Favorite Television Shows

[Gareth]

I know there're already threads for show that you are currently watching and enjoying but I couldn't find one that was just for your favorite shows plain and simple. It doesn't necessary have to be an ordered list (though it can be) this is just to discuss and compare forum members all time favorite shows. I personally am going to list out my favorite cartoons and anime in here to because I feel so strongly about some but that's just me.

Breaking Bad - This series absolutely blew me away the first time I saw it. I think it might honestly be the best show on this list. Everything about this show, the writing, the cinematography, the action, the music, and most of all the acting. Brian Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle, Batman: Year One) has got to be one of the best actors I've ever seen. Never in the show have I ever been aware he is acting, Walter White is a real person. All of the acting is fantastic. This series has had more of an emotional impact on me than any other television series, this is the only show that has actually made me cry. I am just watching a poor man's life fall completely to ruins, and then midway though the series they completely do a 360 on the viewer. It really confuses your emotions and you don't know how to feel. It's so brilliant it's hard to describe. I STRONGLY recommend this show to everyone! The first four seasons are soon to all be on Netflix (right now it's just the first 3) It truly is a brilliant show. Check it out.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - This is my favorite animated series of all time. The first time I really think I heard how good this show was, was on an episode of WFP. A listener emailed in and mentioned it and Mike said he had seen a few episodes and James had only heard about it. A little while later James said he watched the whole show in something like a weekend, and thought it was incredible. I finally got around to watching it when A:TLP aired. At first I didn't like it, or at least not enough to get invested in a 61 episode series, but for some reason I kept on watching it. By the end of the first season I would call myself emotionally invested, and it was just uphill from there. Each season it got better and it was one of the few shows that (while it wasn't perfect) had a very satisfying ending. Which I think was because of two reasons, one, they had the whole show planed out from the very beginning, and two, you could tell it wasn't REALLY the end of everything Avatar.

The Legend of Korra - Though only a few episodes have aired I can already tell it deserves to be on this list. Everything so far has been an improvement over its predecessor. I have very few gripes with this show so far. The only reason I cannot put it over TLA right now is because it hasn't yet gotten me emotionally invested in the characters (but it took TLA a season to do that so I can give this series a lot of slack) if this series continues with this level of quality then I will have no qualms about putting it about it's predecessor.

The Twilight Zone - This show is truly fantastic. There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said but just how much craft they put into each 30 minute episode is unbelievable. This show hasn't aged at all in my opinion, in fact I feel that it just gets better and better over time. It's definitely one of my favorite shows.

DCAU - I won't dwell on this too much because this site has 100 episode podcast you can go listen too about it. But these are the series that brought me to earth-2.net, through WFP. I enjoy all of the series (even Zeta to a lesser degree) my favorite being B:TAS. Some of the shows I think it's better to look at as a whole rather than go episode by episode. A prime example of this would be B:TAS, I mean as a whole just look at the art deco, the music, the 1940's'esque atmosphere and the voice acting. On the whole I think it's a much better series than what would be determined when going episode by episode. I think the same would be true of S:TAS and to a lesser extent Batman Beyond. I'm not knocking WFP, oh no, I'm just putting that out there.

Teen Titans - Yeah, this is a good series too.

Mad Men - This show succeeds mainly for it's completely accurate depiction of the 1960's (at least I'm assuming). But just to be clear, I don't think it holds a straw to AMC's Breaking Bad.

Twin Peaks - This show is absolutely fantastic. It's probably the funniest show I have on here but it's definitely not a comedy. If there is one think I say about this show all the time it's that it just has so much damn atmosphere. It has the perfect mix of comedy and mystery, light scenes and dark scenes. The problem is that it really drops in quality for the second season. But even considering that it's a really great show.

The Spectacular Spider-Man - For the very short run it had, it was a great show. My favorite Spider-Man series and my favorite Greg Weisman series (Gargoyles and Young Justice). But god watching that last episode is just agonizing, not because it's a bad episode, because it's such a great episode with a great cliffhanger that will never be resolved. Honestly if there was one show I could bring back it would probably be this one, it means that much to me.

