Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Dave's Dozen: The Twelve Best Television Shows of All Time

The Golden Age of Science Fiction happened from the late 1930's through the 1950's. Authors such as Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlen, Clifford Simak, and L Sprague de Camp pushed the genre beyond its pulp roots, and created all the tropes that are still being used today. It seems unfair that such a short period of time gets all the glory, but that's the way art works: Shakespeare was brilliant, but he was also born at the right time and the right place. There was no TV, the theater business was thriving, and-- finally-- entertainment didn't have to have a moral message. And so The Bard was off to the races.

In case you weren't aware . . . The Golden Age of Television is now. I really thought Night Court was funny when I was a kid, but looking back, maybe I was retarded.




Night Court could never hold its own against Curb Your Enthusiasm. Devoted sister, beloved . . . even thinking of that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm makes me laugh. I'd put up the clip, but this is a family blog.

So put aside your nostalgia for a moment-- not that I don't fondly remember Mork and Mindy . . . but my memory is distorted by some sort of demented rose-colored glasses-- and actually watch an episode of one of these old shows that you love to reminisce about. Land of the Lost or Fantasy Island or Dallas or Love Boat or Get A Life or my favorite, WKRP in Cincinnati. You'll see.  They have no chance against the shows of today. Unlike sports, where it's impossible to ever see how Mohammad Ali would fare against Mike Tyson, or if Babe Ruth could hit as many home runs in the era of relief pitching, it's relatively easy to pit one television show against another. Simply watch them in succession. Try an episode of The Commish and then watch the pilot of The Shield. You'll see. You will then say to yourself: Dave is right . . . we are living in the Golden Age of Television.

Some perfect storm of cable, TIVO, product placement and advertisement money, streaming video, viral marketing, DVD purchases, and a wide ranging captive audience have created a market for shows as stupid and trashy as you want (Real Housewives of X, Dancing with the Stars, Temptation Island, Jersey Shore, etc.) and as smart and clever as you need. So my list is going to be top-heavy with recent shows. That's on purpose and that's correct.

Steven Johnson explains part of this phenomenon in his book Everything Bad is Good For You: How Today's Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter; in the past, before digital media and TIVO, even before the widespread use of the VCR, a television show had to be immediately accessible. When you turned on the TV, even if it was the middle of an episode in the middle of a season, the show had to explain itself because there was the possibility of a new viewer, and they had no way to access previous shows. So each episode was usually insular, with limited running jokes, and the plot threads were simple and easy to sort out. But with the advent of digital media, writers stopped needing to place those "flashing arrows" any longer . . . some shows, like The Shield are nice enough to have a "previously on The Shield" segment at the start, but at the beginning of a new season of Breaking Bad, I need to consult Wikipedia to remember all that has happened. And it's in the best interest of the show to be as clever and complicated and dense as possible, because then people want want to watch it several more times, and so they'll stream it or buy it or watch clips of it, all adding revenue to the industry. It's The Golden Age.

So MASH doesn't make the list-- not that it would ever make my list. Cheers almost made it, until I replaced it with 30 Rock. Arrested Development should be on the list but it got canceled because it was ahead of its time. The money is in the banana stand, indeed. Same goes for Freaks and Geeks. I am loving True Blood and Bored to Death but I haven't watched them all, so maybe they'll make the list some day. Big Love is another contender. And it sounds like Game of Thrones is as good as the book.

Please note: I've avoided animated shows and sketch comedy and mini-series and stuff like that because it opens a crazy can of worms that is beyond my scope . . . maybe Chuck Klosterman will take over where I've left off. Monty Python's Flying Circus would make any list that included those genres.

So here is my definitive list. And if you don't like it, then get to work on my other list (this goes for you, Whitney).

1. The Wire-- meticulous, plodding, realistic, dramatic, and funny . . . and the main character is the city of Baltimore itself.  Sets the bar.

