and the Vietnam War. All done with humor and without climbing on a pedestal. It was the first show that actually reflected the the social concerns of the day.
I would follow it up with *M*A*S*H*. For all the reasons Mr. Graves has so kindly illustrated. I still can bring myself to tears just thinking about MacLean Stevenson’s exit from the show.
My favorite show on TV at the moment would have to be Dexter. Who can’t love a serial killer with standards? Novel premise, good writing and believable characters. Filming in Miami is pretty cool too.
I would give an honorable mention to Life, a new show worth a try, catch it if you get the opportunity.
The Wire by a mile.
Dramatic, real, gritty, funny, stupid, outrageous, sad, thought-provoking, engrossing and just plain damn good. Great story lines, great direction and great acting. I’ve never been so addicted to a television series than this. It had me laughing my ass off and I actually was close to tears a few times. This is what television drama should be like.
If you haven’t, you should.
Best ever: MASH, I Love Lucy
90′s: Boy Meets World, Friends, Seinfeld, and ER
Presently: 24, Arrested Development, The Office
This season: Fringe
It’s really hard to compare half hour shows with one hour dramas, so I will split my decision between one half hour show and an hour long show.
Best half hour show: Seinfeld
Personal Favorite: Arrested Development
Best Hour Long Show: X-Files
Personal Favorite: X-Files
I wanted to write my favorites down but that is not the topic probably the greatest tv show ever produced would be I Love Lucy. the way lucille ball interacted with all the different characters and even her self deprecating humor can not be matched. also most of the story lines have been recreated in different forms through all the different situation comedies over the years. ! vote for I love Lucy
side note my fav’s were Deadwood,Carnivale and now Ncis since i only watch 1 hour of tv a week.
Seinfeld, Lost, Southpark, Breaking Bad.
“Firefly” even though it did not last long.
It was never given a chance but has a huge following.
Funny ,smart with superb characters.
ER – is very good you never know who is going to loose an arm then get crushed by a helicopter.
The Adams Family – very clever and funny
Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc)- need I say more
I almost forgot
Dexter – wow what a great show
How I met your mother! hands down.
MASH, Freaks & Geeks, Arrested Development, Fawlty Towers…