One quick note, you'll probably notice I don't have any comedies on here. I don't exactly know why that is. There are many comedies I love and watch often but I have a really hard time comparing them to these dramas. I guess it's because I really judge everything by their emotional impact on me, which is why Breaking Bad is #1. And seeing as comedies rarely effect me emotionally I can't really put them on my favorite television series list. Maybe later I'll be able to sort that out so I can talk about some of my favorite comedies but for now this is all I got.

Well I doubt anyone's actually going to read all that but those are my favorite shows and why. I'll be interested to see other lists.

[Molly]

Really cool thread, bro.

Dexter: Just a tense, well acted, well shot show. I'm a huge fan.

South Park: Watching how this show has grown from potty humor to smart parody is amazing to me.

Firefly: The perfect fusion of sci-fi and western, smartly written to boot.

Spaced: The start of my Simon Pegg/Nick Frost/Edgar Wright obsession.

The IT Crowd: Possibly the funniest television show ever committed to film.

[Venneh]

Community: Fun show, great humor, actually has the balls to go there, and surprisingly great character development. Plus, there's that thing where you watch the characters and you realize that any one of them could be you.

Game of Thrones: This is one of those shows where you hear about it, watch the first episode, and then ten hours later, you've gone through the entire first season and you want MORE. Especially awesome if you've read the books, and you get to see how the adaptation chooses to be its own thing in places.

Archer: It's a rare show that can actually make me choke on air because I'm laughing so hard. Just saying.

Firefly: Do I even need to explain this one?

Battlestar Galactica: Great character drama, and SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE.

Arrested Development: Great characters who are also horrible human beings, they're all absolutely nuts, and the situations they're in are even more so.

Mad Men: Slick character drama unfolding against the backdrop of actual history? Yes plz.

Downton Abbey: See Mad Men, substitute Regency England. Also, Dame Maggie Smith.

[Professor]

Power Rangers: Simply, this is my childhood. This was my show. It was on while I was waiting for the school bus and it was on shortly after I got off the bus. It was the only show I could never miss. I have been doing a re-watch. Currently I have watched the 1st six seasons (thru in Space). And you know what, it still makes me happy.

I am sure there are others, but this popped to mind instantly and all I got at the moment.

[Guest]

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Twilight Zone

Outer Limits

Twin Peaks

Penn & Teller: Bullshit

Tales from the Crypt

Red Dwarf (first four seasons)

All the shows I like are dead.

[SuaveStar]

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Twilight Zone

Outer Limits

Twin Peaks

Penn & Teller: Bullshit

Tales from the Crypt

Red Dwarf (first four seasons)

All the shows I like are dead.

You do know they're making Red Dwarf series 10, right?

[dc20willsave]

Wow, I find it amazing that you guys can list off your favorite televised productions so shortly. It would take the better part of a novella sized piece for me to list my tops.

[Guest]

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Twilight Zone

Outer Limits

Twin Peaks

Penn & Teller: Bullshit

Tales from the Crypt

Red Dwarf (first four seasons)

All the shows I like are dead.

You do know they're making Red Dwarf series 10, right?

You notice I said I only liked the first four seasons?

[SuaveStar]

You notice I said I only liked the first four seasons?

Yes, but who knows, maybe series ten won't suck, like Back to Earth did.

[Kenny Evil]

Yes, (Prime) Minister -Simply one of the funniest shows of all time, partly because it seemed to be uncomfortably close to the truth of UK politics. Part of that was informed by the show's secret consultants, former ministers and civil servants who furnished the writers with many, many stories. For instance, the episode where they visit a dry country and set up a "communications room" which is loaded with booze actually happened when members of Harold Wilson's government visited Pakistan. It gave us the concept of being "economical with the truth."

