Best Television Show Of All Time

[Loki]

Yeah, I know this thread comes back all the time, but I feel like it's that time of the year where we should see it again.

This is obviously an opinion thread, so prepare yourself to hear other people's opinions, even if you dislike it.

So what is, according to you, THE best Television show of all time? And I mean, only one.

For me, it's Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Why?

1) Amazing cast. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brandon, Anthony Stewart Head, James Marster, Emma Caulfield, David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, Michelle Trachtenberg, Seth Green, Eliza Dushku, Mercedes McNab, Juliet Landau, Nathan Fillion, Julie Benz, Alexis Denisof... and just in the Angel Series, the missed Andy Halett (Lorne).
2) Amazing dialogues and characters. The show is a good 75% about character development, and maybe 25% about action. Joss Whedon did an insane job bringing Buffy from a little dumb schoolgirl to the leader of a Slayer Army.
3) The first Vampire T.V. show that didn't "suck".
4) The first T.V. show that had two girls kissing in it, and a lesbian couple in the main characters.
5) Seth Green (again), his character Oz is just awesome.
6) James Marster's Spike character. The best character that's ever been created. By far. Best Anti-Hero. Best Hero.
7) A lots of episode that actually made me cry. The Wish, I always lose a tear when Angel dies, followed by vamp Xander and Willow, and that Buffy doesn't give a shit.
8) Original episode themes, such as a completely mute episode, and a musical comedy.
9) Great laughs.
10) There's a muppet episode.

Anyway, what's your Favourite T.V. Show? Don't forget to say why. lol

[TheMajormel]

Not to sound like a copy cat,but I really got into Angel over the summer.
and honestly,it blows everything I've seen out of the way.

[BumFodder]

Yeah but, you know, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is really kinda Buffyish and vampirish and slayerish.

[Darthleather]

My Mother The Car, for obvious reasons.

[Boomstick]

I've gotten into Law and Order: SVU, it's pretty good not dull as the other ones and it does keep you in suspense. I think that might be a great show for me, dunno about all time though.

inb4 Breaking Bad

[CrownedCrow]

I'm going to have to jump on the Joss Whedon Bandwagon and say that Firefly is my personal favorite show of all time.

Not very original, I know

[Darthleather]

At 12/19/11 09:58 PM, MrRager wrote: I've gotten into Law and Order: SVU, it's pretty good not dull as the other ones and it does keep you in suspense. I think that might be a great show for me, dunno about all time though.

I watch that too. Not religiously, but if it's on I'll watch it. It's really the only LAO show I care for.

[BumFodder]

At 12/19/11 09:59 PM, Tramps wrote: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

I think FMA is well known enough so that you dont need to write a whole paragraph about it, but yeah it is good. My personal favourite is Higurashi no naku koro ni.

My favourite which isnt animation is either Life on Mars (UK one obviously) or Ashes to Ashes.

[Oolaph]

Doctor Who is my personal favorite, and a brilliant show, though I wouldn't say it's quite the "best of all time".

So yeah, I have no idea.

[Mizzjuicyflava]

First 48 is my all time favorite show.

Why? Its the best reality crime show ever. It shows every detail of a homicide case. From the crime to the interrogation.

I pretty much like any crime show.

[LaniLETHAL]

At 12/19/11 09:52 PM, FBIpolux wrote: Omg I love Buffy wah wah wah it's the best blah blah

Standing my my "buffy sucks" decision, forever btw. :P

hmm.. Favorite show for me would have to be nothing. I'm not much of a telly-type.

I'm much more likely to be on Tumblr than watching t.v!

[Darthleather]

Buffy and Angel were awesome shows.

[ota1con]

I'm gonna say Sopranos. It was cool in so many ways.

[Darthleather]

X Files was a great show, but the mythology got extremely convoluted as it went on.

