OT: Your Top 5 TV Dramas of all-time

Submitted by BeatOSU52 on

There was a sub-discussion in the Mad Men series final for this the other week and it got me thinking.  Mine would be:

 

5.  Boardwalk Empire - probably not on a lot of people's top 5.  I think Michael Pitt's potrayal as Jimmy Darmody is one of more underrated tv performances of all time.

4.  The Sopranos  - Credited as the show that got presitige tv drama series really going.  People still talk/debate about the finale to this day.   Also great acting as a whole.  RIP James Gandolfini.

3.  Breaking Bad  - Has as some of the best use of cinematography I've ever seen.   Gustavo Fring is probably my favorite villain of all-time in a series.  

2.  Mad Men  - Don Draper is probably my favorite drama character of all time in terms of level of intrique.  Hamm better finally win an Emmy this year!  This show is more character--driven than most shows which causes some to stay away from it and either love it or hate it.  I thought the series finale was great and stayed true to the show being an accurate illistration of human behavior.

1.  The Wire  - It seems there's not a lot of middle ground in regards to this show in that people think it's the most overrated show ever, or that it's the greatest show ever.  I obviously fall in the latter.  I think it's as close to a flawless show as you can get, and I believe it has the overall best acting on a show that we'll ever see.

 

 

So I like AMC and HBO shows as you can see, and probably favor shows in recent time.  But all just my opinion.

 

What are yours?

PurpleStuff

June 5th, 2015 at 2:06 PM ^

Not sure what a top-5 would look like for me (so many good ones to choose from), but I felt the need to add both The Twilight Zone and Oz (the show that started the cable TV revolution) to the overall list.

Louie C

June 5th, 2015 at 6:16 PM ^

I LOVE In The Heat Of The Night. That show is now part of my hangover Sunday routine. Veg out on the couch and watch the four hour block on WGN. It was on from about 10 am to 5 on Memorial Day weekend. Needless to say, I was pretty damn useless that day.

Squeeks23

June 5th, 2015 at 2:16 PM ^

I just skimmed this but I didn't see anyone mention Homicide: Life On The Street. I thought that show was way ahead of it's time.

 

1. Breaking Bad

2. True Detective

3. The Wire

4. Homicide

5. The Shield

PurpleStuff

June 5th, 2015 at 2:23 PM ^

I loved Homicide, especially the early episodes.  I think both that and NYPD Blue get lost in the shuffle because they probably stayed on the air too long (Zack Morris being on the show at the end didn't help NYPD Blue), had to do too many episodes in the old network format (imagine just getting the best 13 every year instead of 20+).  Homicide also ended up in a shitty timeslot.

Both started in 1993 and The Sopranos came out in 1999 and from that point on cable overshadowed network, and could always be edgier (people protested NYPD Blue because of some brief buttcheeks and side boob). 

bklein09

June 5th, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^

Breaking Bad

Big Love (huge Bill Paxton fan)

Mad Men

True Detective (would be higher but only one season so far)

Game of Thrones / Walking Dead tie (GoT is likely to climb this list moving forward)



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Number 7

June 5th, 2015 at 2:43 PM ^

The Office (UK version) and Firefly are both great, although neither is really a drama, and neither reached a full season's worth of episodes.



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bsand2053

June 5th, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^

Top five, no order

Sopranos, Deadwood, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men

Just missed

The Americans (If it finishes as strong as its started then I'll probably replace Breaking Bad with it)

Louie (You say its a comedy?  It can be as dramatic as any of those top five.  Sopranos can also be viewed as a very dark comedy)

The Shield/Six Feet Under/Treme (Haven't finished but what I've seen is brilliant)

Battlestar Galatica

True Detective/The Returned (not the American Version)/The Leftovers (can't give them top billing for 1 season)

Orphan Black and Game of Thrones don't have the consistency of any of these, but at their best they are as good as any.

Basically if Sepinwall likes it I like it.  

Logan

June 5th, 2015 at 2:48 PM ^

Breaking Bad is best overall, followed closely by Game of Thrones, followed by The Wire, although that show had the greatest season in TV history with season 4. Sopranos and House of Cards round out my top 5.

mgolund

June 5th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^

easily the best show (formerly) on TV. Solid from pilot to series finale. Compelling characters, all of whom, even the archvillian, you want to succeed.

I watched Mad Men until the season finale where Betty is flying to Nevada for a divorce. I found that I hated every person on that show, and didn't care how it all ended. Great acting, though.

I'm going to try out Breaking Bad soon. Heard lots of good stuff.

Dantana

June 5th, 2015 at 3:02 PM ^

1. The Wire

2. Breaking Bad

3. Sopranos

4. Justified

5. Sons of Anarchy

I threw Sons on there to round out my 5. However, I believe True Detective will easily take it over but it needs to run a few seasons first. The Wire had the single greatest TV season in my eyes with Season 4 and the Corner Boys.

 

jblaze

June 5th, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^

1) Sopranos

2) Wire

3) Mad Men

4) Lost

5) Twin Peaks (although I saw it a long time ago and forgot most of it)

I haven't watched GoT, because I listened to the audio books and didn't feel the need. Also, I didn't really like the 1st episode of breaking bad and didn't watch the rest of it.

bklein09

June 5th, 2015 at 6:53 PM ^

You're not the first person Ive heard from who stopped Breaking Bad after just a few episodes. I promise that you are doing yourself a disservice.

I understand that it takes a little while to get going for some shows. Breaking Bad is one of them. Shows like House of Cards on the other hand had me hooked five minutes in.

But back to my point, Breaking Bad was a truly incredible show. The transformation of Walter White is truly incredible. I recommend giving it another try.



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saveferris

June 5th, 2015 at 3:37 PM ^

All these shows....I just don't get to watch much TV anymore.

5.  Outlander

4.  Babylon 5

3.  Star Trek: TNG

2.  The West Wing

1.  The Sopranos