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I would say that 3 has significantly more going on than just cops vs robbers, with the extensive Carcetti/City Council storyline, but there's no denying that 4 puts another layer on top of that with the school. Maybe a better way of putting it would've been that 3 got to be one big climax, whereas 4 had to focus on building new storylines from the ground up, and not all of them get to fully pay off.
The gangland characters are more purely villainous than ever before, which removes some of the really interesting shading that made the first 3 seasons so compelling.
Bunny's professor sidekick is one of the few major characters in the show that I think is just pitched entirely wrong. The guy's entire career is focused on inner city youth, yet half the time he acts as if he has never met a teenager in his life.
But he is an academic. The entire point was that he has naive idealism, where Bunny has pragmatism. Remember the professor wanted to work with 17 year olds and Bunny said that is catching them too late. So they go to the middle school.
Like First Class said, it is an embarassment of riches to be arguing which is best.
Carnivale - Season 1 (2003):
The introductory season of this trippy and creepy show was a nice slow burn of mood and story. It wasn’t hampered the way Season Two was by the increasing need, due to imminent cancellation, to “wrap things up.” I liked seeing the genesis of Brother Justin; his struggle with “evil” was more interesting in the beginning. Plus, this season contains arguably the two best episodes of the series, “Babylon” and “Pick A Number.” R.I.P. Dora Mae.
To mix my television metaphors and to quote the Honorable State Senator Clay Davis of Maryland,
Everyone praises the later greats, but respect must be paid to the one that opened it all up for the rest of it.
Oz, Season 2, 1998
HBO's first original show. Season 2 has the introduction of Chris Keller, played by Christopher Meloni, and ramps up what was already a great performance by Lee Tergesen and JK Simmons. There is a definite aesthetic to the show that not everyone likes, like the narrations. But damn, this show is what made me a lover of HBO original shows.
The Larry Sanders Show, Season Two (1993)
What Oz was to cable drama, Larry Sanders is to cable comedy. Stinging, insightful, and gutbustingly hilarious. Hard to pick the best season, but I'll pick Season 2, which was an unprecedented 18 episodes and benefited from having Judd Apatow join the writing staff. Standouts include "The Hankerciser 200" and "The Performance Artist".
Oh, and Rip Torn is a GOD.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 (1989-90)
After a forgettable first season and a second season marred by a writer's strike but which also showed signs of improvement, TNG hit its stride in its third season. We got "Yesterday's Enterprise," which would have plenty of repercussions further down the line, as would "Sins of the Fathers," which really delved into the twisting political machinations of the Klingon Empire. There was Mark Lenard's shattering performance as Sarek in the episode of the same name, with Patrick Stewart going toe-to-toe with him. The storytelling got more confident and varied, the actors more comfortable with their roles, and it culminated in one of the greatest cliffhangers of all time, "The Best of Both Worlds, Pt. 1." The remaining seasons built on the momentum this one established, and while there were some classic episodes yet to come, you could say the series peaked with "Mr. Worf ... fire." and "To be continued."
To mix my television metaphors and to quote the Honorable State Senator Clay Davis of Maryland,
Everyone praises the later greats, but respect must be paid to the one that opened it all up for the rest of it.
Oz, Season 2, 1998
HBO's first original show. Season 2 has the introduction of Chris Keller, played by Christopher Meloni, and ramps up what was already a great performance by Lee Tergesen and JK Simmons. There is a definite aesthetic to the show that not everyone likes, like the narrations. But damn, this show is what made me a lover of HBO original shows.
This. I would have to go with Season 5 or 6 though. It was aired in the UK at the most random times, and seasons ran together so I was never sure where I was with it, but I know I managed to miss the first 4 seasons entirely.
However I distinctly remember these seasons, so unrelentingly bleak. Busmallis' winning lottery ticket for instance. Holy freaking fuck what a brutal turnaround. Or giving the white supremacist another ethnicities gums. Plus, Luke Fucking Perry as a messiahnical character.
Oz's later seasons are weird and broad and audacious and nowhere close to as good as 1-3.
