The Best TV Show (recomendation) Thread

[Lord]

With the end of Breaking Bad you all knew a thread where people ask for the next big thing was coming. In this case it serves more as a ranking for the best TV shows from the past and the present, and whover wants to answers what are the best shows in each respective field, preferably with more than one suggestion. It also serves as a place for us to discuss the various tv shows as a whole, comparing shows that had the potencial and new ones that are becoming improving.

The Fields are:

Top 5 Overall Best Shows you've ever watched:
Top 5 Shows Going on Right Now:
Your Top 5 Favorite Shows:
5 Shows Worth Checking out:
Promising New Shows:

Breaking Bad and Dexter have ended, so they can't be put into the "Top 5 Shows Going on Right Now" list. The "Promising New Shows" is for shows that just started their first season and are still ongoing. It's not obligatory to have 5 shows exactly in the fields that ask, or even to answer to all of them, if any at all, but i think most would thank that

Animation doesn't count.

 

[Lord]

Mine are

Top 5 Overall Best Shows you've ever watched:
-Breaking Bad
-Game of Thrones
-Fringe
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer
-Mad Men

Top 5 Shows Going on Right Now:

-Game of Thrones
-Mad Men
-The Walking Dead (i guess, as you see i don't watch many tv shows)
-American Horror Story

Your Top 5 Favorite Shows:
-A Game of Thrones
-Breaking Bad
-Buffy
-Chuck
-Fringe

5 Shows Worth Checking out (most shows i'm giving here i haven't watched much of, this is just me guessing which shows might be worth checking out):

-Lost
-Rome
-The Sopranos
-The Wire
-Boardwalk Empire

Promising New Shows:
-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

[Soapy]

What is the difference between "Top 5 Overall Best Shows you've ever watched" and "Your Top 5 Favorite Shows"?

I'm not sure I understand what the distinction is supposed to be there.

 

[Lord]

Best shows is what you consider to be the overall be show, while favorite is what is your favorite show, one has to do with quality, while the other has to do with enjoyment. I for example enjoyed Chuck more than Mad Men, but i don't consider it a better show.

If for you they're the same then you can skip one of those questions, since you're just going to repeat your list if that's the case.

 

[Drizzle]

Top 5 Overall Best Shows you've ever watched:

Breaking Bad
The Wire
The Sopranos
Game of Thrones (even though it hasn't finished its run yet, it's still too damn good)
Lost

 

[Soapy]

Thanks for the explanation.

Top Five Overall

• Breaking Bad
• Mad Men
• Twin Peaks
• The Twilight Zone
• Battlestar Galactica

Top Five Current

• Mad Men
• Game of Thrones
• Downton Abbey
• Louie
• Sherlock

Top Five Favorites

• Breaking Bad
• Mad Men
• Twin Peaks
• Star Trek: The Next Generation
• The Twilight Zone

Five Reccomendations:

Twin Peaks - Dark and quirky cult classic from 1990 that holds up remarkably well. A lot of people will tell you to ignore season two. I say ignore them! Some of the best moments and episodes of the series are in season two, it's just that there's a seven or eight episode stretch in the middle that's a real slog. The series ends on a cliffhanger, but there's a prequel film that provides some roundabout closure.

Lilyhammer - Netflix's first original series about a New York mobster who goes into witness protection and winds up in Lillehammer, Norway. It's by no means a classic, but it's just a really fun and light fish out of water story. I believe they're shooting a second season now.

Derek - Ricky Gervais' latest show about an autistic man and his friends that work in a small nursing home. I'm guessing that probably sounds like something you wouldn't want to watch, but it's very funny and surprisingly touching. They're shooting a second season now.

Orange is the New Black - Netflix's show about a Women's Prison and the people who inhabit it. I watched the trailer for this and honestly thought it looked awful, however I gave it a shot and came away pretty impressed. I believe it's ALSO shooting its second season now.

Portlandia - Great sketch comedy show starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein that pokes fun at the dumber side of liberalism.

 

[kguillou]

My top 5 are:

The Shield: This is in my opinion the best cop drama that's ever been made. Its gritty, raw and Michale Chiklis gave a tour de force performance. All 7 seasons are awesome.

OZ: This was mean. It did not pull any punches and was really really raw. But it really made you care about the characters and all of the separate running storylines. One of HBO's best shows.

