Blackadder is the best TV series of all time.
I would also include Community and Pushing Daisies in there, neither of which are on the list.
I was going to vote for The Wire and then I thought about season five and decided to vote for the show that IMHO was consistently excellent and told a familiar story in a new way – Band of Brothers.
Deadwood doesn’t hold up for me – too operatic and pleased with itself.
The Sopranos liked to hit me over the head – “Did you catch that? I wanted to make sure you caught that.” An example is when Carmela is doing a fund-raiser at her house, and Artie and Charmaine are catering. Early in the episode we see Carm chastising the maid for fingerprints on a glass front cabinet, and she does that “come here” thing with her hand. Later we see her do the same thing with Charmaine, and this time there’s a lingering close-up on her hand. The writers didn’t trust the audience.
Although the history of the list in this poll has extended over several years and through several attempts to be as thorough as possible, I can readily accept that it is far from optimum.
I welcome the effort by someone else to do a follow-up that accounts for the listing of shows that ought to be considered for “best all-time show.”
Further discussion here might help to decide how to proceed. But I won’t try to do that task myself. I do appreciate the input and the voting in this thread.
I barely glanced at the list. I just scrolled down until I found Deadwood. No contest.
I don’t know if it’s entirely fair to compare what was effectively a mini-series with an ongoing series. But with Band of Brothers on the list, that will get my vote every time.
Here’s an update:
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 10 10.99%
The Wire 8 8.79%
M*A*S*H 7 7.69%
The Sopranos 7 7.69%
Breaking Bad 7 7.69% 39
Doctor Who 6 6.59%
Star Trek: TOS 5 5.49%
Buffy 4 4.40%
Dick Van Dyke Show 4 4.40%
Seinfeld 3 3.30% 22
Firefly 3 3.30%
Band of Brothers 3 3.30%
The Twilight Zone 2 2.20%
All In The Family 2 2.20%
The West Wing 2 2.20% 12
Northern Exposure 2 2.20%
Deadwood 2 2.20%
Mad Men 2 2.20%
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 1 1.10%
Cheers 1 1.10% 8
Fawlty Towers 1 1.10%
Futurama 1 1.10%
Lost 1 1.10%
Freaks & Geeks 1 1.10%
Twin Peaks 1 1.10% 5
I Claudius 1 1.10%
My Name Is Earl 1 1.10% 2
OTHER -- Post and explain 3 3.30% 3
Voters: 91
I went with The Wire over The Sopranos, but concede that Breaking Bad could overtake both if it finishes strongly enough.
I voted for West Wing because that’s the show where I was most concerned about missing an episode and it made me think (L.A. Law was even better at the “make me think” angle, but it’s not on the list.).
Had I been voting on the show where I’ve re-watched episodes the most, it would have been Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
Had I just gone for gut “I really liked this,” it would have been Firefly.
Tough call.
It’s ER for me. The Simpsons is so, so good, but in terms of how much I think about a show, and how much it effects me, and how much I go back to it, it’s ER.
I quote The Simpsons constantly, but for real impact…ER
How could Babylon 5 be left out? So I voted for “Other”
Tempted to pick Mad Men, but it isn’t finished yet. Poll me again when it’s over, as Breaking Bad will also be complete. Lost had me enthralled for years, but the payoff wasn’t there. I went with The Sopranos, but took a hard look at The Daily Show before submitting my vote. Where the hell is South Park in this poll?
We’ve broken 100!
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 11 11.00%
The Wire 11 11.00%
The Sopranos 8 8.00%
M*A*S*H 7 7.00%
Breaking Bad 7 7.00% 44
Doctor Who 6 6.00%
Star Trek: TOS 5 5.00%
Buffy 4 4.00%
Dick Van Dyke Show 4 4.00%
Band of Brothers 4 4.00% 23
Seinfeld 3 3.00%
Firefly 3 3.00%
The West Wing 3 3.00%
The Twilight Zone 2 2.00%
All In The Family 2 2.00% 13
Northern Exposure 2 2.00%
Deadwood 2 2.00%
Mad Men 2 2.00%
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 1 1.00%
Cheers 1 1.00% 8
Fawlty Towers 1 1.00%
Futurama 1 1.00%
Lost 1 1.00%
Freaks & Geeks 1 1.00%
Twin Peaks 1 1.00% 5
ER 1 1.00%
I Claudius 1 1.00%
My Name Is Earl 1 1.00% 3
OTHER -- Post and explain 4 4.00% 4
Voters: 100
I voted for TNG, although I would put DS9 above it.
If it’s a slow TV night, and there’s a Seinfeld rerun on, I watch it without hesitation.
No need to check the info to see which episode.
There are several episodes I’ve watched over a dozen times, and I still get a laugh out of them.
Many other deserving TV shows on this list.
I was conflicted on the vote. The OP read FAVORITE which would have been Six Feet Under but the title said BEST so I voted The Wire. Might be a weird distinction to some, but that’s how it sits in my mind.
I believe you meant to say “I just scrolled down until I found cocksuckin’ Deadwood. No motherfuckin’ contest.”
At least that’s how I remember that show.
I was going to add “cocksucka!” at the end of my sentence but decided to keep it clean. 
Well, 30 of the 51 shows have at least been spoken for:
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 Wire 14 11.86%
The Simpsons 12 10.17%
The Sopranos 10 8.47%
Breaking Bad 10 8.47%
M*A*S*H 8 6.78% 54
Doctor Who 7 5.93%
Seinfeld 5 4.24%
Buffy 5 4.24%
Star Trek: TOS 5 4.24%
Firefly 4 3.39% 26
The West Wing 4 3.39%
Dick Van Dyke Show 4 3.39%
Band of Brothers 4 3.39%
The Twilight Zone 2 1.69%
All In The Family 2 1.69% 16
Northern Exposure 2 1.69%
Deadwood 2 1.69%
Mad Men 2 1.69%
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 1 0.85%
Monty Python's Flying Circus 1 0.85% 8
Cheers 1 0.85%
Fawlty Towers 1 0.85%
Futurama 1 0.85%
Star Trek: TNG 1 0.85%
Lost 1 0.85% 5
Freaks & Geeks 1 0.85%
Twin Peaks 1 0.85%
ER 1 0.85%
I Claudius 1 0.85%
My Name Is Earl 1 0.85% 5
OTHER -- Post and explain 4 3.39% 4
Voters: 118
+1
Both that poll and this one make the egregious error of omitting The Andy Griffith Show. I don’t know that I would say it is the best of all time, but it belongs in the conversation.
I’m a cult fanatic follower of “The Prisoner,” so that’s my vote.
There aren’t many of us, but we are fiercely enthusiastic about it.
Just call me…Number Fifty-Four.