[Ragnarokia]

MLP:FIM

[BumFodder]

At 12/19/11 10:11 PM, Tramps wrote: Besides, I think there's still quite a lot of people who haven't really touched the anime genre as a whole and still sort of see it as a childish medium. In Britain, I'm not aware of any TV stations that show more mature anime on a regular basis. We don't have Adult Swim anymore which I believe showed the majority of the more mature anime shows. The last well-known anime I remember having is Pokemon and Digimon.

I think people are too ignorant when it come to anime in the UK. Theyll just give out some stereotype that only applied 10 years ago or say its for kids, not to mention that the only TV station that did air anime all the time (Animecentral) shut down almost as soon as it started up, and all they ever aired was long running shonen stuff apparently. This is excluding ones for kids though, like pokemon etc.

The only large retailers I know that sell it are HMV, and Blockbusters to a much lesser extent.

[WiiFittoToreinaa]

I like xena, tosh.0, and good vibes

since I notice that buffy the vampire is on that gay channel its not full of guys getting it on right?

[Newgate]

But, OP, it did suck.

[Loki]

At 12/19/11 10:19 PM, Devilshadow666 wrote: I like xena, tosh.0, and good vibes

since I notice that buffy the vampire is on that gay channel its not full of guys getting it on right?

Well, there is a lot of pro-feminist messages and pro-lesbian stuff in there. Among other things.

[Darthleather]

I watch Supernatural, but I'd never call it an example of great writing.

[BumFodder]

At 12/19/11 10:23 PM, Tramps wrote: Yeah, I've been trying to get my friend to watch it because I think it's a medium that everyone can enjoy, no matter tastes. People in the UK just seem to have this pre-requisite idea that it's either too childish or too nerdy to give it a shot. I showed my friend and he loves it but he's still apprehensive to watch other ones I recommend to him. I recall seeing animecentral but one time when I went to look for it, it wasn't there anymore. People in the UK just don't have as much as a fanbase for it.

Well youll just have to show your friend some really epic ones and theyll eventually get around to the idea. And yeah its got pretty much every genre for any age and a bix mix up of them, theyre especially fond of their comedies for some reason. Teenagers who watch anime are actually quite a lot more common than people assume too, and over the years ive found out that some people watched it who I knew and would never of suspected.

[DarkShadowblade]

At 12/19/11 09:59 PM, Tramps wrote: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

I didn't wanna' be that guy who said some anime show but I've never enjoyed or been more engrossed in a series than this. I like anime as it is because it's a great medium to tell a wide variety of stories whilst looking human and not too played down by it being animated.

The whole universe that surrounded the story was one that was really compelling to think about. In a short summary for anyone who doesn't know, it's a world where alchemy is the prominent source of power and is used in day-to-day life. Not like the alchemy we know in our world; an alchemy where drawing symbols (transmutation circles) enabled people to reconstruct items at their will. It made it better that at face-value it was an interesting premise but the deeper you got into the story, you learn more about the darker sides of things.

The characters were big hits as well with me. The protagonists and antagonists, although exaggerated in typical anime standards were really believable and you always rooted for them.

I don't know, it was just a perfect mix between action, comedy, drama etc. It'll take something amazing to beat that series for me.

Inclined to say one of the best anime series of all time. The fact that the anime introduces a completely new "old" world with all these rules is what makes it even better. Also, the great character development (ESPECIALLY of Edward)

Especially the end. Everything a bout FMA:Brotherhood pulls you in, not only is it Ed and Al's journey, but your right there with them. Enjoyed every minute of it.

[TheMaster]

Ignoring mini-series, which always have an easier time than regular shows due them being made as a whole rather than developed continually over time, I'd probably go Deadwood.

An astonishingly strong ensemble cast playing some of the best characters I've ever seen. Unlike many shows none of the characters, however minor, exist solely to advance the plot. All of them are fully realised, from the sheriff and saloon owners, to the miners and the prostitutes.

