I'm kinda surprised at Boy Meets World.

It was a good enough show, but it also seemed to lack anything that made it stand out as a great show and often crossed the line of preachyness, I think.

1-Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the best show that has ever been made. Period.
2-Angel, Joss is the best person ever to exist
3-Firefly, see above
4-Arrested Development, funniest show ever.
5-Seinfeld, best "sitcom" ever.

6-10, not in order:
Alias, Frasier, the Simpsons (i liked S4-S11, not the rest), CSI, Wonderfalls

Honorable mentions:
Scrubs, SVU, Lost (the longer it lasts the higher it gets), Family Guy (for Stewie & Brian, mostly Stewie, i don't like Peter or Chris, Meg and Lois have their moments, but Stewie is the reason it is an honorable mention at all)

No reality TV at all, as that is the most disgusting form of televison (coupled with cheesy sitcoms) known to exist.

1 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

This remains the only TV programme that has made me laugh, cry and scare me silly all in the same episode. I loved it right from the start, season 2 was a peak, as was season 5/6 for me. Stand out storylines being the death of Buffy's mother (the episode 'the body' just seemed incredibly real and extremely well acted) and i also loved the bad Willow/Tara's death story. Best episodes: Once more with feeling, Hush, The Body, Seeing Red, Two to Go, Villains and the Prom. Season 7 was a dip in quality but had some good episodes. Overall the most compelling TV ever.

2 - The Simpsons

What can i say? simply the funniest series ever. Homer is an icon, hell even my dog was named after him (SAD i know) the more i watch it the more i love it, even the more recent series. I just never tire of watching them.

3 - Family Guy

May one day overtake the Simpsons, but it will have to keep the quality up for a long time to do it, it has some of the funniest TV moments ever. Stewie is, i believe, the best and funniest character on TV.

4 - Futurama

Why was the axed? god dammit stupid people not watching it. Bender is fantastic, almost as good a creation as Homer.

5 - The X-files

Seasons 1 and 2 were simply amazing, it did go downhill from there and i lost interest at about season 6. But i have the first three on DVD and they remain wonderful TV.

6 - Dead Like Me

Fast becoming one of my favourites, i just hope it lasts as i dont think its all that popular, so watch it people!! Incredibly funny and smart.

7 - Frasier

The most intelligent comedy ever, even my mom likes this as much as i do, which i do find mildly worrying.



And thats all i can think of for now, although i'm sure i missed loads out!!

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

As it was said previously, the best TV will ever get. Smart, witty, funny, sad, it was everything. It could be sad and funny at the same time, without losing credibility (or at least the credibility one sci-fi horror show can have). It had great season arc stories, had the best moments in TV's history with the like of 'Prophecy Girl', 'Becoming', 'Hush', 'Restless' (great Lynch-like episode), 'The Body' (the episode that impacted me the most), 'Once More With Feeling', .... I felt every single character, I cried when the good ones died, and cheered when the bad ones died, I felt like a part of the Scooby Gang, I could imagine them as they were real living just next door to me. Who'd thought that one TV show about a blonde fighting against vampires and other dark forces could be so much better than anything else on TV?

(Other shows are in alphabetical order; it's tough to rank them)

24

From the astonishing format of the show itself, to perfectly thought out episodes (although it has problems with credibility sometimes, for it being a pretty realistic show), 24 is among the shows that make TV worthy of inventing. You can never know what to expect, you can guess sometimes who's really bad, and who's not what he/she seems to be, but overall, the show shocks us, slaps us in the face with great twists and makes us beg for after the clock ticks for the last time...

Alias

The shows with mythologies are the best, that's my opinion, and Alias is one of the show with the best mythologies. Although some of you think Rambaldi was a trap for the show, I liked the way story rolled out. Twists are genius; the show is just brilliantly crafted, almost to perfection. But still one of my favorite episodes doesn't have that much to do with the season arc itself, 'Color blind', just a touching episode when Sydney needs to save the man who... I'm not going to spoil it for you, but a phenomenal episode.

