Top 100 TV Shows

[Rammy]

47. Forbrydelsen (The Killing)
Points: 51 | Lists: 3 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: 54th | 2011 Position: 72nd
Seasons: 3 | Episodes: 40​

Forbrydelsen is a Danish police procedural, first broadcast on Danish television in January 2007. The series is set in the Copenhagen main police department and revolves around Detective Inspector Sarah Lund and her team with each season following a different murder case day-by-day and a one-hour episode covering twenty four hours of the investigation. The series is noted for its plot twists, season-long storylines, dark tone and for giving equal emphasis to the stories of the murdered victim's family and the effect in political circles alongside the police investigation.

The show has proved a hit in both Denmark and across the globe, garnering significant critical acclaim in a number of different countries and becoming something of a cult television show. It has received numerous awards and nominations including a BAFTA Award and an International Emmy, and in 2011 a US remake was produced by the American cable network AMC.

 

[Rammy]

46. Hannibal
Points: 51 | Lists: 4 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: N/A | 2011 Position: N/A
Seasons: 3 | Episodes: 39 (upon its season 3 conclusion)

Such a fantastically made psychological drama and incredibly underrated. Mads Mikkelsen is perfect for the title role.

Mads Mikkelson is the perfect Hannibal. Suave and sophisticated, mysterious and foreign, and he loves nothing more than good meat served with a glass of Chianti. Hannibal is gruesome but in a classy, artful way that makes eating humans appear in equal part grotesque and gourmet.​

Hannibal is an American psychological thriller-horror series based on characters and elements appearing in the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, and focuses on the friendship between FBI special investigator Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), a forensic psychiatrist destined to become Graham's most cunning enemy.

The series has received critical acclaim, with the performances of the lead actors and the visual style of the show being singled out by critics. The show has lost viewers with every season, and unfortunately the current run (due to conclude in America on August 29th) will be the last, as broadcaster NBC chose to cancel the show. Although looking unlikely, the show could return for a fourth season on Amazon Prime, who hold the exclusive streaming rights.

 

[Rammy]

45. Parks and Recreation
Points: 52 | Lists: 4 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: 131st | 2011 Position: 127th
Seasons: 7 | Episodes: 125

RIP Lil' Sebastian​

Parks and Recreation is an American sitcom starring Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur (both wrote and produced the American version of The Office), the series aired on NBC from April 2009 to February 2015 for 125 episodes over seven seasons. It uses the same filming style used in The Office, with the same implication of a documentary crew filming everyone. The ensemble and supporting cast features Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Schneider, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O'Heir, Retta, and Billy Eichner, who became a main cast member during the final season.

The series received mixed reviews during its first season. After a re-approach to its tone and format, however, the second and subsequent seasons were widely acclaimed. Throughout its run, Parks and Recreation received several awards and nominations, including two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, six Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe win for Poehler's performance, and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.

 

[BCFC Jordan]

Hannibal was near the top for me. Incredible show, its most recent season has been relatively slow but it's worth watching for the first two alone. Mads Mikkelsen is magnificent.

 

[Rammy]

44. Band of Brothers
Points: 53 | Lists: 4 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: 63rd | 2011 Position: 23rd
Seasons: 1 | Episodes: 10

Given the programme was at the time the most expensive show ever made, this could have gone horribly wrong. Instead it's a epic that still looks as if it was released yesterday, and incredibly the story is based on the real life stories of the men it portrays (who must have had one of the most interesting, terrifying WW2 experiences to be involved in D-Day, Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge). Band of Brothers set the benchmark for both war movies and series, and it's yet to be surpassed.
​

Band of Brothers is a 2001 American war drama miniseries based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose's 1993 non-fiction book of the same name. The executive producers were Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who had collaborated on the 1998 World War II film Saving Private Ryan. The episodes first aired in 2001 on HBO. The series won the 2001 Emmy and Golden Globe awards for best miniseries.