Porridge - I can't remember who it was, but there was a sitcom writer who said that the core point of a show should be a trap for the characters, so that characters who wouldn't spend any time together by choice are forced to, hence sitcoms based on families and workplaces. The ultimate example of this was Porridge, set in a prison where career criminal Fletcher ekes out his 5 year term giving advice to his young cellmate Godber and trying to get by in grim circumstances where danger came from both the other prisoners and the angry guard MacKay. Probably Ronnie Barker's finest work.

The Simpsons- This show was so good in its first ten years that it made the TV around it better. It changed the dynamics of family sitcoms forever from that point, increased the stature of animated shows and showed, more than any other show in history, that you could have a show that was very, very smart and very, very funny. Its influence is so great that the idea that there was a time where there was no Simpsons is utterly baffling to anyone born after 1990. I think I could easily rank it as my favourite show of all time.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia- In the first three episodes they dealt with racism, abortion and underaged drinking and still they find new lows every year. The characters are incredibly stupid but the writing is very smart and incredibly dark.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Sort of the overlooked middle child of the Star Trek franchise but it seems to be the one that's done best in syndication. It took a lot of the groundwork laid by The Next Generation and developed it incredibly well. Whilst it had the reputation of "boldly going nowhere" it probably did more in depth exploration of alien cultures that TNG ever had the chance to (outside of the Klingon civil war episodes). It also managed to develop three dimensional villains really well and loved playing in shades of grey. To this day, Louise Fletcher's portrayal of Kai Winn will raise your ire in a way few other characters ever could.

Angel - Buffy was great and Firefly's early cancellation still makes me weep bitter tears, but this show holds the greatest place in my heart. It got darker and nastier than Buffy ever did and also had great moments of humour as well. Inexplicably killed off during a great fifth series, it had one of the best endings of any show ever. Our heroes faced off against everything Wolfram & Hart could summon in response to Angel & co's upsetting of the apocalypse, and our heroes jumped right into the fray seemingly ready to go down fighting.

Arrested Development - Incredibly detailed and filled with so many jokes that, even after my eighth viewing, I'm still picking up new stuff. Another show brutally butchered before its time.

Veronica Mars - It's impossible to describe this show to someone without it seeming really lame. Most people hear "high school detective" and think of something that would go on the Disney channel. That's very much not the case here as a more suitable description would be "Buffy meets Bogart". Veronica is an outcast at her school in Neptune, California, a town with no middle class. Between schoolwork and solving small cases for her fellow students, she's trying to solve the mystery of her best friend's murder which happened some time before the show began. Excellent cast and made a generation utterly fall in love with Kristen Bell. Again, another show killed before its time.

Doctor Who A time travelling wizard who gets around in a box that looks like an old police phone box. It's bigger on the inside than on the outside and he can go anywhere in time or space. Occasionally he changes his appearance and usually there's more imagination per episode than most shows will get in an entire series.

The Young Ones - Utterly bizarre show centered around 4 students in the 1980s. Each was, in their own way, despicable and the show had little to no affection for being realistic (mostly epitomised in Vivyan who has survived a pick axe to the head and a decapitation at various points). It was incredibly funny and was one of the biggest and earliest influences on my sense of humour, just after The Beano and The Dandy. Sadly there's only 12 episodes but every one of them is brilliant.

Blackadder (II, III and Goes Forth) -after the expensive mess that was the first series, the BBC only commissioned II with a severely reduced budget. Happily, this meant that the writers could focus on where the real humour and genius of the series lay: Rowan Atkinson. With every passing series the new Blackadder's position in life decreased and his intelligence increased. The final series ended with one of the most touching episodes of any TV show ever.

[slothian]

Let's do this!

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The oldest show on my list, the Gerry Anderson hit shows were repeated in the early 90s and I really took to Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet. I think Thunderbirds was my favourite at the time, but of the two shows I have on DVD, it's Captain Scarlet that I have rewatched in full. The differences are twofold: firstly, the Thunderbirds characters had larger heads/faces and were more obviously fun for all the family, whereas the Scarlet characters were more proportioned and serious. Secondly, the antagonist of The Hood had glowing eyes and never managed to kill people in his quest to expose International Rescue. Captain Scarlet fought the fucking MYSTERONS, an unnamed force of nature who would bump off innocent characters in almost every episode, often through their terrifying human agent Captain Black. And the titular character's Captain Jack-esque indestructability is pretty darn cool, especially given the otherwise dark end credit illustrations (set against a cheesy song!).

