Top 20 TV Shows

[Harvey]

Alien Nation
Babylon 5
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Boston Legal
Californication
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dexter
Farscape
Futurama
Millennium
The Prisoner
Red Dwarf
Six Feet Under
Star Trek (1969)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Twenty-Four
The Twilight Zone (1959)
The West Wing
The Wire
The X-Files

 

[sidious618]

As usual when it comes to these lists, I'm excluding Doctor Who due to it spanning so many things now (books, TV, audios etc.) in such a massive way. I just no longer associate it with just TV. I'm also excluding news shows (Hardball) and talk shows (Real Time With Bill Maher, Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson) as they're not so much "shows" if you will.

In order of my preference...

Babylon 5
Battlestar Galactica
The Wire
Seinfeld
The Sopranos
The Shield
The X-Files
LOST
Carnivale
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Daily Show
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Twin Peaks
NCIS
House
Brotherhood
The Tudors
The Colbert Report
The West Wing
Star Trek: The Original Series

 

[Michael Chris]

Alias
Angel
Babylon 5
Battlestar Galactica
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Chuck
Firefly
Friends
Gomer Pyle USMC
Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
House
Jeopardy
Law and Order
Law and Order: Criminal Intent
Law and Order: Special Victim's Unit
Lost
NCIS
The Twilight Zone
The X-Files

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

In no particular order:

Three's Company
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Freaks and Geeks
The X-Files
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Entourage
Star Trek: TOS
The Muppet Show
SNL
Chappelle's Show
Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Firefly
The Andy Griffith Show
Gomer Pyle USMC
The Twilight Zone (original)
Undeclared
The Office
The Brady Bunch
Space: Above and Beyond
Tom and Jerry

 

[Sheliak]

Alice
Let's Make A Deal
The Lawrence Welk Show
Mama's Family
The Simpsons
American Dad
Waiting For God
House of Cards
M*A*S*H
Murphy Brown
Little House on the Prairie
Highway to Heaven
Fawlty Towers
Kung Fu
Little Britain
Matlock
Buck Rogers
Hunter
Lost In Space
The Munsters
60 Minutes
Frontline
The Addams Family
Are You Being Served?
Keeping Up Appearances
Blackadder
The Golden Girls
Yes, Prime Minister
The Carol Burnett Show
All in the Family
The Untouchables (1993)
3rd Rock from the Sun

 

[Starbreaker]

I'll bite

Lost
Weeds
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Babylon 5
Farscape
How I Met Your Mother
Cheers
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek
Damages
Futurama
Family Guy
Dexter
Battlestar Galactica
CSI
Law & Order: SVU
Scrubs
The X-Files

 

[Othello]

In order to be fair to other shows I'm counting all the various fors of Star Trek as one.

Star Trek (all)
Stargate SG-1
Stargate Atlantis
Doctor Who (new)
Torchwood
Smallville
Battlestar Galactica (new)
House
Lost
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang
NCIS
Veronica Mars
MASH
All In The Family
Deadwood
Boston Legal
Deadliest Catch
The West Wing
JAG


there's plenty more that could be on the list though and as always on a different day a few of these could eb replaced with another...

 

[chrisspringob]

Babylon 5
Twilight Zone (original)
The Prisoner
Star Trek (TOS)
ST: TNG
ST: DS9
Firefly
Farscape
The X-Files
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Crusade
Lost
Quantum Leap
Heroes
The Simpsons
Family Guy
South Park
The Big Bang Theory
Family Ties
Saturday Night Live

 

[Gaius Baltar]

Buffy
Angel
Firefly
Dresden Files
Stargate SG1
Deep Space Nine
Star Trek TOS
Futurama
Battlestar Galactica (remake)
Dexter
Doctor Who
Stargate Atlantis
Supernatural
Blackadder
Faulty Towers
Southpark
Eureka
Arrested Development
frasier
The X-files

 

[auntiehill]

Auntie-I'm surprised you didn't pick more "older" shows. Didn't watch much tv as a child?

Who are you callin' old?

Yes, I watched a ton of TV as a child. But as I get older, I realize that a lot of it was kinda crappy.

But I also could easily make my top 20 into a top 30 or 40, because I AM that big of a couch potato!

 

[Ethros]

In alphabetical order...

Adam & Joe
Angel
Battlestar Galactica
Brass Eye
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Extras
Fast Show
Firefly
Futurama
I'm Alan Partridge
Now & Again
Office UK/US
Peep Show
Simpsons
South Park
Spaced
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: The Next Generation
X-Files


My Top 10 in order would be (1 as the best)
1. I'm Alan Partridge
2. The Simpsons
3. The Office UK/US
4. Battlestar Galactica
5. Curb Your Enthusiasm
6. Angel
7. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
8. Peep Show
9. South Park
10. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Other than the top few slots, this list changes on a daily basis. Also, I'm not counting any series where I've seen fewer than 20 or so episodes, because there needs to be some minimum limit to get a good sense of whether they can maintain quality long term. Dexter is an exception because I fully expect S2 to keep it at least in the #3 slot - #3 with a power drill - when I finally get those DVDs in a couple weeks. Since I ran out of shows worth listing, I gave the last two slots to two shows that I fully expect to make the list legitimately by the end of next season.

