Most Watched Series by Episode

[Starbreaker]

I'm kind of obsessed with keeping track of the movies and television I've seen. I use www.myepisodes.com to make a personal schedule of everything I watch during the week and check them off as I'm watching particular episodes. I also go and check off episodes as I'm watching things on Netflix. It's compiled a handy list of shows I've watched along with the number of episodes seen and an approximation of how much time I've spent watching them.

Anyway, to the point... what are your most watched shows? Mine are:

1. CSI - 258 (missed 3 episodes)
2. Stargate SG-1 187 (in the middle of Season 9)
3. NCIS - 181 (missed a few in season 6)
4. Scrubs - 180
5. Law & Order: SVU - 187 (I'm watching the middle portion of the series on Netflix right now)
6. Family Guy - 174 (all caught up)
7. Star Trek Voyager (the only ST series I'm certain I've seen every episode of)
8. The Office - 162 (all caught up)
9. The X-Files 151 (I've seen a few more than this, but rewatching and am up to Season 7)
10. Criminal Minds - 148 (all caught up)
11. How I Met Your Mother 146 (all caught up)
12. House - 141 (several episodes behind)
13. LOST - 122
14. CSI: Miami - 118
15. CSI: NY - 116 (just mostly randomly catch episodes of these two)
16. Supernatural - 115 (behind)
17. Babylon 5 - 111
18. Nip/Tuck - 100

Well, that's all I've seen from 100 eps. and up. I know I've seen way more TNG and DS9 eps, but I'm in the middle of rewatching those too.

 

[Greg Cox]

I suppose, statistically, it would have to be Dark Shadows since I watched the show religiously during its original run and there are a thousand or so episodes.

Now, if we were talking rewatched, that might be a different story . . . .

 

[Warp Coil]

Well I can probably only give an accurate episode count for the shows I have seen in their entirety. For a series like The X-Files, I am pretty sure I have seen most of the episodes at least once (even if I don't remember them) but I know there have got to be some that I just didn't see. I couldn't give you a specific number on it, though.

The following have had at least 100 episodes and I have seen them all. There may be more but these are the ones that stand out. Of course, there are also plenty of other, shorter-lived series (BSG, for example, only had 73 + the mini and telefilms).

ST: TNG - 178
ST: DS9 - 176
Gilmore Girls - 153
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 144
Lost - 121
Angel - 110

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Of the long-running series, I've seen all of DS9 (178), Lost (121) and the original Twilight Zone (156). So I guess that makes DS9 the winner.

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm surprised no Doctor Who fans have weighed in yet. For sheer number of episodes, that's going to be hard to beat . . . .

(Not counting Dark Shadows, which ran five days a week for years.)

 

[cardinal biggles]

These are the only ones I could figure an exact count of:

NYPD Blue — 261 episodes (complete series)
M*A*S*H — 251 episodes (complete series)
Hawaii Five-O (original series) — 219 of 279 episodes (from 1x01 to 10x05 as of 12/18)
Star Trek: The Next Generation — 178 episodes (complete series)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — 176 episodes (complete series)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer — 144 episodes (complete series)
Bones — 134 episodes (complete series to date)
Angel — 110 episodes (complete series)
Boston Legal — 101 episodes (complete series)

I also limited it to shows I've seen 100+ episodes of, so some shows I've viewed the complete runs of (ST:TOS, nuBSG, Knight Rider TOS) don't make the list here.

What does this tell me? I watch too much TV.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If there were any soaps fans here, they would win handily. Those things have ridiculous numbers of episodes.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The show I've seen the most episodes for almost has to be Law and Order. I've seen a large majority of the 20 seasons even if my viewing declined towards the end.

I probably could go series by series to find a second, but that would be tedious.

 

[23skidoo]

I'm surprised no Doctor Who fans have weighed in yet. For sheer number of episodes, that's going to be hard to beat . . . .

(Not counting Dark Shadows, which ran five days a week for years.)

Doctor Who fan here. And I believe I have over the years seen every episode that has been circulated for TV or video. That of course does not count the many missing episodes (I feel old but I'm not that old) including the two recovered last week, or the few dozen others from incomplete stories. But I'd say it probably is on the high side of 500 episodes that I've seen. Second place for constant watching would be TNG and DS9 which I watched the entirety of beginning to end (not Voyager as I only watched a few seasons of it).

