WGA List of 101 Best Written TV Shows

[woodstockbirdybird]

News Radio is the only real egregious omission IMO (“Community” should be in, but I understand why it wasn’t). “The Golden Girls” and “Will & Grace” don’t belong anywhere near the words “Best written”. But at least the massively popular crapfests that make up CBS’s current sitcom lineup were shut out.

[Shagnasty]

@moriah

Here, these represent shows I really liked to thinking they were just OK. But none of them stand out as ‘well written’. I guess they did well with creating interesting characters, and yes, that’s good writing, but the actual dialogue was uneven. To make a top 100, I expect really solid writing at all times. No low points, no gimmicks, no rehashing of the same joke (I’m looking at you, Golden Girls). The general idea of these shows are memorable. The actual dialogue… not so much. IMO.

thirtysomething
Northern Exposure
Columbo
Rockford Files
Golden Girls
Family Ties

This is one of the few well thought out lists of this type I have even seen. Maybe we should let writers run the world. I specifically looked for Northern Exposure because it is a character driven comedy/drama whose success or failure depended almost completely on the writing and it was outstanding at it in a way no other show ever has been. That is what good writing is all about. I would have ranked it higher than the 50’s just because of the quality of the first seasons but I admit that the later seasons turned into a surreal crapfest and had to drag it down.

All of the other shows on your list are well-written too and deserve to be on the list. My only issue is with some of the rankings even though I know it is an honor just to be on it at all. I would rank the Andy Griffith show much higher than Friends for example.

[ZipperJJ]

@woodstockbirdybird

News Radio is the only real egregious omission IMO (“Community” should be in, but I understand why it wasn’t). “The Golden Girls” and “Will & Grace” don’t belong anywhere near the words “Best written”. But at least the massively popular crapfests that make up CBS’s current sitcom lineup were shut out.

I LOVE Newsradio but do you think it would have been even remotely as good with a completely different cast? To me that is the epitome of a cast-driven show.

[woodstockbirdybird]

The best cast in the world isn’t going to be able to sell an abysmally-written show. One of the hallmarks of good (TV) writing is being able to write for the actors, and News Radio was a great example of that. And if you think the writing wasn’t anything special on the show, I refer you to Super Karate Monkey Death Car.

[RikWriter]

Deadwood and The Shield are way too low on the list.

[GrandWino]

I don’t get all the hate for “Friends” here. That was a really good show with fantastic writing. Not just the jokes, but the story lines. Back in its heyday it was appointment viewing (you might say it was Must See) for my friends and I every Thursday night. Some of the season ending cliffhangers (The London wedding: “I take you, Rachel…”) were well done and got people talking as much as any show out there today. The characters were funny and well formed and the show still holds up really well.

The biggest ommission I see on the list is “Freaks and Geeks,” but it only had a single season and it’s tough to crack into a list like this with that short of a resume.

[Shagnasty]

@Bob Ducca

I don’t get all the hate for “Friends” here. That was a really good show with fantastic writing. Not just the jokes, but the story lines. Back in its heyday it was appointment viewing (you might say it was Must See) for my friends and I every Thursday night. Some of the season ending cliffhangers (The London wedding: “I take you, Rachel…”) were well done and got people talking as much as any show out there today. The characters were funny and well formed and the show still holds up really well.

I don’t see a Friends hate or even dislike going on. I think some of us are just surprised that it ranked so high on a list that is supposed to be based on the writing alone. I can see how it would be on such a top 100 list but it seems really out of place in the top 10. Friends owes more of its success to the cast rather than the writing IMHO. There are many on that list that would be more suitable in the top 10 than Friends.

[bobot]

@Bob Ducca

I don’t get all the hate for “Friends” here. That was a really good show with fantastic writing. Not just the jokes, but the story lines. Back in its heyday it was appointment viewing (you might say it was Must See) for my friends and I every Thursday night. Some of the season ending cliffhangers (The London wedding: “I take you, Rachel…”) were well done and got people talking as much as any show out there today. The characters were funny and well formed and the show still holds up really well.

The biggest ommission I see on the list is “Freaks and Geeks,” but it only had a single season and it’s tough to crack into a list like this with that short of a resume.

Just my opinion here, Friends was a piece of crap Seinfeld coattail rider. Jennifer anniston sure was, is nice to watch. Friends never came close to Seinfeld.
Larry David …Friends…Not equal, or even in the same league.

[wolfman]

@jonesj2205

I could see your point in a lot of contexts, but this being the Writers Guild of America my inclination is to give them the benefit of the doubt a bit. Can you give an example of how you would differentiate “good” and “good writing” that they didn’t?

For me, “I love Lucy” It was barely written at all.

1. Come up with crazy situation.
2. Let Lucille Ball do her thing.
3. Let Fred and Ethyl do their thing.
   4 Wrap it up with Desi doing his thing.

Doesn’t mean it wasn’t good, but it didn’t need to be written. Most of the parts people remember and love were probably 1 sentence of general stage direction.

[Sterling_Archer]

Everybody Loves Raymond? Will & Grace? Dreck. Might as well put Home Improvement and ALF on the list. And “Lost” is a ridiculous inclusion.

Some shows like “The Simpsons” and “The Office” (US) are really hard to rate. At it’s peak, either of those could be top-5, but for at least half of their run they were garbage.

Sopranos could be top 10, but #1? Nah. Here’s my top 10: (considering their peak seasons only, ignoring the bad)

1. Arrested Development
2. Breaking Bad
3. Simpsons
4. Seinfeld
5. The Office (US)
6. All in the Family
7. Terriers (I know, only one season… but just watch it)
8. Firefly
9. Archer
10. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Note: I still need to watch The Wire and Deadwood.

[MentalGuy]

@Bob Ducca

I don’t get all the hate for “Friends” here. That was a really good show with fantastic writing. Not just the jokes, but the story lines. Back in its heyday it was appointment viewing (you might say it was Must See) for my friends and I every Thursday night. Some of the season ending cliffhangers (The London wedding: “I take you, Rachel…”) were well done and got people talking as much as any show out there today. The characters were funny and well formed and the show still holds up really well.

The biggest ommission I see on the list is “Freaks and Geeks,” but it only had a single season and it’s tough to crack into a list like this with that short of a resume.

“Freaks and Geeks” is at #60.

[woodstockbirdybird]

@Sterling_Archer

Note: I still need to watch The Wire and Deadwood.

As soon as I saw your top 10, I assumed you hadn’t seen these shows.

[Molesworth_2]

I love South Park, but I do feel that the creators of that show are incredibly arrogant.

So when I saw South Park tied at #63 with Everybody Loves Raymond (which I’m sure is a show that Trey Parker and Matt Stone hate with an absolute passion) I couldn’t help but laugh.

[GrandWino]

@MentalGuy

“Freaks and Geeks” is at #60.

Oh thanks, I looked for it and even did a Ctl-F but must not have had it on the right page. Thanks!