Best decade for television?

[DocHolliday]

Many of you will be able to guess my answer ...

 

[limping_decorum]

considering what has come out on cable....2000.....i never thought i would say that.

 

[tagutcow]

Originally Posted by limping_decorum

considering what has come out on cable....2000.....i never thought i would say that.
Seinfeld, Simpsons, Homicide: LOTS, Kids in the Hall, MST3K, South Park, Sifl 'n' Olly... is there really any question? edit: I guess I was thinking in terms of network TV. Alas, I don't watch all that fancy-pants premium cable episodic programming.

 

[Jekyll]

I have to say 2000s. 60s are a close second though.

 

[Roy Biggins]

I am going to go with the 1980s. I would like to say the 80s/90s as a lot of really great shows began in the 80s and ended in the 90s.

This is very tough, though. I think any of them would be an acceptable answer other than the 2000s. I think this has been a fairly miserable time period for TV in general; but my reasoning for that is mostly my hatred for modern production and editing.

 

[DocHolliday]

So far I stand alone in representing the BMV era -- Before Miami Vice.

 

[thekunk07]

can't pick. 10 favorite shows were/are:

taxi
barney miller
dream on
seinfeld
curb
rescue me
six feet under
cheers
dexter
st. elsewhere

 

[xchen]

Originally Posted by thekunk07

can't pick. 10 favorite shows were/are:

So glad friends isn't on that list.



MIAMI VICE!!

 

[Dedalus]

I have to go with 2000s:

Simpsons
Futurama
Family Guy
American Dad
South Park
Adult Swim (Spaceghost, Brak, Sealab, ATHF, Home Movies, Venture Bros., Tim and Eric, Metalocalypse)
Always Sunny
Curb Your Enthusiasm

I mostly only like TV when it is making fun of TV, pretty much. I agree with that earlier point on modern production and editing. Everything is so ******* ugly, cliche, and corny.

 

[DocHolliday]

Good shows that either debuted or aired in the '60s:

Avengers
Star Trek
Get Smart
Twilight Zone
Outer Limits
Batman
Andy Griffith Show
Hawaii 5-0
Doctor Who
The Prisoner
Bonanza
Gunsmoke
The Tonight Show with Paar, then Carson
What's My Line?
Jack Benny Program
Rawhide
Maverick
Perry Mason
Have Gun, Will Travel
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Dick Van Dyke
60 Minutes
Meet the Press

And that's leaving out guilty pleasures such as Beverly Hillbillies and Gomer Pyle, and Christmas specials such as Rudolph, the Grinch and Charlie Brown that still air today.

I've thrown in a few non-American shows, but still, that's some pretty amazing diversity for an era with only three channels. Compare that batting average to today, when there are probably an equal number of good shows, only being produced by 400 channels.

 

[tagutcow]

I can't imagine how anyone could choose the 80s. It seems like the golden age of the mediocre sitcom (10 years down from Seinfeld, we're in the silver age.)

 

[oneeightyseven]

I voted 90's solely because I was born in 90 and that decade had the most epic Saturday morning cartoons. So for a kid, it was the best thing ever. Today's shows are doodoo and I obviously was not around for the other decades.

 

[ThomasoAIK]

2000 is a slam dunk

Shows like dexter, breaking bad, 24, burn notice, californication, entourage, rescue me and many more

 

[Teacher]

I just honestly could not pick one, or even two. Each decade has had so many great shows that I love most of them. From The Ernie Kovacs Show to Breaking Bad, I have many great loves.

 

[Mark from Plano]

Afraid I have to vote with the youngsters on this one. Once HBO got into the original series business everything changed on television.

Sopranos started in 1999, so I'm saying the 2000's were the best:

Soprano's, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage (a guilty pleasure, but a pleasure nonetheless).

Were there other great shows? Absolutely. MASH, All in the Family.

But once HBO (and later Showtime) got involved everything changed.