All in the Family, Season Two (1971-1972)
The first full season (S1 was only 13 eps) of this groundbreaking show stands as a chronicle of America circa 1971. The Sammy Davis Jr. and Maude spinoff episodes are in this season, but other episodes dealing with impotency ("Mike's Problem"), menopause ("Edith's Problem") and the truths of marriage ("Archie and Edith Alone") are standouts, mature and provocative while remaining, above all, funny.
Party Down season 1 (2009)-
What Arrested Development was for the absurdity of the Bush era, Party Down sort of was for shitty state his administration left the economy in. Adam Scott and Lizzy Caplan are hilarious and sexy together, so much so that it makes me want to see a screwball comedy with the two as the leads. Or just more Party Down. (We're getting more Arrested Development; so why not?) The whole cast is great, especially Ken Marino. And the guest spots are even better. JK Simmons, Kristen Bell, etc...
I might be mixing up the demise of ROME with the demise of CARNIVALE. Regardless, Season Two felt a wee bit unsatisfactory due to some of the dangling threads. Also, I never liked Jonesy and Libby together. Hurumph!
I might be mixing up the demise of ROME with the demise of CARNIVALE. Regardless, Season Two felt a wee bit unsatisfactory due to some of the dangling threads. Also, I never liked Jonesy and Libby together. Hurumph!
It really did wrap up 90% of its long-running plotlines in the finale. It did open up a brand new can of worms with its cliffhanger, but if you can ignore the last 2-3 minutes, it functions as the most complete, plothole-and-anticlimax-free example of heavily serialized, mythology-based storytelling in TV history.
No offense, but are we really going to include A-Team? I mean honestly, is that one of the Best TV seasons ever? I realize most hour longs are formulaic by nature but this could spiral down into CHIPS, Knight Rider, Renegade and Walker Texas Ranger territory.
this could spiral down into CHIPS, Knight Rider, Renegade and Walker Texas Ranger territory.
Don't just blurt out all those classics without proper explanation. You'll steal fleed's thunder.
Hey, speaking of that:
Dick Butkus, Bubba Smith, AND Dana Carvey? The only thing that could've kept that trio off the air was the powerhouse duo of Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine.
I suppose short runs/minis fit in here.
Edge of Darkness (1985)
(Bob Peck, Joanne Whalley, Joe Don Baker. wr: Troy Kennedy-Martin)
I don't know if everyone's seen this yet. Remade recently into a film about Mel Gibson pointing guns at things, but you don't want to pay too much attention to that.
Yorkshire cop Ronnie Craven survives what is ostensibly an assassination attempt, retribution for the old days in Northern Ireland. It seems, however, that he was not the target. As he digs he discovers his med student daughter Emma was in deeper with a group of environmental activists than he ever dreamed. His subsequent crusade threatens to air a lot of dirty linen and pisses off nearly everyone.
Apart from being damn fine drama, covering police procedural all the way to espionage thriller, the show was pretty zeitgeisty. States, defense and industry at the tail end of the cold war had some pretty clear relationships and common interests everyone was comfortable with. The anti-nuclear movement was a left-field wedge realpolitik couldn't quite understand.
A totally compelling six hours, I find. The first ep is so stunning it could probably go in the other thread, but I don't want to imply you could skip the rest.
It really did wrap up 90% of its long-running plotlines in the finale. It did open up a brand new can of worms with its cliffhanger, but if you can ignore the last 2-3 minutes, it functions as the most complete, plothole-and-anticlimax-free example of heavily serialized, mythology-based storytelling in TV history.
Agree, the show might not have been to everyone's liking, but it was by far the most tightly planned example of mythology based storytelling that's ever been on tv. Every weird little touch had a purpose behind it. I only wish LOST and BSG had followed suit.
Small aside: I reckon the standard US network season length is generally poison to great TV. It's only since HBO championed the 12ep season that things have really taken off. You get a lot more focus. Sure it's not the only factor, but I think you can see Lost and BSG (and House and others) really struggling to pad out a 20plus episode season. Throwing in so many ideas that go nowhere, repeating the same formula. It just ends up tying a show up in knots looking for the next development or twist. Trying to keep a show running long and trying to give it your A material is basically serving two masters, particularly with strong serial elements.
Bailey, I am definitely not...BLUE, over your including ABC's...THUNDERous Supercopter Series! I thought James Farentino was terrific as Frank Chaney. Sandy McPeak was also excellent filling in for Warren Oats as Captain Braddock.
