Top 10 TV Series Of All Time

We are about to attempt what may be impossible: take more than 86 years of television programming and select just the 10 best series of all time.  Keep in mind, though, that one can dispense with 99.99% of it as pure crap.  We also aren't going to consider public-affair or current-event shows, like 60 Minutes or Entertainment Tonight, nor will we include late-night talk shows that infest the airwaves and offer little of unique value since Jack Paar.

At the dawn of the medium, television was hailed as a way to bring quality cultural events directly into the family living room.  Even the name "television" means "to see at a distance," allowing us immediate access to global audio and video content.  It would entertain, educate and illuminate.  It was going to turn audiences into geniuses overnight (oh yes, they said that).  Instead, it devolved into cacophonous noise half-consciously absorbed by beer-swilling couch potatoes, whose general IQs slipped, rather than rose.  With the exceptions of the Moon landings and a handful of programs (noted below), television has assiduously failed in its grand promise to elevate the general population.  As one of the greats of early television, Ernie Kovacs, famously stated, "Television is called a medium, because it is neither rare nor well done."

All of that aside, we doggedly press on in hopes of salvaging something of value from this vast cultural wasteland.  This list will have a decidedly Western cultural slant, because we've watched a lot of Asian programming and well, except for the drop-dead (unintentional) laugh factories of Thai and Indonesian soap operas, daiz slim pickin's.

Some criteria were selected to guide us:

• By definition, a show had to be created specifically for television - no movies or movie-to-teevee content, and freely available on the public airwaves, so no cable-only or pay-per-view.
• The series had to have more than one episode, but didn't necessarily have to have "seasons" or be temporally consecutive, so mini-series and shows that featured different casts and stories in each episode were allowed if they had a common framework tying everything together.
• The shows had to have exceptional writing, acting and/or other qualities, though not necessarily large budgets (very few of the really good stuff gets sufficient funding).
• The shows had to have impacted the general culture in a profound and positive way, and not just with personalities or gimmicks.
• And finally, we have to like it, since it's our list and we can do whatever we want.

Note that the years given are for the broadcast premiers.

Without further annoyance, the Top 10 Television Series of All Time!

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10. Masterpiece Theatre (1971) - Now simply called Masterpiece and split into three formats, this is one of the few shows to fully deliver on the promise of television.  The content is produced by British television networks, like the BBC and ITV, and this program amalgamates the very best programmes (sic) into a weekly presentation platform.  The long-running public television series has consistently brought the greatest cultural treasures to our living rooms, including most notably adaptations of famous novels and dramatized biographies, though its original productions are among some of the finest examples of writing and acting for the small screen, as well. The show's achievements include a staggering list of some of the finest made-for-television dramas ever produced, and its repertoire includes our #1 pick on this list.  The show's multi-decade success (no Emmy event is complete without at least one entry from Masterpiece) is a testament to the wisdom of having PBS, as well as proof that there is still intelligent life to be found in America.

9. Columbo (1971) - One of the longest-lived mystery/detective show ever created, this series almost single-handedly popularized the inverted exposition style (howcatchem vs. whodunit), while creating one of the most iconic detectives in the genre's history, including Agatha Christie's and P. D. James' master detectives.  Peter Falk's rumpled, absent-minded, cigar-champing, glass-eyed, underestimated eponymous character became one of America's favorite sleuths.  Audience's waited for the detective's signature phrase, "Oh, just one more thing," that told them he was finally ready to spring the trap and take down his opponent.  With 69 episodes over 32 years (1-1/2 to 2 hours each), Columbo is probably one of the most successful underdog sleuth shows ever (Scooby Doo excepted), with only two recurring characters, one of whom (Mrs. Columbo) is never seen or heard (we could also include his car).  The show also featured the cream of television's A-list character actors as the perps, making for some quality moments in the medium's history.

8. Saturday Night Live (1975) - Inspired by Chile's long-running Sabado Gigante, this show has been in production continuously for so many years that there are now generations of people who consider "their cast" to be the definitive one.  When we started watching, the Not Ready for Prime Time Players were the undisputed kings of late-night comedy.  Forty years and a dozen casts later, the show's format has little changed, but the faces have blurred in a rapidly revolving door to stardom.  There is no dispute that the show launched dozens of major careers, from Chevy Chase to Will Farrell, from movie spin-offs and star franchises to catch-phrases and unforgettable characters.  One is hard-pressed to think of another show that has had such a profound effect on its cultural milieu, and it shows little sign of relenting.