The series dramatizes the history of the "Easy" Company (part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division) from jump training in the U.S. through its participation in major actions in Europe, and up until Japan's capitulation and war's end. The events portrayed are based on Ambrose's research and recorded interviews with Easy Company veterans. The TV series took literary license, adapting the recorded history for the purposes of dramatic effect and series structure. All of the characters portrayed are based on members of Easy Company. Some of the men were recorded in contemporary interviews, which viewers see as preludes to each episode. The men's identities are not revealed until the finale.

 

[Rammy]

43. WWE Raw
Points: 55 | Lists: 6 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: 28th | 2011 Position: 14th
Seasons: 23 | Episodes: 1,155

I want to use this feature to secretly confess my love for pro wrestling. I can’t tell you who I am but my username rhymes with Agnell.


It may be "just a stupid wrestling show", but I've been watching it week in week out since late 2000 (barring a 4 or 5 year spell around 2004-2009), over half of my life, and I fucking love it.​

At least this tripe falls down the list again. WWE Raw is a sports 'entertainment' program that currently airs live on Monday evenings on the USA Network in the United States. The show debuted in January 1993, and has since been considered as the flagship program of WWE.

Since its first episode, Raw has broadcast live from 208 different arenas in 171 cities and towns in ten different nations (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan in 2005, Iraq in 2006 and 2007, South Africa, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Mexico).

 

[Oaf]

1FF NEXUS.

YOU HAVE FAILED THIS FORUM.

FUCKING HELL GUYS.

I got all ready to give reasonable responses to Parks and Recreation and Band of Brothers but now I'm too angry to be serious about those shows.

43rd?!

You all suck more than WWE's creative team.

 

[Gladders]

43rd is about 200 positions too high, the fact it beat Band of Brothers sums this forums viewing standards up

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Hardly a surprise given how many wrestling nuts are on here. Not my cup of tea at all and I honestly had no idea it was still a thing until I signed up to TFF. I thought it was childish and shit when I was 8 but each to their own.

 

[mowgli]

I'm stunned Band Of Brothers isn't in the top 10 at least. The way the voting has gone makes me believe the top 10 shows will be a joke.

 

[Murphy]

Just had a scroll through and I've realised that two of mine went in the early stages and I didn't even notice. Law & Order USA which I love at the moment, in particular the spin-off SVU, and Dave Gorman's Modern Life is Goodish which I reckon a fair number of forum members would enjoy if they have the same humour as me (which I think they do).

You awful people.

 

[Rammy]

42. Gladiators
Points: 55 | Lists: 6 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: N/A | 2011 Position: 101st
Seasons: 8 | Episodes: 112​

Gladiators is a British entertainment series boradcast on ITV from October 1992 to January 2000. It is an adaptation of the American format American Gladiators. The success of the British series spawned further adaptations in Australia and other countries.

The series was originally presented by John Fashanu and Ulrika Jonsson, however Fashanu was replaced by Jeremy Guscott in 1997, before Fashanu returned for the final series in 2009.

The format of the series involves contestants from all walks of life battling against a 'Gladiator' in a number of events in order to secure points for the final event, The Eliminator. Typically, four contenders would appear in each episode, two male and two female, and each contender would compete in five or six events, depending on the series or time restraints.

 

[Rammy]

41. Life on Mars *
Points: 56 | Lists: 4 | Number One's: 1 | 2013 Position: 46th | 2011 Position: 42nd
Seasons: 2 | Episodes: 16​

Life on Mars is British series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines speculative fiction and police procedural, featuring an officer from the Greater Manchester Police (played by John Simm) who wakes up in the 1970's after being in a road accident. The title is a reference to David Bowie's 1973 single "Life on Mars?"

Adaptations in America, Spain and Russia only lasted for one season. A sequel to Life on Mars in the UK (Ashes to Ashes), referencing another David Bowie song, bean airing in February 2008, with three series' being produced.

