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.

The Walking Dead: The Prison, Woodbury & the Governor

Walking Dead: The Prison And the Town of Woodbury

Spoiler Alert:  While they are not the same, the below contains information about the Walking Dead comics which could give away certain plot points of the TV show.

This was written prior to tonight's episode

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

A quick recap of some of the major differences from the TV show and the comics leading up to the Prison & the town of Woodbury.

New Faces:  Daryl, Merle & T-Dogg did not exist in the comic, while arguably one of the favorites in the comic (Tyreese) does not exist in the TV show.   Daryl has been an excellent addition, I just hope he doesn’t meet the same fate that Tyreese met in the comics.

How Shane Died: While Carol shoots Shane in both the Comics and the show, I liked the comic version better where he shoots him while alive – not as a zombie).  Rick buries Shane in the comics and only later goes back to dig him up and shoot him when he realizes her will turn.

Dead or Alive:  There are several differences, but key characters Sophia and Dale died in the show & are alive during this story line in the comics.

Cool or Not Cool:  On the show, Andrea's kind of annoying but in the comics she's pretty cool.  Carol, if she lived past last week's episode is kind of worthless.  In the comics she is still worthless, but crazy (makes out with a zombie, hooks up with Tyrese, attempts to hook up with Lori as well as ask Lori and Rick if they want a 3-some type of marriage, attempts suicide, then does let a zombie eat her on purpose...yep crazy.

Entering the Prison: In the show, everyone attempts to escape the farm and end up at the Prison (except for Andrea who meets up with Michonne in the woods).  In the comics, Hershel kicked Rick and crew off of the farm who end up at the prison (except for Glenn who stays with Maggie).  Rick later invites Hershel and his group to join them since it is more secure and they accept.

NOW THAT WE ARE HERE, WHAT’s DIFFERENT SO FAR?

We all saw Rick & crew take the prison and meet up with the prisoners.  In the comics, there was no early confrontation with the prisoner's and rather, the prisoners are allowed into the group, some seeming more dangerous than others.

Tomas vs Thomas: In the show, Tomas was the leader who got up close and personal with Rick’s Machete.  In the comic, Thomas (see what they did there) was a supposedly normal con who ended up decapitating two of Hershel’s twin daughters.  He also attempted to do the same to Andrea (ended up slicing up her face).  Rick savagely beat him and wanted to hang him in the prison yard but the others were against it.  Ultimately one of the women sympathized with him and tried to break him out of the prison – and he tried to kill her too.  Maggie ended up shooting Thomas dead and Hershel had his body thrown out to the Zombies.

Axl: In the show he is the rather shy prisoner who is still alive.  In the comic he is a big biker dude in for armed robbery who becomes a big asset to the team…although he doesn’t make it – another casualty of the Governor.

Meeting the Governor (And The Town of Woodbury).  In the show, Michonne and Andrea are on there own and come across the the Governor at a Helicopter crash. In the comics, Rick, Michonne (who meets the crew at the Prison after saving Otis (yet, he is still alive in the comic, although he is more of a redneck) and Glenn investigates, the crash and finds Woodbury.  The Governor had captured the helicopter people and fed them to the zombies to keep them at bay.  At the end, a guy from town seemingly helps them escape (it was a set up so the Governor could find the prison).

Lori’s Death:  In the comics, Lori gives birth to a baby girl (delivered by a 2 legged Hershel).  However, the Governor invades the prison in a takeover attempt (he convinces the townspeople that Rick and crew are the “bad” guys), and the survivors need to make a run for it.  The governor orders one of his people to kill both Lori and the girl in the escape.  She does but realizes it was wrong and shoots the Governor.  Rick and Carl have to continue on alone.  You all know what happened on the show.

STILL TO COME?

If the show continues to bring in most of the comic story lines, below are a few that I am most looking forward to.

Let’s Give Rick a Hand:  It’s early in the TV show, but in the comic, the first meeting between Rick and Governor ended with the Gov cutting off Rick’s hand.

The Governor and Michonne:  The comics did an almost too good of a job setting up how Evil the Governor was.  After he cuts off Rick’s hand, Michonne attacks the Governor.  The Governor then captures Michonne and tortures her relentlessly for days (while forcing Glenn to listen).  It was so disturbing and graphic I cringed and had to turn away from the comic.  The author calls out that there are two types of people who will survive in this world and he wanted to show how cruel and evil the Governor could be.  I honestly hope they do not go to these lengths in the TV show.  On the plus side, Michonne gets her revenge which was extremely satisfying (although she doesn’t kill him).

Zombie Thunderdome: In an effort to entertain the townspeople of Woodbury, the Governor creates a sort of Thunderdome where two people fight each other with Zombies tied up around them in a circle.  While I thought it was a pretty cool visual, I am not sure why the seemingly normal townspeople didn’t find it a little odd.

Head's Up Tyreese:  In an attempt to get Rick to open the prison gates, he captures Tyreese and cuts off his head in front of the prison survivors.  Hopefully this is not Daryl’s end since he has become the second in command it seems (much like Tyreese was in the comics).

A Penny For Your Thoughts:  In the comic, the Governor’s Niece Penny is a zombie.  He ties her up in his apartment and feeds her body parts from various people he captured or townspeople to keep her alive.

I love that the show, for the most part, is true to the comics.  It also allows itself to create its own characters and stories.  Both are fantastic and I look forward to seeing how the show honors the comics while also creating its own characters and stories.

Post episode thoughts:

I see both Penny and the Zombie Thunderdome was included (hell yeah!).  As far as the phone call at the end of the episode...that was something that occurred in the comics a little later on post the Prison & Woodbury storyline.  But if it holds true...Say hello to Lori...sort of!

The Walking Dead vs. The Walking Dead

Spoiler Alert!  I will be talking about the Comics which could give away events to come in the TV show or for those who want to read the comics.  If you don’t want to know, then turn away now – just look out for Zombies.  You have been warned!

What is the Walking Dead you may ask?    

The Walking Dead is a story about a Zombie Apocalypse and how the few humans that are left struggle to survive.  It started as a comic back in 2003 and is still going strong to this day.  It was turned into a Television Drama on AMC in 2010 (Launching Season 3 this year). 

I know, some of you may be saying, I hate Zombies or “if the Zombies don’t sparkle and fall in love I am not interested”.  Let me assure you, the Walking Dead is less about Zombies and more about the human survivors and how they get by in times of great stress.  Indeed, the title “The Walking Dead” may actually refer to the surviving humans as opposed to the Zombies themselves.  As we learn more and more, you realize the real threat is not the zombies themselves, but rather the survivors and how quickly humanity and civilization can be destroyed.

I would go so far as to say that The Walking Dead is one of the greatest pieces of entertainment in the 20^th century.  OK sure, I believe the only forms of entertainment before the 20^th century were gladiators, mimes, court Jesters and those Hieroglyphics on the caves of ancient man, but still….

While the comics are farther along than the show, the 2 are fairly close in story lines (There are some key differences so fans of the comics wouldn’t know what will always happen).

I started with the TV show (which I quickly called the greatest show on earth) and have only since read the comics.  So, what is different and which medium is better?  Let’s explore…

 WHO IS THAT?

Rick, a cop who was shot, fell into a coma, and woke up to a world filled with Zombies is the main character in both the comics and the show.  He is a reluctant leader and a guy whose character is fairly consistent between both mediums so far (although more of a bad-ass (in a good way) in the comics).  Accompanying Rick in this adventure (both with and against him) is a varied group of personalities.  Whether you started with the comic or the TV show, there are either characters missing or ones whose personalities are different than you may have expected.  Here are a few:

·         Tyrese (Comics): 

o    In the comics Tyrese, an ex-football player with a teen daughter who connects with Rick’s band of survivors and is really the #2 guy in the group.  In a word, he is awesome.  Hi daughter and her boyfriend enter in a suicide pact (but the boyfriend doesn’t die) so Tyrese has to take things into his own hands (literally).  He & Rick get in a violent fight (for the most part, Rick is in the wrong), he forms a relationship with Carol, a single parent, but also ends up hooking up with Michonne (a sword wielding female) which leads to a sad situation.  When Tyrese dies (told ya there were spoilers), his death was absolutely devastating.  He is murdered in front of Rick and the group when “bad guys” tried to use him as a hostage to get into their camp.  He went out like a champ.  If I had to choose one guy that was in the show it would be him.

·         Daryl (TV Show):

o    Daryl is in the show but not the comic, but is actually a guy who I wish was in the comic.  He is the “salt of the earth” guy who does all the dirty deeds on the show.  Despite his brother Merle who conflicted with the survivors (and someone I could have done without), Daryl has fit well and was really the sole guy who went out to find Sophia when she was lost.

·         Carol (Both):

o    Carol is a character in both the comics and the show but to me, they are two different people, and I for one prefer the comic Carol.  In the show, she is the mother of Sophia, but really doesn’t do anything other than run around looking like Jamie Lee Curtis.  In the comics Carol is still the mother of Sophia, but is seriously needy and kind of messed up from this whole experience.  She forms a relationship with Tyrese, but when she catches him hooking up with Michonne, she goes off the deep end.  She tries to kill herself in front of her daughter, kisses Lori then tries to marry Rick and Lori (together in some sort of new world threesome – they decline), then has a conversation with a tied up Zombie before letting said Zombie bite her.  See, told ya she was a better Carol.

·         Dale and Andrea (Both)

o    Since I saw the show first, I was introduced to Dale, the older whiny guy and Andrea – sort of a cranky crazy girl who seems at odds with Dale and gets harder and harder in her personality as the show moves on.  In the comics, Dale and Andrea are “intimate” and a couple.  So my first reaction was “eeewww”.  My second reaction was “no really, eeewwwww”.  I will say though that the Andrea in the book is much more likeable, while also being a crack shot with a gun.

·         T-Dogg (TV show):

o    Let’s just say he shouldn’t be in either.  I mean what does he do?

·         Ben and Billy - The Twins: (Comics)

o    The twins, Ben and Billy are the children of Allen and Donna (don’t worry about them) who are later adopted by Dale and Andrea when their parents die.  Ben becomes a big turning point in the comic story.  Long story short, Ben kills his brother (and a cat) as he mentally unravels.  The survivors realize that Ben is a danger to everyone but is undecided what to do about it.  In the middle of the night, Carl (a kid himself) shoots and kills Ben.  I can understand why they are not in the show since their characters really do nothing throughout, but the payoff in the comics was top notch drama and a huge turning point for Carl.

DIDN’T THEY DIE?

Depending on what you watched first, you may be wondering, “wait didn’t they die?

·         Sophia: Dies in the TV show, still alive in the comics (Issue 76).

o    In the TV show she was just kind of “there”, until she got lost and the group found her as a Zombie in the barn and Rick had to shoot her in front of her mom.  It was a pretty big OMG moment. 

o    In the comics she has an infatuation with Carl, goes catatonic when her Mom (Carol) goes off the deep end, and then thinks Maggie is her new mom (until Maggie tries to hang herself).  She is still just “there”. 

·         Dale:  Dies in the TV show at end of season 2 – lived for a while in the comic although eventually died.  So it was the timing of the death.

o    Dale was kind of a whiner in the TV show in my opinion, although he did go out pretty cool in the show getting eaten by a zombie (that Carl failed to kill when he had a chance). 

o    In the comics, he is a cooler dude (in my opinion), hooks up with a much younger Andrea (which is kind of “eh” to me), gets his foot cut off to stop an infection from killing him was plugging along with a new group of survivors for a while before being bitten by a zombie and then captured by cannibals who ate his infected body. 

THINGS I HOPE TO SEE IN THE SHOW

Based on the end of Season 2, we know they will be going to the prison and that Michonne hooks up with the crew. We also know by casting reports that the Governor will be introduced next season which will bring and all new kind of evil into Rick’s world.  All of this spells goodness, or, as readers of the comics know, much badness for our band of survivors.  So what else would I like to see make it into the show? 

• Tyrese.  Yes, since it’s later than in the book, they would have to rewrite his role a bit, but he is just that bad ass that it would be a shame not to include him.  I could see Daryl sort of taking his place in the storyline though.
• The return of Morgan and Duane.  Remember the Guy and his son who saved Rick when he got out of his coma.  The comics provided a holy ^%@* moment when they eventually got caught up.  Not sure it would make it back into the TV show, but would be kind of interesting.
• Lori and the baby:  I hope the show follows the comic’s arc as to the baby and Lori.  I could see the show breaking them up since that is what I heard Kirkman (creator) originally had planned for them in the comics), but I think the comic storyline is better. 
• Woodbury:  I actually hope the show doesn’t go into detail about what happens to Michonne in Woodbury and skip’s the attempted attack on Carl after the prison escape.  I know it is important to show how evil people can be, but those were difficult to read and I think impossible to watch on a TV show.
• Abraham.  It would be a little later on, although I wonder if the show gave a sideways reference to him when the guy from the “other” crew was captured and talked about what some of the men back at his camp were like (not good people).  Meaning, was Abraham’s family a victim of that group?

 WHAT DO I LIKE BETTER?

It’s hard to say.  The comic can drag a bit, but during some of the key Arcs (the prison and Woodbury as two examples) it is amazing.  The show explores some of the characters and situations more deeply (Shane’s relationship with Lori and Carl and dissolving relationship with Rick as an example). 

I could cop out and say both are great (they are, and I may).  I think because I am farther along in the comic book story line I am leaning toward them, but if the show follows through on some of these key moments and stories, I think it will eventually win out. So AMC, do not cancel this series!