T1B

That's ridiculous.

How do you compare the writing on a drama to the writing on a variety show to the writing on a sitcom? Apples and oranges.

How come 60 Minutes isn't on the list?

Actually some of the best comedy writing was done during rigid censorship rules. Today you have all sorts of junior high toilet humor and crude banal sex jokes. Sort of like in here.
I think good drama is more difficult. Rod Serling's Twilight zone is in a class by itself. Some of the best in past years has to include "The Paper Chase" and "St. Elsewhere", two of my all time favorites.
Thinking man's action series have to include "Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner" which both starred Patrick McGoohan.
Speaking of lame. What do we get these days? Moronic reality shows? I'd rather watch the WWE.

How the fuck is homicide not on that list? And I agree with Michael....comedies and dramas aren't even in the same stratospheres

What wolfie said.

Twilight Zone is in a class by itself. Another one that was great that I don't see mentioned is Star Trek.

My list would be

Twilight Zone
MASH
All in the Family
Star Trek
Family Guy
South Park
Simpsons
Cheers

Mikey wrote:How come 60 Minutes isn't on the list?

maybe because it's sucked goat ass for the last 30 years

Concur about the police drama Homicide. One of the best written stories they telecast was the one about a murder in a motel. Very well crafted story.

Sanford And Son
Columbo
A-Team (I'm not kidding)
Mission Impossible

smackaholic wrote:Family Guy

Family Guy is just 30 mins of random goofiness and pop culture references devoid of any real plot or character depth. Solid entertainment for what it is, but I wouldn't consider it "well written."

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:

smackaholic wrote:Family Guy

Family Guy is just 30 mins of random goofiness and pop culture references devoid of any real plot or character depth. Solid entertainment for what it is, but I wouldn't consider it "well written."

It's not even Seth MacFarlane's best show.

Shlomart Ben Yisrael wrote:It's not even Seth MacFarlane's best show.

If I measure his best work strictly by belly laughs, I would say it is. What do you prefer? And please don't say the Cleveland Show.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:

Shlomart Ben Yisrael wrote:It's not even Seth MacFarlane's best show.

If I measure his best work strictly by belly laughs, I would say it is. What do you prefer? And please don't say the Cleveland Show.

American Dad.

The low-brow, mouth-breather gags are for Family Guy.

I also agree with Wolfie on some of his choices. Twilight Zone and St. Elsewhere were great examples of writing. ER could also be included in the hospital-drama list. But saying that comedies aren't in the same league as dramas is wrong. Different types of programs, different styles of writing, but just as difficult, if not more so. Trying to write the funnah is some hard ass work. Think about the quality of such shows as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Larry Sanders, Arrested Development, Mary Tyler Moore, All in the Family and dozens of others. Another example of great writing that bridged between formats and styles is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Hell, there has been philosophy books written about the Buffyverse, as well as Star Trek and other shows you wouldn't automatically think of as being "deep", or at least deeper than the surface indicates.

More recent cable shows like The Wire, Mad Men, Sopranos, etc. prove that quality has moved beyond the networks. Some shows that are good and have the potential to be great often get sidetracked or axed before their time. Last year, the Spielberg produced The River ran for only one season. Too bad, as the show was creepy as hell and very well done.

We may not be in a modern renaissance of high-end television programming, but there are still a number of quality shows to be watched. And keep in mind Wolfie, there were a lot of garbage shows back "in the day" too. For every Star Trek there was a Time Tunnel. For every All in the Family, there was a It's About Time.

Some current shows that I like are Justified and The Americans on FX, and Hell on Wheels on AMC. It's difficult to come up with an "all time" list because of the shear volume of shows but I would have to include All in the Family, Mash, and Cheers. For the old and outdated variety shows, I'd have The Smothers Brothers Show and Laugh In.

Some of my favorites will never make it because they dont need writers, Deadliest Catch and Flying Wild Alaska.

I always thought the writers on the animated shows had to be top notch though since the "actors" couldn't cover poor writing with their acting. Simpsons, King of the Hill, even Beavis and Butthead.

Left Seater wrote:Some of my favorites will never make it because they dont need writers, Deadliest Catch and Flying Wild Alaska.

Agreed. But I think they have writers. That recent episode of Deadliest Catch where that South Islander dude, they set him up to simulate changing a diaper on some stuffed animal. Just not thinking that they stock infant diapers on those crab boats, so that makes me think that was set up in advance. Flying Wild is OK too, some of the flying sequences were a bit set up and they got mixed up on aircraft a few times. Best thing would have been one of them dudes dropping the hammer on that half breed Eskimo chick laid over a pallet of cargo in the hanger, or when he was teaching her to fly. I have heard that sexual acts can be accomplished in small aircraft.

And for a series, no mention at all for the original Hawaii Five O ? Please....

