I am shocked that this is the first time anyone has mentioned Venture Brothers. Totally slipped my mind, now I need to reconsider gorram it.
As you saw I had to go BACK and edit it in…
Damn. The GF and I have been thrashing this question about, but the Ventures were never in doubt.
Ooh, tough challenge. Way to suck my time, Solai. I am grateful to you from keeping me from doing whatever it is I was just attempting to force myself to do. :o;)
ANYWAY…here goes nothin’ (in no particular order):
-
BSG: yes, I COULD watch this over and over (and often do). Those characters became almost like friends to me over the course of those 4 seasons, and I like seeing them again every now and then.
-
The Wire: I’ve only made it through it once, but only because it is such an arresting (pardon the pun), engrossing experience that I am waiting for that moment where I can have several weeks’ worth of free evenings to sit with it again. It’s like a great novel you want to re-read many times.
-
Arrested Development: There’s always, ALWAYS…money in the banana stand (and something to catch with every viewing. A perfect show).
-
Archer: DANGER ZOOOOOONE! like A.D., there’s a lot of stuff there to catch on repeated viewings, mostly in the delivery and writing. What an amazing show!
-
Seinfeld: the grand-daddy of the last two, as far as I’m concerned. Not as perfect a show as I remember it originally, but pretty close (I can count my least favorite episodes on one hand).
-
Game of Thrones: so far, I find this show incredibly thrilling. I like to say it has filled the BSG-shaped hole in my heart (and I find the show superior in a number of ways to its already very fine source material).
-
Futurama: Particularly the first four seasons. Those are currently on rotation in the Armando household DVD player (The Mrs. likes to watch 'em as she falls asleep, and I can’t help but watch along)
-
The Simpsons: this show has gone on for so long and is such a shadow of its former self that it’s easy to forget how unbelievably good it was in its prime. But it is gold. Pure comedy gold (from seasons 3-9, at least).
-
Rome: I’m a sucker for sword and sandals epics and this one if my favorite of a long time. I know the history, I know what happens, I’ve seen it a number of times and still I find myself riveted whenever I revisit it. It’s brutal AND moving.
-
Louie: This one’s a new favorite. Louis C.K.'s current, self-written, self-starring, self-produced, self-edited (!!!) project is unbelievable. It’s like Seinfeld with a heart and realism. It’s a sitcom, sure, but it’s also a drama. It kind of doesn’t fit any real, established format, and I find the life of an aspiring, midly-successful, divorced middle aged comedian with two daughters surprisingly similar to my own life as an aspiring, mildly-successful, happily married, (almost) middle-aged comedian with two daughters. So this one is sort of poetic and reassuring (the episode with Joan Rivers, and the speech she gives him about considering himself lucky to even be WORKING as a comedian, should be required viewing for any aspiring artists).
Honorable Mention: Firefly (It really ought to be in there, but I wanted a sword and sandals epic. Can I call it a tie for no. 2?)
Evolutiongirl asks: Do you own the shows on your list? I have some or all of 7/10 of these shows.
Yes. The only ones I don’t own are Louie (which is on constant rotation on my DVR anyway), Archer (ditto, also, Netflix) and Game of Thrones (not out yet, but I’ve been gorging on it on HBO Go anyway, so it’s as if I own it).
Figured you did just clarifying 
Just thought I would link this thread with one dealing with solely scifi shows from four years ago:
Top 10 Scifi shows of all time.
~Shooter Out
Woah!!! Thanks for recalling that thread. I see that EmilyFromOhio had Blakes’ 7 as her #7 ? Wow. I thought I was the only one who watched that awesome sci fi classic.
My shows, no order:
- Rome: Great characters, wonderful attention to detail even if they had to smush history and fudge some of the actual historical figures’ details.
- X-men: The Animated Series: The show that introduced me to comics and X-men and did a really decent job making them understandable to a 7-year-old, even though it had to be dumbed down some as per censors.
- BSG: Even though I’ve only been able to make it halfway through season 3 in my five attempts at a rewatch because I got so invested in all the characters and I don’t want to see them go through bad times any more.
-
Farscape: Another show that stomps on my heart every time, except with aliens.
6/5: The Muppet Show and Looney Tunes: The shows that gave me my sense of humor and a lot of my pre-1980s cultural references.
4/3: Daria and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer: The shows that got me through being a teenager and made me feel understood. - Avatar: The Last Airbender: You know how Babylon 5 is with story, where there’s this huge mythology and everything fits together and the characters grow and develop? It’s like this but based on Asian cultures and mythology and also a cartoon.
- Speaking of which, Babylon 5.
No, you’re not. I was very young when this aired, but at the time I thought it was the most awesome thing on TV.
