A post Bob made in the "Is the b&w era of TV on DVD slowly coming to a end?" thread got me curious about this list.
Here's his post:
So... as any self-respecting TVonDVD aficionado would do I had to go take a look. Of course that's not as easy as it sounds in today's world of presenting *everything* as a "slide show," which I find unacceptable and a kludge to use, so I found several different sites which had bits and pieces and compiled the full list as a text version.
Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" list:
01. The Sopranos (1999-2007)
02. The Wire (2002-2008)
03. Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
04. Mad Men (2007-1015)
05. Seinfeld (1989-1998)
06. The Simpsons (1989-Present)
07. The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)
08. Saturday Night Live (1975-Present)
09. All in the Family (1971-1979)
10. The Daily Show (1996-Present)
11. Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)
12. Game of Thrones (2011-Present)
13. Late Night with David Letterman (1982-2015)
14. The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998)
15. The West Wing (1999-2006)
16. M*A*S*H (1972-1983)
17. Twin Peaks (1990-1991)
18. Star Trek (1966-1969)
19. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-Present)
20. Cheers (1982-1993)
21. The Office (U.K.) (2001-2003)
22. Louie (2010-Present)
23. Deadwood (2004-2006)
24. Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)
25. Veep (2012-Present)
26. Friends (1994-2004)
27. Arrested Development (2003-2006, 2013)
28. The X-Files (1993-2002, 2016)
29. Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969-1974)
30. The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson (1961-1992)
31. Sesame Street (1969-Present)
32. I Love Lucy (1951-1957)
33. South Park (1997-Present)
34. 30 Rock (2006-2013)
35. My So-Called Life (1994-1995)
36. Law & Order (1990-2010)
37. Orange is the New Black (2013-Present)
38. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
39. Lost (2004-2010)
40. The Shield (2002-2008)
41. The Honeymooners (1955-1956)
42. NYPD Blue (1993-2005)
43. The Americans (2013-Present)
44. Columbo (1971-1978)
45. Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009)
46. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977)
47. The Rockford Files (1974-1980)
48. The Office (U.S.) (2005-2013)
49. Taxi (1978-1983)
50. ER (1994-2009)
51. Fargo (2014-Present)
52. The Colbert Report (2005-2014)
53. The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978)
54. The Muppet Show (1976-1981)
55. Six Feet Under (2001-2005)
56. 24 (2001-2010)
57. Fawlty Towers (1975-1979)
58. Roots (1977)
59. Hill Street Blues (1981-1987)
60. Beavis and Butt-Head (1993-1997, 2011)
61. Your Show of Shows (1950-1957)
62. Sex and the City (1998-2004)
63. The Wonder Years (1988-1993)
64. Chappelle’s Show (2003-2006)
65. Happy Days (1974-1984)
66. Downton Abbey (2011-2016)
67. The Odd Couple (1970-1975)
68. The State (1993-1995)
69. The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971)
70. Roseanne (1988-1997)
71. Mr. Show (1995-1998)
72. Girls (2012-Present)
73. Transparent (2014-Present)
74. The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991-1995
75. American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson (2016)
76. Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1993-2009)
77. The Walking Dead (2010-Present)
78. thirtysomething (1987-1991)
79. In Living Color (1990-1994)
80. The Fugitive (1963-1967)
81. Dallas (1978-1991)
82. The Jeffersons (1975-1985)
83. House of Cards (2013-Present)
84. Real Time With Bill Maher (2003-Present)
85. The Real World (1992-Present)
86. Good Times (1974-1979)
87. Doctor Who (1963-Present))
88. Party Down (2009-2010)
89. Homeland (2011-Present)
90. The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966)
91. Broad City (2014-Present)
92. American Idol (2001-2016)
93. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988-1999)
94. Jeopardy (1964-1975 & 1985-Present)
95. Key & Peele (2012-2015)
96. Gunsmoke (1955-1975)
97. Portlandia (2011-Present)
98. The Golden Girls (1985-1992)
99. Oz (1997-2003)
100. Eastbound and Down (2009-2013)
I have issues with many programs on this list. Of course, being a fan of TV from its beginnings I feel the early years are woefully underrepresented while the years since 2000 are incredibly over represented. That shouldn't be much of a surprise considering the history of RS and that, I'm sure, the majority of those polled are "millenials" or close to it which means what *they* think is "the best", not what historians and those of us with a large knowledge of the medium would consider to be "the best."
