My 20 Favorite Television Shows 1. Twin
Peaks Rusty W. Spell's Commentary 20. Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher -- A number of people almost made it to this slot. David Letterman is an important guy in my life, and Conan O'Brien is a great guy too. Saturday Night Live was considered, but I only truly loved the period in the 80s with Dana Carvey, Mike Meyers, Phil Hartman, Dennis Miller, Jan Hooks, Kevin Nealon, and those guys. Most of the rest I either liked okay or don't like much at all. In the end, the show Bill Maher put on had a pretty decent impact on me and was a pretty one-of-a-kind show. I suppose people honestly speak their minds on TV all the time, but they're usually not this smart, practical, and funny. 19. Mystery Science Theater 3000 -- I remember when I'd watch this, I'd always feel a little depressed when Frank would push the button and the screen would shut off, like a little death. A hilarious show, full of that obscure reference humor I've come to love. 18. Angel -- I only watch Buffy and Angel on DVD, and so far I've only seen season one, else this might have ranked higher on my list. A very smart, solid show. 17. Fishing with John -- Only six episodes were shot, and this wasn't exactly a widespread show since it only aired on the Independent Film Channel (and occasionally Bravo), but these documentary-style "fishing" shows starring musician/actor John Lurie with guests such as Jim Jarmusch, Willem Dafoe, and Dennis Hopper were pretty darn fantastic. 16. Saved by the Bell -- The best bad show ever on television. It's pure cheese, but not self-conscious cheese. It's cheese that doesn't wink at you for being cheesy, but instead some different sort of existential cheese that we don't see much in this ironic age. This show is loveable. 15. The Sifl and Olly Show -- This show should have lasted forever. Liam Lynch and Matt Crocco were hilarious puppets. The humor seemed to come from the unconscious, and the songs were effortlessly great. 14. Oddville, MTV -- The show that brought out odd, quirky acts without making fun of them (like so many shows would have done). In addition to the entertaining acts, the show was also great because of the cool nerd host Frank Hope, his silent co-host David Green, Joey the Dancing Monkey, and one of the most beautiful and sweet women ever on television, Melissa Gabriel. 13. The Larry Sanders Show -- Garry Shandling is a high-concept kind of guy. Not so much a spoof of late night talk shows as simply showing exactly what they were like (seemingly, at least). It arrived at the perfect time, with the Letterman/Leno/Carson controversy. I'm glad Shandling chose to do this show instead of a real talk show. Of course, it was also fun to see celebrities playing themselves each week. 12. Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist -- Jonathan Katz and H. Jon Benjamin are two of the funniest people in the world (not to mention Laura Silverman), in cartoon form or otherwise. Their relationship was funny and sweet. This show is also a great showcase for the funniest current standups and other entertainers. (Related show, Home Movies, could easily make my top 50 list.) 11. The New Tom Green Show -- This has only been on for three months now, but already it's my favorite late night talk show ever, beating out my previous two favorites, Letterman and O'Brien. Tom Green is a celebration of life itself. 10. Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- At first, like many people, I thought this was just a kids' show based on that goofy movie I never saw. Turns out, it's one of the smartest, most "complicated" (in all the of the postive ways you can use that word), most dramatic, touching shows ever. I apparently relate to Buffy in some deep way, since I often have dreams at night of original episodes where I am Buffy herself. 9. M*A*S*H -- Revolutionary TV. Very quick, very "dramedy." Everyone's already said what's good about this show. 8. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart -- This show is about 99% perfect five days a week, which is quite an accomplishment. The only truly "fair and balanced" news show on TV, and the best source for news, no matter how much they might object to me saying that. 7. Family Guy -- If you're looking for simply the funniest shows that have ever been made, this would at least be in the top three. Usually at least one laugh-out-loud joke per minute (often more). And not so much an obscure reference show as a show that references stuff that people know of but haven't thought about in at least ten years. 6. South Park -- A show that often goes beyond just being funny, though of course always always very funny. A very rich, varied show that began strong and just kept evolving. 5. The Tom Green Show -- The most important person in comedy since Andy Kaufman, and -- to me at least -- more beloved. This is not a stupid, gross-out show, ladies and gentlemen. Comedy that manages to be as edgy as good comedy is supposed to be while still being incredibly sweet. 4. The Simpsons -- The show has really become full of itself in the past few seasons, being way too self-referential and not concerned at all with the family-centeredness and sentiment that helped make this such a good show to begin with. It's become empty jokes and zaniness for zaniness' sake that isn't even funny or good at all anymore, but the years and years that this show was near-perfect makes up for its recent sins. 3. Beavis and Butt-Head -- Comedy from the gut. I absolutely hated this show when it first came out, but a combination of the show turning genius overnight and me embracing my own bowels helped turned this into one of the most sublime things I've ever seen. 2. The Kids in the Hall -- The best comedy ever. The least sketchy sketch comedy ever written. Every kid was equally imaginative and hilarious. 1. Twin Peaks -- The show that changed my life. Nothing in the world looked quite the same after I saw it through the filter of this world. There were drifting episodes to be sure (after the mcguffin of "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" was thrown out), but even those were better than most everything else on the vast wasteland that is television. |
Copyright © 15 Sep
2003 We
Like Media.
You may
email Rusty W. Spell.