7. M*A*S*H (1972) - Starting just at the tail end of the Vietnam War, this eternally re-run series picked up where Robert Altman's blackly satirical film left off and took its place alongside Hogan's Heroes, F-Troop and Gomer Pyle, USMC in the war comedy genre.  However, instead of poking fun at military life in a lighthearted superficial manner, this show went straight for the heart of war itself, balancing the gallows humor with gory scenes of "meatball" surgery and the reality of human brutality.  This show arguably added to the growing anti-war movement of the time, while concurrently providing a release valve for social tensions.  The show also features fine acting by master craftsmen.  From Hawkeye's food sniffing and Blake's obsession with fishing flies, to Radar's exceptional hearing and the faceless Announcer, the characters are some of the most fully developed in television universes.  The secret of the show's long run was the way in which it put three-dimensional characters in horrific situations who protected their sanity with a barrier of humor.  After 45 years, it still works.

6. The Simpsons (1989) - There is little we can add to the great piles of writing about this world-famous, culturally significant series.  The eponymous family in this animated comedy have spent the past quarter-century lampooning and lambasting American culture.  The iconoclastic series started as a 2-minute short segment on The Tracy Ullman Show, and developed into an entire industry that has satirized so much of modern culture that it has now turned on itself, ridiculing its own success and place in the society at which it once poked unrelenting fun.  Sure, maybe its overstayed its usefulness, but few will disagree that the first ten seasons were some of the finest moments in television comedy and satire, slaughtering every sacred cow it could get its yellow, three-fingered hands on.  The show has lent characters, catch phrases and situations to our common core.  What we really appreciate about it, though, is the more you know about Western culture and history, the funnier it gets, and even if you don't get the subtler jokes, there's always the signs in the background.

5. I Love Lucy (1951) - This consistently funny series is partly notable for the creation (by Desi Arnaz) of the multi-camera production technique and the formation of Desilu Studios, which brought the world such things as Star Trek (see below) and ultimately became Paramount Television.  Real-life husband-and-wife team Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball created one of the most enduring situation comedies of all time, still in re-runs over 65 years later, and still just as funny.  It brought the world such iconic skits as the Candy Factory, the Vita-meata-vegamin skit, and the unforgettable recreation of the Duck Soup mirror bit with Lucy and Harpo Marx performed in front of a live audience in a single take.  If you aren't laughing out loud watching these sketches, please check your pulse and call a doctor pronto!

4. The Twilight Zone (1959) - This incredible series had no single story line, no consistent characters (other than the host) and only a broad theme of irony and mystery to tie it together.  Yet, it became one of the most iconic shows in television history.  The show's opening titles, score and narration style have become synonymous with "strange."  Host Rod Serling's squinty-eyed, cigarette smoking vignettes have spawned hundreds of parodies and imitations.  The stories themselves have inspired countless other shows and spin-offs.  Each 30-minute segment was a self-contained morality play, using plot twists and reveals to jar the viewer into another dimension of thought, playing with perceptions and turning prejudices on themselves.  In the real world, the show launched dozens of careers for writers, directors and actors.  It also featured masterful performances by such craftsmen as Burgess Meredith and Robert Redford.

3. Star Trek (1966) - We started watching this show in its first season of its first run, and have dutifully gorged on nearly every iteration of it since (except for Deep Space 9 and Voyager - blah).  It spawned a dozen movies, almost as many spin-offs and reboots, and a fanatical cult following unlike any other cultural phenomenon in history (religions excepted).  This show is arguably responsible for automatic doors, cell phones, 3-D printers, Bluetooth devices, floppy disks, and piles of real-world technologies (good, bad or indifferent).  It also created cultural catch phases (Beam me up, Scotty) that are so embedded in the language that many people don't even know their origin now.  Hell, real-world spacecraft have actually been named from this show.  That's influence!  The show broke so much ground that its wake looks like a plowed field of broken taboos and cultural firsts.  If imitation and parody are measures of success, then this show is likely to be as durable as any of the classical composers, and one of the most significant cultural products of the 20th century.

2. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969) - Though comprised of only 45 episodes spread originally over three years, this series has left a massive footprint in the center of modern Western culture.  The first time we saw this show (at midnight on Saturday nights after SNL), we were left slack-jawed and completely mystified.  This show took every convention of the medium, as well as history, pop culture, politics, and daily life, and flogged them until they were minced hulks of quivering flesh.  Featuring a series of five- to seven-minute sketches tied together with non sequitur, this show has attained the position of legend and a great many people can quote entire segments verbatim, even today.  There is truly nothing like this show before or since, though it has inspired entire careers and it's own adjective (pythonesque).

1. I, Claudius (1976) - Aside from the fact that we were assigned to watch this series while studying high school Latin for two years of our miserable life, this is - without a doubt - the finest television series ever produced.  The settings are quite simple and mostly implied with audio cues, but the writing and acting is some of the finest ever to grace the boob tube.  And yes, there's plenty of boob in this show, as well (it's British you know).  Beginning with the rein of Augustus, the story follows the Roman caesars in their moral, ethical and cultural decline until the death of the title character.  By the end of the series (just 12 incredible episodes), one feels as if they are on a first-name basis with the god-kings of Rome, and can name their familial relations better than their own.  Featuring some of the most memorable performances in television history, a haunting score, and a story that puts all other soap operas to withering shame, we cannot spout enough praise for this masterpiece of the medium.  Master performances from Brian Blessed, Siân Phillips, Derek Jacobi, John Hurt, Patrick Stewart and a dozen other A-list names.  If all of television had been like this, the medium would have fulfilled its promise to entertain, educate and enlighten.  If you never watch another show on television (and you might not after this), you must put this on your list immediately, if not sooner.

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Honorable Mentions
We felt it was necessary to highlight such popular, long-running shows as Britain's Dr. Who, Chile's Sabado Gigante, and Germany's Tatort.  Each of these shows has run more than 40 years, meaning they offered something of value to audiences, and have had lasting impacts on their genres and cultures, inspiring spin-offs and imitations, though never equaled.

We should also note that Masterpiece Theatre has included some of the most respected productions of any kind for television, such as Brideshead Revisited, Upstairs/Downstairs, and The Jewel in the Crown.  We selected I, Claudius because it has the greatest appeal to large and diverse audiences, as well as a story line as timeless as the city of Rome itself.  Unlike other productions, it is distinctly less Anglo-centric and stuffy than the normal British fare.

We welcome reader comments and additions.  We try to make our criteria as objective as possible, but at some point, we have to inject our personal values into the equation.

COMMENTS

From L.K. in the US:
Since TV has gotten so bad anymore, I watch the oldies and most are on your list. My favs are Columbo and Mash.   Another one I enjoy is Murder She Wrote.

There is a program called Me TV that plays all the old situation comedies too.

I fail to see humor in most of the new shows, and I love humor. Carol Burnetts shows have always had me on the floor, with Tim Conway as the old man.

Top 10 Comedies Of All Time (stage)

The theater is our first love.  We began our career there at the tender age of 12, and though we have ranged far and wide in other media, it has always been and will always be our home.

For that reason, we thought we'd devote one of our Top 10 lists to the Grande Dame of the arts, the Theatre.  In searching all the other Top 10 lists out there, we saw film and TV picked to the bone, but a search of Top 10 lists for the stage were virtually non-existant.  We have found ample explorations of books.  Even a few have bothered to look beyond the 20th century (as if everything of consequence has only recently been invented).

Ever on the cutting edge, we here on the Far Side are going everyone else one better.  Our list will explore comedy from ancient times until today, and offer up our most favorite picks for a great laugh in a live performance.  Cuz ain't no one what don't need no kul-cher.

Some conditions on our choices: no musicals (so A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is right out), it has to be written as comedies - not just funny because they are so dated, and they have to be funny to modern audiences, meaning the humor doesn't rely on contemporary pop culture.  Also, no Neil Simon.  Finally, the play should be revived enough so that someone has a good chance of seeing it on stage, whether it's a high school drama department or a West End theater troupe.  We will list them in chronological order, since it's nearly impossible to rank shows that have been classics for centuries.

