Variety names "I Love Lucy" as Best Show of all time

[Ali Gator]

Variety Magazine has listed the best television shows of all time, and says "I Love Lucy" tops the list. Following 'Lucy' (in order):

2 - Mad Men

3- The Sopranos

4- The Simpsons

5- Breaking Bad

6- Sex and the City

7- The Wire

8- Seinfeld

9- The Mary Tyler Moore Show

10- Roots

 

The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time

VARIETY.COM

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Variety breaks down the best TV shows of all time. From The Sopranos to Community, these are the best series ever aired.

 

[+ nycman]

Crappy list IMHO. 

Lucy #1…I can live with. 

The rest of the top 100?

Either completely wrong or at the very least way out of order. 
 

[viewing ownly]

I thought Roots was a mini-series, not a show? I love Seinfeld, but as time goes on, more and more people who used to no longer do. It took a few decades for me before I really, really liked a sitcom like I did with that one, which was "Brooklyn Nine-Nine". The American "Office" passed me by in it's time, but I've enjoyed catching up with it in syndication.

I love many game shows that are 30 minutes, with one of my favorites being the one Peter Tomarken hosted prior to Press Your Luck with the little aliens moving up a board, Hit Man. I was too young to care, but it is shocking to see any tv "all-time" top 10 list and have M*A*S*H not on it.

[+ WilliamM]

I would hope many people would  agree on  I Love Lucy.  Excellent writing and  Lucy was so funny 

[+ purplekow]

Checked out the full 100 List.  Succession was way too high in my opinion.  There were none on the list that I truly disliked but Jeopardy was very low for a show that is legendary and still going.  

[+ sync]

Of the shows listed I would have gone with Seinfeld.

[Stormy]

All in the Family should be in the top 5. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Shows like these- especially comedies- are so subjective.  Everyone has a wildly different sense of humor.

For me, dry/satiric/witty/biting comedy is what I go for.  I'd have put in shows like The Comeback, Absolutely Fabulous, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Black Books, The Other Two, Hacks, Episodes, etc.  

That said, it's good fodder for conversations like these to see where everyone stands.

Edited December 21, 2023 by BenjaminNicholas

[Becket]

Never laughed so hard as when watching the 70's show Soap. I thought it was hysterical. Shows my weird sense of humor I suppose.

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

Bozo's first sexual fantasy was being a young clown totally naked, cavorting in a hot tub with an equally naked Fred Mertz......
Fred was the teacher. Bozo was the eager student, seeking to learn how to properly please a lover from an older, attractive, experienced gentleman..

As we were on the cusp of a mutual orgasm, Ethel walked in the bathroom... ruined everything.

Poor Bozo...   Poor Fred....

BTC

Edited December 22, 2023 by BOZO T CLOWN

[MikeBiDude]

10 hours ago, sync said:

That series birthed my crush on Wilmer Valderrama, and it has gotten even better.  

Thanks for the pics of Wilmer...but I believe @Becket was referring to a (hilarious) show named "Soap" produced in the 1970's.

As opposed to Wilmer's "That 70's Show".

[+ sync]

7 hours ago, MikeBiDude said:

Thanks for the pics of Wilmer...but I believe @Becket was referring to a (hilarious) show named "Soap" produced in the 1970's.

As opposed to Wilmer's "That 70's Show".

 Thank you @MikeBiDude for that catch, and my apologies to @Becket for my faux pas.

[samhexum]

14 minutes ago, sync said:

 Thank you @MikeBiDude for that catch, and my apologies to @Becket for my faux pas.

You should only commit authentic pas.

[+ WilliamM]

17 hours ago, BOZO T CLOWN said:

Bozo's first sexual fantasy was being a young clown totally naked, cavorting in a hot tub with an equally naked Fred Mertz......
Fred was the teacher. Bozo was the eager student, seeking to learn how to properly please a lover from an older, attractive, experienced gentleman..

As we were on the cusp of a mutual orgasm, Ethel walked in the bathroom... ruined everything.

Poor Bozo...   Poor Fred....