Six Feet Under: Man, what a series this was. Arguably the most depressing show I've ever seen and at the same time one of the most fascinating and well acted shows I've ever watched. The performances from...EVERYONE were so real and genuine and it has arguably one of the greatest series finales in television history. But, this is one of those shows that you really just need to experience once, its just so dark and depressing that you may not be able to handle it at times.

The Wire: Nuff said. Not really much else to say that hasn't been said a million times before.

24: This is my personal favorite show of all time, just barely beating Breaking Bad and The Wire. This was the one that really rocked my world in terms of the type of television I watched. Every episode was tense, gripping, fast paced, action packed and featured absolutely incredible acting (Kiefer just demands your attention). Each season 24 pushed the boundaries of what can be shown on network television, and Jack Bauer is easily the most tragic anti-hero in television history. There were no limits to what he would do to get the job done, and as a result he lost everything in the process. Can't wait for it come back next year!

 

[Slick]

Top 5 Overall Best Shows you've ever watched:
Breaking Bad
The Wire
Lost
The Sopranos
Six Feet Under

Top 5 Shows Going on Right Now:
Boardwalk Empire
Sons of Anarchy
Shameless
The Walking Dead
Venture Brothers

Your Top 5 Favorite Shows:
Breaking Bad
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Dexter
Weeds
Smallville
All three shows that went on longer then they should have but I love them.

Shows Worth Checking out: Some great shows a nice mix of Live-Action and Animated Television. So Check them out if u want.
Cowboy Bebop
Arrow
Samurai Champloo
Outlaw Star
Hannibal
Moral Orel
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
The Shield
Battlestar Galactica
Eastbound and Down
Big O
Witch Hunter Robin
Ray Donovan
Orange Is the New Black
Aqua Team Hunger Force
Superjail
Californiacation
Robot Chicken
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Fullmetal Alchemist
The Eric Andre Show
Any other Adult Swim original or anime Program (Yeah I love AS a very big part of my teen years)
Mad Men
Girls
Veep
Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Community
United States Of Tara
Nurse Jackie
Chappelle's Show
Supernatural

 

[childeroland]

Top 5 best
The Wire
The Sandbaggers
Deadwood
Buffy
The Honeymooners

Top 5 right now
Once Upon a Time
game of thrones
Veeps
Downton Abbey
Vampire Diaries

Top faves
Skins
Buffy
Angel
Classic Degrassi
the wire

Five worth checking out
The Paradise
American Horror Story
Rectify
The Returned
Bletchley circle

Promising
Once upon a time in Wonderland
The originals

Brooklyn nine nine
Masters of sex

 

[Donnie Darko]

5 Shows No Longer On To Watch:
-Buffy/Angel (I actually prefer Angel, but you really need to watch both, IMO)
-Friday Night Lights (it has a few low points, but this is a show that works for everyone, IMO. Rarely do my wife and I agree so strongly on a show)
-Battlestar Galactica (not for everyone, probably)
-My Name Is Earl (one of the most under-appreciated sitcoms ever)
-The OC (I ignored it at first, but once someone convinced me to watch it, it was actually really good. Check it out)

5 Shows Still On to Catch Up With
-Sons of Anarchy (drags a bit around season three, but this is another my wife and I both love)
-Game of Thrones (believe the hype. It's that damn good)
-Parks and Recreation (best sitcom on TV right now)
-It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (I am actually a little behind on this one because of the switch to FXX, but I love it. This is another show that's not for everyone, though)
-Psych (if you watch it, you will love it)

New Shows I am Watching:
-Brooklyn Nine-Nine (surprised how much I enjoy this show, really funny)
-Michael J Fox Show (it's good, but not groundbreaking TV or anything)
-Agents of SHIELD (it's ok, but probably only worth watching for Marvel completists)

 

[Tony Clifton]

Top 5 overall

Seinfeld
Twilight Zone
Curb your Enthusiasm
Breaking Bad
Cosby Show

 

[Donnie Darko]

Regarding American Horror Story:

The beauty of that is that each season is its own thing, so you can jump in right now and not worry about missing anything or callbacks to earlier seasons. I thought season 1 was really good, season 2 was too convoluted but had its moments, and season 3 is off to a good start (haven't watched last night's episode yet, though).