2. The Shield-- the exact opposite of The Wire. Forest Whitaker and Glenn Close are the best season long cameos in TV history and pilot to finale, The Shield has the best plot arc ever made. Unlike Lost, the ending satisfies.

3. Deadwood-- Al Swearengen is more fun than Tony Soprano.

4. Curb Your Enthusiasm-- Larry David is a national treasure and should be forced by the government to produce comedy until he dies.

5. Seinfeld--  the only show with a laugh track on the list: see above.

6. Battlestar Galactica-- you've got to see it to believe it. This has nothing to do with the original. Even my wife watched every episode.

7. 30 Rock-- as many jokes as you can stuff into 30 minutes, plus Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan. This traditional sitcom just edges out It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.


8. The Office-- this is probably illegal, but this slot goes for both the British and American versions.

9. Madmen-- nothing happens, but nothing happens with style. And "the carousel" scene rules.

10. The Sopranos-- arguably the show that began The Golden Age.


11. Breaking Bad-- Weeds is good, but Breaking Bad is great.

12. Saxondale-- I had to get Steve Coogan on the list . . . I also love his Alan Partridge character, but this slot could be for any comedian who's been given carte blanche to make something weird and autonomous . . . Louis C.K.'s show Louie also fits, but I've only seen one season.

33 comments:

Danimal said...

percentage-wise, a big improvement compared to top 105 books...feel much better about myself

thankful today for not taking miami last night. dagger of a finish

Whitney said...

I know you prefaced it with your logic, but to come up with the best TV shows of all time and include nothing before 1990 seems like a list a high schooler would create. Or perhaps a high school teacher.

Whitney said...

Dave, you love to fall back on "good," "bad," "better," "worse," "best," and "worst." I actually enjoy how you take subjective, personal and Jersey-skewed tastes and make them across-the-board truisms. It reminds us that you are only a short train ride from the most important city in the world.

I, however, like Peter Venkman, am a little fuzzy on the whole good and bad thing. To me, acknowledging the distinguished Mr. Johnson's dissection of the television shows of yesteryear is one thing, but where is the mention of social and generational context? You'll never convince a septuagenarian that there's anything funnier than "The Honeymooners," and yes, part of that is nostalgia. A huge other part of that is the framework of 1955 America upon which it was created and watched. It was hilarious and new back then. To watch it in 2011, when there are so many more shows available that have been built on the comedy constructs of The Honeymooners and everything that came after it... well, yeah, these shows may make you laugh harder. But calling these shows the best of all time is as retarded as you say you used to be.

Also, leaving off Arrested Development is not "correct."

TR said...

If Sunny in Philly just loses on the #7 spot, how does it fall out of the top 12?

And I could not agree more on Night Court. Loved it as a kid, but it is fucking awful. Except for Dan Fielding. He kicks ass.

Whitney said...

Dan Fielding stole virtually every show in Night Court's run. Selma was funny until she died.

Kwan Le was terrible.

TR said...

Is that a reference to Mack's wife? Did you get that from memory, or from imdb?

zman said...

Depending on how you score it, I have read more than 4 times as many of Dave's books as I have seen his TV shows. I'm too busy with Jersey Shore and Project Runway I guess.

Whitney said...

Memory, TR. Sorry about that, but I did really like that show during its Thursday night (Cosby/FT/Cheers/NC) run.

T.J. said...

Dave pulled a Skip Bayless with this list...just wants us to shout at him.

Also, would it kill you to use some labels?

zman said...

There aren't enough cartoons on the list for Teedge. Couldn't you throw me a bone and give Magnum P.I. an honorable mention?

Geoff said...

Pretty sure Seinfeld didn't have alaugh track--was filmed before a live audience. Big difference.

And leaving off Arrested Development impugns the integrity of the entire list.

rob said...

dave's an impugner!

dave's a mess.

TR said...

