Greatest Television Shows...Ever

When considering the best shows ever on TV, there are many to choose from.  BJ & the Bear, Baywatch, ALF, Joe Millionaire and the one with that robot girl all need to be in the conversation.  OK, maybe those don’t, but shows like MASH, I Love Lucy, Battle Star Galactica, Sopranos and The Simpsons might be.  However, they did not make my final list.  Here's who did.

#1.  Star Trek – The Original Series 

It is almost hard to believe that this show only lasted 3 seasons when you think of the lasting mark on pop-culture.  Between the movies, documentaries, pop culture references (beam me up Scotty), books, spin offs and the conventions, the Star Trek phenomena is worldwide.  The plot?  I don’t know something about aliens, humans and an attractive green woman.

 #2: The Walking Dead

For those of you who haven’t seen the Walking Dead, you may be saying “Really, a show about Zombies?  The best way to think about this show is that it deals with how people survive in the wake of an Earth wide catastrophe.   The Walking Dead refer not to the Zombies, but rather to the people who fight to survive.  Yes, the show is only 3 seasons in, so while it can be argued that it is too new to be considered one of the best shows ever, it has become a rare show that I consider “Must watch Live”.  Interesting note, while Walking Dead continues to break its own cable ratings records and beats out broadcast shows in the 18-49 segment, did you know that NBC turned down this show?  Nice job Peacock.

#3 Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Forget the movie with Kristy Swanson and that guy from 90210.  And forget Vampires that sparkle.  This show was just cool.  It was smart, funny, action packed, and I think there was a love story in between jamming a wooden spike into vampire hearts.

#4 Seinfeld

What is amazing to me about Seinfeld is how this show could last 9 seasons with basically no point, no continuous plot, no moral and no real romance or love interest (Man hands doesn’t count).  What other show asked the hard hitting questions like “Does the yellow sun of Earth also cause Superman to have a super sense of humor?”

#5 Mystery Science Theater 3000:

“In the not too distant future…”  Who hasn’t sat and watched a movie or TV show and just made fun of it for the bad acting or stupidity of it.  I mean, anyone who has seen Twilight knows what I am talking about.  All I can say is that I want friends like Tom Servo and Crow.

#6 Game of Thrones

Of all time?  OK, maybe that is a stretch, but it’s my list.  I just started reading the books (after watching the first 3 seasons on TV) and even after watching the show, it is pretty hard to follow.  If I read the books first, I would never have thought they could have made this into a TV show.  Too many characters.  Too many simultaneous stories.  No one is likeable.  But not only has it been done…it has been done well.  It also is the only show or movie which has provided me with a true OMG moment and honest shock since Darth Vader was revealed as Luke’s father.  I am so happy I didn’t read the book beforehand and got to experience the “Red Wedding” live.

#7 Married With Children

Cliff Huxtable. Mike Brady. Jason Seaver. Al Bundy.  Which one doesn’t fit?  Married with Children was the first show that I remember that turned the core family on its head.  A husband that doesn’t want to spend time with his wife.  A wife that can’t cook.  Kids that bribe parents for money.  This show had it all…all while doing it all in way that made everyone laugh.  Truth be told, I personally probably liked Brady Bunch better (Mom always said don’t play ball in the house), but this was different and for that, makes my list.

#8 X-Files 

The Truth is Out There.  I am not talking about the post Mulder show.  They might as well put Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch on after Mulder left for all I cared at that point.  But the early seasons?  Must see TV.

#9 South Park

A cartoon you say?  How about a cartoon which almost real time takes every high profile news story and skewers in ways that make you embarrassed to laugh – but laugh you do. Michael Jackson and bringing kids to Neverland?  Been There.  Tom Cruise not coming out of the closet?  Done That.  Suzanne Summers and taking advantage of starving children?  Mel Gibson’s viewpoint on Judaism.  Christopher Reeve and Stem Cell Research?  Yep, yep yep. 

#10 Dr. Who 

OK, I have never watched Dr. Who…but any show that lasts over 26 seasons should make the list.  Wait, then I guess General Hospital or Days of Our Lives should be on it…Ok on second thought, make this one Saved by the Bell.

Cartoons Then and Now...or Why my kids are more well-adjusted than I am

Recently I was watching some cartoons with my kids and it occurred to me how different these cartoons are from when I grew up.  Almost every cartoon I watched with them, from Octonauts to Special Agent Oso to Mickey Mouse Club to Handy Manny all had some educational or social component to it.  Contrast that to the cartoons I grew up watching such as Scooby Doo, The Looney Tunes, Captain Caveman and Josie and the Pussycats and it quickly became obvious that the children today are getting a very different message than I did when watching these shows.

So let’s compare and contrast some key messages from then and now.

Cartoons Now

·         Educate on Marine Life.  The Octonauts motto is Explore, Rescue, and Protect.  Pretty nice messages for kids right?  In each episode, not only do these underwater characters show they care about others, they also educate kids to all sorts of marine life.  Just recently I learned about both how Algae grows as well as that the only Iguana’s in the world that swim live off the coast of the Galapagos Islands.

·         Teach kids a second language and expose them to new cultures.  Yes, Dora the Explorer has the longest and most unnatural pauses in cartoon history.  Yes, it makes no sense that some animals talk and other's don’t.  However, by speaking in both English and Spanish she starts the process of educating kids at a young age to not just multi-languages, but also different cultures.

·         Help kids conquer early challenges.  On recent episodes of Special Agent Oso, this bear special agent has taught kids everything from proper manners while eating to how to line up for a fire drill to how to color in coloring books.  Yes, I have a higher bar for the qualifications of “special agents” but at least he wasn’t part of that advanced security team in Colombia who got busted for stiffing…er short-changing a “working girl”.

·         Teach kids teamwork.  My kids will watch Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald & Daisy worked together to solve problems.  OK, I still don’t know what Goofy is.  If he is a Dog, why does he talk and Pluto doesn’t?  And does Mickey have an ego problem?  Everything is named after him.  Mouse-a-hey, Mouse-a-hi, Mouse-a-toe here we go?  Really Mickey?  I see him as some sort of Kingpin who makes everyone kiss his ring finger and refers to himself in the 3^rd person.  Ok I digress, as I was saying…Teamwork.

Cartoons Then

·         Encourage you to practice with guns.  I don’t think Elmer Fudd could hit the broad side of a barn, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.  He would load up his gun and go out to try to shoot and kill our favorite Rabbit Bugs Bunny.  Think about that.  What if Swiper from Dora didn’t just try to steal Dora’s stars, but rather, came up behind her with a hunting knife and tried to cut her throat every episode?  Pretty messed up stuff Warner Brothers, pretty messed up indeed.

·         Teach us that old people usually commit crimes.  I think every episode of Scooby Doo ended up with the old caretaker being unmasked as the ghost/monster/all around bad guy.  As they were being taken away, they would have the parting words for the cops of “I would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids.”  The morale of Scooby Doo?  Don’t trust anyone over the age of 40.

·         No matter the question, violence IS the answer.  Back in the day, a child may have the question “How should I deal with conflict?”  Well let’s look to our cartoons to see what they would recommend.  Tom and Jerry.  Wile-E-Coyote and the Roadrunner.  He-Man and Skeletor.  Woody Woodpecker and every other character on the show.  These shows were basically telling kids two things.  1)  If you don’t like someone, try to take them out…with dynamite if necessary.  And 2) if you do try to take them out, do not get products from ACME.

OKAY, I must note that yes, I did grow up with Schoolhouse Rock.  I still sing (to myself) Conjunction Junction What’s Your Function…although I still do not know what a conjunction’s function is.  And the real truth is that this show was just something bridging the time between Blue-Falcon & Dynomut and Jabber jaw.

Now I realize why my four year old kids are more well-adjusted than I am.  It all ties back to the cartoons!  And I won’t get started on kids of the 90’s.  With South Park and Robot Chicken, I don’t know how they survived.