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Post by Mod City on Dec 28, 2008 14:55:32 GMT -5
Didn't we do a favorite television list not that long ago? Ah, who cares. I hope my list matches up. These really aren't in any order, but I'll number them anyway: 1. Mystery Science Theater 3000 Found it during the summer of 1991. It became the standard by which I measure all my other television fanaticism. 2. Deadwood Hands down, in my opinion, the best show HBO ever did. And hands down the one that got treated the worst. Only three seasons? That's a crime. 3. NewsRadio One of the last, great classic-style sitcoms. A fantastic cast and an often surreal sense of humor made this show quite unique for the time. It never recovered after the death of Phil Hartman, though. 4. Battlestar Galactica (2003) As far as I'm concerned, the best of the new wave of serial sci-fi shows. The show deals with some huge philosophical issues and delivers extremely good production values for basic cable. 5. The Office (U.S.) All due respect to the original British version, but this show hit me between the eyes like few others have before it. After really getting into it during the second season, the show would be on my mind for days at a time. So glad it survived. 6. Seinfeld I didn't watch this show until I caught the "not that there's anything wrong with that" episode while watching it on syndication in college. That's when I started to get it, and it gripped me like few others. 7. Cheers I didn't watch much television in high school, but I watched Cheers. Everyone did, and with good reason. Another fantastic cast that you got to know so well you really did feel like you had a seat at the bar. 8. Star Trek My mom would let me stay up on Sunday nights and watch old reruns of the original series when they were on late-night syndication in the early 1980s. Never liked any of the other versions nearly as much. Undisputed classic. 9. Oz The show that turned me on to HBO and good drama. One crazy bunch of characters that had me changing alliances as often as they did. I still haven't seen how the series ends, and I have to remedy that. 10. Mr. Show Ended up being some of the funniest sketch comedy I've ever watched. The "running thread" idea that linked all the bits kept you interested even if a sketch fell flat for you. There. And comments for each. This will please the almighty Mr. A
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Post by Phantom Engineer on Dec 28, 2008 16:08:25 GMT -5
Didn't we do a favorite television list not that long ago? Oh sure, what haven't we done? There. And comments for each. This will please the almighty Mr. A Yeah but it's still fun to screw with him and just make plain lists. But as far as MST fans liking the same shows it doesn't hold up much in my case but that's largely because I'm older than most of you I think. But what do I know, I'm just a 705 year old curmudgeon.
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Post by GizmonicInstitute on Dec 28, 2008 16:54:53 GMT -5
1. MST3K 2. The Simpsons 3. Scrubs 4. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 5. Flight of the Conchords 6. The Twilight Zone 7. Whitest Kids U Know 8. Arrested Development 9. SCTV 10. Clerks: The Animated Series (all 6 of them)
I actually love a lot of TV shows, so this was hard for me. In the past Married...with Children, Futurama, Sealab 2021, Family Guy (the first 3 seasons), The Office, Robot Chicken, and the Sarah Silverman Program would were all on my list.
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Post by GizmonicInstitute on Dec 28, 2008 16:56:09 GMT -5
