Great TV Shows

[Stupot]

...are you really saying that shows like [...] The Walking Dead are bona fide great shows, as in future classics?

Yes.

[poltergeist]

Future classics? I'd say HBO produced a good deal of those. Shows like Carnivale, Rome, Deadwood and more recently Boardwalk Empire really hit the sweet spot with a great mix of top-notch writing and a stellar, talented cast. Something that always reels me in when it comes to big HBO productions is the unconventional subject matter or setting they pick to build their story around. Carnivale would be a perfect example of that.

Sons of Anarchy is on track to become a classic, even if the third season didn't end with as much of a bang as the previous two seasons did. Arrested Development also comes to mind, it's a show that I'll remember for years to come.

The British are also experiencing a great run of television shows. Misfits is bound for glory, Sherlock shows great potential and Doctor Who is still going strong. Psychoville brings a much needed dose of black humour to television, but it just finished its first season so I'm not going to delve into that.

House isn't consistent enough in quality for me to call it a classic, but it definitely isn't a show I'd easily forget about. Supernatural jumped the shark with the start of season 6 and I'm slowly starting to believe that, as much as I love the show, they should have wrapped it up with season 5 as intended.

Breaking Bad is worth watching for Bryan Cranston's performance alone and it's one of my favourite shows.

Also, I'm a bit surprised nobody mentioned Californication yet.

There's a lot more shows I could mention as 'future classics' and potential classics, stuff like Spaced, Coupling, Generation Kill, Hung, Kings, Modern Family, My Name Is Earl, Nikita, Party Down, Supernatural, Torchwood, True Blood, Wonderfalls and so on and so forth, but I don't really have the time or energy to cover all of them.

[Darth Mandarb]

My three favorite show/series (surprised nobody has mentioned them)

Firefly
Probably won't be a "classic" because it's achieved "cult" status instead.  But what, really, is the difference?  It's the best.  Ever.  Thanks to narrow minded (idiots) at Fox who, in their infinite wisdom, put the show on Friday night and decided to air it out of order, we only got a 1/2 season of the show.  Freakin' morons.

Band of Brothers
Another notch in HBO's belt.  Incredible character development, deep emotional content (not just a war picture) and based on real events of the "greatest" generation.  Probably doesn't appeal to some 'cause it's American but such close-mindedness is okay (as long as you're not an American)

Battlestar Galactica
SOOOOooooo much more than just sci-fi.  Deals with religion, politics, society/culture, race, tolerance, I could go on!  It's amazing television and, I should say, is the only show to ever make me stand up and cheer involuntarily (end of the new-Caprica episodes ... you know what I'm talking about).

Hilarious to see somebody mention Sledge Hammer.  I still remember the scene where he was at the hospital because a lady's baby was kidnapped and the woman says, "I haven't even give him a name" and Sledge says, "How about Rob?"  Timeless.

I would probably have mentioned ALF because the humor is still golden.  However given the [horrible] 1980s object lessons crammed into every episode and the will they/won't they end-it-cut-off-final-season-cliff-hanger I think it's more in limbo (for me).

[veryweirdguy]

I agree with 2 of the 3 you mention Darth (not watched BSG yet), but I was trying to stick to things from this year.

If I were going to mention things from the last decade or so, my list would be much much much longer. I heart TV at the moment.

[Snarky]

...are you really saying that shows like [...] The Walking Dead are bona fide great shows, as in future classics?

Yes.

Well, I would disagree with that. The writing, plotting and characterization on that show is just too uneven to really qualify as great. At least every other episode there would be moments of such head-banging stupidity it made you wonder how this collection of TV stereotypes could possibly have survived even the first day of a zombie apocalypse.

Frank Darabont apparently fired the entire writing staff after the first season, and I can't say I'm too surprised (though I'm inclined to think he and Kirkman share a lot of the blame for the badness).

poltergeist listed a lot of great shows from the last decade, but like veryweirdguy I wanted to focus on stuff from 2010. The best TV shows right now.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I still remember the scene where he was at the hospital because a lady's baby was kidnapped and the woman says, "I haven't even give him a name" and Sledge says, "How about Rob?"  Timeless.

This actually happens at the police station but you were close enough to earn the Sledge Awareness perk, which grants you +1 manliness in all situations.

[Darth Mandarb]

I agree with 2 of the 3 you mention Darth (not watched BSG yet)

Do yourself a [huge] favor and watch it!  I'm currently re-watching the entire series (Tarah got it for me on bluray for Christmas) and it's even better the second time through!!

