BEST American TV show of all time?

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When we lived in North Carolina during the 1980s, The Andy Griffith Show was on every channel at least once a day (usually after school or around 6:00 p.m. before the prime time shows started, and lots of people watched it.

I’m wondering how many people under age 30 know what I mean by “prime time” shows.
 
Amen to that. Another excellent show, though I never liked it after they replaced Richard Thomas with another John-Boy.

My mother’s family lived in much the same circumstances during the same general time period, but her family was much poorer. She loves the show too.
 
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Torn between law and order and sopranos.

With nods to Seinfeld, cheers, leave it to beaver, Cosby show, family ties, bewitched, I dream of genie, Simpsons, breaking bad,
A dark horse nominee… the americans.
 
LawyersGunsAndMoney said:
The clear answer is The Wire. I’ll also entertain votes for Breaking Bad. Honorable mention to The Americans.
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We may be the only two people who know the Americans was absolutely some of the best writing and acting in the history of TV. That final episode… with stan in the parking garage may be the best single scene I’ve ever seen.
1 pastor Tim should have died.
2. Mail robot was my favorite character
3. Marsha should have had a scene at the end in Russia.
4. How is there not a spinoff called the Russians or the Americans in current time. Talk about topical!
5. Dont you find it very ironic that a person in the FBI colliding against a presidential candidate is named page and was sleeping with an agent named strzok?!
 
Yeah, that garage scene was intense. Very under appreciated show.

I feel like if we’re talking “greatest tv show” as opposed to just “good shows” it needs to be iconic. The kind of thing people will be discussing for years to come. There are a lot of laugh-tracky sitcoms that are reasonably entertaining, but there’s no staying power. No one is going to be reverently breaking down an episode of Big Bang Theory in twenty years. It’s the kind of thing people chuckle at while they eat dinner and immediately forget about.

That’s why I’d argue for the Wire. But I think you could make a non-ridiculous argument for the Americans.
 
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I think “The Wonder Years” was the best American TV show of all time.
 
I feel bad. I’ve never heard of the Wire or the Americans. Were they on during the 80s? We didn’t watch much TV then other than Golden Girls, because we had the babies/toddlers, and most of our TV time was watching VHS children’s movies.

When I think of iconic television comedies, I think of All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Both of these shows were not merely funny, but made us think. Although I still think M.A.S.H. did it best–you could be crying and laughing at the same time when M.A.S.H. was on. I loved the episode where the pianist lost a hand, and Charles brought him music written for a one-handed pianist.
 
No, they were both on in the 2000s.

MASH might also be a strong contender. Definitely has staying power.
 
  1. Breaking Bad
  2. The Sopranos
  3. Mad Men
  4. The Wire
  5. Lost
  6. The Americans
  7. The Office
  8. The Wonder Years
  9. Seinfeld
  10. The Twilight Zone
 
All In The Family
Gunsmoke (I’m watching it right now)
MASH
I Love Lucy
 
I Love Lucy … The Golden Girls … The Carol Burnett Show
 
Really surprised nobody’s mentioned Frasier yet. I think it must be the best thing that’s ever been on TV. The quality of the writing is absolutely first rate. The satire, the wit, and the farce often put me in mind of W.S. Gilbert or Oscar Wilde. It’s funny and it’s clever, but much of the humour, of course, is at the expense of the intellectual pretensions of the main characters.

I also like it because it’s basically nice. Everybody’s always making jokes about everybody else, but at the end of the day they’re all one big family. There’s nobody so ridiculous or so obnoxious that they don’t find a place in the Frasier universe.

Frasier: Oh God, Niles! I’ve got something I’d really like to get off my chest, but if I told you I’d be violating a doctor-patient confidence.
Niles: Oh, I see. Well, nothing is more sacrosanct than our professional ethics. Fortunately, I know a trick to get around them. For the next few minutes, I’ll be your psychiatrist, and then you can spill your guts with impunity.
Frasier: Well, it’s borderline, but I’m desperate.
Niles: All right.
Frasier: And we’re not Romanovs. We’re descended from thieves and whores.
Niles: You know, I remember reading that Henry James once had a liaison with a Russian prostitute in New York.
Frasier: I’m right behind you.
Frasier: I’m Dr. Frasier Crane, and this is my brother, Dr. Niles Crane, the eminent psychiatrist.
Niles: My brother is too kind. He was already eminent when my eminence was merely imminent.
 
For British shows, this may be an unpopular opinion but I think The Young Ones is brilliant! Even though it only ran for two series, it’s as funny today as it was in the early 80s. Ade Edmondson and Rik Mayall were a genius team. RIP Rik
 
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Peeps said:
David Jason

Have you heard of him? Apparently he’s loved in Great Britain.
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Oh yes, very much so! He’s never been out of work in some 55 years now, and his versatility is extraordinary. He can do comedy, crime, highbrow literature, historical drama, fantasy, children’s cartoons. He has that same avuncular manner that has made Roger Allam so popular as Fred Thursday in Endeavour. Plus David Jason is the son of a Billingsgate Market porter and ended up a knight of the realm, the kind of story for which the British in general have a weakness.
Cecilia2017 said:
most famous for being in two of the most popular sitcoms in British TV history - ‘Only Fools and Horses’ and ‘Open all Hours’ plus playing Inspector Jack Frost.
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And not to forget The Darling Buds of May, an absolute classic that was virtually compulsory viewing in Britain in the early 90s. I believe there are men who only need to hear the name Mariette to set their hearts racing.
 
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