C'mon WTF!!!!!!!! Way to ruin my G-D book I'm reading on American History. !)#*&#)*&)#@*&%!~~!!!!!!!!!!

I was an L.A. Law fan, but I'd have to rank Law and Order above it.

Good list. I concur with The West Wing as the best.

That's okay, Matt. You'll still be surprised at the Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy assassinations.

Aw...damn...sorry...

Edit: Cool new avatar, though...

Dom,

I got to hand to to you. I was going to object when you listed ER as the best medical show, but you redeemed yourself when you included St. Elsewhere, which, for me, comes very close to The West Wing as my favorite.


Great moment in St. Elsewhere: William Daniels' character is confined at home and is watching Wheel of Fortune when a contestant asks for the letter "S" and a number are revealed. He guesses "Sigfried Sassoon," and is shocked to find out the answer is "Priscilla Pressley." He screams, "Who's Priscilla Pressley?" I also loved the little in jokes. For example, a doctor is passing through the cafeteria line and says, "I'll have the pound cake, Ezra." But, the moment I recall with most fondness is an opening scene in which one of the workers is playing Sly Stone's "If You Want me to Stay" on a boombox, and everyone begins dancing along as he walks past.


My favorite West Wing episodes are too numerous, but I love the one where everyone gathers at the end to watch Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. Brilliant match cut at the end of this episode.

this one scares me more

I'm surprised no one has castigated me for my thirtysomething pick...also, where's the love for The Waltons, dammit? And did no one enjoy the "He's Dead, Jim" montage?

Did you ever see the Christmas Special The Waltons was spun from, The Homecoming? Patricia Neal as Ma Walton? I never watched The Waltons that much, but The Homecoming is one of those Christmas Must-Sees. It suffers from some of those early seventies production values, but damn if it won't make you well up.

Oh yeah. It's a great movie. I try and see it every Christmas.

I haven't watched all of the shows you listed, but I could never get into thirtysomething. I think that over all the other shows it was just totally outside of my life experiences. And awfully white.

thirty somethingwas a good show. The funny thing though is I always liked Mel Harris the most then Ken Olin and Peter Horton more than Timothy Busfield or Patricia Wettig. Busfield though he's a good actor for some reason reminds me of a red-haired Richard Dreyfus. Maybe its that mannerism he has of looking down or his build, height and face. He does remind me of Dreyfus.

The Walton's is a classic but its somehow ridiculous at the same time. Its almost too homey and the goodnight John-boy, goodnight Mary Ellen..etc. etc. at the end was just the frosting on that ridiculous cake....

Any comments on the last episode of St. Elsewhere? I thought it was pretty satisfying and original, but I recall a few folks feeling "played".

I thought the last episode of St. E worked perfectly in the context of the show...it was outrageous, unexpected and original - just like the whole series.

Dom:

I'm happy to see you put "Miami Vice" in your list; even with the backhanded "Best-dressed" title. I think this show is perpetually underrated; just a pop culture punch-line for many people. Sure, the series had plenty of cheesy, overwrought, and downright silly moments. However, people overlook that "Vice" consistently played out its drama in the classic noir model, both stylistically and thematically. For a show that people only remember for its flashy MTV cops; it could be a real downer. A few cases in point from seasons 1&2: "Evan", "Out Where the Buses Don't Run", and "Bushido."

Homicide life on the street.Got lucky and bought all 7 season box and final movie amazon closeout 79$.

Six feet under.

Dexter

Kung Fu

x files. How can u beat the episode where the mom lives under the bed???

I am glad I never watched that show. That is one of the creepiest things I have ever seen.

that's Bob. He's scary.

To everyone who professes hatred for The West Wing, I have a question: Do you consider yourself to be conservative, or liberal?

I talked about the show all the time when it first aired, and a lot of people told me that they didn't like it, because it was about a liberal administration. I'd tell people, "Hell, I'm as conservative as anyone you'll ever meet. But you can't let THAT get in the way of enjoying a MAKE BELIEVE TV SHOW."

No other show mentioned in this thread is hated as much (or even hated in the least bit). The worst anyone says about any of the other shows is, "Oh, I never got into that." And they say it in a way that implies, "I realize that many, many people love that show, so it must be doing something right, even if I don't enjoy it personally..."

The West Wing is NEVER spoken of that way. People either love it or hate it.

The only people I know who don't like it, but don't pin their dislike on political issues, are people who are too dumb to keep up with the rapid-fire dialogue. These people would be stumped if you asked them whether or not they were conservative or liberal...but they wouldn't say they HATE the show.

So please, West Wing haters, tell me why you can't remain apathetic to this show. Tell me why you feel so strongly about a show you don't like.

I never did understand the hatred for such a well-made show, either. I always assumed it was conservatives who didn't want to be preached to...but if you ever saw more than three episodes you'd see they would almost always present the other side of an argument in an even-handed manner....but yes, the liberal POV would usually win out but that's because the administration were Democrats!

They even created a Republican character (Ainsly) to better give voice to the conservative viewpoint.

I guess i understand people who aren't interested in their government not liking it, but it was NOT a dry, "educational" type show, it was incredibly moving and dramatic.

by the way to you X-Files fan, that show bubbled my final 20!


Other shows that almost made it included Buffy, Columbo, The Mod Squad, Key West and, of course, The Six Million Man, ldo.

I mean, this moment of television history is etched into my brain forever:

Outside of Lost I have never seen any of them either. I do remember seeing some of them on TV as a youngster (like 30something), watching for a second, not knowing what the hell was going on, and then moving on to something else.

This post has made me wonder what I watched when I was younger though, as it had to be something and it was none of these.

here's an example of why I couldn't stand the West Wing.

SMUG OVERDOSE

I mean, c'mon. I half expected Martin Sheen to hold his pinky to his mouth a la Dr. Evil each time he scored on the girl.

As for my politics, yes, I'm a registered Republican, but that has nothing to do with why I don't like the show. I think the Daily Show and Colbert Report are among the best things on TV right now.

and with regard to the clip, I'm not opposed to gay marriage. So it's not like that clip bugs me because the anti-gay conservative talk show host was made to be the president's whipping boy. the clip bugs me because it drips with self-satisfaction. (I'd never seen it before, btw. just went on youtube and it was the first one I grabbed, honestly.)

yes, it's well written and well acted. but the smug, self-satisfied tone is just too much for me.

how did you leave the wire out? jesus...

I think this is close to why I never could get into The West Wing. I tried but every time I would switch to it I just got this huge smug feeling from it that so turns me off. I have gotten to the point where all political commentary in a TV show just makes my stomach turn. I want to be entertained damn it. I do NOT want you throwing an anti-gun (or some other political viewpoint) message to an otherwise fun show. But hey, that's just me.

OK, there's you, and Fishwhenican, the man who helped co-write the Second Amendment.

Still looking for a non-Republican to say that they have strong feelings against this show.

what part of I'VE NEVER SEEN THE WIRE do u people not understand? If ur so offended make ur own list.

Sheesh