Your list of favorite shows was just that; a list. Perhaps put some thought into the shows and weed it down to 5-10. Then, when done, write out your reasons for including them in your list. If you cannot think of any reason for having them on your list, than perhaps they don't belong there.

Nah, I think I will keep the list as is. But thanks for the advice. :wink:

uuh! i totally forgot to add ER

I like all the lists, but I especially love reading the ones with comments!

AgentX and Kidrock mentioned Wonder Years... I forgot all about that show. That was a good one, especially the first couple seasons. Hopefully that will make DVD someday so I can revisit it.

With the exception of the Simpsons, I sometimes overlook the cartoons, but probably shouldn't... MG Casey mentioned Spongebob... it wouldn't make my top 10 list, but that would be one of my favorite cartoons. A few mentioned Futurama... I should have added that to my honorable mentions. Ditto for South Park.

And, I've never seen (or really heard of) Boy Meets World, but it's appeared several times. Is that a kids show or something?

I Love Lucy: The only show to end at a height of popularity while number #1 in the ratings. By the end of the 6th season, Desilu Studios had taken off and Lucy/Ricky had become very rich. Problems had also begun to mount between the stars of the show. Vivian Vance and William Frawley were never fond of each other since day 1. When offered a spinoff with Frawley, Vance immediately declined. The Lucy/Ricky marriage was starting to crumble by this point as well. It was decided to end the show. 13 specials would follow over the next 3 years which would become known as The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour in syndication. By 1960, the marriage had completely fallen apart and Lucy and Ricky had divorced. It was the end of an era. The show as we know it was gone. The characters and the story world ended without a proper good bye. No official final episode was ever produced. A show that went out on top, but probably before it's time.

Nielsen TV Ratings History:
#3 in the 1951-1952 season
#1 in the 1952-1953 season
#1 in the 1953-1954 season
#1 in the 1954-1955 season
#2 in the 1955-1956 season
#1 in the 1956-1957 season

All in the Family: The show that changed the face of television. Not only was the show a massive hit with audiences (It remained #1 from 1971-1976), but it would lead to a handful of very successful spinoffs. The Jeffersons, Maude, Goodtimes, and Sanford and Son under it's belt. Goodtimes was a spinoff of Maude, but all exist in the same universe. The stories revolved around many controversial topics including, rape, sex, homosexuality, death, and other topics that were relevant to the 1970's, especially political strife, racism, and inflation. A television first in many rights. The show would end in 1979. It would be followed by the semi-successful Archie Bunker's Place which would last 4 years. The first and third seasons being a direct extension to the All in the Family series. We would welcome home Mike & Gloria for Thanksgiving, suffer through Ediths death and eventually come in contact with a divorced Gloria looking to start a new life a couple years later.

#1 1971-1972 Season
#1 1972-1973 Season
#1 1973-1974 Season
#1 1974-1975 Season
#1 1975-1976 Season
#12 1976-1977 Season
#5 1977-1978 Season
#10 1978-1979 Season
#11 1979-1980 Season
#20 1980-1981 Season
#13 1981-1982 Season
#26 1982-1983 Season

Three's Company: A show that had everything against it. After several failed pilots, a very risky plot, and various casting changes, the show was brought to ABC Primetime as a shaky mid-season replacement on March 15th, 1977. The show was an overnight sensation. It rocketed up the ratings and by the beginning of it's 3rd season was the number 1 show in America. This unfortunately would be short lived. The show continued to dominate until mid-way through the 4th Season. This is where the problems began. One of it's main writers had developed cancer. Somers popularity as tv sex symbol had blazed throughout the 3rd and 4th Seasons. This lead into bitter negotiations and salary demands. Somers departure would eventually lead to a fall in the ratings. By the beginning of the 5th season, things were really out of control. With the exception of 1 episode, Somers was downgraded to 60 second tags as punishment for her raise demands and set issues. When her contract was up, she was immediately fired. It was the talk of the town back back at the time. While the show would never return to it's former glory of it's early seasons after Somers departure, the show did regain some momentum during it's 6th season with the introduction of Priscilla Barnes. But, by Season 8 the show had run it's course. It immediately went from number 6 all the way out of the top 20 in only one year. The show was dead. A failed spinoff followed.