I don’t know what it is about the British, but they can churn out some awesomely good, deep scifi. Doctor Who, Blakes 7, UFO, Space 1999, Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Red Dwarf, and later Life on Mars…all hold a very special place in my heart.
I like you.
Whenever there’s no must watch TV on for me, I countinue my personal rewatch of Blake’s 7. I’m near the end of S3 now.
When it was on TV decades ago I couldn’t watch it in order …or at least not consistently … it’s a show that’s episodic in some ways, but it definity had an overall story arc----which is way ahead of its time.
This is ridiculously difficult. 
I’ll probably end up missing a lot of older shows because new ones are shinier.
In no order, because that would just make this task even more impossible:
- The Wire. Sorry. I don’t care if I sound like an asshole, but it is the best tv show ever. For me, it sets “The Standard” by which drama shows past and present are measured against. And in addition, I can’t think of another tv show past or present that does what The Wire did so beautifully for its entire run, which is kind of unthinkable. It stands out on its own as a tv show that is different than all other tv shows. That feeling you get from watching The Wire, I can’t get it anywhere else. There is nothing like it.
- Arrested Development. In a way, it has become the comedic equivalent of The Wire - It sets The Standard by which all single cam comedies after (or maybe before) AD are measured against. Also, it’s also never not funny. Rewatchability 100%, every single time.
- Freaks and Geeks/My So-Called Life. And don’t make me choose. But these 2 are by far my favorite teen shows of all time. These are teen shows that aren’t just teen shows. They’re just really excellent, excellent shows that takes you back. And lol, I guess they’re sort of the teen equivalent of The Standard.
- Firefly. IMO, Whedon’s best work, though Buffy runs a very close second and is probably technically better because we’d never know how good (or how bad) say S5 of Firefly would be. But Firefly excelled at something no other Whedon show has - to click immediately from the get go. I knew I love it after the first episode.
- The Simpsons. Heh, you’re going to hear it again. It’s the animated/comedic equivalent of The Standard. And it’s The Simpsons! (Sorry Futurama and South Park.) I just love them so much.
- Star Trek: TNG. Mostly for nostalgic reasons. It’s the first sci fi tv show I’ve ever watched, and I have too many fond memories of watching it with my dad as a kid, and my sense of awe in experiencing a fictional sci fi world for the first time.
- Frasier or Cheers or Seinfeld? Sophie’s choice here. I’m going to say Frasier, actually. I realize that Cheers and Seinfeld are probably better shows objectively speaking - especially if one includes the last few seasons of Frasier that were just kind of awful - but I don’t know. I have a soft spot for Frasier. It just makes me happy.
- X Files. BSG should’ve been the pick because I didn’t even finish the entire series of XF (for me, save for a few random episodes in S7, the series ended after S6. I’m not sure why I stopped watching, but I’m kind of glad I did, given what I’ve heard), but The X Files was sort of my first tv sci fi obsession, a show I’d discuss with friends because we’re all obsessed with it. And looking at the best episodes of The XFiles, they are awesome and probably more rewatchable than BSG as a whole because of its less serialized nature. (BSG has excellent episodes, but it’s such a difficult show to just pick out random episodes to watch) And nothing beats Jose Chung’s From Outer Space. It’s just such a perfect episode.
- Louie…or Parks and Recreation? I DON’T KNOW. I love them both and they’re easily the best current comedies that are still on air. Community is a close third, but I found S3 thus far slightly too uneven to be in the running, whereas Parks remains practically flawless since S3 - and that’s a long, long stretch of consistent flawlessness for any comedy - and Louie’s S2 was kind of a masterpiece, it was crazy fantastic because you never know what you’d get every week, and yet it all worked. Hmmmm. Let me think on that one.
-
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart No rewatchability at all, practically. But that’s a show I hope will run forever, because it’s unthinkable to not have it on air. It’s like a necessity.
And there it is. A Top Ten list that has more than 10 shows on it, naturally. And I’ve probably missed out/forgot a whole bunch of other shows that I totally would’ve put in the list too. Not to mention a bunch that are in “too soon to tell” status.
**Though I feel there’s a small difference between my top 10 best shows of all time vs. top 10 shows I’d walk around with, all seasons, forever. Even on a most basic distinction, comedies have an advantage over drama because comedies by its nature is more readily rewatchable.
^^^ Although this list is not identical with mine, it is correct.
Simce I haven’t watched many series like The Wire or Mad Men yet or since not living in America to experience some of your older mentions, this will be my limited list:
- Archer: Controversial, dark and deep humor which you can watch any times over and over since you might miss many things due to their rapid pun fire.
- Game of Thrones: Only one season so far, but still a series with grand scope, fantastic casting and great production quality. Will even get more popular with following seasons.
- Battlestar Galactica (2003): Best example how SciFi series can explore moral, ethcal and other human questions.
- Stargate SG-1: Had to be on my list, due to its long run and it might have been my first genre series.
