August has been a slow month for these "Best XXXX of All-Time" and "Worst XXXX Sitcoms of the Decade" lists, but here's an interesting one: the 20 best seasons of the last 20 years.It's an interesting subject for a list because TV fans can often agree on what shows are generally good or bad, and we can generally agree that even the best shows have bad seasons if they run long enough. But if you think about the shows that you've watched over the past 20 years (and watched all of the seasons, not just episodes here and there), what seasons stand out to you? Off the top of my head, before I even read the article, I thought of either season 2 or season 3 of The West Wing (the list writer picks season 2) and I would obviously pick a season of The X-Files or The Simpsons, though it would be hard to pick one season (he picks season 4 of the former and season 4 of the latter). Also on the list: season 2 of Buffy and season 1 of Deadwood. The first seasons of Friday Night Lights and Firefly? Really?
The list is for the past 20 years, but it leans heavily towards shows of the mid-90s and the 2000s. How about season 2 or 3 of NewsRadio? Or how about shows like Lost, The Sopranos, Mad Men, 30 Rock, Friends, or Seinfeld? They explain their methodology but it seems a little lame to me.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
8-29-2008 @ 3:24PM
Galley said...
Don't be dissin' Firefly!
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8-29-2008 @ 8:37PM
A Gould said...
I'd have to disagree on Firefly as well.
Don't get me wrong - I love the show (I'm on my third DVD box set because I keep lending it out and not getting them back). But it's hard to mark it as "best season of all time" when the season didn't finish airing...
8-29-2008 @ 3:45PM
Jeff N. said...
Last season of 'LOST' was quite incredible.
I think one of the early years of 'All In the Family' would also qualify.
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8-29-2008 @ 3:58PM
khamel said...
the wire season 2 - of course they would choose the whitest season of the wire. season 4 was probably the best season of any show ever.
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8-29-2008 @ 5:56PM
Ganesh said...
OMG! I was about to write the exact same thing. Season 4 of the Wire was perhaps the best season of ANY show ever. It was just outstanding.
8-29-2008 @ 4:03PM
David said...
I'm glad the included Season 1 of Veronica Mars (although that better not be an "in-order" list), but they neglected Dexter, which had a brilliant first season! Beginning to end, it kept you hooked and jonesing the whole week for the next episode.
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8-29-2008 @ 10:46PM
Karen said...
I'll second S1 of Veronica Mars, which just may be one of the best-constructed seasons of television I've ever seen. It's a shame that the subsequent seasons didn't quite live up to that promise, although the goodwill generated for the characters during that first season kept me going longer than I probably should have.
8-29-2008 @ 4:10PM
C C said...
My list:
24-seasons 1, 2, and 5
Picket Fences-seasons 1 and 2
X-Files-seasons 2 and 3
Northern Exposure-seasons 1, 2, and 3 (or the first 37 episodes)
Sports Night-season 1
Designing Women-season 4? (I think that aired in 1988, making the cut)
Rome-season 2
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8-29-2008 @ 4:16PM
abElia said...
Where's Season 5 of The Shield? The most intense season I've ever seen. Can't wait for the Season 7(RIP)
Have to agree khamel. Season 2 of The Wire was not the best by far. 1,3 and 4...it's a toss up.
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8-29-2008 @ 4:23PM
chadwick said...
Wings
Lost
Seinfeld
Rome
House
X-Files
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8-29-2008 @ 4:29PM
Liz said...
Wow..that list kinda sucks. It seems heavily biased towards certain types of shows too.
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8-29-2008 @ 4:37PM
Jimmy said...
Notable omissions:
Mad Men -- Season 1
Rescue Me -- Seasons 1 or 2
30 Rock -- second half of Season 1 or all of Season 2
The Shield -- any season (esp. Season 1 or the one with Forest Whitaker)
Curb Your Enthusiasm -- any season that didn't involve "The Producers"
Those are just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more.
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8-29-2008 @ 7:10PM
Hypnotoad said...
I would nominate season 2 of Alias which included the amazing "Phase 1" episode.
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8-29-2008 @ 7:40PM
khamel said...
also, cosby show - all the seasons before they added pam and olivia
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8-29-2008 @ 7:52PM
Dorv said...
Great to see the West Wing up there. What once was argueably the best show on television (Sorry, Soprano's fans... I think TWW, especially in those first three seasons, was better), it really doesn't seem to get the props now that its off the air.
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8-29-2008 @ 9:07PM
Taylor said...
Well Arrested Development was represented so I don't need to comment.
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8-29-2008 @ 9:35PM
SJ said...
The Wire's 1st and 4th season are better than the 2nd season imo. But I can see why some people think the 2nd season is the best.
Glad to see Freaks and Geeks on the list...I just finished watching it today and what an awesome show. It feels real and it's hilarious.
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8-30-2008 @ 1:08AM
Will said...
I'm glad someone mentioned Alias because I might not have thought of it, but I think my vote would be for Lost-Season 1. I have liked some later seasons ust as well ( and a couple I really hated) but the first season was so great because there was still all the mystery intact, we just didn't know what was going on or what direction things were going to take. As the series inds down, while I'm sure there will be suprises, it looks like we have at least some idea of what is actually happening. That first season everything was a suprise.
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8-30-2008 @ 1:31AM
hessian said...
Torn between seasons 3 & 5 of STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION.
Season 3 - Booby Trap, Yesterday's Enterprise, Captain's Holiday & the last spoiler-free season finale cliffhanger ever - Best of Both Worlds
Season 5 - Darmok, Conundrum, Cause and Effect, The First Duty, The Next Phase, Inner Light
Season 3 is when STNG found its legs and the characters really started coming into their own, but in Season 5 there was a creative growth that was simply fantastic and the series hits its highest point of the seven year run.
I go with Season 5.
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8-30-2008 @ 10:42AM
lorenzo said...
Season 4 of The Wire. Competition over.
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