This actually happens at the police station but you were close enough to earn the Sledge Awareness perk, which grants you +1 manliness in all situations.

The Sledge awareness perk!  I love it!

Sticking with 2010 I'd still have to drop good ol' BSG (it ended this year). But as I think is [very] apparent I'm a bit of a fan-boy (and proud of it)

[poltergeist]

poltergeist listed a lot of great shows from the last decade, but like veryweirdguy I wanted to focus on stuff from 2010. The best TV shows right now.

Sorry, should have paid more attention while reading your posts.

Here's a 'filtered' list, then:

Definite future classics - Boardwalk Empire, The Office, Doctor Who.
Boardwalk Empire, despite only recently finishing its first season, deserves a spot here. Great cast, great writing. It's an HBO production, you can't go wrong with that.

The Office is a classic already. It's consistently funny (99% of the time) and I always look forward to seeing a new episode. It might be jumping the shark with Carell's departure at the end of this season, but that's still some way out in the future.

Doctor Who. I know, it already is a classic, but seeing as Matt Smith took over as the new Doctor after Tennant's brilliant run in the shoes of the character, and did it unexpectedly well, I'm listing this series (with the eleventh Doctor) as a definite future classic. Also, I'm crushing hard on Karen Gillan, but that's not the point.

Potential classics - Californication, Sherlock, Misfits, Sons of Anarchy, Modern Family, House.
Californication is amazing, it really is, and it should be a definite future classic. Why is it listed here, then? I honestly have no idea, but for some strange reason I can only see it as a 'cult clasic'. Somehow I don't see people taking it seriously for what it is, most of them only watch it because its about Fox Mulder and sex with Fox Mulder.

Sherlock might be a series of TV movies, but it's still a series. Benedict Cumberbatch is an amazing Sherlock Holmes even though he might not look the part, but it's this air of creepy surrounding him that makes the character more interesting. The storyline behind this Sherlock is full of twists and turns so I've set my expectations high for the next season.

Misfits is nothing short of brilliant. It's the gritty British take on superheroes and I love every second of it. The second season lived up to the expectations built up by the first, but the writing still isn't consistent enough. The good news is you only get one bad episode per season. The bad news is that the bad episodes are really, really cheesy.

Sons of Anarchy, like I said last time, it's a great show, but the third season left much to be desired.

Modern Family is gunning for greatness here. It's extremely entertaining, but I'd wait for the third season before calling it a classic.

House is kind-of a classic already, but I fear that's only because Hugh Laurie is acting in it. To tell you the truth, it's getting kind of old and uneventful, so hopefully they'll either pick up the pace or pull the plug before its too late.

Not quite there yet - Nikita, Supernatural, The Walking Dead.
Maggie Q is a great Nikita. I don't remember much about the first show, but this one is keeping me interested and I'm looking forward to seeing what they have planned for the season finale. It's in the "not quite there yet" category because it's literally not quite there - the show is still in the middle of its first season. But it does show promise.

Supernatural jumped the shark with the start of season 6. I guess it kind of went downhill from there. If you're sticking to seasons 1-5 then it's a definite potential classic.

The Walking Dead had a great pilot episode, but there are more bad episodes than there are good ones. Spread that out over the six episodes from its first season and you can see why its only redeeming quality right now are the zombies.

Just no - The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.
This could have been very good (not great) but it quickly grew stale and old. It's more of a "thanks for trying" thing, now.

[Snarky]

You list some interesting choices, poltergeist. If you haven't watched them, I would highly recommend that you sample some of the ones listed in my first post, in the linked articles and by veryweirdguy.

Boardwalk Empire, despite only recently finishing its first season, deserves a spot here. Great cast, great writing. It's an HBO production, you can't go wrong with that.

I haven't seen it yet, but have heard mixed things about it. A lot of people seem to think it's heavy on the schtick and short on compelling drama.

If we're naming current HBO shows, I would go with In Treatment. There is something hypnotically fascinating about watching Gabriel Byrne delving incisively into the subconscious of his patients, then repeatedly fucking up his own life because he's at the complete mercy of his own irrational impulses.

The Office is a classic already. It's consistently funny (99% of the time) and I always look forward to seeing a new episode. It might be jumping the shark with Carell's departure at the end of this season, but that's still some way out in the future.

