Television Hollywood Reporter's top 50 shows of the century

For me there still is nothing close to The Wire, Simon in general has also other extraordinary series.

I loved Mad Men BTW, way more than Breaking Bad (that of course it's also great).

I loved and still love The Sopranos, but nowadays I see it more like one of the series that open the door for series like The Wire and Mad Men to be possible, in a way it's kind of a more entertaining oriented and less ambitious "product" in comparisonwith Mad Men and The Wire, it's more in the mold of an excellent all around serie like Breaking Bad and Succession.
 
Raoul said:
Not a fan of the last season (mainly because the late stage Charles/Diana thing is imo the least interesting bit about the royals), but the Crown overall, excels in the 7 key areas of film/tv making. Beef was disposably entertaining for about 4-5 episodes, after which the quality fell of a cliff (presumably because the writer ran out of ideas).
Click to expand...
What’s the “7 key areas” list? I’m curious.
 
Lists always give people a reason to be annoyed :lol:

I wouldn't have Mad Men in my top 50 as I hated it. Succession was decent but nowhere near #3 if it were my list. 30 Rock - meh. The Wire should be higher and I'd probably put it at #1 or #2 with Breaking Bad taking the other spot. VEEP and Fleabag are underrated in that list I'd say, as is Band of Brothers and The Leftovers, and there are loads of WTF and not seen shows in there. And The Crown? How does that Royalty Porn make the top 50?

I'd have had Heart of Darkness in my 10 ten I think.
 
I don't really mind Mad Men in first place. I wouldn't rank it that high, but it's so well acted and written, and is almost out of place and time compared to what is being offered these days.

Succession, 30 Rock, Girls, Reservation Dogs and similar have no business being in top 10. it's almost insulting to the actual shows. it looks like a pretty shyte list already so I didn't bother with further reading.
 
I wouldn't really have a mixed list for mini-series and regular shows. If you do, then both Chernobyl and Band of Brothers really should be higher.

Anyway, love the The Americans nod. Such a brilliant show that held up through all the seasons and ended on a high. The same goes for Freaks and Geeks which unfortunately only got one season, feckin' fantastic.

There's clearly a bit of recency bias here, for me nost notably the Better Call Saul is above Breaking Bad. Succession being that high is another one, it's a brilliant show but I would suspect it would place a lot lower if this list were made in 10 years for the same period. Beef is obvioius, but at least it's ranked low.

Game of Thrones is hard to rank, it's so incredibly great for four seasons, but it ends on such a low note that it's hard not to take it into consideration. It's one of those shows where the ending sort of stains the rest of it as well. I still love it and would have it much higher, but I understand it being put low.

I never made it through Mad Men, but I know people love it, I'd have put The Wire as number one (but that ranked high, so I'm not sure there's much to say there).

Rick and Morty is probably the most surprising exclusion here - not that I like it that much, but given how lauded it has been and how appreciated it was/is by audiences it really should make a top 50 of the century list.

Finally, I'd have The Leftovers much higher, Arrested Development very high on the list, Dark would be high as well and Six Feet Under really should be there somewhere. Lost should be in there just because of its influence (and because it's great). But I guess that's neither here nor there.
 
Massive Spanner said:
Nah. Season two has a difficult start but gets good. Season 3 and 4 are incredibly good.
Click to expand...

Rado_N said:
You couldn’t be more wrong.
Click to expand...

Indeed. It's a masterpiece. I love how each season feels distinct yet the story progresses smoothly, knowing exactly where it wants to go. After doing a rewatch I think season 1 is the weakest by far. It just gets better and better.

S4 > S3 > S2 > S1 (S3 vs S4 is a close call)
 
fen4e said:
As someone who had only seen The Office US (loved it) , should I still watch UK one?

Also, surely Curb Your Enthusiasm deserves a mention?
Click to expand...
I would say it’s definitely worth a watch.

While the The Office US is maybe a funnier show in terms of jokes and gags overall The Office UK is a far better series.
 
CoopersDream said:
Game of Thrones is hard to rank, it's so incredibly great for four seasons, but it ends on such a low note that it's hard not to take it into consideration. It's one of those shows where the ending sort of stains the rest of it as well. I still love it and would have it much higher, but I understand it being put low.
Click to expand...

I've been watching this with my partner, recently having previously watched up to season 3 and given up because Joffrey is a piece of sh*t and the increasing need to show how much was making me queasy (I've read a bunch of the books so know what's coming for him).

We just watched Blackwater last night and my god that's a brilliant bit of TV. Epic battle sequences with some great tension and pace building (particularly with the sound, the introduction of the sailor drumming really amps that up). It's also been a long time since I laughed out loud at TV violence but Tyrion cutting that guy's leg off was hilariously out of nowhere.
 