ChopTop, Everyone cannot agree on all the shows on this list. To me...Knight Rider is absolutely deserving of inclusion. The 2 episodes of...K.I.T.T. Vs Goliath, with Hasselhoff playing...EEEEEEEEEEvil Garthe Knight to Michael's...Good Knight, is just...Awesome in...Goliath and Goliath Returns! Double the...Hasselhoff, Double the fun! I would also include...Glen A. Larson's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, the one and only...Classic Battlestar Galactica! Why wouldn't you include...The A-Team? That is the...Best Tv Series ever created after Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek starring William Shatner as James Tiberious Kirk. Shatner's other series worthy of inclusion is...T.J Hooker! To me it is...THE...Best Cop Series ever. Season 3 is excellent. That is one of only 2 seasons with Shatner,Adrian Zmed teamed up with Heather Locklear and James Darren. The first 2 seasons was the best Aaron Spelling Cop series. When Locklear and Darren were added you had 2 veteran cops with their rookies, and that made the show even better. My all time fave actor that specialized in playing...EEEEEEEEvil villains on tv is...Richard Lynch! He was kidnapping dancers at a strip joint and selling them in Mexico. Stacey Sheridan (Locklear), went undercover to catch the creep in the act. To me the...80's are the...Glory Days, for tv, and what we have now is the...Worst era ever.
The Twilight Zone seasons 1, 2 and 3 are incredible. Season 4 sucks because they turned it into hour long episodes that dragged on like that Outer Limits shit and the fact that producer Buck Houghton left while Rod Serling's attention was elsewhere. Season 5 was the last and although there are some great episodes, you can feel that the were running out of steam by that time.
Star Trek season two was the show at its peak.
MTV's Undergrads and MTV's Downtown are two fucking GREAT animated shows that stupid fucking network cancelled after one season each.
Chris Morris' Jam only lasted one series of six episodes but it's mindblowing.
Spaced series one is one of the best things I've ever seen. Series 2 isn't as good.
Todd and the Book of Pure Evil is fucking fantastic while, like Spaced, series 2 isn't quite as fresh.
I don't have a favorite season of Daria. I love it all.
Rex the Runt season one is great claymation.
Veronica Mars, Season 1 (2004-2005)
Combining high school drama with film noir, Veronica Mars was too smart and serialized to be on UPN (God rest its soul). The show would later stray from its S1 format, but the year-long "Who Killed Lilly Kane" storyline was compelling (and, to me, less convoluted than the S2 bus crash mystery), and Kristen Bell's title character is one of the great TV characters of the last decade. Beautiful, brilliant, assertive and funny. Her chemistry with Enrico Colantoni is a joy to watch. My only caveats: the show has one of my least favorite theme songs ever (and they changed it in S3 to something even worse), and Paris Hilton shows up in one of the early episodes and stinks up the joint.
Veronica Mars, Season 1 (2004-2005)
Combining high school drama with film noir, Veronica Mars was too smart and serialized to be on UPN (God rest its soul). The show would later stray from its S1 format, but the year-long "Who Killed Lilly Kane" storyline was compelling (and, to me, less convoluted than the S2 bus crash mystery), and Kristen Bell's title character is one of the great TV characters of the last decade. Beautiful, brilliant, assertive and funny. Her chemistry with Enrico Colantoni is a joy to watch. My only caveats: the show has one of my least favorite theme songs ever (and they changed it in S3 to something even worse), and Paris Hilton shows up in one of the early episodes and stinks up the joint.
I literally was about to add this one. Such a great rookie season that it never really topped. And, man, was Amanda Seyfried just a supernova of hotness in the Lily Kane flashbacks.
The Middleman - Season Only (2008)
This sadly underseen little gem was basically what a Men in Black series what have been if it were funnier and more geek-friendly. Terribly mismatched on the ABC Family Network, it never got the love it needed to survive, but I loved it. Chockfull of goofy ideas (an energy drink that turns people into zombies that only eat fish, for example), nerd references and running gags (every villain says "My plan is sheer elegance in its simplicity!" at some point). All of that might have been overbearing if Matt Keesler and Natalie Morales didn't have such great chemistry together. The whole thing was just a blast.