Personally I think it ran out of steam years ago. It was a great show in its day, but nowadays it's just another comedy that remains on TV because of residual affection (cf. The Simpsons).

It's been mentioned a few times already, but Louie has got to be the best, instant-classic (or cult classic) comedy on TV right now. More than perhaps any other show on TV, it feels like one person's vision, a unique comic sensibility that is as strong as Larry David's in Curb Your Enthusiasm, but much more humane and melancholy.

Doctor Who. I know, it already is a classic, but seeing as Matt Smith took over as the new Doctor after Tennant's brilliant run in the shoes of the character, and did it unexpectedly well, I'm listing this series (with the eleventh Doctor) as a definite future classic. Also, I'm crushing hard on Karen Gillan, but that's not the point.

I've been watching this latest, Steven Moffat-run season, and been enjoying it quite a lot. The format is a very clever way to do an anthology SF series like e.g. The Twilight Zone, but with some recurring characters and longer arcs. I can see the Christmas Special as a future classic, definitely. But I guess you're either a raving Who fan or you're not; much as I enjoyed it, this season didn't have anything as good as Blink, and the fairly frequent cheesiness and tendency to wrap up every civilization-ending threat in a TV-hour keeps it out of the top rankings in my book.

I have to admit that few sci-fi TV shows do it for me. Firefly left me indifferent, and I gave up on Lost, Fringe, Supernatural, Heroes etc. within a few episodes (and in some cases less). Battlestar Galactica was addictive but maddeningly uneven, Dollhouse occasionally brilliant but usually pretty bad.

The last live-action sci-fi show I pretty wholeheartedly enjoyed was The Middleman, which was firmly tongue-in-cheek. But even that was more of a guilty pleasure than a show of genuine greatness. That leaves The Venture Bros., which is unapologetically awesome, but again a comedy first and foremost.

Californication is amazing, it really is, and it should be a definite future classic. Why is it listed here, then? I honestly have no idea, but for some strange reason I can only see it as a 'cult clasic'. Somehow I don't see people taking it seriously for what it is, most of them only watch it because its about Fox Mulder and sex with Fox Mulder.

I watched a little of it to begin with. It seemed like a clone of Weeds, trying to be shocking and all that, only without the wit and charm (back when Weeds was good).

Sherlock might be a series of TV movies, but it's still a series. Benedict Cumberbatch is an amazing Sherlock Holmes even though he might not look the part, but it's this air of creepy surrounding him that makes the character more interesting. The storyline behind this Sherlock is full of twists and turns so I've set my expectations high for the next season.

Yes, a promising adaptation, but when your season is only three episodes, one that is straight-up bad (the second one) is not an impressive hit rate.

Misfits is nothing short of brilliant. It's the gritty British take on superheroes and I love every second of it. The second season lived up to the expectations built up by the first, but the writing still isn't consistent enough. The good news is you only get one bad episode per season. The bad news is that the bad episodes are really, really cheesy.

I just got into Misfits, and have to agree that when it's on, it's one of the best shows out there. I think what holds it back is that it over-relies on "freak of the week" storylines, which makes me think of Smallville S1. No show that aspires to greatness should ever make you think of Smallville! Oh, and I have suspension-of-disbelief issues with the apparent complete police indifference to the number of disappearances and murders taking place in one community center. (Call it the Sunnydale High problem.)

Sons of Anarchy, like I said last time, it's a great show, but the third season left much to be desired.

I gave up on this after a couple of episodes. The writing just didn't seem very good, and the characters were too clichéd. But I hear it got better towards the end of the season, and that S2 was actually quite great. The Shield (which is clearly one main template for Sons) didn't start out with great depth either, and that eventually got brilliant.

I would still rather watch Justified or Terriers on FX, and among shows I don't watch I would be more interested in getting into Breaking Bad.

Modern Family is gunning for greatness here. It's extremely entertaining, but I'd wait for the third season before calling it a classic.

I know a lot of people love it, but I couldn't stand it. At least in the first episode, all the comedy just seemed to be based on the stereotypes of the characters, like a very tired sitcom dressed up to seem modern (see also: My Name Is Earl). Maybe I'm missing something; it does sometimes take a while to get on a new show's comedy wavelength.

Anyway, in response I would offer Community.

House is kind-of a classic already, but I fear that's only because Hugh Laurie is acting in it. To tell you the truth, it's getting kind of old and uneventful, so hopefully they'll either pick up the pace or pull the plug before its too late.

