Mrs. Rannous
Footballguy
Right with you. Watching one soap is one thing. Watching enough to know the difference among them is just nvts.
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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
Hey Tim, curious why Mission Impossible would have been a better fit in action than this category, but Twilight Zone and Outer Limits weren’t penalized for being better fits in Sci Fi / Paranormal?
timschochet
Footballguy
I didn’t penalize Mission Impossible. I was speculating as to whether or not that category would have been a better fit. Same with Outer Limits. Twilight Zone I imagine would have been a 16 either wayYo Mama said:
Yo Mama
Footballguy
Yeah, I originally drafted MI for that category but worried how it would hold up against newer shows, plus I didn’t really like anything else in the 50-70 drama category. I probably should have kept it there.
timschochet
Footballguy
Best Comedy show 1950-1970
1 Pt The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Something had to go last. I’ve got nothing against Ozzie but it’s just a little too bland. Best moments involved son Ricky performing “a little r & b number for you!”
2 Pts Leave It to Beaver More iconic than Ozzie’s show, or Father Knows Best or the later Family Affair. I’m a little surprised that My Three Sons wasn’t drafted, would have done better than all of them.
3 Pts McHales Navy Standard 50s fare, but gets likability points for Borgnine, who has great charisma on screen.
4 Pts The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour Totally wrong category. A very funny show but belongs elsewhere so this is as high as I could slot it here.
1 Pt The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Something had to go last. I’ve got nothing against Ozzie but it’s just a little too bland. Best moments involved son Ricky performing “a little r & b number for you!”
2 Pts Leave It to Beaver More iconic than Ozzie’s show, or Father Knows Best or the later Family Affair. I’m a little surprised that My Three Sons wasn’t drafted, would have done better than all of them.
3 Pts McHales Navy Standard 50s fare, but gets likability points for Borgnine, who has great charisma on screen.
4 Pts The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour Totally wrong category. A very funny show but belongs elsewhere so this is as high as I could slot it here.
timschochet
Footballguy
Comedy show 1950-1970
5 Pts The Munsters Mediocre show except for the great talents of Fred Gwynn in the leading role.
6 Pts Hogan’s Heroes Good concept for a movie (see Stalag 17) but as a show the plots became repetitive after a short time. Pretty good ensemble cast though.
7 Pts The Beverly Hillbillies Fish out of water is one of the more popular comedy devices. Green Acres (an early version of Schitt’s Creek) which reverses the idea was even funnier.
8 Pts Gilligan’ s Island One of the most iconic shows ever to appear on television. But again they ran out of plot lines and it just got sillier and sillier (without getting funnier.) Jim Backus stole every scene he was in.
9 Pts Bewitched If every show featured either Agnes Morehead or Paul Lynde I’d have to rank this show much higher, perhaps at the very top. But the episodes in which they don’t appear were decidedly ho-hum.
5 Pts The Munsters Mediocre show except for the great talents of Fred Gwynn in the leading role.
6 Pts Hogan’s Heroes Good concept for a movie (see Stalag 17) but as a show the plots became repetitive after a short time. Pretty good ensemble cast though.
7 Pts The Beverly Hillbillies Fish out of water is one of the more popular comedy devices. Green Acres (an early version of Schitt’s Creek) which reverses the idea was even funnier.
8 Pts Gilligan’ s Island One of the most iconic shows ever to appear on television. But again they ran out of plot lines and it just got sillier and sillier (without getting funnier.) Jim Backus stole every scene he was in.
9 Pts Bewitched If every show featured either Agnes Morehead or Paul Lynde I’d have to rank this show much higher, perhaps at the very top. But the episodes in which they don’t appear were decidedly ho-hum.
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Doug B
Footballguy
No effect on the rating, just a fun fact: The author of Catch-22, Joseph Heller, wrote an episode of McHale's Navy -- "PT 73 Where Are You?", the fourth episode of the first season aired 11/1/1962.
