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What's the greatest television series of all time?

What's the greatest television series of all time?

  • Breaking Bad

    Votes: 74 29.2%

  • The Sopranos

    Votes: 31 12.3%

  • The Wire

    Votes: 30 11.9%

  • Better Call Saul

    Votes: 8 3.2%

  • Succession

    Votes: 3 1.2%

  • Mad Men

    Votes: 5 2.0%

  • Other (share)

    Votes: 102 40.3%
  • Total voters
    253
Carmen Winstead

Carmen Winstead

Member
Paltheos said:
Breaking Bad winning these kinds of polls always depresses me. It's not even on the same tier as the best show on this list, let alone being the greatest of all time.
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You trippin. Breaking Bad is a top tier show.

But the best (at least for me) is The Sopranos. Just elite & witty writing with tons of great characters.
It's the show I can always come back to and watch episodes and somehow still find new details. That's coming from a guy who never rewatches/replays his favorite movies/series/games.
 
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Davesky

Davesky

Member
Paltheos said:
Breaking Bad winning these kinds of polls always depresses me. It's not even on the same tier as the best show on this list, let alone being the greatest of all time.
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Great entertainment, but doesn’t belong on the same list as The Wire. Sadly, many people lack the attention span or critical thinking skills required to fully appreciate such a masterpiece. It’s like asking a child to pick between newsnight and an episode of Paw Patrol.
 
swaffles23

swaffles23

Member
I'm a big fan of The Sopranos so I guess that.

Game of Thrones could have been if they didn't shit the bed with the final few seasons.

True Detective Season 1 is probably my favorite single season of a show ever. Just an incredible show
 
Paltheos

Paltheos

Member
Carmen Winstead said:
You trippin. Breaking Bad is a top tier show.
Click to expand...

Walter White's an asshole from episode 1, and watching him stumble his way around the criminal underworld is not compelling entertainment. I've gone a step further than my friends and said I'm also not a fan of Jesse Pinkman who I think overwhines and doesn't present much of interest on-screen. The show is very good at making people think it's good because its shots are well considered and the show is well directed (as can be), but there's usually not enough meat to make it engaging. Probably only a couple moments in the whole run I was legitimately impressed (first one that comes to mind is the laughing scene beneath the White house - and that's on the back of Cranston's performance - truly deranged).

Going just off the shows on this list, The Wire is way more interesting. More and dynamic relationships, smarter cast, more briskly paced, B plots that don't suck ass (no one cares for Marie's klepto subplot in Breaking Bad and it's not important). I also like how far in the deep end The Wire throws you - even the lingo of all the various factions is something you have to pick up along the way and is something you appreciate once you've gotten it because it makes the world more immersive. Breaking Bad's not unserious about its dialogue but it's... a soft ball by comparison.

I'm going a little long here, but the worst things I can say about The Wire are that the first season is so well-constructed as a complete show and feels so fresh that the follow-ups have a tough time remaining as compelling and that the final season kinda blows for spoilery reasons. I was usually bored watching Breaking Bad because of how often it iterated the same points.
 
Putonahappyface

Putonahappyface

Member
swaffles23 said:
I'm a big fan of The Sopranos so I guess that.

Game of Thrones could have been if they didn't shit the bed with the final few seasons.

True Detective Season 1 is probably my favorite single season of a show ever. Just an incredible show
Click to expand...
True Detective Season one is amazing. Such a shame about season two and three, as they had a winning formula and they ruined it.
 
swaffles23

swaffles23

Member
Putonahappyface said:
True Detective Season one is amazing. Such a shame about season two and three, as they had a winning formula and they ruined it.
Click to expand...
Yea I only made it 2-3 episodes into season 2 before dropping it. I just didn't like it at all. I haven't even bothered with season 3, I read it was decent so maybe I'll give it a shot eventually.
 
Putonahappyface

Putonahappyface

Member
swaffles23 said:
Yea I only made it 2-3 episodes into season 2 before dropping it. I just didn't like it at all. I haven't even bothered with season 3, I read it was decent so maybe I'll give it a shot eventually.
Click to expand...
The third season is way better and is connected to the first season. Obviously I don't want to give you spoilers.
 
Putonahappyface

Putonahappyface

Member
The Sopranos
Band of Brothers
Game of Thrones
Breaking Bad
Boardwalk Empire
True Detective (season one)
Better Call Soul
Stranger Things
Fraiser
 
Carmen Winstead

Carmen Winstead

Member
Davesky said:
Great entertainment, but doesn’t belong on the same list as The Wire. Sadly, many people lack the attention span or critical thinking skills required to fully appreciate such a masterpiece. It’s like asking a child to pick between newsnight and an episode of Paw Patrol.
Click to expand...
Another one of these "I'm so sophisticated because I consume this type of media" guys. The Wire is an all time great series but chill dude, you're treating it like a work of Kafka.
 
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clarky

clarky

Gold Member
Pretty close call with that list but went with The Wire as the ending is/was perfect.

Not seen Mad Men (is it that good?).
 
DelireMan7

DelireMan7

Member
Les Revenants (The returned).
Nothing surpasses its atmosphere for me. Especially Season 1.

