# "Perfect" television shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [April 22, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366 "2025-04-22T15:42:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/181 "2025-04-24T12:45:21Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > . I think I’d still stand by Firefly, Firefly was mistreated, then canceled, and then had to shove a bunch of exposition into a movie (and also some comics) just to kinda sorta wrap up its plotlines. It was amazing TV but it was also murdered before it could approach any definition of perfect. And that’s honestly the distinction I’m interested in. There’s lots of TV that is truly excellent, but fewer shows that also manage to stick the landing. I think a baseline for a perfect show has to be one that leaves you a little bit sad when it’s over, but also very satisfied. No resentment, no confusion, no anger. Like the end of a great meal, when eating more would simply ruin the experience and maybe even make you sick. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/182 "2025-04-24T12:51:13Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > I missed that Musk was in there as well. I probably didn’t know who he was. I was only vaguely aware of who Musk was at the time of his appearance. It was a sort of “Oh, yeah, it’s that Tesla guy” reaction from me. The irony is that Musk (playing himself) is seen volunteering at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving, and has dialogue about how good it feels to help out the less fortunate. Hard to imagine him being willing to take a part like that these days. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/183 "2025-04-24T13:25:14Z")
I LOVED Carnivale. Mesmerizing. I’m so p.o.'d we never got to the intended ending in Alamagordo. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/184 "2025-04-24T13:50:32Z")
**NCIS Origins** has been gangbusters so far, knock wood; I guess we’re meant to restrict ourselves to series that have completed their run already. Regarding **The Mary Tyler Moore Show** and the prospect of Mary and Ted ever dating: They did have one hilariously disastrous date, the episode guest-starring Jack Cassidy as Ted’s compulsively competitive brother. Ted talks Mary into a double date with Rhoda involved. My favorite line from it: Ted keeps Mary awake all night on a work night because he thinks his brother got lucky with Rhoda elsewhere in the building and he doesn’t want to be the first of the two to go home. When the sun comes up, he tells Mary “Minnesota is the land of the midnight sun.” She replies "No, Ted, Minnesota is the land of a thousand lakes…_and I think I see one of them!"_ ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/185 "2025-04-24T16:39:39Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > > [@terentii](#): > > > > You’re referring to the series with Richard Briers and Felicity Kendall? > > My mistake. I meant The Good Place. > > I have no desire to dissuade its many fans from their views. I just don’t see it. I’m curious as to how far you got? If you didn’t like it at all that’s you’re own personal taste and it’s fine. You hear a lot about how some shows you have to give it some time to get good. _The Good Place_ is unique in that when you get to a certain part you retroactively see how good it’s been the entire time. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/186 "2025-04-24T21:23:56Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m curious as to how far you got? At least 4 eps. Looking at IMDB, it might have been as many as 6. But it is hard to tell from the ep descriptions. They all seem to be variations of “X turns out to not be what everyone thought he was,” and “a bunch of weird stuff happens to various characters.” I did not care for it enough while watching for it to stick with me. I tried to give it a fair shot, but it just seemed like a lot of weird, not terribly interesting stuff happened to a bunch of characters I didn’t really care about. And I never perceived any really worthwhile philosophical themes of the sort folk seemed to rave about - and which had made me think it WOULD appeal to me. The philosophy impressed me as somewhat sophomoric musing. If a show doesn’t catch my attention in 4-6 episodes, it would be surprising for me to give it more of a chance. Especially when, as I said, I tried it at least 3 times. My sister recently watched it to the end. She enjoyed the final resolution, but up until then she said it was just a lot of weird stuff happening to these 4 characters. ---
**Author:** ![Mongoose3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@Mongoose3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongoose3)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2025, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/187 "2025-04-25T16:04:43Z")
How did I get this far without remembering **Green Wing**? ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/188 "2025-04-25T16:40:33Z")
**NCIS** is perfect because most episodes are so easily forgettable that I can watch them again and again whenever it’s on one of the dozen or so channels that runs it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/189 "2025-04-25T17:22:08Z")
It is a great put it on and turn off the brain show. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/190 "2025-04-26T09:01:48Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I tried to give it a fair shot, but it just seemed like a lot of weird, not terribly interesting stuff happened to a bunch of characters I didn’t really care about. And I never perceived any really worthwhile philosophical themes of the sort folk seemed to rave about - and which had made me think it WOULD appeal to me. I’d suggest jumping to the last episode of Season One. If that doesn’t convince you to re-watch Season One, and continue, nothing will. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/191 "2025-04-26T12:05:53Z")
I mean sure that’s the payoff but if you don’t have anything invested in the characters I don’t know if it would have any effect. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/192 "2025-04-26T13:42:55Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Good call. Agreed. The last season was definitely weird, but still good. It was weird, but often hilariously funny, and the thing is I think it had to be what it was to complete the story. They didn’t try to drag the show’s premise out in an effort to keep making money. On another network the central premise of “low rent hitman wants to be an actor” would have been dragged out, season after season, with increasingly absurd excuses for why he keeps avoiding death or law enforcement and picking up acting gigs and maintaining his relationship with his pretty girlfriend. Instead they actually had the guts to have the house of cards collapse - as it would. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/193 "2025-04-26T17:51:50Z")
Monk. And to the poster who said “solving a mystery every week gets tedious”… a) No. b) That’s kind of the point of older detective shows. c) And I still get excited when Tony Shaloub says “Okay, here’s what happened…” ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/194 "2025-04-26T19:44:19Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Off the top of my head currently is **Andor** and **Better Call Saul**. I’m pulling my vote for Andor. The first few episodes of season 2 have been pretty limp. I remain confident that they’ll stick the landing, but even if they do, it’s not a perfect run any more. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/195 "2025-04-26T21:39:05Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Ted keeps Mary awake all night on a work night because he thinks his brother got lucky with Rhoda elsewhere in the building and he doesn’t want to be the first of the two to go home. When the sun comes up, he tells Mary “Minnesota is the land of the midnight sun.” She replies "No, Ted, Minnesota is the land of a thousand lakes…_and I think I see one of them!"_ Did she really say that? 🤨 If she did, the screenwriter should have known that Minnesota is “The land of **10,000** lakes.” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/196 "2025-04-26T21:46:17Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I’m pulling my vote for Andor. > The first few episodes of season 2 have been pretty limp. I have so many shows that are “perfect, if I ignore one show, or plotline.” I LOVED Andor season one, but I thought the “working on the assembly line” went on far too long… ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/197 "2025-04-26T21:58:14Z")
Haven’t watched any of S2 of about yet, probably will tonight, but my social media is all raving about it. Guess we’ll see where I fall. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/198 "2025-04-26T22:11:47Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > The irony is that Musk (playing himself) is seen volunteering at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving, and has dialogue about how good it feels to help out the less fortunate. Hard to imagine him being willing to take a part like that these days. Not to put to fine a point on it, but he is a South African in the US on Thanksgiving. Everything is closed. What is he gonna do? watch the damn parade? Nothing like spending a useless day seeking a little publicity. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/199 "2025-04-26T22:13:33Z")
> [@digs](#): > > And I still get excited when Tony Shaloub says “Okay, here’s what happened…” Not to mention “He’s the guy.” ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2025, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/200 "2025-04-26T22:42:40Z")
Monk is one of my favorite shows of all time, but I don’t think it quite makes it to “perfect”. Partly because in later seasons, the character became less of a “quirky guy with many phobias” and more of a “cartoonish alien who has no idea how human beings act”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366.md?page=11)