The Top 300 Greatest TV Shows of All Time: FBG Consensus: 50 Lists received. 2: Seinfeld 1: Breaking Bad (49 Viewers)

[krista4]

My 16 year old also agrees BCS is better than BB

Bringing him up right.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I wholeheartedly agree with The Wire, BB and GOT in the top 5.
The Sopranos falls lower due to the weak final season.
Seinfeld was very good but there's a limit to how much self absorbed NYers I can watch, so it's a lot lower for me.

Great job to all!

Catching up, so I'm sorry if I'm piling on, but...

Sopranos falls due to a weak final season, but GOT belongs in the top 5? Seems like a disconnect.

Thing is, Sopranos is derivative. It came out after Analyse This and obviously the Godfather and Goodfellas. And GoT was higher quality both in terms of production values, acting, and dialogue imo.

There were fantasy movies and shows before GoT just like there were mob movies and shows before The Sopranos.

Sure there were, but Sopranos isn't just any mob story just like GoT isn't just any fantasy story. My point is, in this regards, GoT was groundbreaking in a way that Sopranos wasn't.

I don’t see how GoT was ground breaking when Lord of the Rings and Excalibur already existed but Sopranos isn’t because the Godfather and Analyze this existed.

I think both are innovative in their own right and both are great as evidenced by this countdown.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

GoT was maybe better dialogue and acting up until it took a turn and definitely wasn't.

I’m not even sure GoT even had such superior acting.

Gandolfini, Falco and Imperiole were masters at their craft and outside of AJ, there really were no holes in the Sopranos cast.

I'll give you Gandolfini and maybe Falco, but Imperiole played a caricature as did the rest of the cast. I agree Steve van Zandt was very good for a non actor and his wife was even better imo.

We’ll agree to disagree on the acting.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

My 16 year old also agrees BCS is better than BB

16 year olds are morons

It sounds like something Walt Junior would say just to piss off his dad.

 

[simey]

Sure there were, but Sopranos isn't just any mob story just like GoT isn't just any fantasy story. My point is, in this regards, GoT was groundbreaking in a way that Sopranos wasn't.

It's well known that The Sopranos was groundbreaking, and it kicked off the second era of the Golden Age of TV. By the way, did you know that GOT was originally pitched as "Sopranos in Middle Earth?" GOT also used some of the same directors and writers as The Sopranos.

 

[Psychopav]

I wholeheartedly agree with The Wire, BB and GOT in the top 5.
The Sopranos falls lower due to the weak final season.
Seinfeld was very good but there's a limit to how much self absorbed NYers I can watch, so it's a lot lower for me.

Great job to all!

Catching up, so I'm sorry if I'm piling on, but...

Sopranos falls due to a weak final season, but GOT belongs in the top 5? Seems like a disconnect.

Thing is, Sopranos is derivative. It came out after Analyse This and obviously the Godfather and Goodfellas. And GoT was higher quality both in terms of production values, acting, and dialogue imo.

There were fantasy movies and shows before GoT just like there were mob movies and shows before The Sopranos.

Sure there were, but Sopranos isn't just any mob story just like GoT isn't just any fantasy story. My point is, in this regards, GoT was groundbreaking in a way that Sopranos wasn't.

I don’t see how GoT was ground breaking when Lord of the Rings and Excalibur already existed but Sopranos isn’t because the Godfather and Analyze this existed.

I think both are innovative in their own right and both are great as evidenced by this countdown.

The way I see it, both were treading well laid ground of the genre, but used a cinematic approach to a television adaptation.

It's true that LotR and Excalibur were genre defining. GoT would not have happened were it not for LotR. But the way GoT approached the genre, with its focus on political intrigue and infighting was new especially in the medium.

With Sopranos, nothing plot -wise was truly new. It built off of the framework of Analyze This, which was the only really new addition to the genre. imho

 

[simey]

GoT was maybe better dialogue and acting up until it took a turn and definitely wasn't.

I’m not even sure GoT even had such superior acting.

Gandolfini, Falco and Imperiole were masters at their craft and outside of AJ, there really were no holes in the Sopranos cast.

I'll give you Gandolfini and maybe Falco, but Imperiole played a caricature as did the rest of the cast. I agree Steve van Zandt was very good for a non actor and his wife was even better imo.

Maybe Falco? Dude.

 

[Psychopav]

GoT was maybe better dialogue and acting up until it took a turn and definitely wasn't.

I’m not even sure GoT even had such superior acting.

Gandolfini, Falco and Imperiole were masters at their craft and outside of AJ, there really were no holes in the Sopranos cast.

I'll give you Gandolfini and maybe Falco, but Imperiole played a caricature as did the rest of the cast. I agree Steve van Zandt was very good for a non actor and his wife was even better imo.

Maybe Falco? Dude.

 

[zamboni]

GoT was maybe better dialogue and acting up until it took a turn and definitely wasn't.

I’m not even sure GoT even had such superior acting.

Gandolfini, Falco and Imperiole were masters at their craft and outside of AJ, there really were no holes in the Sopranos cast.

