The character of Frasier is one of the longest running characters on TV, appearing first on Cheers, and then his own spin off, Frasier.
Frasier moves back to his home in Seattle with his father and brother. His brother, Niles, is like a carbon copy of Frasier, and you wouldn’t expect a pair of characters who are so much the same to work, but it does. It does tremendously well.
Kelsey Grammar and David Hyde Pierce are amazing together, becoming perhaps the most similar brothers on TV.
The storyline between Niles and his father’s physical therapist Daphne became one of the major ongoing storylines for the run of the series.
It may not be “cool” to like this show, but I don’t care. The Golden Girls were some of the best episodes of TV you’ll ever find.
The cast of this show is the first reason it was so great. Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty and the incomparable Betty White had so much chemistry that you could sit and what them eat cheesecake and be totally entertained… and there were many episodes where that was exactly what we did.
The writing on the show was extremely brilliant as well. It was not enough that they gave us some of the best characters on TV, but they provided them with great words and plotlines.
It may seem like it is just four old women in a Miami house, but this was four rousing characters that were as relatable as you are ever going to find. Four women, who had had plenty of success outside of The Golden Girls, find their perfect scene partners with each other.
Consistently funny… the Golden Girls deserve this spot on the list.
The Netflix original series, Wednesday, has a lot going for it. Jenna Ortega stars as the titular character and she does an incredible job of taking the character from the Addams Family and placing her into a new situation…school.
The series is full of wild characters. One of the best is Wednesday’s roommate, Enid. The contradiction between these two characters is so apparent, yet it only seems to strengthen the bond between them. In fact, during season two, when there was distance between Wednesday and Enid, the show did not feel as enjoyable.
The first season felt more concise and interwoven. Season two, while still fun, felt like several separate stories that got wrapped up quickly.
Jenna Ortega led the cast which included Emma Myers, Christina Ricci, Hunter Doohan, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Evie Templeton, Luis Guzman, Moosa Mostafa, Isaac Ordonez, Billie Piper, Steve Buscemi, Georgie Farmer, Joy Sunday, Owen Painter, and Jamie McShane.
Special shout out goes to the recurring character of Fester Addams, played brilliantly by Fred Armisen. While I may not want a regular run from Fester, what the show has given us so far has been spot on.
The show is one of Netflix’s biggest hits and can be streamed on that platform.
Ellie and Joel. HBO Max’s hugely successful video game adaptation would have been higher on my list if I were doing this right after season one came to an end. However, season two, while still engaging and entertaining, did feel like a bit of a step down.
Big reason? Joel was murdered brutally in front of Ellie. While I am not opposed to major twists like that, one of the biggest part of the show was the relationship between Ellie and Joel. I do not think it was a coincidence that one of the best episodes of seoasn two was the flashback episode where we see Joel and Ellie on her birthday.
Still, there have been some amazing episodes of The Last of Us. Season one, episode 3, “Long, Long Time” is one of the best episodes of TV you could ever ask for. The episode focused on Bill and Frank, played by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett. It was a beautiful tale of love, loss and togetherness that earned Offerman an Emmy.
The show certainly knows how to pull the heartstrings, presenting the tragedies of life while still celebrating the small joys.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are wonderful as the iconic video game characters. It was the absence of Joel in season that made things tougher.
I’m not sure how the idea of starting season three off by following Joel’s killer will go, but I’ll be there for it.
Who would have guessed that the story of Cassian Andor, a secondary character in the Star Wars movie Rogue One, a show that no one was excited for or wanting, would turn out to be the best Star Wars TV show ever?
Whereas most of the Star Wars franchise feels as if it is based for kids, Andor is 100% Star Wars for adults. The storylines were deeper, the characters more flawed, and the stakes higher.
The stretch when Cassian was in prison in th emiddle of season one were some of the most compelling and fascinating storytelling of the entire run. Then, the brutal Ghorman massacre was frighteningly realistic for the genre.
Diego Luna starred as Cassian Andor and led the cast of outstanding acotrs which included Adria Arjona, Stellan Skarsgård, Alex Lawther. Faye Marsay, Ben Mendelsohn, Benjamin Bratt, Andy Serkis, Forest Whitaker, Denise Gough, Elizabeth Dulau, Kyle Soller, Genevieve O’Reilly, and Alan Tudyk.
What made it even more challenging was the fact that we knew Cassian’s fate. We knew he did not make it out of Rogue One, so why do we bother to give this character such an amazing back story? It takes the events of Rogue One and makes them even more tragic than before. The powerful final scene with Adria Arjona with her child, the child of Cassian Andor, was even more impactful.
Andor received several Emmy nominations and was universally commended for its work. Star Wars should follow this blueprint to move their franchise into the future.
“Everyone is equal while they play this game. Here, every player gets to play a fair game under the same conditions”
These words are said by teh Front Man, the main antagonist for a show that pits a group of desperate men and women against one another in a series of games that, if you fail, will lead to your death.
