In my 50+ years on this mortal coil I have watched a fair share of TV. And thus there have been a lot of shows that I have enjoyed over those years. Now it’s time to countdown the 101 shows I have enjoyed the most.
How do I determine such a thing? Through a series of rigorously logical tests and evaluative rubrics, of course.
No, just kidding. Obviously, it’s all instinct and preference, of course, but also heavily influenced by how recently I have watched a show, how much of it I have actually seen, and how well I remember it. Any genre or style or length is eligible, as long as it’s a scripted television show, and I have seen some of it and enjoyed doing so.
For this point, I’m dropping the number of shows I’m covering from 15 to 10, simply because I find that as I get closer to the top of my countdown, I have a lot more to say, so the post is becoming a lot longer!
What makes it onto this set of 10? Read on to find out.
Meanwhile, click on links to read previous posts – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
25. All Creatures Great and Small
(2020 – present, Channel 5)
This is the second show based on the memoir series of books by James Herriot (a pen-name for Alf Wight) and his days as a country vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s and 1940s. I like the previous series as well, but it’s the more modern take which I have especially enjoyed. Nicholas Worth plays James Herriot, and he’s fine, but it’s in the rest of the cast that the show really shines: Samuel West brings a lot of nuance to the senior vet, Siegfried Farnon, who is in equal parts brash and thoughtless as he is sensitive and vulnerable. Rachael Shenton is lovely and compelling as James’ wife Helen. And Anna Madeley is just amazing as Mrs. Hall, a quite minor character in the original source material (and in the earlier tv series) whose part here has been massively expanded.
The show in general is a lot less intense than many entries on this countdown. It’s a personal, intimate look at a particular world and the characters within it. There is humor, but it is mild and naturalistic, rather than extreme or slapstick. The dramatic moments are similar–things are serious in the way that real life is serious. In this way, All Creatures Great and Small is maybe the TV show on my list which is the most like real life. It’s not my real life, but these characters feel like real people that I might have known, if I had just happened to be born in another time and place.
24. The West Wing
(1999-2006, NBC)
Aaron Sorkin’s political drama is all about the staff of President Jed Bartlett, a liberal, thoughtful, erudite and highly idealized President of the United States. The show would dwell on both the politics and the personal lives of the President’s senior advisors, as they coped with the wide range of high-stakes situations their jobs would bring them into contact with. The show was characterised by fast-paced but hypnotically rhythmic dialogue, often delivered in extended shots of the characters walking somewhere (sometimes one conversation would segue directly into another one as one pair of characters would cross paths with another pair). It made the show really fun to watch, even if I wasn’t always sure that the chapters were actually talking about.
Martin Sheen played the president, who was ostensibly not the lead of the cast, but basically ended up being the lead. However, the ensemble he was surrounded with were incredibly talented and well-cast, and included the likes of Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, Alison Janney, John Spencer, Stockard Channing and Rob Lowe. They were all incredibly engaging.
Aaron Sorkin left the show after four years, and it continued to run for three more beyond that. It was still good, but it was never quite the same without Sorkin at the helm. Still, the last year featured quite an interesting presidential election race between a brand new idealized Democrat, played by Jimmy Smits, and a similarly idealized older Republican, played by Alan Alda. So even though the series in its back half felt quite different than it had when it had started, it was still fun to watch.
23. Shetland
(2013-present, BBC-One)
Shetland isn’t necessarily my favorite British detective show, but it is waaaay up there. The show is about the police on the Shetland Islands, off the coast of Scotland, investigating murder and other crimes. For the first seven seasons (which is all I’ve seen so far), the star is Douglas Henshell as DI Jimmy Perez, a detective with a keen intellect, a practical approach to police work, and very limited patience for fools, whether they are suspects or colleagues.
The first season of Shetland is made up of a number of two-part stories, but after that the format shifts so that each season details one extended case. A mixture of strong writing and atmospheric location work in a unique setting make this one of of the most enjoyable mystery shows that I know.
Henshell left the show at the end of the seventh season, which was a tense affair–I didn’t know if they would write him out in some tragic turn of events, but as it happened he got a pretty happy send off. He’s been replaced by Ashley Jensen as a new DI; having seen her first season, I find that while I miss Henshell, I still enjoy the show.
22. Infinity Train
(2019-2022, Cartoon Network / HBO Max)
Over the years, my kids have introduced me to various TV shows which I have enjoyed. They are pretty much all animated fair, which my my middle daughter especially is a big fan of. A bunch of them have been good, and have shown up on this countdown. But the most impactful, in my opinion, is Infinity Train.
Created by Owen Dennis, the show was about a mysterious, science-fictiony and maybe supernatural train that would appear out of nowhere before people when they were in the midst of great emotional distress. People would board the train and then find themselves trapped there until they had worked through their issues, at which point they’d be sent home, so it was kind of a forced therapy situation.
Provoking this self-reflection and growth were an infinite number of train cars, each with its own unique and impossibly large environment inside. The cars were full of beings seemingly indigenous to the train, of all different types depending on the environment, and each car presented both a puzzle of sorts to be solved, as well as genuine dangers to anyone passing through.