I'll give you Gandolfini and maybe Falco, but Imperiole played a caricature as did the rest of the cast. I agree Steve van Zandt was very good for a non actor and his wife was even better imo.

Maybe Falco? Dude.

Clearly he mistakenly was thinking of him.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I wholeheartedly agree with The Wire, BB and GOT in the top 5.
The Sopranos falls lower due to the weak final season.
Seinfeld was very good but there's a limit to how much self absorbed NYers I can watch, so it's a lot lower for me.

Great job to all!

Catching up, so I'm sorry if I'm piling on, but...

Sopranos falls due to a weak final season, but GOT belongs in the top 5? Seems like a disconnect.

Thing is, Sopranos is derivative. It came out after Analyse This and obviously the Godfather and Goodfellas. And GoT was higher quality both in terms of production values, acting, and dialogue imo.

GoT was maybe better dialogue and acting up until it took a turn and definitely wasn't.

Am I the only person here who liked the final season of The Sopranos?

No, I think it is really good. They didn't hit it out of the park non-stop like they did in Seasons 1,2 3, and 5 (save the episode with Tony's dad's old mistress), but it was still a really good season overall.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Sopranos best one liner?

I’m going with the golf outing after Tony finds out uncle Junior likes going downtown
“look at me, I’m in the muff”

 

[Scoresman]

Sopranos best one liner?

I’m going with the golf outing after Tony finds out uncle Junior likes going downtown
“look at me, I’m in the muff”

Mayonnaise! Mayonnaise!

 

[McBokonon]

Sopranos best one liner?

I’m going with the golf outing after Tony finds out uncle Junior likes going downtown
“look at me, I’m in the muff”

“so what, no ****in' ziti now?”

 

[Ghost Rider]

"A gerbal, ma'am."

 

[Dennis Castro]

Wow, this thread has 80 viewers with most of them being guests. Are we trending someplace?

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Wow, this thread has 80 viewers with most of them being guests. Are we trending someplace?

Probably bots, they seem to love this joint.

 

[Tick]

Wow, this thread has 80 viewers with most of them being guests. Are we trending someplace?

Probably bots, they seem to love this joint.

AI is about to start having STRONG opinions on the order in which people should watch different series, plus whether Cody Barton is actually good or just keeps ending up in good situations.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

I haven't ranked my list, but there are a bunch I didn't see here.

Connections
That 70's Show
Dark Shadows
Midnight Special
Austin City Limits
60 Minutes
Antiques Roadshow (UK)
Time Team
The Orville
Batman (Bruce Timm animated)
Justice League (Bruce Timm)
Upstairs/Downstairs
Poirot (David Suchet)
Rumpole of the Bailey
Inspector Morse
China Beach
Shogun (Richard Chamberlain, not the recent thing)
Ugliest House in America
Planet Earth
The Blue Planet
Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel
American Ninja Warrior
Quincy, M.E.
Streets of San Francisco
Siskel and Ebert
Rick Steeves' Europe
Myth Busters
Brooklyn Bridge (aired 91-93)
St. Elsewhere
Wanda Vision
Wednesday
Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett)
National Geographic Specials
Agatha All Along


That seems like a lot. I must have missed some as they went by.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

Are these shows you like or just saying that we wiffed on these?

 

[Manster]

Love all of the top 4. Personally, I'd have Seinfeld #1. I still watch re-runs often, and most days a Seinfeld quote, or situation comes up in my day-to-day.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Are these shows you like or just saying that we wiffed on these?

These would have been on my list. I love all of them. (I made a list in the middle of this. I just haven't ranked them.)

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

Personally, I'd have Seinfeld #1.

it could have been #1 but some guy tried to game the ratings.

 

[Tau837]

I don't know about the rest of you, but my colleagues and me regularly quote Seinfeld daily. We don't quote the Sopranos or the Wire or Breaking Bad. Etc. (Granted, I ranked Seinfeld #3.)

 

[Scoresman]

This new season of black mirror would have me ranking it a good 5-10 spots higher than I had it. It’s really good.

 

[Dennis Castro]

The reviews in this thread convinced me to try out Battlestar Galactica ‘04.

I never thought I would by taken in by a show that was so full of characters that I can’t stand at all. Still, about to start the third season and I am really enjoying it. Kind of the anti-TNG.

 

[-OZ-]

1 Breaking Bad
2 Seinfeld
3 The Sopranos
4 Game of Thrones
5 The Wire
6 The Simpsons
7 Better Call Saul
8 The Office (US)
9 Cheers
10 Saturday Night Live
11 Band of Brothers
12 Mad Men
13 The Twilight Zone
14 South Park
15 Jeopardy!
16 Deadwood
17 Curb Your Enthusiasm
18 M*A*S*H
19 Friends
20 Late Night with David Letterman

this is helpful for finding the next watch.
I haven’t made it through better call Saul, but I liked the first season. I’ve never seen Mad Men or curb, or past the first few episodes of deadwood.

Do all of these hold up years later and make for good binging?

 

[Dan Lambskin]

This new season of black mirror would have me ranking it a good 5-10 spots higher than I had it. It’s really good.