This is Squid Game.
The Korean sensation hit Netflix a few years ago and became the must see show on the streamer. The fact that this show was one that you had no idea what might happen next appealed to a huge audience. Characters that you have grown close to were killed, some without much fanfare and twists kept coming.
This might have been higher up the list, but season three ended very poorly, in my opinion. However, it is a difficult and emotional path over the three seasons of shows that was compelling and thrilling.
Some of the games played were amazing. Red Light, Green Light, Jump Rope, Tug of War, Six-Legged Pentathlon and Hide and Seek were just some of the childhood games warped by the show.
Lee Jung-jae was our lead protagonist among the players. He became one of the top heroes of the show after starting out questionable.
Top notch performances and thrills every minute made Squid Game one of Netflix’s biggest hits.
One of the classic anthology series of all time is next up in the Top 100 countdown. The Twilight Zone found a place in the culture of the country with its weird tales of supernatural and uncertain events.
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into… the Twilight Zone.
Rod Sterling was the narrator of this series, starting off the show with his typical monologue featuring the main story they would be telling in the next half and hour (or so. The show had a season of hour long episodes).
There are so many classic episodes that are iconic to the world. The gremlin on the wing of the airplane. The man who only wishes for a chance to read, finds the time at the end of the world, only to break his glasses. It’s a cookbook!!!
I spent the summer of 2023 watching all 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone. What a wonderful watch. Some episodes were not as good, some were downright terrible (“The Bard” or “Cavander is Coming,” for example), but most were really great or amazing.
This is the top 10 episodes I ranked that summer. As with any list, things may change over time, but this was the comprehensive list at that time.
#10. “The Howling Man”
#9. “The Dummy”
#8. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
#7. “Time Enough at Last”
#6. “Eye of the Beholder”
#5. “A Stop at Willoughby”
#4. “Living Doll”
#3. “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”
#2. “To Serve Man”
#1. “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street”
Some of the best actors around spent time in the Twilight Zone including Burgess Meredith, William Shatner, Robert Redford, Bill Mumy, Jack Klugman, Dennis Hopper, Agnes Morehead, Claude Akins, Elizabeth Montgomery, Ed Wynn, Lee Marvin, Telly Savalas, and Charles Bronson. There were hundreds of other actors that appeared in the show over its five seasons.
There have been many variations and homages to The Twilight Zone over the years, but none of them reached the level of success or quality as the original CBS series.
I have to say that I did really enjoy Friends. It does not seem like my kind of show, but I found it extremely funny and there is no doubt that this cast has insane chemistry together.
David Schwimmer, Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc were the reason this show became one of the top comedies of the recent days. They each totally grasped their characters and their characters’ intricacies and quirks in ways that were consistently hilarious.
There are so many awesome moments from Friends including when Chandler and Joey took on Monica and Rachel for the apartment, “PIVOT!”, Joey with the turkey on his head, among many others.
A who’s who of actors cameoed and guest starred on Friends over the years, from Bruce Willis to Paul Rudd to Kathleen Turner to Brad Pitt to Brooke Shields to Gary Oldman to Tom Selleck. The list is way too long to list here, but it is some of the most iconic actors in Hollywood.
The Ross-Rachel relationship carried over the entire run of the series, in all of its ups and downs and “We were on a break!”s. I do think that Chandler and Monica’s out of nowhere relationship reignited the heart of the series, though.
This show took the villain of the first Karate Kid movie and made him the protagonist and switched the POV of the show. It debuted on the fledgling YouTube Red. This was never going to work.
Then it did.
After a couple of seasons on YouTube Red, Cobra Kai moved to Netflix and became a sensation.
William Zabka led the cast of the show as Johnny Lawrence. Ralph Macchio resumed his role of Daniel LaRusso from the Karate Kid movies. The show not only focused on that rivalry between old foes, but also the new karate students. Other cast members included Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Payton List, Jacob Bertrand, Mary Mouser, Courtney Henggeler, Vanessa Rubio, Dallas Dupree Young, and Gianni DeCenzo.
The show brought back several of the other villains from the Karate Kid movies including Martin Kove’s John Kreese, Thomas Ian Griffith’s Terry Silver, Yuji Okumoto’s Chozen, and Sean Kanan’s Mike Barnes. The continuity of the show with the films was excellent.
The show was ridiculous, but in the very best ways. The fifth seaosn finale was some of the best karate action you will see. Cobra Kai ran for six seasons and was surprisingly exceptional.
Star Wars has had several Disney + shows, but few have reached the heights popularity-wise as The Mandalorian.
There is one major reason why the show became such a massive hit. It was the sudden appearance of a little creature who became known as Baby Yoda.
Baby Yoda was a phenomenon and you could not turn around without seeing the little character.
