# The most consistent television series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824 "2018-07-30T18:50:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/21 "2018-07-30T23:23:19Z")
If we’re talking consistency, then you can’t beat the Fox Network’s _ **Lawless** _ from 1997 starring Brian Bosworth. Only one episode aired. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/22 "2018-07-30T23:44:20Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > ISTM, the only weak episodes of “Barney Miller” are the ones with scenes outside the detectives’ room and Barney’s office. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > _Barney Miller_ was consistently good. > [@kunilou](#): > > _Barney Miller_ was the most consistently well-written sitcom I can think of, but it rarely had a soaring high, like _DVD_’s Walnuts or _WKRP_’s Turkeys. _Barney Miller_ is a favorite series but I have to agree with Skywatcher on this one. When the series began, they split the show with half being set around Barney Miller’s home life and the other half being set at his job. It became clear that the job half of the show was much better than the home half and the home scenes got reduced and then eliminated. ---
**Author:** ![Sloe\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/23 "2018-07-30T23:47:37Z")
MY Favorite Martian ---
**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:** [July 31, 2018, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/24 "2018-07-31T03:58:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Not picking on any one here, but I think “consistent” needs to be defined… Yeah, because there have been amazingly clever/funny/brilliant shows that weren’t consistent. Our whole family loved LOST. And a movie critic friend of mine said that the first season is one of the best in 21st century television. But it’s NOT consistent at all… the crash, the survivors beginning to build a community, the early mysteries? All very different from the later Ben Linus and the Others storyline, then the Hatch and Desmond and the Smoke Monster. Then all the flashbacks/flash-sideways/flash-forwards… all brilliant (until the last episode… :dubious: ). But INconsistent. Breaking Bad was more consistent in that it was a pretty linear story arc (Walter to Heisenberg). You can also have a show so consistent that it’s boring. Someone mentioned L&O (I call it Law And Too Much Order, because you know exactly what the formula is… obvious killer revealed at the 35 minute mark? Nope, real killer unmasked at the 50th minute). And a lot of classic sitcoms were “consistent”, but we call that formulaic now. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/25 "2018-07-31T04:40:27Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > MASH was also all over the place, mostly dependent on how much control Alda had in the specific episode. I was young enough that most of the MASH I saw went over my head. Was an episode where Alda had more control better, or worse? ---
**Author:** ![Sloe\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/26 "2018-07-31T04:43:18Z")
I remember in Petrocelli, there was only one episode wherein his client was really guilty, and he found out only during cross-examination. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/27 "2018-07-31T06:05:00Z")
I don’t think I ever saw a bad episode of \*NCIS \*or _House_. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/28 "2018-07-31T06:43:07Z")
Many people didn’t see it because it wasn’t on a major network and ran for only two seasons, but I’ll suggest _A&E’s_ _A Nero Wolfe Mystery_, starring Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin. Every aspect of this series (the acting, the writing, the direction, the set design, the costumes, etc.) was superb, and remained so for the entire run of the series. Unfortunately it cost more than a million dollars per episode to produce, and after two years A&E decided a more profitable choice would be to air programming such as _Dog the Bounty Hunter_ instead. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/29 "2018-07-31T06:52:47Z")
The Expanse hits the ground running. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/30 "2018-07-31T08:49:40Z")
Brooklyn 99 for me. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/31 "2018-07-31T09:59:17Z")
The already mentioned Barney Miller and Dick Van Dyke show are probably my two favorite sitcoms, so I’ll mention something else, something more current: **Better Call Saul.** (btw, new season starts next week) mmm ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/32 "2018-07-31T10:57:24Z")
Blackadder. Sure there are lot of people critical of the first series, and it is a completely different formula, but they are wrong to say so. It is consistently great from beginning to end. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/33 "2018-07-31T11:07:19Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > The Shield and Breaking Bad are in my top five shows of all time, and while both might have had a weaker episode, neither had a bad stretch. In my opinion, the last season of The Shield and the first season of Breaking Bad were noticeably less consistent in terms of quality. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/34 "2018-07-31T11:07:47Z")
_Fawlty Towers_. There were only 12 episodes but they were consistently hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/35 "2018-07-31T11:25:01Z")
Married with Children is very consistent. Lots of great episodes. Some good and others in the middle. I don’t recall any really bad ones. There isn’t an episode that I immediately recognize and turn off. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/36 "2018-07-31T13:24:58Z")
That other sitcom with Ed O’Neil ain’t bad, either (Modern Family). Which brings up one way to answer this question: What TV series do you watch every episode of, even when you’ve seen it a dozen times and know what’s going to happen? We do the rabbit ears thing (ask your grandma, kid), and end up watching vintage TV shows on a regular basis. The Andy Griffith Show, Dick Van Dyke, orig. Bob Newhart show. And earlier ones like Burns & Allen, Jack Benny… oh, and Dobie Gillis! We often say “Oh, I’ve seen this one!”, but it’s like meeting up with an old friend – we’d never change the channel. Same with Seinfeld (but I’ll admit, it’s a wildly INconsistent show)… Just this weekend we noticed how many Seinfeld references our Millenial kids made. Neither of them have TVs, and are too cynical for most sitcoms. Sullen Tattoo Kid perked up: “Yeah, I’ve picked up every season on DVD, watch ‘em on my laptop. They really hold up, y’know. Almost nothin’ that can’t be related to a Seinfeld situation.” ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/37 "2018-07-31T13:48:22Z")
Start to finish, Breaking Bad was the most consistently high-quality TV I’ve ever seen, with The Sopranos and The Wire very very close behind. Note, I think the Wire had a few weaker seasons, but overall quality was outstanding all the way through. BB and Sopranos, it’s hard to even pinpoint a weak episode let alone a weak season. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/38 "2018-07-31T13:57:39Z")
My picks: House Breaking Bad Shameless Longmire Ozark Andy Griffith Psych (I didn’t know this show existed until a few months ago. I’m in season 4 right now (Amazon Prime). Each episode has numerous lines that make me laugh out loud) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/39 "2018-07-31T14:08:56Z")
Any episode of Andy Griffith that features Helen Crump sucks. Same with Dick Van Dyke and Ritchie. Otherwise, all systems go… ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824/40 "2018-07-31T14:55:19Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I was young enough that most of the MASH I saw went over my head. Was an episode where Alda had more control better, or worse? The general consensus is worse. But, as with all things, YMMV. I’m sure Alda thought they were the best! 😉 As Alda got more control, he shaped the direction of his character. And that was the problem. IMO, Aldo viewed Hawkeye as the eye of sanity in a crazy world. If there were conflicting opinions on something, especially political opinions, Hawkeye’s was always the correct one. He was the smartest, most moral-est person in the room, if not the war. But to us on the outside, he came across as a sanctimonious prig. Thinking one’s opinions are the only valid ones only works if they are, in fact, correct (Holmes in at least _Elementary_, and even then, he can be insufferable). Hawkeye’s current equivalents would be Harry Bosch (in the books even more than the show) and Brenda Leigh Johnson in The Closer. Whatever they do is the only right thing to do, even if last week the exact opposite was the only right thing to do. If you can’t see that, then you are on the character’s shit list. Take the example I gave. Hawkeye presents himself as superior morally to everyone else. He will do no harm, to any living thing. He pointedly won’t carry a gun, even if he never would shoot anyone. But in those two similar episodes, Hawkeye removed a healthy appendix from two different officers, just to keep them from doing what he perceived as harm. “The greater good” was his justification. Well, Hawkeye, you can justify quite a lot in the name of “the greater good”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-consistent-television-series/818824.md?page=3)