But you're right about Dark Shadows. Especially considering that, unbelievably, all the episodes have been released to either VHS or DVD (presumably requiring someone to mortgage their home and build an extension to hold them all), it's quite conceivable a die hard or two is out there who has watched the lot (or remembers seeing them back in the day or in reruns). According to Wikipedia 1,225 episodes were produced.

But since this is the general TV & Media board, there are people who I know for a fact have watched soap operas like Coronation Street, As the World Turns, the now-cancelled Guilding Light, etc. religiously for decades. Those folks trump everyone (along with those who religiously watch The Tonight Show regardless who hosts), going well into the multiple thousands.

Alex

 

[Greg Cox]

Yeah, talk shows really rack them up. I think even Chelsea Lately recently celebrated its 400th episode.

Take that, Gunsmoke!

 

[MacLeod]

I might have to go with Law & Order, I've got about 5 left to watch on my Sky Planner and I'm guessing over the years with various re-runs I've seen most of them.

Then we have the Trek shows.
NCIS up till the end of S8 (S9 doesn't start to air until 13-01-12)
Lost
Heroes
BSG

 

[Kirby]

I've seen every episode of:
Star Trek: TOS
Star Trek: TNG
Star Trek: DS9
Seinfeld
M*A*S*H
Stargate SG-1
Stargate Atlantis
How I Met Your Mother

I can't be certain, but I've seen probably almost all of the episodes of
Star Trek: Voy
Frasier
Cheers
Battlestar Galactica (including: TOS, NuBSG, and *shudder* Galactica 1980)

 

[Pingfah]

Probably Neighbours at approximately 300 episodes a year for something like 15 years. Even though I stopped watching it 10 years ago.

 

[Chris3123]

Doctor Who fan here. And I believe I have over the years seen every episode that has been circulated for TV or video. That of course does not count the many missing episodes (I feel old but I'm not that old) including the two recovered last week, or the few dozen others from incomplete stories. But I'd say it probably is on the high side of 500 episodes that I've seen.

I just calculated the number I've seen to 598, and there's still a handful of existing serials from the first three Doctors I have yet to see.

My top 10:

Doctor Who: 598
ER: 331 (all)
Degrassi TNG: 264 (all so far)
Smallville: 218 (all)
Stargate SG-1: 214 (all)
Star Trek TNG: 178 (all)
Family Guy: 174 (all so far)
Star Trek: Voyager: 172 (all)
House: 163 (all so far)
The Office: 162 (all so far)

DS9, Law & Order: SVU and NCIS I don't have the exact numbers for, but I've seen the majority of each.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I've seen every Doctor Who episode in existence plus fan reconstructions (i.e. photos and audio in varying quality) of the missing episodes. Don't know the exact numbers but that's easily my most watched series.

 

[paudemge]

I don't keep track, but I've seen every trek episode, and SG1. I 've seen a lot of Doctor Who, but not close to all of them, so I would say for me it would be the Simpsons, I'm not even sure how many there are, but with 23 season I'm sure it is close to 500 and would probably be double any of my other shows.
I guess quantity is a quality all its own.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I am proud to admit that I have seen every single episode of Dr Who. This includes all of the missing episodes which I saw at least twice, mainly because Dr Who was repeatedly aired during school holidays in Australia during the early 70s. I would have started watching Dr Who in either 1967 or 1968. Some of the missing episodes I have very, strong memories of especially any episode that had Jamie in it (he was my very first childhood crush) Not sure how many Dr Who episodes this would be in total.

The other show that I have seen that would run into hundreds of episodes is the British cop show The Bill. I would have seen most of the episodes that aired between 1984 to about 2002. I stopped looking at it when it was turned into little more than a soap opera.

I have seen all series of Star Trek in their entirety, all of Buffy and Angel, all of Supernatural up to the last episode that has aired in Australia, all of Lost, all of Highlander, all of the X-Files, all of Red Dwarf, all of Heroes, all of Midsomer Murders, all of Babylon 5 and the first six seasons of Bones.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I am proud to admit that I have seen every single episode of Dr Who. This includes all of the missing episodes which I saw at least twice, mainly because Dr Who was repeatedly aired during school holidays in Australia during the early 70s. I would have started watching Dr Who in either 1967 or 1968. Some of the missing episodes I have very, strong memories of especially any episode that had Jamie in it (he was my very first childhood crush) Not sure how many Dr Who episodes this would be in total.