 

[Rammy]

40. Impractical Jokers
Points: 57 | Lists: 4 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: N/A | 2011 Position: N/A
Seasons: 4 | Episodes: 92

Easy to watch when you want to laugh.​

I love this show, but I'm amazed at how well it's done in this list. Impractical Jokers is an American hidden camera/practical joke reality series filmed mainly in New York and New Jersey. It premiered on TruTV in December 2011, and airs on Comedy Central in the UK. It follows Joe Gatto, James Murray, Brian Quinn and Sal Vulcano, the four members of thr comedy troupe The Tenderloins as they coerce one another in to doing public pranks. The show differs from other prank television programs in that the stars of Impractical Jokers do not know the details of the prank until the moment they are performing it on strangers. While one cast member performs the prank, the other three comedians in the troupe are behind the scenes feeding lines to their friend via microphone. The lines fed to the prankster are meant to create a humorous and awkward exchange between the prankster and the stranger being pranked.

 

[BCFC Jordan]

Another show of mine is out (Jokers) - like you Rammy, I am surprised it's got so high as it's only recently started being broadcast on UK television - I always watched them alone.

It's great. Four friends with a real chemistry together and they really know how to produce laughs. Easy watch considering each episode is twenty minutes. Would recommend the show to anyone that isn't a misery guts!

 

[cufc17]

Had it on my list too, really enjoyable show and very funny.

 

[Alty]

Forbrydelsen was bloody brilliant.

I found Band of Brothers a bit boring. And that's as someone with a geeky level of interest in WWII.

Still haven't got round to watching Life On Mars but I will at some stage.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

I started watching Band of Brothers but the file corrupted on my Sky box so I gave up with episode 1. It's definitely something I want to watch though. Always looked fantastic.

My only fear is that it'll be an American propaganda fest.

 

[mowgli]

I started watching Band of Brothers but the file corrupted on my Sky box so I gave up with episode 1. It's definitely something I want to watch though. Always looked fantastic.

My only fear is that it'll be an American propaganda fest.

Don't worry it isn't.

 

[Madejski]

Life on Mars topped my list, cracking program. Ashes to Ashes after it was good, but never got me hooked like the former did. Did feel as though they were milking the formula again, although they did link together well.

Still 11 of my 20 to go I believe.

 

[Rammy]

39. Doctor Who
Points: 57 | Lists: 6 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: 21st | 2011 Position: 26th
Seasons: 34 | Episodes: 813 (97 lost)​

Doctor Who is a British science fiction programme produced by the BBC from 1963 to the present day. The show depicts the adventures of the Doctor (currently played by Peter Capaldi), a Time Lord (a space and time-travelling humanoid alien). He explores the universie in his TARDIS, a sentient time-travelling space ship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. He is accompanied by companions, and he combats a variety of foes while working to save civilisations and help people in need.

The show is a significant part of British popular culture, and elsewhere it has become a cult television favourite. The show has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. After an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot in the form of a television film, the programme was relaunched in 2005 by Russell T Davies who was showrunner and head writer for the first five years of its revival. The first series of the 21st century, featuring Christopher Eccleston in the title role, was produced by the BBC. Series two and three had some development money contributed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which was credited as a co-producer. Doctor Who also spawned spin-offs in multiple media, including Torchwood (2006–11) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–11), both created by Russell T Davies; K-9 (2009–10); and a single pilot episode of K-9 and Company (1981).

Twelve actors have headlined the series as the Doctor. The transition from one actor to another, and the differing approach to the role that they bring, is written into the plot of the show as regeneration into a new incarnation, a life process of Time Lords through which the character of the Doctor takes on a new body and, to some extent, new personality, which occurs after sustaining injury which would be fatal to most other species. While each actor's portrayal differs, they are all intended to be aspects of the same character, and form part of the same storyline. The time-travelling nature of the plot means that on occasion, story arcs have involved different Doctors meeting each other.

