Top 12 – TV Shows

Television is a pretty subjective of thing. What one person considers a guilty pleasure, another person may think is the greatest show there ever was.

From cartoons, after-school specials, soap operas and game shows to dramas, reality TV, cooking shows and everything in-between, television really does have something for everyone.

Television has changed so much over the years and long gone are the days of gathering around the TV with my family to watch the most popular shows of that evening. Now, I often sit in the same room with several people who are all watching something different on tablets, PCs, and phones. Everyone watching the same thing on the same device? That’s practically a special event!

What is available to watch and when it is available has become a ridiculous as well. Sure, you can now “binge watch” thanks to services like Netflix, but you still have to wait a YEAR for those meager 6, 8 or (if you are lucky) 12 episodes of the best shows.

I also find it incredibly annoying that I will watch a new show with “it’s good, but not GoT good, so it’ll probably be canceled.” Oh, come on network TV! You can’t all have a GoT! Some shows need to just be good and not epic, some shows need to be an easy watch and a comforting good time on a Wednesday night. Seriously, how is Forever canceled and Mike & Molly still on the air? Networks suck when it comes to picking good shows, or does everyone but me really like stupid canned laughter crap sitcoms? AHHHHH!

Ok, I’m getting worked up over this and I shouldn’t be. I understand that networks suck and only want to make money and no matter how good a show is they’ll cancel it if they think another show will make them more money… the bastards! Damn them!

Ok, so anyway…

I thought a lot about my top 10 favorite television shows. I wanted to make a definitive list of just 12 but could not do it. I had to break it down into categories, three categories only though. Dramas, Sitcoms and SciFi & Fantasy. Because I didn’t want to make Sitcoms into “Sitcoms & Comedy”, I noted below it two shows that I wanted to include but had to leave off. More cheating? Damn straight! If the networks can then so can I!

My premise for choosing my favorites was to include shows I not only enjoyed but could think of off the top of my head and would definitely watch again. Sure, there are other shows I really like(d) and I admit, it was pretty tough to whittle it down to 12 for each category… Yes, I had watched a lot of TV. Is that a bad thing? Maybe, but in my defense, I really do only watch a few hours of TV at night and I am nearly 50.

So, here are my top 12 TV shows in no particular order other than how I thought of them and possibly if I thought of one better and replaced it…

Dramas

1. Boston Legal
2. Breaking Bad
3. Twin Peaks
4. St. Elsewhere
5. Six Feet Under
6. Lost
7. Dexter
8. Shameless (US)
9. Desperate Housewives
10. The Sopranos
11. Sex and the City
12. Homeland

Sitcoms

1. Spaced
2. Louie
3. Seinfeld
4. Roseanne
5. Black Books
6. The Dick Van Dyke Show
7. Newhart
8. Taxi
9. I Love Lucy
10. 3rd Rock from the Sun
11. Cougar Town
12. Soap

I had to mention these two sketch comedy shows because I love them and they are just so fracking awesome!

The Carol Burnett Show & Little Britain

SciFi & Fantasy

1. Doctor Who
2. Supernatural
3. Game of Thrones
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
5. Quantum Leap
6. The X-Files
7. Fringe
8. Star Trek – Voyager (that’s right VOYAGER!)
9. Merlin
10. Orphan Black
11. Angel
12. Firefly