# WGA List of 101 Best Written TV Shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 3, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060 "2013-06-03T19:42:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/1 "2013-06-03T19:42:47Z")
[List here.](http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=4925) Can’t really complain about any of the top ten or twenty on here, all greatly written shows. I was surprised to see The Twilight Zone listed so highly though. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/2 "2013-06-03T19:46:00Z")
I liked MASH and all but I can’t help but feel it was a little too uneven for the Top Five. Especially the overly maudlin later Alan Alda stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/3 "2013-06-03T20:02:12Z")
Friends was better-written than Deadwood? What the hell is wrong with these people? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/4 "2013-06-03T20:07:13Z")
That’s one fine list. Remember, they are looking at it from the writer’s perspective - and the Twilight Zone is one of the rare cases of the writer having control. Star Trek also. But the ST write up is bizarre > [@](#): > > As creator Gene Roddenberry wrote to science fiction author Isaac Asmiov two months after the first Star Trek series premiered in 1966: “Star Trek almost did not get on the air because it refused to do a juvenile science fiction, because it refused to put a ‘Lassie’ aboard the space ship, and because it insisted on hiring Dick Matheson, Harlan Ellison, A.E. Van Vogt, Phil Farmer, and so on.” Matheson and Vogt did write for the show extensively, and Ellison briefly When did van Vogt write for the show (never Vogt!) When did Phil Farmer? How could they leave out Robert Bloch who had lots of screen writing credits as well as sf credits. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/5 "2013-06-03T20:13:08Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > When did van Vogt write for the show (never Vogt!) When did Phil Farmer? How could they leave out Robert Bloch who had lots of screen writing credits as well as sf credits. I don’t know, but perhaps they were consultants or something and not actual credited writers? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/6 "2013-06-03T20:16:33Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Friends was better-written than Deadwood? What the hell is wrong with these people? Deadwood is definitely a fantastically written show, but it’s almost all written by one guy (and even when there were other writers, he would micromanage the scripts) so that’s probably why the WGA members didn’t vote it higher. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/7 "2013-06-03T21:42:16Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I don’t know, but perhaps they were consultants or something and not actual credited writers? Nothing I’ve read about the show, including Gerrold’s book, mentions them. van Vogt might have lived in LA (not sure) but Farmer was in Peoria. I met him in '76 or thereabouts when he came down to Champaign to autograph books. You’d think someone would have mentioned it. I’m also not familiar with Farmer working on any screeplays. There is a Riverworld TV movie, but I don’t think he had much to do with it. Perhaps they were thinking of Bloch, Sturgeon, Jerry Sohl, Jerome Bixby, or any of the other real sf writers I forgot. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/8 "2013-06-03T21:53:54Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > [List here.](http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=4925) > > Can’t really complain about any of the top ten or twenty on here, all greatly written shows. I was surprised to see The Twilight Zone listed so highly though. I was actually a bit surprised. Almost the series that immediately jumped to my mind as “best written” made the top 20 (Sopranos, Simpsons, Arrested Development, Seinfeld, Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, Cheers, All in the Family.) Only “Soap” was buried way down, but I’m happy just to see that it made the list. It’s rare I can agree with a list as much as this. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/9 "2013-06-03T22:04:42Z")
Well, mileage varies, obviously. I can’t make good arguments against any of these, given the impossibility of comparing a show like\* Sesame Street\* to a show like _Mary Tyler Moore_ to a show like\* Late Night\*, but I have to admit I’ve never understood the appeal of \*Seinfeld \*after about the first season. The plot dovetailing was overwrought, and seemed pretty amateurish. Can’t argue with its influence, though. It pretty much single-handedly introduced the ‘amoral’ sitcom plot. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/10 "2013-06-03T22:09:59Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > That’s one fine list. Remember, they are looking at it from the writer’s perspective - and the Twilight Zone is one of the rare cases of the writer having control. Star Trek also. > > But the ST write up is bizarre > > When did van Vogt write for the show (never Vogt!) When did Phil Farmer? How could they leave out Robert Bloch who had lots of screen writing credits as well as sf credits. Matheson’s work on the series was one show (“The Enemy Within”) which I don’t think qualifies as “extensive”. Ellison wrote one script but it was heavily revised and left Ellison very bitter towards the series. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/11 "2013-06-03T22:15:51Z")
_The Shield_ should have been a lot higher than tied for 71st place with _24_ and _Roseanne_. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/12 "2013-06-03T22:38:54Z")
In general, I agree with this list as well. Almost all of my top picks are listed (I also scrolled down looking for _Soap_ along with _Barney Miller_). One show I would like to see added: _Lou Grant_. It had some really great character development alongside thoughtful treatment of the issues of the day. One show I don’t think deserves to be on the list: _Will & Grace_. In spite of its breakthrough concept, the writing often seemed weak and juvenile to me. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/13 "2013-06-03T22:51:47Z")
What I really like about this list is how far back it goes. Usually “the best of TV” lists will limit themselves to the last 10 years, 20 if they’re ambitious. This highlights how influential TV on Demand is becoming, while I’ve seen many of the older shows in syndication it’s only recently that I’ve been able to see most of those highly rated older shows. It amazes me how relevant, entertaining, and funny some of those shows filmed in the 60’s can still be today. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/14 "2013-06-03T22:52:14Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Deadwood is definitely a fantastically written show, but it’s almost all written by one guy (and even when there were other writers, he would micromanage the scripts) so that’s probably why the WGA members didn’t vote it higher. West Wing - at least the most acclaimed seasons - were written by one guy, Aaron Sorkin, so I’m not sure that was it. Not sure what was it though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/15 "2013-06-04T07:51:16Z")
I’d like to see which shows just missed the list, and wonder if News Radio, The Venture Bros., or Archer made it. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/16 "2013-06-04T10:55:00Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > [List here.](http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=4925) Just a little hint of American bias there. ---
**Author:** ![charmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@charmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/17 "2013-06-04T12:22:32Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Just a little hint of American bias there. No they didn’t title it the “WGA List of 101 Best Written TV Shows Written by Members of the WGA.” We should start a petition to make them change that. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/18 "2013-06-04T12:24:37Z")
Breaking Bad should be in single digit area. If not Top 5. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/19 "2013-06-04T16:21:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Matheson’s work on the series was one show (“The Enemy Within”) which I don’t think qualifies as “extensive”. Ellison wrote one script but it was heavily revised and left Ellison very bitter towards the series. One could argue that Matheson’s script was important in setting the tone of ST, being more psychological than action. And I thought the write-up made it sound like Eliison was on staff for a short time. ST never had a writing room the way series seem to have today - they bought and revised scripts. Matheson and Ellison were both experienced screenwriters as well as sf writers. Sturgeon and Spinrad had no screenwriting experience as far as I know. Still, I want to know why they think van Vogt and Farmer had anything to do with the show. I didn’t want to take the time to point out every mistaken word in that entry - which was most of them. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060/20 "2013-06-04T17:59:01Z")
I would have ranked Battlestar in the top 10 for sure. Was Babylon 5 not on the list or did I miss it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wga-list-of-101-best-written-tv-shows/660060.md?page=2)