Here's a chart I found at MeTV's site that shows the disparity in years very well.
Yeah... 11 shows from the 50s and 60s with 43 since 2000. Add the 21 from the 90s and you have 64 of the 100 from the last 25 years. Hardly representative *or* accurate if you're truly looking at TV history from anything other than a more recent perspective which would include those earlier shows you've seen in syndication.
Where's The Flintstones? The first animated series in *Prime Time* was a huge influence.
Where's The Bill Cosby Show? Sure Cosby is on the outs but the show is classic.
I Love Lucy is only at #32?!? The Tonight Show ranks *below* Letterman *and* The Daily Show?!?
Ed Sullivan is at #69 but where are The Smothers Brothers, Carol Burnett, or The Dean Martin Show?!? These were all highly influential programs.
And these are all TV *series* so why is Roots on the list? Yes, it was highly influential and significant but it's a *mini-series* so does it belong on this list at all? And another mini - American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson? In the top 100?
I also question the inclusion of any programs which are still in production, unless they've been around longer than ~20 years or so. This list contains quite a few. Will any of those, even though hugely popular today, still be "significant" in 10 years? Sure, I *love* Game of Thrones but will it still be considered a "Greatest Show" 10, 20, or more years down the road? Without knowing how it ends, who can say with any reasonable accuracy?
In all honestly, I've only seen 4 of the top 10 and have not seen, or even heard of, most of the programs on the list that date from ~2000 as I've pretty much written off most of "modern" TV programming as just not worth the effort. Of those programs from 2000 and after which I *have* seen I question their inclusion, in spite of liking the programs. Downton Abbey, Deadwood, Arrested Development, and Battlestar Galactica are some I've seen that I very much like but do not believe they deserve a place on this list... yet. They, like all of the ones since ~2000, need some distance before we'll know if they're truly deserving of being in such company.
So... I've sounded off enough to start. What are your thoughts?
Here's his post:
In a world where Rolling Stone publishes a Greatest 100 TV Shows list that includes five from the 50s, one ranked No. 7 (The Twilight Zone) and the next highest is No. 32 (I Love Lucy), with a meager showing by cop/detective, Western, and classic dramas from ANY era--well, you're not going to get much of this stuff, past YouTube or other streaming alternatives. (I believe there are are only seven B/W shows on the entire list.) Culturally, these shows are long forgotten--it's Fahrenheit 451 time, time to memorize them and repeat them in an endless loop.
http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/list...-time-w439520/orange-is-the-new-black-w439600
So... as any self-respecting TVonDVD aficionado would do I had to go take a look. Of course that's not as easy as it sounds in today's world of presenting *everything* as a "slide show," which I find unacceptable and a kludge to use, so I found several different sites which had bits and pieces and compiled the full list as a text version.
Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" list:
01. The Sopranos (1999-2007)
02. The Wire (2002-2008)
03. Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
04. Mad Men (2007-1015)
05. Seinfeld (1989-1998)
06. The Simpsons (1989-Present)
07. The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)
08. Saturday Night Live (1975-Present)
09. All in the Family (1971-1979)
10. The Daily Show (1996-Present)
11. Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)
12. Game of Thrones (2011-Present)
13. Late Night with David Letterman (1982-2015)
14. The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998)
15. The West Wing (1999-2006)
16. M*A*S*H (1972-1983)
17. Twin Peaks (1990-1991)
18. Star Trek (1966-1969)
19. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-Present)
20. Cheers (1982-1993)
21. The Office (U.K.) (2001-2003)
22. Louie (2010-Present)
23. Deadwood (2004-2006)
24. Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)
25. Veep (2012-Present)
26. Friends (1994-2004)
27. Arrested Development (2003-2006, 2013)
28. The X-Files (1993-2002, 2016)
29. Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969-1974)
30. The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson (1961-1992)
31. Sesame Street (1969-Present)
32. I Love Lucy (1951-1957)
33. South Park (1997-Present)
34. 30 Rock (2006-2013)
35. My So-Called Life (1994-1995)
36. Law & Order (1990-2010)
37. Orange is the New Black (2013-Present)
38. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
39. Lost (2004-2010)
40. The Shield (2002-2008)
41. The Honeymooners (1955-1956)
42. NYPD Blue (1993-2005)