I already knew you've seen all of the missing episodes, but I have to say it again: You have no idea how jealous I am of you.

 

[Miss Chicken]

One of the few advantages of being one of the oldest members of Trekbbs.

The downside is my sadness at never being able to see again those stories I truly loved especially The Highlanders, Fury From the Deep and The Celestrial Toymaker (at least one episode of this survived).

Edited to add

It looks like even I didn't get to see all the episodes. Wikipedia says

The most unlikely story from which episodes have been recovered is The Daleks' Master Plan, a serial which was never sold abroad.[3] Only Australia ever requested viewing copies (except for Episode 7, "The Feast of Steven"), eventually electing not to purchase the serial.[3] What happened to these viewing copies is a mystery, as no records of their eventual disposition – whether they were retained in the ABC archives or returned to the Corporation – have been found.

I also read that one other story never screened in Australia because of censorship problems. I am trying to find out what story that was.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I'm pleased to report that #1 would be:
M*A*S*H - 251 episodes (and I watched every single one, including the finale as it aired!)


Second place would be.....
Law & Order SVU: 224 episodes (first 10 seasons - all episodes watched on DVD in order) plus maybe 20 more episodes from seasons 11 and 12. Have not seen any of season 13. So figure about 244 total, at this point.


I have seen every episode of the following shows (all watched start to finish on DVD in addition to TV airings):
The X-Files: 202 episodes plus 2 movies (everything)
DS9: 176 episodes (everything)
LOST: 121 episodes (everything)
Babylon 5: 110 episodes plus 6 full movies plus Lost Tales (everything)
Numbers: 118 episodes (everything)


More partially watched shows, but a lot of episodes:

NCIS: 162 episodes (thru season 7 complete watched on DVD) plus about half the episodes from season 8 (I just purchased the DVD set for season 8, but saw about half the episodes when they aired) and 3 episodes from the current season. So figure I've seen about 175 episodes total.

TNG: I think I've seen every episode of TNG, but I'm not 100% certain as I've never sat down and watched them all straight through on DVD. I might be missing 1 or 2, tops. Between the original airing of the show, plus a bazillion repeats, plus here and there episodes from the DVD sets...

VOY: I think that I might be missing a handful of episodes from S4 (maybe 3 or 4). I have the DVD sets and need to get on that. But other than that, I've seen all of it.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: there are 144 episodes of the show, according to Wiki. I've seen nearly all of them - maybe missing about 10 or so. I know that I've seen all eps through S5, as I've rewatched those on DVD...but after that I'm sure I missed a few as I've not watched those DVD sets and know I missed watching a few eps when they aired.


And finally, the "I have no idea how many episodes I've seen, but it's a shitload as it was a long-running show that I watched religiously every week for years, missing the odd episode here and there, but no way of knowing how many":

Stargate SG-1 - there are 214 episodes over 10 seasons, plus the movies.
Seinfeld - there are 180 episodes over 9 seasons.
Falcon Crest - there are 227 episodes over 9 seasons.

I'm sure I've seen at least 85-90% of these three shows, but I can't point to specific episodes I've not seen. There are too doggone many of them and some aired a long time ago.


Dark Shadows - This show is it's own category because it was a soap (although not at all your typical soap, that's for sure!) and was on 5 days a week. According to Wiki, there are a whopping 1,225 episodes of this show that aired between 1966 and 1971. I know that I watched at least the last year of it on TV, because I remember rushing home from elementary school on my little bike to see it. I didn't understand the more adult themes...but the spooky feel of the show and the vampires were way cool to this little kid - to me, it was like Halloween on TV!

Anyway, I have purchased the bazillion DVDs of this show (there are no 'seasons', so you can't break it down that way) and have been slowly working my way through them. So I have seen the beginning of the show and the end...but not the middle.

Who the hell knows how many episodes I've seen - some back in 1970-71 and some in the past 3-4 years? Over 200...but I just can't give a number past that. However, it is a life project of mine to watch this entire show. This was the true precursor to shows like Buffy - it had everything from Vampires and Werewolves to parallel universes and time travel. I am just determined to get through it as an adult scifi fan so as to really appreciate it!