It’s tough picking one.
But that’s why I’m asking. It’s easy to do a top 3, even easier to a top 5.
But when you have to choose a singular show? When you’re forced to pare it down? What sticks above the others for you?
Babylon 5 for me.
It’s got plenty of issues but it’s still my darling and despite all the behind-the-scenes BS it’s still the best long-form sci-fi story I’ve seen onscreen.
Edit: Screwed up the title. Bad Dalacos.
The Wire is the best, IMO.
I’d most likely go for something I have a deep connection with though: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Home Movies, or Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Actually, I’ll pick Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It’s endlessly fun every time I watch it.
I’d say probably The Adventures of Tintin just because it has the nostalgia value of not just being a show from my childhood but also memories of watching it every Sunday morning at my dad’s house (he had HBO so it was rare to see it).
I would say the original Battlestar Galactica has a special place in my heart. As a kid watching it, I couldn’t believe it — it was like having Star Wars in my home. The production spent money on the first half of the season, and it showed.
The 2004 one is pretty good too.
Columbo.
If they didn’t try to subvert expectations by royally fucking up season 8 so badly that it ruined the entire show for me, it would have been Game of Thrones.
So instead I’ll say Avatar the Last Airbender. Honestly an amazing show, and to this day its the only show I’ve managed to rewatch without getting bored and dropping it.
They fucked that show up well before season 8.
Seasons 5 and 6 were noticeably worse than the first four, but I still enjoyed them. Season 7 was bad, but not show ruining bad. Had it gotten even a decent season 8, I think it would have been an amazing show all around. Not flawless 10/10 material, no, but still a great show.
Season 8 was honestly impressive in just how many plot points it threw down a well. Jamie’s redemption? Nah, screw that noise, he changed his mind. And I don’t think I’ve ever felt so deflated after S8E3. 8 years of buildup and that’s how they end it? What a monumental waste of time it turned out to be.
Chris Carter’s Millennium, from the late 1990s. The first season was not great, the third season was lousy, but the second season was spectacular!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincenzo_(TV_series)
Took me a little while to get used to the wild humor related tone swings, but the characters, plot, action, drama, and revenge are amazing.
Father Ted. Man, I miss that show. The humor was just so dry and on the nose.
I’d have chosen Firefly, I never get tired of it, and I just love it.
So many other amazing shows though, a few already mentioned in other comments, like BSG would be a close second to Firefly.
But there are some shows that haven’t been mentioned and I think they deserve it just as much. And because having to choose only one would make me regret losing these other ones, here they are:
Breaking Bad, it absolutely fascinates me and I just can’t get over the character development and the writing and acting from the whole cast.
And probably the newest show that for me is on the very top, and actually I must admit it might have gone past the other ones (except firefly), Arcane. Everything about it, I love. The writing, the animation, the music, the characters, the world building, the character growth, …
If I choose Firefly, I’d regret not choosing Arcane, but I just can’t not choose firefly.
I read Schuiten and Peters graphic novels in the 80s, and Arcane seems like such a rip-off that it just turns me off
Interesting, I didn’t know them and it seems like I might enjoy it. I’ll have to check it out.
The animation studio of Arcane is a small French company, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the artists have grown up reading those graphic novels and were inspired by them. Rip-off sounds a bit harsh though, or is it more blatant than what I could see on a quick search?
I think arcane s2 had some great stuff but a lot of it made very little sense or was outright bad imo. This is from someone who’s deeply immersed in runeterra (which might be a bad thing in this case)
Oh? I’m surprised, I think your comment is the first negative opinion on Arcane that I see (to be fair, I wasn’t really searching for them either). So I’m curious if you don’t mind explaining further, what for example did you find outright bad or making no sense? I would love to hear your opinion, also about season 1 as you specifically mention season 2, was the first better for you? I personally cannot say there was a lot bugging me and usually plotholes or characters acting against their role and background and personality just for the story’s sake bother me plenty.
For context, I did know about runeterra and a bit of the stories from before Arcane came out, but I would never consider myself versed in it. I did read some of the background stories officially posted by Riot, some of the comics, and played a bit of league and legends of runeterra, but of course there’s not that much story in the games anyway.
Let’s see if I can remember, if I am factually wrong skit anything please correct me as it was some time ago. Also on phone so might autocorrect something I don’t notice.
S1.
Expectations: very low.
Seeing the kids grow up, slowly showing you all the points where Vi gets angry and powder gets messed up. Silco seems like a standard violation but gets emotional and instead of just using Jinx for his own gains he’s ready to die for her like she’s his own child.
They managed to make the vi Cait romance realistic under weird circumstances which was fresh to see. I enjoyed seeing Viktor and Jayce rise and fall in separate directions.
Was not a big fan of the chemtech depiction how you just pumped it into people and they were super soldiers that only Jayce and Vi stood a chance against. Also the vander ww hints didn’t excite me really.
S2.
Expectations: sky high
Starts off great, the tension between the uptown people and downtown which messes with Caitlin and Vi. Didn’t enjoy ambessa much except for her interactions with the black rose which was pretty cool.
The ww/ambessa/singed union didn’t make sense at all to me. She’s looking for something to up her army but following a random monster makes little sense to me. Now add Viktor to that mess and all of a sudden Warwick is not just a chemtech junkie gone monster but a necessary ingredient for Viktor to transcend.
Heimer and ekko in time was great tv, normally I’m skeptical about these kinds of side quests but this was amazing.