Dead Like Me, Season 1 (2003)
Although Pushing Daisies seems to get most of the Bryan Fuller love, I've always been more taken by this earlier effort. While the second season didn't quite live up to the promise of the first, and by all indications the DVD film is a disaster, the first season of Dead Like Me is one of the best televised pieces of fantasy I've ever seen. It rests right on that Gaiman/Gilliam axis of dark quirkiness, but with Mandy Patinkin providing a streak of patient warmth, and with enough humor to keep things from getting too grim. Although the show certainly isn't afraid to go for black comedy, especially considering the main character is killed by a falling piece of the Mir station. For someone who has a pretty big phobia when it comes to death, this show made me almost feel okay about it.
And I still say the ominous boom and light when the reaper Betty follows a soul over to the other side was somehow responsible for Ned's power over death on Daisies.
Are we CHUD or are we a PBS altgroup???
No Manimal?
No Street Hawk?
No Automan???
Oh wait. We're being serious. I actually remember all three of those terrible shows.
None were as awesome as The Master.
We loved our ninjas in the early 80s. BIG TIME.
Back to your intelligent discussion...
First Class 782, Well...Some consider today's television programming to be the...Pantheon of Greatness! I am not one of those viewers. I agree...The Master, provided not just a...Kick, but 13 weeks of Glorious over the top action and adventure featuring...MASTERful Lee Van Cleef and the EEEEEEEEEEvil Sho Kosugi, whom is quite the...NINJA ASSASSIN! Of course I wish there were...Moore...Demi, as the daughter of our fave Ninja! Timothy Van Patton, felt that...Eight Was Enough, but there were still fun to be had!
I'm going way out on a limb and nominating the Venture Brothers Season 1. Yes it's animated, yes it's half-hour, yes it's comedy, but it still great.
Subsequent seasons have some better episodes, but some serious clunkers too. Season 1 is just overall perfect.
Less controversial: Babylon 5 Season 3. Yeah, there's one huge clunker in there, but overall that season is bulletproof-great TV.
Justice League Unlimited, Season 1 (26 episodes)
As Justice League Unlimited evolved from Justice League, you could almost see the increased latitude given to Timm, McDuffie, and the team.
While Justice League had been a good series, it had focused on the main 7, who were (almost always, the finale to JL is a nice stepping stone between the styles) always in uniform, and pretty much always 2-part specific and standalone stories.
JLU blew that up. It became about characters, and a seaon-long threat. It tackled big villains, an Alan Moore adaptation, and friction between regular people (and world governments) and superheroes with an armed space station in the sky. It broke out from superhero conventions before TDK and it broke out from "kids TV shows" even more strongly. The voice cast Andrea Romano corralled was completely exceptional, and the humor was interspersed throughout the action and drama and would give Joss Whedon a run for his money. It even features a Captain Marvel vs.Superman fight that works as spectacle and drama and sends Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern to the Wild West.
This actually became appointment TV for my wife and I (I loved the heroes and callouts, she loved the writing and fun) for the run of this extended season. It culminates in a Flash vs. Lex moment that is as awesome as superhero comics can be. In-between, it balances one-off episodes focusing on magic and eight year old heroes with Booster Gold and season-story pushers as effectively as any live-action show. It is hard to not get behind a show that casts Jeffrey Combs as The Question and ends by connecting the series long plotline to a) Batman Beyond and acts as a finale to THAT cool little cartoon.
It really was pretty special, and Season 2 had a few great moments, but the show (and the DCAU) were never quite this great again. I could literally keep going, and I haven't even shared some of the best moments or episodes.
There isn't a single picture that could encapsulate how much fun and how secretly great this season is, but here you go:
Spaced series one is one of the best things I've ever seen. Series 2 isn't as good.
Yes, Spaced Series 1 (1999)
I'm vaguely stunned it took so long to appear, and then only warranted one sentence.
Anyway, I can remember when this was on Channel 4, and the joy of each new episode starting. I videoed each one and we rinsed that tape to death in our flat. The "Clubbing" episode was unwatchable in the end, as that, for me, is the go to episode of the series.
