#10---The Simpsons
This show could have possibly placed higher on the list, but it loses ranks because they're extending the show way past it's prime. I don't feel the show has been fresh or funny over the past 8-10 seasons. I love to watch seasons 1-12 but after that I trail off. Still you can't argue the success and influence the Simpsons have had on America. It's also funny to see celebrities being "Simpson-ized", Mark McGwire, Richard Gere, Metallica, the list goes on for people who have made appearances over the course of the show.
#9---Law and Order:SVU
Amonst lineups that are over-saturated with shows based on chasing and catching criminals (Law and Order, CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, etc) this is the only one I've been able to really get into and follow. This show is very gripping and the characters play their parts so well. Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay excel in their roles as Detective Elliott Stabler and Olivia Benson as they fight sexually based crimes in New York City. Some episodes are heart-breaking and seem to mirror reality.
#8---King of Queens
This show is hilarious. One of the ones I can quote over and over again. Kevin James really rocketed to fame as IPS Delvery Man and bumbling husband Doug Heffernan. He knows not only how to master timing of quotes but he's a gifted physcial comedian. If you're a fan of Kevin James' films (even including, ugh, "Paul Blart:Mall Cop") you owe it to yourself to get into "The King of Queens".
#7---Everybody Loves Raymond
Another hilarious comedy. This one gets the nod over King of Queens because of it's relatibility. No matter what walk of life you're in, it seems you can find yourself or someone you know in a character in this show. Perhaps you've always been in the shadow of your sibling so you're like poor Robert. Or perhaps an in-law drives you bananas so you laugh at the antics between Debra and Marie. Not to mention this show can teach you things. For example, taping a Super Bowl over your wedding video is frowned upon by most women out there! Ha ha ha!
#6---Saved By The Bell
#6---Saved By The Bell
This show brings back so many memories. My brothers and I had a daily routine. We'd come home from school and immediately tune in to TBS for a double dose of this show at 3:00. I don't even know how to fully describe the show. For kids going through school it was funny to watch the crazy stunts that Zach Morris and crew would pull. Not to mention laugh at things that would never happen in our schools. (Like Slater constantly running around in a tank top.) This is one of the few shows that really makes me wish I still had access to cable, cause it's still available via reruns!
#5---Little House on the Prairie
Now, had you asked me to create this list 8+ years ago I would never have pulled this show into the discussion at all. I remember my mom watching this show every now and then but my only take on it back then was, "How boring!". But then I married a woman who loved it and now we own nearly every season. I have now gotten converted over to it. There is a reason this show is still on tv. It can teach good life lessons and I have a deep respect for people who lived in those times. It's just such a simpler time and although things were hard, it seems life was a bit easier as well. People seemed to care more for each other and money was not really as much an object as it is nowadays.
#4---King of the Hill
I remember when this show was first being unveiled, I was mainly attracted to it because it was advertised as coming from the same guy who created "Beavis and Butthead" which I thought was hilarious at that time. I watched the first season and at the time I was a bit disappointed. It seemed so "serious" if it was trying to be funny. But about 4-5 years later I started watching it again and it grew on me, bad. Not only did I realize this show was hilarious, but it did try to instill good characteristics as Hank Hill is a very moral person who was always teaching everybody else how to treat people right. This gets ranked way higher than "The Simpsons" because they knew when to quit. Perhaps it's because Fox was pressuring them to, as they were trying to push more idiotic cartoons onto TV like, "Family Guy", "The Cleveland Show" and other cartoons I could care less for. King of the Hill is probably the most underrated show on this list and that has ever been on TV.
#3---Friends
Once again, ask me about this show about 11+ years ago and this show wouldn't be on this list. But I married a woman who thought it was hilarious so I started watching the reruns on TV with her and immediately converted over. We now have seasons 6-10 (We're going backwards on collecting the seasons!) and could watch them over and over again. Once again it's the relatibility and quotability of this show that endears it to me. I remember one time I posted a quote from this show on my Facebook status and it ended up being one of my most highly commented status ever, with friends posting quote after quote from the show. Without this show, I couldn't turn to someone who's having a cow and state, "Wow, you're pulling a Ross!"#2---Lost
I often don't even know where to start with this show. I once again have to credit my wife with getting me into it. She watched seasons 1-4 on Netflix and season 5 on TV before finally convincing me to give it a try and we ended up watching 1-5 on Hulu before we watched season 6 together as it unfolded. This has to be my all-time favorite drama that's ever graced the TV screen. For these survivors, an adventure or mystery is always just around the corner. The producers did a very good job always ending the episode with a moment that made you look at the screen in horror and scream, "NO!!! Don't stop there!!!!" With each episode and each season you got more and more of the background of each character which only endeared you to them more or made you loathe them more. Then there are characters that are straight out enigmas, you can't tell what to think of them, do you hate them or love them? The creators were cryptic right up to the end. The ending only sparked either confusion or outrage from most die-hard fans. For me, I've been able to interpret it to make sense to me and it feels fitting for such a wonderfully written show. Even though I now know what happens I can still watch this series from start to finish over and over again.
#1---I Love Lucy
When I first thought of this topic for a top ten and started listing the shows I'd put on the list, this is the only show I knew exactly where it would go. There is no arguing the impact that I Love Lucy had on the television world. Desi Arnaz introduced so many things that are now done in shows even still to this day. He introduced the practice of shooting with several cameras at once, helping with continuity in shots. He also introduced the rerun while Lucille Ball was recovering from childbirth to give her the chance to rest up and be ready for the next season. Though Desi and Lucille couldn't stay together in real life, they remained great friends until their deaths and maintained the greatest on-screen chemistry ever seen on television. Lucille Ball was a gifted comedian who played her part well, getting into crazy antics every episode, usually based upon trying to getting into Ricky's current show. The show also benefits from the two greatest co-stars ever, Vivian Vance and William Frawley as the Ricardo's landlords/friends Ethel and Fred Mertz. My wife and I still quote and laugh at, "I love you I love you I love you, Sincerely Fred........FRED?!" There are so many memorable moments from this show it could be it's own list.
Those are my top ten shows of all time! I'm sure yours may be different but hey, it's my list after all! ;)