 

[Rammy]

38 Match of the Day
Points: 60 | Lists: 8 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: 41st | 2011 Position: 27th
Seasons: 50 | Episodes: N/A

It needs to appear on a top TV show list somewhere on a football forum right? Hopefully it forever remains on BBC now and ITV never get the Premier League highlights again. Mark Crapman.​

Match of the Day is the BBC's main football programme, broadcasting the rights for England's top division since 1964. However due to broadcasting rights, it has not always been aired regularly. The show is recognised by Guiness World Records as the longest running football tv programme in the world.

Since 1999 it has been presented by the former England captain Gary Lineker. Lineker is usually joined by two pundits to analyse and review the day's action. The former Newcastle United captain Alan Shearer is the lead pundit. Over the years many famous former footballers such as Mark Lawrenson and Alan Hansen, and respected sports broadcasters, such as Kenneth Wolstenholme, David Coleman, Barry Davies, John Motson, Jimmy Hill and Des Lynam, have fine-tuned their skills on the programme.

 

[Murphy]

Ecclestone & Tennant years are my favourite. I can't watch it now as it's all story arcy and the writers have taken it too far away from what I enjoyed when it first came back.

 

[Saddlerrad]

Dr Who is a steaming pile of turd.

 

[Oaf]

Yeah, Dr Who was at it's best with Russell Davies running the show. It's still alright, but as you say it's often way too complex and interested in making these big stories where details you've completely forgotten are brought up and you have no idea what the fuck is actually happening.

I always think of "the silence" or whatever they were as being the best example of what I think of modern Dr Who. In the show, they were an alien that you see and you're like "all shit, an alien!" but then when you turn around you've completely forgotten that you've seen them. Brilliant idea for a baddie, really. But the point is, all this time on, I can't recall in the slightest what the fuck they were actually all about beyond the basic concept. So they kind of did their job.

 

[White Army]

Dr who is for nerds, Raw on the otherhand should be higher.

 

[mowgli]

Dr Who is a steaming pile of turd.

Loved it as a kid but hate all the recent Doctor Who series they should have left it alone!

 

[Rammy]

37. Gavin & Stacey
Points: 63 | Lists: 5 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: 168th | 2011 Position: 133rd
Seasons: 3 | Episodes: 20​

Quite the improvement for this British sitcom, having failed to make an impression in previous years. Wrongly so in my opinion, so I'm happy to see it in the Top 50. The comedy follows the long distance relationship of Gavin (Matthew Horne) from Essex and Stacey (Joanna Page) from Barry, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also co-star as Gavin and Stacey's friends, Smithy and Nessa.

A growing following meant the show saw life on different channels during its 2007-2010 lifespan. Starting life on digital only channel BBC Three, before moving to BBC Two and finally BBC One for the third and final series.

 

[Rammy]

36. Suits
Points: 63 | Lists: 6 | Number One's: 0 | 2013 Position: 55th | 2011 Position: N/A
Seasons: 5 | Episodes: 76 (upon completion of season 5)​

Suits is an American drama series, which premiered in June 2011 on the USA Network. It revolves around Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) and Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) as two lawyers at a high profile New York law firm. Harvey is one of New York City's top atorneys and Ross, whom Harvey chooses as his associate, never attended Harvard Law School (or any law school) and relies on his eidetic memory and his natural intellifence to help win cases.

More importantly, it has Meghan Markle in it, as Rachel Zane.

 

[Rammy]

35. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia *
Points: 66 | Lists: 4 | Number One's: 1 | 2013 Position: 31st | 2011 Position: 94th
Seasons: 10 | Episodes: 114​

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia falls down the list ever so slightly, having picked up nine less points than in 2013. The programme is an American sitcom that began on FX in 2005. Having completed its tenth season in March, the show has recently been renewed for a further two seasons. The series follows the exploits of "The Gang", a group of self-centered friends who run Paddy's Pub, an Irish bar in South Philadelphia.

Now I know where Danny DeVito disappeared to...