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The Top 300 Greatest TV Shows of All Time: FBG Consensus: 50 Lists received. 2: Seinfeld 1: Breaking Bad (6 Viewers)

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
First :pickle:of mine to make the list. The very definition of a classic. Very obviously influential in so many ways yet unique enough to be very watchable in 2025 - quite a feat. Lucy was so ahead of its time
 
24 was good, I liked it a lot. Watched it with a GF in high school like 3 straight seasons. I don't remember if we streamed it or if she had DVDs...but we'd get back from a sports training thing, jump in the pool, and then watch on the couch together eating lunch and lazing away the afternoon...for like an entire summer lol.
 
Someone chime in please on how well The West Wing has aged. Been on my list for a while.

Not in terms of it's political message or anything but as a pure drama/serialized show. I've been spoiled by modern cable/streaming dramas and not sure how much this would impress a new viewer these days.
 
Also that was the last show on single digit amount of lists. It was only on 8 lists, but the average rank is so high, it propelled it up this high.
 
Someone chime in please on how well The West Wing has aged. Been on my list for a while.
I've not seen it and am not really into Sorkin.

But that Instinctive ranked it so high is probably a good sign. He's presumably too young to have watched it live, so he probably saw it at the same time as, or later than, newer, more "modern" prestige dramas, and liked it better than most of them.
 

60 - The West Wing​

Drama
Score: 468
Average Rank: 12.5

Inside the lives of staffers in the west wing of the White House.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: BlackCrowes 1
:pickle::pickle:Brutal Penquin 1
:pickle:timschochet 5
:pickle:Instinctive 5
:pickle:Runkle 8
McBokonon 25
Nick Vermeil 25
landrys hat 30
I’m surprised it was on so few lists. The cast is so good across the board, but Allison Janey is a revelation in this show.
 
Someone chime in please on how well The West Wing has aged. Been on my list for a while.

Not in terms of it's political message or anything but as a pure drama/serialized show. I've been spoiled by modern cable/streaming dramas and not sure how much this would impress a new viewer these days.

IMHO, the story is about the people. The 'political message' part is just the obstacles the characters have to deal with. So it's like How does someone who wants to do good deal with the reality of X? There are good episodes for people on all sides of the real political spectrum.

The characters and the stories they are in hold up I think.
 
Someone chime in please on how well The West Wing has aged. Been on my list for a while.

Not in terms of it's political message or anything but as a pure drama/serialized show. I've been spoiled by modern cable/streaming dramas and not sure how much this would impress a new viewer these days.

IMHO, the story is about the people. The 'political message' part is just the obstacles the characters have to deal with. So it's like How does someone who wants to do good deal with the reality of X? There are good episodes for people on all sides of the real political spectrum.

The characters and the stories they are in hold up I think.
There are also sorry lines that are still on point including hiding the health of the president and emotional military responses. Really good show IMHO.
 
Someone chime in please on how well The West Wing has aged. Been on my list for a while.

Not in terms of it's political message or anything but as a pure drama/serialized show. I've been spoiled by modern cable/streaming dramas and not sure how much this would impress a new viewer these days.
I re-watched the series about two years ago and still enjoyed it a lot. Not to get too political, but it's what I wish politics was like for real. My wife and I both would vote for Jed Bartlett over the last dozen presidential candidates. Yes, we know he's not a real person and it's easy to create great people on TV.

The characters are beyond great, the dialog is fantastic (if you like Sorkin) and the plots hold up. As with every series, the last couple of seasons fell off a little, but still better than par.
 

60 - The West Wing​

Drama
Score: 468
Average Rank: 12.5

Inside the lives of staffers in the west wing of the White House.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: BlackCrowes 1
:pickle::pickle:Brutal Penquin 1
:pickle:timschochet 5
:pickle:Instinctive 5
:pickle:Runkle 8
McBokonon 25
Nick Vermeil 25
landrys hat 30
criminal. i hate all but 8 of you
Never watched a minute of it, but I usually avoid political dramas. They just don't interest me
 

62 - 24​

Action
Score: 466
Average Rank: 24.4

Jack Bauer, Director of Field Ops for the Counter-Terrorist Unit of Los Angeles, races against the clock to subvert terrorist plots and save his nation from ultimate disaster.

