# The Best All-Time TV Show -- UPDATE **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727 "2013-08-20T17:57:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/1 "2013-08-20T17:57:09Z")
If you’ll refer to [The Best All-Time TV Show [vote for up to 10]](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=562451), which was active a couple of years ago, you’ll see the basis of the 51 shows in this poll. Vote for YOUR FAVORITE in this group. If your favorite isn’t on the list, vote OTHER and let us know what should have been on the list. Now that _Breaking Bad_ is winding down, and since it wasn’t even in the top 30 at that time, I’m just curious how well it will do nowadays. The order in this poll was determined by the finishing order in that old poll. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/2 "2013-08-20T18:21:55Z")
My _favorite_ on _that_ list? As opposed to the one(s) I think were _best_, regardless of whether or not it (they) are on the list? Has to be _ **ST: TOS** _, though it’d be tied with _ **Combat!** _ and _ **The Avengers** _. Which of those are _best_ is a whole 'nother ball of wax. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/3 "2013-08-20T18:25:36Z")
Wow - straight from Top Ten to Top One, huh? This is tough… Gotta go with Doctor Who. There’s just too much content there to not love it, and an endless amount of storylines they can continue to build on. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/4 "2013-08-20T18:32:58Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > My _favorite_ on _that_ list? As opposed to the one(s) I think were _best_, regardless of whether or not it (they) are on the list? > > Has to be _ **ST: TOS** _, though it’d be tied with _ **Combat!** _ and _ **The Avengers** _. > > Which of those are _best_ is a whole 'nother ball of wax. There may never be a definitive list that suits everyone. 🙂 > [@Munch](#): > > Wow - straight from Top Ten to Top One, huh? This is tough… > > Gotta go with Doctor Who. There’s just too much content there to not love it, and an endless amount of storylines they can continue to build on. Tough is the watchword this time! I may have to think long and hard myself. It’s relatively easy to pick a Top X-Number as long as that x-number is not ONE! ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/5 "2013-08-20T18:37:56Z")
Other - specifically, the original (late 1960s) version of _The Prisoner_. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/6 "2013-08-20T18:45:24Z")
Doctor Who. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/7 "2013-08-20T19:11:57Z")
Impossible to really compare a sitcom to an hourlong drama to a news show parody to a… Having said that, I posed the question to myself as “If there had only ever been one TV show I ever saw in my life, which would I choose?” and I went with _The Simpsons_. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/8 "2013-08-20T19:22:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Doctor Who. First base. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/9 "2013-08-22T12:53:23Z")
It’s interesting how having to pick just one show, with others seeing your pick, narrows the crowd down. More like 10% of the earlier voters. One thing seems clear, in spite of it all, _Breaking Bad_ has an audience now! ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/10 "2013-08-22T13:41:23Z")
I’m always torn between The Sopranos and The Wire when I think about best ever. I lean toward The Sopranos. I just think it’s a little more cohesive and accessible. Those two have some close competition from Deadwood and Breaking Bad in my book (I might have gone with Deadwood as best ever if they’d gotten a chance to get a couple more seasons). ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/11 "2013-08-22T14:15:01Z")
If I see the words Breaking Bad together in a sentence one more time I will kill myself. Yeah I’m sure it’s a great show. I can’t watch it. Eff you and have a nice life. By the way it’s almost over. Ding dong the witch is dead. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/12 "2013-08-22T14:24:59Z")
I have to go with \*Twilight Zone \*(original). I know many of them seem like predictable clichés, but when they first aired (I’m old enough to remember) the series was groundbreaking for most tv viewers. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/13 "2013-08-22T14:46:32Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > If I see the words Breaking Bad together in a sentence one more time I will kill myself. Yeah I’m sure it’s a great show. I can’t watch it. Eff you and have a nice life. By the way it’s almost over. Ding dong the witch is dead. I am tempted to call your bluff, but because I’m a generally decent and moral human being, I’ll just call the show _ **Bromine Barium** _. Of course, people will still be talking about _ **Bromine Barium** _ after it’s done, so you’ll be spending the rest of your life at risk of sudden _ **Bromine Barium** _-induced suicide. You may be reduced to sticking your fingers in your ears and going “LALALALALALALALA” any time anyone starts to say, for example, “breakfast.” Which is probably a good call, since if they’re talking about breakfast, RJ Mitte’s amazing performance of renowned breakfast-eater Walter White, Jr. in _ **Bromine Barium** _ may be mentioned soon after. Me, going for just “which was my favorite”–I picked _ **Firefly** _. If I’d looked at this yesterday, or tomorrow, or a few hours for now, I might’ve picked _ **Rome** _ or _ **The Wire** _ or _ **Deadwood** _ or yes, maybe even _ **Brea…** _, er, _ **Bromine Barium** _. Picking one is just too hard. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/14 "2013-08-22T17:04:01Z")