It's almost axiomatic to me that a procedural cannot be a classic, because they're so formulaic. I agree that Laurie has created a great character, but the constraints of the form makes it impossible for anything really meaningful to happen to that character.

[Sam.]

It's almost axiomatic to me that a procedural cannot be a classic, because they're so formulaic. I agree that Laurie has created a great character, but the constraints of the form makes it impossible for anything really meaningful to happen to that character.

It really depends on how you are defining classic, can a classic not be a show that did something really well? House can formulaic but is not afraid to stray away from the formula, see episodes "The Mistake" from season 2 or "The Right Stuff" from season 4 or the excellent "Three Stories" from season 1. All examples of them bending the formula, even leaving it completely behind to try something different. Also worth a watch is the double bill from the end of season 4 which is excellent if just for Character Development alone.

I agree that the Big Bang Theory is probably not a classic, american comedy produces less Great comedy because the Sitcom is such an overfilled genre on the networks over there, I think you could put Arrested Development into the category of Classic, as well as Friends which, whether you like it or not, is undeniably a milestone in the genre.

[poltergeist]

Boardwalk Empire, despite only recently finishing its first season, deserves a spot here. Great cast, great writing. It's an HBO production, you can't go wrong with that.

I haven't seen it yet, but have heard mixed things about it. A lot of people seem to think it's heavy on the schtick and short on compelling drama.

If we're naming current HBO shows, I would go with In Treatment. There is something hypnotically fascinating about watching Gabriel Byrne delving incisively into the subconscious of his patients, then repeatedly fucking up his own life because he's at the complete mercy of his own irrational impulses.[/quote]
I thought the same about Boardwalk Empire after first seeing the pilot episode, but after some time I gave it another shot and it quickly grew on me. To tell you the truth, I tend to like everything with Buscemi in it, so I'm not that surprised.

I've heard about In Treatment before but I never got a chance to check it out. Consider me intrigued!

It's been mentioned a few times already, but Louie has got to be the best, instant-classic (or cult classic) comedy on TV right now. More than perhaps any other show on TV, it feels like one person's vision, a unique comic sensibility that is as strong as Larry David's in Curb Your Enthusiasm, but much more humane and melancholy.

I gave Louie a chance a month or two ago, back when the internet was constantly going on about Louis C.K.'s comedic genius. It didn't sit quite right with me. I see the appeal in it, I do, but it just isn't my type of show (if that makes any sense). Curb Your Enthusiasm, on the other hand, I love to catch up on every now and then.

I have to admit that few sci-fi TV shows do it for me. [...] I gave up on Lost, Fringe, Supernatural, Heroes etc. within a few episodes (and in some cases less).

Same here for Lost, Fringe and Heroes. I also understand why someone would give up on Supernatural, I'm tempted to do the same, but the brotherly moments Sam and Dean share often remind me of my brother and myself so that's kind of why I keep coming back to the show.

The last live-action sci-fi show I pretty wholeheartedly enjoyed was The Middleman, which was firmly tongue-in-cheek. But even that was more of a guilty pleasure than a show of genuine greatness. That leaves The Venture Bros., which is unapologetically awesome, but again a comedy first and foremost.

I haven't seen The Middleman (I'll check it out, though), but I whole-heartedly agree with you on The Venture Bros.. It's my favourite Adult Swim show, along with Metalocalypse.

Yes, a promising adaptation, but when your season is only three episodes, one that is straight-up bad (the second one) is not an impressive hit rate.

That's a good point...

I would still rather watch Justified or Terriers on FX, and among shows I don't watch I would be more interested in getting into Breaking Bad.

I've seen the first few episodes of Justified and I thought it was pretty good. I have no idea what's stopping me from watching more, I should get back to that show. I've read about Terriers and it sounded interesting, but it also reminded me a bit of Psych (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) because of the whole buddy detectives angle.

I know a lot of people love it, but I couldn't stand it. At least in the first episode, all the comedy just seemed to be based on the stereotypes of the characters, like a very tired sitcom dressed up to seem modern (see also: My Name Is Earl). Maybe I'm missing something; it does sometimes take a while to get on a new show's comedy wavelength.

Anyway, in response I would offer Community.

I know what you mean, I might be experiencing the same with Louie.

I tried Community, liked it, then gave up on it after a while because I grew tired of Chevy Chase. Perhaps the show has gotten better, I should try and get back on track.

