Greatest Television Drama Series Ever

[Izulde]

There's a lot of good choices to pick from here.

My favorite and favorite TV show of all time is The Wonder Years, but for greatest, off the top of my head, I'm going to go with The Sopranos, as it had longevity, a major following on a cable channel, and my guess says had a pretty significant influence on the dramas that followed it.

Caveat: I've never actually seen an episode of the Sopranos.

[sabotai]

The Shield

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Caveat: I've never actually seen an episode of the Sopranos.

so you're pimping a show for the honor that you've never actually seen an episode of??

how does that work?

hell...in terms of influence and quality...as good as Sopranos is...I would say "ER" before it. Look at all the various casts that have gone through that show, and it still pulls in solid ratings.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

so you're pimping a show for the honor that you've never actually seen an episode of??

how does that work?

hell...in terms of influence and quality...as good as Sopranos is...I would say "ER" before it. Look at all the various casts that have gone through that show, and it still pulls in solid ratings.

I figured someone would mention ER.

As for your first question, *shrugs* it happens?

[Jas_lov]

Law and Order, not counting the past three seasons without Jerry Orbach.

[lcjjdnh]

Sopranos or The Wire

[Bad-example]

The Wire, by far.

[Brillig]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

so you're pimping a show for the honor that you've never actually seen an episode of??

how does that work?

Works just like the Emmys.

[Peregrine]

The Wire

[Joe]

The West Wing

[rowech]

I think folks really need to submit two different shows. One pre-HBO series and one after HBO-series started. HBO is a supreme advantage in making great shows because they get away with much more...

For me...it has to be Hill Street Blues.

[thesloppy]

Hawaii 5-0.

[Radii]

I'm going to go with Oz, it was great from start to finish, no horrible down times like the Sopranos, and watching the occasional re-run now 7-8 years later I still love the show, its the only drama where I go back and watch old episodes and enjoy re-watching.

[cthomer5000]

The Wire.

end of discussion.

[QuikSand]

Another vote for The Wire.

Without disrespecting a lot of very good television shows, The Wire has so many more layers than anything else I have ever seen, it's in a class by itself. Character, story, message, politics, and worldview... it's brilliant. Glad I'm not the only one who has landed here, too.

[Logan]

This question should be asked on one of the eleventy billion message boards that don't respect The Wire.

[Carman Bulldog]

Question about The Wire...

I tried to get into it and watched the first two or three episodes and while it was decent, it didn't blow me away. Does it get better from there or what?

[Peregrine]

Yes, it definitely gets better, it's one of those shows that really builds on itself, watch the whole first season, and you'll be hooked.

[Logan]

Piggybacking on that, it's amazing success is in character development and interlacing of storylines. It doesn't grab you from an action perspective like other shows, including The Shield which I think it incorrectly gets compared to because of what it's about. Having now watched all six Shield seasons over the last month (!!!), I think it's a great show in that the action is awesome and the stories are compelling. But the stories are in no way as engrossing and interesting as The Wire achieves. While I enjoy (or hate, but in a good way) pretty much all the Shield characters, I don't care for them like I do with The Wire.

Please give it another shot.

[Toddzilla]

Never seen The Wire, so I'll vote for it's older brother, Homicide: Life on the Street

[saldana]

i agree with rowech...but will go even another step...you cant compare a show that aired on network tv against something that aired on either cable, like the shield, or the sopranos on HBO...fcc doesnt care what the shield does so they can create alot more effect than a show like L.A. Law or the West Wing, which, btw, would get my votes.

[Peregrine]

I can see the argument with HBO versus non HBO, but the discussion is about the greatest show ever.

I love The West Wing and Homicide: Life on the Street, and think those are up there in terms of greatness, but to me The Wire trumps them both.

[cubboyroy1826]

I would have to agree with the early years of The West Wing. My other favorite would be Sportsnight but i am not sure if this qualifies as a drama.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by sabotai

The Shield

+ 1

Wire in a close second

[molson]

I've never seen the The Wire, but it's officially reached that point where I hate it anyway because of the over-top-way it's fans support it. (It's the best ever, if you don't agree, you're just wrong, etc..) Even in the Sopranos thread, the Wire fanatics felt the need to pop in and say how the Sopranos sucked and the Wire was way better (OK great pal - start a Wire thread and go away)

[molson]

Originally Posted by Logan

This question should be asked on one of the eleventy billion message boards that don't respect The Wire.

This is the equivalent of The Patriots saying they get no respect.

[cougarfreak]

For me, the West Wing. I'm intrigued by The Wire, never seen it, or heard of it before this thread. I just looked, my library has it, I might pick up disc 1 and give it a look.

[Noop]

The Wire. I will kick those who disagree in their E-Nuts...