The series was made up for seasons or “Books”, each made up of ten episodes that were around ten minute long each. Each Book told a singular story which focused on the adventures of a small group of characters and their efforts to survive the train and to learn what they needed to learn. Along the way, viewers were treated to an overall meta-story about the train’s history, but sadly this was only partially completed. I’ve read somewhere that they were navigating toward having eight Books all together, because a sideways infinity symbol looks like an eight, but only four were produced before the show was cancelled. It’s a shame because it was really good–a fun story which really enjoyable characters and a lot of laughs, but with layered with pretty intense science fiction concepts and some strong handling of really mature emotional topics.
21. Columbo
(1968-2003, including specials, NBC / ABC)
Columbo was a series of movie-length stories (a bit unusual in American TV, though a common idea in Britain) which originally aired under the umbrella title of The NBC Mystery Movie, rotating with other features such as McMillan and Wife and McCloud. Those shows all had their audience but Columbo was certainly the most popular and enduring.
Columbo was a police series which involved murder mysteries, but unlike classic detective stories, the big hook was not figuring out who the murderer was, but rather, how Columbo was going to catch them. Indeed, the show usually began with a lengthy prologue in which the audience actually watched the murder being committed, from the perspective of the murderer him or herself, in incredible detail. We’d see exactly who killed who and how and why. The murder was usually meticulously planned, a so-called perfect crime in which the guilty person almost always had a foolproof alibi. Usually they were also part of the upper crust of Los Angeles–a successful art collector or film producer or surgeon or something like that, and usually they were incredibly confident and smug about they’d managed to craft a crime that nobody could pin on them; that indeed, nobody would even seriously consider them for.
And then into that would come Lt. Columbo, the disheveled and seemingly scattered homicide detective who never looked like he had any idea of what he was doing, and who certainly did not fit in the social circles the mysteries would take him into. Usually, the murderer would take a kind of pity on Columbo, and even allow themselves to become a kind of sounding board for his theories. But eventually, inevitably, they’d realize how mistaken they were. Far from being a bit lost, they’d see that Columbo was actually keenly observant and an excellent judge of character, and that all of his apparent ineptitude was really just luring his suspect into a false sense of security while he was piecing together his case. In the end, when we’d see it all laid out, it was immensely satisfying.
Columbo himself was played by Peter Falk in career-defining performance. The format of the show was interesting and the mysteries were sound, but if it weren’t for how great Falk was in the role and how indelible a character Columbo was, the series never would have worked. He was just a delight to watch from start to finish, and though there was no suspense about who the murderer and if they’d be caught at the end, it was always fascinating to watch the character at work. Good stuff.
20. Slow Horses
(2022-present, Apple TV+)
Slow Horses is a British espionage thriller about the agents who work at “Slough House”, an operations centre for MI5 staffed by people who have screwed up at their jobs and are deemed less than competent, but for one reason or another haven’t actually been fired. They are assigned dreary, uninteresting tasks which keep them out of trouble. The leader of the place is Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), an overweight, unhygienic and often obnoxious a man who nevertheless is a brilliant tactician with a keen understanding of the politics that shape the British intelligence services. Lamb is regularly demeaning and insulting to his operatives, but also strangely protective of them. Because this is a show (and a good one), the “Slow Horses” (as they are nicknamed) end up involved in lots of different major operations essential to British national security. The show manages to put our heroes at the heart of high-stakes adventures while still maintaining that level of incompetence which keeps them at a place like Slough House.
It’s fast-paced series, with each season (five so far) containing 6 episodes which deal with a single story. The plots are gripping and the show itself both dramatic and darkly comic. The cast is generally excellent, but standing out amongst it all is Gary Oldman himself, who makes Jackson Lamb one of the most compelling characters I’ve ever seen in a series. He’s an utterly disgusting and revolting individual, but yet somehow you just love to watch him and love to see him win.
19. Star Trek
(1966-1969, NBC)
Now referred to as “The Original Series” to distinguish it from all the spin-off and sequel TV shows that it spawned, Star Trek is one of the most influential series on this list. It was only on the air for three seasons, but has never really left the popular consciousness since then.
The show, if you don’t know, is about the voyages of the futuristic starship Enterprise, and its mission of exploration, diplomacy, and occasionally military combat. A lot of ink and pixels have been spent on the enduring appeal of Star Trek, but surely it’s some combination of pulp outer-space action-adventure, high-minded science fiction ideas, and a forward-thinking vision for a hopeful future.
Something that has characterised every iteration of Star Trek has been the inclusive range of characters in the way the series have been developed, but this was never so pioneering as it was on the original series, when in the midst of the troubled social climate of the 1960s, the show featured a black woman, an asian man, and a Russian guy amongst its supporting cast, all as competent, heroic officers and colleagues to the main characters.
Star Trek was frequently cheesy, laughable and overbaked, but that was all part of the fun. Even so, it could produce some solid drama, as we see in some of my favorite episodes like The Naked Time, City on the Edge of Forever and Mirror, Mirror.
