Your favorite TV show of all time...

Started by kkhohoho, July 03, 2017, 11:56:28 PM

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kkhohoho

So as most people here know, we've got a thread to talk about our favorite movies and what not, but I figured why not have a place to talk about our favorite shows?

For me, it's a tossup between Babylon 5 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but I jut finished DS9 a few weeks back, so I'm going with that for now. DS9 isn't just my favorite Trek show. It's an amazing show in general, especially for the time. It went places no other Trek show has gone or even where few shows outside of maybe Babylon 5 had gone at the time, and really helped fleshed out the universe beyond what we'd previously seen. Just about every major race and empire got some focus, but the biggest power it had an impact on was the Federation, presenting them as a much more believable, nuanced and flawed organization that's still well worth fighting for. And God did it need fighting for. The other great thing about the show was that it had actual series-long storylines. Again, outside of Babylon 5, there weren't that many shows really like it, and while it falters a bit today compared to more modern shows that are serialized 24/7, when DS9 bothers to get going, it reels you in and doesn't let you go until it's good and ready to. And the course, the characters were amazing. The cast is one of the best I've seen in any show, not just Star Trek, and they really help give a strong foundation to everything going on around them. It may take a season or two to really find its' feet, but once it gets rolling, DS9 is a tour-de force, and I can only hope Destiny lives up to it if not surpasses it.

That said, my actual favorite show is a little (okay, YHUUGE!) anime called Legend of Galactic Heroes, but it still hasn't been released stateside so it's only available via fansubs, and not a lot of people have actually seen it. But DS9 is still pretty darn high up there.
The Golden Age; 'A different look at a different era.'

http://archiveofourown.org/works/1089779/chapters/2193203

Tomato

I share your opinions about DS9, easily my favorite Trek show. That said... I know it's going to upset some people, but I think my favorite show of all time might be Young Justice. Yeah it has its flaws, but I'm a sucker for anything to do with DC's sidekick characters, and Young Justice is where that concept really shines the most.

daglob

DS9 and B5 are both excellent series, but my favorite is The Avengers. Remember: I'm old.

Shogunn2517

The Wire

No question.  Okay maybe a little.  I've watched other shows a few times through.  Game of Thrones most notably.  But the Wire, the characters, the story, the detail and relevancy.  It's far more adaptable than GoT.  Both shows many would tend to think are for a particular genre or persons, but given the writing, particular with The Wire, if you watch it, there's no doubt you will like it.  Not as salacious as Game of Thrones.  More humor, much more connected to real life and familiar persons and situations.  Each season tells a different story and each are a joy to watch.

HarryTrotter

#4
I second Logh and DS9;and ofc,diferent things and all that.But on the acount of rewatching it so many times and quoting it daily-Only Fools and Horses. :)
Now,The Wire,I know a lot of people consider it the best TV show ever,but it didnt really click with me.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

Deaths Jester

Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers...
Avatar picture originally a Brom painting entitled Marionette.

HarryTrotter

As far as police(in broad terms) shows go- Justified.With Life on Mars coming in second.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

daglob

Monty Python is great; my brother got the whole series as a present, and, while I had seen some of them duing their initial run in the US, I borrowed it. I realized there was a kind of genius in the works when the line of appliance repairmen from the first skit kept showing up in the background of other skits in the episode (at least "The Ministry of Funny Walks").

There are a bunch of shows I've made time for, like the original Star Trek (still watch on MeTV), CSI, Elementary, B5, Briscoe County, The Addams Family, Night Court, Due South, Mission: Impossible, The Prisoner (and yes, large parts of it don't make sense), The Avengers, The Champions, Strange Report, Colombo, The Name of the Game, Banacek, The Man From UNCLE, Jonny Quest, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone (both of which my mother worried about me watching), Batman, The Smothers Brothers, Tarzan, The Monkees, Perry Mason, Fireball XL-5, My World-And Welcome To It, The Munsters, Laugh-In, Dragnet, Hawaii 5-O (the original), Ironside, Mannix, Baretta... 

The "retro" networks have reminded me of stuff I saw when I was younger (you know, just after the planet cooled), like Yancy Derringer, Richard Diamond-P.I., Wanted-Dead or Alive, The Thin Man (yes, it was a TV series too), Maverick (Warner Brothers had a set of westerns, like they had a set of detective shows), 77 Sunset Strip, but I haven't seen Sea Hunt in years...

The most interesting of that group is entitled Have Gun-Will Travel (need to do me a Paladin scope one day). Back when they did half-hour dramas, back when they did westerns, it was still a stand out. Within the basic framework of Paladin being a gun-for-hire (actually, he was more of a ronin), they presented dramas, mysteries, adventures, humorous tales, morality plays, and even speculative fiction (Paladin meets and helps Phileas Fogg on his trip around the world in 80 days).

detourne_me

Quote from: Shogunn2517 on July 04, 2017, 04:27:20 AM
The Wire

No question.  Okay maybe a little.  I've watched other shows a few times through.  Game of Thrones most notably.  But the Wire, the characters, the story, the detail and relevancy.  It's far more adaptable than GoT.  Both shows many would tend to think are for a particular genre or persons, but given the writing, particular with The Wire, if you watch it, there's no doubt you will like it.  Not as salacious as Game of Thrones.  More humor, much more connected to real life and familiar persons and situations.  Each season tells a different story and each are a joy to watch.