So, without further ado, the Far Side List of Top 10 Comedies of All Time (stage)!
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1) Lysistrata (411 BC) - Aristophanes was somewhat of a revolutionary in ancient Greek theater.  He modified traditional staging conventions that still have a profound effect on how shows are done today.  Even more, he challenged the social mores of Athens and ridiculed his society for issues that still resonate.  In this classic, the title character is determined to put an end to the Peloponnesian War.  She hatches a plan and convinces the women of Greece to withhold sex from the men until the war ends.  Naturally, the plan goes awry and ends up starting a Battle of the Sexes.  Even though the play is 2,400 years old, modern audiences will laugh not only at the action of the play, but also at their own society.  The subjects of gender roles and male dominance are still very much part of the culture, and are still used in satire and comedy.  Watch university drama departments for the occasional revival of this fine show.

2) Bacchides (~200 BC) - Mistaken identity, prostitutes, scheming servants, bribery and extortion: must be a British comedy.  But NO!  This is the work of the famous Roman playwright Plautus, who basically Latinized older Greek plays, but we won't hold that against him, since Woody Allen Americanized many great comedies from Greek and Roman sources.  This selection is one of the best examples of themes and plots that were very popular in ancient Rome.  Two young Romans fall in love with two prostitute sisters who both have the same name, Bacchis.  Naturally, they engage in subterfuge and extortion to get the money to buy the girls' freedom, but the name confusion creates all kinds of chaos.  Hard to find this one produced today, but A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the forum should give you an idea of what this masterpiece of comedy is like.

3) Much Ado About Nothing (1598) - Those who love Shakespeare all have their favorites, and this happens to be ours.  Even the title is a pun on "noting" (gossip) and "nothing," which sound similar if you have a midlands British accent.  Like a game of Telephone gone mad, rumors swirl out of control, with people falling in love or rejecting each other based on misunderstandings.  A huge effort is undertaken by the characters to set things right, with the obvious comedic situations creating mayhem along the way.  This show has it all: slapstick, manners, situations, and even a dash of blackness.  There are some decent film renditions of this king of Shakespearean comedies, but if you happen to get a chance to see the Royal Shakespeare production, drop everything and get tickets.

4) Tartuffe (1664) - The Restoration Period and the end of Puritanism was obviously a fertile time for comedy.  This is considered by many to be Jean Baptiste Moliére's best comedy, as well as being an inspiration for our next selection.  Moliére was one of the most influential playwrights of the time and actors still scratch and claw to get a role in his shows.  In what is nearly a comedic foreshadowing of Gregoryi Rasputin 300 years later in Russia, the title character is a grifter and a fraud posing as a holy man.  He gets a husband and wife so far under his spell that the husband decides to marry off his daughter to Tartuffe.  No one else is fooled, though, and set up a series of complex traps to expose Tartuffe for the immoral scum that he is.  Naturally, this creates a number of comedic situations, and when done well, leaves audiences in tears of laughter.  Most of the really good laughs come from watching Tartuffe squirm his way out of various uncomfortable predicaments.  Like most enduring plays of this period, the comedy only thinly veils more profound social commentary with a healthy dose of satire.  This play enjoys regular revivals and may be easier to catch than some of the other titles on this list.

5) The Country Wife (1675) - The French theater was the guide for restoring the art form in London, and ridiculing Puritanism was a major theme. William Wycherley's bawdy play is both satirical and a fine situation comedy.  Written as a reaction to the long years without entertainment of any kind, this play lets it all hang out in a way that can still shock modern audiences.  The lead character Horner, wanting to play the field in London's upper crust, spreads a rumor that he was injured in the war, leaving him impotent.  Naturally, the husbands relax their guard and allow the wives to be around him without supervision.  In the meantime, an innocent young wife (the title character) moves to London and soon finds the atmosphere 'stimulating,' while attracting intense interest from Horner.  The play is fast-paced and stuffed full of double entendre (the "china" bit is hysterical).  It is also written in natural language, rather than the somewhat stuffy and stilted style of the contemporary French theater.  This show never fails to get an audience howling with laughter, and is well worth keeping an eye open for a local production.