So many pop references, so many glorious homages, but at the core of it all just great stories about friendship and being in your 20s. Characters you love, plot, tension. Just brilliant, brilliant television
Brasseye S1&2 (1997-2001)
Really only one series since "series" 2 is just the paedophilia episode. The Day Today's dark and twisted cousin, taking a "Panorama" approach to subjects and gloriously sending up the medias frothing insanity over certain projects.
FRom getting Noel Edmonds to talk about Shatner's Basoon (then parodying him going mad and killing Clive Andersen after he complained) to getting Phil Collins to wear to repeat the phrase "I'm talking nonce-sense" while wearing a hat and t-shirt of same.
Or actually having an MP stand up in parliament and talk about the dangers of your made up drug "cake" (an epsiode of which saw Chris Morris dressed in a nappy and light bulb head walking the streets of London asking drug dealers if they had any of a long list of made up drugs, the balls of the man).
Justified, Season 2 (2011)
Inspired by First Class 782 in the Best Eps thread. Like First Class, I have trouble pinpointing the best episode in a series filled with greatness, but the second season of Justified is definitely my favorite, with the show coming to its own and the wonderful performance of Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett. Aside from the subpar Winona-steals-money subplot, this season is unassailable. Season 3 is certainly busier, but I like Season 2 better.
I suppose short runs/minis fit in here.
Edge of Darkness (1985)
(Bob Peck, Joanne Whalley, Joe Don Baker. wr: Troy Kennedy-Martin)
I don't know if everyone's seen this yet. Remade recently into a film about Mel Gibson pointing guns at things, but you don't want to pay too much attention to that.
Yorkshire cop Ronnie Craven survives what is ostensibly an assassination attempt, retribution for the old days in Northern Ireland. It seems, however, that he was not the target. As he digs he discovers his med student daughter Emma was in deeper with a group of environmental activists than he ever dreamed. His subsequent crusade threatens to air a lot of dirty linen and pisses off nearly everyone.
Apart from being damn fine drama, covering police procedural all the way to espionage thriller, the show was pretty zeitgeisty. States, defense and industry at the tail end of the cold war had some pretty clear relationships and common interests everyone was comfortable with. The anti-nuclear movement was a left-field wedge realpolitik couldn't quite understand.
A totally compelling six hours, I find. The first ep is so stunning it could probably go in the other thread, but I don't want to imply you could skip the rest.
the genius of Bob Peck. So good. Mint soundtrack too.
Probably the best Joe Don Baker role as well
"You know what a Preacher is don't you Craven?"
"Gun"
"That's right. The Time of the Preacher is the time of the gun. Somethin we ought to reflect upon."
How should we treat the 6th season of The Sopranos? It was split up into 6A and 6B, and I always felt that 6B, starting with "Sopranos Home Movies," was a powerhouse, while the first half left me hot and cold. I know some complain about the Vito storyline, but I thought it was mainly let down by the fact that the guy playing Vito was a so-so actor.
I think 6B is right there with Season 5, but a lot of 6A feels like padding.
Seasons 3-5 of Supernatural. With a budget that's a fraction of the AAA shows out there, Supernatural managed in 3 epic seasons to portray the Apocalypse in a way that didn't feel cheap. It also managed to outdo The Prophecy and Constantine in its portrayal of the heavenly host and their hellish counterparts.
Life Season 2
Season 1 was very good, but in season 2 the conspiracy got bigger and the episodes funnier and weirder, one including cop groupies. Damian Lewis is great as the Zen detective Charlie Crews and he has great platonic chemistry with Sarah Shahi, Even though not everything is explained by the end, most of it is and the characters are at peace and what's more zen than that?
Seasons 3-5 of Supernatural. With a budget that's a fraction of the AAA shows out there, Supernatural managed in 3 epic seasons to portray the Apocalypse in a way that didn't feel cheap. It also managed to outdo The Prophecy and Constantine in its portrayal of the heavenly host and their hellish counterparts.
I actually feel the first five seasons of supernatural we're pretty great, did season one and two have some clunkers, sure but with the introductions of demons at the end of season one and then season 2 actually starting to focus on just what it was that was up with sam was good television. Seasons three through five speak for themselves as you have listed and I feel if it would have originally ended with season 5 the way kripke intended it too we wouldn't have got that last shot of sam being back and the whole thing would have been looked back on as good television from a story point.