Hoping to get to it this week

 

[Keith R]

1 Breaking Bad
2 Seinfeld
3 The Sopranos
4 Game of Thrones
5 The Wire
6 The Simpsons
7 Better Call Saul
8 The Office (US)
9 Cheers
10 Saturday Night Live
11 Band of Brothers
12 Mad Men
13 The Twilight Zone
14 South Park
15 Jeopardy!
16 Deadwood
17 Curb Your Enthusiasm
18 M*A*S*H
19 Friends
20 Late Night with David Letterman

this is helpful for finding the next watch.
I haven’t made it through better call Saul, but I liked the first season. I’ve never seen Mad Men or curb, or past the first few episodes of deadwood.

Do all of these hold up years later and make for good binging?

Curb does. Can't speak to the others as to recent watches

 

[Psychopav]

I would imagine Mad Men and Deadwood would both hold up, since they are both period pieces. But I haven't seen either one. Tried Mad Men once but couldn't get into it.

 

[Manster]

Wife and I fired up first episode of The Wire last night......I'm gonna give it a shot, but I honestly wasn't that into it. Cop dramas are not really my thing though, either. The liberal use of the f-bomb is actually pretty hilarious. The feel I get is they are going for "over the top, gritty cop drama"

 

[Ilov80s]

Wife and I fired up first episode of The Wire last night......I'm gonna give it a shot, but I honestly wasn't that into it. Cop dramas are not really my thing though, either. The liberal use of the f-bomb is actually pretty hilarious. The feel I get is they are going for "over the top, gritty cop drama"

I don’t mean this disrespectfully. You have no idea what they are going for yet. It takes awhile to get a grasp of the scope and what going for. The cops are just an entry point into the story. It’s probably closer in a lot of ways to Game of Thrones than it is NYPD Blue.

 

[Manster]

Wife and I fired up first episode of The Wire last night......I'm gonna give it a shot, but I honestly wasn't that into it. Cop dramas are not really my thing though, either. The liberal use of the f-bomb is actually pretty hilarious. The feel I get is they are going for "over the top, gritty cop drama"

I don’t mean this disrespectfully. You have no idea what they are going for yet. It takes awhile to get a grasp of the scope and what going for. The cops are just an entry point into the story. It’s probably closer in a lot of ways to Game of Thrones than it is NYPD Blue.

The reason I'm interested is because of the reviews/rank on here.....so it's got a lot of hype. The first episode is pretty mediocre, imo. I also know that often times shows take time to get into the groove.

 

[Chaos34]

Wife and I fired up first episode of The Wire last night......I'm gonna give it a shot, but I honestly wasn't that into it. Cop dramas are not really my thing though, either. The liberal use of the f-bomb is actually pretty hilarious. The feel I get is they are going for "over the top, gritty cop drama"

I don’t mean this disrespectfully. You have no idea what they are going for yet. It takes awhile to get a grasp of the scope and what going for. The cops are just an entry point into the story. It’s probably closer in a lot of ways to Game of Thrones than it is NYPD Blue.

Many tap out in season 1 not understanding what you just explained. For some it takes the ending of season 1 AND transition to season 2 to make the investment in the story so compelling.

 

[Ilov80s]

Wife and I fired up first episode of The Wire last night......I'm gonna give it a shot, but I honestly wasn't that into it. Cop dramas are not really my thing though, either. The liberal use of the f-bomb is actually pretty hilarious. The feel I get is they are going for "over the top, gritty cop drama"

I don’t mean this disrespectfully. You have no idea what they are going for yet. It takes awhile to get a grasp of the scope and what going for. The cops are just an entry point into the story. It’s probably closer in a lot of ways to Game of Thrones than it is NYPD Blue.

The reason I'm interested is because of the reviews/rank on here.....so it's got a lot of hype. The first episode is pretty mediocre, imo. I also know that often times shows take time to get into the groove.

Yeah it’s a sprawling novelistic show. If it was a 400 page book, you would be 6 pages in right now. It takes time and doesn’t go out its way to create big cliffhangers or gimmicks. It is a slow build but if it hooks you, it will really really get you.

 

[Schmeabs]

Wife and I fired up first episode of The Wire last night......I'm gonna give it a shot, but I honestly wasn't that into it. Cop dramas are not really my thing though, either. The liberal use of the f-bomb is actually pretty hilarious. The feel I get is they are going for "over the top, gritty cop drama"

I don’t mean this disrespectfully. You have no idea what they are going for yet. It takes awhile to get a grasp of the scope and what going for. The cops are just an entry point into the story. It’s probably closer in a lot of ways to Game of Thrones than it is NYPD Blue.

For me GOT was nothing like The Wire. GOT was one of the best shows ever and I was always looking forward to the next episode. The Wire could not keep me interested and I found myself on my phone not paying attention as it was so boring.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I would imagine Mad Men and Deadwood would both hold up, since they are both period pieces. But I haven't seen either one. Tried Mad Men once but couldn't get into it.

I watched Deadwood for the first time just a couple of years ago and it definitely held up.

