PaperStreetSoapCo

Seinfeld in syndication.

drexel

DaS I'm not trying tostart something. I apprecciated the to each his own. My point was
"the pooorly written 24 or better written shows, insert 50 shows here." When I read that it's definately smack. The question was what was your favorite show and why. I don't think I ever asked why someone didn't like or understand why everyone doesn't love 24. You must watch a lot of TV consistantly. I don't have the time to watch 51 shows a week to determine that one of the most critically acclaimed shows could be written so horribly

Geofferson

My top 5 in no particular order:

The Shield
24
The Sopranos
Six Feet Under
Ed

lwhy?

My five favorite shows that I have to watch:
Smallville
Ed
Buffy
Er
Gilmore Girls
Honorable mention to 24

bullwinkle

Buffy the Vampire Slayer!!!

24 & ALIAS

das Monkey

• Quoth drexel •<HR SIZE=1>DaS I'm not trying tostart something. I apprecciated the to each his own. My point was
"the pooorly written 24 or better written shows, insert 50 shows here." When I read that it's definately smack. The question was what was your favorite show and why. I don't think I ever asked why someone didn't like or understand why everyone doesn't love 24. You must watch a lot of TV consistantly. I don't have the time to watch 51 shows a week to determine that one of the most critically acclaimed shows could be written so horribly <HR SIZE=1>

Dude, I'm sorry I don't share your enthusiasm for your favorite show. The world works that way sometimes. And I never said it was horribly written. I said I think there are better written shows, and I do. I believe they waste too much time on silly subplots with Kim, daytime soap opera nonsense like situational amnesia, and an overreliance on forcing a "shocking" situation when one really doesn't need to exist. You obviously feel differently, and that's fine. My criticism of the show is not a criticism of you for liking that show. An opinion of what I think is the best show on television IMO requires an opinion of why I didn't select other popular shows. Just naming a TV show and moving along seems like a waste of time. You asked for "reasons," so I've given them. I'm sorry you don't like my reasons, but we can't all love the same things. It would be a damn boring world if that were so, and I don't see a need to get into an argument over something so trivial.

das

nny

I don't understand why they have to pack so much plot into 24. They have all that time to fill. Why don't they spend more time on character development? Making it to where something is always happening forces them to "waste too much time on silly subplots with Kim, daytime soap opera nonsense like situational amnesia, and an overreliance on forcing a "shocking" situation when one really doesn't need to exist" just like Das said.

Gandalf

Firefly was right at the top. All the characters were evenly developed, easy to care for, funny, and there was enough mistery surrounding River to hold the story together without playing it all on it (like John Doe does)

24 is the most gripping drama and that breaks most TV "rules" and faux-pas. Of course it has its share of predictability, flaws and stereotypes, and cramming unnecessary twists at times but beats hands down competition such as Alias, which although improved a lot imo this season, still relies too much on the "james bond operation of the week" structure.

Other favourites Gilmore Girls (witty and sweet), Smallville (still potential not fully exploited - Roswell remains my favourite in this genre), Sopranos (haven't watched all of the season though)

tasha99

Farscape. There's no other show that I have to watch the same day that I tape it on.

Other favs: Buffy, Angel and 24. I used to like Friends, but not as much lately. I found this show called Coupling on BBCAmerica that reminds me of Friends and am starting to get caught up in that.

Amadeus

24

chowderhead

Favorite Drama: Law and Order franchise
Favorite SitCom - tied between Friends and Simpsons.
Favorite Reality Show- The Amazing Race

Favorite Show. The amazing race for the sheer entertainment, comedy, unpredictibilty and the drama.

PacMan2006

I would pick "24" but only because the format is original and leaves a possibility for anything to happen it seems. You can have a poor previous "hour" and come right back with a very intense one.

With that said, this season cannot compare to the first half of last season. I agree with Das to a point...I totally feel the show is purposely holding itself back this year. I feel like they are just trying to give us decent, somewhat entertaining episodes every week and then in the last 2 minutes shock us with a cliff-hanger to bring us back the next week only to have that cliff-hanger resolved in the first five mintues of the show (like Nina holding Jack hostage--I expected that to be a good 30 minute stand-off).

I thought Sutherland played Jack Bauer to perfection last season, even when the show took a dive in quality around the "afternoon/early night" of that "day." But sometimes he just seems only auto-pilot to me, kind of simply going through the motions. I'm not sure if that's due to a lack of in your face intense situations (like in season 1 where he had Coffell and York in the back of a limo talking to them or confronted Nina with being a traitor) or if he just isn't as into the show anymore.

