Nick's Top TV Shows

I can’t believe in six years of writing a blog and of me making list after geeky list I have never put together a Nick’s top ten television shows of all time. I have limited this to shows that were on in my lifetime which started in 1969. I love the Honeymooners but can’t include it. I also limited this to scripted shows. One more thing, I only included American television. So, no The Young One’s either. I loved the old Late Night with Letterman, but that is a different list. Lastly, this is my list and I am sure everyone has their own. There were great shows out there that I just never got into like 24 or others that I was a tad too young to fully embrace like the Mary Tyler Moore show. Anyway, here it is.

10. The X-Files – There was a time in the first couple of seasons that this one would have been much higher on my list. But, sadly it stuck around like two seasons to long. Still, back in the early to mid 90’s there was nothing better than (and I hate that I am quoting the Bare Naked Ladies) watching it with no lights on. It was unique in that it had the stand alone episodes which were scary, weird, and spellbinding. Then there were the shows that centered around the Smoking Man and Mulder’s sisters abduction and the whole truth is out there stuff. Every time they would give you an answer they asked two more. But, sadly we never in my mind got a big enough payoff. When they had Mulder and Scully hook up that it was it for me. But, in its prime it was great.

9. WKRP in Cincinnati – There wasn’t an episode in the bunch that didn’t make me laugh. The Thanksgiving episode where Mr. Carlson and Herb drop turkeys from a helicopter is one of the great moments in TV history. It was a show with unique and rich characters. Mr. Carlson, the easy to love, clueless boss. Dr. Johnny Fever, the washed out disc jockey. There was, Venus Fly Trap, the black DJ who broke down stereotypes while playing one, Herb Tarlek, the sleazy salesman who chased skirts and wore brutal clothing, Les Nessman, the newsman who took winning farm awards seriously. Jennifer Marlowe, the sexy vixen secretary who was offset by Bailey Quarters the smart girl next door who worked in the office. And of course there was Andy Travis, the new young and hip program director who held it all together. It all mixed together to create an endearing show that has stood the test of time.

8. Lost – Once when talking to a total stranger on the train about Lost he described it as crack television and he was dead on. Now, I have huge problems with how that show ended. And it left in my mind numerous questions unanswered. However, with that said there was nothing more addicting then watching this program during its run. The writers were so good and dropping clues and throwing out small easter eggs that only the most tuned in viewer could spot. I love shows that don’t assume the audience is brain dead. (Which in the age of reality TV is becoming rarer and rarer.) Lost was in some ways like the X-Files in that it would answer one question and then ask two more. But, unlike the X-Files it ended before it got stale. I didn’t start with the show until the third season. I rented the first two seasons on DVD and Joyce and I went through them in like a week. The show was that edge of your couch good, and after finishing one episode you could not wait to watch another. That is a true accomplishment.

7. Mad Men – Another program that I had to catch up with on DVD and man am I glad I did. I don’t know how they create the look of that show but, they do amazing job at it. As you are watching it, you are transported to the 1960’s. Don Draper, is a very flawed man. He has lied, cheated on his wife and stepped over people to get where he is. Yet, you watch and can’t help but root for the guy. I knew nothing of the advertising world before I started watching it and to be honest never really cared. Yet, it sucks you in with great writing and rich characters. I know the show hasn’t been on that long and maybe I need it to age to properly form a better opinion on it. With that said, it is rare a show has gotten its grip on me so intensely, that I would not dream of missing it.

6. The Larry Sanders Show – I am not sure there has ever been a better spoof of anything then what Gary Shandling and this ensemble cast did to late night talk shows. Many missed out on the show during its run on HBO in the early 90’s. If you never caught on to it I am here to tell you there were very few shows funnier in the history of the tube. Hank Kingsley is one of my top five television characters of all time. What Jeffrey Tambor did with that role was pure genius. This is the Spinal Tap of talk shows. It perfectly portrayed the insecurities of Larry and Hank. It captured the writer’s room, the network exec’s, the slimy agents, the absurd guests to the point you forgot it was fiction. I can still watch this show today, and laugh like I did 15 years ago.

5. Arrested Development – In three seasons they did not make a bad episode. That America could never get behind this comedic gem speaks volumes about our comedic sensibilities. The absurdness of the Bluth family was impossible to look away from. The comedy was quick, sarcastic and smart. Who knew Jason Bateman could be that funny? He had the dead pan down for his role as Michael. And Jeffrey Tambor again shines as George Sr. This is also the show that figured out how to use David Cross and made Will Arnett a bankable actor. I could quote AD lines for hours and not get sick of them. It had so many in-jokes and unforgettable characters that you sit in wonder at the genius of it all. If all TV was this good, I would never leave the couch.

4. The Simpsons – It is somewhat amazing the run that this show has had. And while I am the first to admit that the quality has slipped somewhat in the last couple of years, at its height there was no better program on the air. The Simpsons worked for a lot of reasons. When the writers realized what they had in Homer, the show took off into unchartered waters in animation comedy. There has never been a bigger send up of pop culture then the Simpsons. This is yet another show on this list that is quotable and has given us timeless characters. You could watch one Simpson’s episode a day and after a year you would still have a ways to go to get caught up. At its best, the show made you laugh from the gut like few others. It is somewhat sad to see what the cartoon has become now as it just tries to get zanier and zanier. Ten years ago, I would have listed this show at my number one spot. That is how good it was in its prime.

