#38

The Greatest American Hero

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s ….. Ralph?

ABC’s action/comedy The Greatest American Hero was a superhero parody show, but it was so much more.

Teacher Ralph Hinkley was stranded in the desert when he was approached by a UFO. The UFO left him a suit, complete with cape, that gave Ralph a variety of super powers, from super strength to flight to invisibility. One problem… Ralph lost the instruction manuel.

Ralph bumbled his way through misadventure after misadventure, always seemingly coming out on top. Ralph team up with FBI agent Bill Maxwell and the two of them fought the “bad guys.”

William Kitt played Ralph and Robert Culp played Bill, and the two of them had a great chemistry. Their friendship was one of the keys to the shows success, even if at times, Bill could be hard to handle.

Connie Sellecca was on the show as well, as Ralph’s girlfriend Pam Davidson.

One wondered why Ralph did not have a mask on the show. There were so many times where a mask would have helped him. Oh well, part of the comedy I guess.

The theme song of the show was a major hit and reached #2 on the Billboard top 100 chart.

Believe it or not.

#40

Battlestar Galactica

This was another show that I was doing a watch for. I had never seen any of this show but I had seen some episodes of the 1970s Battlestar Galactica with Loren Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. I was never a fan of that sci-fi show so I was not rushing to watch the new version when it came out on the SyFy Network.

The show went for four seasons, along with a starting mini series and a few movie specials. I had heard a lot of positive comments about the show, especially from Marc Bernardin from Fatman Beyond who said that Battlestar was his favorite show ever. It

The cast was excellent. It included  Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, and Grace Park. They are playing new versions from the first series.

Battlestar Galactica became one of the best sci-fi show on television. The complex storylines dove into the human condition. The Cylons, the robotic villains from the first season, were able to be repurposed into human-looking versions. It was such a great move because the Cylons were able to infiltrate the human race. As the seasons progressed, the Cylons became more human than what was expected.

#41

I Love Lucy

Lucille Ball was the undisputed queen of the sitcom for years. She was a powerful force on TV and her show, I Love Lucy will be remembered for ever.

While I may not have followed this on a regular basis, I Love Lucy was a treat every time it made it to my TV screen.

Some of the adventures of Lucy Ricardo were crazy and the iconic woman did what she needed to do for a laugh. She put herself in ridiculous, undignified situations- wrapping chocolates, stomping grapes etc, all for the laugh.

Lucy brought slapstick and pratfalls to TV, making them high comedy. She inspired a ton of female comedians to a career that they may not have believed was possible.

Desi Arnez co-starred as Ricky Ricardo with his real life wife, Lucille Ball. Lucy friend-in-crazy was neighbor Ethel Mertz, played by Vivian Vance. Ethel’s husband was Fred Mertz, played by William Frawley.

I Love Lucy ran from 1951-1957 on CBS. They recorded 180 episodes.

#44

The Tick (2016)

The second time The Tick has appeared in the top 100 is the also the second live action version of the show. This version went two seasons on Amazzon Prime, and still deserved so much more.

The Tick was portrayed, this time, by Peter Serafinowicz and Arthur was played by Griffin Newman.

This Amazon Prime version had more action than the 2001 Tick series. This included classic Tick character The Terror, played by the one and only Jackie Earle Haley. Season one was split into two parts, ending with 12 episodes. Season two was 10 episodes.

The series was a fantastic rendition of the show, combining the bests of both the FOX live action show and the animated program. Once again, despite critical success, it seems as other forces took out the Tick.

Serafinowicz was an excellent Tick and did some cool things to make himself stand out with the other two exceptional actors who had portrayed the big blue superhero.

#45

Batman: The Animated Series

Some may say that “their” Batman was Christian Bale. Some may say “their” Batman was Michael Keaton. Some may say “their” Batman is Adam West or Ben Affleck or Robert Pattinson. Some may even say “their” Batman was George Clooney (I’d have to question those people).

Well, I think my Batman is Kevin Conroy.

Kevin Conroy became THE voice of Batman thanks to his work on Batman: The Animated Series, which went for four seaosns on FOX kids. The show is lauded as one of the greatest animated programs of all time.

The show also featured one of the mst iconic Joker performances ever done. Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker himself, provided the demented Clown Prince of Crime’s voice for the show and helped to make his name as a predominant voice actor.