Arrested Development was great, but I think it shouldn't be ranked too high b/c it was so self-referential. Somebody who stumbled onto an episode in the mid/late part of the show's run would have a real hard time understanding the inside jokes, despite Opie's narration.

To be a truly geat comedy, a newbie should be able to tune in and understand most of the jokes.

Geoff said...

See, the self-referential aspect is what I think so many of its fans loved most about it...and also is probably why it failed commercially. And I'll agree to disagree that a show needs to be enjoyable to someone who randomly watches one episode.

mayhugh said...

I agree with any list that has the Wire first and disagree with any list that omits Arrested Development, the Bo Jackson of TV programming. No show I've watched built on itself more, pretty much every character knocked their part out of the park (Tony Hale was the real Dark Horse), it nailed every quirky role with an equally quirky cameo (Charlize's four/five episode run was notably fantastic, but Winkler, Carl Weathers, Liza, Beagley Jr., Martin Mull, Ione Skye all had moments - the weak link was Martin Short for me), and they came up with music/tracks that worked for various themes.

I agree with Dave's notion that current tv is better exactly because of how shows can/do self-reference and build on themselves now.

zman said...

They can also show naked ladies and swear on cable TV, which really makes things more interesting.

Whitney said...

Don't forget Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Scott Baio. And Franklin.

Danimal said...

i thought Happy Days might get a nod. good t.v. right there.
and on the night court topic, my most recent brush w/fame happens to be john laroquette (sp?) - one of my old gay friends is in How to Succed in Biz which Johhny (that's what he has me call him) is in...met him backstage post-show. he's a good shit.

rob said...

usa/belgium soccer friendly on the espn family of networks at 2:30. get some.

and i think danimal just came out of the closet. could've misread him, of course.

T.J. said...

I've been told by multiple sources that danimal was the gayest guy to come out of Winchester, VA since Erik Estrada hosted the Apple Blossom festival...

Dave said...

i didn't mean for the list to be in order, and i "arrested development" should be there instead of "saxondale" but i wanted to put an obscure show on the list that i really love-- so arrested development is the wildcard-- you can put it in place of any show you'd like.

and was tr a pi lam? because this is NOT what pi lam humor was about when i was there: "To be a truly great comedy, a newbie should be able to tune in and understand most of the jokes."

the best joke-- and i think of whitney giving his toast at jason's second wedding-- is the one that almost no one gets . . .

Dave said...

also, working is awful. it's time for me to call it a day.

rob said...

jason's second wedding? which toast was that? the one at the first was curb-esque in terms of awkwardness for just a very few people.

Danimal said...

busted. why you gotta hate on eric "easy" e though? f'd up.

in fairness, i was probably the 4th or 5th gayest.

Dave said...

"big love" is just as good as most of the shows on the list, too.

Geoff said...

Big Love very effectively drives home the following concept: The only guys who think multiple wives is a good idea are guys who aren't married.

zman said...

The first two seasons of Big Love were interesting but I stopped watching during the third season. I think Boardwalk Empire is a better show.

zman said...

And Geoff's right. Having a stable of wives only appeals to unmarried guys who go to comic book conventions.

TR said...

Kudos to whoever put "Dave's a killer" as a tag.

TR said...

Big Love is awful. Chloe Sevigny's face is a cure for boners.

Jerry said...

It's so true. Today's shows are way better than old shows. I've heard Hill Street Blues still stands up OK, but I've never seen it.

Of course I'd have 24 on the list, but I can see how it wouldn't make Dave's top 12, even though it is 12*2.

I'd also recommend Friday Night Lights. Before I watched it, I figured that I'd think it's stupid, but it would definitely be in my top 12.

Mark said...

Friday Night Lights is great. My wife hates sports and she loves FNL. That's really the only reason it lasted as long as it did. Critical acclaim, fiercely loyal core audience but nothing else.

Shlara said...

FNL should def be on the list.
And I think both Cheers and 30 Rock should be on the list.