List Breakdown

:pickle: titusbramble 2
:pickle:Todem 3
:pickle:Scoresman 7
timschochet 11
Tau37 13
BlackCrowes 22
Bottomfeeder Sports 34
krista4 48
Dan Lambskin 48
simey 56
24

I wonder if this would have been better if released in the era where entire seasons drop at once? (Though I guess binge watching diminishes the week long impact of a silent clock.)

For me, absolutely not
 
Someone chime in please on how well The West Wing has aged. Been on my list for a while.

Not in terms of it's political message or anything but as a pure drama/serialized show. I've been spoiled by modern cable/streaming dramas and not sure how much this would impress a new viewer these days.
I probably watch once a year
 

61 - Sesame Street​

Childrens
Score: 466
Average Rank: 35.2

On a special inner city street, the inhabitants, both human and puppet, teach preschool subjects with comedy, cartoons, games and songs.

List Breakdown

:pickle: Rand al Thor 4
Yo Mama 14
krista4 23
KarmaPolice 27
Pip's Invitation 29
Psychopav 37
Atomic Punk 39
AAABatteries 40
ilov80s 44
Nick Vermeil 45
gr00vus 48
Runkle 53
zamboni 54
Sesame Street remains such an impactful publicly-funded effort that has touched so many lives for the better.

Even as a suburban kid fortunate enough to be able to have preschool and other avenues for learning, lessons I learned on Sesame Street still stick with me today.

I still occasionally count to the tune of the Pointer Sisters, and I once made my college Spanish 101 crack up by throwing out a loud “abierto. . . CERRADO!” when those words came up in vocab.
💯

My mom always credited Sesame Street with preparing me for school.
 
Updated RT Ratings:

70. The Good Place: 97/89
69. Firefly: 77/96
68. Happy Days: --/--
67. Frasier: 95/95 (wow!)
66. Married...With Children: --/97
65. Ken Burns' The Civil War Documentary: 100/98 (WOW!)
64. Community: 88/88
63. I Love Lucy: --/97
62. 24: 87/87
61. Sesame Street: --/--
 
70 - The Good Place - hadn’t seen it until this weekend even though I liked Schur’s book that has similar subject material. It’s pretty good. I like Danson well enough and Bell is good. Don’t think it would have made my list unless it really gets better after season 1.

69 - Firefly - never heard of it but I’ve never been one to search out sci-Fi shows

68 - Happy Days - major fan with great characters across the board including an iconic one in the Fonz

67 - Frasier - solid show but never an all timer for my tastes

66 - Married with Children - see Frasier, although Applegate definitely had me checking in regularly

65 - Civil War - love documentaries on other wars but never too interested in the Civil War as a Canadian

64 - I Love Lucy - who doesn’t love Lucy? Just a little to before my time to make the last

63 - 24 - not sure why but it was never on my radar despite my fandom for Sutherland

62 - Sesame Street - can’t say much more than others. Staple of my childhood and my children.

61 - West Wing - maybe I’m just not a fan of political dramas … never had any interest to watch it
 
I had an elective class in college on popular arts and one of the things that stuck with me, despite never having watched the show, was that I Love Lucy was very innovative. Per Google AI:
I Love Lucy was pioneering for its use of multiple, simultaneously filming cameras and a live studio audience. It was also one of the first TV shows to be shot on 35mm film, rather than broadcast live.

Some other facts, per lucydesi.com:

#1​

Lucille Ball agreed to star in I Love Lucy only if her real-life husband was cast in the co-starring role. Network executives and sponsors, reflecting xenophobic attitudes of the 1950s, hesitated to showcase an intermarriage on television. As Lucy remembered: They “said the public wouldn’t believe I was married to Desi.” Lucille Ball held her ground and ultimately proved that the American public not only accepted Desi Arnaz but venerated him as one of the most influential artists of the era, and of the 20th century.

There are some good ones if you care to read further. I'll just add a couple more.

