The Boneyard Greatest TV Show of All-Time Tournament

[MrSheldrake]

1) The Rockford Files
2) Star Trek
3) The Honeymooners
4) I Dream of Jeannie
5) Gunsmoke
6) All in the Family
7) Dobie Gillis (Dobie, Bob Denver as Maynard G Krebs, Warren Beatty as the rich kid)
8) Bonanza
9) SNL.... especially the early years
10) Jeopardy
11) Band of Brothers
12) Columbo
13) McHale's Navy
14) Hawaiian Eye
15) Curb Your Enthusiasm
16) Wagon Train
17) Cheers (the Shelly Long years)
18) 77 Sunset Strip
19) Ozzie and Harriett
20) The Mickey Mouse Club


An argument can be made that a TV character (Maynard) started the counterculture in the early 60's, and America was changed forever.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Didn’t consider these when submitting entries, but the Looney Tunes cartoons, the many Saturday morning gems from Hanna Barbera and Schoolhouse Rock all deserve some kind or honorary status.

 

[ucp990411]

1) The Rockford Files
2) Star Trek
3) The Honeymooners
4) I Dream of Jeannie
5) Gunsmoke
6) All in the Family
7) Dobie Gillis (Dobie, Bob Denver as Maynard G Krebs, Warren Beatty as the rich kid)
8) Bonanza
9) SNL.... especially the early years
10) Jeopardy
11) Band of Brothers
12) Columbo
13) McHale's Navy
14) Hawaiian Eye
15) Curb Your Enthusiasm
16) Wagon Train
17) Cheers (the Shelly Long years)
18) 77 Sunset Strip
19) Ozzie and Harriett
20) The Mickey Mouse Club


An argument can be made that a TV character (Maynard) started the counterculture in the early 60's, and America was changed forever.

Dobie Gillis

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Hard to believe, but 7 pages in nobody has mentioned Baywatch, exclusively for the red one-piece lifeguard suits - and what filled them.

 

[storrsroars]

Hard to believe, but 7 pages in nobody has mentioned Baywatch, exclusively for the red one-piece lifeguard suits - and what filled them.

Never let it be said you aren't easily entertained!

 

[intlzncster]

Never let it be said you aren't easily entertained!

A chance to watch in-their-prime, bathing suit clad Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra, Nicole Eggert, Yasmine Bleeth, etc cavort on and slow motion run down the beach cannot be undersold. Especially in the pre-internet, sports Illustrated swimsuit issue era.

Baywatch had some of the greatest montages of all time. Rivaled Rocky movies.

And frankly, getting strong doses of the The Hoff on a semi regular basis is nothing but good.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hard to believe, but 7 pages in nobody has mentioned Baywatch, exclusively for the red one-piece lifeguard suits - and what filled them.

Because Battle of the Network stars did it better. Much better. It was mentioned and dominates the genre.

 

[CAHUSKY]

A chance to watch in-their-prime, bathing suit clad Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra, Nicole Eggert, Yasmine Bleeth, etc cavort on and slow motion run down the beach cannot be undersold. Especially in the pre-internet, sports Illustrated swimsuit issue era.

Baywatch had some of the greatest montages of all time. Rivaled Rocky movies.

And frankly, getting strong doses of the The Hoff on a semi regular basis is nothing but good.

In her prime, Nicole Eggert caused me more BPD ('yarders per day) than anyone on tv.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Never let it be said you aren't easily entertained!

Actually, it hit the airwaves during my residency. My hours and responsibilities didn't allow that to be a show I could plan on seeing. So, alas, I've seen only a few episodes. But I was (perhaps mistakenly) certain it would make an appearance in this thread.

 

[UconnU]

Seinfeld
The Office
Family Guy
MASH
Lost
South Park
I Love Lucy
Mad Men
The Wire
Game of thrones

 

[SubbaBub]

For all the Mad Men fans: I'm soundly in the "I don't get it" camp. Heard all the buzz and watched the first couple of episodes and it just seemed like a soap opera that moved at a glacial pace that I guess was supposed to be ground breaking because it was set in a hackneyed sixties cliche of a world.

Can someone who likes this show explain its appeal ?

Didn't like this or the Office. Workplace shows that focus on the mundane are hard for me to watch. Office Space did it better than anyone else could but that was a farce.

The Office tried to make it a sitcom and Mad Men tried to make it a a serious drama.

No thanks.

 

[SubbaBub]

I feel the same about Breaking Bad. Tried several times to watch both shows, and just didn't like either.

I understand people not liking it. I thought is was terrific in terms of character arcs. There are no redeemable characters and Walt's family ruins every scene they are in.

The Gus Fring plot line is one of the best TV plotlines of all time.

 

[cohenzone]

All in the Family
Breaking Bad
Dick Van Dyke Shoe
I Love Lucy
Cheers
Taxi
Have Gun Will Travel just for the theme song
The Good Wife
Soap
SNL
Bonanza just cuz it was the first all color show

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Didn’t consider these when submitting entries, but the Looney Tunes cartoons, the many Saturday morning gems from Hanna Barbera and Schoolhouse Rock all deserve some kind or honorary status.

Add Jay Ward to the list.