6) The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People (1895) - The laughs start with the title pun, and don't end until the final curtain, with piles of farce and satire heaped in between.  This ditty also has some of the best one-liners ever written (Every man should have a hobby!).  Oscar Wilde is the undisputed king of Victorian theater, and his double entendre are subtly layered.  His witticisms stab at the heart of stuffy society, while making us laugh at the wounds.  This play is so memorable that you will take up "Bunburying" as a diversion!  This show enjoys frequent revivals and has some very fine film adaptations if you can't make it to the theater.  This show is also notable for setting off a series of real-life events that led to Wilde being jailed for homosexuality.

7) Pygmalion (1913) - G. Bernard Shaw's (he hated the name George) most famous play, adapted as the musical My Fair Lady, is itself an adaptation of a mid-19th century play, which was an adaptation of a Greek myth about a man (Pygmalion) who seeks to create the perfect woman from a statue and is rewarded by the gods with the statue coming to life.  Here, though, the myth is lightened up into a comedy about a professor (Higgins) who thinks he can take a Cockney flowergirl and turn her into the cream of society, thus showing the upper crust that they are nothing special.  Of course, the woman's Cockney upbringing leaks out at the most inappropriate times creating all sorts of havoc among the gentile classes.  The biggest surprise, though, is Higgins' unexpected love for his creation.  Like all great comedies, this play operates on multiple levels, providing social commentary on classism and women's suffrage, as well as good belly-laughs.  This one is hard to find in the theater, since most productions default to the musical version, but well worth keeping an evening at the theater if you find it.

8) Waiting for Godot (1949) - Samuel Beckett's masterpiece is considered one of the greatest plays of the 20th century and won a Pulitzer the year it opened.  If this is all you know when you walk into a production of the play, then you are in trouble.  This absurdist comedy is one of those experiences where you are not sure what you just went through, and equally unsure if you want to go through it again to try to figure it out.  The entire show consists of two men standing at a cross-roads waiting for the title character who never shows up - and they talk a lot.  What you will find is that it causes you to look at yourself and laugh at the absurd things you find important in your life and the energy we expend to attain things that don't exist.  It's not one of those guffaw-type shows; it's very cerebral.  If you get the chance to see a quality production of the play, you should not pass it up.

9) The Birthday Party (1958) - And speaking of absurdist comedy, Harold Pinter's romp is another one of those weird mind-screws that's kind of like watching a building implode and then laughing because part of it collapses the wrong way and causes collateral damage.  In an unknown place at an unknown time, an unknown pianist prepares to celebrate his birthday at an unknown boarding house.  Two mysterious strangers arrive and turn the party into anything but the quiet marking off of another year.  Even the critics don't know how to classify this one (some say farce, others comedy of menace), and in fact Pinter's career nearly ended over it, until he was rescued by a critic.  Mark one up for the critics, because this play has gone on to an illustrious career.

10) Noises Off! (1982) - Michael Frayn's famous farce is not only popular with audiences, it is one of the most fun shows to work on behind the scenes, as well, probably because it is so true.  What makes this show unique is that it is a farce within a farce.  Act I has the audience watching a rather funny comedy with plenty of laughs in its own right.  But, Act II turns the stage around, and now the audience is watching the exact same show, but from behind.  Not only is the show being performed a farce, but the show we are watching is a farce about the farce, showing the farcical nature of the theater in the first place.  It's all barely controlled chaos!  This show never fails to leave the audience gasping for breath.  With lightning timing and rapid fire action, this is probably one of the funniest shows of all time.  It depends heavily on the abilities of the cast and director to pull it off, but the result is an experience where both the audience and the cast feel the joy.

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And so, dear reader, there you have it.  Once again, the Far Side has brought you something no one has bothered to do.  And don't forget, most of these playwrights have other works that easily belong on this list, but then it would be a Top 47 list, and that just doesn't sound right.

In today's theater, where special effects and light shows dazzle, while cotton-candy stories melt in our mouths and leave us with big dentist bills, we forget that there is nearly 3,000 years' worth of great entertainment just begging to be rediscovered.  The next time you reach for the Netflix selector, why not check local theaters for something a little more visceral - live actors on a real stage working in synchronization with highly-trained technicians to entertain and amaze.  Who knows?  You might even catch tomorrow's movie stars in their early career, before they get all full of themselves.