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
Totally worth it to have it on the roster. Just about on par with any writing staff of any show from any era, with contributors whose shadow pushed comedy forward for 5+ decades after the show went on the air. I suppose it's a little bit of revisionist history to call it arguably the most important show ever made, but I praise this show for the stars' commitment to entertain with integrity and fearlessly satirizing the Establishment with humor but not cynicism, nor an agenda that leaned toward either political party at the expense of the other. The Smothers Brothers, even with bleeding heart liberal crackpot Meathead Rob Reiner on the writing team, showed how to do political satire correctly, a lesson the writers of the shows that pass for the same genre now seem to have missed. Perhaps any flaws they had would have been revealed if the show ran more than 3 seasons, but what we have from them is pure and perfect, and it's a shame we haven't grown up enough to be gifted with this level of entertainment again.
timschochet
Footballguy
Comedy 1950-1970
10 Pts The Addams Family Just a superb ensemble cast made this one of the great sitcoms of all time. The deadpan dialogue between husband and wife was especially great.
11 Pts The Andy Griffith Show Lacks the hilarity of most of the other shows at the top of this list but makes up for it with great warmth and love of the subject matter, which is quintessential small time America.
12 Pts the #### Van Dyke Show Mary Tyler Moore is one of very few actors to be featured in two of the greatest sitcoms in the history of television.
10 Pts The Addams Family Just a superb ensemble cast made this one of the great sitcoms of all time. The deadpan dialogue between husband and wife was especially great.
11 Pts The Andy Griffith Show Lacks the hilarity of most of the other shows at the top of this list but makes up for it with great warmth and love of the subject matter, which is quintessential small time America.
12 Pts the #### Van Dyke Show Mary Tyler Moore is one of very few actors to be featured in two of the greatest sitcoms in the history of television.
timschochet
Footballguy
And now I see I screwed up. I ranked The Monkees at 6 Pts but I didn’t post it. So now I need to renumber everything ranked above it:
6 Pts The Monkees Great music, but comedy based on Beatlemania can only take you so far.
6 Pts The Monkees Great music, but comedy based on Beatlemania can only take you so far.
timschochet
Footballguy
14 Pts Get Smart The extremely talented writers make this perhaps the funniest show of the 1960s, perhaps ever.
15 Pts The Honeymooners The show that started it all, that created the situation comedy. And also very funny.
16 Pts I Love Lucy My pick and I trust nobody will argue. This will also be my pick for greatest show of all time.
15 Pts The Honeymooners The show that started it all, that created the situation comedy. And also very funny.
16 Pts I Love Lucy My pick and I trust nobody will argue. This will also be my pick for greatest show of all time.
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timschochet
Footballguy
Comedy 1950-1970
16 Pts I Love Lucy
15 Pts The Honeymooners
14 Pts Get Smart
13 Pts the #### Van Dyke Show
12 Pts The Andy Griffith Show
11 Pts The Addams Family
10 Pts Bewitched
9 Pts Gilligan’s Island
8 Pts The Beverly Hillbillies
7 Pts Hogan’s Heroes
6 Pts The Monkees
5 Pts The Munsters
4 Pts The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
3 Pts McHale’s Navy
2 Pts Leave It to Beaver
1 Pt The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
16 Pts I Love Lucy
15 Pts The Honeymooners
14 Pts Get Smart
13 Pts the #### Van Dyke Show
12 Pts The Andy Griffith Show
11 Pts The Addams Family
10 Pts Bewitched
9 Pts Gilligan’s Island
8 Pts The Beverly Hillbillies
7 Pts Hogan’s Heroes
6 Pts The Monkees
5 Pts The Munsters
4 Pts The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
3 Pts McHale’s Navy
2 Pts Leave It to Beaver
1 Pt The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
k - do ancient astronomers next, timmy. "yeah, i know Copernicus got us off thinking everything rotated around earth, but i just loved Ptolemy's ellipses when i was a kid".
