Top 10 TV Series

I know we have a TV series discussion thread, but I recently had a discussion where I had to pick out 10 of my all time favorite series, and I was surprised at what a difficulty I had picking numbers 3 to 5. Anyway, I thought maybe others would like to share theirs. And I didn't find any other thread around this topic. If there is, please link it.

Anyway, onto my list:
1. Mr. Robot
2. Twin Peaks (both original and the return)
3. Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul (I'm cheating a bit by merging two into one)
4. Deadwood
5. The Leftovers
6. The Office (US)
7. Seinfeld
8. Battlestar Galactica (2004)
9. LOST
10. True Detective (S1 and S3)

I'm not so definite on 6-10, but I guess that's what I'd pick now.

It would take me a while to come up with it, and I doubt I could actually rank them 1-10. Maybe I'll try at some point. This post is just to say that I like seeing The Leftovers on somebody's top 10 list. That show affected me very powerfully.

The Wire
Blackadder
Star Trek: The next Generation
MASH
Seinfeld
Twin Peaks
I Claudius
Miss Marple (1984)
X-Files
Murder She Wrote
CSI Crime Scene Investigation
Mission Impossible
Columbo
The Simpsons
Bleak House (2005)
The Prisoner
Allo Allo
Chernobyl
Red Dwarf
Top Gear Specials
Michael Palin Travel Documentaries
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Cheers
Knight Rider
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Impossible to rank & I could list more probably but I'm already breaking the rules by quite some margin.

This is off the top of my head, so I'm probably forgetting something. And not in any real order - although the top half are locked-in classics:

The Prisoner
Twin Peaks (classic + 2017 revival)
Doctor Who (classic 60s-80s series only, not the revival)
Mission Impossible (classic + 80s revival)
Star Trek: The Original Series
Game of Thrones
Battlestar Galactica (2000s re-imagining, not the classic series)
Farscape
Babylon 5
Sherlock Holmes (the 1984-1994 series with Jeremy Brett)

Originally Posted by lackblogger
X-Files
Chernobyl

I liked the X-Files well enough. The chemistry between the two leads was fun. And I liked the episodes that tied into the main plot/conspiracy. The monster-of-the-week episodes were mostly forgetable, except for some very nice ones. I remember one involving a GroundhogDay-similar plot tha I liked.

But what I loved a lot more was the spin-of Millennium. Much more serious and dark. But X-Files was still a fun ride. It was also funny finding out years later that the reason Mulder was missing for a big chunk of the series was some conflict between the actor and studio? (iirc Duchovny no longer wanted to do it?). Anyway, it's kinda sad when outside events drive significant plot changes.

But after seeing Californication in its entirety, I think I enjoyed that one a bit more than X-Files. Kind of game the actor more room to be snarky, charming and a wise-ass.

I also loved Chernobyl, and only saw it recently. I'm really excited for what they do with The Last of Us, at HBO. Could be great if handled properly. Though I did see some leaked footage from the filming location, and it seemed in that particular scene they were reproducing an action set-piece from the game. I really hope the whole series won't turn into that, just game set-pieces turned into film. Or if they do do that, at least I hope they manage to really outdo what the game did.

Originally Posted by Stingray
Battlestar Galactica (2000s re-imagining, not the classic series)

Yeah, same here. I really liked the remake. I've been wanting to rewatch it at some point since it's been a long time since I saw it. And was curious how it stands up against my memory of it.

Not easy to sort them by order of preference.

1. Mr Robot (2015)
2. Spooks (2002)
3. Regenesis (2004)
4. The Americans (2013)
5. The Expanse (2015)
6. Rome (2005)
7. Band of Brothers (2001)
8. Twin Peaks (1990)
9. House of Cards (2013)
10. Better Call Saul (2015)

There are several others which may have switched place depending on the mood, like The Crown, Downton Abbey, Mad Men, The Man in the High Castle and a few others I'm probably forgetting.