Nielsen Ratings:
1977 - #11
1977-78 - #3
1978-79 - #1
1979-80 - #2
1980-81 - #8
1981-82 - #4
1982-83 - #6
1983-84 - Not In Top 20

Married with Children: This show along with The Tracy Ulman Show (Where The Simpsons began) put Fox on the map. Much riskier than Three's Company, this show would lead to the love and hate of society. The show peaked during it's 3rd season and become a subject of excessive controversy. Ratings faired very well until Season 5. The mass popularity started to flicker out by this point. By season 6, things started to go south. Peggy's pregnancy, little 7, Marcies sudden feminist lesbian style approach, as well as other ideas left viewers cold. The show quickly sunk year by year in the ratings until the show ended at a disastrous 97th Place. The show had previously been in the top 20's only a few years before. The show had died. Ratings from the last 3 seasons are all that are available at this time.

#64 in 1994-95 Season
#78 in 1995-96 Season
#97 in 1996-97 Season

Oh, just leave the list as is. It's not as if this is some competition for the Academic Bowl. I would suggest in the future that you create an even longer list. 50/60 choices if you must. :razz:

Thank you, nice list by the way. :wink:

Current Shows:

Alias: Wow. What a good show this used to be. I have to agree with Tony. Where did the second season go?

24: This is a show I can really only watch once, but it's fun while it lasts. Sort of like a rollar coaster ride.

Nip/Tuck: A very good yet underappreciated show. Anyone who hasn't seen it should at least check it out.

More Older Shows:

Golden Girls: Keep quiet!!!
Roseanne: Once again, silence
The Cosby Show
Buffy/Angel (something about them made me see every single episode though I can't pinpoint it yet)
Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Darkside
Mama's Family
The Family (Prequel to Mama's Family)
Bewitched

Yes, Nike at Nite got me as a kid.

There are others as well. More later.

OMG I totally forgot Roseanne!

I love that show. :razz:

Nice list - - I had or agree with most of yours

but

I forgot about Highlander

that was a great show mixing a nice story with some great action.

I pretty sure that I saw every episode.

I agree with you. At the time this show meant a lot to me and I could really relate, but after the first two great seasons the show really went downhill more and more with each season (except the season finale was great but the ending was disappointing). I still watched though. But it would have been so much better if Kevin Williamson hadn't left and they didn't get new writers. This show might even still be on then because it would still likely be good and wouldn't have lost viewers.

It will always hold a special place in my heart. It used to be my favorite show while I was in school. Watching some of it now in reruns on TV though I have to admit that it comes off a little cheesy now and I find Dawson way more lame than I used to. While it was on and I was in school I could actually relate to him and didn't think he was such a loser, but now when I watch it I kind of do.

My favorite character was Jen though, played by the great Michelle Williams. But I did love Andie in season 2. Too bad they had to make her "bad," so to speak.

I think GOLDEN GIRLS is a big guilty pleasure for a lot of people. I still watch it in reruns sometimes on Lifetime and even know the theme song by heart .

There are a lot of older shows I watch sometimes in reruns, like ROSEANNE, THE NANNY, MAMA'S FAMILY, SAVED BY THE BELL, etc... I actually used to love SAVED BY THE BELL but man does it come off much cheesier now. It's a very cheesy show, but still enjoyable as a guilty pleasure.

Well, I'm not going to put them in order but ...

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
THE O.C.
ROSEANNE
FULL HOUSE
TRU CALLING
I LOVE LUCY
THE GOLDEN GIRLS

All Time Favorite TV Shows *not in order*

simpsons
southpark
family guy
24
alias
er
friends
will n grace
scrubs
x-files
that 70's show
cosby show
quantom leaps
greatest american hero
macgyver
a-teams
knight rider
i love lucy
mash
fat albert
girlfriends
dukes of hazard
21 jump street
saved by the bell
family ties
growing pains
head of the class
fame
buffy the vampire slayer
angel

and .............

Some Comment:
1.)The Simpsons
Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge, Maggie, Barney, Apu, Moe, Ralph, etc. the list is to long for all the great characters to come out of this series. Contain some of the greatest episodes ever to be on television. Back in it's prime it was THE funniest thing ever to be produced ANYWHERE.

2.)Family Guy
This show is the up and comer. I was dancing the day I found out it was coming out on DVD because I was so happy. My DVDs are all worn out because of how many times I've watched them.

3.)South Park
Ahh the show that introduced me to "toilet humor" on television. The newer episodes are the best stuff on TV. Matt and Trey are some of the funniest men on the planet.

4.)Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The show that introduced us to the phenomenon that is Will Smith. And Charlton one of the all-time greatest nerds on TV. Yes, I was one of the people to sign the many petitions for a DVD set on the internet.

5.)Futurama
One of two shows on this list to make me actually cry. Bender, Fry, the Professor, and Hermes are the comic relief. Has made two of my favorite episodes ever on TV.

6.)The Critic
It Stinks!

7.)Scrubs
If NBC cancels this I will go down to their studio and fart in their breakfast. Seriously, Zach Braff is the best up and coming star on television.

