# "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:** 14
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/261 "2025-05-03T01:17:19Z")
I thought Soap was the perfect parody. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/262 "2025-06-25T19:31:51Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Monk. > > And to the poster who said “solving a mystery every week gets tedious”… It started out great- a detective with a quirk, serious real mysteries with a tad of humor. Then later it turned into a broad farce with Monk being a guy with quirks, who - oh yeah also solves mysteries, and the SFPD turned into Keystone Kops. Barney Miller was great until the end, but I think it stopped just at the right moment. Yes, first season got off to a slow start, but that shows the genius of the showrunners- they saw which way the wind was blowing and were wise enough to make a course correction. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I’ll nominate Blackadder. Seasons 2, 3 &4 were genius. > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > **Batman** > > OK, maybe the show’s format defies criticism I see your point here. > [@Sooner](#): > > I have three, all likely already mentioned > Deadwood, The Wire, WKRP I agree on Deadwood- canceled too early, damn HBO, and WKRP, The Wire was too dark for me., > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Barney Miller and Breaking Bad would be the ones I would say answer the OP. Another one is _Dead Like Me_ because they did everything they tried to do I obviously agree on Barney Miller, and also Dead Like Me- did you see the movie that tied everything up? > [@terentii](#): > > I feel the same way about _ **Rome** _. But Rome at least didnt end on a cliffhanger. Great series however. > [@peccavi](#): > > This may be a little controversial, but I periodically rewatch (like every couple of years for the past twenty years) [_Wonderfalls_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderfalls), a 13 episode show that only managed to have 4 (out of sequence) episodes broadcast before being cancelled. A small gem indeed. > [@Chefguy](#): > > Much as I would like to include **Fargo** , the casting of Chris Rock in S4 was a poor decision. But seasons one through three were brilliant. True. But Season 5 was great so overall pretty damn good, ---
**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:** [June 26, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/263 "2025-06-26T18:09:00Z")
We never did find out what happened to Caesarion, did we? ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/264 "2025-06-26T18:33:12Z")
[Spaced](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced) fits the OP for me. Consistently good, very rewatchable, and stuck around exactly as long as it needed to. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/265 "2025-06-26T20:56:20Z")
Good call on this one. Seconded. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/266 "2025-06-26T21:05:59Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > You are absolutely right. I could imagine us all one day having those flying jetpacks like at Disneyland, but live-streaming shows you like…never would have thought of that I had a friend back in the 90s who speculated about using digital projection in movie theaters. He figured that just uploading a data file would be a lot easier than hauling around huge film reels. I told him he was nuts. The resolution you’d need in a digital image to match the grain size of a film frame would be _insane_. Never going to happen! D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/267 "2025-06-27T17:54:07Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > [Spaced](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced) fits the OP for me. Consistently good, very rewatchable, and stuck around exactly as long as it needed to. > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Good call on this one. Seconded. +1  ---
**Author:** ![Mongoose3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@Mongoose3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongoose3)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/268 "2025-07-06T19:00:16Z")
Having just finished _Murderbot_, that is a strong contender. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/269 "2025-07-07T02:24:48Z")
Isn’t the last episode of Murderbot still unaired? Episode 10, July 11th? ---
**Author:** ![Mongoose3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@Mongoose3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongoose3)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/270 "2025-07-07T06:53:24Z")
Well, how embarrassing. > **spoilerish** > > The latest episode seemed so final. And what an ending it would have been, it’s why I posted it here! ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/271 "2025-07-07T07:16:30Z")
I’d nominate The Expanse in that category. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kQuTAPWJxNo/maxresdefault.jpg "The Expanse Trailer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQuTAPWJxNo&t=6s) Brilliant from start to finish. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/272 "2025-07-08T03:31:10Z")
I just finished the first season of Ricky Gervais’ **After Life** , and I’m really impressed. It had no bad episodes, the characters grow and learn, and the season has a satisfying end. I just hope the other seasons are the same. Of course, you have to understand Ricky Gervais’ style of humor, but there are several side characters they I recognize from other shows and movies (Crunk!) ---
**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:** [July 9, 2025, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/273 "2025-07-09T16:54:15Z")
I just got to thinking about the British version of _ **Life on Mars** _, which I really enjoyed 20-odd years ago and would like to see again if it’s available anywhere. I got drawn into the continuing story right from the start, but don’t remember seeing the finale for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Mongoose3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@Mongoose3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongoose3)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/274 "2025-07-09T16:55:32Z")
A bit ironically, I don’t think that show aged well. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2025, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/275 "2025-07-09T16:59:59Z")
It was a very “Millennial” series, that’s for sure. But I’d still like to see how it aged for myself. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/276 "2025-07-09T17:30:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I just got to thinking about the British version of _ **Life on Mars** _, which I really enjoyed 20-odd years ago and would like to see again if it’s available anywhere. I got drawn into the continuing story right from the start, but don’t remember seeing the finale for some reason. I think it’s available on Britbox. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/277 "2025-08-07T16:16:53Z")
_Twin Peaks_ was heading there, I think. When Lynch had control of it, in season 1, it was perfect, and the second season started out great, but then viewer letters started raining in on the studio, from viewers wanting to know “ **Who killed Laura Palmer**??” Personally, I was satisfied knowing that an evil spirit named Bob killed her, or orchestrated her murder. I didn’t need an episode showing Bob possessing someone in particular. For me, that part just brought it down to the level of a L&O:SVU (which show has it’s good points, but it is realistic and gritty. Twin Peaks at least partly takes place in the ether, and needs to leave some things to the imagination. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/278 "2025-08-07T21:49:12Z")
It was always a middling (heh), run-of-the-mill network sitcom even when it was at its best, but for the purposes of this thread I think [The Middle](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1442464/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_the%252520middle) qualifies. The cast was the perfect mix of established sitcom actors (Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn) and up-and-comers (Eden Sher, Atticus Shaeffer, Charlie McDermott). It hit the ground running from Episode 1 and never lost steam until the end, in Season 9. In that time two kids went off to college and the third progressed from (I think) a third grader to a high school student. The show ended on a high note, and it left the audience wanting more. The show was popular with the audience, and critics seemed to like it but not enthusiastically so. The other ABC family sitcom from that time, _Modern Family_, has an overstuffed trophy cabinet filled with various Emmys, whereas _The Middle_ won exactly zero and was only nominated once. Still, on the whole I’d say that _Modern Family_ had some growing pains (particularly in that it gradually moved away from the mockumentary style and by later seasons treated the asides to the audience less like documentary bits but rather just breaking the fourth wall) and a few dud episodes, and its cast of kids … well, their acting chops didn’t grow as the kids did. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/279 "2025-08-07T22:15:56Z")
Regarding The Middle, there was a plan for a spin-off featuring Eden Sher as the daughter on her own working someplace. But for some reason it never went anywhere. And really the networks have few sitcoms left. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366/280 "2025-08-07T22:19:44Z")
You’re thinking of Sue Sue in the City, for which a pilot was shot but Covid killed it (at least, it was mostly Covid that killed it, according to Eden Sher and Brock Ciarlelli’s podcast). She was goi g to be the manager of a hotel in Chicago. In characteristic Sue fashion, she thinks it’s going to be beautiful but it turns out to be a dump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-television-shows/1017366.md?page=15)