My wife asked me that question tonight. What do I think is/was the best TV series ever made?

Before I could answer she told me hers. ER. She really liked that show. She knows all of the actors, where they came from and where they went. There is another show on now that is good but it’s not ER.

My answer required no time for consideration. MASH was the best TV series ever filmed. There is no equal. Distant runner up - This is Us.

What is/was your favorite? Why?

Favorite is a different question.

The best that was ever made? Either Breaking Bad or The Wire.

Favorite is harder. I base that on rewatchability. On that basis, The Big Bang Theory, but Scrubs and Frazier are up there.

I don't usually have an answer for "best ever," because so many of the comparisons are apples-and-oranges, but the original Star Trek series has provided me a lifetime of rewatchability.

Not exactly best or favorite, but Rocky and Bullwinkle should be somewhere in the pantheon.

I didn’t read your whole post til after I thought about it, and MASH was my answer too. I can still watch those episodes and laugh. Most old shows that I used to like and see now I think are stupid.

My recommendation for the best show for the whole family to watch together is "Heartland" - it just finished the 14th season showing in Canada. 13 seasons currently on Netflix has been fun to watch through the pandemic. We just started season 13...

Breaking Bad
Boston Legal
And now, Zerozerozero. On Amazon.

M*A*S*H. The writing was outstanding. It matured a lot over the years. The characters were three-dimensional. You could turn the sound off and still follow the story.

There were a few things in there you probably couldn’t do today, like Klinger.


I thought the first couple seasons of Grey’s Anatomy were up to the same standard, but I think they ran out of good ideas and just started adding more bizarre threads until it was both strained and predictable.

I like Friends, but I don’t know that I would call it one of the best series ever. Maybe it is. I frequently see it in the menu on airplanes, so it has staying power in reruns.

I watched three seasons of Peaky Blinders on a trip to Europe two years ago. It would not be my usual fare with so much violence — I gave up on Sons of Anarchy even with all the motorcycles because of the graphic violence — but after one episode, I was hooked.

Speaking of motorcycles, when I was a kid, the one show I never ever missed was CHiPS.

And my mother was hooked on Kung Fu. We saw every episode.

My gut response was MASH as well. We just finished a rematch of the whole series and while there are certainly some things that are cringey by today’s standards, they also tried to address a lot of important topics. The writing was great, and it’s hilarious.

Also, Hawkeye Pierce was my first fictional character crush. I still have a bit of a thing for Alan Alda, despite the age gap.

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
Not exactly best or favorite, but Rocky and Bullwinkle should be somewhere in the pantheon.

quote:

Originally posted by dolmansaxlil:

Also, Hawkeye Pierce was my first fictional character crush. I still have a bit of a thing for Alan Alda, despite the age gap.

Me, too.

High on my list would have to be the Carol Burnett Show. Guaranteed multiple genuine laughing episodes per view.

武林外传。In English the title got translated into “My Own Swordsman.” https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/武林外传

I should have added The West Wing.

I was thinking of the West Wing too, Quirt. We've been watching the old episodes every few days here. The primary reason I didn't put it in was political fatigue, and the fact that I was going for shows that didn't have that element.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned All in the Family (OK, also political). Though tbh, I haven't watched it in awhile and it may not hold up.

One of the main reasons I added Carol Burnett was because her shows were just funny, in a non-cheap, non-mean way. No fart jokes, nothing super topical, no picking on a particular group to get a cheap laugh.

I'd also have to put Hill Street Blues in there, as well as Homicide: LOTS... the first 3-4 seasons only, but those first few seasons were amazing. 100% with you on The Wire.