Here’s how things are shaping up after 50 voters: ```auto View Poll Results: What is the Best TV Show of All Time? This poll will close on 11-18-2013 at 12:06 PM The Simpsons 5 10.00% The Wire 5 10.00% Doctor Who 5 10.00% Breaking Bad 5 10.00% Star Trek: TOS 4 8.00% M*A*S*H 3 6.00% The Sopranos 3 6.00% Buffy 3 6.00% Firefly 2 4.00% Mad Men 2 4.00% Seinfeld 1 2.00% The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 1 2.00% The Twilight Zone 1 2.00% All In The Family 1 2.00% Fawlty Towers 1 2.00% Futurama 1 2.00% The West Wing 1 2.00% Dick Van Dyke Show 1 2.00% Deadwood 1 2.00% Lost 1 2.00% I Claudius 1 2.00% My Name Is Earl 1 2.00% OTHER -- Post and explain 1 2.00% Voters: 50 ``` ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/15 "2013-08-25T14:29:28Z")
I was waiting for 60 voters to appear but that’s slow to come. So here’s how things are changing (1 vote and 0 votes omitted): ```auto View Poll Results: What is the Best TV Show of All Time? The Simpsons 5 10.00% The Wire 5 10.00% Doctor Who 5 10.00% Breaking Bad 5 10.00% Star Trek: TOS 4 8.00% M*A*S*H 3 6.00% The Sopranos 3 6.00% Buffy 3 6.00% Firefly 2 4.00% Mad Men 2 4.00% Voters: 50 =============================== Breaking Bad 7 11.86% The Wire 6 10.17% The Simpsons 5 8.47% Doctor Who 5 8.47% M*A*S*H 4 6.78% The Sopranos 4 6.78% Star Trek: TOS 4 6.78% Buffy 3 5.08% Seinfeld 2 3.39% Firefly 2 3.39% Dick Van Dyke Show 2 3.39% Mad Men 2 3.39% Voters: 59 ``` ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/16 "2013-08-25T14:35:00Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > I’m always torn between The Sopranos and The Wire when I think about best ever. I lean toward The Sopranos. I just think it’s a little more cohesive and accessible. > > Those two have some close competition from Deadwood and Breaking Bad in my book (I might have gone with Deadwood as best ever if they’d gotten a chance to get a couple more seasons). It’s weird because I have the same thought, and I’m honestly not a **huge** crime show fan…just incidentally my two favorite shows of all time are based in the criminal world. I recently rewatched both _The Wire_ and _The Sopranos_, I’ve seen The Wire 2-3 times all the way through but hadn’t watched The Sopranos since its original run. In that intervening time I had come to view The Wire as the best show ever made. However, watching them both essentially back to back made me come out feeling the Sopranos was a better show overall. It told a more cohesive story, production values were better, acting was significantly better and even the characters were better fleshed out. The Wire by direct comparison, has a handful of really strong interesting characters but to a degree I think they suffer because Simon was trying to create archetypes of people he had known in real life Baltimore and because of that his characters come off seeming like a caricatures to a degree. That being said, that’s only a criticism of The Wire **versus** The Sopranos. The Wire is still my second favorite show ever, and compared to most other shows it is extremely strong in everything I just criticized. For awhile I considered Breaking Bad in the same category as The Wire and the Sopranos, but after rewatching those two I now feel I have to put Breaking Bad in a lower category. Still very, very good–and probably the most “intense” thing ever shown on television, but Breaking Bad is almost a cartoon (in a fun, enjoyable way) at several points which kind of undermine it a little bit. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/17 "2013-08-26T21:01:51Z")
It’s surprising how the same 25 shows (counting OTHER) out of 51 are the only ones getting votes. As long as there was a choice for picking more than one, some of these 0-vote shows did okay. But now that it’s just ONE vote, the cream is rising to the top. ```auto View Poll Results: What is the Best TV Show of All Time? This poll will close on 11-18-2013 at 12:06 PM The Simpsons 9 12.50% M*A*S*H 7 9.72% Breaking Bad 7 9.72% The Wire 6 8.33% Doctor Who 6 8.33% 35 The Sopranos 5 6.94% Star Trek: TOS 4 5.56% Seinfeld 3 4.17% Dick Van Dyke Show 3 4.17% Buffy 3 4.17% 18 Firefly 2 2.78% All In The Family 2 2.78% Northern Exposure 2 2.78% Mad Men 2 2.78% The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 1 1.39% 9 The Twilight Zone 1 1.39% Fawlty Towers 1 1.39% Futurama 1 1.39% The West Wing 1 1.39% Deadwood 1 1.39% 5 Lost 1 1.39% Band of Brothers 1 1.39% I Claudius 1 1.39% My Name Is Earl 1 1.39% 4 OTHER -- Post and explain 1 1.39% Voters: 72 ``` ---
**Author:** ![Koshki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Koshki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koshki)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/18 "2013-08-26T22:03:43Z")
Other: _I Love Lucy_. Anything still that funny after 50 years deserves to be on the list. The first season of _Dexter_ was astounding, but subsequent seasons aren’t as good. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/19 "2013-08-26T22:06:08Z")
Can’t believe I’m the only one who voted for Twin Peaks. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727/20 "2013-08-27T00:41:25Z")
No other show impacted me like _The Wire_. _The Sopranos_ is a close second, but it loses points for its stupid non-ending. I’ve also had no desire to watch _The Sopranos_ again, while I feel like I could watch _The Wire_ over and over. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-all-time-tv-show-update/666727.md?page=2)