Sure some of the planes were mis labeled, but hell when Hollywood and the major news stations can't tell the difference between a 727 and an L1011, I can give a small film crew a break on a 208 caravan.

schmick wrote:seinfeld sucked balls, anyone who watched that show was a fucking tool not even worthy of 10 seconds of my time.

Says the unfunny douche without a single funny bone in his god damn body.

Left Seater wrote:Some of my favorites will never make it because they dont need writers, Deadliest Catch....

According to some on the Maverick a lot of the drama was staged.

schmick wrote:what a bunch of whiny fucking jews from the east coast think is funny is certainly not. Seinfeld, David, Schwimmer, Silverman.... a whole race of unfunny cocksuckers

Dude, you are the single most humorless dweeb on any of these boards. Someone will make a throwaway crack about your faggot sons or your Tommy Lasorda wanna-be coaching exploits and you'll go straight into a dead serious three paragraph retort. I'd trust Spray to count my calories before I'd trust you to even be able to finish a knock-knock joke.

schmick wrote:727 had no engines on the wings and the L1011 was a fuck ton larger with way more passengers.

Thanks Marcus.

Sitcoms have sucked since at least the late 80s. Here's my top 10 best written shows.

The Wire
All In The Family
The Simpsons
Sopranos
The Twilight Zone
M*A*S*H
Cheers
Star Trek The Next Generation
The Honeymooners
King of the Hill

I see no mention of Barney Miller. Sort of a forgotten one.

I always liked it better than MASH.

The Wire
The Shield
Sopranos

schmick wrote:what a bunch of whiny fucking jews from the east coast think is funny is certainly not. Seinfeld, David, Schwimmer, Silverman.... a whole race of unfunny cocksuckers

Well, some of us are funny...

trev wrote:Marty, you're a funny, funny guy.

Toddowen wrote:I see no mention of Barney Miller. Sort of a forgotten one.

I always liked it better than MASH.

If we were doing top 10 TV theme songs, Barney Miller would be all over it.

Toddowen wrote:I see no mention of Barney Miller. Sort of a forgotten one.

I always liked it better than MASH.

Ah Todd, thank you. I am amazed and ashamed to admit I omitted "Barney Miller", a great and very funny show. Of course, I have a somewhat biased view of that show as my uncle was the show's editor, as well as having written and directed a handful of episodes. He later went on with Abe Vigoda to work on "Fish", a not-so-great spin-off. My uncle worked a long time in Hollywood, attached to such shows as "Batman", "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", "That Girl", "The Monkees", and "Broken Arrow".

"Barney Miller" could easily fit into the top 10 of sitcoms. It's still funny to this day.

=

The weird part is how Abe Vigoda outlived most of the other actors on that show. I'm sure most viewers had him in their death pool during or immediately after that show's run.

I won't inquire as to which episodes, Jay, because that might reveal personal info.

Always loved the show. One of the few that I would make time to watch during the season. Watched many a rerun too.


I was booted from an Upstairs Downstairs message board awhile back. One of the things the people didn't like there was that I likened some of the board members that were a bit overly speculative of character scenarios to a Barney Miller episode {The Judge}, where a woman enters the precinct with a story of her neighbor who she claims that she had observed engaging in all sorts of criminal activity and marital infidelities.

When the detectives investigate the home, instead of finding any crime, they find a library of "Soap Opera Digest" magazines, describing verbatim the acts that the woman had reported.

I think Harris's response to Barney regarding her was "Shall I call General Hospital?"



Anyway...the message board there didn't have a great sense of humor.

Toddowen wrote:...an Upstairs Downstairs message board...

You're shitting me, right.

Shlomart Ben Yisrael wrote:

Toddowen wrote:...an Upstairs Downstairs message board...

You're shitting me, right.

No, I am not. I still watch an occasional episode.


And as for best written shows, Up/Down certainly deserves mention.

Now that I remember it, I think what really caused the ruckus at the Up/Down board was my blending the story of Lady Belamy's drowning on the Titantic with the Star Trek episode "City on the Edge of Forever"

Instead of Spock and Kirk realizing that Joan Collins must die to return them back through the time portal, I had them on the Titantic with Spock having an affair with Lady Belamy and McCoy trying to save her from drowning with the sinking ship. Only a well placed Vulcan nerve pinch by Spock on McCoy's shoulder saved all that ever was or ever shall be created.


Heck....I thought it was funny. Nobody else there did though.

Toddowen wrote:I thought it was funny. Nobody else there did though.

Imagine that.

Didn't you send me a whiny PM saying you weren't going to respond to my posts anymore?

17 PMs over an 8 minute span. He is going off the rails.

I've only just begun, you nazi sucking swizzlestick

You know my hours :grin:

no LOST??
this list is fail.

schmick wrote:
that list is shit

Although not quite to the level of your posts. There is that.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Teachers (UK)
Misfits (UK)
Dr Who
Star Trek Next Gen & Voyager
Life on Mars(UK)
Twin Peaks (season 1)
Carnivale
Skins (UK)
This Life (UK)
Red Dwarf