50 Best TV Shows Countdown!

[GregMcduck]

7. The Wonder Years - (1988) - 43 points
(2 of 9 lists. Highest ranking - 2 #2 votes, AmazingThor, GregMcduck)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094582/

The Wonder Years is an American television dramedy created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. Set in 1968-1973 (each season took place exactly twenty years before the then current year) tackles the social issues and historic events of that time through the eyes of main character Kevin Arnold. Kevin also deals with typical teenage social issues, including those prompted by his main love interest, Winnie Cooper, as well as typical family troubles. The story is narrated by an older, wiser Kevin (voiced by Daniel Stern), describing what is happening and what he learned from his experiences in an alternately nostalgic and ironic tone.

The story begins with Kevin (Fred Savage), Paul (Josh Saviano) and Winnie (Danica McKellar) on the verge of starting junior high school in 1968. In the pilot, Winnie's elder brother gets drafted and sent to Vietnam and is killed there. Kevin meets Winnie in a nearby wooded area called Harpers Woods, and they end up sharing their first kiss. This unsaid relationship between Winnie and Kevin remains dormant for a long while. Winnie starts dating a popular 8th grader named Kirk McCray. Kevin briefly goes steady with Becky Slater, but soon breaks up with her realizing his feelings for Winnie are too strong. Becky Slater bears a grudge against Kevin for many following episodes.

The show achieved a spot in the Nielsen Top Ten for two of its six seasons. TV Guide named the show one of the 1980s' 20 best.[1] After only six episodes aired The Wonder Years won an Emmy for best comedy series in 1988. Fred Savage would also gain the honor of being the youngest actor ever nominated at the age of 13 for Outstanding Lead Actor for a Comedy Series through this show. It was awarded a George Foster Peabody Award in 1989, for achieving two seemingly contradictory effects. On the one hand, its concentration on one family evokes the tradition of American situation comedy, from Father Knows Best to The Cosby Show. At the same time, its imaginative use of the techniques of modern television push the boundaries of the sit-com and point the way to new modes of storytelling.

[GregMcduck]

6. Arrested Development - (1988) - 44 points
(3 of 9 lists. Highest ranking - #6 AmazingThor)

Arrested Development is an American progressive hip hop group, founded by Speech and Headliner as a positive, Afrocentric alternative to the gangsta rap popular in the early 1990s. It took the group three years, five months and two days to be offered a record deal, when Chrysalis Records sent A&R director Duff Marlowe to Atlanta's Bosstown Studios to meet with the group's manager Michael Mauldin. Arrested Development had already been offered a single deal for the song "Tennessee". Hence the nam...

Wait, I just got handed a memo.

*reads memo*.

Oh.

.......

Oops....

...... :-.....

Uh, let's start again.



6. Arrested Development - (2003) - 44 points
(3 of 9 lists. Highest ranking - #6 AmazingThor)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367279/

[GregMcduck]

5. Star Trek: The Next Generation - (1987) - 48 points
(6 of 9 lists. Highest ranking - #2 RVR II)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/

Star Trek: The Next Generation is a science fiction television series, part of the Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenberry. Set in the 24th century, about 80 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation features a new crew and a new starship Enterprise. The show gained a considerable following during its run and, like its predecessor, remains popular in syndicated reruns.

The episodes follow the adventures of the crew of the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise. As the United Federation of Planets flagship, the Enterprise is designed for both exploration and diplomacy but capable of battle when necessary. The Enterprise's crew contact and discover many races and species with whom they interact as a means for exploring the "human" condition. Dramatic devices such as time travel or temporal loops, natural disasters, and other internal and external conflicts often occur without alien encounters, though these, too, are used to explore issues of humanity.

The show's theme combines the fanfare from the original series theme by Alexander Courage with Jerry Goldsmith's theme for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The Next Generation has other similarities to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, itself spun from the plans for Star Trek: Phase II. The movie's Willard Decker and Ilia bear similarities to The Next Generation's Will Riker and Deanna Troi. The series' second-season premiere was based on a Phase II script, as was the courtroom drama "Devil's Due".

[Minnesota]

Damn, there are a lot of Trekies on the board... I'll try not to hold it against you guys

[GregMcduck]

4. South Park - (1997) - 59 points
(4 of 9 lists. Highest ranking - #4 Minnesota)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121955/

South Park is an American animated television comedy series about four third/fourth-grade school boys who live in the small, backward mountain town of South Park, Colorado. The series was created and is written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It is well-known for its handling of current events and its pop-culture parody. South Park began in 1991 when Trey Parker and Matt Stone, at the time students at the University of Colorado, met in a film class and created an animated short called Jesus vs. Frosty. The crudely made film featured prototypes of the main characters of South Park, including a character resembling Cartman, but referred to as "Kenny", an unnamed character resembling Kenny, and two near-identical unnamed characters who resembled Stan and Kyle.