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Um, not to split hairs but wouldn't "top 5 overall best shows" and "top 5 favorites shows" basically be the same shows?

So I'm just going to delete the "favorite show" list because I'd basically just be repeating myself.

The Fields are:

Top 5 Overall Best Shows you've ever watched:

Sopranos
Breaking Bad
The Shield
Game of Thrones
The first 4 seasons of Lost

Honorable mentions go to:
Boardwalk Empire, The Wire, Mad Men, Rome, Deadwood, the first season of Starz' Spartacus, Fringe, the first 3 or so seasons of Oz, the first 2-3 seasons of Rescue Me, first 3 seasons of X-Files, Twin Peaks

Top 5 Shows Going on Right Now:

Boardwalk Empire
Mad Men
Game of Thrones
House of Cards
And I guess I'll say Downton Abbey, although it's getting long in the tooth

Top 5 shows to check out:
I don't think these shows got enough attention when they were on. But all were brilliant.

Early Oz
Deadwood
Rome
The Shield
Harvey Birdman for a laugh


Promising New Shows:

Pfft. Better Call Saul maybe. I usually don't notice if a show is any good until it starts getting some critical acclaim. Some interesting premises have turned into real dogs. And conversely some dumb-sounding premises, like a highschool chemistry teacher who cooks meth with one of his old students and has a DEA brother-in-law, turn out to be awesome.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Top 5 overall:

The Twillight Zone
The Simpsons (season 3-7)
Breaking Bad
The Chappelle Show
Batman The Animated Series

 

[Lord]

Um, not to split hairs but wouldn't "top 5 overall best shows" and "top 5 favorites shows" basically be the same shows?

So I'm just going to delete the "favorite show" list because I'd basically just be repeating myself.

I've already answered that:

Best shows is what you consider to be the overall be show, while favorite is what is your favorite show, one has to do with quality, while the other has to do with enjoyment. I for example enjoyed Chuck more than Mad Men, but i don't consider it a better show.

If for you they're the same then you can skip one of those questions, since you're just going to repeat your list if that's the case.

 

[Great Mind(s)]

Top 5 Overall Best Shows you've ever watched:

Buffy
Battlestar Galactica
Six Feet Under
Breaking Bad
Game Of Thrones

Top 5 Shows Going on Right Now:
Game of Thrones
Homeland
American Horror Story
Doctor Who
Modern Family

Your Top 5 Favorite Shows:
Angel
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Breaking Bad
Game Of Thrones
Arrested Development

5 Shows Worth Checking out:
Lost (it would have been my favorite and/or best but that final season killed it)
Prison Break
Fringe
Oz
Sons of Anarchy (I'm not past season 1 yet so I can't really place it anywhere else)

Promising New Shows:
The one with James Spader.

 

[Merlex]

Top 5 Best Shows:
1. Lost
2. Babylon 5
3. Firefly
4. X- Files
5. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Top 5 on Right Now:
1. The Walking Dead
2. Game of Thrones
3. American Horror Story: Coven
4. Doctor Who
5. Revolution

Top 5 Favorite Shows:
1. Lost
2. The Walking Dead
3. Point Pleasant
4. Game of Thrones
t5. Firefly
t5. Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles

7 Shows Worth Checking Out (Those not already listed):
1. The 4400
2. Brimstone
3. Carnivale
4. Battlestar Galactica
5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
6. Angel
7. Person of Interest

5 Promising New Shows:
1. Sleepy Hollow
2. Almost Human
3. Witches of East End
4. Agents of Shield
5. The Tomorrow People

 

[flickchick85]

Top 5 Overall Best Shows:
Arrested Development
Breaking Bad
Deadwood
The Wire
The Twilight Zone

Top 5 Shows Going on Right Now:
Mad Men
Parks and Recreation
Arrested Development (assuming that next season gets officially commissioned)
House of Cards
Hannibal

Top 5 Favorite Shows:
Arrested Development
Breaking Bad
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel (yep,totally cheating)
Battlestar Galactica
Veronica Mars

5 Shows Worth Checking out (not mentioned above):
Damages
Shameless (US)
Veep
Pushing Daisies
Firefly

Promising New Shows:
Orange is the New Black
Agents of SHIELD
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The Crazy Ones
Those are the new shows I've SEEN, but of the ones yet to premiere: Believe