8. Married ... With Children (David Garrison era)Finally, someone who agrees that MWC's heyday were with Steve Rhoades!
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 28, 2008 16:58:40 GMT -5
There. And comments for each. This will please the almighty Mr. A Yeah but it's still fun to screw with him and just make plain lists. List threads are everywhere! Like roaches, they are. Thank you, modcity (and crowschmo from page 1). It's nice to see someone still has some creativity and something interesting to say around here. Here's just a smattering of my favorites: The Dick Van Dyke Show - DvD and Carl Reiner made a perfect show. Plus, Laura Petri was the stuff of my dreams. Sledge Hammer! - An above-average spoof-sitcom that had some fun dumb humor. But David Rasche's amazing performance and Dirty Harry facial tics (not to mention his cool, cool gun) set this apart as a classic show. NewsRadio - The last best 3-camera sitcom, and the best sitcom of the '90s (eat it, Friends and Seinfeld). The humor wasn't just dumb, telegraphed, sex jokes and punchlines. It was character-based humor, delivered by experienced comedy experts. Plus, it was a hybrid of all the great characters from all the great shows that came before. Dave = Bob Newhart. Lisa = Mary Tyler Moore. Matthew = Don Knotts. Bill = Ted Knight. And then there's Jimmy James, one of the best characters on any show ever. Sports Night - One Christmas, I got the DVD set for Mrs. Atari. We stayed up all night and watched the whole series in one sitting. You get all of the great parts of an Aaron Sorkin show, without the annoying preachiness and self-awareness of his later stuff. LOST - Lots of shows try to make the serialized format work, but LOST is the gold standard. It's had some missteps, but nothing major and it's still by far the best show on television. I bought the first DVD set a few years ago on the recommendation of a friend who said that, taken as a whole, season 1 is better than any movie released that year. He was right. Battlestar Galactica (2003) - Almost as good as LOST, and definitely the best space show. It veers into hokey soap opera territory a bit too much, and sometimes collapses under its own mythology (and the sudden changes therein), but you can't argue with the performances or the ability to make a space sci-fi show be incredibly and believably dramatic. Arrested Development - The best comedy of the last 10 years, and it will go down as one of the all-time greats. It was unlike any other show, both in writing and in staging. The humor was completely original and consistently hilarious. Freaks and Geeks - The anti-teen drama. I love it not just because J. Elvis, Joel, and Trace worked on it, but because it was deeper than most teen shows, and always funny (especially Bill Haverchuck). When Lindsey went off with the Dead-heads at the end, it was the perfect ending to this unexpected and brilliant show.
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Post by Shep on Dec 28, 2008 17:16:41 GMT -5
In no particular order:
1. MST3K 2. The Twilight Zone (original) 3. The Fugitive (original) 4. The Andy Griffith Show 5. Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Hour 6. Doctor Who 7. Blackadder 8. Fawlty Towers 9. The Larry Sanders Show 10. Extras
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Post by quinnmartin on Dec 28, 2008 17:51:42 GMT -5
1. MST3k 2. Battlestar Galactica (2003) - Not always worthy of this spot, but when it's on it's not only the best Sci-Fi TV show ever, but the best drama as well. Only downside is that the plot was not scripted out from the beginning, so it can meander at times. 3. Arrested Development - The funniest show, pound for pound, I've ever seen. The narration is really it's secret weapon. 4. The Office (US) - Discovered it last Christmas when my wife bought me season 2 on a whim. Quickly devoured the entire series and we're both now hooked. 5. Sports Night - Not always the funniest show, but those characters were SO good. You don't have to enjoy sports to like this show. Dan and Rebecca's relationship can still break my heart. 6. Night after Night with Allan Havey - Best talk show ever, until Nick Bakay left. 7. Kids In the Hall - Somewhat inconsistent, but there was always a few moments of perfection in every episode. 8. Seinfeld - I'm burned out on it now, but still a great show. The Kenny Rogers Chicken episode would get my vote for best half hour sitcom episode ever. 9. The Colbert Report - For a show built around one joke, it never really gets old. 10. The Shield - I don't normally like cop shows, but the mix of strong writing, tremendous acting, and interesting story arcs make it impossible to resist. Though it certainly is not always easy to watch, it was always worth it.
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Dec 28, 2008 22:41:28 GMT -5
Hmm...not really sure at all what order these would be in, but: MST3k - One of two long-running shows I've actually spent money on Police Squad! - incredible comedic consistency, since it was an extremely short-lived series. I often wonder if the quality would have dropped off quickly had the show lived longer, as it would probably be hard to sustain this style of humor. Also, I've said this before, but the show features my favorite opening credits sequence of all time. Fawlty Towers - Another great comedy packed in a very short series. I think John Cleese's work here is far more consistent here than on Monty Python, and this show gets the nod for my list. Star Trek - the Original Series - I still love this show. Despite problems (mainly in the third season), the show has had much more of an impact on me than any of the spinoffs. Many of the stories are great, but I just find the main characters more enjoyable than on any of the later shows. The Rockford Files - Seems like this show was tailor-made to feature James Garner's charisma. I loved a lot of his work on Maverick, but that show veered a bit too often away from dry humor and into more typical Western territory to be in my top shows. The Prisoner - One of the most intriguing shows of all time, some of my enjoyment of this show is echoed a bit in the more recent Lost. My only complaint is that I wish it had revealed JUST A LITTLE MORE. Dick Van Dyke Show / Cosby Show - The former features some of the sharpest writing of older television comedies. The latter surrounds a hilarious comedian with a generally good supporting cast. Both shows had ups and downs, but they are easily the standouts of all the more typical sitcoms I've seen. Lost / Heroes - Both are new enough shows that I am a bit unsure of putting them on any list, but I greatly enjoy them both. Lost is back on my list after I finally caught up through season 4 (season 3 just lost my interest at some point). Heroes is the only series other than MST that I've actually bought the DVDs for, which says something. It's not perfect by any means, but it's a blast. Simpsons should be on the list too; at its best, it's made me laugh harder than just about any other show. It would probably be up there if they'd pulled the plug on it years ago, but the show's decline has caused me to develop a vague distaste for it. Even though I know the show was brilliant at best, I just can't bring myself to put it on a list.