Many documentaries are very well made too, but it's a completely different category: From the Earth to the Moon, Planet Hearth & II, Life, …

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
3. Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul (I'm cheating a bit by merging two into one)

I didn't like these series at first, then I started to appreciate them after a few episodes. I had a hard time ranking them… in the end I find that the development of Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler is richer and more interesting than the story in Breaking Bad (just personal preference) so I only ranked BCS. They're both special and not too far apart.

Not hard at all and not to many current TV Shows on my list.

My personal Top 10 TV Series

1. Game of Thrones
2. Babylon 5
3. Farscape
4. Rome
5. Hercules
6. Xena: Warrior Princess
7. Andromeda
8. Star Trek: The Next Generation
9. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
10. Star Trek: Enterprise

Honorable mentions

1. Resident Alien
2. Earth: Final Conflict

As I said not a fan of most current Tv shows nowadays and a big Gene Roddenberry fan.

I have watched so many TV series…

All Creatures Great and Small
Das Boot
Chuck
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Vikings
Nirvana in Fire
Game of Thrones
Sword Snow Stride
Star Trek: Enterprise
Herman's Head

Classic Doctor Who 1963-1989
Star Trek TOS 1966-1969
Babylon 5 1993-1998
Black Adder 1983-1989
Knight Rider 1982-1986
MacGuyver 1985-1992
The Prisoner 1967
Spartacus Blood and Sand 2010
Black Books 2000-2004
Lexx 1996-2002

I'll throw in a top 10 animated tv shows as well
DuckTales 1987
Transformers 1984
TMNT 1987
Dragon Ball 1986
Spiderman The Animated Series 1994
Batman The Animated Series 1992
Attack on Titan 2013
Castlevania 2017
Archer 2009
Tron Uprising 2012

Oh yeah, also:

Game of Thrones (first 4 or 5 seasons)
Father Ted
Black Books
The Borgias
Rome
Various Dr. Whos
Das Boot
The Killing (Forbrydelsen)
24
Heroes (first two series)
Fortitude (first two series)
Band of Brothers
Sherlock Holmes (Brett)
The Tudors

(thanks for the reminders everyone)

Stream of consciousness so probably the ones that impacted me the most:
The Witcher (Netflix)
Twilight Zone (60's)
Twilight Zone (80's)
Outer Limits (60's)
Outer Limits (90's)
Masters of Horror
Westworld (S1 would be my #1)
Dream On
Swamp Thing (best DC)
Legion (best Marvel)

My favorite is The Sopranos, and Lost and Stargate SG1 completes the podium.
Others that would make it to top 10: Rome, Spartacus, Dark, Married with Children, Battlestar Galactica, Greys Anatomy and Farscape.

Carnivale
Rome
I Claudius
Breaking Bad
Game of thrones
Killing eve
Oshin
The bridge
Coupling
Line of duty

But I'm sure I have forgotten some that excel as well

Originally Posted by Eye
Carnivale

Such a shame this never made it past season 1. It looked so promising.

Originally Posted by Silver
Classic Doctor Who 1963-1989
Star Trek TOS 1966-1969
Babylon 5 1993-1998
Black Adder 1983-1989
…
The Prisoner 1967

A man of sophistication I see

Wish I could've found room in my list for Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Red Dwarf, and Police Squad, but comedies aren't a high priority for me.

Apparently, I also need to get around to watching Rome, been meaning to someday. It might be in the most lists of anything so far.

Carnivale was so excellent, a total shame that we never got to see more of that world. It ended far before it should have.

I'll do top 20. That's hard enough. Not ranked.

MASH
Cheers/Frasier
Firefly
Deadwood
Justified
The Shield
X-Files
Star Trek (yes, just "Star Trek"; DS9 is my favorite)
Elementary
Ricky & Morty
Watchmen
The Leftovers
The Americans
The Office UK and US (cheating)
Breaking Bad
The Wire
The Expanse
Northern Exposure
This is Us (recency bias, but I like family dramas so I want one on here)
A Series of Unfortunate Events

Game of Thrones would have been on here easily if it had maintained the quality is had through its first four seasons. As it is, as a whole, it's top 50 at best.

Originally Posted by danutz_plusplus
Such a shame this never made it past season 1. It looked so promising.

You mean past season 2? There are two season of Carnivale