Television: The Good, the Bad and the Awful

Recently, Entertainment Weekly published a 100 best of all time issues.  Anytime a publication does this there is going to be some heated discussion amongst "so called" experts.  I include myself in this category.  The show that placed first among this group of "experts" was The Wire.  Now I was not a fan of this show simply because it was too dark and I don't have time to watch every show out there.  For that reason and for that reason alone I will not dispute this choice.  (I think they are so wrong.)  I was please to see that one of my own top five TV shows of all time was in their top Ten.  The Mary Tyler Moore show made it in at number four.

Now here is what is pissing me off.  I looked at that list three time and I did not find arguably the best TV comedy ever written.  Where was the Dick Van Dyke Show!!  The Brady Bunch was number 100 for crying out loud!  Now I admit that I was a fan of the Brady's when I was about to enter my teens but I have come to realise that it was likely because I wanted to see Marcia Brady prance around in her macro mini and tight sweaters, not because there was anything skillful about the writing or stories.  At best it makes my top 30 guilty pleasures.

For me a top 100 list should be chocked full of shows that bring back the best memories and would be able to stand up years after they have left the airwaves.  The Dick Van Dyke Show not only stands up but it was completely ahead of its time.  Sure it was silly at times. It was a comedy after all.  It also broke ground for women actresses and set the standard for work place comedies.  How this could not even be considered in the top 10 let alone top 100 is beyond me.   The EW staff says that "The Dick Van Dyke Show is a classic, but it’s just not a classic that resonates as much with the EW staff ."  Well, EW staff... that answer is just not good enough.  Not for me or countless others. 

For the record, here is my top Five list:
1 - The Dick Van Dyke Show
2 - Friends
3 - The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 - The Big Bang Theory
5 - Modern Family

Yeah, I know, they are all comedies.  What did you expect ... I'm depressed.  I need a laugh.  Most of us do.