Rank the following TV Shows [four of the greatest dramas]

1. The Wire
2. Breaking Bad (really hard to decide between these top 2)
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3. Lost (started off great, but got sucky later on)
4. The Shield (Never watched this one)

 

Isn't that what most people in general elections do, anyway?

"I only vote republican/democrat/green/blackPanther party! "

 

For you guys who have never seen The Shield, you have been deprived of TV.

Got nothing to do this weekend, watch it.

 

The Wire
Breaking Bad
Sopranos
Six Feet Under

Lost? Really?

 

For what it's worth, I'd probably put Star Trek: The Next Generation at the very top of all TV series.

 

1. Battlestar Galactica
2. The Wire
3. LOST

Honorable mentions for Breaking Bad and Madmen. Never watched the shield.

 

Of these choices:

1. Breaking Bad (Favorite show)
2. The Wire
3. The Shield (Only seen a few episodes)
4. Lost (Watched 4 seasons with my friends and could never get into this show, felt like it didn't go anywhere)

 

Me too.

 

Lost is god awful and Lindorf was the bull**** artist we all thought he was. People are in denial, the guy had no idea what the end game would be until the very last second. HORRIBLY WRITTEN DRIVEL.

 

I hate Lost too, but it was hardly the first to use the 'it was all a dream' cop out. Vanilla Sky comes to mind. I can be a little more understanding for a tv show since it requires story boarding 5 (6?) seasons from the start, unlike a movie which requires story boarding 90 minutes.

 

wow, i couldn't disagree more. and not that it's really worth arguing because neither one of us is going to change the other's mind...but i thought the writing created multi-dimensional characters that i actually cared about...something pretty rare for television, truthfully. i thought the arc of the story was about as far-reaching as i've ever seen on TV.

 

Seems irrelevant without Mad Men. Liked Lost, but not in the same category…

 

Despite Reality TV dumbing down everything, the quality of television in the last decade is stellar. Sopranos started it all I think, and it's the show every producer and TV writers cites. David Chase once said that before he got to do Sopranos for HBO, television was always a thinly veiled way to sell detergent. Nowadays, a good TV drama lets a writer tell a complex story in a way that one can't in film.

For me, what makes a show great, is when I don't feel I'm being built up for a pitch to sell something. Obviously this makes pay-tv and British shows inherently better when commercials aren't a factor, but to be fair BSG would rank higher for me if it wasn't for the writers ruining the show in the last season.

It's also worthy to note, that MANY of the writers, directors and actors in these shows worked on other ones in the list. I feel like I keep seeing the same names again and again.

No Contest:
1. Sopranos (World changing.)
2. Life on Mars (UK version only -- a masterpiece)
3. Mad Men (would rank higher but the writing isn't as stellar in the last season)

Great but not QUITE as good:
4. Doctor Who (at least since the reboot in 2005)
5. Deadwood (watching it now -- I might rank it higher)
6. Boardwalk Empire

Flawed writing but likable at least for the ensemble of quality character actors:
7. Battlestar Galactica / Caprica (if we forget season 4 happened in BSG)
8. Game of Thrones (trash, but oh so well produced and fun trash, ad the acting is great)
9. Torchwood (esp. Season 3)
10. Sons of Anarchy (Irritating, prone to cliches, but addictive. I think I like anything with enough good characters actors in it.)

Honorable Mention for being way ahead of its time:
ST:NTG
Twin Peaks
Moonlighting (though you could call it a comedy)
and I'll throw Max Headroom and the original V mini-series in there for good measure


Haven't seen Breaking Bad, but I will watch soon...the rest I couldn't get into.
To me, The Wire (and The Shield, which had a very similar vibe) were just to me, yet more cop drama. I just didn't get it. Lost seemed too much like a network TV show. Arcs in an episode still set up a commercial. Not fun to watch.

I also never saw a few shows everyone liked: West Wing, Six Feet Under, probably some others.

As for sci-fi stuff: I never got Joss Whedon's multitude of shows, they all seemed very cheesy to me, the remake of V was incredibly bad, and Heroes was unwatchable from the beginning.

 

my list

1. The Wire
2. The Sopranos
3. Mad Men
4. Breaking Bad

 

I have the complete Deadwood and Rome series at home...I really need to watch them.

A couple of my favorites were Oz and Prison Break. I could watch those over and over. If you've never seen either of those, you're missing out (just like I'm probably missing out on these).

Pugs

 

I forgot about Rome. I loved it.

 

I've seen none of those except the first episode of The Wire, which I didn't like.

 

**** lost.


Californication and spartacus!

 

6 Feet Under was very underrated in my opinion and should be on any top tv drama's list

 

I'll go with Dexter. I also think Justified has a chance to be among the best dramas, but two seasons isn't enough time yet.