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The TOP 10 TV SHOWS of ALL TIME just for fun

I really dislike the phrase “…of All Time…” for reasons that I feel are obvious, for example, the history of television as a daily broadcasting medium is a scant 60 years… but, in that time human beings perfected the art of television programming… and well, there’s plenty of stuff to talk about! 

What programs do you recall that influenced everybody else, or were too great to forget, or were short-lived but important…?? 

Here’s my quick list: 
 1) I LOVE LUCY : the inspiration for this thread; been watching a bit here and there of the TV LAND marathon and it is still funny !!  The best TV has come up with in 60 years. 
 2) THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET : the TV program not filmed in front of a live audience that taught the rest of the industry how to do it non-LUCY style...
 3) LEAVE IT TO BEAVER the original family-values television program and still almost entirely inoffensive (but not quite).  Sensitive, informative, funny, often corny and insufferable, yet with contrite parents, this show is completely remarkable !!  Damn, I HATED THIS SHOW growing up.   Now, I love it.  My own TV favorite. 
 4) THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW : still funny, touching, and charming, a bit tired, but only because it has heart.  Damn fine television. 
 5) BEWITCHED probably the most successful fantasy of all the great fantasy TV programs (THE ADDAMS FAMILY, THE MUNSTERS, I DREAM OF JEANNIE, MORK & MINDY…)
 6) SEINFELD : there isn't a sitcom that does not borrow from this breakthrough program on TV today...
 7) THREE’S COMPANY there’s not too many shows primarily focused on sex, and relatively candid about it, in all of television’s history, and this is probably the most influential long-term. 
 8) FAMILY TIES the spoofing and gentle update of the family sitcom, still relevant today, though charmingly 1980s corny. 
 9) SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE “… your mama sews socks that smell …!!!” 
10) STAR TREK

Hey wait, here's number eleven: 
LOST IN SPACE : because there wasn’t a more exciting first season of SCIFI, FANTASY, or ADVENTURE in TV history… yeh, I love this one too, so it’s in number 10 ‘cause I say so !!   :teddyr:

WHAT'S YOUR LIST OF THE TOP 10 TELEVISION SHOWS ??

ULTHAR's commentary makes me decide that THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW supplants FAMILY TIES at number 8 (never thought of it) but there would be no FAMILY TIES if not for MTMS... and I never considered ALL IN THE FAMILY, GOOD TIMES, GOLDEN GIRLS, LAW & ORDER... but, I basically pulled my list outta my...  :wink:

Man, there's so many to choose from, a Top 10 is impossible.  Your list is heavy on sit-coms and I would HAVE to add "Barney Miller" and "WKRP in Cincinatti" to that list.  Great, wonderfully funny shows.

For similar shows that had significant impact on both TV and society in general, "All in the Family" would have to be included, as would, I think, "MASH."

Dramas?  How about "Hill Street Blues"?  Great show in it's early seasons (but turned too much soap opera later).

Speaking of Soaps, you cannot ignore the impact "Dallas" had at the time...though I must confess to having never seen a single episode.

Someone in another thread already mentioned the reaching impact of "The Simpsons" and some other animated comedies...

Really, Top 10 of all time?  Hard to say...and definitely a mood thing (ie, am I in the mood for comedy, drama, etc).  I will say that I DO like every show on your list.

You are so right...!!  Fleetingly, the DRAMAS swept through my head, but were rejected... AND, I never thought of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, should be number three or four...  :teddyr:  Since we ain't carvin' it in granite, I just hope we all have fun !!   :tongueout:

In that case, can I nominate "Hello, Larry" to the list?

I kid, I kid.   :twirl:

 :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: ...but, I cannot applaud you... :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle:

EDIT: All kidding aside, of course I DID applaud you !!  Who the hell remembers McLean Stevenson's great debacle???  You 'n' me, kid...