timschochet
Footballguy
Not everyone has selected their “greatest tv show of all time” pick. Here are my suggestions:
timschochet- I Love Lucy
@Hov34 The Wire
@Gally @Charlie Steiner Seinfeld or Mad Men
@AcerFC Jeopardy
@rick6668 Game of Thrones
@AAABatteries @BobbyLayne The Sopranos
@mphtrilogy The Simpsons
@tuffnutt Cheers
@Pitchfork The Office
@jwb The Honeymooners
@Mrs. Rannous The Carol Burnett Show
@Zow Gunsmoke
@Tolstoy The West Wing
@Doug B Saturday Night Live or Sesame Street
@KarmaPolice Breaking Bad
@Yo Mama Star Trek
timschochet- I Love Lucy
@Hov34 The Wire
@Gally @Charlie Steiner Seinfeld or Mad Men
@AcerFC Jeopardy
@rick6668 Game of Thrones
@AAABatteries @BobbyLayne The Sopranos
@mphtrilogy The Simpsons
@tuffnutt Cheers
@Pitchfork The Office
@jwb The Honeymooners
@Mrs. Rannous The Carol Burnett Show
@Zow Gunsmoke
@Tolstoy The West Wing
@Doug B Saturday Night Live or Sesame Street
@KarmaPolice Breaking Bad
@Yo Mama Star Trek
AAABatteries
Footballguy
We had selected but just to confirm, we did take The Sopranos as our GOAT pick
Doug B
Footballguy
Yo Mama
Footballguy
Yo Mama
Footballguy
jwb
Footballguy
Yea. I contemplated both Ed Sullivan and Monty Python, but the Honeymooners are timeless.
KarmaPolice
Footballguy
Thought I posted it, but yes - I took Breaking Bad as my GOAT pick.
Zow
Footballguy
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
Yo Mama
Footballguy
Here’s what I see that still needs to be judged:
91-20 Leading Man Comedy - Zow
91-20 Leading Man Drama - Zow
Animated - Dr. Octopus
Variety/Live - OPEN
Sci Fi - jwb
Dad - Zow
Miniseries - OPEN
Finale - OPEN
Commercial - Hags
Documentary - Mrs. R
Action - AAA
Teen - OPEN
Foreign - OPEN
News Personality - Don Quixote
Villain - AAA
91-20 Leading Man Comedy - Zow
91-20 Leading Man Drama - Zow
Animated - Dr. Octopus
Variety/Live - OPEN
Sci Fi - jwb
Dad - Zow
Miniseries - OPEN
Finale - OPEN
Commercial - Hags
Documentary - Mrs. R
Action - AAA
Teen - OPEN
Foreign - OPEN
News Personality - Don Quixote
Villain - AAA
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Yo Mama
Footballguy
tuffnutt
Footballguy
Val Rannous
Footballguy
Corporation
Angry Bovine
Sent a list.Zow said:
Mrs. Rannous
Footballguy
I have news from the Realm of Unintended Consequences.
Because so many of you picked documentaries from Netflix, we had to subscribe- something we had avoided. UNTIL NOW. MrR discovered binge watching a bunch of stuff (he's doing that now, as I write). We spent the last two days watching Bridgerton. It's weird to actually be watching something while it's trendy. And then there's the baking. So much baking. And the gazillion documentaries.
I BLAME YOU PEOPLE. I may never have a life again.
Still, I have the doc rankings finished. So here goes. After all, the TV beckons (if I can pry my husband away from it.)
Because so many of you picked documentaries from Netflix, we had to subscribe- something we had avoided. UNTIL NOW. MrR discovered binge watching a bunch of stuff (he's doing that now, as I write). We spent the last two days watching Bridgerton. It's weird to actually be watching something while it's trendy. And then there's the baking. So much baking. And the gazillion documentaries.
I BLAME YOU PEOPLE. I may never have a life again.
Still, I have the doc rankings finished. So here goes. After all, the TV beckons (if I can pry my husband away from it.)
Mrs. Rannous
Footballguy
This category was MUCH harder to judge than the film one. Movies tend to be 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours long. (The Woodstock one was the exeption here.) The TV picks ranged from that length to hours worth of stuff. The depth of the topics can be much larger and less focused. They take their time occasionally. There weren't a lot of comparables. This came down to which ones I liked, plus how well they aged (in some cases), how well they fit the category (in some cases), how well made they were, and how broad their appeal is (in some cases). Some people are just not going to like this. Sorry, but some classics just didn't hold up, and some modern stuff just wasn't all that good.
