10.)
THE AVENGERS – I’m specifically talking about the Emma Peel years – Diana Rigg
in a catsuit. The Tara King years were
also okay-like The Three Stooges with Shemp instead of Curly. Classy, far out, Steed and Emma drinking
champagne upon the completion of a case.
9.)
COLUMBO – The greatest detective in TV history.
An avenging ghost with no family ever shown and an arsenal of mental
tricks at his disposal. The villains
were always the super wealthy, the 1%. A
show with a tremendous amount of sub-text and meaning.
8.)
SEINFELD – “No hugging, no learning” separates this from every other sitcom which
came before in the 70’s and 80’s. Pure
humor without the moralizing and sentiment which doomed shows like MASH and ALL
IN THE FAMILY. The greatest foursome and
the situations everyone can relate to.
Perhaps the most influential sitcom of all time.
7.)
THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES – The crazed surrealism of 60’s sitcoms perhaps reached its
peak with this show. Its incredible
insane characters even more memorable because the audience cared about them.
6.)
SCTV – SCTV was everything Saturday Night Live was and isn’t – unpredictable,
clever, original, continually introducing fresh new comedic ideas. Under the framework of an imaginary TV
network, SCTV created great new characters and wonderful celebrity impressions
and put the two together in wacky situations.
5.)
GET A LIFE – Although it only ran for a season and a half, this show showcasing
Chris Elliott’s manboy edginess was the most original sitcom I’ve ever
seen. Elliott’s style honed on Late
Night with David Letterman (see below) is about clueless confrontation and
exaggerated absurdity. It worked on this
show. Hard to think of times I’ve
laughed more than the “Cousin Donald” episode.
4.)
LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN – Letterman totally changed the relationship
between the talk show host and the guest.
By making it adversarial, he made the whole show performance art. By introducing, Chris Elliott and a whole
host of bizarre repeated gags and self-aware mockery he created something
completely new and gave those of us who hate celebrity culture a new hero to
cheer for. The CBS show is a watered
down version of this but still funny in places.
3.)
BREAKING BAD – Walter White is possibly the single greatest character in TV
history. Certainly the most
complex. Is Breaking Bad the greatest show
of all time as many have said? I’m not
willing to go that far yet. There are
still eight more episodes left as of this writing. If there are as powerful, as intense, as
brilliant as what has gone before then yes.
I’ve written about Breaking Bad more than any other TV series. If you are interested google my blogname and
BB and read.
2.)
THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW – We all want to live in Mayberry and it’s a great
construct. Never have life lessons and
humor flowed together so mellifluously.
Don Knotts as Barney Fife is the single greatest sitcom character of all
time not to mention all the others – Floyd the barber, Goober, Ernest T Bass. My favorite sitcom.
1.)
THE NIGHT STALKER – An odd choice for greatest show of all time I know but the
greatest mix of what makes a good TV show for me – elements of horror, humor,
drama, and the great Darren McGavin in a role he was born to play. Good writing
is the key to good TV shows and it was never better than here. Wrote more here http://rgdinmalaysia.blogspot.com/2011/12/ranking-kolchak-night-stalker-episodes.html
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