8.)Friends
Yes the series finale was disappointing but still this show has given me some of my finest TV memories ever. During the middle years it was at it's best, when Joey wasn't just a blumbling idiot.

9.)American Idol
I hate you reality TV, but I love you American Idol. I don't even really like music that much. However, this show is just addicting. Seeing people from all different walks of lifes make fools of themselves at the auditions all the way to seeing the new American Idol be crowned are sooooooo exciting.

10.)Seinfeld
Considered my many, and I mean many to be the greatest TV show ever. It doesn't rank so high on my list just because I haven't seen MANY episodes. However, the Soup Nazi, and Stink Car are enough to put it on my list.

Following on from last night's drunken ramblings:

6. News Radio - I love this show so much I could pee. The ensemble cast was astonishing and probably impossible to top. Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, Andy Dick, Steven Root, Maura Tierney... The writing was always top-notch and infinitely more clever than your average network sitcom, even by today's standards. The episode where Phil Hartman is forced to quit smoking is one of my favourite half hours of television. His death brought an untimely end to the sitcom (even though it carried on for a short while afterwards, the show was pretty much over the moment his wife fired the gun), but for four seasons News Radio was pretty much the best there was sitcom-wise.

7. Firefly - Cancelled mid-way through its first season, but for fourteen episodes Joss Whedon managed to pump out some of the best television we're ever likely to see. Had it run longer (Just eight episodes more, in fact), it would undoubtedly be much higher on the list. Superior even to Buffy and Angel in most respects, the storylines, characters and writing elevate this show above every other sci-fi effort of recent times. I'm excited about the upcoming film, but I can't help but wish Fox had treated it kinder on the schedules.

8. Red Dwarf - One of the few British sitcoms I truly love (along with Spaced, Blackadder and Father Ted), but it took me a while to really catch on to its genius. I didn't watch it as a kid (deeming it to be the preserve of the geeky and sad) and would've continued to ignore it completely were it not for a friend lending me seasons 1-8 on vhs a few years back. A week later I was in love. Seasons 7 and 8 flounder a bit (whose silly idea was it to bring back the rest of the crew?), but seasons 3-6 are some of the smartest, funniest half hours I've ever seen. And Rimmer is one of the great comedy characters of all time.

9. Star Trek: The Next Generation - This is here for purely nostalgic reasons, as it's been a good few years since I've seen a single episode. I'm sure it's not as good as I remember it, but I've never wanted to be part of a fictional universe as much as I did watching the crew of the Starship Enterprise. I wanted to be Wesley Crusher so bad! The fact that I had a crush on his mum at the same time brought some serious issues to light during my teenage years.

10. Ren and Stimpy - How can anyone not love Mr. Horse ("No sir, I don't like it!"), the Happy Happy Joy Joy song ("That's pretty funny! A fly marrying a bumblebee!") or Log! From Blammo! ("It's better than bad, it's good!"). Pure genius in every episode. Well, for the first few seasons at least. Classic moments like Ren flipping his lid and taking a whizz on Stimpy's favourite board game "Don't whizz on the electric fence", or the time he got space dementia and left Stimpy to guard the red button ensure this show will always be one of my all-time faves.

Here's the current leaderboard. Theses are the shows that received the most mentions so far. (Only includes specific mentions in list form, and no honorable mentions).

#1. Simpsons - 12
#2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 9
#3. Seinfeld - 7
#4.(tie) I Love Lucy - 6
#4.(tie) The X-Files - 6
#6.(tie) 24 - 5
#6.(tie) Family Guy - 5
#6.(tie) Futurama - 5
#9.(tie) Friends - 4
#9.(tie) Golden Girls - 4
#9.(tie) Boy Meets World - 4

Some off beat picks... kudos for your News Radio pick - another show I forgot about. I've heard Firefly was really good, but never seen it. I used to love Ren and Stimpy, but upon rewatching the DVD I think it's lost something over time as it's humor lost some of it's edge when compared with the envelope pushers of today, like South Park and Family Guy. But, it's still a decent show.

Groovy... finally somebody else that had the decent taste to include the A-Team and Greatest American Hero. :2up:

and for honorable mention in last place with only my 1 vote - The Twilight Zone.

My favorite shows are mostly sitcoms.

Friends, Seinfeld, The Simpsons (when it was good), Murphy Brown, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Frasier all rank up there.

Shows approaching my list on right now include 24, Lost, Desperate Housewives and Arrested Development.

Sex and the City is not on it? Seems like a show that appeals to pretty much all women, heh.

Actually, I hate that show.

Ah, I see. My guy friends loved it

What about O.C.?

I like it, but it's nowhere near my favorites list.