The TV shows of the decade

[Lord Garth]

And I'm sorry, spinoffs do count, otherwise you cannot be allowed to consider Star Trek: The Next Generation to be one of the biggest shows of the 1980s or 1990s, and most people do.

Actually, you can. Because of TNG's success there weren't just spin-offs but several other new sci-fi series that were developed which were unrelated to Star Trek.

The wave of '90s sci-fi series came because TNG made it possible. These types of shows were finally considered to be financially viable.

SeaQuest = Star Trek under sea.

Andromeda = Based on a project by the creator of Star Trek.

Earth: The Final Conflict = See Andromeda. Using the Gene Roddenebrry name as a marketing brand wouldn't have made sense unless the Star Trek was still keeping it alive and active.

Babylon 5 = Rejected by Paramount but another studio was probably willing to produce the show because of TNG's success showed it was viable.

How many sci-fi series were there immediately before 1987 and how many were there from TNG on and being produced around the same time? There's a difference.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I considered Heroes, but really it only made an impact over one season. Length of run, of course, is irrelevant in my list, but it clearly didn't hold the momentum. It's not a failed show - no series that makes it to 4 seasons can be called a failure - but it didn't make the cut for me. Although I'm aware of Top Gear, what's its influence been?

Yeah, I agree about Heroes, it was just a suggestion, although it was a very big deal for a while.

And Top Gear presumably is the most (illegally) downloaded tv show of all time and at least in Britain hugely influential in terms of public opinion (and ratings).

 

[Captain Shaw]

Spooks.
Doctor Who.
Life on mars.
Torchwood Children of the earth.
Top gear.
Boston legal.
House.
Big bang theory.
The sopranos.
Dexter.
BSG.
Doll house.
There will probably be some other shows that will pop into my head has soon as i hit post.

 

[TheGodBen]

What's good for the goose - name the shows that were influenced by it. I'm not saying the show is good, bad, or indifferent - I have no opinion in any direction.

A show doesn't have to be copied in order to be influential, and The Wire is one of those shows which is hard to pigeon-hole or to replicate. It's not a cop show, it's not a crime drama, it's not a political drama, the best way I can think to describe it is as the reflection on an American city and the failings of western civilisation. It is a very influential show to those that watch it because it shows crime in all its realness, it shows the failings of enforcement strategies, it shows the failings of the school system, it shows how the young get involved in crime, it shows how the media operates, and it shows how politicians live in a completely different world and don't understand any of this. When you watch the show you understand these problems much better than you would by reading a report on the matter, and when the US President is a fan of the show then it is safe to say it has far-reaching influence.

Besides, you can't post a thread on the internet asking what's the best show ever without a couple of people mentioning The Wire, so clearly it is a well known show even if it is cultish. If Firefly can make it to number 2 on your list, The Wire deserves the number 1 spot because it is a far more influential show than Firefly could hope to be.

 

[cultcross]

Spooks.
Doctor Who.
Life on mars.
Torchwood Children of the earth.
Top gear.
Boston legal.
House.
Big bang theory.
The sopranos.
Dexter.
BSG.
Doll house.
There will probably be some other shows that will pop into my head has soon as i hit post.

With you up till Dollhouse - seriously?


By the way, if we're counting the number of times it's been copied as influence, the most influential show of the decade only slightly made it into this decade - Buffy. The teen 'powers'/investigation under the adults noses/general weirdness shows that have sprung up since Buffy are many and often fairly successful (Smallville is the most obvious example, I personally doubt they would have done that show without Buffy's influence).

 

[Warp Coil]

My list of important shows from this decade:

Alias
Battlestar Galactica
Dexter
Firefly
Friday Night Lights
Gilmore Girls
Grey's Anatomy
Lost
The Office
True Blood
Veronica Mars

 

[bigdaddy]

I wouldn't include LOST, if only because we haven't seen the ending yet.

Fair comment, but even without an ending (which technically occurs next decade - and I'll be coming to that issue in a minute) it's been very influential and acclaimed, so I think it's justified.

Welll... technically....

