AAABatteries
Footballguy
Yeah - I don’t want to say too much since Tim isn’t done with the rankings but for me Seinfeld > Mad Men and it’s not really close. I think Mad Men is a bottom 3-5 show in this category.
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The Great 2020 All Time Television Draft: The Simpsons is judged the greatest show of all time (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter timschochet
- Start date
Yo Mama
Footballguy
Yo Mama
Footballguy
KarmaPolice
Footballguy
Hov34
Eephus's Great Great Great Love Child
Most of those HBO shows were about an hour run length with no commercials. Almost all the Star Treks were 50 minutes, for what that's worth.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
my quantitative statement was posted for the set up of this qualitative one: Star Trek "ran out of gas" after it had passed the episode count of all the modern masterpieces. and did so after 2-3 creator guys pulled galaxies, species, tech and other innovations of a scope beyond our wildest dreams, even languages out dey butt over 2-3 years. a little higher bar than a team of 13 Harvard grads with a year, two if they need it, and 40 years of episode, arc, seasonal structure science to base it on to put together 8-10 eps of themes for things to do in Albuquerque when your dead.
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KarmaPolice
Footballguy
OK how many exact minutes were each of these shows on the air???
timschochet
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
timschochet
Footballguy
The Greatest Shows of All Time
12 Pts The Carol Burnett Show
Saturday night, growing up in the timschochet household, CBS was required viewing:
8:00 PM All in the Family
8:30 PM The Jeffersons
9:00 PM The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9:30 PM The Bob Newhart Show
10:00 PM The Carol Burnett Show
Arguably the greatest lineup in television history. And other than perhaps All In the Family, Carol Burnett was the highlight, an hour of great entertainment especially when the "classic" lineup of Vicky Lawrence, Tim Conway, and Harvey Korman took over (early seasons featured a variety of other performers including the remarkably untalented Lyle Wagoner.) Its a very famous fact that Conway had a knack for cracking up Korman and often did so, but the chemistry was solid among the entire ensemble. Lawrence was best known for the terrific and underrated #1 hit single "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" and her genius comedic timing was a surprise. The show featured some of the greatest skits in television history, such as the Gone With the Wind spoof "in which Burnett wore a coat hanger over her shoulders to pretend she was still wealthy) and the sandbox toy skit.
Was this the greatest live comedy show ever? Well, not quite. But it was damn close, and I'm really glad, so glad we had this time together.
12 Pts The Carol Burnett Show
Saturday night, growing up in the timschochet household, CBS was required viewing:
8:00 PM All in the Family
8:30 PM The Jeffersons
9:00 PM The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9:30 PM The Bob Newhart Show
10:00 PM The Carol Burnett Show
Arguably the greatest lineup in television history. And other than perhaps All In the Family, Carol Burnett was the highlight, an hour of great entertainment especially when the "classic" lineup of Vicky Lawrence, Tim Conway, and Harvey Korman took over (early seasons featured a variety of other performers including the remarkably untalented Lyle Wagoner.) Its a very famous fact that Conway had a knack for cracking up Korman and often did so, but the chemistry was solid among the entire ensemble. Lawrence was best known for the terrific and underrated #1 hit single "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" and her genius comedic timing was a surprise. The show featured some of the greatest skits in television history, such as the Gone With the Wind spoof "in which Burnett wore a coat hanger over her shoulders to pretend she was still wealthy) and the sandbox toy skit.
Was this the greatest live comedy show ever? Well, not quite. But it was damn close, and I'm really glad, so glad we had this time together.
timschochet
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
Wait, aren't you the same guy who came in every day or so to see if you could launch your GOAT rankings yet?I wasn't even part of the draft.
timschochet
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
whether you're in a hurry or not, fly Trans#######
Mrs. Rannous
Footballguy
timschochet
Footballguy
If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t have mentioned it as one of my fondest memories of the show.
timschochet
Footballguy
Greatest shows of all time
15 Pts The Office
This is one of two shows on this list that I haven’t personally watched very many episodes of: the other is The Wire. Neither show has attracted my attention for whatever reason. But in both cases I’ve tried not to let that influence its ranking. The Office is widely regarded as one of the very best television shows of the 21st century, and by and large the best comedy show of recent years. I rank it here based on that reputation alone.
15 Pts The Office
This is one of two shows on this list that I haven’t personally watched very many episodes of: the other is The Wire. Neither show has attracted my attention for whatever reason. But in both cases I’ve tried not to let that influence its ranking. The Office is widely regarded as one of the very best television shows of the 21st century, and by and large the best comedy show of recent years. I rank it here based on that reputation alone.