 

[Ilov80s]

Wife and I fired up first episode of The Wire last night......I'm gonna give it a shot, but I honestly wasn't that into it. Cop dramas are not really my thing though, either. The liberal use of the f-bomb is actually pretty hilarious. The feel I get is they are going for "over the top, gritty cop drama"

I don’t mean this disrespectfully. You have no idea what they are going for yet. It takes awhile to get a grasp of the scope and what going for. The cops are just an entry point into the story. It’s probably closer in a lot of ways to Game of Thrones than it is NYPD Blue.

For me GOT was nothing like The Wire. GOT was one of the best shows ever and I was always looking forward to the next episode. The Wire could not keep me interested and I found myself on my phone not paying attention as it was so boring.

I meant more in terms of the scope of the show with so many characters and story lines happening at once. Both being about a world and all the little and big roles different people and structures play in that world as well as the violence that exists around achieving or maintaining power and order in it.

 

[Manster]

Wife and I fired up first episode of The Wire last night......I'm gonna give it a shot, but I honestly wasn't that into it. Cop dramas are not really my thing though, either. The liberal use of the f-bomb is actually pretty hilarious. The feel I get is they are going for "over the top, gritty cop drama"

I don’t mean this disrespectfully. You have no idea what they are going for yet. It takes awhile to get a grasp of the scope and what going for. The cops are just an entry point into the story. It’s probably closer in a lot of ways to Game of Thrones than it is NYPD Blue.

For me GOT was nothing like The Wire. GOT was one of the best shows ever and I was always looking forward to the next episode. The Wire could not keep me interested and I found myself on my phone not paying attention as it was so boring.

I can this being where I'm heading as well. I will give the Wire a chance.....we'll see

 

[Psychopav]

Here is a listing of all the shows in order, along with their RT ratings. I'm going to spoiler it because of the length.