The characters are so strong they're able to hold up an entire show. Deadwood has no villain who needs to be defeated or problem for the characters to overcome, it's just a bunch of people going about their lives as the place itself evolves from a mining outpost into a fully fledged town.

The dialogue is a joy to listen to. It's incredibly eloquent, yet peppered with fucks and cocksuckers which makes for something so unique that you have to concentrate just to understand what's actually going on, which is a welcome change given that most shows, even good ones, usually go out of their way to have characters explain the plot to the audience.

Deadwood is not easy viewing, it demands your attention, but if you're willing to give it you'll get the best TV experience you're ever likely to have.

At 12/19/11 09:52 PM, FBIpolux wrote: 4) The first T.V. show that had two girls kissing in it, and a lesbian couple in the main characters.

Not true, but probably the first that didn't do it as a cheap attempt to be shocking and draw in viewers.

10) There's a muppet episode.

But Smile Time is an Angel episode, not Buffy. Angel is the better series anyway, nothing in Buffy can touch season 5, and only season 4 was weak. The only consistently excellent Buffy is seasons 2 and 3. The rest varies is great, but never quite as great as Angel.

At 12/19/11 10:14 PM, Darthleather wrote: X Files was a great show, but the mythology got extremely convoluted as it went on.

X-Files is all about the standalone episodes. The mytharc was never good, but it didn't have to be when you had gold like Home and Jose Chung's From Outer Space.

[AnalPenguinFarming]

In terms of TV shows I'm gonna have to go with How I Met Your Mother. It has a great cast, great humor, and a really overall well written story for the show. I love it and actually can't get enough of it. I can say I've seen every single episode, haven't missed one up until this recent season.

Other favorites are Lost and Sons of Anarchy. I absolutely love these shows and they absorbed me in as if I was there and part of the cast. I laughed, I cried, and felt like I was best friends in both of those shows. Absolutely breathtaking shows.

[BumFodder]

At 12/19/11 10:32 PM, AnalPenguinFarming wrote: Other favorites are Lost

Oh yeah lost, forgot about that. Every single episode of that was amazing except for the ending which was quite disappointing.

[Darthleather]

I love Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! I know a lot of people despise the hell out of it, but I don't. I laugh my ass off at it.

[AnalPenguinFarming]

At 12/19/11 10:34 PM, BumFodder wrote:

At 12/19/11 10:32 PM, AnalPenguinFarming wrote: Other favorites are Lost

Oh yeah lost, forgot about that. Every single episode of that was amazing except for the ending which was quite disappointing.

I actually wasn't disappointed by the ending. Were there unanswered questions? Sure. Do I have plenty of conversations with friends based on my theories of the show? YES. Which is what makes it that much better of a show.

[Donut]

At 12/19/11 10:38 PM, AnalPenguinFarming wrote:

At 12/19/11 10:34 PM, BumFodder wrote:

At 12/19/11 10:32 PM, AnalPenguinFarming wrote: Other favorites are Lost

Oh yeah lost, forgot about that. Every single episode of that was amazing except for the ending which was quite disappointing.

I actually wasn't disappointed by the ending. Were there unanswered questions? Sure. Do I have plenty of conversations with friends based on my theories of the show? YES. Which is what makes it that much better of a show.

I wholeheartedly agree. Lost was one of the only shows that could grab me with its characters. All the background information about the characters did quite well to immerse me in the universe even further. I personally thought the ending was great in that it left a lot for the viewer to interpret on his own.

[BumFodder]

At 12/19/11 10:38 PM, AnalPenguinFarming wrote: I actually wasn't disappointed by the ending. Were there unanswered questions? Sure. Do I have plenty of conversations with friends based on my theories of the show? YES. Which is what makes it that much better of a show.

It wasnt exactly the most original or innovative ending ever, and it was actually kind of an asspull too. Sure you can still discuss the show, but the ending wasnt satisfying at all and is a very discredited type of ending too.

[Halberd]

Game of Thrones

And The Simpsons use to be pretty great

i lov the manistream XD