10-1 | Cinema Parrot Disco

It’s finally here! My All-Time Top Ten Favorite TV Shows! Thanks for all your comments on my first list (30-21 HERE) and my second list (20-11 HERE). Sorry – I’ve had a hectic week but I’ll catch up on replying to all of you this weekend. 🙂

I’ll shut up as you’ve all probably lost interest by now anyway. 😉 Here, counting down, are the Top Ten of My All-Time Top Thirty TV Shows:

10. Lost

**Warning: a tiny bit spoiler-y** Maybe a controversial choice for my top ten seeing as this show jumped the shark in the last few seasons. Or should I say a wheel was turned and that damn shark MOVED… But I’ll never forget the excitement I felt when this came on each week – it was the first TV show in YEARS that I truly looked forward to. I thought it was the greatest thing ever and spent waaaaaay too much time at Lostpedia trying to figure out what the hell it all meant. Too bad that, in the end, all that time felt wasted… But it still deserves a place in the top ten as there’s really been no other show like it and, to begin with, it was amazing.

Favorite episode: I have no idea any more… So I’ll say the “getting it on with Sawyer” episode. What a hottie. Actually – the first use of flashforward in an episode was brilliant. As was the pilot episode.

9. Amazing Stories

This Steven Spielberg series should have been amazing EVERY week considering the talent involved (loads of famous guest stars & guest directors such as Clint Eastwood & Martin Scorsese) but there were some less-than-brilliant episodes. However, the good episodes more than made up for the bad ones and the show was a very worthwhile watch. I so wish there’d been more than two seasons! It was a new story every week & they were mostly sci-fi, supernatural & fantasy types of stories so this show was VERY much my cup of tea. Loved it.

Favorite episode: Either “The Mission” (directed by Spielberg) or “Go To The Head Of The Class” (directed by Robert Zemeckis).

8. Seinfeld

At one point this will have been much higher on my list – I was pretty obsessed with this show when it was first on then watched reruns of it for years every weeknight at 10:30 (I think!). But I’ve not seen one episode since moving to the UK & it’s faded a bit from my memory. Main thing was that it was SO brilliantly written! Remember when it used to be Seinfeld vs Friends because they were on at the same time?? I went with Seinfeld & caught reruns of Friends if I’d not recorded it.

Favorite episode: Wow – SO many to choose from. I’m going to go with “The Contest” and the very obvious choice of “The Soup Nazi“.

7. The Cosby Show

Who didn’t want Cliff Huxtable as their dad?? He was the definition of “perfect father”: loving and loads of fun but also strict when needed and always making sure his kids did the right thing. And he had the most awesome sweaters in the history of TV. I wanted to be a Huxtable. I still do! A lovely family and a lovely show that managed to be genuinely funny with no vulgarity. Then Lisa Bonet had to go & break Bill Cosby’s heart by starring in that nasty Angel Heart movie. Way to go, Denise!

Favorite episode: Hmm… Everyone remembers the one with the goldfish funeral. Oh – I loved that one where they’re in the recording studio with Stevie Wonder! “Roooobert!” “Jammin on the one!” Lol. Oh! And when Cliff was bouncing that fat kid on his knee! Hehe! I loved this show…

6. The Brady Bunch

I need to explain why this is so high on the list. Was it a really “good” show? No. But I grew up with it. I was an only child & a bit of a latchkey kid – I admit I watched WAY too much TV during all that time alone. The Brady Bunch (and numbers 5, 2 & 1 below) kept me company. I think I also loved the thought of having that many brothers and sisters. Now I sound like a pathetic, friendless loser… Lol!

Favorite Episode: Let’s see – Marcia’s nose being broken was pretty funny because she was annoying. I loved when they built the house of cards as a contest (Girls win! A sewing machine? WHAT?!). The one with Davy Jones. The one where Kitty Karry-All was in Tiger’s doghouse all along. Peter & his “Porkchops & applesauce! That’s swell!” (I had a crush on Peter. You’ve tainted him, Eric!). Oh, and his voice changing!!! When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange! The one where Alice snaps & kills them all. I’m just seeing if anyone is reading this. The one where Jan wears that stupid wig. It’s late & I’m exhausted so feel free to correct any mistakes I’ve made on these. To be honest, I’m hoping I have because I haven’t watched these in well over 25 years and it’s pretty sad to remember so much…

5. Little House On The Prairie

What can I say? Like The Brady Bunch, I grew up with this. I loved Laura and I hated that bitch from hell Mrs Oleson and her evil offspring! This show was so damn wholesome and soooo damn depressing at times! Oh – Why did they always sing that same song in church all the time?? Bringing in the sheaves? WTF does that mean? Damn – it’s stuck in my head now.

