# Your Favorite All-Time TV Shows -- Second Pass **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966 "2010-05-10T21:49:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/21 "2010-05-26T05:25:37Z")
Here’s the group of at-least-two mentions. I’m planning to exclude the just-two shows which would leave a total of 27 for the poll. If you feel a just-two show should make the poll, list the ones that should move up. Mentioning a show not in this list is going to need at least one other mention from somebody else before it wil make it to the poll. The X-Files (5) Carol Burnett Show (4) The Muppet Show (4) NYPD Blue (4) South Park (4) Star Trek Deep Space Nine (4) 3rd Rock from the Sun (4) 30 Rock (4) Antiques Roadshow (3) Big Bang Theory (3) Bones (3) The Cosby Show (3) Dexter (3) Frazier (3) Get Smart (3) Gilmore Girls (3) I Love Lucy (3) Jeopardy! (3) Law and Order (the Brisco and Green years) (3) The Mary Tyler Moore Show (3) Monday Night Football (3) QI (3) Red Dwarf (3) Roseanne (3) Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In (3) Sanford and Son (3) Taxi (3) Batman (2) Bob Newhart (the first one) (2) Cosmos (2) Coupling (2) Criminal Minds (2) The Fugitive (2) Generation Kill (2) Ghoulardi (2) The Good Life (UK) (2) Good Neighbors (2) Hill Street Blues (2) Homicide (2) In Treatment (2) Justice League (2) Keen Eddie (2) Late Night With David Letterman (2) Law And Order: Special Victims Unit (2) The Middleman (2) Mission: Impossible (2) Monk (2) Murphy Brown (2) My So-Called Life (2) Night Court (2) The Office (USA) (2) Outer Limits (2) The Price is Right (2) Psych (2) 60 Minutes (2) Soap (2) Sons of Anarchy (2) Spaced (2) Supernatural (2) Tales of the Gold Monkey (2) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2) Top Gear (2) # Venture Brothers (2) Vicar Of Dibley (2) Yes Minister (2) Yes Prime Minister (2) The Young Ones (2) (5) x 1 (4) x 7 (3) x 19 (2) x 40 # Total 67 # 220 shows mentioned in the thread ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/22 "2010-05-26T06:11:50Z")
I would humbly suggest that “Yes Minister” and “Yes Prime Minister” are the same show. (It’s the same characters, played by the same actors, in essentially the same relationship to each other – they just got promoted), so a vote for either could be counted as a vote for both. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/23 "2010-05-26T11:32:10Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I would humbly suggest that “Yes Minister” and “Yes Prime Minister” are the same show. (It’s the same characters, played by the same actors, in essentially the same relationship to each other – they just got promoted), so a vote for either could be counted as a vote for both. Thanks for that info. I’ll fix it straightaway. IMDb has it that [“Yes, Prime Minister” (1986)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086831/) was a follow-up to [“Yes Minister” (1980)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080306/) so I’ll use the later title for the combined vote of 4 (as of this post). Did you see my response to your “best” vs. “favorite” distinction in the other thread? I think “what you would choose to watch” is the best way to view the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/24 "2010-05-26T13:01:52Z")
If you spot any inconsistencies of spelling or multiple mentions of the same show by different names or other such mislabelings of titles in this thread, please call them to my attention. I’m changing the spelling of “Frazier” to [“Frasier” (1993)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106004/) so as to square it with IMDb’s version. If there are other issues relating to the “best” vs. “favorite” or the threshold of “at least three mentions” to make it to the poll, or anything else you have a different opinion from mine about, please let me know before Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/25 "2010-05-26T18:49:38Z")
I guess it’s too late for a last-minute push for **The Colbert Report** or **Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson**. These are two of the few shows I actually make an effort to watch; I don’t know why I didn’t suggest them earlier. > [@Zeldar](#): > > Did you see my response to your “best” vs. “favorite” distinction in the other thread? I think “what you would choose to watch” is the best way to view the issue. Yes, thanks, and thanks for responding to my “Yes, Minister” suggestion. The concepts of “series” and “season” are somewhat different in the U.K. than here. Another confusing case is “Doctor Who.” The 2005-present series is listed as a different title than the 1963-1989 on IMDb, Wikipedia currently lumps them together, and the BBC seems somewhat ambivalent. “Antiques Roadshow” has U.S. and U.K. versions. Although the basic concept and format is similar, the tone is somewhat different, based on the episode’s I’ve seen. You might want to specify which version you mean (or not). Also, “The Twilight Zone” and “The Outer Limits” have had multiple incarnations. You might want to specify the original series (or not). Finally, you may want to clarify if people should vote for the series overall, or a specific run of episodes. For