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January 06, 2006
TV : Best (scripted) TV shows ever
So after I did my piece on Buffy, I started to think about what other shows I would put into that category. I haven't been able to find a good source for "every TV show broadcast in America", so there may be some good ones I have just forgotten; but here's my top 10 list so far. Because these shows have very different reasons for being on my list, I find it impossible to establish an order between them, so I'm listing them in chronological order.
The Ernie Kovacs Show (1952-1956)
Ernie Kovacs was a true innovator. At a time when most TV shows were "Radio with Pictures" or "Theatre in your living room", Ernie dared to ask "What could you do with television because it was television and not radio, theatre, or the movies?" Among other things, he invented various camera tricks and techniques that are still used today. His show was a collection of comedy skits; but he constantly played with both the format and technical aspects of the show. The show would almost certainly seem "old hat" to a modern audience; but you have to keep in mind, Ernie was the guy who invented the "hat".
Playhouse 90 (1956-1961)
The show that (amongst other things ) gave us writer Rod Serling, director John Frankenheimer, and episodes like "Requiem for a Heavyweight", "A Town Has Turned To Dust", "Alas, Babylon", "The Days of Wine and Roses", "The Miracle Worker", "Judgment at Nuremberg", "Invitation to a Gunfighter", "Project Immortality" (most of which were eventually made into movies). This is the first television show to really attract top writers to the small screen, and it remains some of the best comedy and drama ever produced for television.
The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)
The Twilight Zone said more about the human condition than any show since, and said it better than most of the shows that followed. Of the shows in my list, this is the first that I would also call a "classic" in the sense that I expect people 100 years form now to still be watching it.
All in the Family (1971-1979)
This show not only had something to say; but what it had to say was something a lot of people didn't want to hear. Bottom line, this show opened the door to dealing with tough issues on television. We'd still be watching shows where the big crisis was that the wife burned the roast if it wasn't for the Bunkers. Of course credit must be given to Johnny Speight who created "Till Death Do Us Part" for the BBC (the show on which All in the Family was based)
M*A*S*H (1972-1983)
While this was one of the first shows I added to my list, I went back and forth on it many times. The reality is that most of the episodes in the early seasons were pure formula, and it took a while for the show to find its "voice". But once it did, it was amazing. It had three characteristics which I come back to time and time again in this list:
- It had something to say, not just about war (which is certainly spoke eloquently on), but about people in general.
- It was not confined by its genre. Was it a Drama? A Comedy? A Medical show? A Military show? The fact that it mixed outrageous comedy with deep pathos (just like real life) was part of what made it special.
- It was willing to experiment with its format. There was the dream episode, the interview episode, etc. The show's writers were willing to try new things to tell their story.
Moonlighting (1985-1989)
After Ernie Kovacs, I think Moonlighting did more than any show to experiment with what a TV show is. Mixing genre's (who ever heard of a comedy detective show back then?), breaking the fourth wall on TV, experimenting with format (Shakespeare, musicals, etc.) Now I'll grant that not every experiment worked; but enough did to make an amazing show.
Babylon 5 (1994-1998)
The show that added the phrase "a five year arc" to the Hollywood lexicon (we would not have shows like Lost if it wasn't for Babylon 5). In addition to telling a single coherent story over 5 seasons (a story that had a lot to say about humanity), the show also had a deep impact on how TV series are made. The idea of any TV show, much less a science fiction show with complicated special effects, returning money to the studio at the end of each season because they came in under budget is unheard of; but B5 did it. This show will be used as a master class for how to produce TV for years to come.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
I've already expressed myself on this, so I'll say no more.
The West Wing (1999-????)
The show that made political discourse interesting. While the show has dropped off in the last few seasons, the writing of seasons 1-3 was some of the best that has appeared on TV since Playhouse 90. It also has a lot to say about both people and politics. I was temped to actually put "Sports Night" on my list instead (same writers); but the fact that West Wing did occasionally succeed at explaining complex political problems put it over the top.
In terms of the current crop of shows, given more time I could see either "Over There" or "Battlestar Galactica (2004)" bumping one of these off my list someday. We'll see.
Posted by Steven at January 6, 2006 06:43 PM