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
KarmaPolice
Footballguy
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I love The Office but I get how it's not for everyone. It's kind of quirky and doesn't have the same broad appeal of some of the other GOAT contenders. Nice job so far - I did a quick ranking myself and had the same bottom four (different order) and had this just one spot higher.
timschochet
Footballguy
The Greatest Shows of all Time
18 Pts Jeopardy!
Created by Merv Griffin (he also wrote that incredibly annoying theme song) this greatest game show of all time (at least IMO) has over 8,000 episodes!!! It’s been in the news lately, sadly, with the very recent passing of its long time host Alex Trebek. Trebek was very much a major part of what made the show great- he was simply a great host, never talked down to anyone, always managed to have just the right tone: he made that look simple but it isn’t, which should be readily apparent to anyone who has watched in the last few weeks.
Being a successful contestant on this show is beyond my abilities, because even though I’ve always been pretty good at trivia, I don’t have any speed under pressure which is a vital element. I’m quite sure I’d be terrible at it. But unlike almost every other game show this one is a pleasure to watch because it’s such a challenge. It’s makes the viewer smarter.
18 Pts Jeopardy!
Created by Merv Griffin (he also wrote that incredibly annoying theme song) this greatest game show of all time (at least IMO) has over 8,000 episodes!!! It’s been in the news lately, sadly, with the very recent passing of its long time host Alex Trebek. Trebek was very much a major part of what made the show great- he was simply a great host, never talked down to anyone, always managed to have just the right tone: he made that look simple but it isn’t, which should be readily apparent to anyone who has watched in the last few weeks.
Being a successful contestant on this show is beyond my abilities, because even though I’ve always been pretty good at trivia, I don’t have any speed under pressure which is a vital element. I’m quite sure I’d be terrible at it. But unlike almost every other game show this one is a pleasure to watch because it’s such a challenge. It’s makes the viewer smarter.
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KarmaPolice
Footballguy
On pin and needles for next week when we learn what show is the GOAT in our TV draft!
krista4
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
That seems optimistic.On pin and needles for next week when we learn what show is the GOAT in our TV draft!
KarmaPolice
Footballguy
timschochet
Footballguy
Greatest Shows of All Time
21 Pts The West Wing
My personal favorite show of all time. 7 superb seasons. Season 5 was a bit weak compared to the others but still excellent television. There are some Aaron Sorkin snobs out there who belittle the last 3 seasons (Sorkin himself claims he’s never watched them) but they’re wrong; the Matt Santos vs Arnold Vinick race is as good a storyline as anything from the earlier seasons. (Incidentally Arnold Vinick is my dream politician- why can’t I ever find someone like that to vote for?)
Scriptwriting superb, acting superb, character chemistry superb- there’s really no flaws on this show. If it’s not ranked quite as high as some of the other dramas taken it’s only because it doesn’t quite reach their narrative heights, though even this is arguable.
21 Pts The West Wing
My personal favorite show of all time. 7 superb seasons. Season 5 was a bit weak compared to the others but still excellent television. There are some Aaron Sorkin snobs out there who belittle the last 3 seasons (Sorkin himself claims he’s never watched them) but they’re wrong; the Matt Santos vs Arnold Vinick race is as good a storyline as anything from the earlier seasons. (Incidentally Arnold Vinick is my dream politician- why can’t I ever find someone like that to vote for?)
Scriptwriting superb, acting superb, character chemistry superb- there’s really no flaws on this show. If it’s not ranked quite as high as some of the other dramas taken it’s only because it doesn’t quite reach their narrative heights, though even this is arguable.
krista4
Footballguy
Yo Mama
Footballguy
Yeah, not a lot of crossover with this topic (other than drafters with too much time on their hands).I probably won't participate but will follow excitedly.
Surprisingly, the old draft that I’m thinking about giving a reboot was one we spent a bunch of time on but it flamed out before we got to judging.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I wondered where you would have this as I knew it was your favorite. I think you slotted it wisely.timschochet said:
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
Mrs. Rannous
Footballguy
Then perhaps you should have watched the clip I linked. There's no hanger anywhere in there.timschochet said:
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Don’t stop him, he’s on a roll.krista4 said:
timschochet
Footballguy
Greatest Shows of All Time
24 Pts Seinfeld
Defined the 90s. Which is not necessarily a good thing for the 90s, because nothing ever happened on this show. Larry David created two great shows in which nothing ever happened, both with very talented ensembles to make you laugh at the insignificance elements of life.