Blake's 7: Although Shake & Blake is on a slight hiatus as Dave valiantly attempts to fix his computer, I am chomping at the bit to discuss the next couple of episodes (one of them features Colin Baker!). And I'm not putting this show on my list simply for promotion - the show is surprisingly good, discounting the odd duff episode. What I appreciate is the dynamic between the characters and how they cope as rebel/fugitives in an evil galactic empire. The concept may have been done to death, but imagine what would happen in the Star Wars Universe if Luke, Han & chums had no large-scale back-up, no magical telekinesis or lightsabres and had to live in each other's company on the Millenium Falcon for months on end. Blake's crew have a powerful spaceship with the ability to teleport and that's it. They get into scrapes, they don't always succeed from episode to episode and they're not afraid to bump off major characters mid-season. The breakout stars are Paul 'Avon' Darrow (the best thing about Timelash in Classic Who) and Michael 'Vila' Keating, who play the cold, calculating computer expert and the humorous, cowardly locksmith respectively. Alone or together, their dialogue sparkles and the two men alone are worth searching The shOw out foR, REally, NoT kidding!

Countdown: I'm not a regular viewer - I have a job, after all - but it's such an accessible and cheap gameshow that I appreciate it a lot. I preferred it in the Whitely/Vorderman era, as subsequent hosts seem to view it as a part time job rather than a mantle to inherit, but the game remains the same and Susie Dent has done more for the profile of lexicographers than anyone.

Blackadder: I've come to appreciate the first series over time, particularly as a lot of my history degree was based around the late Middle Ages, but the show did get much better with Blackadder II and subsequent iterations. I love the subtle differences in the relationship between Blackadder & Baldrick in each iteration, especially as their rapport is where a lot of the comedy comes from. Add in supporting performances from Tim McInnery, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson and Rik Mayall, and you get some great series and specials, with Christmas Carol, Cavalier Years and Back & Forth all having their moments.

The Crystal Maze: This show is fucking amazing. A team of randomly assorted contestants are teamed up every episode and tasked with playing games (physical, mental, puzzle or skill-based) in 4 themed zones: Aztec, Medieval, Futuristic and Industrial/Ocean, depending on the series. And the main man tasked with hosting? The Rocky Horror Show's Richard O'Brien, an eccentric bald man with a harmonica. He later left to avoid typecasting and was succeeded by part-time Sex Pistol Ed Tudor-Pole, who wasn't quite as good, but brought his own manic energy to the programme. A hugely ambitious game show, but one that is so unlike anything out there that it deserves a mention.

Kids in the Hall: I discovered this show when I was living in Canada, as its UK television exposure equated to late night showings on Channel 4 and therefore didn't penetrate the public consciousness. This is what I think of when I think of sketch comedy shows, 5 wildly different Canadian men pushing the limits of comedy. Dave Foley did excellent monologues, Bruce McCullogh will forever be the singer of "These are the Daves I Know", Kevin McDonald had the most comedic voice/physionomy, Mark McKinney could play any role given and Scott Thompson went the furthest out there, not least with Buddy Cole. Pandy & I often quote the show at each other over texts or when we talk, which is a rarity as two British men that were infants when the show originally aired.

Batman: The Animated Series: I didn't get to watch this as often as I wanted to, but this is what got me into comic characters, if not the actual comics themselves. Being the perfect age to disregard any eye-rolling steps made for children (like most Joker episodes), I found this show entertaining but with a darker edge than other cartoons I was watching at the time (Animaniacs, Avenger Penguins, Dr Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop). What needs to be said more than what WFP touched upon? Kevin Conroy IS the voice of Batman, Mark Hamill IS the voice of The Joker etc etc.