Just Kidding but 'The Wire' is great.



noop

[Logan]

Originally Posted by molson

I've never seen the The Wire, but it's officially reached that point where I hate it anyway because of the over-top-way it's fans support it. (It's the best ever, if you don't agree, you're just wrong, etc..) Even in the Sopranos thread, the Wire fanatics felt the need to pop in and say how the Sopranos sucked and the Wire was way better (OK great pal - start a Wire thread and go away)

This is exactly what I love to hear. Feel free to point out all the people whose sole argument why it's great us "just cause."

And for the record, one reason I don't think The Sopranos deserves consideration is because it's overall success lead to it's biggest downfall -- an original 4 season story arc got stretched into 7 seasons when Chase and HBO realized how much money it could make. Which leads to boring-as-shit storylines like Vito in New Hampshire.

You, pal, can go start a thread where you debate the merits of shows based solely on how you interpret its' fans. Allow those of us who wish to have an intelligent discussion alone.

[larrymcg421]

The Wire never really interested me.

First four seasons of West Wing were terrific (especially the first two), but the fifth season was horrible. It was garbage and I stopped watching halfway through. The show rebounded in the 6th and 7th seasons, but enough to be the best drama ever.

My pick would be China Beach. Very deep and interesting characters, not to mention some unique storytelling. The 4th and final season was brilliant as it shifted through time and bent the rules of how prime time television seasibs should operate.

[BYU 14]

Another vote for the Shield, definitely groundbreaking and always intense.

[Rizon]

Never heard of the Wire. Is it one of those HBO shows?

[DaddyTorgo]

ooh. Almost forgot about "Homicide". That's a good one. And "Shield" is great too of course

[Peregrine]

The Wire is an HBO show, that has been on for four seasons now. The show is set in Baltimore, and it's far more than just a backdrop, it really digs deep into the city and it's problems and promise. Essentially the basic premise is the complex interwoven web between the Baltimore police, especially the Homicide unit and some special units, and the drug dealers who are running the ruined ghetto parts of the city. In between are junkies, informants, street kids, politicians, corrupt lawyers, and everything else you can imagine.

The brilliance of the show is that it takes a story arc for each season and really develops it, you're seeing very interesting characters on both the criminal and police sides, and you see how their interactions affect everything else they touch. The casting of the show is simply fantastic, and most of the characters are like nothing else you've ever seen on TV. It can be a difficult show to get into, because you really have to watch it all, things will happen in earlier episodes that will change events at the end of a season, or even in future seasons.

I can't really say much more than other people have already. It's a show that really tells a story, where the characters really matter, and you get to see them live and die, suffer through tragedies and grasp occasional rays of hope. There are a lot of great shows out there, but I've never seen one with the writing, the storytelling, the character development, and the fantastic acting of mostly unknown actors, like this one.

[Ben E Lou]

Dallas.

[Richard Weed]

Some of these are night time soaps as opposed to dramas. Hill Street Blues was a good drama.

[path12]

Homicide. Followed by Homicide, with Homicide a close third.

[14ers]

1) Bonanza
2) Star Trek
3) Northern Exposure
4) House
5) Monk


I watch a lot of reruns.

[timmynausea]

I still probably like Six Feet Under the best. Deadwood was really good, too, though. I think The West Wing would be tough to beat as far as network TV.

I think you could make a case that Twin Peaks was the most influential, though.

[14ers]

Crap, I forgot Picket Fences.

"Douglas Wambaugh for the defence your honor." Wambaugh might be my favorite lawyer in all of television, just a smidge above Dan Fielding

[Karlifornia]

Beverly Hills 90210....Come on....Brandon gets addicted to gambling, Donna gets abused by her pop singer boyfriend, Dylan's dad gets blowed up....come on now....TALK ABOUT DRAMA!

[larrymcg421]

Dylan's dad didn't actually get blown up, though. He pretended to die so he could go into the Witness Protection Program. Which made the death of Rebecca Gayheart's character extremely pointless.

And now here's where I will stop before I find myself writing a long essay about the themes of 90210.

[MikeVic]

Sisters.

No, just kidding.

[st.cronin]

Lost

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Dylan's dad didn't actually get blown up, though. He pretended to die so he could go into the Witness Protection Program. Which made the death of Rebecca Gayheart's character extremely pointless.

And now here's where I will stop before I find myself writing a long essay about the themes of 90210.

Well, I just lost all of the respect I had for what I thought was a venerable primetime soap.

[Izulde]

Where would y'all say Melrose Place fits in with the whole Beverly Hills 90210 discussion?

[larrymcg421]

Melrose Place belongs in the greatest sitcom discussion.

[TexasT]

Originally Posted by sabotai

The Shield

Definitely!

[Cecil Fielder]

no love for the X-Files? or is that too science fiction to be considered drama?

If not X-Files, then I'll have to go with Law & Order. I can watch those all day long if I'm not careful.

[Abe Sargent]

There is definately a bias against shows that have other elements, like sci-fi. Or else someone would and should have mentioned Babylon 5. No other show in our era is as literary as B5.