Prior to season four, the main characters of the show were four third grade students (often called "the boys" when as a group for easier reference): Stanley "Stan" Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Theodore Cartman and Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick. There are many recurring characters on the show, including the boys' families, school staff, other students such as Leopold "Butters" Stotch, Chef, Mr. Hankey, Towelie, Jesus, and Satan. There are also many other minor characters and one-off characters.

The show has faced numerous controversies. The show depicts what many people find to be taboo subject matter, from its use of vulgarity ("It Hits The Fan") to its satire of subjects such as religion and cults (such as "Trapped in the Closet"), sexuality ("The Death Camp of Tolerance"), and natural disaster hysteria ("Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow"). Stone and Parker are self-described "equal opportunity offenders" and episodes often lampoon all sides of a contentious issue, rather than taking a concrete position. South Park has parodied Scientology in a couple of episodes. Most of them, however, never mention Scientology by name, although they are obviously meant to poke fun at it. The episode that caused the most controversy was "Trapped in the Closet", which caused what the media dubbed 'Closetgate'. The episode poked fun at the religion and its celebrity followers, including Tom Cruise. After Comedy Central pulled the episode from a scheduled repeat at the last minute, it was alleged that Cruise threatened Paramount with withdrawal from promotion of his latest film if the episode was re-broadcast (both Paramount and Comedy Central are owned by Viacom). Matt Stone and Trey Parker countered this by allowing it to be freely distributed on anti-Scientology web sites. This situation led to Isaac Hayes, who played Chef and is a scientologist himself, to quit unexpectedly days before the spoof on Scientology was to re-air. Many people feel this was hypocritical, as he had never complained about any of the numerous episodes making fun of other religions.

[Nunyerbiz]

Damn, there are a lot of Trekies on the board... I'll try not to hold it against you guys

Heh... I will bite my tongue as I was too lazy to provide my own list... but if Enterprise, Star Trek and Star Trek: The Animated Series comprise the top three... then all of my hope for humanity is lost.

[YoohooRiffer]

(2 of 9 lists. Highest ranking - #1 Minnesota)

The only item on the list that truely has me scratching my head. Even moreso then Monkey.

whats not to understand? funniest show ever!

I was the other person Minnesota!  It's a great show!

[GregMcduck]

3. The Simpsons - (1989) - 64 points
(5 of 9 lists. Highest ranking - #3 Minnesota)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096697/

The Simpsons is an animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening. It is a satirical parody of the "Middle American" lifestyle epitomized by its title family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield, and lampoons many aspects of the human condition, as well as American culture, society as a whole, and television itself. The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening sketched an outline version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show.

The Simpsons are a typical family who live in a fictional "Middle American" town of Springfield. Homer, the father, works as a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant - a position at odds with his careless, buffoonish personality. He is married to Marge Simpson, a stereotypical American housewife and mother. They have three children. The eldest, Bart, is a ten-year-old troublemaker. His sister, eight-year-old Lisa, is precociously intelligent. She takes part in left-wing activist causes and plays the saxophone. The youngest, Maggie, is still a baby who never speaks, but carries a pacifier in her mouth. The family owns a dog, Santa's Little Helper, and a cat, Snowball II. Both pets have had starring roles in several episodes. Despite the passing of yearly milestones such as holidays or birthdays, the Simpsons do not physically age.

The show includes an array of quirky characters: co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, and local celebrities. The creators originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokesters or for fulfilling needed functions in the town. However, a number of them have gained expanded roles and subsequently starred in their own episodes. According to Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the comedy show SCTV.

[Minnesota]

wonder whats gonna be number one (and two)?
I'm guessing they both feature robots 

[GregMcduck]

2. Futurama - (1999) - 78 points
(6 of 9 lists. Highest ranking - #2 Minnesota)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0149460/

[GregMcduck]

1. Mystery Science Theater 3000 - (1988) - 115 points
(7 of 9 lists. Highest ranking -  3 #1 votes, Junkyard, YooHooRiffer, GregMcduck)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094517/

[GregMcduck]

Alright guys, despite the low turn-out that turned out pretty well. Are you people interested in doing more like these?

[mrbasehart]

Wow.  MST3k top.  What a shock! 

Alright guys, despite the low turn-out that turned out pretty well. Are you people interested in doing more like these?

Now that people see how awesome you're going to do them, then absolutely!

Nice work Greg.

[Junkyard]

After all that, you're willing to do another one of these?
Sure, I'm game. However, maybe you should try the next one in General Discussion. Might get better turn out.

[Minnesota]

 

Thanks Greg, very fun... might I suggest movies or video games as the next topics (shouldn't be hard to figure out which section those belong to not sure I can even think of 25 books unless I put a lot of effort into it... lets save that one for last )