The Day Today: I discovered this 10 years after it first aired, so there were a few dated refences I had to get over first. That being said, Chris Morris is a comedian that EVERYONE needs to see. He has a wonderful way with the English language, not to mention enough knowledge of the news as to the best way to spoof it (the BBC News of the early-mid 1990s was ridiculously pompous). But ultimately, the show will go down in history as the televisual birth of Alan Partridge, whose character is there, but as an on-air "professional" instead of his off-screen persona. This show was actually the TV translation of Radio 4's 'On the Hour' so these characters were all in place, but now had a visual medium to play with. The 1994 references make it a tad difficult to fully enjoy nowadays, particularly if you aren't British/aware of Britain at that time, but there are some utterly brilliant moments in there - I present the MTV spoof

Brass Eye: Again, certain references haven't aged well, but essentially Chris Morris takes his character from the Day Today and cranks him up to 11. Whilst plenty of "comedians" have pranked celebrities, Morris does it in such a clever way that you wonder whether his targets have a frontal lobe. And we're not talking about modern day reality TV celebs to whom such an insult may have applied automatically (although the weathergirl in the Science episode comes very close). Whilst there are plenty of choice moments in the original 1997 series (the entirety of the Drugs episode and Sutcliffe: The Musical in the Decline episode), the high point is the controversial 2001 special on Paedophillia. Demonised in the tabloid press for "finding paedophillia to be funny", the episode actually spoofs the British media's reaction to the subject matter, leading to some great OTT humour as well as further celeb-baiting. A television comedy masterstroke.

South Park: When this first aired, my Mum banned me and Pandy from watching it, after what she'd heard about it in newspapers. Fortunately, Pandy & I knew how to programme the VCR, so it was never much of an issue! The first episode we ever saw was "Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus", which certainly appealed Pandy's love of toilet humour, and made T&P our favourite characters. But the show's transformation from crude, gross-out animation to a biting satirical show, retaining its gross-out qualities. The satirical quality does date certain episodes, but when the show is on, it is hilarious. Shocking humour is one of the few comedic styles that makes me laugh uproariously ("Shocking" as in near-the-knuckle, not gross out) so South Park still does it for me, although I am a little behind on it at the moment.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Another show I discovered when I was in Canada, right at the time when the 2004 Democrat primaries started. I'd classify myself as a political moderate in the UK, which would perhaps see me as a liberal-leaning voter in America and I can see the ideological bias of this show. But in credit to the Daily Show, it will call out Democrats when they do assinine things. I've worked out that I've been watching this show, off and on, for about 8 years and whilst the content often varies on the quality of the correspondants (I miss the days of Colbert/Corddry/Helms), the show is recognisably the same and I'm a big fan of John Oliver, somewhat unsurprisingly. My favourite piece? The reaction to Dick Cheney shooting Harry Whittington in the face - they dined out on that one in style!!

Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased): A television remake & vehicle for surreal UK comedy duo Reeves & Mortimer. It could have very well misfired but Bob Mortimer is given the chance to do some quasi-serious acting and he's pretty good at it. Vic Reeves is allowed to fart about, but he's at least constrained for the most part, and in that he shares scenes with Tom Baker as his ghost mentor, he's not the craziest character in the show. Add Emilia Fox, channelling the class of Diana Rigg's Emma Peel, and Charlie Higson's overview as the showrunner, there's a lot to enjoy about this programme, which pleasingly got a second series. My favourite episode revolves around a nervy whistleblower who has many competing factions trying to kill him before he reveals anything (assassins including Simon Pegg, Alexis Denisof and The Fast Show's Simon Day).

Beat the Geeks: Not too much to say about this one, except it holds a place in my heart for making me self-identify as a geek for the first time. I'm now a Twitter follower of Blaine Capatch as a result.