The series was developed by Bruce Timm, whose style of the show became a trend unto itself. The animation of the Batman series had a flair, a style unlike anything anyone had seen up to that point and it became a sensation.

The writing of the episodes were amazing, too. These stories were not just for kids, though kids could enjoy them. There was an adult complex feel to these episodes that made Batman: TAS stand out among the Saturday morning fare. This style of Batman animation led to several longer movies, including the special Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm, considered one of the greatest Batman movies of any genre.

The iconic character of Harley Quinn made her debut on the animated series, becoming one of DC Comics most popular female characters.

#46

Peacemaker

Who would have thought that giving a TV show to John Cena as the DC “villain” Peacemaker was a good idea? Well, James Gunn did. And he was 100% right.

John Cena had appeared as Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad, a film directed by James Gunn in the DCEU. He was impressive in the film and he wound up with the show. There were low expectations for the HBO Max show. It far exceeded anything that I expected.

John Cena gave his best performance since coming to Hollywood to be an actor, leaving behind his job as a WWE Superstar. The secondary characters, many from The Suicide Squad too, were all fantastic.

Other cast included Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Danielle Brooks, Steve Agee, Robert Patrick, Nhut Le, and Frank Grillo. Season one included a great performance from Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Murn.

What is impressive with peacemaker is the first season featured a story about “Project Butterfly” which dealt with mind controlling aliens. Season two was dealing with the multiverse and was a lot of character development. The fact that the show could give us two very different seasons, both very effective, is a testament to the show and the creatives behind it.

The show caught the attention of the fans with a choreographed dance sequence as the show’s opening credits that blew everyone away. Season one used the song “Do Ya Wanna Taste It” by Wig Wam and season two changed the song to “Oh Lord” by Foxy Shazam.

#47

The Jeffersons

Well they’re a movin’ on up.

One of the most successful spin offs of all time is next on our list. The Jeffersons was spun off from All in the Family where George and Louise Jefferson moved from being neighbors of the Bunkers to the East Side in a deluxe apartment in the sky.

George had become a successful dry cleaner, leading to the move.

George Jefferson was a loud and brash black man, who could be obnoxious. But we still loved him because, dep down, we understood the struggle and we knew that he was a good man who loved his wife. Louise aka “Weezie” was a strong woman who was not afraid to throw it right back at George. This central relationship was the key to the show.

Not to say that there were not other great secondary characters on the show. Florence was the wise-mouthed maid who bantered with George at ever minute. Friends and neighbors, The Willis family were a interracial couple and direct neighbor Mr. Bentley was Kramer, before Kramer.

Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sandford led the ensemble cast that included Marla Gibbs, Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover, Paul Benedict, Mike Evans, Ned Wertimer, and Berlinda Tolbert.

The show covered many themes, but race/prejudice was at the front. Much like Archie Bunker, George had many of these negative traits directed toward white people. George called them “honkies” and he constantly made comments to Tom and Helen. However, when the cards were down, George ditched his own prejudices and came through.

Legend Norman Lear created the show and it ran for 11 seasons on CBS.

#48

Hardcastle and McCormick

Drive! Push it to the floor til the engine screams….

That is the first line of the theme song for one of the underappreciated 1980s TV shows that appeared on ABC for three seasons. Many may not remember this show, but I remember being a big fan of it.

Hardcastle and McCormick is the story of a retired judge who was on a mission to find and capture those cases that got away from his court on technicalities. In order to do that, Hardcastle recruited a felon, McCormick, who he thought was a decent person. The pair solved criems and searched for the bad guyd.

The show starred three main characters. Brian Keith played Jusdge Milton Hardcastle, Daniel Hugh Kelly played Mark McCormick and the COYOTE was the car.

The COYOTE-X was invovled in the pilot episode and became a staple of the show. The car was involved in chases every episode and was so cool that even I, who is not a huge fan of cars, loved it.

I am sure this show may not hold up as much if I watched it today, but my young teenage self loved this show.

#49

The Tick (2001)

Spooooooooooooooon!!!!!!!!!!