#13​

“Lucy Goes to the Hospital,” an episode featuring the birth of Little Ricky, was viewed by 44 million people—15 million more viewers than would tune in to see President Eisenhower’s inauguration the next day. With 71.7% of American households tuned in, it remains one of the most-viewed broadcasts in TV history.

#17​

Although network executives refused the expense of shooting a television series on high-quality film, Arnaz and Ball insisted. They offered to pick up the tab for the extra expense under the condition that they would retain ownership of the films. That negotiation is widely considered one of the smartest business decisions in the history of American entertainment, as Desilu Studios went on to invent the concept of the “rerun” and use profits from the I Love Lucy show syndication to fund the growth of the studio.
 
considered one of the smartest business decisions in the history of American entertainment, as Desilu Studios went on to invent the concept of the “rerun” and use profits from the I Love Lucy show syndication to fund the growth of the studio
I remember as a kid watching reruns, seeing Desilu in the end credits of the original Mission Impossible & Star Trek series.
 
Updated RT Ratings:

70. The Good Place: 97/89
69. Firefly: 77/96
68. Happy Days: --/--
67. Frasier: 95/95 (wow!)
66. Married...With Children: --/97
65. Ken Burns' The Civil War Documentary: 100/98 (WOW!)
64. Community: 88/88
63. I Love Lucy: --/97
62. 24: 87/87
61. Sesame Street: --/--
If RT existed in the 80s, the critics rating for Married with Children would have been WAY lower than 97.
 

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
I was a young child and to this day I serenade women with a beautiful song in a Cuban American accent. Ricky was dope.
That's racist.
 
Someone chime in please on how well The West Wing has aged. Been on my list for a while.

Not in terms of it's political message or anything but as a pure drama/serialized show. I've been spoiled by modern cable/streaming dramas and not sure how much this would impress a new viewer these days.
I watched it for the first time last year. Very solid, very bingable. Tobys constant muttering got annoying, but the acting is really good all around. Its Sorkin dialogue, no one irl talks that way, but it wasn't an irritant like it is for me in his other stuff. In terms of treatment of the subject material, its entertaining fantasy. Actual politics would have chewed those people up before they ever got started.
 

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
I was a young child and to this day I serenade women with a beautiful song in a Cuban American accent. Ricky was dope.
That's racist.
Not trying to be. I just remember how beautiful his voice was. Ha ha. I will say I couldn't remember what his nationality was on the show so I had to Google it to write the correct one so I wouldn't come off as a bad person. I care.
 

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
I was a young child and to this day I serenade women with a beautiful song in a Cuban American accent. Ricky was dope.
That's racist.
'Splain it to me, Lucy.
 

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
I was a young child and to this day I serenade women with a beautiful song in a Cuban American accent. Ricky was dope.
That's racist.
Not trying to be. I just remember how beautiful his voice was. Ha ha. I will say I couldn't remember what his nationality was on the show so I had to Google it to write the correct one so I wouldn't come off as a bad person. I care.
Tried to make a joke and failed. Apologies.
 

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
I was a young child and to this day I serenade women with a beautiful song in a Cuban American accent. Ricky was dope.
That's racist.
'Splain it to me, Lucy.
It's ok if he sings "Babalu".
 
Sesame Street was primarily conceived to teach inner-city children, particularly those from low-income and minority backgrounds. The show's creators aimed to use television as an educational tool to level the playing field for disadvantaged children.

That's just a factoid, not any sort of value judgement.

I grew up a rural, white kid and watched the heck out of it. Telephone Rock rules!
I was raised on it. Loved
It. Remember a ton of it.

A Loaf of Bread
A quart of milk
A stick of butter
 

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
I was a young child and to this day I serenade women with a beautiful song in a Cuban American accent. Ricky was dope.
That's racist.
Not trying to be. I just remember how beautiful his voice was. Ha ha. I will say I couldn't remember what his nationality was on the show so I had to Google it to write the correct one so I wouldn't come off as a bad person. I care.
Tried to make a joke and failed. Apologies.
I got it. (Is that good or bad?)
 
if i had included documentaries, Burns' Civil War would have been very high. it was fantastic.
Yup, I’m currently working through the series with my 11 year old. He really enjoyed Lewis and Clark, so I figured it was time to break out The Civil War. Just started episode three in fact. I have a subscription to the PBS documentaries add-on to Prime, and that includes all of the Ken Burns stuff.
 