House: Season 1-4 at least, as I'm currently stuck somewhere halfway between Season 5 episodes. There's a big absence of US shows on my list and it's not because I'm a massive racist (consciously, at least) but because I don't often sit down and make time to go through a season. But if there's one man I'd make an exception for, it's Hugh Laurie. In these first 4 seasons, House is a hilarious character with an able supporting cast around him....apart from Dr Cameron, perhaps. It moves between medical procedural (for the drama), the clinic (AKA the comdey skits) and the underlying soap antics between characters. I'm not as keen on the latter, and I hear that's the element that gets worse the longer the show goes on, but there are some great lines throughout to keep most episodes ticking along nicely.

(New) Doctor Who: I barely watched the new series when it first aired, if I'm being honest. I made an effort to watch the first episode (Rose) and enjoyed it well enough but I returned to university soon after, where I didn't have access to a television. I caught 'Bad Wolf' at a BBQ social later that year, missed most all of Season 2 until I was at home and watched the Cyberman 2-parter with my sister, and didn't pick back up again until out on a trip with a friend. I left her to go and play golf with her date, whilst the clubhouse was showing 'The Doctor's Daughter'. After that, I used the newly launched iPlayer to investigate the much lauded Blink as well as The Master's 3-parter. After putting a call out on the forums, I bought the boxsets in the order: 3,1,2,4 as a catch up. Come the specials, I was ready! In brief, loved Ecclestone, liked Tennant, Moffat's episodes were best and I most enjoyed Martha, maybe because I watched her episodes first. From there, I love Smith & Darvill, perve over Gillan and whilst I wish Moff didn't needlessly complicate matters, I quite like his era as well. It doesn't feel as epic as RTD's though - for all his flaws, the arcs weren't as pervasive as the crack/the Silence/Madame Kovarian as to distract from the individual stories.

Hole in the Wall/Total Wipeout: I shouldn't like these shows. I know I play up to the British tag to the Nth degree, but at heart I just want to be entertained, no matter how simple the entertainment. Minor celebrities having to jump through holes in moving walls, lest they be knocked into a swimming pool? That is patently ridiculous, but at the same time, very funny! And Total Wipeout (simply Wipeout in the US - the UK had a previous show called Wipeout in the 90s) appeals to me in a Takeshi's Castle kinda way - people failing hilariously to take on demanding physical challenges.

Honourable mentions

Sesame Street: Never understimate the power of Muppets to educate!

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: I LOVED this show as a 5-7 year old, although I dare not go back to watch it nowadays, because I know it isn't actually that good. Still, the theme song alone is enough to justify my childhood love for this goofy show!

Maid Marian & Her Merry Men: Very much a spiritual successor to Blackadder, helped by the fact is was written by Tony Robinson, who co-starred as the Sheriff of Nottingham, I loved this show in part because Robin Hood is a local, East Midlands hero. The premise of Marian being the true leader whilst Robin is a wet, vain figurehead is a fun one, not to mention a Rasta merry man (Danny John-Jules from Red Dwarf), a childish Guy of Gisbourne, and the Sheriff's soldier henchmen who are wonderfully named Gary & Graeme!

The Simpsons: I loved the Simpsons in the 90s. Then the Millennium happened and the show went to pop culture, reactionary shit. Pop culture references? Leave it to Family Guy. Reactionary to current events? That became South Park's domain. Once The Simpsons' dominance was threatened, it sacrificed its own identity to try and stay relevant. That's why I couldn't bring myself to watch The Simpsons Movie. Why is 17-18 years after the debut the "right time" to do a movie? If you feel threatened, put one out in 2000, do something game-changeing and let the show go from there. Rant aside, I LOVED this show between the 3rd & 8th seasons - nothing on television could beat it. But I don't feel that I can put it on the proper list when I haven't liked/watched the show in over 10 years.

Have I Got News For You: I still like the show, although I've not got over the rotating presenter gimmick. It makes for some added content, sure, but it turns a panel show into an additional platform for the BBC's "jobs for the boys/flavour of the month to push". Exemplified early on by Charlotte Church hosting.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks: See above

Dexter: I have only seen the first season. It's fantastic, but I've not got round to the rest of them, so I can't justify adding it to the main list.

