I guess when you get right down to it, everything comes down to personal taste; even, or especially, on the boob tube.
KM and I have been watching House of Cards with Kevin Spacy and Robin Wright, which is good – really good, actually – but didn’t make the “Writers Guild 101 Best-Written Shows Ever.” Here is their list.
In at first and second place are The Sopranos and Seinfeld. No argument here. Seinfeld might be the only show that when I stumble upon an episode, no matter how many times I’ve seen it, I’ll watch it again. The only other show like that for me is Andy Griffith, but only the ones in black and white, with Barney. And The Sopranos was just great – period.
The Twilight Zone was third, which seems a little high.
4. All in the Family – excellent. 5. M*A*S*H – excellent 6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show – great 7. Mad Men, which I’ve never seen but likely will binge watch one of these rainy fall Saturdays. It was the same with Breaking Bad, of which KM and I watched all five seasons over two weekends. 8. Cheers – NORM! 9. The Wire – never seen this one either. 10. The West Wing – pretty good but not top ten. 11. The Simpsons – I love Bart. 12. I Love Lucy – actually, I just like Lucy. 13. Breaking Bad – I love BB. 14. The Dick Van Dyke Show – Laura was pretty cute but that Richie kid bugged me. 15. Hill Street Blues – awesome, and let’s be careful out there 16. Arrested Development – never seen it. 17. The Daily Show – pretty hilarious, but for some reason, I hardly ever watch it. 18. Six Feet Under – great, and the opening credits are the best of all time. 19. Taxi – great. 20. The Larry Sanders Show – loved it, especially Rip Torn. 21. 30 Rock – not much interest. 22. Friday Night Lights – no interest. 23. Frasier – almost loved it. 24. Friends – once I started watching the reruns, it was tough to stop. 25. Saturday Night Live – so many different shows here ranging from brilliant to miserable. 26. The X-Files – never watched it, and I feel very guilty about that for some reason. 27. Lost – see X-Files. 28. ER – see Lost and X-Files. 29. The Cosby Show – watched it with the family when our kids were young, so it holds a special place in my heart. 30. Curb Your Enthusiasm – on my bucket list.
31. The Honeymooners – the honeymoon is over. 32. Deadwood – never seen it. 33. Star Trek – so bad they are great. 34. Modern Family – huh? 35. Twin Peaks – I hate to admit it, but I’ve never seen it. 36. NYPD Blue – in my top five. 37. The Carol Burnett Show – best of its kind. 38. Battlestar Galactica (2005) – no. 39. Sex & The City – way no. 40. Game of Thrones – I’m too old.
41. The Bob Newhart Show and Your Show of Shows (tie) – loved Bob, the other I can’t place. 43. Downton Abbey, Law & Order and thirtysomething (tie) – of the three, I saw only thirtysomething, and it was too soapy. 46. Homicide: Life on the Street and St. Elsewhere (tie) – of the two, only St. Eligius, and it might be in my top five. 48. Homeland – KM and I got into this last year, but how long does it take to make more episodes? Who do they think they are, Breaking Bad? 49. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – love the premise. 50. The Colbert Report, The Good Wife and the UK version of The Office (tie) – don’t know any of these.
To be continued...