Avatar the last airbender for animated
 
Davesky

Davesky

Member
Carmen Winstead said:
Another one of these "I'm so sophisticated because I consume this type of media" guys. The Wire is an all time great series but chill dude, you're treating it like a work of Kafka.
Click to expand...

Well, it isn’t really sophisticated to call Breaking Bad a “top tier show.” It’s great for what it is is, but you wouldn’t really compare a Stephen King novel to Kafka, as you say. I was also only using The Wire as an example, I’m not even that much of a fan of the series, but from an objective point of view is a better show every single way. It’s not even close.
 
J

Jeff Spicoli

Member
DetectiveBananas said:
Short Series
- Band of Brothers
- The Pacific
- Chernobyl
- True Detective (S1)
Complete Series
- Breaking Bad
- The Sopranos
- Mr. Robot
- Seinfeld
- The Wire

I haven’t seen every tv show that other people have listed but I feel like these bring great quality from beginning to end. The X-Files is one of my favs but it should have ended after 6-7 seasons. If it concluded well I would easily put it up there near the top.
Click to expand...
Mr Robot Is the masterpiece that everybody forgets
 
StueyDuck

StueyDuck

Member
Hear me out... all mentioned in the poll are genuinely the most top tier television to exist and I'd never argue against that, genuinely incredible stuff.

But I have a love for the show chuck and I almost watch it every couple of years, not saying it's critically the best TV show, but it's one of my all time favorites

Also depending now newer seasons shake out, severance season 01 launched itself up their to those heavy hitters for me, if stiller can just keep up the quality it could take my number 1 spot
 
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GeekyDad

GeekyDad

Member
Objectively? I'd have to say Good Times (although it was also a favorite growing up).

Subjectively: The Big Bang Theory
 
midnightAI

midnightAI

Member
Marlenus said:
This is the correct answer.
Click to expand...
Red Dwarf Cat GIF
 
violence

violence

Member
Game of Thrones was good enough to make it to 4K Blu-ray, It looks amazing by the way. There really isn’t much that made it to the format. so that’s an achievement. It’s a great show till the last two seasons. I only made it halfway into seven so I haven’t seen what happens. It should be an option.
 
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Mr Reasonable

Mr Reasonable

Completely Unreasonable
Breaking Bad is the one my mind went to first.

But I hesitated, it was a few years ago now and sometimes shows that really capture the zeitgeist are ones that need to be experienced at that time. Breaking Bad felt so current and new at the time, I'm not sure someone watching it today could feel the same about it as someone watching it unfold weekly.

Either way, it got my vote in the poll.

We've been watching Frasier from the first series (now up to Series 3) and that is an exceptional show, if it were in the poll I might have gone for that instead. I can't think of a better sit com, and despite what I said above, it feels timeless to me (though it always takes a moment to get over how low resolution the image is at the beginning of an episode).
 
Giallo Corsa

Giallo Corsa

Member
I've voted the Sopranos.

Still, it's not the only one :

- The Sopranos
- Band of brothers
- The wire
- Deadwood
- Carnivale

Also, the first 2 seasons of (the recent) Gomorrah is preeetty good TV entertainment (took a huge nosedive after that).
Zero Zero Zero was also pretty good.
 
sono

sono

Gold Member
After "The Lost Room" (I posted earlier) I would put
Stargate Atlantis
then
Stargate
then
Voyager (later series with 7 of 9 they knocked it out of the park)
 
Duellist

Duellist

Member
Married with Children
Game of Thrones
12 monkeys
Spartacus
Also really enjoying Warrior, hopefully that one continues
 
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AJUMP23

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
Band of brothers. Nothing will ever come close to it.

Seinfeld is for comedy.
I liked sopranos a lot. But that I had water cooler discussions around.
 
Roufianos

Roufianos

Member
For me, it's Game of Thrones, the last two seasons were weaker (and I also think S5 is pretty bad) but no other show reaches the same heights during the best seasons. House of the Dragon is almost as good, so far.

The only show which is really comparable is S1 of True Detective, and S3 is also pretty amazing.

After that, Breaking Bad, Last of Us, Band of Brothers, Vikings (S1-4), Squid Game, Money Heist, Sopranos, The Wire, Twin Peaks, The Staircase, Dexter, Mare of Easttown, The Fall, The Expanse, Andor, 1923 and Chernobyl come to mind.
 
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analog_future

analog_future

Resident Crybaby
I'll chime in.

For me, it's:

  1. The Leftovers
  2. Better Call Saul
  3. Breaking Bad
  4. Succession
  5. The Sopranos
  6. Six Feet Under
  7. Band of Brothers
  8. The Office UK
  9. The Expanse
  10. Girls

Shout out to single season shows as well: Watchmen, Devs, and True Detective S1.
 
Johnny2Bad

Johnny2Bad

Member
I like too many to pick one and since the OP asked for one, I won't be one of those guys that list's a bunch.

For music, Sons of Anarchy is the undisputed champion.

For British comedy, Monty Python's Flying Circus is my favorite.
 
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