Fawlty Towers
British humor is the best humor in the world. And Fawlty Towers is the best that British humor can get. Only 12 episodes, but boy are they funny. I almost ended up in hospital, because I almost choked from laughing. Well, that didn't actually happen, but it almost did (hey how many times can I use word 'almost' in this 'brief' comment, current 'ALMOST' COUNTER: 4). After the brilliant first season with only six episodes, John Cleese almost ('ALMOST' COUNTER:5) refused to do the second, but thankfully that didn't happen, so we got the second season and another six episodes. One of the series trademark is than the name of the hotel is almost ('ALMOST' COUNTER:6) spelled right at the beginning. And there are some funny ways they've misspelled the name of the hotel. Basil Fawlty is the perfect idiot to own and run the hotel. He sometimes almost ('ALMOST' COUNTER:7) gets things right, but thankfully there are just too many things he can do wrong, and luckily for us, he never misses on given opportunities. I almost ('ALMOST' COUNTER:8) refused to watch this series, thinking it had only lousy 12 episodes, so if you ever get a chance to see this show, don't miss it!

'ALMOST' COUNTER, OFFICIAL RESULT: 8 (not bad)

Futurama

Simpsons are great, but Futurama is superb. It's shameful to see a show like this to get cancelled, especially when it's THE animated TV show ever. Bender, Fry, Leela, Amy, Professor Farnsworth, Zoidberg, Zepp Branningan, Kiff, you won't find a line up of absurd characters like this anywhere, because they can only function in 'Futurama'. And they function better than Swiss clocks. Even when they're not funny (which is never), they're still funnier than all of today's situation comedies, in fact every possible comedy in the world. Fun='Futurama', period.

Married... with Children

Every episode was made on the same basic scheme. Peggy pokes Al to have sex with her, Kelly is a stupid blonde, Bud is a, well he’s' Bud, Marcy is the typical feminist, and that was what it was all about. With an idea like that it's hard to do more than few good episodes, but 'Married... with Children' was funny year after year. That's really something to admire. Maybe it's not the most sophisticated situation comedy ever, but it's damn sure the funniest I've ever seen.

Oz

A drama that breaked a lot of conservative crappy rules on TV, showing full frontal naked parts, raping, sex, stabbing, crucifying, taking CEOs eyes out, and other stuff like that. It had the story, it had the blood, it had the sense of reality. It had everything a superb show needs to have. And it managed to transform characters in each of six seasons (every season had 8 episodes except the fourth which had 16 episodes) and it was all believable, unlike some shows that can't show a real transformation of a character in a course of 20+ episodes. You hated some of the inmates, CEOs, or some of the other staff of the prison, you had a character you could identify with, and it was scary looking at him because he ended up in prison so what will prevent you from becoming an inmate too? And Miss Sally was there. It changed your perspective of viewing a lot. One of the best things Hill said as a narrator was when he talked about animals, especially the things with a fish. I don't know the exact words, but this is how it went: 'Imagine fishes. They can remember only last thirty seconds of their life. When they're happy, they think they've been happy their whole life. When they're hungry, they think they've been hungry their whole life. When they're dieing they think they've been dieing their whole life. Now, how fucked up is that?'.. The narration was what the show was all about. The rest was just the desert after the best meal you've ever had.

Tru Callling

The first season lacked a bit of edginess that makes each show unique, but the six episodes of the second season are just superb. I hope Jon Harmon Feldman will write a book or something, because it would be really unfair if we never find out how everything ended. The show had the idea, the mythology planned out (which would be slowly revealed in the second part of the second season that unfortunately was never filmed). Alas, hoping is all we have, and I still hope 'Tru Calling' will be on FOX's schedule for the next year.

(There are more, I'll write them later...)

My favorite shows of all time are as follows:

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER - A fantastic show that got better season by season. The entire cast gave fantastic performances and created characters that you really cared about. This was a horror character drama of sorts and it worked amazingly well. The best show to ever air on television.

FRIENDS - This show will always be special to me. I absolutely loved it and found it to be the most entertaining comedy on television. I grew up with these characters and went through all their trials and tribulations. The series finale had me in tears.

DAWSON'S CREEK - Although it went downhill in the later years, this was once my favorite show on television. Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams were my favorites and I also really liked Meredith Monroe, who unfortunately left too soon. I loved this show and thought the series finale was fantastic.

THE OC - Although it's only been on since 2003, this has already become one of my all-time favorites. It is very well-written and has characters that you come to know and care about. That's what sets it apart from other teen dramas. Plus, it's just so entertaining! My favorite show on television right now.