43. The Americans (2013-Present)
44. Columbo (1971-1978)
45. Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009)
46. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977)
47. The Rockford Files (1974-1980)
48. The Office (U.S.) (2005-2013)
49. Taxi (1978-1983)
50. ER (1994-2009)
51. Fargo (2014-Present)
52. The Colbert Report (2005-2014)
53. The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978)
54. The Muppet Show (1976-1981)
55. Six Feet Under (2001-2005)
56. 24 (2001-2010)
57. Fawlty Towers (1975-1979)
58. Roots (1977)
59. Hill Street Blues (1981-1987)
60. Beavis and Butt-Head (1993-1997, 2011)
61. Your Show of Shows (1950-1957)
62. Sex and the City (1998-2004)
63. The Wonder Years (1988-1993)
64. Chappelle’s Show (2003-2006)
65. Happy Days (1974-1984)
66. Downton Abbey (2011-2016)
67. The Odd Couple (1970-1975)
68. The State (1993-1995)
69. The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971)
70. Roseanne (1988-1997)
71. Mr. Show (1995-1998)
72. Girls (2012-Present)
73. Transparent (2014-Present)
74. The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991-1995
75. American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson (2016)
76. Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1993-2009)
77. The Walking Dead (2010-Present)
78. thirtysomething (1987-1991)
79. In Living Color (1990-1994)
80. The Fugitive (1963-1967)
81. Dallas (1978-1991)
82. The Jeffersons (1975-1985)
83. House of Cards (2013-Present)
84. Real Time With Bill Maher (2003-Present)
85. The Real World (1992-Present)
86. Good Times (1974-1979)
87. Doctor Who (1963-Present))
88. Party Down (2009-2010)
89. Homeland (2011-Present)
90. The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966)
91. Broad City (2014-Present)
92. American Idol (2001-2016)
93. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988-1999)
94. Jeopardy (1964-1975 & 1985-Present)
95. Key & Peele (2012-2015)
96. Gunsmoke (1955-1975)
97. Portlandia (2011-Present)
98. The Golden Girls (1985-1992)
99. Oz (1997-2003)
100. Eastbound and Down (2009-2013)
I have issues with many programs on this list. Of course, being a fan of TV from its beginnings I feel the early years are woefully underrepresented while the years since 2000 are incredibly over represented. That shouldn't be much of a surprise considering the history of RS and that, I'm sure, the majority of those polled are "millenials" or close to it which means what *they* think is "the best", not what historians and those of us with a large knowledge of the medium would consider to be "the best."
Here's a chart I found at MeTV's site that shows the disparity in years very well.
Yeah... 11 shows from the 50s and 60s with 43 since 2000. Add the 21 from the 90s and you have 64 of the 100 from the last 25 years. Hardly representative *or* accurate if you're truly looking at TV history from anything other than a more recent perspective which would include those earlier shows you've seen in syndication.
Where's The Flintstones? The first animated series in *Prime Time* was a huge influence.
Where's The Bill Cosby Show? Sure Cosby is on the outs but the show is classic.
I Love Lucy is only at #32?!? The Tonight Show ranks *below* Letterman *and* The Daily Show?!?
Ed Sullivan is at #69 but where are The Smothers Brothers, Carol Burnett, or The Dean Martin Show?!? These were all highly influential programs.
And these are all TV *series* so why is Roots on the list? Yes, it was highly influential and significant but it's a *mini-series* so does it belong on this list at all? And another mini - American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson? In the top 100?
I also question the inclusion of any programs which are still in production, unless they've been around longer than ~20 years or so. This list contains quite a few. Will any of those, even though hugely popular today, still be "significant" in 10 years? Sure, I *love* Game of Thrones but will it still be considered a "Greatest Show" 10, 20, or more years down the road? Without knowing how it ends, who can say with any reasonable accuracy?
In all honestly, I've only seen 4 of the top 10 and have not seen, or even heard of, most of the programs on the list that date from ~2000 as I've pretty much written off most of "modern" TV programming as just not worth the effort. Of those programs from 2000 and after which I *have* seen I question their inclusion, in spite of liking the programs. Downton Abbey, Deadwood, Arrested Development, and Battlestar Galactica are some I've seen that I very much like but do not believe they deserve a place on this list... yet. They, like all of the ones since ~2000, need some distance before we'll know if they're truly deserving of being in such company.
So... I've sounded off enough to start. What are your thoughts?
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