I like lists as much as the next guy, but I'm not sure how useful a "100 Best" list of anything is. Twenty-five best? OK. Ten best? That's good too, because you're really picking what you think are the best. But once your lists gets into three digits, it seems more like history than opinion. I mean, what wouldn't be on the list?
Time's James Poniewozik picks the 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time (or All-TIME, as the web site cleverly puts it). Since he picked 100 shows, all the usual suspects are here. The obvious ones (The Dick Van Dyke Show, All in the Family, Your Show of Shows, 60 Minutes, Cheers, I Love Lucy, M*A*S*H, etc) and the not-quite-so-obvious but certainly deserving (Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Odd Couple, Friends). And it includes a few surprises too (American Idol, King of the Hill, Oprah).
But lists like this are fun because they start debate (though, again, I think that debate would be more vigorous if he had picked 10, 25, or 50). He explains his reasons for choosing what he chose really well in this video, which also includes a nice defense of television itself.
While most of the list is fairly predictable, it's still good to see a lot of these shows on a list, because sometimes we forget to think of them because we might not watch them regularly or we're too busy watching current shows. I love any list that puts The Dick Van Dyke Show as one of the best, along with The Odd Couple and MST3K and A Charlie Brown Christmas and The French Chef and Leave It To Beaver and the early days of MTV (though I wonder if that's less "best of all-time" and more "best at that particular time of my life"). It's good to see Friends, too, because beyond all the hype and expensive salaries and Jennifer Aniston's hair, it really was one of the best shows. I would have picked Guiding Light over General Hospital, but hey, that's me.
Now, the question is, what shows did he leave off the list that you would have put on? I'm surprised that Magnum, P.I. isn't on the list but Sanford and Son is. No Star Trek: TNG? And the "N" section could have easily been filled with NewsRadio.
(If you don't want to click through page by page, here's the complete list.)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-07-2007 @ 3:44PM
Keith McDuffee said...
Missing shows: Dexter, House, Frasier, Weeds, Doctor Who (did he purposely skip non-US shows?), ST: TNG. I'm sure there are more. The question is, how many should *not* be on the list?
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9-07-2007 @ 3:48PM
Jim said...
Firefly should have been on that list vs. some of the rest. I loved most of the 8? seasons of the Gilmore Girls for example... but better than Firefly... not.
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9-07-2007 @ 3:59PM
Derek said...
Wow, a massive 4 shows that aren't American. In almost all the similar top 100's made in the UK of recent times, Fawlty Towers almost always came out top. It didn't even make it onto that list. Stupid.
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9-07-2007 @ 4:13PM
upoh05 said...
In spite of some glaring ommissions: (Scrubs, Futurama and Newsradio mainly) This is better than MOST lists I've seen, IMHO. Why?
-Leaving OFF Family Guy, a show that I don't think is as strong or as funny as people think it is.
-Putting Price is Right and What's My Line as the sole game show representatives- and NOT Who wants to be a Millionaire.
-Including the short gems, ie. Buffalo Bill, Arrested Development.
A decent list, but could be better.
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9-07-2007 @ 4:16PM
BigTed said...
Keith: He purposely left out shows that haven't been around very long (such as "Dexter," "House" and "Weeds") and shows that are closely related to other shows on the list (such as "Frasier" and "Star Trek: TNG").
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9-07-2007 @ 4:24PM
Elf said...
NYPD Blue didn't make the list?
Though I'd argue that Frazier did deserve to make the list despite it's having been spun off from Cheers. The show quickly developed it's own identity and sensibility.
And one more would be Batman: The Animated Series.
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9-07-2007 @ 4:47PM
khamel said...
coupling (uk) seasons 1-3.
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9-07-2007 @ 4:50PM
GB said...
Amazing Race?
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9-07-2007 @ 5:13PM
ugtv.org said...
A lot of the video clips on the Time site are pretty bad representations of the show. It's kinda tough to justify a show that hasn't been on the air in 40 years with a crummy clip.
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9-07-2007 @ 5:40PM
C C said...
Normally, I hate lists like this. But overall I like Poniewozik's choices. Anybody who considers The French Chef one of the greatest tv shows ever scores brownie points with me. He included WKRP and Soap on his list! I'm pleased he left off Cagney and Lacey and Golden Girls-the two most overrated series of the 80's. It's a crime that Cagney and Lacey got a best drama series Emmy and that St. Elsewhere never did. And leaving Frazier off the list takes a lot of guts. Frazier was a good show, but all I know is that I preferred Frazier on Cheers-when he was married to Lilith.
I do have some quibbles. I don't think either Gilmore Girls or Felicity belong. They're nice shows, but definitely not great. I don't think The Cosby Show has held up very well compared to other series. And although Married With Children helped get the Fox network off the ground, that should not be a major qualification for a "best" list.
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9-07-2007 @ 6:03PM
Galley said...
I give him props for including "The Monkees", but no "Firefly" or "Futurama"?
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9-07-2007 @ 7:06PM
Borat said...
Where's Futurama??
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9-07-2007 @ 8:32PM
debscalper407 said...
Northern Exposure
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9-07-2007 @ 8:49PM
C C said...
Arrgh. I spelled "Frasier" with a z above. Dummy.
I just showed my dad the Time list, and he thought "American Bandstand" was the biggest omission. And I have to agree. The list included MTV, but failed to acknowledge the show that paved the way for it.
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9-07-2007 @ 8:56PM
BartmanDK said...
I havent got time to run the whole list through, but and obvious mistake is that Veronica Mars is missing.. I just got in to the show this monday when i got the dvds as a birthday gift and i gotta say its some of the best TV i have seen in a long time!
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9-08-2007 @ 12:03AM
owen said...
I second: Northern Exposure.
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9-08-2007 @ 1:13AM
Tim said...
AAHH No NewsRadio?!! For Shame! Best show ever for me. I won't even look at the list now. Omitting NewsRadio is like leaving any Beatles record off a greatest 100 list of albums of all-time.
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9-08-2007 @ 12:17PM
Gazzoo said...
Yeah 'The Monkees' was a groundbreaking show, but I would never qualify it as great...
How about a little love for 'Green Acres' and 'Fernwood Tonight'?
...and any list that leaves off 'BARNEY fricken MILLER' can't be taken seriously
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9-08-2007 @ 2:32PM
Brooks Williams said...
Firefly isn't that much of a classic to be included on that list. You're letting nostalgia get in the way of clear thinking here.
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9-08-2007 @ 10:55PM
Tim said...
The Super Bowl??? Most years it's not even a good football game much less good television.
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