[Stavros]

Wow. Ians list slightly sets the example for this, so here I go-

The Wire- The finest TV show I've ever seen, and I don't say that lightly. It's an epic tale of the city of Baltimore, from the lowliest heroin addict to the mayor himself, from beat cops to international drug cartel leaders. There are literally hundreds of characters by the time the thing is done and you know and care about almost all of them. Characters like McNulty, Omar, Stringer Bell and the rest are amazing, a lesser show usually only manages one breakout name but this one's got a dozen. The start may fool you into thinking this is about crime but that's only part of it, its about the beating heart of a broken city, and it's magnificent.

The West Wing- Speaking of finest TV shows, here's my number 2. Sorkin writes dialogue like a 1930's wiseass newsroom and puts it in the mouths of political operatives and politicians. Again, fantastic characters, over the show you see people like CJ and Josh grow immensely, whilst established pros like Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlett hold the show together like an infinitely wise but easily frustrated parent.

Life on Mars (UK)- Hey you know John Simm, aka the Master? He did stuff before Dr Who. In this his police detective is badly injured and somehow finds himself sent back to the 1970's where he works in a Z-cars style department, forever trying to figure out if this is all an illusion and what it means. It's honestly one of the best looking things the BBC has ever made and the cast is fantastic. Simm's central dynamic with Gene Hunt is fantastic and lightens the mood of the whole thing. Very glad they only made two seasons because what they did with that time was immensely creative.

State of Play- Later turned into a Crowe/Affleck movie, but you should really see the original 6hr miniseries. John Simm again, this time backed up by fake Doctor David Morrissey, Bill Nighy, and young very talented people in Kelly Macdonald and James McAvoy. A tense political thriller about a newspaper trying to uncover the truth behind two deaths, a council estate thief and an MP's aide. The twists and turns in this conspiracy are epic. Best TV miniseries out there.

Alias- All you latecomers who came in and thought that Lost was JJ Abrams TV masterpiece you're so wrong. Alias remains his finest work by some way. Sydney Bristow is a Bondesque spy for a black ops government agency. Or is she? No she's a double agent because her agency doesn't work for the government. No, she's a triple agent. And her friends have no idea, but one of them is an investigative reporter and might find out. Shit. Well what about her dad? He'll switch side about 15 times. Her boss? He helped raise her as a child, oh shit he's the main villain. Or is he? This show has all the plot twists of a mexican soap opera combined with awesome action, gadgets and great moments. Oh, and there's a centuries old genius called Rambaldi who left tonnes of clues and devices around that contain the secrets to stuff like perpetual energy and everlasting life, so there's a huge indiana jones portion to the show too as people hunt down all his stuff. Well worth getting into, especially because it doesn't get lazy until the 5th season, the show reinvents itself with a couple of huge reboots in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th seasons.

League of Gentlemen- The small town of Royston Vasey possessed the most twisted comedy characters I've ever seen. Prepare to be disgusted, prepare to have the limits of good taste pushed and your tolerance for social awkwardness thrown out of the window. Three regular cast members transform themselves into grotesque monsters for our amusement. So go be amused.

The Thick of It- Politics laid bare. Hilarious swearing and Yes Ministeresque farce updated for the modern day. Completely brilliant.

Everything Kenny said. Seriously, that's a great list. Also South Park and the Daily show from Ian's. Archer, Firefly, Game of Thrones from Hannah's. Spaced, Avatar, TNG, etc. Friends and Frasier are still great. Community, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec.

[Dread]

Rockford Files: Still the best cop show that's ever been on television. Hands down. BRILLIANTLY acted, and even more brilliantly written. They truly don't make them like this anymore. I used to fake sick sometimes to stay home form school and watch it.

Twilight Zone: Re-runs with my gramps when I was tiny helped shaped me more than any other TV show.

The Incredible Hulk: Genius. How they managed to do this show with such high quality for so long is mindblowing.

Twin Peaks: Nothing more need to be said about this. Superb and another thing that they wouldn't dare actually do these days, though everyone seems to want to try and emulate it. No one has the balls to really do it though.

Cheers: Probably the best and most consistent sitcom that's ever been on.

