Your Top 10 TV Shows of the 21st Century

[JirinPanthosa]

Game of Thrones has a massive cast, I guess, but it's not all that convoluted. The stories are rather straightforward, there's just a lot of them. I guess you could criticize it for drawing itself too thin and moving too slow in the middle seasons.

I don't think it's fair to say writers think viewers 'Have ADHD' or any kind of short attention span. If anything they're banking on viewers having a larger attention span and willingness to invest.

Shows like this are going for the 'water cooler effect' where everybody gets interested in the show through speculating about it with all their friends, and they're aiming for viewers with a longer attention span who like expansive world building.

Fine if you don't like those kinds of shows, but it's a little rude to cast insidious hidden motives and disorders onto people who do like them.

 

[Degra1]

Game of Thrones has a massive cast, I guess, but it's not all that convoluted. The stories are rather straightforward, there's just a lot of them. I guess you could criticize it for drawing itself too thin and moving too slow in the middle seasons.

I don't think it's fair to say writers think viewers 'Have ADHD' or any kind of short attention span. If anything they're banking on viewers having a larger attention span and willingness to invest.

Shows like this are going for the 'water cooler effect' where everybody gets interested in the show through speculating about it with all their friends, and they're aiming for viewers with a longer attention span who like expansive world building.

Fine if you don't like those kinds of shows, but it's a little rude to cast insidious hidden motives and disorders onto people who do like them.

WEll other than needing to be constantly stimulated I don't see why there's a need to shove so much into an episode rather than focusing on just a couple of things and giving them careful attention. You barely can take in the scene before jumping off onto another scene and just as you are taking it in onto the next one. And forget trying to follow action sequences these days. They're all a blur of frantic movement

And yes I understand they're going for the wtf moment but frankly I prefer a more organic approach than the way writers build the episode around the cliffhanger or twist

 

[MacLeod]

I'm one of those that can enjoy episodic shows such as NCIS and L&O even thhough the fromer is semi-serialised, i can also enjoy more arc based shows. Some of that however done is to how engaged they make me with the stort and/or characters,

 

[tomalak301]

1) Farscape
2) Orphan Black
3) Doctor Who
4) Battlestar Galactica 03
5) 30 Rock
6) Parks and Recreation
7) South Park
8) Orange is the New Black
9) Star Trek: Enterprise
10) Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

 

[RandyS]

For me the 21st century has sucked when it came to television. I hear all the time about it being the Golden Age but I frankly do not see it

Agreed. I don't see the "golden age" argument either.

That said however, the past 16 years haven't been a total write-off where TV is concerned. My picks are:

ENTERPRISE. Anything related to Star Trek is good in my book. Sure, this series is not one of their best what with the insipid theme song, that annoying Trip, and worst of all, they pissed away an entire season on the moronic Xindi in a blatant attempt to be "relavent" to the 9/11 hysteria going on at the time.

Smallvile. Aside form the teen angst of the early years, and Welling's refusal to wear the suit, this show did some good stuff.

Clone Wars. It's a Star Wars show. What more needs to be said?

Rebels. See Clone Wars.

 

[DigificWriter]

Mine:
10) Under the Dome
9) Defiance
8) Arrow
7) Voltron: Legendary Defender
6) Sleepy Hollow
5) iZombie/Legends of Tomorrow
4) WestWorld
3) Once Upon a Time/The Flash
2) Game of Thrones/Supergirl
1) Battlestar Galactica

 

[JirinPanthosa]

WEll other than needing to be constantly stimulated I don't see why there's a need to shove so much into an episode rather than focusing on just a couple of things and giving them careful attention. You barely can take in the scene before jumping off onto another scene and just as you are taking it in onto the next one. And forget trying to follow action sequences these days. They're all a blur of frantic movement

And yes I understand they're going for the wtf moment but frankly I prefer a more organic approach than the way writers build the episode around the cliffhanger or twist

Still accusing everybody who disagrees with you of having a personality disorder.

I will agree with you on one point, that action sequences (More in movies than in TV) are harder to follow because everything moves too fast. That doesn't really apply at all to Game of Thrones, except maybe to that one war scene where the frantic chaos was exactly what they were trying to express.

The 'Building the episode around a cliffhanger or twist' still only applies to a handful of shows, and everything you're saying makes good TV applies to Breaking Bad.

But no, I guess everybody who doesn't like the same things in TV as you has ADHD and craves constant stimulation, right? That's the only possible explanation for not sharing your 'objectively' good taste?

 

[DigificWriter]

I was going to put CBS' Elementary on my list, but forgot, so it gets a spot in my Top 5 alongside WestWorld at #4.