It's almost axiomatic to me that a procedural cannot be a classic, because they're so formulaic. I agree that Laurie has created a great character, but the constraints of the form makes it impossible for anything really meaningful to happen to that character.

Another good point. People will think back to House, that's for sure, but the show itself can't bring us anything new or refreshing other than a not-so-average doctor.

[[Cameron]]

A definite TV Classic, though its not been on the air a few years now, The Wire.
I just got the boxset for xmas, looking forward to spending a large chunk of the next few weeks watching it.

[Snarky]

It really depends on how you are defining classic, can a classic not be a show that did something really well? House can formulaic but is not afraid to stray away from the formula, see episodes "The Mistake" from season 2 or "The Right Stuff" from season 4 or the excellent "Three Stories" from season 1. All examples of them bending the formula, even leaving it completely behind to try something different. Also worth a watch is the double bill from the end of season 4 which is excellent if just for Character Development alone.

Yes, there can be excellent individual episodes, but then next week they have to go back and do the same thing over again. And I would argue that within a season, maybe after just one episode (say, "Three Stories"), you've learned all there is to know about Dr. House. Hugh Laurie is an excellent actor, so he keeps your interest, but it's really just the same points over and over again.

I would say a classic can't just be doing the same old thing but doing it well. It then at least has to offer a new take, a new distinct "voice". I think that goes for procedurals (police shows, lawyer shows, doctor shows etc. that focus on the "case of the week") and also for sitcoms.

I thought the same about Boardwalk Empire after first seeing the pilot episode, but after some time I gave it another shot and it quickly grew on me. To tell you the truth, I tend to like everything with Buscemi in it, so I'm not that surprised.

I plan to give it another shot in the future (I tried watching the first episode on my iPod while working out, which... didn't work out). I also like Buscemi a lot, and I enjoy the period patter enough that I might watch it just for that.

There are a lot of HBO shows I want to catch up with some time: Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Generation Kill, Treme, Rome. If there was time, I wouldn't mind watching the rest of Oz, either.

I gave Louie a chance a month or two ago, back when the internet was constantly going on about Louis C.K.'s comedic genius. It didn't sit quite right with me. I see the appeal in it, I do, but it just isn't my type of show (if that makes any sense). Curb Your Enthusiasm, on the other hand, I love to catch up on every now and then.

Yeah, I think it's the nature of really distinctive comedy that it won't appeal to everyone. If you gave it a shot, fair enough. Did you see the episode "Bully", which is probably the most sublime in the first season?

I've read about Terriers and it sounded interesting, but it also reminded me a bit of Psych (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) because of the whole buddy detectives angle.

It's really nothing at all like Psych. I would say it's more like Veronica Mars by way of The Big Lebowski, but with more heartfelt drama and lighter on the wisecracks.

I tried Community, liked it, then gave up on it after a while because I grew tired of Chevy Chase. Perhaps the show has gotten better, I should try and get back on track.

Personally I actually think the second season is not quite up to the level of the first, but I believe I'm in a minority there. I never felt like Chevy Chase was a big element on the show: the breakout characters are Abed and Troy (Danny Pudi and Donald Glover) for comedy and Annie (Allison Brie) for sex appeal. But I think once the show became aware of this and started playing it up consciously, it became a little forced.

A definite TV Classic, though its not been on the air a few years now, The Wire.
I just got the boxset for xmas, looking forward to spending a large chunk of the next few weeks watching it.

I think you could put Arrested Development into the category of Classic, as well as Friends which, whether you like it or not, is undeniably a milestone in the genre.

Yes, if I were to pick the best comedy and the best drama of the decade, it would have to go to Arrested Development and The Wire. But as they ran back in 2003-2006 and 2002-2008, respectively, and are already recognized as classics, I kind of considered them out of the running here.

[veryweirdguy]

A definite TV Classic, though its not been on the air a few years now, The Wire.
I just got the boxset for xmas, looking forward to spending a large chunk of the next few weeks watching it.

SNAP!

I've already seen the whole thing, but my ladyfriend got me it for Christmas, and golly gosh do I look forward to seeing it again.

I finished Season One of Boardwalk Empire today, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very glad it's been picked up for another season. It's not as good as Mad Men or Treme yet, but it has potential.

[Dualnames]

Speaking of the office, I also find the English version of it with Rick Gervais to be quite sad at times and incredibly funny also. Just more witty at times.