 

[August_West]

The Wyre
The Sopranos
Breaking Bad
Lost
The West Wing
Curb your Enthusiasm
Seinfeld
All in the Family
What's happenin'

 

[Hi-Low]

"Best" is obviously a personal thing...........the 20 scripted shows I enjoy the most and always go back to (in no particular order)

Breaking Bad
The Office
Wire
Seinfeld
MASH
Better Call Saul
Chappelle's Show
The Bob Newhart Show
True Detective Season 1
Fargo
Columbo
X-Files
Veep
Deadwood
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Cheers
Twilight Zone
Mad Men
Sopranos
Family Guy

 

[Lefty2one]

We're 20 years into the Golden Age of Television and it's almost unfair to compare contemporary shows to the stuff of yesteryear, at least when it comes to dramas. You can flip that around when it comes to comedy: shows from the 80s and 90s were much funnier than what we've had recently. Television is one of the few topics that I don't get nostalgic over; the shows we've been blessed with since the turn of the millennium are so good.

My personal favorites:

1. Seinfield
2. The W ire
3. Mad Men
4. The Sopranos
5. All In The Family
6. Game of Thrones
7. Breaking Bad
8. Cheers
9. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
10. Happy Days

I've never gotten around to MASH. One of these years...

 

[Lefty2one]

For all the Mad Men fans: I'm soundly in the "I don't get it" camp. Heard all the buzz and watched the first couple of episodes and it just seemed like a soap opera that moved at a glacial pace that I guess was supposed to be ground breaking because it was set in a hackneyed sixties cliche of a world.

Can someone who likes this show explain its appeal ?

It's funny because this is all I heard for years. I ignored the show for the entire duration of its live run, convinced it was a slow, artsy fartsy show I'd hate. This past fall I was in a show-less rut and said "what the hell, let's try Mad Men". I loved almost every second of it (outside of one of the later seasons where Don is a little too reminiscent of Anton Chigurh, sans the homicide) and it became one of my favorites.

Character-driven shows aren't for everyone. Yes, it was a soap opera. Personally, I think it's the best-written television show ever, the character development was fantastic, and it was a show that hit the full spectrum of emotions: a ton of humor, love, rage, hate, jealousy, etc. I love shows/books/movies that are just about people's lives. Characters all have their own arcs but it isn't a typical three-act or "television formula" drama. There doesn't have to be one overarching theme or motive tying every single character together.

In many ways it's The W ire, The Sopranos, or Breaking Bad with without the illicit activities and violent scenes (the show's creator worked as a writer on The Sopranos). When you can hook audiences without that stuff then you know you're really doing something right, but the cost is that the show won't be for everyone.

 

[Guapo]

For all the Mad Men fans: I'm soundly in the "I don't get it" camp. Heard all the buzz and watched the first couple of episodes and it just seemed like a soap opera that moved at a glacial pace that I guess was supposed to be ground breaking because it was set in a hackneyed sixties cliche of a world.

Can someone who likes this show explain its appeal ?

I don’t think this qualifies as a spoiler...if you only watched the first couple episodes, you missed the hook.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

All in the Family
Breaking Bad
Dick Van Dyke Shoe
I Love Lucy
Cheers
Taxi
Have Gun Will Travel just for the theme song
The Good Wife
Soap
SNL
Bonanza just cuz it was the first all color show

Our neighbors invited us over on Sunday nights to watch Bonanza and Disney's Wonderful World of Color. They were one of the first to own a color tv.

 

[Dogdeacon]

For all the Mad Men fans: I'm soundly in the "I don't get it" camp. Heard all the buzz and watched the first couple of episodes and it just seemed like a soap opera that moved at a glacial pace that I guess was supposed to be ground breaking because it was set in a hackneyed sixties cliche of a world.

Can someone who likes this show explain its appeal ?

Art is subjective & I've tried with why it hit for me, I don't think I can sway you with critical opinions, talking about the acting or writing. I'd say watch the episode "The Suitcase" - of course it means a lot more if you've watched the series and know the characters backstories, but it also holds up on its own. If that episode isn't great TV for you than its just not your taste.

One of many great pitch scenes, this one from the end of season 1 (it is a lot better if you know the guy using his family in his pitch is also unable to express himself to that family:


Lighter fare, and/or some violence, this is not your average work sitcom
Mad Men: Lawnmower vs Guy

 

[A10 fan]

Goodness gracious, I haven't seen it listed one time;

THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW! Gave us Elvis, The Beatles, James Brown at his absolute peak, The Rolling Stones, Duke Ellington. Greatest show ever!
Soul Train
The Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Hour
Batman (Adam West)
Sanford and Son
All In The Family
In Living Color
Happy Days
Kojak
Star Trek
Benny Hill

 

[UofCT]

Playmakers

 

[Dogdeacon]

Goodness gracious, I haven't seen it listed one time;

THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW! Gave us Elvis, The Beatles, James Brown at his absolute peak, The Rolling Stones, Duke Ellington. Greatest show ever!
Soul Train
The Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Hour
Batman (Adam West)
Sanford and Son
All In The Family
In Living Color
Happy Days
Kojak
Star Trek
Benny Hill

That's an interesting eclectic list. I think the board is too young to even nominate much less vote for the Ed Sullivan Show. I'm old enough but I've never seen it.
And generally we aren't listing the Tonight Show or Late Night w/Letterman or Jon Stewart's Show or Oprah - I think a daily talk show is just too different of an animal to compare with dramas & comedies. It is like comparing a podcast biographical interview to a spoken fictional novel.
And to quibble a bit, Ed Sullivan didn't 'give us' Elvis or the Beatles, they were coming regardless. Similarly American Bandstand introduced us to Aretha, Prince, Stevie Wonder & Madonna - but we were going to meet them regardless.
Oddly shows like Conan & SNL that are a little more niche and a lot less frequent or voluminous seem like they belong in the conversation more.

 

[Mano]

I’ve got 73 entries in, anyone that still hasn’t or wants to here’s the entry form:

Boneyard Greatest TV Show of All-Time Entry