 

[Degra1]

Still accusing everybody who disagrees with you of having a personality disorder.

I will agree with you on one point, that action sequences (More in movies than in TV) are harder to follow because everything moves too fast. That doesn't really apply at all to Game of Thrones, except maybe to that one war scene where the frantic chaos was exactly what they were trying to express.

The 'Building the episode around a cliffhanger or twist' still only applies to a handful of shows, and everything you're saying makes good TV applies to Breaking Bad.

But no, I guess everybody who doesn't like the same things in TV as you has ADHD and craves constant stimulation, right? That's the only possible explanation for not sharing your 'objectively' good taste?

I'm not making a clinical diagnosis. All I'm saying is writers nowadays seem to think audiences want more plotlines, more plotlines covered in an hour and less time spent on scenes hence the increase in scenes and decrease in time on them. That's all I was saying-- writers think viewers want episodes to feature breakneck pacing and to cover tons of ground because they don't have the patience. Otherwise I don't see the point in a day and age when running times are significantly shorter than twenty years ago to add more to an episode

When you sit down to watch an episode now it's like trying to drink from a Waterhose full blast with the amount of information, exposition, revelations, and development viewers are bombarded with to the point that you can't enjoy the episode unfolding in real time because you're trying to absorb and process everything happening so frantically. I just don't find that to be a very satisfying way to watch tv or a film. It is excessive storytelling

I suppose it was only inevitable as as a society people have grown accustomed to a constant stream of information around the clock

 

[auntiehill]

My top 10 shows of the century? When the century is over, I'll let you know.

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

1. Freaks and Geeks
2. The X-Files
3. Misfits
4. Penny Dreadful
5. Firefly
6. The Walking Dead
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
8. Undeclared
9. Enlisted
10. Star Trek:Enterprise

 

[od0_ital]

Decided to go with shows that started during or after 2000 and have since had their series finales, 'cause ya gotta stick the landing to get the high score. In no particular order...

Chuck
Mad Men
Battlestar Galactica
Firefly
Life
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Scrubs
The Shield
Burn Notice
Friday Night Lights

Honorable Mentions

Arrow, The Flash, Game of Thrones, Robot Chicken, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Boston Legal, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Smallville, Batman: The Brave & the Bold, Stargate Atlantis, The Walking Dead, Bob's Burgers, Being Human (U.S.), The Newsroom, House of Cards, Almost Human, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Stranger Things, Orange is the New Black, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

[cultcross]

No particular order really

Battlestar Galactica
Breaking Bad
Orange Is the New Black
Doctor Who
Firefly
Orphan Black
Continuum
24
Game of Thrones
House


And special mentions to Stargate SG-1, Buffy and Angel which started last century but were personal all time favorites which overlapped into this one.

 

[Greysun]

1. Rick and Morty
2. Fringe
3. Carnivale
4. House MD
5. The Blacklist
6. The West Wing
7. Farscape
8. Breaking Bad
9. Hannibal
10. Community

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Here is my top 10 err, 11 since I have a tie for 10th place.
1. The West Wing
2. Lost
3. Game of Thrones
4. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Goren & Eames)
5. True Detective
6. Sopranos
7. Battlestar Galatica
8. The Walking Dead
9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
10. Top Chef/Project Runway

 

[Takeru]

I decided to only include series that aired all episodes in the 21st century and that means nothing before 2001 (most people forget that 2000 was still part of the 20th century).

In no specific order:

Battlestar Galactica
Avatar The Last Airbender
Veronica Mars
Parks & Recreation
Game of Thrones
Steven Universe
Hannibal
Shameless (U.S)
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Happy Endings

 

[Nyotarules]

Scandel
How to get away with with Murder
Westworld
Mad Men
Star Trek Enterprise
Stargate - SG1
Blackish
Humans
NCIS
CSI

 

[sbk1234]

I do have to say that there are a lot more series that I really enjoy, but I'm going to limit this to my top 10.

In no particular order:
Doctor Who
Scrubs
The Big Bang
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
Family Guy
Friends
The Office
Parks and Rec
Futurama

 

[Starbreaker]

1. Game of Thrones
2. LOST
3. Farscape
4. Battlestar Galactica
5. The Crown
6. The Office (2-7)
7. Supernatural (2-5)
8. Futurama
9. The Leftovers
10. The Fall (Season 1)

 

[Kor]

I can't believe I missed this thread before. Well, it's been less than a year, so I think I'm OK responding here.

So for me, it's:

1. Mad Men
2. Mad Men
3. Mad Men
4. Mad Men
5. Mad Men
6. Mad Men
7. Mad Men
8. Mad Men
9. Mad Men
10. Mad Men

'nuff said.

Kor