My Favorite T.V. Shows of All Time

Music: Jesus, Etc. - Wilco

Yeah, yeah, I know, I haven't posted much in the past few weeks and, to you people who read this blog (around 2 or 3 of you at most hahahaha!), I'm really, really sorry about that. I just hit that period that somebody who does what I do may, or may not, sink into once in a while. That particular stretch of time where you just don't want to write anything, where all you want to do is get through the day without thinking of laying down a set of words to form a coherent, or incoherent, sentence or phrase, where the idea of putting your thoughts on paper (or in this case my word processor) repulses you without any explicable reason whatsoever. Or maybe it could have been the heat too, now I'm not so sure anymore...

Anyway, enough of that crap. Let's get down to business. Below are my Top 10 Favorite Shows of all time. Hope you enjoy reading about them enought to pick up the ones you haven't seen yet.

10. Cheers


Gotta love a sitcom that's situated most of the time in a bar right? I mean, all the alcohol-induced laughter, the absurdities that can be directly related to having too much to drink--it's just golden. Add to that a set of diverse, larger-than-life (which in Norm's case larger than my waistline) characters and you've pretty much got a decent brew of a show. Plus, Cheers' theme song, and the correlating catch-phrase of the show is just homey. A place where everybody knows your name--who would not want that?

9. Justice League


Not since the days of Batman: the Animated Series has an American-produced superhero cartoon show ever been so poignant. I mean, sure, some have tried (like X-Men, Phantom, Spawn, and Aeon Flux), but they never really had that same kind of, um, mojo that Batman had. And sure, Batman Beyond came in really close but it never really captured that suspension of disbelief that these two had, the kind of thing where they really sucked you into their worlds, where for 30 minutes or so, you truly believed in a world where superheroes existed costume and all, and, more importantly, afterwards, ponder on the various social, political, and philosophical commentaries that were hidden deep within each episode. Justice League achieved a degree of transcendence that most cartoon shows (or any other kind of TV shows for that matter) never really had. And that, in my opinion, is what truly matters in this day and age.

8. Palibhasa Lalake


The 90's was great, truly great, at least where Filipino Television (particularly sitcoms) was concerned. I mean, the most absurd and truly funny shows thrived back then, from Home Along the Riles, to Ober Da Bakod--every comedic show then had its own unique way of making you laugh and Palibhasa Lalake is the best of the best for me. Sure, Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata was a bit more poignant socially and politically but heck, I'd take people comedically falling off roofs, mysterious hands appearing on frame, water splashing and funny, chauvinistic antics any time. This show truly embodied Filipino hilarity at its finest and sometimes that's enough to make a show legendary. And yes, it saddens me that we don't get to have shows like this one on local TV nowadays.

7. The X-Files


This is what got me into sci-fi and mystery/fantasy in general. Not Stephen King novels, not H. P. Lovecraft works, and certainly not Star Trek. When it all comes down to why I'm so fascinated with those genres, it always goes back to that faithful night in the early 90's where I just finished doing my grade school homework and was allowed to watch TV. I was channel surfing back then, looking for something to watch. Cartoons were a rarity primetime then when it wasn't a Friday or Saturday so I really had no business watching TV. But when I suddenly hit a channel that was showing the X Files, well, let's just say it started an addiction that I can't and won't drop for anything in the world. Yep, the beginnings of my geekdom can be traced back to Moulder and Scully's age-old clash between faith and rationality. From Twin Peaks, Sea Quest, Farscape, Sliders, etc. X Files was what really nailed it for me in the genres I mentioned above.

6. Married with Children


This is my X-Files when it comes to sitcoms. But, most of all, this show is probably what shaped the foundation of my TV viewing addiction. Never before Married with Children have I craved so much for a TV show that I can't stand missing an episode.

You see, the Bundys were the Simpsons in live action. They are no Brady Bunch. They're raucous, they're rude, they're totally absurd, they're ditsy, and, most important of all, to this day, they're the funniest live-action TV family I've had the pleasure of watching. So many copycats have tried over the years but the Bundys will never be supplanted in my book. And Christina Applegate will forever be remembered by me for her role as Kelly Bundy (which is totally awesome since she's at her hottest in this show).

5. Batman: the Animated Series


I've pretty much stated over at the Justice League section of this post why this show is one of my favorites but this one ranks higher than the Superman-led league because of three particular reasons. 1.) It is about Batman 2.) It's much, much grittier, in my opinion and 3.) It's darker (both literally and figuratively) than Justice League. Oh, and yeah, it's the first superhero cartoon show of its kind, the one that revolutionized the way we conceptualize superhero cartoon shows, where we see it as something way beyond a thing for children. Kinda similar to what the likes of Frank Miller, Alex Ross, etc. did for comicbooks.