BTC

Fred was straight, my friend 

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

1 hour ago, WilliamM said:

Fred was straight, my friend 

Fred Mertz was obviously gay. Probably a voracious bottom.
Sadly, the moral codes of that era prevented the character from being too open or flamboyant about his sexuality.
Like James Dean and Tab Hunter, Fred Mertz was a gay icon to younger closeted gay men in the 50's.

Ethel was his lesbian beard. Fred and Ethel slept in separate beds, had no kids, and probably never had sex.

 

 

Fred Mertz was a "man's man"

BTC

Edited December 22, 2023 by BOZO T CLOWN

[+ Charlie]

I was a younger gay man in the '50s who watched I Love Lucy every week, and I never felt the slightest gay vibe from Fred. He reminded me of my grandfather, who was a grumpy old private detective.

[samhexum]

2 hours ago, WilliamM said:

Fred was straight, my friend 

Yeah, but he was a drunk, so under the right circumstances...

[+ WilliamM]

3 hours ago, samhexum said:

Yeah, but he was a drunk, so under the right circumstances...

When Desi Arnez  chose William Frawley  for Fred,  he told him no more drinking 

[samhexum]

1 minute ago, WilliamM said:

When Desi Arnez  chose William Frawley  for Fred,  he told him no more drinking 

Yes, and to his credit he never showed up to work drunk, but don't you think the thought of getting it on with @BOZO T CLOWN after work would have driven him straight to the bottle for some liquid courage?  (I mean, have you seen the size of that clown's shoes?)

😁🤣😇😊😲

[+ WilliamM]

17 minutes ago, samhexum said:

Yes, and to his credit he never showed up to work drunk, but don't you think the thought of getting it on with @BOZO T CLOWN after work would have driven him straight to the bottle for some liquid courage?  (I mean, have you seen the size of that clown's shoes?)

😁🤣😇😊😲

Mr. Frawley was also on My Three Sons, So  it was clear  he was hardly a clown in his personal life 

[samhexum]

33 minutes ago, samhexum said:

Yes, and to his credit he never showed up to work drunk, but don't you think the thought of getting it on with @BOZO T CLOWN after work would have driven him straight to the bottle for some liquid courage?  (I mean, have you seen the size of that clown's shoes?)

 

10 minutes ago, WilliamM said:

Mr. Frawley was also on My Three Sons, So  it was clear  he was hardly a clown in his personal life 

You didn't follow the narrative...   Mr. Frawley would have needed liquid courage to get it on with @BOZO T CLOWN

On 12/21/2023 at 4:24 PM, BOZO T CLOWN said:

Bozo's first sexual fantasy was being a young clown totally naked, cavorting in a hot tub with an equally naked Fred Mertz...

 

[+ WilliamM]

What is a "young clown" as apposed to a "a middle aged clown.

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

42 minutes ago, WilliamM said:

What is a "young clown" as apposed to a "a middle aged clown.

about 20 years.

BTC

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

9 hours ago, samhexum said:

Yeah, but he was a drunk, so under the right circumstances...

William Frawley the actor may (or may not) have been a drunk; however, Fred Mertz the landlord was definitely not an alcoholic. And it is unfortunate that you chose to disparage the reputation of one of America's most beloved characters.
Bozo doesn't recall ever seeing him drink anything stronger than coffee.

BTC

Edited December 23, 2023 by BOZO T CLOWN

[Ali Gator]

On 12/20/2023 at 10:55 PM, viewing ownly said:

I thought Roots was a mini-series, not a show?

Back then in the 70s, "Roots" was considered a mini-series with eight episodes airing. Today, eight episodes qualify as a 'season' for a series - 'The Gilded Age', 'Julia', 'Fellow Travelers' for starters. 

 

I found the list to be too heavy-handed from the 21st Century. There's not enough from the 50s and 60s (Where's BEWITCHED ? First show to deal with 'mixed marriages', prejudices and brought us Paul Lynde and Agnes Moorehead together!)

Most importantly, where was "Upstairs / Downstairs" on the list ? Or "I, Claudius" ?

Edited December 22, 2023 by Ali Gator