Top 10 Best TV Shows of All Time

I’m going to take a note from my good friend Jason and write a list post. I’ve not done one before and thought it would be a fun. So here it is (in no particular order), my top 10 best TV shows of all time. *SPOILER ALERT*

1.       Dexter: They made you root for a serial killer for Christ’s sake!!! If that isn’t indicative of great writing and acting, I’m not sure what is. In saying this though, the series finale was total and utter rubbish. He becomes a lumberjack? And Deb dies?!?!?!? No. Just….no.

2.       The X-Files: This show was the beginning of the end for me. It is the first show that started my fangirl life. Of course this was long before the term “fangirl” was even a thing and before nerd culture was positively portrayed in mainstream media. I was crazy for this show. I collected the trading cards, read the books, and played the video games. I still own and watch the first film over and over again. It’s also the originally purchased DVD I bought back in 1998. Scully was responsible for me getting more interested in science and I shipped her and Mulder so hard. I fangirled like crazy when the new episodes that will air in 2016 were announced. I. CAN’T. WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3.       Doctor Who: If you haven’t figured it out by now from previous posts, I’m a bit of a nerd. Ok, I’m a lot of a nerd. And this show has stolen my heart. The story lines may be about aliens on the surface, but they are very human at their core. Not consecutively, this show has been on air for over 50 years. When the original actor became too sick to continue, the writers came up with the concept of regeneration. Brilliant!!!!!

4.       Seinfeld: Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David took the concept of a show about nothing and made pure comedy genius. I quote this show, some say, way too much. I can relate almost anything back to Seinfeld. But I’m going to move on to the next show because these pretzels are making me thirsty!!

5.       Supernatural: Little did I know way back in 2005 that this show would take over my entire life. This show about two brothers fighting against supernatural entities is about to enter its 11^th season. At its center, it is about the relationship between the two brothers and the idea that no matter how bad or dark things get, you never give up. You #AlwaysKeepFighting Actor Jared Padalecki created a foundation geared towards helping people who struggle with depression and anxiety that is called Always Keep Fighting and has personally struggled with these issues. I've dealt with these issues for most of my life as well and for him to begin this campaign, it has endeared me to this show even more. 

6.       Once Upon a Time: Ok. So this show is fairly new in comparison to the others. Season 5 begins this fall. I love fairy tales and am a total Disneyphile as well. I also am drawn to the unconventional. So when a show about the fairy tale characters we all know and love getting turned on their heads came along, I was there. I love all of the characters, but the Evil Queen is the best. I’m a total Evil Regal and if I’m being honest, a bit gay for Lana Parrilla! Google her. She’s gorgeous! 

7.       Star Trek (All of them excluding Enterprise because let’s face it…it was a fucking disaster): My first foray into these shows and thus the fandom, was with Star Trek: The Next Generation. Ah, Picard. The ultimate captain in my eyes. An extremely close second is Janeway. She’s the first female captain within the Star Trek universe and frankly a total badass. I kind of want to be her. I honestly don’t have the words to describe the epicness of this franchise. So I’m just going to leave it at this.

8.       How I Met Your Mother: Some people may say that Neil Patrick Harris made this show. And while I think Barney was hilariously “awesome” (ha!), ultimately it was successful because of the ensemble cast. This show is definitely legen-wait for it-dary. However, the finale was horrible. How are you going to have an entire *comedic* show about a man telling his kids how he met their mother and then go and kill off the damn mother?!?!?! This is an opinion my brother and I do not share. He thought it was apropos to the series and was happy that Ted ended up with Robyn. He’s wrong.

9.       Firefly: Because Joss Wheadon.

10.   Law and Order: SVU: What can I say about this show that would do it justice? It’s revolutionary. It depicts a topic that isn’t discussed nearly enough. I began watching this show in 2003 when it was in its 4^th season. My Mom and I were into a show at the time that aired before SVU. We caught a preview of the episode titled “911” and we both thought, “Eh. This looks good. Let’s give it a try.” Best television decision I’ve ever made. I adored Stabler, but Benson is the heart of the show. Mariska Hargitay has also taken her role as a spokesperson for these issues very seriously. She founded the Joyful Heart Foundation that has helped many survivors of sexual assault heal. She also spearheads the No More campaign. It encourages everyone to stand up against domestic violence and sexual assault. The campaign also encourages people to start a conversation about these issues as 64% of Americans say if we talk more about it, then it would make it easier to help someone. Please help get the conversation started. The show also hits home for me as I am a survivor of sexual assault myself. I’ve been asked how I can watch the show after what I’ve been through. This show does not give me flashbacks or make me relive that horrible time in my life. Instead, it gives me strength. It makes me happy that the show has caused these issues to be put more out in the open.

So, there you have it…my top 10 list of the best shows of all time. But here are a few honorable mentions that I couldn’t leave off. Basically, I’m cheating.

1.       Sherlock: It’s like watching a movie written as a TV show. There’s so much detail and nuance it feels more drawn out. *Copyright Stephen McKown* 

2.       The Office: My Mom thinks this is one of the most un-funny shows ever to be made. My mother is obviously insane because this show is brilliant! Michael Scott? Dwight?! Come on! Even after Steve Carell left it remained hilarious, albeit in a different way. And then they had the absolute perfect idea of adding Catherine Tate to the last two seasons.

3.       Chicago Hope: A lot of people will say this show was the lesser ER. But I beg to differ. It was definitely overshadowed by ER and never quite got the recognition it deserved. I wanted to become a heart surgeon because of my character obsession with Kate Austin.

4.       Will and Grace: As much as I love the titular characters, this show should have been called Jack and Karen. They were just the worst kind of people but in the funniest way. I also feel as if the show did a lot for showcasing gay characters on prime time television. It did so in the way that it wasn’t some big political statement. It was just funny. It was about four friends, two of which happened to be gay.