Every year when the Emmy nominations are announced they bring to mind not only the worthy shows of this year but those of the past. As a TV critic, one has to view the good, the bad, and the ugly. But occasionally you stumble on something great. And when that happens, you realize the power of that little illuminated box to thrill and inspire.
So, I’ve come up with my 10 favorite TV shows of all time. They are all personal choices and are based on this criterion: Was it a show that I couldn’t WAIT for the next episode? Scores of television programs of the past proved exemplary, and winnowing them down to 10 is an agonizing task. At the end of the list I’d love to hear your choices. So, in no particular order, here are my 10 favorites:
NBC’s “Hill Street Blues.” This was a cop show like no other before it. With the jiggly hand-held-camera, nervous jump cuts, the show rumbled with a sense of immediacy and veracity. And creators Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll devised officers so unique and even endearing that you quickly knew them by name and personality. A phalanx of extraordinary writers, including David Milch, Mark Frost and Jeffrey Lewis, contributed to the 146 episodes, which made you feel like you were on a perpetual ride-along.
“Sesame Street” – the early years. PBS’s “Sesame Street” bought a completely new and creative way to introduce the small fry to their ABCs and 1-2-3s. Abetted by Jim Henson’s whimsical Muppets, it was a show that even the grownups could enjoy with imaginative characters like Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, and The Count leading the way.
“I, Claudius.” This timeless “Masterpiece Theatre” series chronicled the gimpy, stuttering Claudius, who found himself the unexpected Emperor of the Roman Empire amidst treacherous political plots. Poisonings, stabbings, incest, adultery, betrayal, sex – what more could you ask from a classic based on Robert Graves’ two novels? All this headed by the incomparable Derek Jacobi as the stammering Claudius. It’s the best ever.
“My So-Called Life.” This ABC series followed the daily life of a teenage girl through all the self-doubt, hesitancy and angst that a young girl feels. Claire Danes as the introspective Angela Chase is surrounded by a clique of colorful and distinctive friends including a gay pal way before it was cool to be inclusive. Creator Winnie Holzman captured the ambiance of the high school netherworld even better than Paul Feig and Judd Apatow did with “Freaks and Geeks.”
“The Civil War.” Ken Burns’ nine episodes about the agonizing conflict between brothers that changed our nation set new standards for documentaries. Burns had created series before and has since but never quite touched the melancholy soul of America the way this did. Utilizing the rare proceeds from early photography, characters portrayed by our best actors, and a narrative deftly defined by writers Geoffrey C. Ward and Ric Burns, this remains a series about our history that continues to make history.
“I Love Lucy.” The criterion here for comedy was, did it make me laugh out loud? And “Lucy” always did. I never watched an episode of the show that didn’t rattle the funny bone. Other sitcoms were amusing, entertaining, even satiric, but Lucille Ball was just plain funny with her clown-like delivery and perpetual gaffes.[
“Roots.” This miniseries, based on Alex Haley’s book “Roots: the Saga of an American Family,” was such a hit that plumbing went south during its commercials in cities across the nation. The story of Kunta Kinte’s agonizing journey from his home in Gambia to slavery and captivity in the United States introduced a slice of American history that had not been told as definitively before on television. LeVar Burton — still a student at USC — played the young Kinte, John Amos portrayed the adult, and they were surrounded by distinctive characters portrayed by Louis Gossett Jr., Ben Vereen and Ed Asner. The script by Haley and James Lee kept people salivating for the next episode.
“Deadwood.” This was a classic western in every sense of the word. Not only did it portray the authentic, scrabble town of Deadwood, it did it in David Milch’s iambic pentameter. Beautifully written, the saga featured Ian McShane as the scurrilous saloon keeper Al Swearengen, Powers Booth as his nemesis and a roll call full of fabulous character actors. “Deadwood” showed how the West was really won through grit, profanity, lawlessness and greed.
“Leave it to Beaver.” Many worthy family shows followed this black-and-white entry, but none quite captured the innocent and loving ambiance of this family unit. Though mom wore pearls to the supermarket and dad always made time for his kids, “Leave it to Beaver” demonstrated the enduring validity of family in our lives.
“Breaking Bad.” In this Faustian tale a well-meaning family man, thinking he’s suffering from cancer, sells his soul to the devil. We watch as Walter White slowly devolves into evil, cooking up crystal meth with his erratic partner, Jesse Pinkman (brilliantly played by Aaron Paul). White’s intelligence served him well as his enterprise plunged him into the underworld of organized crime and metastasizing evil. Created and produced by Vince Gilligan, who saw one of his minor characters, Saul Goodman, inherit his own series, “Better Call Saul.”
It's torture to have to leave out wonderful shows like “Southland,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “The Simpsons,” “Two-and-a-Half Men,” “The Sopranos,” “The Americans,” “Yellowstone” and on, and on. But I’d love to hear your 10 favorites. Tweet me @LeeLuaine.
AMC+ goes mad for "Mad Men" series
It’s hard to believe but “Mad Men” is celebrating its 15th year, and AMC+ is streaming all seven seasons of the addicting show now. The story follows a group of competitive and sometimes ruthless advertising wits in the 1960s whose personal lives often intrude on their work. The show stars Jon Hamm as the protagonist and Elisabeth Ross as the lone female scaling the ladder with her male colleagues. Ross, who went on to star in Hulu’s super popular “The Handmaid’s Tale,” tells me she doesn’t think she’s cut out for a 9-to-5 job.
“I don’t think I would do very well in a day-in-day-out job where I had to do the same thing every day,” she says. “I think it’s because I like to keep things interesting. I get bored. I like a little bit of excitement. I like a little bit of change. To me as long as it’s not boring, I’m totally happy. I like exploring human nature and human emotion and why people do what they do, and I like getting to choose between playing something the way I would do it or the way someone else might react to that situation. I like having the choice how the character would portray something.”
"Forensic Files" advances on Sunday
Fans of “Forensic Files,” which airs on HLN, will be pleased to know that there will be eight new episodes called “Forensic Files II” beginning Sunday. These 30-minute dramas follow real murder cases which advances in forensic science has helped to solve. The original series went off the air in 2011 returned in 2020 with new episodes true to the original format. Since then there have been enormous discoveries in the field. Fans can catch a marathon of the earlier episodes on Sunday. Those originals were abetted by the dulcet tones of Peter Thomas who narrated the show until his death in 2016. Bill Camp (best known as Mr. Shaibel from “The Queen’s Gambit”) took over after Thomas’ death.
Roth plays menace in new film
Tim Roth, who has played everything from Dutch Schultz to Vincent Van Gogh is starring as the possible menace in “Resurrection,” a film that hits theaters on Friday and will be on-demand Aug. 5. He costars with Rebecca Hall who plays a woman whose life is comfortable and orderly until she’s confronted by a person from her past (Roth).
Roth admits he finds creative people a little “off.” “Most of artists I respect are crazy,” he says, “from painters to musicians to filmmakers — across the board are generally quite mad. When we were playing Vincent (Van Gogh) I saw him as a cross between Christ and Sid Vicious; someone you were drawn to but couldn’t spend more than five minutes with them. They’d drive you insane. A number of filmmakers I’ve worked with would drive you nuts if you weren’t ‘within it.’ I can see from the outside, they’d look crazy.”
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