3. The Sopranos – The first two seasons of this one where about as perfect as you could get. I have gone back and forth on the ending. It left a lot of questions hanging but, that is kind of what the show always did. At its core this was a show about Tony’s two families and it was gripping. I always found myself laughing just as much as I cringed at the antics of Tony and his gang. It explored a much covered subject in the mafia, in an original light. You saw the ruthlessness and lack of respect for life that it takes to be a mobster. Sure, it also glorified it at times as well. But, that was the balance that made this show what it was. Like most great programs, this one also had interesting and complex side characters that added to it. Sure, the last couple of seasons it waned a tad and many people had issues with the writers never really answering many of the questions that were rasied. I mean what did ever happen with the Russian in the woods? Is he alive? It was left to the viewer to figure it out and make your own conclusions. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I would have liked some more closure in the end.

2. Seinfeld – In the history of comedy on television, I am not sure we saw anything like Seinfeld before it arrived on the air. Here was a show that didn’t revolve around a “Sam and Diane” type courtship. This show was about nothing. But, that isn’t entirely true. It told stories sure, but they were amazing in their detail about everyday things. Here were four people living in their own world with their own language and own set of rules. No one else was in on the joke. And watching them you were let into that world and man was it funny. There were so many great moments and so many quotable lines from this program. For me though of the four, it was George who made me laugh the hardest. He was a character who was unapologetically lazy. He was an admitted liar, and really had very little redeeming qualities. And from that came some just great humor. Lastly, it was a show that left right when it was at its peak and knew when to get off the stage before it got stale. That is rare on American television.

1. Freaks and Geeks – In retrospect, of course this show failed to attract viewers. It was for only a certain segment of the population. If you are around my age and went to school in the suburbs then this show should really hit home. It was as near as perfect as you could get. Casting wise it was a home run. It had brilliant writing, with stories that were about as true as anything I had ever seen in a fictionalized format. At the time the show was on I bemoaned its lack of viewership. But, in the end I guess it was a blessing in that it only lasted that one amazing season. This way it can’t be ruined or have a chance to jump the shark. That one season tells a story beginning to end and the characters don’t get older or stale. I have seen every episode countless times and I never tire of it. I am man enough to say it, each time I see that last scene where Lindsey is getting on the van to follow the Dead, I get a tad misty eyed.

An ode to Ronnie.

I never met Ron Santo. Well, let me amend that. I shook his hand a couple of times outside Wrigley but, I never really talked to him. But, I like most Cub fans loved Ron Santo. Now that his battle is over, I know next April when baseball starts back up again, the game just won’t be the same.

If you aren’t a Cub fan you just won’t get it. Santo was not a great broadcaster. Even he would have probably told you that. But, the reason he became so beloved is that he wore his heart on his sleeve. When the Cubs won, there was no one more elated then Ronnie. When they lost no one took it harder. As a 41 year old long suffering Cub fan I can relate to that.

Ron brought the long suffering and random joy home just by being himself. He could not hide his emotions. His unbridled passion for all things Cubs was as genuine as you could get. With him in the booth, you knew you had a fan there rooting with the same intensity you were rooting with. In this day and age, with the watered down homogenized every announcer sounding the same school of broadcasting, Ronnie was a breath of fresh air.

He didn’t blanket himself in lame pre-rehearsed catch phrases. His responses were knee jerk, true reactions that you as a fan listening could relate to. Along with his long time partner Pat Hughes it made listening to Cubs games all the more enjoyable. It was cathartic to listen Ron bemoan a loss. There was no hiding how he felt. He was funny without trying to be funny and no one laughed at himself more than Santo. That is part of what made him so endearing. I would often times look forward to sitting in my car just listening to the Pat and Ron show.

Listening to a ball game on the radio, in today’s world makes one feel somewhat antiquated. Yet, there is something about the experience that warms my heart. I am a true baseball nerd and on clear nights in the summer, I will scan the AM dial to see just how many games I can get in my car radio. There is something comforting about it, that I can’t quite put my finger on. And no one comforted me more than Ron Santo.

I am really not old enough to have seen him play. By the time I was old enough to fully understand baseball, Ronnie had retired. So, I can only go on the numbers. I have written before about how he has been screwed over by the Hall of Fame voters. If you want to read that post here it is http://10withamop.blogspot.com/2008/12/hall-of-shame.html

As I said, Cub baseball just won’t be the same without him in the booth. Sure, I may as a listener get a better technical explanation for what is happening on the field. But I won’t get the same enthusiasm or passion. And, isn’t it passion that makes being a baseball fan just that. I can rip the Cubs all I want but as soon as a non-Cub fan does, then I get go after them. Sure, they are imperfect, but I don’t want to hear outsiders dis that imperfection. If a friend or family member were asked to describe me, Cub fan would probably be one of the first things to come up. I had that in common with Ron Santo, and today as he was laid to rest, I felt I had lost a member of my “family.” Rest in peace number 10, one day we will go all the way just to bad you won’t be around to enjoy it.