The relationship between Din Djarin, our titular character, and Baby Yoda, whose name was revealed to be Grogu, is the central heartbeat of this show. Grogu is more than just cute (though that is clearly a superpower). He has a real emotional entanglement with Din and it has provided three seasons of Star Wars goodness.
Jon Favreau created this space Western and will be directing the feature film that will serve to continue the story of the Mandalorian and his little buddy.
The show has had some major memorable moments including the return of Luke Skywalker, the live-action Ahsoka, and appearance of the other major Mandalorian, Boba Fett.
Eleven seasons on NBC. Cheers was iconic. Low ratings in its early seasons could not stop it. It became one of the staples for NBC’s comedy lineup in the 1980s-1990s.
Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows created the show about a former baseball relief pitcher who now runs a Boston bar. Sam Malone was a womanizer and admired by all until Diane Chambers walked through the door.
The show was able to survive one of its main leads leaving. In fact, after Shelley Long departed the show, Cheers took off critically and successfully.
The cast was an absolute gem with Ted Danson, Shelley Long, George Wendt, Woody Harrelson, John Ratzenberger, Kelsey Grammar, Kirstie Alley, Nicholas Colasanto, Rhea Perlman, Bebe Neuwirth, and Paul Wilson.
Cheers had a spin off entitled Fraiser, which was perhaps even more successful. It had young magician/comedian Harry Anderson who, while not a direct spinoff, took his basic character to a show called Night Court.
Cheers was always funny. It showed us the lives of a group of characters that we cared about and that we were entertained by. It also had one of the best themes around.
The Minnesota State Screaming Eagles is the fictional college football team led by Hayden Fox. This is the basis for the ABC sitcom Coach.
Craig T. Nelson played Hayden Fox, a character based somewhat on the Univeristy of Iowa football coach Hayden Fry. The comedic pairing of Nelson and Jerry Van Dyke, who played Fox’s assistant coach Luther, was sensational. Nelson was more the straight man, but they worked together so well.
Along with Nelson and Van Dyke, the cast included Shelley Fabares, Clare Carey, Bill Fagerbakke, Kenneth Kimmins, Pam Stone, Georgia Engel, and Kris Kamm.
Coach went 9 seasons on ABC and fit in with some great comedy blocks.
The show that the Emmys think is a comedy is the next show up on the list. The Bear has had four seasons of intense drama and a few laughs as we follow a chef trying to start up his own fancy restaurant.
Carmy returned to his family sandwich shop after his brother committed suicide with a dream of turning the restaurant into a four-star eatery. He is surrounded by a crew of eccentric characters who both help and hinder the process. Carmy deals with his own anger issues over family, friends and the pitfalls of being a small business owners.
Lots of laughs there, right Emmys?
The cast of The Bear is fire. Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jon Bernthal, Jamie Lee Curtis, Oliver Platt, Matty Matheson, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Edwin Lee Gibson, Liza Colón-Zayas and Molly Gordon are among the great ensemble.
The show is also well known for famous actors doing small roles and cameos. Some of these actors include Will Poulter, Rob Reiner, Joel McHale, Olivia Colman, Robert Townsend, Bob Odenkirk, John Mulaney, and Alex Moffat.
For me, the first two seasons were remarkable. Season three was a bit of a step back, but season four recaptured a lot of what made this series special.
Oscar Isaac starred in this six-episode Marvel Studios show on Disney +.
I’m going to be honest here. Moon Knight receives way more hate than it deserves. I will admit that the finale may not have been as great as it could have been, but it wasn’t bad either, and the fifth episode of the series is, perhaps, one of the best episodes of TV Marvel Studios ever produced (definitely in the top 10 episodes from the studio so far).
The design of the Moon Knight costume is amazing and the use of Mr. Knight as the form of Moon Knight when Steven was in control is genius.
Oscar Isaac provided a brilliant performance as Marc Specter and his multiple personalities. I will say that I think Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow was not the best antagonist available, but Hawke surely gives it his all.
I don’t know if we will ever get any more Moon Knight in the MCU, but, for one, would be down for that. Oscar Isaac was epic in the role and I do believe that there are stories to be told with Marc, Steven, Jake and the rest of the crew.
Who knew what you could do with some duct tape, a Swiss army knife and some paper clips?
Richard Dean Anderson starred as MacGyver, the action hero who did not use guns, but who preferred science and his amazing intelligence to deal with any situation he found himself stuck in.
MacGyverisms became a fan favorite term for MacGyver’s ability to create something from nothing. Every week, he would find the most unexpected way to work his way out of trouble.
The original series ran from 1985-1992. There was a new version of the show, but I never watched it. To me, there could never be another MacGyver than Richard Dean Anderson.
It has been such a cultural icon that even the term “MacGyver” made it into the Oxford online dictionary as a verb meaning “make or repair (an object) in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand.”
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 