“He is the big, blue “I am the wild blue yonder. The front line in a never-ending battle between good and not-so-good. Together with my stalwart sidekick, Arthur, and the magnanimous help of some other folks I know, we form the yin to villany’s malevolent yang. Destiny has chosen us. Wicked men, you face The Tick.“

Based on the NEC comic book and the animated series that followed, ths was the first attempt to bring The Tick into the live action superhero world. FOX brought the show to TV, making it a Seinfeld-like show. The network did not have much confidence in the show as they bounced it around the schedule and hardly promoted it.

Created by EYG Hall of Famer Ben Edlund, The Tick was a loving parody of superheroes and their tropes. It starred Patrick Warburton, in a great bit of casting, as The Tick. The show also had David Burke as Arthur, Liz Vassey as Captain Liberty and Nestor Carbonell (who would go on to be Richard on LOST) as Batmanuel.

There was more emphasis on character and dialogue than action, so some Tick fans found it less exciting than the animated show despite Edlund stating that this show was closer to the concept of the comics.

The show only broadcast 8 of the 9 episodes created and was canceled because of budget reasons. Still, this very short series was an awesome breath of fresh air and gave us another, some times more adult, look at The Tick.

The Tick will appear again during this Top 100.

#50

The Boys

Kicking off the top 50 is the Amazon Prime hit, The Boys. The Boys is one of the most graphic, shocking, envelope-pushing shows on any network.

Yet, it is not just about the shocks. It is about the characters, and that is why this show succeeds.

Homelander is one of the most complex villains on television today, a mass of insecurities and poor choices. He is also one of the most powerful beings in the Boys world.

The supes are anything but authentic in this world. They are some of the worst people but are seen by the public as heroes. Of course, a big part of that is Vaught and its propaganda crusade to make them look great.

The very first episode set the tone for the series. I’ll never forget the moment when Hughie held hands with his girlfriend on the sidewalk (she was on the street) and a blur of speed flew past, leaving Hughie with nothing but two bloody stumps of arms. That was supe A-Train and it started Hughie’s arc for that season.

Then, in season three we got the episode called “Herogasm.”

This show never skimps on the blood or gore, but does not depend on it.

Antony Starr, who plays Homelander, not receiving an Emmy nomination yet is a crime. He leads a cast filled with talented people including Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Jenson Ackles, Karen Fukuhara, Tomer Capone, Chase Crawford, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Cameron Crovetti, Jesse T. Usher, and an army of cameos and guest stars.

Season five of the show will be the final season and will drop in 2026.

#51

WWE Smackdown

“So, what do you want to talk about?“-Cody Rhodes.

I am a lifelong professional wrestling fan. I mostly watch the WWE. One of the shows that provide that fix for me is Friday Night Smackdown.

Smackdown has been all over the place. It was on the CW, UPN, Syfy, FOX among others. It is currently on the USA Network for two hours Friday nights.

The show was named after a line used by “The Rock” who would say that he was going to lay the Smackdown on someone’s candy ass. The Rock would refer to Smackdown as “The Rock’s Show.”

However, it became more than just The Rock’s show over the years. Smackdown was the main show for the Bloodline, one of the best storylines the show ever had with Roman Reigns as the Tribal Chief leading his family in a power struggle with the good guys.

Smackdown has been seen as the 2nd tier show, behind Monday Night RAW, but there were many times where Smackdown exceeded its sibling show.

“If you smell…. what the Rock is cookin’!”

We are half way home. 100-51. Tomorrow, we start the top 50.

#52

Ms. Marvel

The MCU always seem to do a great job casting their characters, but one of the competitors for best casting of all time has to be Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel.

The young girl is such a perfect Kamala Khan and she brings that amazing youthful energy to the project, full of joy and wonder.

I am going to echo what a lot of people have said about Ms. Marvel. The best part of the show, outside of Iman Vellani, is the family unit that is in place around Kamala. There is not one scene of this show that involves Kamala’s aprents, brother or friends that does not hit. Now, the villains and superhero parts of the show are not as strong for sure. I am not as down on this aspect of the show as others, but I can’t disagree that it does not reach the heights of the family.

The Disney + show brought its characters to the big screen in The Marvels and even had one guest star on Daredevil: Born Again (Mohan Kapur guest starred as Yusef Khan, Kamala’s father).

Kamala was revealed to be the first mutant in the MCU as they used the X-Men animated theme as a creative way to give out that information.

The Ms. Marvel was fun and energetic, filled with some of the most creative backgrounds in the MCU. I do hope we get more Kamala Kham as the MCU moves along.