All Time Best "TV Series" ... !

[Eric]

The two old shows where I bought the DVD box sets and ripped them onto my computer so I can watch from the start every couple years are Mission: Impossible and Columbo.

It’s fun to watch the first season of M:I, in particular - different lead guy (who ended up many years later as D.A. on Law & Order - and much raunchier than subsequent seasons.

Totally forgot about Mission Impossible, I have all of those downloaded too, makes for great nostalgic TV watching.

 

[Eric]

Looking back to those days there were only so many channels before cable came along, and we didn't have phones or the internet to distract us so we actually sat through these shows, often as family time.

It's hard to do nowadays with so many distractions, this is why I'll often leave my phone and watch on the kitchen counter before heading off into the bedroom to watch my shows, it's my way of tuning out and decompressing from everything for a little while.

 

[rdrr]

In no particular order;

Dave Chappelle Show
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Seinfield
NYPD Blues
Good Times
The Sopranos
Deadwood
Breaking Bad
The Pitt
Battlestar Galactica
The Wire

(My list goes to 11) just like some amplifiers

 

[Roller]

It’s fun to watch the first season of M:I, in particular - different lead guy (who ended up many years later as D.A. on Law & Order - and much raunchier than subsequent seasons.

The story of Steven Hill, who played Dan Briggs on Mission: Impossible for one year, is interesting. As an Orthodox Jew, he refused to work on the Sabbath, which eventually led to his departure from the series. According to the book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, William Shatner once burst into executive Herb Solow's office at Desilu saying Hill was trying to arrange a minyan (a quorum of ten Jews over 13 for public prayer, for those not in the know) and asking how many Jews worked on Star Trek. There were at least three, including Solow, Shatner, and Nimoy, but I don't think it ever came together.

 

[Cmaier]

In no particular order;

Dave Chappelle Show
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Seinfield
NYPD Blues
Good Times
The Sopranos
Deadwood
Breaking Bad
The Pitt
Battlestar Galactica
The Wire

(My list goes to 11) just like some amplifiers

Ah, I forgot The Pitt. Though I want to let a few years pass before I know for sure. It’s too new and the series isn’t complete yet (but it’s very good).

The Wire was great, but (to me) it sort of flailed around a bit in later seasons. Battlestar Galactica (assume you mean the remake) also seemed to fizzle out for me, and I didn’t appreciate how it ended. Absolutely legendary first season, though,

 

[Cmaier]

The story of Steven Hill, who played Dan Briggs on Mission: Impossible for one year, is interesting. As an Orthodox Jew, he refused to work on the Sabbath, which eventually led to his departure from the series. According to the book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, William Shatner once burst into executive Herb Solow's office at Desilu saying Hill was trying to arrange a minyan (a quorum of ten Jews over 13 for public prayer, for those not in the know) and asking how many Jews worked on Star Trek. There were at least three, including Solow, Shatner, and Nimoy, but I don't think i

Sadly I was too young to join the minyan.

 

[rdrr]

Ah, I forgot The Pitt. Though I want to let a few years pass before I know for sure. It’s too new and the series isn’t complete yet (but it’s very good).

The Wire was great, but (to me) it sort of flailed around a bit in later seasons. Battlestar Galactica (assume you mean the remake) also seemed to fizzle out for me, and I didn’t appreciate how it ended. Absolutely legendary first season, though,

The Pitt - I agree, and although it still is a wait and see for the whole series, season 1 was so good I had to put it on my list. Hopefully, the follow-up seasons don't fall flat.

Battlestar Galactica. I think there are aspects of both series that worked better than the other one. The modern-day special effects made the remake much better.

Honorable mentions from my < 13-year-old self.
Starblazers
6 Million Dollar Man
Dukes of Hazzard
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, (Fractured Fairytales)
The Land of the Lost

 

[japanime]

I know it's an anthology show, so it doesn't fit the "series" theme this thread has taken on, but ...

The Twilight Zone

... along with these two gems:

Homicide: Life on the Street
M*A*S*H

I could name dozens of other shows that I adore and think fit the "greatest" category. Those three, however, I could watch over and over again and never grow bored.