Spoiler

1. Breaking Bad: 96/97 (wow!)
2. Seinfeld: 89/92
3. The Sopranos: 92/96 (wow!)
4. Game of Thrones: 89/85
5. The Wire: 95/96 (wow!)
6. The Simpsons: 85/76
7. Better Call Saul: 98/96 (wow!)
8. The Office (US): 81/89
9. Cheers: 87/95
10. Saturday Night Live: --/58 (lowest rated highest FBG show ever /comic store guy)
11. Band of Brothers: 94/97 (wow!)
12. Mad Men: 94/95 (wow!)
13. The Twilight Zone: 92/96 (wow!)
14. South Park: 80/87
15. Jeopardy!: --/--
16. Deadwood: 92/95 (wow!)
17. Curb Your Enthusiasm: 92/91 (wow!)
18. M*A*S*H: --/89
19. Friends: 78/93
20. Late Night with David Letterman: 100/79
21. The X-Files: 74/85
22. Ozark: 82/86
23. Lost: 86/89
24. Arrested Development: 75/85
25. Fargo: 93/85
26. Stranger Things: 91/90 (wow!)
27. All in the Family: --/85
28: Justified: 97/95 (wow!)
29. Ted Lasso: 90/86
30. The Americans: 96/94
31. Chernobyl: 95/97 (wow!)
32. Survivor: --/68 (oof)
33. Succession: 95/87
34. Chappelle's Show: 96/88
35. Monty Python's Flying Circus: 100/85
36. Battlestar Galactica (2004): 95/94 (wow!)
37. True Detective: 79/59 (oof)
38. Parks and Rec: 93/89
39. Boardwalk Empire: 92/95 (wow!)
40. Veep: 93/90 (wow!)
41. The Bear: 96/78
42. STTNG: 92/90 (wow!)
43. The Wonder Years: --/88
44. The Muppet Show: 100/91 (WOW!)
45. Dexter: 71/81
46. Taxi: --/74
47. House: 89/96
48. Six Feet Under: 81/96
49. The Leftovers: 91/90 (wow!)
50. The Carol Burnett Show: --/--
51. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: 94/91 (wow!)
52. Freaks and Geeks: 100/96 (WOW!)
53. Black Mirror: 83/80
54. Friday Night Lights: 97/93 (wow!)
55. Star Trek TOS: 80/89
56. Bojack Horseman: 93/96 (wow!)
57. Scrubs: 83/86
58. Twin Peaks: 78/92
59. Law & Order: --/83
60. The West Wing: 81/95
61. Sesame Street: --/--
62. 24: 87/87
63. I Love Lucy: --/97
64. Community: 88/88
65. Ken Burns' The Civil War Documentary: 100/98 (WOW!)
66. Married...With Children: --/97
67. Frasier: 95/95 (wow!)
68. Happy Days: --/--
69. Firefly: 77/96
70. The Good Place: 97/89
71. Mr. Robot: 94/93 (wow!)
72. Faulty Towers: 100/92 (WOW!)
73. Sherlock: 78/83
74. Peaky Blinders: 93/93 (wow!)
75. Dark: 95/94 (wow!)
76. BBT: 81/84 (lol mic drop)
77. In Living Color: --/--
78. 30 Rock: 78/92
79. Silicon Valley: 94/93 (wow!)
80. News Radio: 95/79
81. Mr. In-Between: 95/98 (wow!)
82. Modern Family: 85/90
83. Brooklyn Nine-Nine: 95/87
84. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson: --/--
85. The Shield: 90/96 (wow!)
86. Fleabag: 100/93 (WOW!)
87. The Larry Sanders Show: 100/69
88. The Boys: 93/76
89. Family Guy: --/64
90. The Mandalorian: 90/78
91. Planet Earth Documentary: 100/91 (WOW!)
92. Daredevil: 92/89
93. Beavis and Butt-Head: --/85 (huh...he he...huh)
94. WKRP: --/--
95. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 85/92
96. Loony Tunes: --/--
97. The Mary Tyler Moore Show: --/--
98. Flight of the Conchords: 94/98 (wow!)
99. The Daily Show: --/--
100. Psych: 89/94
101. The Walking Dead: 79/78
102. The Expanse: 95/85
103. Brady Bunch: 78/--
104. Police Squad: 90/94 (wow!)
105. Three's Company: --/95
106. MST3K: 87/98
107. Shogun 2024: 99/85 FYI, Shogun '80: --/88
108. NYPD Blue: 83/93
109. Top Chef: --/--
110. The **** van Dyke Show: --/--
111. Archer: 91/84
112(t). Barry: 98/89
112(t). How I Met Your Mother: 84/85
114. Hannibal: 93/94 (wow!)
115. ER: --/87
116. Family Ties: --/90
117. Schitt's Creek: 93/93 (wow!)
118. Mindhunter: 97/95 (wow!)
119. Roseanne: 76/78
120. Queen's Gambit: 96/94 (wow!)
121. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: 91/89
122. Narcos: 89/95
123. The Kids in the Hall: --/--
124. The Jeffersons: --/--
125. The Office (UK): 97/89
126. Moonlighting: 89/91
127. Lonesome Dove: 98/93 (wow!)
128. SportsCenter: N/A
129. The Last of Us: 96/88
130. The Crown: 81/92
131. The Last Kingdom: 91/95 (wow!)
132. Futurama: 86/89
133. Reservation Dogs: 99/91 (wow!)
134. Northern Exposure: --/88
135. The Price is Right: --/--
136. Severance: 97/80
137. The White Lotus: 93/81
138. Andor: 96/87
139. Halt and Catch Fire: 90/91 (wow!)
140. Letterkenny: --/87
141. Vikings: 93/88
142. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: 90/84
143. The Bob Newhart Show: --/--
144. Watchmen: 96/57 (oof!)
145. Broadchurch: 92/91 (wow!)
146. Gilmore Girls: --/87
147. Rescue Me: 88/90
148. The Newsroom: --/91
149. Hill Street Blues: 97/85
150. Night Court: --/-- (IMDB: 5.8)
151. Suits: 91/87
152. SCTV: --/--
153. Mr. Show with Bob and David: --/81
154. Columbo: --/80
155. Cosby Show: --/68
156. Andy Griffith: --/88
157. The White Shadow: --/--
158. Golden Girls: --/94
159. Westworld: 80/75
160. Sons of Anarchy: 87/91
161. Star Wars: The Clone Wars: 93/91 (wow!)
162. Oz: 93/95 (wow!)
163. Roots: 76/64
164. AHS: 77/66
165. Scooby Doo, Where are You?: --/90
166. Downton Abbey: 88/93
167. Saved by the Bell: --/57
168. Homeland: 85/86
169. Lincoln Lawyer: 90/86
170. Station 11: 98/75
171. 1883: 89/81
172. Shameless: 82/82
173. 30 for 30: --/--
174. Squid Game: 89/73
175. That 70s Show: --/82
176. 60 Minutes: --/--
177. Reacher: 96/84
178. Fringe: 90/80
179. Batman: 72/80
180. Blacklist RT score: 91/79
181. Rectify: 96/92 (wow!)
182. Californication: 57/78
183. The Last Dance: 97/95 (wow!)
184. The League: 81/83
185. St. Elsewhere: --/--
186. Handmaid's Tale: 83/57
187. Cosmos: --/72
188. Rome: 86/96
189. Whose Line: --/98
190. LA Law: n/a
191. 90210: --/93
192. Veronica Mars: 92/80
193. Mr. Rogers: n/a
194. Orange is the New Black: 90/82
195. Ken Burns: Baseball Ø
196. Blood/line: 62%/74%
197. Bosch: 97%/94% (wow!)
198. Quantum Leap: 58%/73%
199. Penguin: 95%/89%
200. Dukes: N/A

As we went along, I noted any shows which had a 90%+ fresh rating from both professional reviewers AND viewers ("wow!"). If one of these was a perfect 100% score, I capitalized that.