Raoul said:
But hey, some intern in charge of web content at the Hollywood Reporter really liked it, which is all that matters apparently.
Click to expand...
They quite clearly explained how the list was made but hey, don't let that get in the way of your witty comments!

Maybe I used to get wound up by lists like this but now I see them more as an opportunity to discover new shows (rather than validate my own opinions, which I'm not particularly insecure about) and spark a conversation about what other people thought about them.
 
fen4e said:
As someone who had only seen The Office US (loved it) , should I still watch UK one?
Click to expand...
Yeah for sure. It's quite different, but it's excellent. It's one of the shows that actually takes the mockumentary subgenre and doesn't just forget about it when it's convenient.
 
DavelinaJolie said:
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-lists/best-tv-episodes-of-all-time-1235090945/

Two Cathedrals should be in the top 3 at very least.

Interesting episode of Frasier to pick for the list as well, beautifully farcical. I keep forgetting how many great episodes there are in that show.
Click to expand...
They’ve picked the right Simpsons episode. Didn’t expect that. BrBa at number one doesn’t sit right with me. And Pine Barrens should have been chosen for the Sopranos.
 
Choosing a season 8 episode for Game of thrones is.. a choice.
Season 4s "Watchers on the Wall" or season 2s "Blackwater" would be my pick
 
MiceOnMeth said:
Choosing a season 8 episode for Game of thrones is.. a choice.
Season 4s "Watchers on the Wall" or season 2s "Blackwater" would be my pick
Click to expand...
Whichever episode was the Oberyn one affected me the most. I had stopped smoking at that time but had one last cig after that ep.
 
Love the inclusion of Ronny/lily for Barry. Such a bizarre fever dream of an episode and it might be the most I've ever laughed at a TV show
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Whichever episode was the Oberyn one affected me the most. I had stopped smoking at that time but had one last cig after that ep.
Click to expand...
The Mountain Vs the viper. I didn't read the books so had no idea what was coming.. I must have sat in stunned silence for about 10 minutes :lol:
 
MiceOnMeth said:
The Mountain Vs the viper. I didn't read the books so had no idea what was coming.. I must have sat in stunned silence for about 10 minutes :lol:
Click to expand...
Same man. Me and my gf at the time just stared at the TV with our jaws open. I fecking love that episode so much.
 
HTG said:
They’ve picked the right Simpsons episode. Didn’t expect that. BrBa at number one doesn’t sit right with me. And Pine Barrens should have been chosen for the Sopranos.
Click to expand...

I find it difficult to pick a Simpsons episode, there's so many good ones in those first 8 seasons. I would struggle to overlook "You Only Move Twice" or "Marge Be Not Proud" though.
 
DavelinaJolie said:
I find it difficult to pick a Simpsons episode, there's so many good ones in those first 8 seasons. I would struggle to overlook "You Only Move Twice" or "Marge Be Not Proud" though.
Click to expand...
I actually expected the Monorail episode. Always thought that was the most popular one. For me, Last Exit to Springfield is the number one. I love the episode so much. Have watched it at least 50 times and still have to laugh every time.
 
Last exit to Springfield is the best episode but it’s far too optimistic for todays world so shouldn’t be picked. The correct Simpsons episode is Trash of the Titans.
 
Yeah the west wing would be a lot higher for me as would BoJack. It's an interesting list though and feels more relevant than best show rankings. Also the office is too low and the wrong episode.

Seeing Buffy 'The Body' show up is an interesting one, I recall that airing and it being so incredibly done.
 
HTG said:
They’ve picked the right Simpsons episode. Didn’t expect that. BrBa at number one doesn’t sit right with me. And Pine Barrens should have been chosen for the Sopranos.
Click to expand...
I didn't realise it was the first time a protagonist had been like that on screen in a kinda of anti-hero way. I guess now we've seen so much like it this episode doesn't have the same impact as it would've at the time.
 
Solius said:
I didn't realise it was the first time a protagonist had been like that on screen in a kinda of anti-hero way. I guess now we've seen so much like it this episode doesn't have the same impact as it would've at the time.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that’s surely a factor. The argument they made is definitely plausible. But Pine Barrens is so good, I just don’t see how one could see past that episode.
 
HTG said:
Yeah, that’s surely a factor. The argument they made is definitely plausible. But Pine Barrens is so good, I just don’t see how one could see past that episode.
Click to expand...
No me neither. That or I also really like Whitecaps. Falco and Gandolfini are so good in that argument scene.
 
That website is an absolute nightmare to try and read on mobile.

Two Cathedrals is unquestionably top 5 at least.

I can’t see any Mr Robot mention but the site was having an epileptic episode, can anyone confirm if it features?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.