But regardless, I'll watch the show. It's the most fresh thing on television and I feel more things have the ability to happen on this show than even unrestrained HBO or Showtime drama's.

thecrazydude

curb your enthusiasm

Mole177

gee, its still simpsons and king of the hill for me.

effigy

1 - 24
2 - The Shield
3 - Law & Order (Alll 3)

nightwing82

Friends. So

It's all about what entertains you.

Darq

When OZ first started, i didn't have HBO, and when i finally got HBO, i didn't want to watch this show from the middle... So, i've been taping seasons 3-5, and now that season 2 dvd is available, i've been having OZ marathons.

This show is great... i just finished season 3, and i can tell i'm going to be VERY disappointed once this year's season 6 is over. (By the way, does anyone have season 3, episode 3 "Legs"? that's the one episode i'm missing).

... anyways, i can't speak for this year, or even for the last 2 seasons, but i'm gonna guess that OZ continues to be a strong show. I enjoy 24 a lot, but i'm not sure it's the "best". The Shield is also very good, although this season is definitely stretching it a bit. The West Wing continues to be entertaining, along with Alias, and Sopranos was sub-par this year, but at least Six Feet Under is right around the corner. Scrubs, Friends, and Curb Your Enthusiasm are also good, but don't quite measure up to these other shows, or at least can't be measured on the same scale.

So, i'm not entirely show if OZ is the "best" show out there, but i really can't get enough of it. I don't remember the last show that's made me want to get home so urgently so i can start another season-long marathon.

.. of course, i don't really remember the last time i had to play "catch up" with a long-running series before...

Darq

P.S. BTW, why haven't i ever seen OZ mentioned in awards shows? Have i just overlooked it before? Or have the awards shows overlooked it?

grunter

For shows on the air right now, right this instant (as opposed to shows where the season has ended (see "The Sopranos") or shows currently on between season hiatus (see "Six Feet Under" or "Sex & the City")), the best available is "Farscape."

And not because it's on the chopping block due to the "Sciffy" channel's cowardice, but because it's consistently challenging, creative and never stoops to pandering to its audience. It assumes the audience is "up to speed," never dilly-dallies with Trek-ian pseudo-scientific magical fixes (well, almost never), and has one of the most interesting, reluctant, "push-pull" romances I've ever seen attempted on a genre program.

Oh. And muppets. Lots and lots of muppets.

Plus those last two Earth-bound episodes had some seriously heart-wrenching family issues woven into them for Crichton.

Were I to pick a "best series" all-around (and not just one that's currently on the air), I'd have to go with "The Sopranos." With its consistently spectacular writing, hot, hot cast, and infinitely nuanced acting, Tony's "families" drama completely takes the cake.

WhoGirl

Sopranos aside (because that's not TV, it's HBO ) I'd have to go with The Shield. The acting is amazing. The stories are very fast-paced and there's always so much going on at once. It's not like any other show out there, it's more raw as far as for direction.

slop101

For me it was Simpsons for the longest time (esp. seasons 3-6), then it was Homicide (up until Andre Braugher left) - but right now it's a toss up with Sopranos & Buffy.

But if I had to choose, it may have to be Buffy, because this season they came out of the gate swinging. They're really firing on all cylinders and utilizing everything they've built up to through the past 6 years - it's been all pay-off after pay-off, with very satisfying results.

moocher

24

(easiest post I've made in a while )

johnglass

The Shield is slowly replacing the Sopranos as my favorite show on TV. I really didn't think they could come back as strong after the "shock factor" of last season and hold up the same pace, but amazingly they've exceeded it. With that said....

The Sopranos is the type of show that always leaves you wanting more, without giving you too much at once (likely because they were stretching to fill the extra season) where the Shield gives you everything at once. If I had to pick one, I think Soprano's would have the staying power over the Shield.

Iron_Giant

1. Smallvillie. It has some real gems at times. It just keeps getting better and better. 1/21/03 was one of their bests and the season 1 cliffhanger/season 2 opener was awesome.

gondorspit

this season of 24 is the best show on the networks

Most of the HBO shows are better than that

After that its pretty much Junkyard Wars and reruns

Ghym

I don't watch a lot of TV. I really like Buffy(watched since the beginning), Sopranos, The Shield, and Angel(just started watching again). Firefly was a good show. Too bad it's gone.