Here is the list of shows that fall within these categories, sorted by the product of reviewer and viewer RT ratings:

Spoiler

65. Ken Burns' The Civil War Documentary: 100/98 (WOW!) 9800
52. Freaks and Geeks: 100/96 (WOW!) 9600
7. Better Call Saul: 98/96 (wow!) 9408
1. Breaking Bad: 96/97 (wow!) 9312
81. Mr. In-Between: 95/98 (wow!) 9310
86. Fleabag: 100/93 (WOW!) 9300
28: Justified: 97/95 (wow!) 9215
31. Chernobyl: 95/97 (wow!) 9215
118. Mindhunter: 97/95 (wow!) 9215
183. The Last Dance: 97/95 (wow!) 9215
98. Flight of the Conchords: 94/98 (wow!) 9212
72. Faulty Towers: 100/92 (WOW!) 9200
5. The Wire: 95/96 (wow!) 9120
11. Band of Brothers: 94/97 (wow!) 9118
197. Bosch: 97/94 (wow!) 9118
127. Lonesome Dove: 98/93 (wow!) 9114
44. The Muppet Show: 100/91 (WOW!) 9100
91. Planet Earth Documentary: 100/91 (WOW!) 9100
67. Frasier: 95/95 (wow!) 9025
120. Queen's Gambit: 96/94 (wow!) 9024
54. Friday Night Lights: 97/93 (wow!) 9021
133. Reservation Dogs: 99/91 (wow!) 9009
12. Mad Men: 94/95 (wow!) 8930
36. Battlestar Galactica (2004): 95/94 (wow!) 8930
75. Dark: 95/94 (wow!) 8930
56. Bojack Horseman: 93/96 (wow!) 8928
162. Oz: 93/95 (wow!) 8835
3. The Sopranos: 92/96 (wow!) 8832
13. The Twilight Zone: 92/96 (wow!) 8832
181. Rectify: 96/92 (wow!) 8832
71. Mr. Robot: 94/93 (wow!) 8742
79. Silicon Valley: 94/93 (wow!) 8742
114. Hannibal: 93/94 (wow!) 8742
16. Deadwood: 92/95 (wow!) 8740
39. Boardwalk Empire: 92/95 (wow!) 8740
74. Peaky Blinders: 93/93 (wow!) 8649
117. Schitt's Creek: 93/93 (wow!) 8649
131. The Last Kingdom: 91/95 (wow!) 8645
85. The Shield: 90/96 (wow!) 8640
51. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: 94/91 (wow!) 8554
161. Star Wars: The Clone Wars: 93/91 (wow!) 8463
104. Police Squad: 90/94 (wow!) 8460
17. Curb Your Enthusiasm: 92/91 (wow!) 8372
145. Broadchurch: 92/91 (wow!) 8372
40. Veep: 93/90 (wow!) 8370
42. ST:TNG: 92/90 (wow!) 8280
26. Stranger Things: 91/90 (wow!) 8190
49. The Leftovers: 91/90 (wow!) 8190
139. Halt and Catch Fire: 90/91 (wow!) 8190

Unfortunately, this list doesn't include any shows which did not have either a reviewer or viewer RT rating. But still, it should be enough for everyone to find at least one new series to add to their watchlist, and maybe gives you a different way to prioritize that.

Note there were 49 of these shows in total, and of the 49 almost 1/3 were outside of our top 100. 6 of our top 10 did not make this list, and of the 4 that are left, only 2 (Breaking Bad and BCS) were in the "RT Product" top 10.

If you want to expand it to the top 20, only Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Wire, and Band of Brothers appear on both.

 

[Gally]

1 Breaking Bad
2 Seinfeld
3 The Sopranos
4 Game of Thrones
5 The Wire
6 The Simpsons
7 Better Call Saul
8 The Office (US)
9 Cheers
10 Saturday Night Live
11 Band of Brothers
12 Mad Men
13 The Twilight Zone
14 South Park
15 Jeopardy!
16 Deadwood
17 Curb Your Enthusiasm
18 M*A*S*H
19 Friends
20 Late Night with David Letterman

this is helpful for finding the next watch.
I haven’t made it through better call Saul, but I liked the first season. I’ve never seen Mad Men or curb, or past the first few episodes of deadwood.

Do all of these hold up years later and make for good binging?

I just started a Cheers rewatch within the past month and it holds up extremely well. Enough that it solidified Cheers as my #2 overall show.

I had never seen Deadwood until after this countdown. Binged it quickly. Would have made my list if I did it now. Holds up very well.

I saw The Wire for the first time a year or two ago. I found it takes time to get up to speed. It takes awhile to get to know the characters and the relationships but once you do it is very good. It holds up decently but is a slow burn. You have to get to know the players and then it takes off.

Haven't seen Mad Men, Sopranos, or GOT. So can't comment on them.

Started watching The Office. I wanted to like it more. It's fine but something is missing for me. I think it's the documentary style filming that just misses for me.

Friends, Seinfeld, & BB......I catch these every week or so for an episode or two if I don't want to start up anything or want something on in the background. All hold up very well.

