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Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Top 25 TV Shows: Part 5

My list of the Top 25 TV Shows of All-Time continues with five more entries! If you missed my previous parts, click here for Part 1here for Part 2here for Part 3, and here for Part 4.

5: Firefly
Firefly is the definition of shiny (awesome in Firefly lingo). Joss Whedon is the king of making lovable and believable characters, and Firefly is a shining example of his skill in writing an ensemble cast. Almost everything about Firefly is perfect and endlessly quotable. It is one of the few shows that I could re-watch. Unfortunately, (or fortunately for Marvel and The Avengers), Firefly was cancelled after one brilliant season. Despite being cancelled, if you enjoy science fiction or well written characters, Firefly is wholeheartedly recommended to pretty much anyone.
Watch on: Netflix, Amazon Prime

4: Sherlock
With season 4 of Sherlock set to arrive.... whenever Steven Moffat bloody well feels like it, there is no better time than the present to catch up with the modern reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective, Sherlock Holmes. Despite the series' relative brevity, basically ten 90 minute TV movies, BBC's Sherlock is an absolute must watch. Benedict Cumberbatch is a brilliant Holmes and Martin Freeman is, by far, my favorite John Watson put to screen. Equally balancing characterization, humor, and each mystery, Sherlock elevates the TV mystery genre to new heights, and being so short, you have absolutely no reason not to watch this brilliant and witty adventure.
Watch on: Netflix
Seasons: 3
Episodes: 9
Runtime: 90 mins

3: Daredevil
Daredevil introduced viewers to Matthew Murdock, a lawyer trying to help the little people in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen along with his friend Foggy Nelson. And during the nights, Matthew tries to clean of the streets of Hell’s Kitchen as Daredevil. Marvel not only proved that they deliver the best comic book films, but also the best comic book television series. Season 1 of Daredevil established the character and presented a darker, more violent side of the Marvel Universe, without losing the core aspects that make Marvel adaptations truly great. Season 2 raised the stakes, introduced riveting new characters, like The Punisher, and continued the character development of Mat and the supporting cast. In many regards, Daredevil stands right next to the MCU’s best films. Every episode is an experience that has me glued to the screen from beginning to end. It is worth $9.99 Netflix subscription fee just for Daredevil, so do yourself a favor and watch it.
Watch on: Netflix

2: Doctor Who
Deciding what should be number one is SO DIFFICULT! On one hand, Breaking Bad is a complete masterpiece of television with the most consistently high quality writing through 62 episodes. On the other, Doctor Who is a continuously changing adventure with some episodes being absolutely brilliant and inventive, while others fail. While Doctor Who might be my “favorite” television series for fueling my love of science fiction for over half my life, Breaking Bad ultimately takes the top spot due to Doctor Who containing entire seasons that are disappointing, despite my love of the series. 

Doctor Who is certainly weird. It’s cheesy sometimes, especially the early seasons. However, if you give the series a chance, Doctor Who is an incredibly inventive series. The time-and-space-traveling aspect produces so many fun adventures, unique creatures, and episodes that standalone as an engrossing experience. “Blink” is a stunning piece of gothic horror and possibly my favorite episode of any television series. Many other episodes fascinated and intrigued me. Doctor Who is a large part of my love for time-travel, and while a few other works execute time-travel better, Doctor Who’s creativity and sheer fun is among the best. If you are up for something different, give Doctor Who a try.
Watch on: Amazon Prime

1: Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is the greatest television series of all-time. Sure, this might be the most clichéd top pick, but hear me out. When watching Breaking Bad for the first time over the course of a month late last year, my expectations were somewhat, albeit cautious. How could something that LITERALLY everyone claims to be the “BEST THING EVER” actually be the BEST THING EVER? 

Season 1 started slow and setup an interesting narrative. Season 2 meandered just a tad in the middle, but still balanced the humor, character development, and plot twists skillfully. Then, Season 3 happened. Each episode left me on the edge-of-my-seat. Plot twists left and right. Would Walter and Jesse get caught? Where could the story go next!? Season 4 capped off Season 3’s exceptional story arc with some of the most exciting twists in television. Season 5 brought things to a riveting conclusion, and while arguably not quite as perfect as the previous two seasons, still surpasses just about any other television series. So yeah, Breaking Bad is the best television series of all-time for so many reasons. Nothing is perfect, especially television series with their wide margin for dips in quality, but Breaking Bad does every single thing right and more than surpassed expectations. Breaking Bad is a once in generation type of experience, and while that sounds like hyperbole, I have yet to see a television that even comes close to its quality. If any television deserves the title of “Best,” Breaking Bad certainly deserves it, so, if you are old enough and can handle mature content, watch Breaking Bad.
Watch on: Netflix

Are any of these your favorites? What do you think of my final list? Please comment below and let me know!

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9 comments:

  1. Solid choices (though I'm less of a Sherlock fan). I wonder if some of the excellent recent shows might knock some of these off in a few years? Preacher's first season was awesome while Mr Robot is also great. Did live BB but I thought the final season let it down a little (though the last ep was majestic). Firefly deserved so much more - only 13 eps and the film! It had so much potential and a brilliant cast.

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  2. Woohoo at the first pick! Breaking Bad was the king during a Golden Age of TV

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  3. Sherlock is both at number four for us, LOL That's awesome. XD

    I need to finish Breaking Bad. Season 3 hasn't maintained my interest as much as the first two did, but it's still good of course. I just need to finish it sometime. XD

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  4. Firefly and Sherlock are two I love enough to own them. Haven't really watched the other three in this post, though I've seen a few eps of Dr. Who and would like to see more.

    BTW, I nominated you for the Liebster Award here. Play if you want to :-)

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  5. As for Doctor Who - I own every single episode, either on DVD or soundtrack on CD, from 1963 to the present. I'm a bit of a superfan! I even wrote an ebook on it!

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  6. Just gone back and read the rest of your countdowns. Interesting choices but I don't know if I could work out how a comedy compares to a drama/thriller. I suppose if I had to pick a favourite comedy it would be Dad's Army. I'm glad to see Agent Carter on there and it was a crime that it got cancelled. As a Walking Dead fan, I'd have had that in my top 5 especially after that superlative sixth season.

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  7. Awesome finish! DW, Daredevil, Firefly and Sherlock are all at the top of my favorites, but they've all been displaced recently by Stranger Things! Have you seen that yet?

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  8. Interesting we could agree on your number one maybe ten, and other than that you have less than a handful that would make my list. The Wire, Sopranos, Deadwood the holy trinty for me. But it was an good list and I will check out some of the ones I never heard of.:) Current stuff Vikings, Game of Thrones. I think you had Better Call Saul
    Speaking of never heard of Bastille Day is the best movie I have seen this year.

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One rule: No strong profanity. If you want to link to one of your posts, please do; I am always interested in other reviews and such.

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