Jayce in time had its moments all in all pretty cool.
The endgame is where it all collapsed imo. The city invasion with like 20 soldiers running around in the harbour, ambessa vs Caitlin duel felt unnecessary imo, jinx/vi/vander fight felt forced even though Jinx probably needed to die but the manner was silly.
I get that it’s hard to close out when the scope is so big but I was disappointed.
So I guess it mainly boils down to high expectations and poor execution on certain parts. But as you can read from my review I am a fan and will definitely check out s3.
Cheers!
I was at first leaning toward Bojack Horseman, but after thinking it over, I have to say Babylon 5, too. That has a lot to do with how I experienced it.
I first heard of it before it even aired, because they used Lightwave on the Amiga for the CGI sequences. I think I still have the VHS tape from the first airing of The Gathering. It turned out to be an interesting show. I quickly forgot about watching for the CGI, and found myself watching for the story.
Not only that, but the shows creator engaged fans directly during production on CompuServe, and later, Usenet. (That was totally new at the time.) Since it was back in the ancient times, episodes aired once a week. We fans had plenty of time to discuss each episode, and speculate about where it was going.
Then, And the Sky Full of Stars hit like a ton of bricks. (“Wham! Wham! Wham!” as JMS liked to say online.) The story, the imagery, and the music just created the perfect storm of grief and dispair, and we got the full treatment of what it meant to have a 5-year story arc. (Oddly enough, I just realized that it was also the 8th episode of Bojack in which that show demonstrated real depth, and started to get really good.)
As the show continued, my personal life fell apart, as major depression took hold. I don’t quite recall when I stopped being able to catch it when it aired, or why. (I think it moved to cable after PTEN folded?) But it wasn’t until years later that I watched the 5th season, when I was scrabbling out of the deep hole of depression.
Holy hell. Getting to the series finale was emotional enough, but That Scene hit like 20 tons of bricks. It was played well, yes, but I had known these characters for literal years by then, learned what they’d gone through, felt the weight of all that they had done and felt, and I cried for a long time. And it was amazing to feel anything so deeply, which is why the show will always be special to me.
In many ways, I think that the streaming format robs us viewers of something vital. Binge-watching doesn’t allow time for the characters and stories to really settle in your soul. And then there’s no social group to share the experience with. I didn’t watch Game of Thrones when it was new, and I know that the experience wouldn’t be at all the same now. I did binge The Good Place last year, and the effect was like a summer thunderstorm—intense, but brief. It’s a great show, but didn’t affect me so deeply. As such, I’m glad I watched Bojack when it was new, to be able to share the experience online with other people. It was made for streaming, and the season-at-a-time release, so it couldn’t be any other way, but nothing will quite match the experience of a dedicated fan base and weekly episodes.
I was a lil shit then so I’m sort of glad I wasn’t on usenet to embarrass myself but at the same time I feel like I missed out on something great I could’ve been in on. Having JMS there and bare to answer any questions would be amazing. (I say this as someone that’s had him answer my Q’s in reddit AMA’s a couple times. So at least I got that.)
/envy
I used to be a big proponent of the binge-release. But as time moves on I find myself more appreciative of the weekly releases lending itself to conversation. Particularly for the mystery-box shows.
Now I think of release format as a part of the artistry of the show itself. Arcane for example, releasing in segments of three by three and knowing ahead of time that that was how it’d be released, was a canny and smart way to do it. Similarly certain shows released (Like they used to) the first two episodes as a longer intro to the show then going to weekly is a smart idea too.
IMHO, it should be part of the showrunners consideration how a show is released, rather than up to the company that’s releasing it. It’s an artistic choice that can dramatically change how the show as a whole is perceived.
Star Trek TNG
It’s almost impossible to say just one because the other 2-3 that I thought about just hit different depending on my mood. Comedy vs drama vs Sci fi etc.
The Wire. It’s the best TV show ever made and will almost certainly always be that. Nothing else comes close.
Hands down, it’s first by a mile. It’s in a field of it’s own. I also doubt I’ll ever watch something as good again. Though I will say, the first season is the worst of all the seasons, and one might not understand what they are missing if they stop there.
Absolutely brilliant show. Quality wise is up there at the top in writing and acting. Although for me personally, a lot harder to watch and enjoy long term, like I loved it when I watched it and I have great memories of it but I’m not sure I’d rewatch it.
The scene where they say fuck and only fuck like a hundred times in 10 minutes still fascinates me to this day in what good acting can be. And the character that’s always whistling… (Sorry I can’t remember their names, it’s been so long) what an amazing role and actor.
The whistling guy was Omar, a stick up man. His scene while on the stand getting cross examined by the dirty lawyer was one of the most memorable scenes of the whole series. https://youtu.be/P3i36ybA8Ms
The actor unfortunately died a few years ago but was excellent in The Wire and also excellent in Boardwalk Empire.
Surprised it wasn’t mentioned before. It’s not the genre I like but I’ve heard it in the same breathe as B5 so many times I know I’m missing out on something great.
watched it this year for the first time. It’s in my top 3. It made Idris Elba famous and I loved the character.
Probably DS9 with Babylon 5 as close 2nd, or the Simpsons
Why u gotta make me Google ds9? For those who don’t know: Star Trek:Deep Space Nine
The Andy Griffith Show. Genuinely funny show, with a great heart. Barney Fife, played by Don Knotts, is literally the funniest character ever on TV.