 

[Instinctive]

1 Breaking Bad
2 Seinfeld
3 The Sopranos
4 Game of Thrones
5 The Wire
6 The Simpsons
7 Better Call Saul
8 The Office (US)
9 Cheers
10 Saturday Night Live
11 Band of Brothers
12 Mad Men
13 The Twilight Zone
14 South Park
15 Jeopardy!
16 Deadwood
17 Curb Your Enthusiasm
18 M*A*S*H
19 Friends
20 Late Night with David Letterman

this is helpful for finding the next watch.
I haven’t made it through better call Saul, but I liked the first season. I’ve never seen Mad Men or curb, or past the first few episodes of deadwood.

Do all of these hold up years later and make for good binging?

I just started a Cheers rewatch within the past month and it holds up extremely well. Enough that it solidified Cheers as my #2 overall show.

I had never seen Deadwood until after this countdown. Binged it quickly. Would have made my list if I did it now. Holds up very well.

I saw The Wire for the first time a year or two ago. I found it takes time to get up to speed. It takes awhile to get to know the characters and the relationships but once you do it is very good. It holds up decently but is a slow burn. You have to get to know the players and then it takes off.

Haven't seen Mad Men, Sopranos, or GOT. So can't comment on them.

Started watching The Office. I wanted to like it more. It's fine but something is missing for me. I think it's the documentary style filming that just misses for me.

Friends, Seinfeld, & BB......I catch these every week or so for an episode or two if I don't want to start up anything or want something on in the background. All hold up very well.

The first season of the office is bad-ish. The 2nd through 6th are the best.

 

[FarFromHome]

Haven't seen Mad Men, Sopranos, or GOT. So can't comment on them.

Oh my

 

[titusbramble]

Here's what was on my list which I am fairly sure didn't get selected:

7 Ice Road Truckers - I am a sucker for actual reality shows. I like to travel. I like the concept of isolated places. I like the concept of jobs where there is a real danger to them. I like cold weather. IRT just hits so many checkboxes for me.
9 Wanted (1996 UK game show) - Mentioned this upthread, this also hit at a peak time, it's basically a country-wide game of hide and seek, being reality TV before people had made up the term reality TV. I am sure a remodelled version of the series today to take into account 2025 technology would be hugely successful, sadly in the mid-late 90's it just leaked money and while the series worked great, at least in the first series, it wasn't sustainable
11 Red Dwarf - Fantastic sci-fi sitcom based on the eponymous mining ship, stranded 3 million years from earth on account of a radiation leak, this follows the hilarious travel of (probably) the last human being alive, a hologram of his dead bunkmate, a creature evolved from his cat, and a sanitation android they meet along the way
12 Only Fools and Horses - No clue how this whiffed on everything. This is peak British sitcom, London chancers doing London chancing things, and hilarity ensues
13 ALF - There's a few 80's US shows in my list, but ALF really gained a LOT of traction over in Europe, and was unbelievably popular
15 The Crystal Maze - Gameshow where teams need to wander through the Crystal Maze, trying to complete timed games within different themed zones to collect crystals by being successful to give themselves more time in the end game to win big prizes
16 Knightmare - Another gameshow, this time a children's one - you have a team of players guiding one of their team wearing the "Helmet of Justice", preventing them from seeing what is going on in a CGI-generated medieval world, trying to avoid the obvious traps and pitfalls to achieve their goal. Stupidly hard for a children's show but that's what made it great
18 Dad's Army - Another UK sitcom, here we see the exploits of a local Home Guard regiment during WW2
19 Interceptor (1989 UK game show) - A short lived game show, which failed for much the same reasons as Wanted, but was still brilliant. A team of two players are each given backpacks - one with a cash prize inside, one with weights to the same. They're each helicoptered to a starting point, and then need to find and collect the other player's key to the backpack and meet up within a time limit. However, they are being chased by the titular Interceptor, a clear villain in the series with access to much better forms of transport than the players who can shoot targets on the player's backpacks and lock them and as such prevent them from winning the prize, even if they do meet up
21 Airwolf, 22 Knight Rider - just general 80's goodness that most people should know
25 Phoenix Nights - Fairly short lived UK sitcom, this follows the exploits of Brian Potter (Peter Kay) and attempts to make a going concern out of the Bolton-based Phoenix club, be it against rival club owners, dog-loving fire safety officials, or their own general incompetence
27 Star Trek: Voyager - I liked this incarnation of Star Trek more than most it seems, this sees a small crew in a new starship transported to the other side of the galaxy and need to make their way all the way back, with a botched together crew of the initial Voyager complement, the Maquis-rebels they were initially seeking, and Delta Quadrant natives who come along for the ride
28 The Royle Family - Just a standard sitcom based up in the north of England, fixated on a TV-obsessed family and their varying exploits
29 Countdown - The one serious game show I've listed. Contestants compete in a combination of numbers and letters based games to try to outscore their opponents
30 Duckman - 90's animated series that I liked at the time

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

The first season of the office is bad-ish.

They intended to do the show verbatim from the UK version, with Michael Scott being as angry, sullen and bitter as David Brent. But Steve Carrell has such a "nice guy" vibe about him that it didn't work at all.

Anchorman and 40 Year Old Virgin showed the type of characters that Carrell excelled at, and smartly the show runners figured that out and adjusted accordingly.

 

[Instinctive]

The first season of the office is bad-ish.

They intended to do the show verbatim from the UK version, with Michael Scott being as angry, sullen and bitter as David Brent. But Steve Carrell has such a "nice guy" vibe about him that it didn't work at all.

Anchorman and 40 Year Old Virgin showed the type of characters that Carrell excelled at, and smartly the show runners figured that out and adjusted accordingly.

They did a great interview with Bill Simmons or maybe Russillo like 3 ish years ago

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

I am a sucker for actual reality shows

Have you ever tried Survivorman?

If you can find it, the radio version of Dad's Army is better than the TV version. Pretty much the same cast.

 

[-OZ-]

Friends, Seinfeld, & BB......I catch these every week or so for an episode or two if I don't want to start up anything or want something on in the background. All hold up very well.

I rewatched all of friends shortly after their reunion show aired. Much is still funny, but much was not. Still a top 20 show for me.

 

[Gally]

Friends, Seinfeld, & BB......I catch these every week or so for an episode or two if I don't want to start up anything or want something on in the background. All hold up very well.

I rewatched all of friends shortly after their reunion show aired. Much is still funny, but much was not. Still a top 20 show for me.

It's perfect for something if you had 20 minutes to kill and want to just have something familiar.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Here's what was on my list which I am fairly sure didn't get selected:

7 Ice Road Truckers - I am a sucker for actual reality shows. I like to travel. I like the concept of isolated places. I like the concept of jobs where there is a real danger to them. I like cold weather. IRT just hits so many checkboxes for me.
9 Wanted (1996 UK game show) - Mentioned this upthread, this also hit at a peak time, it's basically a country-wide game of hide and seek, being reality TV before people had made up the term reality TV. I am sure a remodelled version of the series today to take into account 2025 technology would be hugely successful, sadly in the mid-late 90's it just leaked money and while the series worked great, at least in the first series, it wasn't sustainable
11 Red Dwarf - Fantastic sci-fi sitcom based on the eponymous mining ship, stranded 3 million years from earth on account of a radiation leak, this follows the hilarious travel of (probably) the last human being alive, a hologram of his dead bunkmate, a creature evolved from his cat, and a sanitation android they meet along the way
12 Only Fools and Horses - No clue how this whiffed on everything. This is peak British sitcom, London chancers doing London chancing things, and hilarity ensues
13 ALF - There's a few 80's US shows in my list, but ALF really gained a LOT of traction over in Europe, and was unbelievably popular
15 The Crystal Maze - Gameshow where teams need to wander through the Crystal Maze, trying to complete timed games within different themed zones to collect crystals by being successful to give themselves more time in the end game to win big prizes
16 Knightmare - Another gameshow, this time a children's one - you have a team of players guiding one of their team wearing the "Helmet of Justice", preventing them from seeing what is going on in a CGI-generated medieval world, trying to avoid the obvious traps and pitfalls to achieve their goal. Stupidly hard for a children's show but that's what made it great
18 Dad's Army - Another UK sitcom, here we see the exploits of a local Home Guard regiment during WW2
19 Interceptor (1989 UK game show) - A short lived game show, which failed for much the same reasons as Wanted, but was still brilliant. A team of two players are each given backpacks - one with a cash prize inside, one with weights to the same. They're each helicoptered to a starting point, and then need to find and collect the other player's key to the backpack and meet up within a time limit. However, they are being chased by the titular Interceptor, a clear villain in the series with access to much better forms of transport than the players who can shoot targets on the player's backpacks and lock them and as such prevent them from winning the prize, even if they do meet up
21 Airwolf, 22 Knight Rider - just general 80's goodness that most people should know
25 Phoenix Nights - Fairly short lived UK sitcom, this follows the exploits of Brian Potter (Peter Kay) and attempts to make a going concern out of the Bolton-based Phoenix club, be it against rival club owners, dog-loving fire safety officials, or their own general incompetence
27 Star Trek: Voyager - I liked this incarnation of Star Trek more than most it seems, this sees a small crew in a new starship transported to the other side of the galaxy and need to make their way all the way back, with a botched together crew of the initial Voyager complement, the Maquis-rebels they were initially seeking, and Delta Quadrant natives who come along for the ride
28 The Royle Family - Just a standard sitcom based up in the north of England, fixated on a TV-obsessed family and their varying exploits
29 Countdown - The one serious game show I've listed. Contestants compete in a combination of numbers and letters based games to try to outscore their opponents
30 Duckman - 90's animated series that I liked at the time

My first wife and her father were big fans of Red Dwarf.

I was amused how the cat-being thought everything belonged to him, as real cats do.

 

[Jayrod]

So I dove into Battlestar Galactica.

I've watched the miniseries and am 3 episodes into season 2.

It has some craziness you don't often see in scripted television. Lots of very poor leaders and no clear cut hero. I find the Dr Gaius visions kind of annoying and he's not a great actor.

Still, I'm pretty hooked and will continue watching. Not quite seeing why it got a top 50 level ranking yet, but it's still early.