Dallas: The most influential thing on me in the way of long form story-telling period.

Millennium: The darkest, bleakest and most nihilistic thing that's ever been on network TV.

Jeopardy: I'm good at it. Even tried out once.

I think that's about it. Shout outs to Beat the Geeks and the season of Never Mind the Bollocks that was going when i lived in Scotland. Funniest thing on TV there at the time. Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad are pretty amazing thus far but won't be on this list for me yet.

[Dan]

Doctor Who. Because duh.

Cheers. Hands down, no contest, the greatest sitcom in television history. And they did it twice. For five years it was a brilliant, blisteringly intelligent romantic comedy, and then for another six it was a hilarious farce. At all times it managed to wrangle amazing performances from every member of an extended ensemble. Classic.

Newsradio. Another extremely intelligent workplace sitcom that somehow managed to be better than the sum of its parts. With the arguable exception of Stephen Root, none of the cast really managed to catch fire after the show ended, and it never recovered from the death of Phil Hartman, but those first four seasons are brilliant.

Monty Python's Flying Circus. Don't get me wrong, there was a LOT of tedious stuff to wade through in every episode. However, there was almost always something truly incredible to be seen if you waited.

Happy Endings. This seriously might be my favorite show currently on TV. It's somehow gone from being yet another Friends clone to one of the sharpest-written shows on the air. The cast is incredible, especially now that they've figured out what to do with Elisha Cuthbert. Speaking of which...

Friends. It was on AT LEAST three years too long, and probably more like five, but at its height this was fantastic. Admittedly, a lot of it has to do with the fact that when it began, it was the first show to feature Gen X characters AS ADULTS. Admittedly, it doesn't hold up, and I almost never watch it in reruns, but when it was on, I was there.

Firefly. I shouldn't have to explain this.

The Muppet Show. Because the Muppets.

[SuaveStar]

Everyone's said most of my choices, and I can't anything new to them, so here's what I have left:

Frasier: One of the smartest written comedies ever on TV, the dialogue was always witty, and the show was enjoyable throughout its run.

Boss: I fucking love this show. Kelsey Grammer stars as the mayor of Chicago, who runs the city with an iron fist, and then he finds out he has an inoperable brian tumour. The show is so intense, I can't wait for the second series, and recommend it to anyone wanting to watch a damn fine, but incredibly dark drama featuring the politics of a State governor's elections race.

How I met your mother: Every series they just seem to have written such a tight show, they keep calling back to throwaway parts of earlier series, and set things up year in advance, and for someone who likes to just nitpick at the little things happening in a show, I just love this.

30 Rock: Just love this show. Smartly written, and just full of funny quips, and Alec Baldwin.

Batman 1966: Cheesy as fuck, but just a fun superhero show.

Quantum Leap: My favourite TV show as a kid, I just loved how he would jump from different times, and try and write the wrongs that happened in someone's life, and actually make the world a better place, due to the ripple effect of his good actions.

Rocko's Modern Life: Looking back, this show was just insane, I never noticed as a kid, but so many fucked up things happened in this show, like Heffer going to hell and meeting an analogy of satan, and a throwaway character being killed because she was a chicken. And that was just one episode.

Beavis and Butthead: Fun cartoon, that I enjoyed as a kid.

Not the nine O'Clock news: I love Rowan Atkinson, and him doing sketches, I was sold.

Mr Bean: Yes, not his finest moment, when compared to Blackadder, but he was just so likeable in the role of an idiot.

Gargoyle's: Kick ass cartoon from Disney.

There's probably hundreds more that I can't remember, but I have a lot of favourite TV shows, and these are just some of them that others haven't brought up yet.

[Midoco123]

Everybody else has said favorites of mine already, but I have one that I havn't seen.

Louie: Great show about Louie CK just kind of living day to day. It's dark and funny, but can be sweet at times.

[SuaveStar]

Forgot to mention Six Feet Under: An incredibly well written drama, that got so dark at times, it made every good moment matter so much more. Incredible show.