I think my head exploded part way through.
I think my head exploded part way through.
Mrs. Rannous
Footballguy
Something had to come in last, and I know this one is gonna hurt.
1 pt - Cosmos
This was (and is) iconic. My major problem with it is that it doesn't really document anything. It's more classroom material about astronomy and other science stuff. And if I buy the book, I don't have to listen to the really awful Vangelis music or Sagan drone on. (I kept hearing Johnny Carson saying, "Billions and billions".) And it's just booooriiiiing.
2 pts - UP (series)
This seemed like a good choice at first; but the more I looked at it, the less I liked it. It didn't help that this started as a one-off and became something else. The director, Michael Apted brought his own personal bias to it, which really didn't get corrected for the first three or so episodes. The interview subjuects got asked diffent questions depending on whether they were male or female, and also more or less advantaged socially. It skews the results. It just isn't really good journalism at all. It does get better, but it really isn't all that interesting after a while. It would have helped greatly if the interview subjects had their names posted in every scene. Keeping track of all those people was labour intensive. Some of them are very samey.
3 pts - Last Dance
A documentary series about Jordan's last season with the Bulls. This would have done better if it hadn't been influenced by Jordan himself (outside of his interviews). He had a fair bit of imput in the product, which calls into question the quality of info here. Unless you are really into Jordan, this just doesn't hold interest. I'm not a basketball watcher, but there were lots of 30 For 30 episodes about basketball that were really good. I'd watch those instead.
4 pts - Planet Earth
Just lovely to look at, and it spawned a whole bunch of other series. But much like Cosmos, it doesn't really document that much, although it does have a focus on environmental concerns, including climate change.
1 pt - Cosmos
This was (and is) iconic. My major problem with it is that it doesn't really document anything. It's more classroom material about astronomy and other science stuff. And if I buy the book, I don't have to listen to the really awful Vangelis music or Sagan drone on. (I kept hearing Johnny Carson saying, "Billions and billions".) And it's just booooriiiiing.
2 pts - UP (series)
This seemed like a good choice at first; but the more I looked at it, the less I liked it. It didn't help that this started as a one-off and became something else. The director, Michael Apted brought his own personal bias to it, which really didn't get corrected for the first three or so episodes. The interview subjuects got asked diffent questions depending on whether they were male or female, and also more or less advantaged socially. It skews the results. It just isn't really good journalism at all. It does get better, but it really isn't all that interesting after a while. It would have helped greatly if the interview subjects had their names posted in every scene. Keeping track of all those people was labour intensive. Some of them are very samey.
3 pts - Last Dance
A documentary series about Jordan's last season with the Bulls. This would have done better if it hadn't been influenced by Jordan himself (outside of his interviews). He had a fair bit of imput in the product, which calls into question the quality of info here. Unless you are really into Jordan, this just doesn't hold interest. I'm not a basketball watcher, but there were lots of 30 For 30 episodes about basketball that were really good. I'd watch those instead.
4 pts - Planet Earth
Just lovely to look at, and it spawned a whole bunch of other series. But much like Cosmos, it doesn't really document that much, although it does have a focus on environmental concerns, including climate change.
Okay, people. Fire away.
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Mrs. Rannous
Footballguy
Now for the hard part- the middle of the pack.
5 pts - Ken Burns' Viet Nam
I had a major split with the Ken Burns docs, so the commentary for both will be here. Civil War was also picked. Burns' signature format really worked for me with the Civil War, and it had Shelby Foote, who was really fun to watch. It just didn't do it for me in this case. It didn't in the Baseball series, either. I love old-timey baseball, but the series just droned on veeeery sloooowly, much like a baseball game with two bad teams. I guess the Viet Nam one seemed the same for me. Maybe it's just too soon. (I should point out that I have no emotional dog in this hunt. I wasn't in the States for most of this period, so that didn't factor in.) Maybe it's because the war has been covered so many times in so many ways, the doc just didn't seem fresh or new or illuminating. I think Burns found it easier to curate the Civil War doc for the important details and the small interesting bits than he did the more modern war.
