Showing posts with label Top 10 TV Shows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Top 10 TV Shows. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

My Revamped/Retooled All-Time Favorite TV Shows - Number 10

It has been difficult to review and retool my personal Top 10 TV Shows of All-Time. I have had a long standing list for at least a decade that didn’t change. But since there has been an explosion of great television within the last decade, I decided to give it a go.

I agonized. I drank too much. I lost some hair. I drew up new lists and threw them away only to make another. But it had to be done.

A few of my standards fell like soldiers on grenades to allow the new recruits to live and fight another battle down the road. Soldiers like ‘The Tick’ (animated series), ‘Lost’, ‘The X-Files’, ‘The Twilight Zone’, and ‘Police Squad’.

Lets recap my personal Top 10 TV Shows of All-Time…

9. ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’
8. ‘Futurama’
7. ‘The Walking Dead’
6. ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’
5. ‘Supernatural’
4. ‘Seinfeld’
3. ‘Malcolm In The Middle’
2. ‘Newhart’
1. ‘Green Acres’

As you may have noticed, I have a thing for half hour comedies. And I have been revisiting ‘Futurama’, ‘Supernatural’, and ‘Malcolm In The Middle’ on Netflix.

I had a holiday “show hole” so I went back. Personally, I feel that it’s important to revisit. I also have ‘Star Trek’ (TOS), ‘The Sopranos’, and ‘The Wire’ going on Amazon Prime.

But lets get to it… My number 10 of my personal favorite shows…


‘Get A Life’ starring Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, and Elinor Donahue.

Chris Peterson is a 30 year old paperboy who lives over the garage of his parent’s home. The show is surreal and hilarious! The series has Chris Peterson dying more than a handful of times like a cartoon character. And he always manages to bounce back.

The series ran for only 2 seasons and when the complete series hit DVD, I jumped on it like dry drunk on a found bottle of bourbon. It was in my hands on the release date thanks to Amazon Prime.

When it hit FOX in the early 90s, my parents would come home from church to find me and my girlfriend “Jones” rolling on the floor with laughter and tears.

Is it for everyone?

No. The series was very unconventional. Some easily dismissed the series as “stupid”. And that’s okay. It’s stupid funny and that’s the bottom line.

One of my favorite lines from the “The Prettiest Week Of My Life” episode goes like this…

“Someone once said that the worst thing about climbing a mountain is that once you reach to top there's nowhere else to go. Well, I don't know what the hell that means. I think it has something to do with camping. But one thing I do know is that for a single fleeting moment I had peaked. I was a winner. I felt like Secretariat the night he won the Indy 500.”

It’s the kinda crap that I say all the time! And the Indy 500 is always ran during daylight and with cars. Secretariat was a horse. That is hilarious!

There are so many things about that show that manage to crack me up to tears to this day.

Another line that “Jones” and I use to this day… “Not even Roy Clark?”

That was in response to his supermodel wife saying “No one in Hollywood can do you what you did last night” after their wedding night.

It’s fun to use. Try it sometime. You’ll get some looks.

Brian Doyle Murray stars in the second season and you’ll find some interesting names in the writing credits.

Rhino Home Video put out some “best ofs” after the series left us. I managed to purchase one before they were gone. But when the whole series hit DVD from Shout! Factory, I was celebrating like a madman. I marked my calendar. I prayed to live long enough to see them all again.

And if you try ‘Get A Life’ and you dig it, try the Chris Elliott film ‘Cabin Boy’. It’s not for everyone just like this series. But it’s damn funny.

And for some reason, stoners really enjoy that movie as well. ;)

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

My Revamped/Retooled All-Time Favorite TV Shows - Number 9

So now we’re getting back to my retooled and revamped of my all-time favorite televisions shows. We’re up to number 9…

‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’


I didn’t care for the film that the TV series was based on. Hell, I had to soldier through season one of ‘Buffy’. It moved slower than dry paint.

BUT season one is necessary for things to come in the series. It provides the appetizer to what turns out to be one of the best dramedies ever broadcast on television.

The series follows Buffy Summers as she trains to fulfill the role of Vampire Slayer. She comes from a long line of slayers and unlike those before her; she relies on her friends for aid.

She also slays demons and other evil deities.

Sure, the series comes across in a comic book sort of way. But that’s not a bad thing. It keeps things light. The series is filled with pop culture references that you may need to wiki-watch for better understanding.

But then there are serious moments that show the series strengths in writing and acting.

If you need proof, just watch ‘The Body’ episode from season five. The episode has been hailed by many critics as one of the best television episodes ever broadcast.

I don’t want to tell you anymore than that since I’m not into giving away spoilers.

Sarah Michelle Gellar didn’t receive an Emmy for that performance and I consider that a travesty. The show was stripped of its usual score and effects. And it drove the reason home as to why ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ was too good to capture the attention of the masses. If the series had of been on CBS, FOX, ABC, or FOX they would have canned it during the first season.

‘Buffy’ is one of the few series that I purposely collected every season on DVD. I have turned a handful of people onto this series and if you haven’t tried it yet, do so. Do it as soon as possible.

The series ran for seven seasons.

And if you’re into musicals, check out the episode “Once More With Feeling”. I despise musicals, but dammit… I hate to admit it… It’s a fine, fine episode when the cast is under a spell of singing.

The series finale… Yes. I loved it. In my opinion, they got it right.

As for the spinoff ‘Angel’, I tried it. I didn’t care for it at all.