100 greatest tv series

[bachophile]

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20211015-the-100-greatest-tv-series-of-the-21st-century

I must admit the I can count on one hand the shows of which I’ve binged every episode, and few others I’ve occasionally or even rarely watched add up to the second hand.

I guess I don’t watch much tv

[89th]

Cool list. It makes me realize if I ever won the lottery I would (basically) do 3 things:

1. Golf
2. Travel
3. Watch TV series that I've wanted to.

I've watched 10 of those shows listed. I've said The Shield (#55) on that list is my number one seed, btw.

[xenon]

I've seen 9 of the top 20. Never quite found the time to fit the wire in yet.

[Klaus]

I've seen 2 of those 100, and a rather small number of single episodes of a handful of others.

I guess I watch even less TV than @bachophile

[Klaus]

<GeorgeK> What, no "The Expanse" in that list? </GeorgeK>

[George K]

Before retiring, I only committed to only a shows. Streaming (and therefore binging) was less of an option 10 years ago, so for many series it became a weekly thing.

Breaking Bad
The Americans
Homeland
House of Cards
Galactica (which, imo is overrated in the last few seasons)
Dexter
Six Feet Under

But, since retiring, almost 5 years ago, it's much easier to make a decision to follow a show through and through. Spending 2-3 hours on a weekend day lets you get through a lot of content, and, the fact that you can binge makes storytelling much more important, and better, imo.

I think the groundbreaking change in television really started in the early/mid 1990s, with J Michael Straczinski (sp?) produced Babylon 5. "Here's a tv show that'll tell a story, from beginning to end. It will take 5 years to tell it, so pay attention." Now, B5 had a lot of "filler" material - in those days a season might have 22 or more episodes, so it was a lot of airtime to fill. Now, however, with 10-13 episode seasons, the stories are leaner, and, I think better.

So, anyhow, since retiring, I've binged through a lot of these. And I mean a LOT.

The particularly good ones, of those I've watched:

The Wire
The Shield
Deadwood
Westworld

These shows all fall into the "let me tell you a long story" mold.

There are others, however, which are more "miniseries" than actual TV shows.

Chernobyl
Fargo
Band of Brothers
The Young (and New) Pope
Mindhunter
The Queen's Gambit

These last five (and others) are different - they are more like "long movies" rather than TV shows. Fargo, in particular tells a different story every season, with the only overlap being some of the names and places, but not the characters. Sort of like American Horror Story.

Oh well, that's my rant.

And, did anyone notice that The Sopranos didn't make that list? The hell?

[George K]

It's also interesting to note how many of these series "lost their way" during their runs.

I mentioned Battlestar Galactica. Dexter is another obvious example. I'm still unsure about Westworld.

[LuFins Dad]

@klaus said in 100 greatest tv series:

I've seen 2 of those 100, and a rather small number of single episodes of a handful of others.

I guess I watch even less TV than @bachophile

You’re better than me but I think I may have beat @bachophile. I had 1 show in the top 50 and 2 in the 50-100 range.

[bachophile]

@george-k said in 100 greatest tv series:

And, did anyone notice that The Sopranos didn't make that list? The hell?

and not lilyhammer. its a plot against steven van zandt

or all italians

or all series' which started in the 20th century.....

[George K]

@bachophile said in 100 greatest tv series:

@george-k said in 100 greatest tv series:

And, did anyone notice that The Sopranos didn't make that list? The hell?

and not lilyhammer. its a plot against steven van zandt

or all italians

or all series' which started in the 20th century.....

Didn't the Sopranos run into the 21st?

Geez, I'm getting old(er).

[bachophile]

it did, but the first season was 1999

not sure how they determined cutoffs in the BBC poll,

I was not sent the whole protocol as an independent reviewer before publication

[taiwan_girl]

@george-k said in 100 greatest tv series:

These last five (and others) are different - they are more like "long movies" rather than TV shows.

Even when I was growing up, the "one season" type of TV shows were pretty normal. As you say, like a long movie.

It does seem to have become more popular around the rest of the world in recent years to have this type.

[jon-nyc]

I've only seen episodes of three of them. The Wire, Madmen, and Six Feet Under. No episodes of the other 98. Haven't watched any in their entirety.