67 - Frasier - I caught a few episodes here and there, but it wasn't something I sought out.

66 - Married with Children - #46 on my list. I think Pip had a great summary of why this show was great. It was groundbreaking at the time and helped establish the FOX network.

65 - Civil War - I find Ken Burns documentaries maybe a little too thorough for my liking. If it takes more than 10 hours to explain, I'd rather read the book.

64 - Community - I missed this on network and we tried to stream it but gave up on it pretty early.

63 - I Love Lucy - #33 on my list. This was on in syndication a lot when I was a kid. I think I might have confused "best show" with "favorite show" when I ranked this because I don't think it really was a "favorite" of mine. So in retrospect, this probably shouldn't have been on my list. But it should deservedly be on a "top 100 shows of all time" list.

62 - 24 - This aired on a night when I played softball, so I was never home when it was on. I tried to stream it a few years ago with my kid, but it didn't really grab either of us.

61 - Sesame Street - #4 on my list. That's pretty high, but I'm OK with that ranking. I loved this as a kid, and then I loved this again with my own kids. So many good skits, characters and guest stars.

60 - West Wing - I never saw an episode.
 

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
I was a young child and to this day I serenade women with a beautiful song in a Cuban American accent. Ricky was dope.
That's racist.
'Splain it to me, Lucy.
It's ok if he sings "Babalu".

They call me Cuban Pete. I'm the king of the rumba beat.
When I play the maracas I go chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky boom
 

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
I was a young child and to this day I serenade women with a beautiful song in a Cuban American accent. Ricky was dope.
That's racist.
Not trying to be. I just remember how beautiful his voice was. Ha ha. I will say I couldn't remember what his nationality was on the show so I had to Google it to write the correct one so I wouldn't come off as a bad person. I care.
Tried to make a joke and failed. Apologies.
All good. I took it as a joke buddy.
 

63 - I Love Lucy​

Comedy
Score: 457
Average Rank: 29.5

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

List Breakdown

:pickle: :pickle: Runkle 1
:pickle:Keith R 6
Bottomfeeder Sports 15
The Gator 19
Yo Mama 28
Rand al Thor 33
Todem 33
ilov80s 41
Don Quixote 41
UncleZen 45
Scoresman 62
I was a young child and to this day I serenade women with a beautiful song in a Cuban American accent. Ricky was dope.
That's racist.
'Splain it to me, Lucy.
It's ok if he sings "Babalu".

They call me Cuban Pete. I'm the king of the rumba beat.
When I play the maracas I go chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky boom
This is what I remember. Ha ha
 
Went from zero to all caught up on Severance in a litte over a week. Not sure where i'd rank it but I'd guess around top 30.

We’ve got 3 episodes to finish up I think

Not sure how I feel about it, it’s kind of like a typical Apple product, aesthetically pleasing but lacking substance. Maybe these last few episodes will blow me away.

I don’t dislike it but definitely seems overhyped
 
Went from zero to all caught up on Severance in a litte over a week. Not sure where i'd rank it but I'd guess around top 30.

We’ve got 3 episodes to finish up I think

Not sure how I feel about it, it’s kind of like a typical Apple product, aesthetically pleasing but lacking substance. Maybe these last few episodes will blow me away.

I don’t dislike it but definitely seems overhyped
You certainly have your own criteria. Lol
 

59 - Law & Order​

Crime
Score: 470
Average Rank: 34.8

The show follows a crime, usually adapted from current headlines, from two separate vantage points. The first half of the show concentrates on the investigation of the crime by the police, the second half follows the prosecution of the crime in court.

List Breakdown

:pickle: Tau37 3
:pickle:AAABatteries 9
Jayrod 15
UncleZen 20
Pip's Invitation 23
landrys hat 25
Shaft41 32
Runkle 36
Gally 39
BlackCrowes 51
ilov80s 66
turnjose7 66
Psychopav 68
 

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