 

[Cmaier]

I know it's an anthology show, so it doesn't fit the "series" theme this thread has taken on, but ...

The Twilight Zone

... along with these two gems:

Homicide: Life on the Street
M*A*S*H

I could name dozens of other shows that I adore and think fit the "greatest" category. Those three, however, I could watch over and over again and never grow bored.

The Homicide episode with Robin Williams was one of the best episodes of any show I’ve ever seen.

 

[DT]

I know it's an anthology show, so it doesn't fit the "series" theme this thread has taken on, but ...

The Twilight Zone

That works!

Funny you posted this, we've been tossing these on the evening, kind of a bedtime relaxer ... not sure if it works, I wind up having some crazy dreams

 

[japanime]

That works!

Funny you posted this, we've been tossing these on the evening, kind of a bedtime relaxer ... not sure if it works, I wind up having some crazy dreams

Ha! Some of the episodes, for sure, could induce nightmares.

A show I often like to watch just before bedtime is "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." I understand why it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I've always enjoyed cringe comedy.

 

[Cmaier]

Ha! Some of the episodes, for sure, could induce nightmares.

A show I often like to watch just before bedtime is "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." I understand why it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I've always enjoyed cringe comedy.

Another great show. My daughter and I like to sing The Nightman Cometh in the car when I drive her to school. I’d put it on my list but I’m trying to stick to shows that are no longer on the air.

 

[Roller]

The Pitt - I agree, and although it still is a wait and see for the whole series, season 1 was so good I had to put it on my list. Hopefully, the follow-up seasons don't fall flat.

Fortunately, we don't have to wait long – S2 starts on January 8, 2026. I wish other TV series were released this quickly. I had to re-watch a few episodes of Stranger Things S4 before starting S5 because I'd forgotten some of the plot and characters in the intervening three years.

I know it's an anthology show, so it doesn't fit the "series" theme this thread has taken on, but ...

The Twilight Zone

Another anthology series from around the same time was the original The Outer Limits, which had more of a sci-fi theme. The eerie opening narration ("We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical.") set the stage for each episode. The show had a lot of overlap in personnel, actors, and even special effects with Star Trek, which followed it.

"The Zanti Misfits" is the one I remember best. It was about a spaceship filled with prisoners from the planet Zanti. They were large ant-like creatures with humanoid faces that scared the crap out of 10-year-old me, though they seem comical today.

 

[japanime]

Another great show. My daughter and I like to sing The Nightman Cometh in the car when I drive her to school. I’d put it on my list but I’m trying to stick to shows that are no longer on the air.

"Sunny" has bestowed upon us so many great gifts over its many seasons. The Nightman Cometh song that you mention, for instance. That multi-tool known as the "toe knife." The game of games, Chardee MacDennis.

For years, I've thought about making a rum ham for Christmas dinner. This might be that year.

Another anthology series from around the same time was the original The Outer Limits, which had more of a sci-fi theme. The eerie opening narration ("We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical.") set the stage for each episode. The show had a lot of overlap in personnel, actors, and even special effects with Star Trek, which followed it.

"The Zanti Misfits" is the one I remember best. It was about a spaceship filled with prisoners from the planet Zanti. They were large ant-like creatures with humanoid faces that scared the crap out of 10-year-old me, though they seem comical today.

Oh, indeed! "The Outer Limits" was aired back-to-back with "The Twilight Zone" in syndication late at night in the 1970s in the Bay Area (and probably in markets across the country). Such a great combo!

 

[Cmaier]

"Sunny" has bestowed upon us so many great gifts over its many seasons. The Nightman Cometh song that you mention, for instance. That multi-tool known as the "toe knife." The game of games, Chardee MacDennis.

For years, I've thought about making a rum ham for Christmas dinner. This might be that year.

Not to mention Charlie Work, perhaps the perfect half hour of comedy TV.

 

[Roller]

Two more I haven't seen mentioned:

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - I liked this as much for the theme music as for the action. I so wanted a pen communicator like the one on the show.

The Prisoner - I think this only ran for one season. It was weird and creepy (especially the Rover balloon that could kill people) but compelling.