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Post by mrsphyllistorgo on Dec 29, 2008 14:58:49 GMT -5
Oooh, fun! Let's see:
1) MST3K (durhay!) 2) Battlestar Galactica 3) Mad Men 4) Heroes (I know, I know, I keep hoping) 5) Sons Of Anarchy 6) Supernatural 7) Futurama 8) Home Movies 9) House 10) Farscape
These really aren't in any particular order, they're just what I'm watching right now, have fond memories of, or haven't yet given up hope for.
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Post by callipygias on Dec 29, 2008 16:08:56 GMT -5
#1: MST3K
#2: Farscape #3: Absolutely Fabulous #4: Star Trek: TNG #5: Saturday Night Live #6: Cheers #7: Parker Lewis Can't Lose #8: Star Trek: DS9 #9: Three's Company #10:Malcolm in the Middle
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Post by mrcleveland on Jan 2, 2009 13:52:08 GMT -5
1-MST3K 2-I Love Lucy 3-Bob Newhart Show 4-South Park 5-Garfield and Friends 6-Home Improvement 7-Seinfeld 8-Wheel of Fortune 9-Jeopardy 10-Family Guy
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Post by (busdrivertohell) on Jan 2, 2009 23:27:29 GMT -5
1. Do I even need to say it? 2. House 3. Law and Order: Criminal Intent 4. Family Guy 5. Robot Chicken 6. Jeopardy 7. Simpsons 8. Pinks All Out (Hells yes!) 9. Aqua Teen Hunger Force 10. Wrecking Balls
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Post by hopesfall on Jan 4, 2009 4:59:27 GMT -5
MST3K Monty Python's Flying Circus Kids In The Hall The Adventures Of Pete And Pete
...
I really can't think of much else... I don't watch much TV.
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TomServo69
Moderator Emeritus
Gone but not Forgotten
Nothing ever changes........
Posts: 5,467
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Post by TomServo69 on Jan 6, 2009 21:26:12 GMT -5
Let's see, hmmmmm, alright.............
1. MST3K 2. The Twilight Zone 3. Mission: Impossible 4. Law and Order: Criminal Intent 5. Law and Order: SVU 6. Monk 7. House 8. Burn Notice 9. Family Guy 10. Scrubs
Fun fun stuff.
Servo
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Post by Creepy Girl on Jan 8, 2009 1:39:53 GMT -5
1. Take a guess.Started watching the show with my dad at the age of seven during Season 8. I initially would only laugh at the funny voices and the silliness of the host segments, but I gradually started to understand more and enjoy the riffs themselves. I now watch it on almost a daily basis when time allows. 2. SeinfeldAn old family favorite. It's been our "dinnertime show" for years. 3. Father TedOne of my many British comedy favorites. Absolutley insane and hilarious through and through. It follows the life of three Irish Catholic priests who live together on the painfully remote Craggy Island. 4. LOSTI've watched since the very beginning of the series, and have only missed three episodes. I'll be the first to admit that it's plot may meander a bit, but ultimately I can look past that and enjoy the mystery and excellent characterization. SEASON 5 PREMIER ON JANUARY 21st! 5. Little BritainAnother Brit-Com fave. It's a sketch show with repeating characters who represent certain British stereotypes. It can get a bit raw, humor-wise...sometimes too much for me. For the most part though, it earns uproarious laughter for every skit. 6. The Original Twilight ZoneA classic. No explication required. 7. Fringe
From the creator of Lost. I've just recently gotten into this program within the last few weeks, but I've really enjoyed it so far. 8. Are You Being Served?/Absolutley Fabulous/Faulty Towers
The rest of the British comedies that I adore...these are all pretty much on the same level for me.
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