- South Park: Also a great social commentary, even in its animated form
- Spartacus: You come for the gore, fighting and BOOBS, BUT you stay for the multifaceted Characters and their interaction with each other. Much Gratitude for this relatively new series
- Fringe: Multiple Universes and many other moral topics covered in this SciFi show. Plus you cannot get a better actor like John Noble as Walter Bishop!
- Breaking Bad: Came late to this series and rushed through the first 3 seasons, but the unfolding drama of Walter White which follows the rest of his family and friends plus the cinematography of Alberquerque makes this worth wile.
- The Simpsons: I watch them since about 20 years. After a break recently I started up from S16 again and still find the new episodes entertaining
- Lost: Still my number one, due to everything. Though up and most since it was the first series I watched and experienced with a social community over the internet.
Honerable mentions to Sherlock & Homeland, Firefy but they had too few episodes so far.
Doctor Who I’ve nearly finished season 2, so it might take some more time to end up on my TOP10 list.
Thanks a lot again for your Archer recommendation!
And I’ve heard a lot of positive stuff about Arrested Development. Might have to get on with that.
Another ones I still need to get a watch. Where is time when you need it??! 
If you like Rome, have you checked out Spartacus yet? This season it also goes a bit into the Roman politics with Glaber.
And Justified and Deadwood are additional 2 shows on my To-Watch list.
Yeah, guess since it runs on AMC, not many might have watched it yet, but in a few years Breaking Bad should be at least a cult-classic.
Right, it is interesting to see how many seasons each of us considers enough to be electable in our cast. I know that although Game of Thrones had as many episodes as Homeland, the former made the cut and not the latter.
After having seen Claire Danes in Homeland, Jason i guess recommended me to watch her in that show.
You formulated it so much better as I wanted to say it.
Nice to see that even after such a short run so far, Game of Thrones made such a big impression on you as it did for me.
And yeah, although I also only can quote the Simpsons episodes from its about first 12 seasons it is still a substantial classic.
Dang. I knew I forgot something. I frakking love Daria.
I concur. They also go on sale on amazon like all the time. I grabbed both seasons for about 15$ apiece. Worth every penny and more. The same can be said for Arrested Development, which is probably even more dirt cheap by now. Less commentaries, but worth every penny and more.
I was thisclose to putting GoT on the list, precisely because it also filled the spot BSG had occupied in my tv watching schedule while it was on air. But it lost out because it has only been one season, and while I agree, in some scenes, the tv show is even superior to the book, the vice versa can be said as well. It started out with more flaws, and became close to perfect towards the end of the season. Probably already the best tv adaptation of a book series though.
Yay, a fellow Louie fan. S2 still blows my mind. (S1’s great too. That episode about God was probably the episode that made me go, wow, this show is truly something special.)
I guess I am such a chick too. It’s nice to see that MSCL and Freaks and Geeks made someone’s top 10 too. THEY ARE SO GOOD. (VMars I love too, but S3 was too uneven. If there’s a list of top 10 tv female characters of all time, VMars would make my list for sure. She kicks ass…and with no superpowers either. Huh, I think I would place her above even Buffy.)
Some I own the compete series, and others I have a season or more. ST:TNG I have some old VHS sets (one that includes an awesome Data head box). But other than The Daily Show, holy crom, I do. Yay for amazon sales, I guess.
I already consider Breaking Bad to be a cult classic now. (Vince Gilligan ftw, who’s probably my second favorite XF writer after Darin Morgan) But it didn’t make my list (it would’ve been a choice between that and Mad Men) because I chose comedy over drama for one of the slots. But it’s probably the best drama currently on air. Everyone go watch it now.
Homeland is a show I’ve been wanting to watch but haven’t yet. I’ve heard such great things about it.
heh. Looking at your list, I kind of see why. I weirdly sorta had separate groupings in mind for each slot, so since The Wire is by far my favorite of the HBO holy trinity (and also, it’s the best tv show ever, period), Deadwood and The Sopranos were basically doomed from the start. They never stood a chance to even be in the running.
But I have to admit, The Shield was probably one of those shows I never watched while it was on air; and because it had so many seasons, I have no idea if I would ever watch it.
btw, is anyone familiar with The Mighty Boosh? I love that show, even though it would never make a list like this.
I don’t think I could pare it down to a mere ten shows. But a few candidates I will toss out for discussion are:
Threshold (was cancelled just as it was building up momentum)awesome cast!)
[b]The Lost Room
Eureka[/b]
The Lone Gunmen (had wonderful potental)
Men in Black (animated series)
Warehouse 13
[b]Babylon 5
DS9
Starship Troopers [/b](animated series)
Being Human (The BBC version, I don’t like the American knockoff)
Lost Girl (I am really getting into this series)
All things Spartacus!