<p>Colorado Mom and Cartera: I understand what you are saying about Scandal and The Good Wife. I had tried watching each when they first came out and felt “mehhh” about each show. Many friends raved about these shows. I saw Kerry Washington on a talk show last week and the host was raving about Scandal. I figured I gave The Good Wife a second try so I should give Scandal a second try. These shows must have hit me at the right time on the second try because they are not the type of show I typically watch.</p>
<p>My all time favorite TV series: Law & Order - especially the episodes with Jerry Orbach.</p>
<p>My favorite sports related show: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel</p>
<p>I was a latecomer to The Good Wife. I think I started watching somewhere in the middle of Season 3, and only sporadically. I became a fan by Season 4 and never missed watching it after that. A few months ago I decided to watch the old episodes online. I’m glad I did – it filled in a lot of the gaps and explained the subtleties of the relationships. Watching the new episodes was much more enjoyable once I was caught up!</p>
<p>Now that I’m retired, I have the time to catch up on all the shows I’ve missed. I kill two birds with one stone by watching while walking on the treadmill. This thread is a great resource for finding new stuff to watch :).</p>
<p>Just my 2 cents. Watched all 5 seasons of the wire in 2 month period this year and felt like a piece of me was missing when it ended. Loved that show. Also currently viewing House of Cards. The actor who plays Freddy the rib shack owner (Reg E. Cathey) was Norman, the mayor’s right hand man in the Wire. </p>
<p>Im addicted to Breaking Bad due to Netflix, but I’m having problems viewing the 1st 8 episodes of season 5 (Netflix only had 4 seasons). ANy suggestions?</p>
<p>Have never watched a full episode of Arrested Development, but I’m intrigued and intend to go back and watch the whole series from the beginning via Netflix.</p>
<p>Finally, the greatest written comedy IMHO was The Larry Sanders Show. Not easy to find on DVD but well worth the effort.</p>
<p>Another vote here for Larry Sanders. Rip Torn is a comic genius, and I especially loved the guest appearances by David Duchovny. Plus you get to see Jon Stewart when he was very young!</p>
<p>The top five are The Sopranos, Seinfeld, The Twilight Zone, All in the Family, and MASH. I’ve got no argument with the top three, but I don’t think I’d rank All in the Family and MASH quite so high.</p>
<p>Some shows have stood the test of time, others are current-day favorites that I don’t think will be giving Twilight Zone, Mary Tyler Moore, or I Love Lucy a run for their money 60 years from now.</p>
<p>I was delighted to see most of my favorites somewhere on the list, and a variety of genres. The Carol Burnett Show at #37 - sounds about right. Sesame Street at #56 - I’ll buy that. Two shows I loved, Barney Miller and I, Claudius, are tied at 76 and though they may be strange bedfellows, they were brilliantly written. I don’t think The Golden Girls and Everybody Loves Raymond really deserve to be ranked in the 60s, though.</p>
<p>I disagree that The Sopranos, The Twilight Zone, and Breaking Bad are written better than Arrested Development (at least seasons 1-3). But they all do belong near the top. Maybe Seinfeld and The Wire are better.</p>
<p>Personally, I think MASH deserves to be highly ranked, as it was a very beloved series for a very long time. I personally like the earlier episodes a lot better than the later ones. I am surprised that Sesame Street isn’t ranked higher, as it was what my kids viewed for their early childhood years, as did many others.</p>
<p>Rankings are fickle things anyway, so I am not sure I’d put a lot of stock into particular ratings.</p>
<p>H loves “Grimm,” which should be shooting its 3rd season this fall. I’m sure it is not on any list yet, as it hasn’t hit enough episodes. It is a very quirky show, but interesting.</p>
<p>I’d put more stock in a ranking of the best-written television shows from the Writers Guild of America than I would in most other rankings of most other things. Although I think they have it wrong about The Golden Girls, which I don’t believe belongs on the list at all. As one of my kids used to say when she heard the theme song, “We get it already. You’re old and you like sex.”</p>
<p>We are very into The Killing, which just started its third season after it was supposed to end after the second. I don’t normally watch crime shows but this one is easily one of my favorite shows of all time.</p>
Although I think they have it wrong about The Golden Girls, which I don’t believe belongs on the list at all. As one of my kids used to say when she heard the theme song, “We get it already. You’re old and you like sex.”</p>