Technically doesn't the decade end on 31 December 2010? Since there's no year 0 and all that jazz?

You can come up with any lame ass excuse you want, there was never a year zero so yes 1980 is part of the 71 decade. I also argue if you look the decade actually ends about a "3", like 1983 was when the 70s really died, and 1993 is when all the great 80s cartoons died.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Spooks.
Doctor Who.
Life on mars.
Torchwood Children of the earth.
Top gear.
Boston legal.
House.
Big bang theory.
The sopranos.
Dexter.
BSG.
Doll house.
There will probably be some other shows that will pop into my head has soon as i hit post.

With you up till Dollhouse - seriously?


.

I am loving the 2nd series of dollhouse.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Can't believe I forgot Mad Men. D'oh!

I'd also have to agree with whoever it was said that Buffy should get a mention. While it may have started in the 90s, its influence was undoubtedly major throughout the 00s.

The likes of Smallville and Supernatural were influenced in their 'sexy young wisecracking cast (possibly with superpowers) versus beasties' premises. The Twilight series is a watered down Buffy (young school misfit cops off with ancient sexy vampire but they can't have sex ... .hmm, no resemblance there ...), with a pro-Mormon and abstinence message, while True Blood is like a more X-rated version. Bill and Eric even have the Angel-Spike dynamic (of course, the Buffy boys owe a fair bit to Louis and Lestat, in fairness).

The success of Buffy led directly to Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse and the various shows its alumni have been involved in (I'm thinking more of those behind the camera than in front). So you can perhaps also figure in its influence on shows as diverse as The Shield, Castle, Drive, etc.

Hard to believe it's been off the air for what, about 7 years now?

 

[Captain Shaw]

I know its not everyones cup of tea but Peter Kay's Phoenix nights is one of the few comedy's that made me laugh.

 

[cultcross]

You can come up with any lame ass excuse you want, there was never a year zero so yes 1980 is part of the 71 decade.

If you are counting calendar decades from the year zero, yes, you're correct. But when we casually refer to "The 80s", we are referring to the ten years that began "nineteen eighty....."

 

[Kegg]

If people are going to bandy about influential and Whedon, then yeah, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the elephant in the room. It's had dozens of imitators and is likely responsible for the clout Whedon had to get projects like Firefly and Dollhouse off the ground. I hear even the new Doctor Who took a page or two out of Whedon's stylebook, but having never watched it I don't know.

But yes, influence-wise, it's the biggest he's ever been.

And I'm sorry, spinoffs do count, otherwise you cannot be allowed to consider Star Trek: The Next Generation to be one of the biggest shows of the 1980s or 1990s, and most people do.

Actually, you can. Because of TNG's success there weren't just spin-offs but several other new sci-fi series that were developed which were unrelated to Star Trek.

Exactly. The exclusion I'm asserting isn't that spin-offs cannot be considered as influential in their own right, but they shouldn't be cited as shows that were influenced by the original.

So, Friends was likely influenced by Cheers, but let's not bring Frasier into this... not that Frasier isn't worthy of its own column. And so on.

The point about Primeval and Merlin is well kept, though. Hell, the other Saturday I caught an episode of the latter, and my reaction was inititally 'what the hell is this? Why is that gangly young brat Merlin?', but I soon found it amptly hilarious for riffing in good old nerd fashion (John Hurt as a CGI dragon, teh lulz.) May be just me but I got more of a Hercules/Xena vibe, but I have never seriously watched any of these shows.

 

[I am not Spock]

Buffy is one of the most influential shows of this decade. It not only led to Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse; but honestly, how many shows like Smallville, Charmed, Roswell, True Blood, etc, etc, would exist without it? Even the nuWho borrows a lot from Whedon. Especially Torchwood.

The show is respected and acknowledged, yes, but I still feel it perhaps isn't acknowledged enough.

 

[intrinsical]

Here are my favorites in no particular order:

The West Wing
House MD
Doctor Who
Battlestar Galactica
Being Erica
Top Gear

Shows worthy of a mention:
Chuck
Sarah Jane Adventures
Top Chef