instance, people could be huge fans of **The Simpsons** from about season 4 to season 9 but despise what came before or after that. Similarly, MASH in its later season was vastly different from what it was in the early years. Of course you could just leave all that up to the voter. Now that I know it’s not for college credit, I feel much more relaxed about it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/26 "2010-05-26T19:50:05Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I guess it’s too late for a last-minute push for **The Colbert Report** or **Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson**. These are two of the few shows I actually make an effort to watch; I don’t know why I didn’t suggest them earlier. Well, now that you’ve mentioned them maybe others will respond so they get at least three mentions. I’ll add them to the list anyway. > [@](#): > > Another confusing case is “Doctor Who.” The 2005-present series is listed as a different title than the 1963-1989 on IMDb, Wikipedia currently lumps them together, and the BBC seems somewhat ambivalent. > > “Antiques Roadshow” has U.S. and U.K. versions. Although the basic concept and format is similar, the tone is somewhat different, based on the episode’s I’ve seen. You might want to specify which version you mean (or not). > > Also, “The Twilight Zone” and “The Outer Limits” have had multiple incarnations. You might want to specify the original series (or not). > > Finally, you may want to clarify if people should vote for the series overall, or a specific run of episodes. For instance, people could be huge fans of **The Simpsons** from about season 4 to season 9 but despise what came before or after that. Similarly, MASH in its later season was vastly different from what it was in the early years. In each of these cases if there were sizable votes for the title, it might be worth breaking them down by season or by country. And it may come to that as a follow-up to the eventual poll that will merge the results of this next one with the ongoing one that ends in a couple weeks. I’m all for trying to resolve the “Favorite” TV Shows issue in whatever way makes best sense to Dopers. I’m open to any reasonable suggestions on how to do that. As it stands, here are the total number of mentions (or poll votes) for the programs you’ve mentioned: Doctor Who – 33 poll votes Antiques Roadshow – 3 thread mentions (will be in the new poll) The Twilight Zone – 51 poll votes The Outer Limits – 2 thread mentions (needs another before making it to the poll) The Simpsons – 99 poll votes – far and away the most popular show thus far MASH – 62 poll votes > [@](#): > > Of course you could just leave all that up to the voter. Now that I know it’s not for college credit, I feel much more relaxed about it. Yes, indeed. No point in getting an ulcer over it all. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/27 "2010-05-27T15:04:34Z")
I’ve had an idea I’d like some feedback on. In trying to make the next poll reasonably small in terms of number of options to vote on, I have leaned in the direction of 3-mentions-and-up which will have (as of latest count) 29 items to vote on. This latest idea is to have two polls, with the second being the 2-mentions group. I have been uneasy about the arbitrariness of dropping the 2-mentions from consideration. With that being the latest thoughts I’ve had on the subject, if you’ve seen a show or shows in this thread that ought to go from one mention to being voteworthy, go ahead and mention it or them. It’s getting closer to decision time and any input would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/28 "2010-05-27T15:18:38Z")
I tried to get it down to 10, but couldn’t get it under 11. Shows I either currently or at one time considered “must not miss” programming: Criminal Minds Friends Jeopardy! Law And Order: Special Victims Unit Monday Night Footbal The Muppet Show Mystery Science Theater 3000 Mythbusters Psych The X-Files The Young Ones ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/29 "2010-05-27T18:37:15Z")
Two words: Sports. Night. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/30 "2010-05-27T18:47:38Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Two words: > > Sports. Night. > That is all. This the one? [Sports Night - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Night) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/31 "2010-05-27T20:54:45Z")
