101 Best Written TV Series

Jason P
Jason P Posts: 19,327
edited June 2013 in All Encompassing Trip
A pretty solid list by the writer's guild.

http://wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=4925

There are some notable exclusions, namely The Dukes of Hazzard and The A-Team are nowhere to be found.

Top 10

1 Sopranos
2 Seinfeld
3 The Twilight Zone
4 All in the Family
5 MASH
6 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Mad Men
8 Cheers
9 The Wire (still have not watch an episode)
10 The West Wing

follow the link for the rest ...
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Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • LloydXmas
    LloydXmas Posts: 7,539
    Cool. Thanks for providing a summary. Some of those lists are annoying. I really have to watch the wife. May e after dexter season 7
  • pjhawks
    pjhawks Posts: 12,956
    like most of those shows but I got to vote for M.A.S.H. as the best written. none of those other shows listed did both comedy and drama at such a high of level as M.A.S.H. did. amazing show, funny as hell but serious at times as well.
  • PureandEasy
    PureandEasy Posts: 5,818
    Love that the West Wing made the top 10, loved that show
    Don't come closer or I'll have to go
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,327
    Star Trek at 31?

    Heck, the A-Team should have made the top 100 if Star Trek is at 31. :fp:
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,327
    The only downfall of M.A.S.H. is that they were supposed to be fighting a war that took place in 1950 ... yet everyone had a 70's hairdo.

    :fp: :lol:
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • jamburger
    jamburger Posts: 1,775
    Jason P wrote:
    The only downfall of M.A.S.H. is that they were supposed to be fighting a war that took place in 1950 ... yet everyone had a 70's hairdo.

    :fp: :lol:

    That, and it ran 4x longer than the actual war did.

    No NewsRadio or Sports Night on this list?
  • BinauralJam
    BinauralJam Posts: 14,158
    No Firefly :(
  • cubBEE_girl
    cubBEE_girl Waiting for next year... Posts: 3,367
    I'm happy to see Twin Peaks made the list. :D
    I lost a bet...
  • JonnyPistachio
    JonnyPistachio Florida Posts: 10,219
    If the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross is not on there, I fully intend to do a naked fasting protest.
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  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,759
    Jason P wrote:
    The only downfall of M.A.S.H. is that they were supposed to be fighting a war that took place in 1950 ... yet everyone had a 70's hairdo.

    :fp: :lol:
    When it was originally airing, it was apparently hard to find anyone in the general public who didn't think it was about the Vietnam war.
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  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,759
    cubBEE_girl wrote:
    I'm happy to see Twin Peaks made the list. :D
    I've got the whole series on VHS tape. :D
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • ldent42
    ldent42 NYC Posts: 7,859
    edited June 2013
    BinauralJam wrote:
    No Firefly :(

    if firefly isnt on this list then the list has no credibility. But yay West Wing. i still havent watched the last two episodes.

    Edit: There's actually a lot of good shows on that list. Including Buffy. So. I think the Firefly thing might have been an oversight.
    Post edited by ldent42 on
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  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,759
    The list reminded me to see if Northern Exposure is in reruns right now. That show is awesome.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • Enkidu
    Enkidu So Cal Posts: 2,996
    I was surprised to see Band of Brothers so far down on the list. Maybe because it was a mini-series. That might be the best written show I've ever seen on TV. (I, Claudius isn't bad either.) I'll look again to see if Jewel in the Crown is there - wow, that was great, too.

    The top ten seems great. (I still have never seen The Wire either. Whoops.)
  • LukinFan
    LukinFan Florida Posts: 29,121
    Curb at 30? I didn't think Curb was "written"
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  • intodeep
    intodeep Posts: 7,249
    Lets be honest...
    Any list that does not start with the wire at number one is flawed. :nono:

    I think in 5 years if this is made Breaking Bad easily slips into the top 10

    I can understand leaving Firefly off. It only had one season and when it was shown on TV out of order it wasn't exactly the best view of it.

    Glad Battlestar is on there.

    where is DR WHO?? It is a genre defining show that ran for over 20 straight years and then was started up again and continues to have sucess.

    Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey in the 40's seems a little low on the list considering we need to see how they end and where they go. (not bashing them i'm a BIG fan of both but they could start to suck)
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  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,327
    I'm OK with where Game of Thrones is on the list. It may even be too high even though it is a great show. But it's based on a book so it pretty much writes itself. There are a few plot lines that differ from the books, but I'd say 90% of it follows it word for word.
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • MayDay10
    MayDay10 Posts: 11,862
    "Best Written" adds an extra murky layer of subjectivity. I couldnt tell you because I confuse "Best Written" with "Best" with my "Favorites".
  • cubBEE_girl
    cubBEE_girl Waiting for next year... Posts: 3,367
    PJ_Soul wrote:
    cubBEE_girl wrote:
    I'm happy to see Twin Peaks made the list. :D
    I've got the whole series on VHS tape. :D


    So, do I and Laura Palmer's diary. :lol::lol::lol:
    I lost a bet...
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,327
    I would have to add Futurama to this list, especially if The Simpsons are at #11. That show is super clever and funny.
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!

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