What is your favorite TV show ever?

[eyoungren]

Robotech was a favorite of mine along with Mobile Suit Gundam.. 24 was probably my favorite binge worthy series. Walking Dead kept me watching weekly also

Robotech solidly drew me in to anime. In 1984-85 it was not like it was now. You were very lucky if you could find a bootleg VHS tape from a friend. Now of course, it's all online to go find.

Seeing animation with real stories, real characters and attention to artwork detail completely destroyed what American studios were doing. Or weren't rather, other than Disney. But Disney at the time wasn't doing anime.

Saturday morning cartoons were a joke compared to this and so I was hooked.

As it turns out, I learned later on that Robotech was the Americanized version of Macross, plus Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada so Harmony Gold could have enough episodes for syndication. On top of that, Voltron which I had watched before Robotech, was also Japanese anime.

We can go back even farther to the 70s when Science Ninja Team Gatchaman was aired as G-Force. I used to fake sick as a little kid just so I could catch that show.

 

[Lioness~]

All the various Star Gate series;
SG-1
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Universe etc.

Haven’t seen all Starwars movies, but some, looking forward to complete that too some day.
But that is movies, this was about series, right.

 

[MarkC426]

We can go back even farther to the 70s when Science Ninja Team Gatchaman was aired as G-Force. I used to fake sick as a little kid just so I could catch that show.

That was aired as Battle of the Planets in the UK.

 

[MarkC426]

Haven’t seen all Starwars movies, but some, looking forward to complete that too some day.
But that is movies, this was about series, right.

IMHO anything after Jedi....don't bother.

 

[Analog Kid]

Found this on Amazon

Max Headroom: The Complete Series

Able to boast his own international talk show, music videos, countless endorsements and merchandising, the puckish Max Headroom became more than just a character on television. He was a decade-defining icon, never better represented than in this sardonically witty, adventurous look at society and...

www.amazon.co.uk

I enjoyed it when originally on, but as you say, a second look may appear different now....?

I found that same set and just ordered it, actually... It's like $20, so I figured it's no different than a month of streaming from whatever service. No idea what to expect from it.

 

[George Dawes]

Columbo , the seventies series anyway , the modern ones were so weak in comparison

 

[MarkC426]

I found that same set and just ordered it, actually... It's like $20, so I figured it's no different than a month of streaming from whatever service. No idea what to expect from it.

From what I remember, prefer to have your mind blown...

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

Breaking Bad!

 

[tpfang56]

The entire run of Capaldi's series (the 12th Doctor) is magic. He got a lot of great lines and speeches and the relationship between him and Clara is just awesome.

It's as emotional as Who can get.

I am really looking forward to his run on Doctor Who! (Whenever I eventually get to it—I'm still in S10 Pertwee's era.) Though honestly I don't like Steven Moffat as a show runner, and I've heard *very* mixed opinions on Clara as a companion, I'm sure Capaldi is an amazing Doctor. It's nice that they had an older Doctor again after having two youthful ones in a row.

 

[tpfang56]

Doctor Who. No question. I love the fact that it’s so many different shows and in a device like the TARDIS, the only limitation, is the limits of the writer’s imagination. Plus every three years or so, theres a new Doctor & sometimes a new show runner so it becomes a whole new show.

That's the real beauty of Doctor Who, isn't it? Even when there are eras that aren't as well written (subjective), or maybe Doctors whom you don't like as much as previous ones (also an incredibly subjective thing because everyone seems to have different favorites), there will always be a change on the horizon with more perspectives to be told.

 

[Bow Commander]

Boardwalk Empire is a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned. It is by far my favorite. Followed by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

 

[danny_w]

Peter Gunn (I especially loved the spotlight on jazz in each show).

 

[sjsharksfan12]

Probably Star Trek The Next Generation but 90s sci fi was really a golden era. You had TNG and DS9 and Voyager, but you also had Babylon 5, Farscape, Buffy (Even though I just saw Buffy a few years ago for the first time), and then at the time of the 00s you had Firefly and Battlestar Galactica and the Stargates. It was a great time to be a sci fi fan.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Magnum P.I. (the original one)
TNG
The Americans

 

[O.N.Y.X]

Columbo , the seventies series anyway , the modern ones were so weak in comparison

late fifties: Bonanza.
14 seasons, cancelled only due to Dan Blocker passing away at age 43…

 

[Huntn]

Ref thread title: Don’t have one. Instead have a list of favorites over the decades.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

Like @smoking monkey and @Nhwhazup, Seinfeld was the first one to come to mind for me. It's remarkable how well the comedy holds up 30 years later.

 

[Hombre53]

Mission Impossible (1966-73). Barbara Bain, Martin Landau and later Leonard Nimoy.

Mission: Impossible (TV Series 1966–1973) ⭐ 7.9 | Action, Crime, Thriller

50m | TV-PG

www.imdb.com

 

[MarkC426]

Not favourites, just fond memories of retro scifi:

Sapphire and Steel
Gemini Man
Blakes 7

edit: The Invisible Man (David McCallum)

 

[tbayrgs]

First 3 that come to mind:

West Wing
Battlestar Galactica (recent vintage)
Quantum Leap

 

[MarkC426]

I forgot about Quantum Leap......❤️
Maybe we need a 'retro' thread to list all those cool shows.

 

[SigEp265]

Nip/Tuck

 

[eyoungren]

Probably Star Trek The Next Generation but 90s sci fi was really a golden era. You had TNG and DS9 and Voyager, but you also had Babylon 5, Farscape, Buffy (Even though I just saw Buffy a few years ago for the first time), and then at the time of the 00s you had Firefly and Battlestar Galactica and the Stargates. It was a great time to be a sci fi fan.

I would go back to the old argument that DS9 was 'copying' some elements from B5. I watched both series, but only got halfway through them before life interfered.

I'd also add in Enterprise. The show suffered from lack of direction and when they finally found it, it got cancelled. I also didn't care how some of the writing disrespected certain characters (T'Pol mainly). The actress was brilliant and the writers could have done great things with her rather than descending into the muck. And the final episode. Ridiculous.

I've only gotten into Stargate when it entered syndication and it's an interesting show. Not enough to hold my long term interest but I'll watch it whenever it's on.

I would have really loved for V:2009 to take off. They were starting to get there when it got cancelled. And I'd like to throttle the person who thought it would be a good idea to kill off Diana.

EDIT: Going to throw these in since they were in that time period, even though they weren't my shows. Lots of people watched them and they have cult followings: Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess.

 

[eyoungren]

late fifties: Bonanza.
14 seasons, cancelled only due to Dan Blocker passing away at age 43…

I will counter you with Gunsmoke!

20 seasons, the longest running show ever until just recently. Not sure which show passed it though.

The dynamic between Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty is my attraction to the program.

Since we're in that time period though: The Honeymooners. I love Audrey Meadows.

 

[eyoungren]

Mission Impossible (1966-73). Barbara Bain, Martin Landau and later Leonard Nimoy.

Mission: Impossible (TV Series 1966–1973) ⭐ 7.9 | Action, Crime, Thriller

50m | TV-PG

www.imdb.com

Space 1999: Barbara Bain, Martin Landau…and others!

Space: 1999 (TV Series 1975–1977) ⭐ 7.3 | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

50m | TV-14

www.imdb.com