 Hmmm....I see!!!! Well! I refuse to participate in this thread!     :wink:

 Actually, I think I may have put "Of ALL TIME!" in there for dramatic reasons...I guess I'm a little over dramatic at times.
 Maybe that's why I tend to lean on dramatic TV series. If I was to go the comedy route...gee...
 .GREEN ACRES
 .the BEVERLY HILLBILLYS - It's no mistake my first born son is named Jed.
 .The ADDAMS FAMILY
 .The MUNSTERS
 .POLICE SQUAD
 .SLEDGE HAMMER
 .the SIMPSONS
 .BEAVUS and BUTTHEAD
 .REN and STIMPY
 .YOUR SHOW of SHOWS---I was too young to see it in it's intial run...but I recall seeing old reruns of it...and Sid Ceaser really cracks me up!  :bouncegiggle:

   I guess I tend to lean to the overly ridicoulus as far as comedy goes-maybe that's why I prefer the 3 Stooges over the Marx Bros.

I think VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA was far more influential than it ever gets credit for nowadays. STAR TREK in essence is like VTTBOTS in space. The show was very popular too in its time.

As to your list, I agree with most of your choices allhallowsday combined with RC's but would add the following:

ALL IN THE FAMILY.

I think Married With Children deserves a mention.  It was somewhat groundbreaking in bringing the new cynical style of humor into prominence as opposed to the more innocent stuff that came before it.  And Kelly Bundy is just plain smokin' hot  :teddyr: 

I'd give Dark Shadows a mention as well.  It really took the vampire from an evil killing machine to a more introspective, sympathetic character, which is how they're portrayed in damned near everything today. 

As ULTHAR pointed out, I did lean on comedy but only because that was my own opinion, I'd be interested to know which dramas you like, none really sprang to mind, but I'd again have to go with another fantasy oversight which right quick supplants BEWITCHED... THE TWILIGHT ZONE !!!
Four great shows; GREEN ACRES is brilliant, but the better it gets, the more obscure... ("...don't look in the tomaetah can...!")  THE MUNSTERS was produced by the same team that brought us LEAVE IT TO BEAVER...
Could definitely take the number two spot.  Brilliant. 
THE MARX BROTHERS were certainly ridiculous... !!! 

I had added ALL IN THE FAMILY with a mention in my later EDIT... you are also right, though that show has not aged well (a show my whole family watched, loved, and enjoyed) I was surprised even my own Mom (now 82 and a long time Carroll O'Connor fan) agreed that the show, which we had rewatched some of in a TV LAND marathon, was not nearly so funny or relevant anymore... what was once radical is now dated.  Yet, its work is done, and it is without doubt landmark television and belongs in the top half of any list. 

You're right, MARRIED WITH CHILDREN is hugely important in the evolution of television, and perhaps even SEINFELD owes that program a debt.  I could supplant SEINFELD with MARRIED WITH CHILDREN (I personally prefer SEINFELD) because MARRIED WITH CHILDREN crossed a line, creating unlikeable characters (which of course we ended up loving) and caused a stir back then.  It also is funny TV and once in awhile, brilliant television; but SEINFELD which also was built upon unlikeable characters, would then move down... or up... the list because it still belongs in the top 10, for being the first situation comedy with heartless characters (that also happened to be damned funny).  The Bundys had no class, but they had heart. 

I grew up on DARK SHADOWS, listen to the soundtrack often, and find the tapes I have of reruns of the show..., well, laughable.  It was not GREAT television, unless you were 12 years old or younger when first exposed to it (I was six and remember the introduction of the character Barnabas Collins in the show's initial run... when Willie Loomis opened the secret crypt and the chained-shut coffin that had lain undisturbed for over 170 years... I was very impressionable !!!)  Until yanked off the air in 1970 or '71, we rushed home from school every afternoon to watch DARK SHADOWS...

These are up for debate, but I'd include:

COPS- I'd argue it's probably the first 'reality' type show, not counting game shows.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer- debatable.  Helped inspire, in part, Joan Of Arcadia, Charmed, Dead Like Me, and a slew of supernatural shows.

The Simpsons- I'd say it's influential.

The Honeymooners- very funny show, pretty much was what caused the Flintstones to debut.  The Flintstones, in turn, gave way to shows like The Jetsons, Simpsons, Dinosaurs, etc.  Loud fat husband, attractive wife, etc.

That's my opinion.

 Hmm. Actually...theyr'e have been quite a few reality shows of the past.

  Alan Funt's CANDID CAMERA, THAT's INCREDIBLE!, one called HELLO AMERICA ( I think that was the title...I believe that Byron Allen was one of the hosts...any one help me with this title...?)  :question:

 anyway...here's a FUNNY clip from the old CANDID CAMERA show with Alan Funt and Fanny Flagg...!