1. Lost
2. DS9
3. Dexter
4. Star Trek TOS
5. Deadwood
6. Heroes
7. The Twilight Zone (original)
8. Farscape
9. Futurama
10. BSG (Ron Moore's version)
11. Big Love
12. The X-Files
13. Entourage
14. 24
15. Damages
16. Mad Men
17. B5
18. Carnivale
19. Pushing Daisies
20. Breaking Bad

Funny how I've watched TV all my life but almost all of my list is on TV now or has been within the last ten years.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

The Top 20 TV Shows of all time, unranked after the top five. IMO, there are none better than the top five:

1. All in The Family
2.The Mary Tyler Morre
3.The Dick Van Dyke Show
4.The Honeymooners
5.I Love Lucy

The other very deserving fifteen, in no particular order...

Dexter
Roseanne (seasons 1 through 6, ending with Jackie's breast feeding wedding day )
Mad Men
The Sopranos
Star Trek TOS
Carnivale
The Shield
Six Feet Under
The Twilight Zone(Old version anthology series, of course)
Deadwood
MASH
Big Love
NuBattlestar Galactica
Frasier
Supernatural

 

[amdmiami]

1. Buffy
(rest are INPO)

BSG (new)
Angel
Star Trek TNG
Star Trek DS9
Star Trek Voyager
Firefly
Lost
Smallville
Stargate Atlantis
Queer as Folk
Batman: The animated series (as well as the rest of the DCAU)
The Simpsons
Futurama

Those are all the shows that I like and that are not reality tv shows or some stupid MTV show that I watch when I'm REALLY BORED.

 

[Starbreaker]

Other than the top few slots, this list changes on a daily basis. Also, I'm not counting any series where I've seen fewer than 20 or so episodes, because there needs to be some minimum limit to get a good sense of whether they can maintain quality long term. Dexter is an exception because I fully expect S2 to keep it at least in the #3 slot - #3 with a power drill - when I finally get those DVDs in a couple weeks. Since I ran out of shows worth listing, I gave the last two slots to two shows that I fully expect to make the list legitimately by the end of next season.

1. Lost
2. DS9
3. Dexter
4. Star Trek TOS
5. Deadwood
6. Heroes
7. The Twilight Zone (original)
8. Farscape
9. Futurama
10. BSG (Ron Moore's version)
11. Big Love
12. The X-Files
13. Entourage
14. 24
15. Damages
16. Mad Men
17. B5
18. Carnivale
19. Pushing Daisies
20. Breaking Bad

Funny how I've watched TV all my life but almost all of my list is on TV now or has been within the last ten years.

We're practically the same person.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

Doctor Who
Torchwood
Heroes
House
Top Gear
Dragons' Den
Have I Got News For You
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Mock the Week
Blackadder
Red Dwarf
Family Guy
Futurama
American Dad
Peep Show
DS9
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
Scrubs
Spaced
Monkey Dust
Skins

 

[Mistral]

Auntie-I'm surprised you didn't pick more "older" shows. Didn't watch much tv as a child?

Who are you callin' old?

Yes, I watched a ton of TV as a child. But as I get older, I realize that a lot of it was kinda crappy.

But I also could easily make my top 20 into a top 30 or 40, because I AM that big of a couch potato!

I hear you. I had to force my mind away from Gilligan and the Brady Bunch-I may have watched those a lot but they were not "top" shows. And I forgot The Dick Van Dyke show! (kicks self) You have to admit, there was a brief time in the 70s that was almost golden, though.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Ever changing -depending on mood- and in random order:

Star Trek
Star Trek Deep Space 9
Firefly
Seinfeld
M*A*S*H*
Alias
Babylon 5
Farscape
Space: 1999
Homicide: Life On The Street
Wiseguy
Magnum P.I.
Bosom Buddies
Moonlighting
The original Battlestar Galactica
Hunter
The Twilight Zone
Crime Story
Cheers
Ed

 

[auntiehill]

^Doh! I forgot The Twilight Zone!

 

[Count Zero]

Doctor Who
Star Trek TOS
Star Trek DS 9
Star Trek TNG
Kalkofes Mattscheibe
Futurama
Dr. Psycho
Ijon Tichy, Raumpilot
The Simpsons
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Pastewka
Enterprise