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Sepinwall's "Best TV of the '00s" List

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Double Down, Dec 11, 2009.

  1. Wenders

    Wenders Well-Known Member

    I was glad to see a nod on there for Gilmore Girls and for The Amazing Race, my two favorite shows. However, no Will and Grace? Or Big Bang Theory (which better go on for many, many more seasons!)?
     
  2. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Never seen even one second of "The Wire," although at some point I plan to pick up the first couple of seasons and dive in.
     
  3. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    Will and Grace, like Friends, is aging awfully. The whole "there's a gay guy on TV!" thing that provided a lot of humor for Will and Grace isn't so novel anymore.
     
  4. GBNF

    GBNF Well-Known Member

    What a fantastic list, or series of lists.
     
  5. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    I read an article on the Web about how TV in 00s became "art." I can't disagree. The season-long arcs of shows on cable, the building of storylines, the better quality of actors, and the writing that in many cases was better than Oscar-nominated films, really took the medium to a new level.
    Shows can now be very dramatic and very funny (Rescue Me), can have protagonists who kill people or have people killed (Sons of Anarchy, The Shield, Dexter, The Sopranos, Deadwood), can live with multiple wives and still be socially acceptable (Big Love) and can be seriously flawed but still redeemable (Mad Men, Breaking Bad).
    I have been part of a panel for evaluating potential new TV shows for the broadcast networks a few times, and if you see what is coming out of cable you get the idea that none of these shows would ever make it broadcast and swear words and nudity have nothing to do with it. Broadcast likes shows that have the good characters being good, the bad characters being bad, lead actors are sexy, sidekicks are funny and everyone is someone you'd like to hang out with. Stories are easy to follow and make you feel good at the end. Nothing too depressing.
     
  6. zimbabwe

    zimbabwe Active Member

    Everything you just mentioned ---- phenomenal writing that stands out for its authenticity and verisimilitude, tragi-comedic elements in simultaneous juxtaposition, killed-off protagonists, morally conflicted/morally complex characterization and themes ---- The Wire had in spades.

    One of the few things I'm unapologetically elitist and assholish about.

    The Wire is simply unlike anything else ever produced for the screen, big or small.
     
  7. I didn't see Dexter on any of the lists, which if not the whole series I would at least give props to Seasons 1 and 2, and for cancelled shows, I would add Sports Night.
     
  8. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    Sepinwall and I have very similar tastes in TV shows it seems. Not only do we love many of the same shows, the clips he picked from each show were almost always my favorite from the series.
     
  9. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    Gotta disagree with you on Friends. That is still as sharply written and as tightly cast a show as I can remember. Still funny all these years later.
     
  10. John

    John Well-Known Member

    Same here.
     
  11. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    I think my one big regret, TV-wise, is that I don't get The Wire. I WANT to see in it what EVERY OTHER PERSON I KNOW sees in it. And I just can't. I've tried.
     
  12. Pilot

    Pilot Well-Known Member

    http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/12/best_of_the_00s_in_tv_best_hon.html

    He lumps Dexter Season 1 in with 24 Season 1. I can't speak for Dexter, but that's a fine way to pay tribute to 24, which has been a great an innovative show, but one that couldn't possibly maintain it's momentum.
     
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