Favorite episode: Probably the Ernest Borgnine one: “The Lord Is My Shepherd“. Also loved the episode where Laura pushed that bitch Nellie down the hill in the wheelchair because she knew she was faking not being able to walk. And Johnny Cash was in one! I preferred episodes with a bit of “fun” in them to the ones where everyone was dying of anthrax or going blind from scarlet fever…

4. Star Trek: The Next Generation

So I put Star Trek in at number 14 as, without it, we wouldn’t have had The Next Generation, which is the one I REALLY loved. This show was absolutely brilliant. I don’t even know where to start. As I get closer to number one, I’m struggling with explaining my choices. I loved this show. I loved the characters. I loved the stories. I LOVE PATRICK STEWART! The number of times I watched this show late into the night instead of doing homework…

Favorite Episode: The Borg ones, of course. And the one that was, basically, the movie Enemy Mine (but that’s okay – that’s a great underrated movie). The one where Beverly Crusher kind of had weird, kinky ghost & Mrs Muir/alien being type of invisible sex. Raunchy! And I always loved any episodes that focused on Geordi or Data as they were my favorite characters.

3. Sesame Street

I ADORE Sesame Street with all my heart. A couple things in life will never fail to cheer me up when I’m really down. One is Snoopy. The other is Sesame Street. I know I’m an old woman now but I’ll never stop loving this show and everything it represents. I think it’s always been a great influence on kids and has all the right values without ever being preachy. It makes learning FUN and no other kid’s show has ever come close to topping it. And it’s NO LONGER SHOWN IN THE UK. I think that’s a crime. Honestly – I’ve written letters! (Well, e-mails). Seriously – I’ve tried to get this shown here again. What a shame that kids here can’t experience this show.

I almost put Sesame Street at number one as it’s my “first” TV show and it taught me SO much from a very young age. However, numbers 2 & 1 really shaped me & are probably responsible for my taste when it comes to all forms of entertainment today. I kind of see the top three as a three-way tie. They helped make me who I am. Don’t go thinking I’m sweet because of Sesame Street – the next two took care of that…

Favorite episode: It’s more about individual “skits” than episodes and there are loads I still love to this day. I’ve rambled enough, though, so I’ll just name a couple. First are the Yip Yip Martians. HILARIOUS. And I’m going to be obvious and mention the The Pointer Sisters’ “Pinball Song” (Clips of both at the end of this post). The most memorable episode (that I only got to finally see in recent years) was the one where they had to explain Mr Hooper’s (real life) death to Big Bird in a way that little kids would understand. Absolutely HEARTBREAKING!

2. Alfred Hitchcock Presents/The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

When I first started this blog, one of the first things I posted was about my favorite Hitchcock episodes listed below. You can read that HERE (Warning: my old posts are shockingly bad). Where The Woodbine Twineth haunts me to this day. I still hate dolls… (You can watch the whole episode on YouTube HERE. I refuse to!) 😉 The stories were terrifyingly brilliant. Hitchcock was a genius. If you love his movies but haven’t watched his TV shows, I highly recommend them.

Favorite episode: “Where The Woodbine Twineth” followed by “The Jar” & “The Magic Shop“. All three gave me nightmares and, quite frankly, probably helped make me the slight basket case I am today.

1. The Twilight Zone

This show was so ahead of its time. It’s amazing that you can watch it now and the stories are just as relevant. I loved how most episodes tried to “teach humanity a lesson”. I watched this from a very young age and it’s probably why I now love all things sci-fi and anything weird & wonderful.

Favorite episode: Impossible to pick just one! I could easily do a top ten of these. The first ones that spring to mind are: The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, Eye Of The Beholder, Time Enough At Last, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, To Serve Man, It’s A Good Life…. Okay -Yep, I’m going to do a top ten of these someday. 🙂

That’s it! My Top Ten! Thanks for reading these, everybody. I’d love to get some more feedback on these choices – I’ll be replying to comments this weekend. Were my top two a surprise after quite a few sitcoms in the top 30? Does anyone else love my Top Five as much as I do? I’d especially love to hear from other fans of The Twilight Zone and I’d love to know people’s thoughts on Sesame Street. And if the end of Lost just pissed you off too much… 🙂

Finally, I have to add (way too many) Honorable Mentions. I should have done a top 50 but I really can’t NOT mention these:

Yo Gabba Gabba
Beavis & Butthead
Only Fools And Horses
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Family Ties
My So-Called Life
Roseanne
One Day At A Time
It’s Your Move
Silver Spoons
Diff’rent Strokes
Punky Brewster
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Alice
Home Improvement
Supernatural
You Can’t Do That On Television
ER

And here’s my Full Top Thirty all together:

30. Highlander
29. Fawlty Towers
28. The Wonder Years
27. The X Files
26. My Name Is Earl
25. Quantum Leap
24. Growing Pains
23. The Facts Of Life
22. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
21. Saturday Night Live
20. Frasier
19. M*A*S*H
18. The Golden Girls
17. The Simpsons
16. South Park
15. Doctor Who
14. Star Trek
13. Friends
12. The Muppet Show
11. 21 Jump Street
10. Lost
9. Amazing Stories
8. Seinfeld
7. The Cosby Show
6. The Brady Bunch
5. Little House On The Prairie
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation
3. Sesame Street
2. Alfred Hitchcock Presents/The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1. The Twilight Zone