I agree completely.

Silver Shocker

#9
I actually don't know what I consider my favorite show these days. It was the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show when it was originally airing, but nowadays, I don't have a specific favorite show, just favorite shows. Just like how there is no one perfect pasta sauce, just perfect pasta sauces.

DS9, Seinfeld, Beast Wars, Reboot, Transformers Prime, JLU, Death Note, Gundam Seed, I have a soft spot for 90's Spider-Man, probably a bunch of other great cartoons. Game of Thrones for sure, probably Lost, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Quote from: Tomato on July 04, 2017, 12:06:01 AM
I share your opinions about DS9, easily my favorite Trek show. That said... I know it's going to upset some people, but I think my favorite show of all time might be Young Justice. Yeah it has its flaws, but I'm a sucker for anything to do with DC's sidekick characters, and Young Justice is where that concept really shines the most.

I do remember that during its run, the show was hotly debated on here, but having seen the entire run of the show fairly late, I didn't chime in on the discussion myself, but yeah, I actually liked Young Justice a lot. I'm happy it's getting another season but I'm somewhat dulled by it being part of yet another Netflix-esque steaming service coup.

Between rewatching Gargoyles on DVD (and seeing the entirety of the second half of the show for the first time) and Spectacular Spidey, I became aware of the fact that Greg Weisman was the man, and like Spectacular Spidey (which won me over on the first episode) YJ was another one of those shows where he and the various other creators just seemed to be firing on all creative cylinders. I've never quite felt comfortable saying it's better than JLU, but if it wasn't it's definitely close, which is high praise since JLU was just a really good show. Actually, I should probably rewatch YJ in time for S3.

QuoteThe Wire

No question.  Okay maybe a little.  I've watched other shows a few times through.  Game of Thrones most notably.  But the Wire, the characters, the story, the detail and relevancy.  It's far more adaptable than GoT.  Both shows many would tend to think are for a particular genre or persons, but given the writing, particular with The Wire, if you watch it, there's no doubt you will like it.  Not as salacious as Game of Thrones.  More humor, much more connected to real life and familiar persons and situations.  Each season tells a different story and each are a joy to watch.

Oh I have no doubt I'd like the Wire if I ever watched it. When Netflix Daredevil came out, a lot of people were calling it a superhero version of The Wire, and if that's even remotely accurate (which I've been told it is) then it must be a really good show.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

SickAlice

All time? That's rough since I've been alive for most of it, lol. Our favorite show used to be Flickering Fire (it was brought back later as Flickering Fire The Next Generation). And that's the way it was and we liked it!!!  ;)

Really this question has been posed to me before and it's a tough one because I'm not nor ever have been into television shows, especially keeping up with them. I've studied the craft a bit so could name the most influential (Gunsmoke, Twilight Zone, Little House) but that wouldn't really answer the question. My given previously was that my favorite in my youth was Tales From The Crypt. It was visceral and potent in it's day and I already had developed a huge taste for Zemekis following Amazing Stories. Else for comedy Kids In The Hall, American animated Batman The Animated Series. Since childhood my interest in television only dissipated so I never re-organized it. Adult life and just to busy I ended up not even getting a television service for my current apartment. I do watch every episode of the Viacom Ninja Turtles (down to three episodes left I think?) but that's more a TMNT cult thing for me, completion-wise.

BWPS

I apologize in advance for everything I say on here. I regret it immediately after clicking post.

Shogunn2517

#12
Quote from: Silver Shocker on July 06, 2017, 09:36:26 AM
QuoteThe Wire

No question.  Okay maybe a little.  I've watched other shows a few times through.  Game of Thrones most notably.  But the Wire, the characters, the story, the detail and relevancy.  It's far more adaptable than GoT.  Both shows many would tend to think are for a particular genre or persons, but given the writing, particular with The Wire, if you watch it, there's no doubt you will like it.  Not as salacious as Game of Thrones.  More humor, much more connected to real life and familiar persons and situations.  Each season tells a different story and each are a joy to watch.

Oh I have no doubt I'd like the Wire if I ever watched it. When Netflix Daredevil came out, a lot of people were calling it a superhero version of The Wire, and if that's even remotely accurate (which I've been told it is) then it must be a really good show.

Actually, as a friend of mine told me before I saw, the more apt comparison would be Luke Cage, which he said it was "The Wire if [character] was Captain America" which I found to be mostly true.  Unfortunately, as I recall you weren't much of a fan.  But, I can't see the comparison to Daredevil... One thing The Wire did best was to make the arch-typical "bad guys" look virtuous and the "good guys" be vindictive and petty.  Like the actual protagonist of the series is a bit of a deadbeat who pisses everyone off and one of the show's antagonist was so remarkable it pretty much launched the career of one of Hollywood's hottest actors today(Idris Elba).  In Daredevil, it's pretty cut and dry.  I mean it humanizes some of the bad guys, but in the end, you still cheer for Daredevil.  In Luke Cage, Luke is a criminal.  Cops are dirty.  Just a more similar vibe.  LC was more about story of a community.  DD was more about a vigilante... At least by my opinion.

But The Wire is better written than LC or DD.  More dynamic.

Silver Shocker

You're probably right, you sound like you know what you're talking about.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa