Seinfeld named best tv show ever...

[Guest Vyce]

Seinfeld is neither the best TV show OR the most influential show of all time.....as much as it really pains me to agree with something Eric S. has said, I'd have to agree that a show like "I Love Lucy" or even "The Honeymooners" was far better and / or influential than Seinfeld could ever hope to be.

 

And my opinion (which isn't worth much, granted) is that Seinfeld was NEVER any good.  Yes, I've watched the show.  I've watched many episodes, even the "classic" soup-nazi show.....and it does nothing for me.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

I would be shocked if "The Oblongs" wasn't cancelled.  Not to say its a bad show, but I saw an ad for it once, and then never again... anyhow, I don't watch much TV, so here is my limited top 10 list.

 

1. "Twilight Zone" (even though it's not on the air anymore, this was a consistently interesting and entertaining show)

2. "Queer as Folk" (first season only since those bastards at the cable company took out my Showtime at the beginning of this year, one week shy of the new season)

3. WWF TV: (in order... "Sunday Night Heat", "RAW", "Smackdown", "Metal"... wrestling is about all I watch on TV now)

4. "Cowboy Bebop" (though I rarely get to see it when it's actually on TV, I borrowed the HK [subtitled, not dubbed!] DVDs from a friend and even though I've put off watching 'em all for weeks it's still my favorite anime/serious cartoon)

4 (tie). "The Simpsons" (haven't watched it regularly for a few years but whenever I manage to catch an episode it's still funny as hell... one of the few TV shows that can still make me laugh)

5. "The X-Files" (ol skool only... haven't watched regularly since 2000, and when I have tried, it's hard as hell to figure out since the "conspiracy" has been too hard to follow since the movie)

6. various Cartoon Network programming (whenever I'm too bored to use the computer or want to have TV in the background for chores the first place I flip to is CN)

7. AMC eFX / AMPOP (I used to stay up and watch this every Friday night for the '50s sci-fi or Hammer movie that usually came after... now I'm just too exhausted and can't stay awake that long.  It would save me a lot in rentals though if I just taped it, but they show a lot of "repeat" or newer movies now... as for AMPOP it's usually great stuff I just always forget it's on)

8. "Reba" (wow, I guess I really don't watch a lot of TV... this makes the list because I regularly watch it or at least try to)

9. "Going to California" (another good Showtime original that I meant to watch a lot but never did.  It's not that I didn't like it, like AMPOP, I just always forgot it was on)

10. ... use all the ties to take up this space, I can't think of any other shows I regularly watch or liked a lot.  Oh! "Family Guy" and "Clerks"... really great animated shows that got cancelled, but "Clerks" is on DVD... I need to get that.

[Guest imajackoff?]

No wrestling? MNF? What gives? Actually these lists don't mean anything to me because they don't make me enjoy my favorites any less. They are just something to create conversation. I'm wondering what the criteria were for the things on this list.

MNF would be a pretty sound arguement.  The proliferation of sports as "entertainment" and the subsequent $$$ windfall from pro sports in our society wouldnt have been possible it wasnt proven to be the viable prime time commodity shown by MNF.

[Guest Wonderboy]

Seinfeld is easliy my favorite show ever. Even on their worst episodes, I laugh atleast once.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I just want to give shout outs to Quantum Leap and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

 

What?

[Guest Choken One]

Top Ten Sitcoms

----------------

M*A*S*H

All in the Family

Simpsons

I Love Lucy

Cosby Show

Cheers

Honeymooners

Larry Sanders Show

Roseanne

Seinfeld

 

Top Ten Dramas/Late Shows

------------------------------

SNL

Law & Order

Johnny Carson

Sopranos

NYPD Blue

David Letterman

E.R

Buffy

The Shield/24  (depends which has the better payoff)

[Guest godthedog]

The most influencial show has to "Saturday Night Live." How can it not be? Everyone has some thing they've incorporated in their everyday language from SNL.

 

saturday night live would never have existed if it weren't for monty python's flying circus.  core SNL members have admitted it.

 

and i just want to state once again how much i HATE the network television bias toward sitcoms.  the very concept of the sitcom has become stale and boring, and you can't really have a great sitcom now that doesn't break at least some of the rules (i.e., the simpsons, south park).

[Guest hardyz1]

I'd like to throw my support behind these shows:

 

South Park

Family Guy

Who's Line is it Anyway?

Kids in the Hall

[Guest hardyz1]

I agree fully that the list is biased in what's "best", and that Leno is much funnier than Letterman

 

Hahahaha, that's a good one.

[Guest Choken One]

Leno is worthless. How did he get the gig over Dave? Oh, becase Leno would work for Scale and never talked back about NBC's woes. (he even somewhat supported XFL, before it became "in" to bash it). Letterman was smarter and could improv an entire show without any prior plans.

 

 The only decent thing Leno's done is "Jaywalking" and that's about it. A horrible side kick (O.K, Kev's a virgin! Funny! In 1995 but it's 2002 now, drop the sthick), Edd Hall sucks so much. Horrible writers, producers. His fake sentiment after 9/11 was appalling. Letterman will tell you what he really thinks and Leno will tell what NBC thinks.

 

Johnny Carson is the greatest ever, no questions asked but Letterman is just as highly regarded in my book.

[Guest pochorenella]

Actually, I think Conan O'Brien is the best one right now.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

MNF would be a pretty sound arguement.  The proliferation of sports as "entertainment" and the subsequent $$$ windfall from pro sports in our society wouldnt have been possible it wasnt proven to be the viable prime time commodity shown by MNF.

 

That's why I was wondering what the criteria were for the selections. MNF was partially responsible for the big money in sports now. It was revolutionary because the guy who created it wanted to give people the oppurtunity to watch football games at home and provide them entertainment while they watched. He made a lot of innovations (multiple cameras and stuff) and helped sports become a television commodity. The success of MNF spawned all of those made for tv sports events as well as creating lucrative contracts for sports leagues and television networks. It also helped the popularity of sports as well. I don't know which shows on that list had that kind of influence, but MNF should have been on there.

[Guest JMTapes]

Hey Evenflow, you gotta check out some Johnny Carson, man. Great stuff. They have a box set series of the best moments, and one of the final episode. Definetely worth it.

 

                                                -JM

 

jm tapes dot com

[Guest Crazy Dan]

I disagree with Seinfield being number one, I mean there are some funny moments on the show. It does deserves to be on the list, but number one, I don't think so.  I have seen enough of the show to know that it was very hit or miss.  And the last season, except for the one where Kramer sets up Merv Griffiths stage in his place, was absolute terrible and unfunny.  And the last episode, was a clip show, I don't see how that is influential, unless it inluences you on how not to finish your last year on the air.

 

Personally I would put The Simpsons as number one, but that is my opinion.  I just think the show has been very consitently funny over the years, and usually if I see an episode the first time and I don't find it funny, upon second and third viewings in syndication, I pick up on the jokes, and so that is another reason I would put it at one.  It's just a show I can watch time and time again and not get tired of.  Bring on Season 2 for DVD.

 

But, who really gives a flying f*@k about what TV Guide thinks anyways. I think we all have our favorite shows we like, and some people really like Seinfield, as well as other shows listed below.

[Guest Redhawk]

Top Ten Sitcoms

----------------

M*A*S*H

All in the Family

Simpsons

I Love Lucy

Cosby Show

Cheers

Honeymooners

Larry Sanders Show

Roseanne

Seinfeld

 

Top Ten Dramas/Late Shows

------------------------------

SNL

Law & Order

Johnny Carson

Sopranos

NYPD Blue

David Letterman

E.R

Buffy

The Shield/24  (depends which has the better payoff)

From the sitcoms list:

Fresh Prince was way funnier than Roseanne, and had more of an impact. Look at where Will Smith is now as compared to Roseanne.

 

From the dramas list:

Where's Homocide? Where's The Practice? They're both better than NYPD Blue.