I’ve been asked by the drafters to discuss Mad Men. I regret to say this, but...Mad Men would have been ranked higher. It would have received 39 points in 4th place overall. I believe that in the 21st century dramatic television took off and became a whole new level of excellence which Mad Men is clearly part of. Seinfeld, while a wonderful show and an all time classic, doesn’t quite rise to that level, IMO.
24 Pts Seinfeld
Defined the 90s. Which is not necessarily a good thing for the 90s, because nothing ever happened on this show. Larry David created two great shows in which nothing ever happened, both with very talented ensembles to make you laugh at the insignificance elements of life.
I’ve been asked by the drafters to discuss Mad Men. I regret to say this, but...Mad Men would have been ranked higher. It would have received 39 points in 4th place overall. I believe that in the 21st century dramatic television took off and became a whole new level of excellence which Mad Men is clearly part of. Seinfeld, while a wonderful show and an all time classic, doesn’t quite rise to that level, IMO.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
it must be draining to have to find an entirely new fallacy as a basis every time one is called upon for an opinion...
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timschochet
Footballguy
Maybe for some folks. But for me, having new fallacies in my thinking seems to come quite easily.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
Wow. This is a complete disservice to this show. From sheer pop culture references and everyday sayings that were generated from this show it should be top 5 without a doubt.
My two favorite shows of all time are Seinfeld and Cheers and for the longest time it was Cheers by a long shot. However, the staying power and cultural significance of Seinfeld finally won out in my rankings. I have recently started a re-watch of Cheers and even though it holds up better than I expected it still doesn't compare to Seinfeld.
It may have been a show about nothing but its significance and influence was so much more. I guess its fitting for Team GallStein to get the shaft one more time....not that there is anything wrong with that
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
Before DFS, ESPN hosted cap leagues in the major sports. For years, I was in an NBA Seinfeld League with 238 members whose team names were references from the show (i was "Kickass Philanthropist" til "KAVORKA" dropped out and i switched to that). No duplications - reading the daily standings was hilarious every time
timschochet
Footballguy
I don’t think you’re getting the shaft. I just ranked Seinfeld as one of the top ten greatest television shows of all time. That’s pretty high regard in my book.
When it should be in the top 5 (and the top comedy) it is getting the shaft.
Crazy Joe Davola and the Mandelbaums are after you now......
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
To me, what separates Seinfeld from what came before it as well as most of its contemporaries is the way it took an old premise and made it seem revolutionary. We can go back at least as far as Jack Benny's radio show to find a show about nothing but was great because of how the cast went through their paces. In fact, most old radio shows in which the star played a fictionalized version of himself/herself could be said to basically have been about noting. Even Lucy was similar but the show was all about showcasing her and her hijinks, whereas Benny and Seinfeld let the others get the laughs while the lead still retained his own foibles that were good for a laugh as well. In going back to this old formula, Larry David was zagging while everyone else was figuring out how to make zigging somehow new and different. As the finale proved, right up until the end, the show was determined to intentionally not be what everyone else wanted them to be and stayed true to itself. FWIW I was disappointed in the finale, but over time I recognize it couldn't have ended any other way and reluctantly applaud them for getting it right.
I'll also add that unlike so many other comedy shows, 99% of the guests had interesting contributions and weren't throwaways. Mickey Abbot's father--a tertiary character who was in one episode for about 3 minutes--had more character development and better lines than guest characters on most other 'top' shows. What other character, who appeared once in one episode, delivered as memorable a line as 'anti-dentite'? That's a small list, and Seinfeld, during its run, gave us an impressive list, which also includes characters who never appear or have any dialog; there's even a FBG whose name testifies to this accomplishment: Bob Sacamano. The texture of this show is so rich that even after countless re-watchings, you can pick up new details. One of my favorites is the fact that David Puddy had a standard answer to accusatory questions, "That's right", spoken in a rapid-fire way that perfectly mimics how Joe Friday answered the same kind of questions on Dragnet. I don't believe that was done by accident and while subtle, shows the attention to detail that went into the show. Speaking of Puddy, how many characters on TV can make staring off into space with a naturally occurring vacant stare engaging?
As for Mad Men, if 5-6 other shows in its category hadn't been taken ahead of it, I may have lobbied for it as GOAT over Seinfeld, so I guess if/when those shows appear on this list, they can thank me.
It's disappointing that Seinfeld didn't rank higher, and while I don't regret not trying to go with Mad Men, I'm a little gratified that my TV show tastes aren't as bad as Team GallStein's underperformance would indicate.
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