As things stand at this moment, the 3-and-up Poll will consist of these shows: The X-Files (6) The Muppet Show (5) Carol Burnett Show (4) Jeopardy! (4) Monday Night Football (4) NYPD Blue (4) South Park (4) Star Trek Deep Space Nine (4) 3rd Rock from the Sun (4) 30 Rock (4) Yes (Prime) Minister (4) Antiques Roadshow (3) Big Bang Theory (3) Bones (3) The Cosby Show (3) Criminal Minds (3) Dexter (3) Frasier (3) Get Smart (3) Gilmore Girls (3) I Love Lucy (3) Law and Order (the Brisco and Green years) (3) Law And Order: Special Victims Unit (3) The Mary Tyler Moore Show (3) Psych (3) QI (3) Red Dwarf (3) Roseanne (3) Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In (3) Sanford and Son (3) Taxi (3) The Young Ones (3) =================================== The counts are: (6) x 1 (5) x 1 (4) x 9 (3) x 21 (2) x 38 # Total 70 Total shows in thread 220 (150 only mentioned once) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/32 "2010-05-28T05:44:58Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > This the one? [Sports Night - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Night) Yup! Thats the greatest show ever written. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/33 "2010-05-28T13:16:11Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Yup! Thats the greatest show ever written. So far, your mention is the only one. It will be left behind unless somebody else wants to elevate it to the 2-mentions group, which now stands at these 38 shows: Batman (2) Bob Newhart (the first one) (2) Cosmos (2) Coupling (2) Friends (2) The Fugitive (2) Generation Kill (2) Ghoulardi (2) The Good Life (UK) (2) Good Neighbors (2) Hill Street Blues (2) Homicide (2) In Treatment (2) Justice League (2) Keen Eddie (2) Late Night With David Letterman (2) The Middleman (2) Mission: Impossible (2) Monk (2) Murphy Brown (2) My So-Called Life (2) Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2) Mythbusters (2) Night Court (2) The Office (USA) (2) Outer Limits (2) The Price is Right (2) 60 Minutes (2) Soap (2) Sons of Anarchy (2) Spaced (2) Supernatural (2) Tales of the Gold Monkey (2) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2) Top Gear (2) Venture Brothers (2) Vicar Of Dibley (2) The Young Ones (2) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/34 "2010-05-28T14:25:27Z")
Oh man…And I thought Sports Night had a pretty decent following on the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/35 "2010-05-28T14:46:57Z")
I’ll put in for Sports Night, King of the Hill and The Price is Right. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/36 "2010-05-28T16:31:46Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Oh man…And I thought Sports Night had a pretty decent following on the Dope. It just may. If so, those people either haven’t seen this thread or haven’t mentioned it as a favorite. Even though over 200 unique dopers have already voted in the ongoing poll, the responses to the threads themselves have been much less representative. We can only hope others will see fit to help select the next polls’ contents before Tuesday. > [@Angel of the Lord](#): > > I’ll put in for Sports Night, King of the Hill and The Price is Right. Nicely done. I’ll post an updated summary later today or first thing tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/37 "2010-05-28T17:39:06Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Even though over 200 unique dopers have already voted in the ongoing poll, the responses to the threads themselves have been much less representative. We can only hope others will see fit to help select the next polls’ contents before Tuesday. This statement troubled me enough that I went and counted the posters to the three threads (this one and the ones linked to in the OP) and here’s an alphabetized list of everybody who has posted in them: Who Posted? Total Posts: 36 Total Posts: 45 Total Posts: 84 Zeldar 19 Zeldar 15 Zeldar 19 Aeris 1 Alessan 1 AllShookDown 1 Angel of the Lord 1 ArchiveGuy 1 AtomicDog 1 AuntiePam 1 AuntiePam 4 AuntiePam 1 Baboonanza 1 BrotherCadfael 1 campp 1 Carmady 1 Chefguy 3 choie 1 Cicero 1 congodwarf 1 control-z 1 DeafAngelboy23 1 descamisado 3 DMark 1 Dolores Reborn 1 don’t ask 1 don’t ask 1 drm 1 Dr. Rieux 2 Enola Straight 1 Euthanasiast 1 Fir na tine 1 footballisplayedwithyourfeet 1 FordTaurusSHO94 1 furryman 1 gallows fodder 1 Gangster Octopus 1 Gangster Octopus 1 Giles 1 gladtobeblazed 1 Hal Briston 1 halfliquid 1 infinitii 1 In Winnipeg 1 jackdavinci 1 jackdavinci 1 Johnny L.A. 1 JohnT 1 jools 1 kelly5078 1 kelly5078 3 lieu 1 lissener 1 luv2draw 1 MadTheSwine 1 maplekiwi 2 Markxxx 1 Maserschmidt 1 mecaenas 1 MsWhatsit 1 MTCicero 1 multimediac17 1 Mustardseed 1 nachtmusick 1 NoClueBoy 2 Nzinga, Seated 2 Paintcharge 1 panache45 1 Perciful 1 pinkyvee 1 Ponch8 1 RealityChuck 1 Red Barchetta 1 RickJay 1 RikWriter 1 robgotabingbang 1 runner pat 1 SaharaTea 1 salinqmind 2 SenorBeef 1 Sigmagirl 1 silenus 2 Sir T-Cups 3 Small Clanger 1 Student Driver 1 SunSandSuffering 1 tdn 1 tr0psn4j 2 tumbleddown 1 TWDuke 3 TWDuke 1 woodstockbirdybird 1 zamboniracer 2 ZipperJJ 1 Show Thread & Close Window 17 x 5 = 85 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966/38 "2010-05-29T15:01:14Z")
No point in reposting summary data, as little has changed. The counts are: =================================== (6) x 1 (5) x 1 (4) x 9 (3) x 22 (2) x 40 # Total 73 220 total shows mentioned So, unless there are drastic changes to the lists, the new polls will be for 3-and-up (33 shows) and 2-mentions (40 shows). Depending on the participation in those new polls there may be one final poll to combine the top x-number from each of the three into one Ultimate TV Shows Popularity Poll – with the notions of “best” and “favorite” merging into the notion of “What I Watched Most.” Still time for discussion and other ideas before Tuesday. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-all-time-tv-shows-second-pass/538966.md?page=1)