Greatest US TV Dramas - your Top Five/Ten

[Rusty Shackleford]

I think we may have already had this battle, but I've been watching some reruns of some of my favourite US shows over the last few months and it struck me how much better the output has been from the US in recent years in terms of great dramas. What have our friends at the BBC come up with lately? 'Strictly Come Dancing' and 'Dr Who'. Not exactly 'The Wire' is it? Here are my favourites:

1. Lost
2. Prison Break
3. The Wire
4. Mad Men
5. Dexter
6. The Sopranos
7. Oz
8. Deadwood
9. The Event
10. The Walking Dead

 

[Rob Noxious]

1. Twin Peaks
2. The Sopranos
3. Northern Exposure
4. The Wire
5. Dexter

 

[MK Shrimper]

What's wrong with Doctor Who? :angry: Lost ended with a nonsensical whimper, The Event was so boring I feel asleep. British Telly does do some great dramas, like The Shadow Line for example.

My fave American shows in no particular order.

Curb Your Enthusiasm
ER
Sopranos
The X-Files (before it went past its sell by date)
Moonlighting (before they "got it on").
Game Of Thrones
Oz
Battlestar Galactica (old & new).

 

[Pubey]

The Wire
The Sopranos
Breaking Bad
Generation Kill
24

EDIT: forgot 24

 

[Beefy]

1. 24








2. The Wire
3. Lost
4. The X Files
5. House

BSG was very good as well. Could easily displace any of the bottom three there on any given day I suppose.

Really need to get around to seeing Dexter and The Sopranos.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

How did I forget 'The X-Files'? Shame on me.

 

[OldBlueLady]

In no particular order:
Moonlighting
Paper Chase
X-files (early series)
Depends what you're classifying as drama really, Starsky and Hutch and Alias Smith and Jones were both massive favourites as was Cheers but all have comedic touchs.

 

[pringlejon]

I've not got 5, but my top 4 are:

1. Walking dead
2. Hawaii five-0
3. House
4. Prison break

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I think we may have already had this battle, but I've been watching some reruns of some of my favourite US shows over the last few months and it struck me how much better the output has been from the US in recent years in terms of great dramas. What have our friends at the BBC come up with lately? 'Strictly Come Dancing' and 'Dr Who'. Not exactly 'The Wire' is it? Here are my favourites:

1. Lost
2. Prison Break
3. The Wire
4. Mad Men
5. Dexter
6. The Sopranos
7. Oz
8. Deadwood
9. The Event
10. The Walking Dead

The Shadowline's worth checking out IMO.

I know you like bashing the BBC and there's plenty there to bash, but at least they aren't ITV.

What's wrong with Doctor Who? :angry: Lost ended with a nonsensical whimper, The Event was so boring I feel asleep. British Telly does do some great dramas, like The Shadow Line for example.

My fave American shows in no particular order.

Curb Your Enthusiasm
ER
Sopranos
The X-Files (before it went past its sell by date)
Moonlighting (before they "got it on").
Game Of Thrones
Oz
Battlestar Galactica (old & new).

100 page thread.


Anyway, my top 3 from what I've seen:

1. The Wire
2. The West Wing
3. Friday Night Lights

 

[Pubey]

argh forgot the west wing too. that's on my list to re watch as I followed it with my parents when it was first shown.

 

[MK Shrimper]

100 page thread.

40+ years, huge following. It's one you'd lose. :whistling:

 

[Beefy]

I'm not sure he would lose it. Doctor Who is just a very, very bad television programme.

We should just leave TV down to the Yanks. They do it far better than we do.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Top American TV drama?The Prisoner with David Jansen.No contest really.

 

[MK Shrimper]

I'm not sure he would lose it. Doctor Who is just a very, very bad television programme.

We should just leave TV down to the Yanks. They do it far better than we do.

No it isn't. A "very bad" TV show wouldn't have a cult following, last over 40 years and have all the cream of acting and writing talent working on it.

I on the other hand, was simply bored sh*tless by The Wire. Treme ****ed all over it.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

1. The West Wing
2. Mad Men
3. Northern Exposure
4. NYPD Blue (first few series, at any rate)
5. ER (ditto)

erm... struggling after that. Not managed to get into many other US drama series other than the above. I presume that comedy (e.g. Frasier, Cheers, Seinfeld - all of which are excellent) is excluded from the above definition.

 

[Pubey]

No it isn't. A "very bad" TV show wouldn't have a cult following, last over 40 years and have all the cream of acting and writing talent working on it.

I on the other hand, was simply bored sh*tless by The Wire. Treme ****ed all over it.

give it another go.

 

[BrettieAngell]

The Wire
Mad Men
Generation Kill

 

[MK Shrimper]

give it another go.

I will do. Treme started slowly.

And how could I forget Stirling Cooper? For shame.

 

[Pubey]

I will do. Treme started slowly.

And how could I forget Stirling Cooper? For shame.

The Wire definitely does start slowly, the first 3/4 episodes aren't great, however everyone I know who has stuck it out has got completely hooked by it.

 

[BrettieAngell]

I've only watched the first 2 series of Mad Men, hmm I need to something to watch I feel some "acquiring" coming on.