6 pts - Making A Murderer
This is really interesting and really long. At two seasons and twenty episodes, it was the longest pick. Take that , Ken Burns! And boy howdy, it it complicated. I'm just glad I was familiar with the story. It is clearly told for a story of two parts. There was criticism of bias, since not all the evidence was presented in it. That's the big thing that really holds it back. I want all the relevant info, not just some of it.
7 pts - The Pharmacist
That pharmacist has OCD. He sure did provide a public service, though. If you want to know how the Sackler Family and Purdue Pharma were brought down and the opioid crisis recognised as such, this is you go-to. Recommended.
8 pts - No Direction Home
We have a tag team from Wikkid for this one. (Thank you for you help.) I just couldn't listen to 208 minutes of mumbling. But Dylan is a cultural icon, and I'm pretty sure there are a crap-ton of college courses about him already. So early footage and interviews are important if you like his stuff.
More tomorrow.
5 pts - Ken Burns' Viet Nam
I had a major split with the Ken Burns docs, so the commentary for both will be here. Civil War was also picked. Burns' signature format really worked for me with the Civil War, and it had Shelby Foote, who was really fun to watch. It just didn't do it for me in this case. It didn't in the Baseball series, either. I love old-timey baseball, but the series just droned on veeeery sloooowly, much like a baseball game with two bad teams. I guess the Viet Nam one seemed the same for me. Maybe it's just too soon. (I should point out that I have no emotional dog in this hunt. I wasn't in the States for most of this period, so that didn't factor in.) Maybe it's because the war has been covered so many times in so many ways, the doc just didn't seem fresh or new or illuminating. I think Burns found it easier to curate the Civil War doc for the important details and the small interesting bits than he did the more modern war.
6 pts - Making A Murderer
This is really interesting and really long. At two seasons and twenty episodes, it was the longest pick. Take that , Ken Burns! And boy howdy, it it complicated. I'm just glad I was familiar with the story. It is clearly told for a story of two parts. There was criticism of bias, since not all the evidence was presented in it. That's the big thing that really holds it back. I want all the relevant info, not just some of it.
7 pts - The Pharmacist
That pharmacist has OCD. He sure did provide a public service, though. If you want to know how the Sackler Family and Purdue Pharma were brought down and the opioid crisis recognised as such, this is you go-to. Recommended.
8 pts - No Direction Home
We have a tag team from Wikkid for this one. (Thank you for you help.) I just couldn't listen to 208 minutes of mumbling. But Dylan is a cultural icon, and I'm pretty sure there are a crap-ton of college courses about him already. So early footage and interviews are important if you like his stuff.
More tomorrow.
Zow
Footballguy
jwb
Footballguy
I picked this one fairly late, and I'm happy with my 5 points. I thought it was really good in that it helped me understand the backstories to the war more than I did, and the complete chaos it descended into. But it was loooong, and some of the episodes were 2 hours, which made it feel like a chore at times, so your criticism is very fair. Good rankings so far.
Doug B
Footballguy
Judging can be esoteric. At least you didn't draft the eventual one-pointer third in the category, counting on a "safe, for sure" top-five ranking
I picked The Pharmacist for Pitchfork after the draft was essentially done, casting about a bit and settling on a local-interest doc. Scores 7 points. It is a quality program, yes ... but it just goes to show how not everybody will hew to "the chalk" in evaluating these things.
Corporation
Angry Bovine
Zow
Footballguy
True. And it's super tough with some of these categories and how subjective they can be. The sports draft was easier because there are clear categories, numbers, and awards. I think the most fluid category - which I actually judged - was the all-around greatest and I did penalize some drafters for taking athletes who were good at some unique sport but didn't have a history of crossing over into different sports.Judging can be esoteric. At least you didn't draft the eventual one-pointer third in the category, counting on a "safe, for sure" top-five ranking
I picked The Pharmacist for Pitchfork after the draft was essentially done, casting about a bit and settling on a local-interest doc. Scores 7 points. It is a quality program, yes ... but it just goes to show how not everybody will hew to "the chalk" in evaluating these things.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
i disagree, almost violently, with virtually every one of Mrs Rannous placings so far and i love it. Watch & learn, kids.
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