18. Taxi
(1978-1983, ABC / NBC)
Taxi is a show that is basically about losers–losers who work for the fictitious Sunshine Cabs in New York City. But the show only spent a little bit of time actually with the characters in the cabs–most of the time, we saw them in the garage or at their various homes.
The cast included Jeff Conaway as Bobby Wheeler (a struggling actor), Marilu Jenner as Elaine Nardo (a divorced mother and struggling artist), Tony Danza as Tony Banta (an unsuccessful boxer), and was led by Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger, who was the only character amongst the group who actually considers himself a cab driver by profession. The core cast of the show was well-drawn, and it was easy to relate to the characters dramatically as it was to laugh at the show’s comedy.
The writing and performances were so effective that Taxi arguably had three different “breakout” characters–the selfish and loathsome dispatcher Louis (Danny DeVito), the quirky immigrant mechanic Latka (Andy Kaufman), and the drugged-up holdover from the 60s, Reverend Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd). It all added up to one of television’s best ever ensembles, who were able to generate incredible amounts of both funny and serious energy, and made the show consistently engaging.
Taxi is one of several shows on this countdown that was cancelled at some point, and then picked up by another network. Even though it only got one more season (five in total) it remains one of television’s most celebrated comedies.
17. The Man in the High Castle
(2015-2019, Amazon Prime Video)
Loosely based on a novel by Philip K. Dick (most adaptations of works by Philip K. Dick are pretty loose, it can be said), The Man in the High Castle tells he story of a world in which the Axis powers won World War II. Set in the 1960s, we come into a United States that is divided between an American Nazi Reich (the east), the Japanese-controlled Pacific States (the west), and a neutral zone (in between, in the Rockies). A variety of characters–Japanese, Jewish, German, and otherwise–navigate this situation, as the show explores what life is like in this altered reality.
Into all this comes a roll of film which finds its way to young Juliana Crain, a young woman from San Francisco, which depicts a newsreel from a world in which the Allies were victorious in World War II. Coming from a mysterious figure known as the “Man in the High Castle”, there turn out to be multiple films which all show other realities. These images give Julianna and the others who see them a kind of hope that they could not imagine, as they realize a world free of Nazi or Japanese control is actually possible. Understandably, the powers that be want these films confiscated and the Man in the High Castle caught and stopped, but in the meantime the movies help to foster rebellion, including in Juliana herself.
Overall, The Man in the High Castle is fascinating human and political drama with a layer of science fiction helping to shape events. The story goes in many interesting directions, and play with a fascinating series of characters. Amongst the most interesting are Japanese Trade Minister Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), Japanese police inspector Kido (Joel de la Fuente), Jewish artist Frank Fink (Rupert Evans) who is also Julianna’s boyfriend at the beginning of things, and antique store owner Robert Childan (Brennan Brown) is enamoured with Japanese culture. I also like Julianna herself (Alxa Davalos), but perhaps the most interesting of all is John Smith, an American military officer who has turned into a senior Nazi official. He’s played by Rufus Sewell, who is just amazing. He is a loathsome person, but a sympathetic one; someone you don’t actually like and is basically terrifying, but still someone you want to watch and spend time with. Ultimately becomes one of the most compelling characters I’ve ever seen on TV.
At the end of the show’s third season (of four), a bunch of the cast was written out, which was a bit sad. The last year was still good but it had to shift focuses a bit to fill out the drama. Fortunately, Smith was still involved, as was his wife Helen (Chelah Horsdal), and in the show’s final episode the two have a confrontation which is worth the price of admission for the whole series.
16. Barney Miller
(1975-1982, ABC)
Quite frankly, Barney Miller was one of the greatest sit-coms of all time. All about a team of detectives in the New York City police department, the show was almost exclusively set in the offices of the 12th Precinct police station, and focused not on confrontations with bad guys or detective work, but on all the administration that went with the job. Detectives would be sent out on cases and then we’d see them returning later on, suspects in tow, and we’d watch them as they took down their prisoner’s details or the statements of the witnesses.
This all worked because of just how cleverly the show was written, how well drawn the characters were, and the incredible amount of detail that went into the staging of the show Barney Miller. Generally each act of the show was one long scene, with the action bouncing around seamlessly between the different desks in the large open set, and the different storylines that were going on at each on. Taping of the show would apparently go on often until the middle of the night, and eventually they just stopped using a live studio audience simply because the long late hours made it no longer convenient to do so.
One of the things that was interesting about Barney Miller was how generally normal the regular cast was. Of course they were funny and quirky, but they were way less extreme than you usually get in a workplace comedy like this. Instead, the characters were relatively grounded and balanced. You didn’t even have “the jerk” amongst the ensemble–they were just a group of relatively nice police detectives who you enjoyed spending time with. And they were played by a good group of actors–Hal Linden, Max Gail, Ron Harris, Steve Landesberg, Gregory Sierra, Jack Soo and more, and especially the great Abe Vigoda. It was a great show.
And that’s all she (or I) wrote for Part 6. Onward to Part 7!