LOST - This is in its first year, but it is just such a brilliant show that I had to include it. Entertaining, fascinating, suspenseful and well-acted, this is one of the best shows on television right now.

JACK & BOBBY - This is the best show that NO ONE is watching! It's a fascinating and pretty entertaining character study with tons of great performances. Check it out!

POPULAR - This was a brilliant teen satire that never got the attention it deserved. It was unfortunately canceled after two seasons and I will never fully forgive the WB for that. It was one of my favorite shows and still is because it manages to discuss important issues while creating likable characters and being so entertaining!

Gilmore Girls

Witty language (not even in the same class as 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', but still wittier than other shows), nice mix of teen and serious drama, parent-child relationship in two different views (Rory-Lorelai, Lorelai-Emily), the satire of a single mother... All mixed in one is 'Gilmore Girls', the show that amazed me the most. I expected to make a mockery out of this show first time I watched it. I wanted to see how pathetic a TV show can get, and then mock others who get hooked on it. But I was the one that got hooked. And with a reason, it's not a coincidence that Gilmore Girls is surging in its fifth season, and against a giant like 'American idol'. The show deserves our time.

Roswell

A show about teen aliens. Gosh that sounds attractive. But 'Roswell' was more than that. One of the rarely shows that captured me with the first sentence of the first episode: 'My name is Liz Parker. And today I died.’ In that moment when I was watching 'Pilot' I knew even if the show doesn’t roll out as a great teen sci-fi drama, the first episode will kick ass. This pilot should be used as a blueprint for all pilots of other similar shows. Characters were established, the premise was set up, and the story was completely intriguing, with enough hints about what's to come. The first two seasons were awesome. The ballad of two lovers never meant to be was never better presented in any other series than here. The third and the last season was somewhat weird. I never clicked with the character of Jesse. But later rewatching the series it was an obvious and good way to develop the story. The finale was satisfying, although it left me crying for more. And 'Here with Me' was a great theme song, the words just pointed out the love story, the feelings of our three little aliens.

P.S. Tess is a bitch, although I perfectly understand her.

Sex & the City

Everything about this show has been said. In magazines, newspapers, TV shows, ... I have no idea what to add except, why couldn't the show last for a year, or two, or three more? On second thought lets make it four more season, to round it to ten overall...

The Shield

Before seeing 'Oz', I thought 'The Shield' was groundbreaking in terms of full frontal nakedness, sex, raping, gay themes... Compared to 'Oz' this is just a little tame show. But luckily for both shows, the story is much more important and it's carefully thought out in both shows. 'The Shield' has a season arc plots, which is a relaxation among police themed shows. There are central cases in every episode, but most of them are connected to some higher plot that some Armenian mob, black gang or Latino gang is plotting. Maybe the story does stretch out a lot in terms of convincing us in how many not so good deeds can Strike team make, and not get caught, but alas, it's much more interesting to watch Strike team in action, not behind bars, so I can forgive the writers to keeping them out of problems (for the most of time).

Possible candidates to join the list (for the shows I haven’t' been able to watch the majority of the episodes):

*Carnivále

With only six episodes of first season, the show has captured my heart. They're brilliantly crafted, and I really like the shows where you need to use your head to make sense out of the story. I was thinking about including it in my TOP list but, there is the rest of the first season, and a second one, so I decided to wait. The show can easily get only better, or become plain stupid. I hope it will be the first.

*CSI: Crime Scene Investigations & *CSI:NY

After two seasons I still have dilemma about the original 'CSI'. It has some great cases. But cases come and go, and the characters stay. And for the most part they've stayed the same during both seasons. I can't judge about the quality of the show just by the number of cool sci-fi tech thingies in each episode. I will watch every episode of 'CSI', but with this kind of character development it won't jump across to Camp Finest in million years. As for 'CSI: NY', I like it the best out of all three 'CSI' shows ('CSI: Miami' is just plain awful). Although 'CSI: NY' promised more character development out of all 'CSI' shows it didn't deliver that, but it just has a dose of something that I can't actually pinpoint what tha makes me like and feel for the characters.