  [youtube=425,350] http://youtube.com/watch?v=wsaWq6LAlJw

Monty Pythons Flying Circus

Tried to pick shows that I spent a lot of time watching rather than what I currently enjoy. Here's my top ten in no particular order.

Happy Days
Star Trek (original)
Leave It To Beaver
Dick Van Dyke Show
Taxi
The Honeymooners
The Odd Couple
Brady Bunch
Seinfeld
Gilligan's Island

It lives !!  (I mean the thread...) 
Well, Scott, I like most of your show selections, but I probably would exclude GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and BRADY BUNCH, both of which I am quite familiar with and neither of which I've ever really liked...
Hope you're feelin' like the bees knees and thanks for reviving (with inframan) this thread!   :smile:

I never really like GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, but it was always on TV when I came home from school and probably seen every single episode numerous times.
My next honorable "10" in a list of "20" mentions would be:

The Musters
Addams Family
Sanford and Son
Beverly Hillbillies
Candid Camera
Dukes Of Hazard
Batman
Get Smart
Lost In Space
The Jeffersons

Scott: As WILLIAM SHATNER said with HENRY ROLLINS: I can get behind that...

M*A*S*H.

1. Andy Griffith Show (B/W eps only)
2. All in the Family - when you didn't have to be PC and it was ok to laugh.
3. Beverly Hillbillies (again B/W eps only)
4. Good Times - proof you could be inter city and not a gangsta.
5. I Love Lucy
6. The Honeymooners - when the threat domestic violence was still cool.
7. M*A*S*H - didn't always agree with the anti military undertones but still entertaining.
8. Star Trek - just because it really started the sci-fi rage.
9. Northern Exposure - just because Janine Turner is so damn HOT.
10. Night Court - because it was funny!

1. MST3K (Best.  Show.  Ever)
2. Simpsons (Seasons 2-10) (A cultural phenomenon)
3. The Twilight Zone (The Original Series) ('Nuf Said)
4. The Young Ones (It was a barrier breaker back in the day)
5. Spaced (A show for 20-something slackers who love movies)
6. The Muppet Show (Great guests, stupid jokes and great characters)
7. Star Trek TOS (Cheezy, campy, and entertaining)
8. Twin Peaks (There's never  been a show like it)
9. Family Guy (The angriest little show on TV)
10. Tales from the Crypt (Funny + scary = Great TV)

That's my list...

Green Hornet?  I'm sure you also know Green Hornet was a spin-off of Batman.  Neither one lasted, but I remember the premiere of Green Hornet and I loved that show. 

This is just my top shows.

Twilight Zone
MASH
Rockford Files
Simpsons
Star Trek(orginal)
Magnum PI

1. The X Files
2. Red Dwarf
3. Life On Mars (UK)
4. Black Books
5. Doctor Who
6. Spaced
7. 2 point 4 Children
8. Family Guy
9. Batman : The Animated Series
10. Outnumbered.

Did anyone mention The Muppet Show?  Hopefully it was.

Yer the first, Happy. 

Wow.  I think I did a list on here.  If I did, I should change that, add the Muppets.  Good little show there.  Can't say it's top ten ALL TIME, but hey, it's good clean fun.

Soap
Hill Street Blues
Arrested Development
Newsradio
Red Dwarf
Star Trek TNG
Firefly
Mash
Tour of Duty
South Park

1. Miami Vice
2. Thundercats
3. Hill Street Blues
4. Family Guy
5. Tales From The Crypt
6. Friends
7. King Of Queens
8. The Simpsons (1-10)
9. LA Law
10. Jayce & The Wheeled Warriors

1 - "Dad's Army";
2 - "Dr Who";
3 - "Red Dwarf";
4 - "Kolchak - The Night Stalker";
5 - "Inspector Morse";
6 - "Sherlock Holmes" (1980s Version);
7 - "Fawlty Towers";
8 - "One Foot In The Grave";
9 - "Sharpe";
10 - "Yes Minister".

In no particular order:
THE SIMPSONS
ALL IN THE FAMILY
60 MINUTES
SESAME STREET
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE
MONTY PYTHONS FLYING CIRCUS
THE TWILIGHT ZONE
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
MIDNIGHT CALLER
SCTV