4. The Simpsons


Well, so many things have been written about this fivesome, which nobody can really be blamed for, what with a run that encompasses three awesome decades since the world first encountered them on The Tracey Ullman Show as an animated sketch in the 80's. So, I'll just cut it short. The Simpsons shaped most of the children lucky enough to ever turn on a TV since the late 80's up until now, and probably even beyond. Yep, it's that long-lasting, what with the amount of things to make fun off in our society never running out.

And, come on, this show is the most well-balanced of the cartoon-satire bunch. No other of its kind in existence can ever come close to what this show have done and will continue to do in the future. It's the perfect balance between laughter, satire, and a lasting, hearty feeling that one craves for in a show of its kind. Yep, no amount of trying to supplant those with vulgarity or gimmick, which most other shows based on it seem to fall into, can ever trounce that. I mean, it's a death trap you know. Don't they realize that The Simpsons strength comes from its brutal honesty and not the vulgarity or the gimmicks it does? The picture above says it all--the Beatles of animation.

3. House M.D.


Talk about the perfect actor to pull off arguably the most gritty character ever on a TV show and none might be more perfect than Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House. Yeah, yeah, I know, starting off any write up by using the same word twice does not really equate to solid writing but, what can I say, that's pretty much the perfect (see, did it again) word to describe Laurie and House . So, let me say it again: perfect.

Of course it does have its downtime, a few episodes are hohum (except for Laurie, of course--he's perfect in every single one) but, when it soars, it really soars. Think about the episodes Three Stories (s1e21), No Reason(s2e24), House's Head (s4e15), Locked In (s5e19) and Simple Explanation (s5e20) and they'll probably break any TV enthusiasts top episodes of any show in the past 30 years. Think about it, the bravery of the production, the willingness to divert from its own established formula--House M.D. pretty much proves, and flaunts, that you don't need to be as narratively encroaching every episode as Lost to present something fresh on TV. And yes, none of this would be half possible if not for the great cast the show has.

2. How I Met Your Mother


What can I say, this show is just awe--wait for it--some (oh no you didn't!). Talk about shows that play, and are pretty successful, with narrative structures and How I Met Your Mother should never be left out of the conversation. Plus it's willy, heart warming, and genuinely hilarious--it's a show that will make you laugh your ass off while at the same time having tons of heart. Think of it as a cross between Cheers and Friends only better at what both shows tried to do and more.

Besides that, it pretty much made the careers of everybody on the show's regular cast list. It rejuvenated Neil Patrick Harris' career, extended Alysson Hannigan's TV mojo as the seemingly sweet yet coniving and hardcore girl, proved that Jason Segel is a legitimate player in the American comedy scene, introduced us to a sexy, new Canadian star named Cobie Smoulders, gave Josh Radnor a legitimate TV gig, and re-introduced Bob Saget to the world. What's not to love?

1. Firefly


The best gorramn show in the verse! What else can I say? What Joss Whedon made here isn't really sci-fi, it's a gritty, socio-political depiction of mankind--500 years into the future! Yes, call him a sage, the new age Nostradamus, a man with an incredible foresight, a visionary--whatever. Firefly is as close to being real as a space opera could ever get, and no other creation in sci-fi comes close.

I mean, this is the best space opera show ever created. Period. Not any of the Star Trek series, not the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, and, dare I say, not even Star Wars. To hell with inter-stellar warp drives, light sabers, sentient alien lifeforms, and lasers--I'd take Firefly's rustic, wild west frontier-like world, the in-depth social commentary, the smart, snappy and witty dialog, the bleak, yet hopeful portrayal of the future, the highly philosophical discourse of existence, of reality, of life, love and everything in-between, anytime.

And Jesus Christ, have you ever seen any other TV show cast so perfectly? I mean, Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Alan Tudyk, Gina Tores, Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, Sean Maher and Ron Glass--each and everyone of them shone like a supernova with the characters they depicted in the show and in the movie. Whedon has always been good at picking actors to play the parts in his porjects but Firefly's cast is a hell of a class on its own.

14 episodes, 3 comicbooks, and a movie--that's all it took to tell the greatest story ever told about humankind living in a spaceship and traversing through deepspace. Joss Whedon's legacy in popular culture may forever be tied with Buffy but his best work, hands down, will always be Firefly.