*Smallville

After two seasons, I still don't know what to think about 'Smallville', just when i think about quitting the show because it's dragging itself to the deepest pit to bury all good things it has going for it, the show bounces back with an interesting twist or story development. I really hope that in third and fourth season 'Smallville' managed to solve the problem with episodes that have no whatsoever importance, and just focuses on what its based on, Clark Kent and a great mythology of Superman...

Later to update: more candidates for my TOP list...

Other candidates for my TOP list:

*The Dead Zone

Just like 'Smallville', drags too much, and just when I decide to stop watching it, it just slaps me in the face with a great episode. The show is slowly rolling out the story, and with each new episode we get interesting and well thought out mysteries. I liked the '12 Angry Men' homage in the first season, especially, and the meeting ith Death was great too. Apocalypse was a nice touch too. The writers have great ideas, if they could just use them a bit better, everything would be perfect.

*Firefly

Joss Whedon is a God. Everyone will agree with me. Firefly is a superb sci fi show. But unfortunately it was buried before it got a chance to live. This show is here because of 'Serenity'. I don't see it as a movie for itself considering it continues the story established during 'Firefly’s’ brief run, about River and the Alliance. If there was no movie, the show would be in my TOP. It was pretty unfinished, but it has some of the finest moments in TV ever. If the movie concludes the story well it will shoot the series in my TOP list. If it's not (an option not possible with Whedon), then it will stay knocking forever at the doors. Maybe the doors won't open, but they're made out of glass, so that's like it's right in the company of the best...

*Star Trek: Voyager

I love 'Star Trek: Voyager'. It's the best out of all Star Trek's for me. And I love each season, with all of flaws and great big things. 'Blink of an Eye' being my favorite episode, and providing the insight of how Voyager really could be the superb ST in terms of story and writing. So why 'Star Trek: Voyager' isn’t on my TOP list. Because it restrained itself to the happenings on the ship. If only majority of the episodes linked the new thing from Delta Quadrant and happenings on Voyager like 'Blink of an Eye' did this would be in my TOP without thinking about it. But the show was always inside the Voyager's corridors, mess hall, bridge,... It had superb stories to tell nevertheless, but what's the point of bringing a ship to Delta Quadrant, where Starfleet never had a ship before, if we won't be able to see all the good and the bad things in the Quadrant. We did see a lot, but there was oh-so-much we could see. Putting this show among candidates and among the TOP ones, breaks my heart, but, the show has a special place in my heart...

I'll be soon checking out, and I expect a lot from: 'Lost', 'Dead Like Me', 'Joan of Arcadia', 'Desperate Housewives', 'Kevin Hill', ....

I always had mixed feelings about 'Popular'. The show was 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' literally. It started out great, but soon it went over the top. Some episodes around Mary Cherry and Nicole were too absurd, but the second season has the most touching moment of the series in the view of 'Are You There God? It's Me, Ann-Margret', a great touching episode, I even cried. But Popular was a mix of everything. It could have made this series a cult hit, but in my opinion it didn't do the series well. It was a good show. If only the humor was much more subtle, and the series had a constant image... It'd be great then...

1. 24
2. Lost
3. Scrubs
4. Family Guy
5. Seinfeld
6. CSI
7. The Drew Carey Show
8. Boy Meets World
9. Whose Line Is It Anyway
10. The Inferno II

Gilmore Girls
Practice
Home Improvement
King of Queens
Dawsons Creek
The X-Files

=D> =D> =D>

Yay for the GILMORE GIRLS love! It's my favorite show ever! I've currently introduced my parents to it and they have become addicts. I showed them the first season, then the second, and then we had to wait a week after finishing the second for the third season to come out. They need to get the fourth and fifth season out RIGHT AWAY! I've already seen the first four seasons and a couple of episodes of the fifth (but I stopped because I hadn't finished the fourth season yet and didn't want to watch episodes ahead of each other, I need to watch a show in order). I didn't even start watching the show until this fall when ABC Family started airing it from the beginning every weekday. I quickly fell in love with this brilliant show! I never watched it before because for the first season I didn't have the WB and didn't get it until later in the second season, and I certainly wasn't going to start watching it if I couldn't see it from the beginning. Thankfully ABC Family gave me that chance, and now I buy the seasons as they are churned out on DVD, which I wish would be even faster! I just can't wait a few months for the fourth season to come out! Anyway, I've got my mom, dad, and brother watching it religiously and they love it! I'm so glad. We watch like two episodes every night. It doesn't take long for me to get through a season with them. I'm glad I only had to wait a week for the third season to come out on DVD after we finished the second, but I have no freakin' clue how we'll be able to go GILMORE-less for a few months! You may as well ask us not to go on living . It's going to be really tough and we'd like to try and watch less of the third season so we can make it last, but that just won't happen. We're addicted to it and always wanting to watch more. When this is over I'm going to have to get them watching something else until we get more GILMORE GIRLS on DVD. Hopefully VERONICA MARS will come out this summer on DVD like I'm expecting it to and then I'll have them watch that from the beginning. They did see the first couple of episodes and really liked it.

