Ran from September 18, 1978 to September 20, 1982
When I was a kid I watched more TV then I do now, in fact back then I probably watched way too much TV. With that, I still remember WKRP as being one of my favorite shows, which is saying something from the copious amounts of TV I did watch. The show stuck out because it had a great cast of characters, from nerdy Les Nessman, slimy Herb, sexy Loni, and cool Dr .Johnny Fever…and even leaving out the rest seems like I’m doing a disservice. The setting wasn't the typical household one used in most sitcoms which made it different.
9) The Venture Bros
Ran from February 16, 2003 to ongoing
The Venture Bros has been one of the most consistent & enjoyable shows that meshes old time pulpy action shows with a nerdy-as-cool factor that suits me just fine. I can re-watch an episode and usually pick up some new small (but cool) detail and I can’t say that about the others. Each episode & season flows into one another as if each detail had been pre-planned far in advanced, although listening to the creators, they hadn’t been.
8) Breaking Bad
Ran from
January 20, 2008 to ongoing (1 final season left to go)
One of the newer shows that I have thoroughly enjoyed from episode to episode. It builds on top of its self. It has a cool premise – boring, almost defeated guy gets cancer – needs to leave his family some money after he dies, cooks and sells meth. I was typing out some words to best describe the show but really I can sum it up in one – tension. The whole series is filled with tension, although it does break it up with some humor, sadness and some badass action.
Side Note on recent shows: This goes for Dexter, Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. I left Walking Dead & Game of Thrones off this list because they aren’t far into any amount of seasons. I keep this is mind because I loved the first few seasons of Dexter but the previous 2 I was kind of ‘meh’ over which takes it down a bit. So if Game of Thrones & Walking Dead can maintain their quality then maybe in a few years they would go on this list.
7) Red Dwarf
Ran from February 15 1988 to April 5 1999; Back to Earth TV movie; possible new season to come.
A British sci-fi sitcom that had one of the best casts ever put together. The premise in a nutshell: A mining ship disaster kills the entire crew except for one man – Dave Lister – who is a lazy slob. He has his bunk mate Arnold Rimmer who is dead but is back as a hologram. There’s a dude who evolved from Lister’s cat and a mechanoid Kryten – think of a less proper C3PO and finally the ships computer who has been losing his marbles over the 3 million years. The sets are cheap but the writing and acting is top notch. Now I did get the latest TV movie Back to Earth, which sadly wasn’t very good L
6) The IT Crowd
Ran from February 3 2006 to… a season 5 had been set but cancelled…so maybe end date would be July 30 2010
A British sitcom that revolves around a couple IT workers for a big company. This is like nerd based comedy that done very clever and doesn’t try too hard – like Big Bang Theory does – at least Big Bang seems to try too hard in my opinion. The show has short season but each episode has such an impact. The two leads Roy and Moss are perfect as smart ass IT workers. This show appeals to me because I work in the same IT role, so granted the show may not work for all people.
5) Oz
Ran from July 12, 1997 to February 23, 2003
My first experience with adult TV. I started watching Oz from the start on Showcase back when and this show was just so raw and mesmerizing that you stood up and took notice when it came on. Featuring a large cast of characters set in a maximum security prison. You got the point of views from the prisoners, and the prison staff. It does feature a lot of violence, tension and some hard people facing off against other hard people.
4) Band of Brothers
Ran from September 9, 2001 to November 4, 2001
Technically a TV miniseries, but it’s definitely not a movie and it did run on HBO so it qualifies for favorite TV show. A well done (and expensive) World War 2 show following the lives, battles, loses and victories of Easy Company during their tour through D-Day til the end of the war. It was gritty and realistic and just had such a big impact.
3) South Park
Ran from August 13, 1997 to Currently still airing
I watched the premier episode when it debuted (at like 9:00 pm to boot) and I remember hating the show. I did stick with it and while the first few seasons were good, it was the later season when they took on more topical ..um..topics that the show excelled.
2) Mystery Science Theatre 3000
Ran from November 11 1988 to August 8 1999
…or known as MST3K, is a show about guys watching really bad movies and just making funny comments. It’s become a bit of a nerd have-to-know in recent years but back when I was flipping channels around I came across the show and just thought it was brilliant. You can still enjoy the stylings of the MST3K guys at rifftrax.com
1) The Prisoner
Ran from September 29 1967 to February 1 1968
This was another British show but not a comedy. It’s about a secret agent who gets taken to a strange island because he has information that some shadowy people want but won’t just torture him for it. It’s a very strange show with a bizarre setting and even more bizarre characters. There was a 2009 remake/re-imagining that was ok, but the end result wasn’t as good as the original show.
