"We give ourselves in imagination to the reality of another world. We take joy in respecting its integrity. We treasure its difference. And that lifts us up as human beings. And it's a wonderful thing to do every week. You know I feel privilege to participate in a sacrament. And uh, don't tell the bosses, but I'd do it for nothing."
-David Milch
How do you rank TV shows? Honest question. What if a series has one A+ season and the rest of the seasons are sub par? Are we ranking that one season or does the quality of the whole suffer, thus dragging it down?
In the case of the latter, The Simpsons, The X-Files, True Detective, Twin Peaks, and Seinfeld are all out of the running for the top 10. Their GPA isn't quite a 4.0 compared to classmates like The Leftovers or Breaking Bad.
In the case of the former, True Detective and Twin Peaks skyrocket to the top because of how great Season One and The Return were. Because of season 2, 3 and Night Country and seasons 1 & 2 of Peaks, their ranking is affected. The only real slogs of those two shows being Night Country for TD and everything after the 'reveal of the murderer' in the middle of season 2 of Twin Peaks. It is even more complicated in the case of Twin Peaks. If we were to rank seasons of TV shows individually, The Return would be numero uno on this list. When it aired on Showtime, it was billed as a 'Limited Event Series.' So it can just as easily sneak into and dominate a list for miniseries.
The four season run of Succession brought many of these questions into focus. Jesse Armstrong made the decision to go out on top before the show got tiresome. Barry ended it's four season run the same year. Atlanta released it's two final seasons in the same year, both superb. As of this writing, The Righteous Gemstones announced it will be ending after it's fourth season concludes later this year. You never want to see a TV show you love outlast its welcome. A recent example being Game of Thrones. A show which managed to take all of the good story and character writing in its first four seasons and incinerate it all in its last three seasons. Especially the notorious season 8. The one that hits closest to home is The Simpsons. You strike while the iron is hot and get out. Or else you end up with a sober Barney Gumble.
Some television shows don't even get a chance to wear out their welcome. Mindhunter is the most recent example that comes to mind. Only two seasons and then nada. If it meant Fincher trading in the existence of Mank for another season, I'll take it.
At the end of the day, it's a little bit of science and a lot of subjectivity. If you know me, truly know me, you'll understand why The Wonder Years is in the top ten.
There are some other welcome additions. Columbo being the recent "where have you been all my life?" piece of media. Ditto for Peep Show. Revisiting Season 1 of Miami Vice has brought it up in the rankings. There's some that just miss the cut: Jackass, Chappelle's Show, The Office, Black Summer, Barry, Kids In the Hall, The Thick of It, Brass Eye, Eastbound and Down, The Righteous Gemstones, Severance.
The last TV list I published had The Wire as the king. It's since been dethroned by not one but five shows. If we're talking about the long form narrative television show, The Sopranos is the one I've seen the most at 5 times. I've listened to multiple podcasts, read The Sopranos Sessions cover to cover, and I still come away with new interpretations upon each rewatch. There's an overarching and well digested influence of GoodFellas. There's an absurdist element, especially in the early seasons where season long narrative arcs have an unpredictable element come in. Then you have Tony himself who reads like Raskalnikov from Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. We are not use to seeing our heroes commit crimes. The College episode of The Sopranos is when we see Tony commit murder. A crucial aspect of Dostoyevsky's Raskalnikov as with Tony Sopranos is both the book and TV show continue to remind us of their heroic qualities. He may have strangled a man with his bare hands, but he's providing for Carmela, helping out AJ, and looking out for Meadow. One of the questions the show poses is: Does Tony feel guilty for his actions or is Tony's moral crisis comparable to the one us regular people go through? Can him or any of these characters get off the path they chose or will they continue to circle the drain? Add a healthy dose of Lynch and you got the formula for a show I continue to come back to.
Now if we're looking at weak spots in The Sopranos, it oddly comes sandwiched between the best episodes. From episode 11 of Season 5 thru episode 3 of Season 6A is my favorite stretch of the show. It then takes a downturn in quality not seen since the Christopher Columbus episode of Season 4. It then picks back up in quality with the second part of Season 6. The last nine episodes being astounding.
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When prestige television is discussed, three names are inevitably mentioned. The three Davids: Chase, Simon and Milch. While Chase and Simon have found their series top many a list of Greatest TV Shows of All Time, Milch's creation has become the lump of gold encased in the mound of coal, hidden away for all to discover it. The world of The Sopranos is one where the characters have lived through the experience of having built a social order that has become so transparent as to not even be recognizable. They are back to being individuals in a wilderness subscribed by institutions, capitalism and mass media. In the Pilot, Tony Soprano tells his therapist, Jennifer Melfi, "It's good to be in something from the ground floor. I came too late for that and I know. But lately, I'm getting the feeling I came in at the end. The best is over." The Sopranos and The Wire are shows about how people and situations never change, about how the system has rigged to make it, if not impossible to change, at least so difficult that nobody would ever want to. Deadwood is about the birth of something, so that means everything is always in flux. Amongst the grit, grime, and cynicism, there are signs of hope and humanism. It's a foul-mouthed Shakespearean masterpiece and any hooplehead cocksucker would say different. My obsession with it might as well proclaim the Summer of 2025 as The Summer of Deadwood since I've been devouring every connected piece of media to the show from David Milch's autobiography, Matt Zoller Seitz's The Deadwood Bible, podcasts, think pieces, YouTube reviews, etc. As of this writing, it is my favorite long form narrative drama. Only one show outranks it...