Anyway, I am so glad this freakin' BRILLIANT, HEARTWARMING (without being cheesy) show has caught on this year. It's so smart and funny and couldn't be more enjoyable. Lorelai Gilmore is easily the best TV mother ever! Hopefully GILMORE GIRLS will be around for a long time to come. I can't imagine a world without it :wink:.


And in my opinion, it is better than BUFFY, but that's just me. I did love BUFFY too, but I'm way more into GILMORE GIRLS. Thompson, you better be adding this show to your list soon! It's so much better than that stupid O.C. :razz:. And POPULAR I started checking out on DVD this past year and it started out really solid but then toward the end of the first season I didn't enjoy it nearly as much. And I really didn't care much for the last two episodes, not like the rest. I still have to watch the next and final season of it though. I'm not expecting terribly much after how it went downhill toward the end of the first.


Also, I highly recommend those that didn't see WONDERFALLS check out the complete series set on DVD A.S.A.P.! It was such a great show!

It goes even furthermore down the hill (just my opinion), but as I said, the second season holds the best ever episode of 'Popular'... It was nice, heartwarming and touching...

Oh, and I'm hoping I'll get a chance to see 'Veronica Mars' soon

Well, I don't know about the rest, but I draw a fine line between favorite shows and best shows. I don't think anyone could really judge what the best shows have been unless they have seen more than a majority of all TV shows.

I think Boy Meets World really connected to that certain teen demographic and that's why it's so high up there. I didn't like the very first seasons too much and last one wasn't all that great either, but I did grow up watching it and felt connected to all the characters.

Now my #1 and #2 are quite interchangeable. I would have Once and Again (unarguably the best out of my top 10 shows) as #1 if it weren't for the fact that I felt a more personal connection with Boy Meets World. I think Once and Again is brilliant and it perhaps is my favorite of all time, but I can't really relate cuz at the time it was on I wasn't even over 18, didn't have divorced parents but only related to very few of the issues it dealt with. I'm making it seem as if it's a bad thing, when it's not. I love the show to death. Bottom line is I grew up with BMW and related more to it.

Bite your tongue!


As for WILL & GRACE, that would be on my favorites list based on the first couple of seasons, but then it really went downhill. They need to get the original writers back and need to do something to get this show back up to the same quality it once was! It used to be great! Now it's amusing but not great.

I'm baffled by Boy Meets World too, as I never heard of it before this thread and have never seen the show. It must have been a teen/kids show at a time I wasn't.

This probably makes me a girl, but I like Sex and the City.

Actually, wearing dresses, high heels, and make-up is probably what makes me a girl, but it can't help that I watch Sex and the City.

In no order:

CSI
Friends
Survivor
Boy Meets World
Home Improvement
The Practice

OFFICIAL CANDIDATES...LIST WILL BE NARROWED DOWN WHEN I GET TO THINK ABOUT IT MORE:

Qualified if:
-I LOVE THE REPEATS
-I WISH IT WERE STILL HERE
-I WATCH NEW EPISODES CONSTANTLY

Family Matters
Full House
Friends
Simpsons
Rugrats
Boy Meets World
Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Family Guy
The Real World
Popular
Charmed
American Idol
Will and Grace
Survivor
Who's Line is It Anyway?
Desperate Housewives
$40 a Day with Rachel Ray
30 minute meals with Rachel Ray
Fine Living with Rachel Ray
The Nanny
Malcolm in the Middle

Friends
The Simpsons
FLCL (only 6 episodes but whatever :razz: )
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Nip/Tuck
Desperate Housewives

I am just taking a wild shot in the dark here, but I would guess that your a fan of Rachael Ray? :wink: