Next 15 Shows

Here is the second part of my top 25 shows.

11.  Seinfeld-This would never drop below 11, if anything it should be moved into the top 10.

12.  The Office (both versions)-I had the pleasure of watching the original while studying in England.  The American version took it and ran with it.

13.  Lost-Should be a top ten show, except there were too many throwaway storylines.  It seems like the writers never really knew what the hell they were doing.  Still, the result was a phenomenon of a show, a watercooler show like no other.

14.  Family Ties-Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton, some smart political humor and a cheesy-as-hell 80s theme song make this one of my sentimental favorites.

15.  The Amazing Race-This could have been my reality entry in the top 10, except that a few of the seasons were kind of whack, and they only just started shooting it in HD.

16.  The Fresh Prince of Bel Air-I love the nonstop Carlton jokes and DJ Jazzy Jeff's acting skills.  The best episode is when Will's father (Ben Vereen) returns to his life.  I get choked up every time it reruns.

17.  The Cosby Show-One of my saddest memories is not letting my grandmother watch the Cosby Show bc/ my dad was taping something else and I didn't know you could change the channel without messing it up. The fact that my grandmother was hooked on the show says something interesting about race in the 80s.  I'm not sure what, exactly, but something...

18.  All in the Family-A groundbreaking sitcom, not just bc/ it's the first time a toilet flushed on a tv show.  This show manged to be funny and yet challenged the fabric of social norms.  When the Jefferson's moved into town, the show really got going.

19.  The Honeymooners-The original sitcom.  Nicole will probably say it's based too much on the comedy of one man and that disqualifies it ;) but I think it was pretty damn funny.
 
20.  House-Hugh Laurie's acting has kept this show watchable the past couple of seasons, bc/ otherwise it isn't very good.  The first few seasons were pretty neat, though, and the cases House and his team solved--and the way they solved them--made for some pretty intense tv.
 
21.  American Idol-I know this show is awful, but I can't get enough of the world's biggest talent show.

22.  Alias-The first two seasons of Alias are superb, but it jumps the shark quickly by letting too many cats out of the bag, if you can follow my metaphors.  Great spy show.

23.  Summer Heights High-This is hardly a show, but rather a one season story with three roles played by one actor.  It could be annoying but is actually a pretty clever Australian comedy.

24. Spaced-I have a feeling if I rewatch this it would jump up the list.  Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright deliver some solid laughs in their pre Shaun of the Dead days with Jessica Stevenson as co-writer/co-star.


25.  Everwood-This is a pretty cheesy family drama, but it is well acted and written, and tackles some pretty touchy subjects, e.g. abortion with an amount of finesse rarely seen on network tv.

Honorable mentions:

Survivor-I watch this show bc/ it's one of my wife's favorites, and I sort of hate it, but sort of think it's a great show.  I just couldn't let it crack the list, though.

Da Ali G Show-Sacha Baron Cohen's three-headed-character-monster show was at it's funniest before people knew what the hell was going on.  My favorite of his interviews is Newt Gingrich.

The O.C.-Season 1 is actually critically acclaimed and very entertaining.  It immediately becomes a caricature of itself after that.

The Simpsons-I've never been a huge fan but I think it's funny and respect it's run.

Law and Order-Every actor was a guest start on it, either on the way up or the way down.  Procedural crime drama at it's best.