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Since were on the point of strong seasons, any conversation about the Simpsons will inevitably come to this question: when was the golden age of the show?
Let's break this down by showrunner:
Season 1 and 2- Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Sam Simon
Season 3 and 4- Al Jean and Mike Reis
Season 5 and 6- David Merkin
Season 7 and 8- Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein
Season 9, 10, 11 and 12- Mike Scully
Al Jean returns after Scully and takes over the bulk of what came after season 12.
The general consensus is Season 3 thru 8. The inclusion of 1, 2 and 9 is when it gets tricky. Personally, I would include them. Even though 9 includes the controversial Principal and the Pauper, an episode Harry Shearer has gone on record saying it betrays the audience who've come to love this character, it's littered with classic episodes. But then something happened. The characters we loved started to change. And it wasn't just Principal Skinner. The innocence and sweetness was traded out for the very thing it's competitors like Family Guy used: cynicism. The later seasons became a collection of jokes with no genuine character moments. The writers during the golden age understood that in order to have episodes like Marge Vs. the Monorail, you need episodes like Marge Be Not Proud. The peaks didn't matter because there were no valleys.
Enough talk. Here's the list. Check it out. It's like a party is in my mouth and everyone is invited!
TOP TEN
1. The Simpsons (1989- Present) (specifically 1989- 1997)
2. Deadwood (2004- 2006 + The Movie)
3. The Sopranos (1999- 2007)
4. Lost (2004- 2010)
5. Breaking Bad (2008- 2013)
6. The Wire (2002- 2008)
7. Seinfeld (1989- 1998)
8. The Twilight Zone (1959- 1964)
9. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988- 1999)
10. The Wonder Years (1988- 1993)
11. The X-Files (1993- 2002, 2007) (Specifically 1993- 1999) (Location shooting doesn't factor into the quality of a show. But after they moved the show from Vancouver to Los Angeles there was a decline in quality that was only magnified after Duchovny's departure in Season 8. Season 6 had a better ratio of good to bad episodes so I consider it the last good season.)
12. Twin Peaks (1990- 2017) (after rewatching Seasons 1 and 2, I maintain the opinion of had this been a list of ranked seasons, The Return puts Twin Peaks in the top 3. Season 2 drags it down to just missing the top ten.)
13. The Leftovers (2014- 2017)
14. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000- 2024) (It doesn't really take off until the Season 2 episode The Doll. After this, it is fairly consistent. There are dips in quality but not bad enough to rule out an entire season as being lackluster.)
15. At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert (1986- 1999)
16. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969- 1974)
17. Tales From the Crypt (1989- 1996)
18. True Detective (2014- Present) (Seasons 1-3, icksnay on the Night Country)
19. Mad Men (2007- 2013)
20. Monday Night Raw (1993- Present) (the Attitude era thru the Ruthless Aggression era; 1997- 2005)
21. Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990- 1996) (Seasons 1 thru 4. Some of season 5 and none of the revival bullshit)
22. Mindhunter (2017- 2019)
23. Mr. Show (1995- 1998)
24. Columbo (1968- 1975)
25. Freaks and Geeks (1998- 1999)
26. Six Feet Under (2001- 2005)
27. Better Call Saul (2015- 2022)
28. Succession (2018- 2023)
29. Arrested Development (2004- 2006) (I disregard the revival)
30. Batman: The Animated Series (1992- 1995)
31. Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! (2007- 2010)
32. Frasier (1993-2004) (Specifically 1993-2000)
33. Justified (2010- 2015)
34. The Adventures of Pete and Pete (1991- 1996)
35. The Bear (2022- Present)
36. AtlantA (2016- 2022)
37. Married With Children (1987- 1997) (specifically 1987- 1993)
38. Miami Vice (1984-1989) (Specifically 1984- 1986)
39. The Ren and Stimpy Show (1991- 1995)
40. Peep Show (2003- 2015)
41. Oz (1997- 2003)
42. Hannibal (2013- 2015)
43. Veep (2012- 2019)
44. Euphoria (2019- Present + Trouble Don't Last Always and Sea Blob)
45. The Outer Limits (1963- 1965)
46. Cheers (1982- 1993)
47. The Rehearsal (2022- )
48. The Knick (2014- 2015)
49. Boardwalk Empire (2010- 2014)
50. Parts Unknown (2013- 2018)
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