Category Archives: tv-shows

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #16

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#16

All in the Family

It was truly ahead of its times….

One of the funniest, most controversial show on TV was All in the Family, which ran for nine seasons on CBS.

Featuring the Bunker family, the show was led by bigot, loud-mouthed, abrasive Archie Bunker. Played by Carol O’Connor, Archie said things that you never thought he could get away with, and yet, he was a beloved character. Married to the essential airhead Edith, Archie was a husband from the old days. His daughter Gloria and her new husband Mike, aka “Meathead,” lived with Archie and Edith too. Archie and Mike collided constantly over their differing political values.

Archie was never short on opinions and it drove the show. Archie’s thoughts on President Nixon, the war in Vietnam, homosexuality, feminists as well as many other topics of the day.

Based on a British TV Show called Till Death Us Do Part, All in the Family was a huge success.

Carol O’Conno rplayed Archie. Edith was played by Jean Stapleton. Gloria was played by Sally Struthers and Mike was played by Rob Reiner.

There were two huge spin offs of All in the Family: Maude and The Jeffersons. You could mention that the show continued on after season nine by transforming it into Archie Bunker’s Place, where Archie bought his bar hangout, Kelsey’s, after the death of Edith.

Personally, I related to All in the Family because Archie and Edith were very much like my own parents, only with the volume turned way up. Mom and Dad were never as over-the-top as the Bunkers, but they defintiely shared traits.

All in the Family was a groundbreaking TV show that was controversial, topical, challenging and… above all else…hilarious.

Boy the way Glen Miller plays….

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #17

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#17

Loki

One of the best Marvel Studios Disney + shows is next on the countdown as we reach Loki, starring Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson.

After Avengers: Infinity War, it looked as if we had seen the last of Loki in the MCU. “No resurrections this time” Thanos said as he cracked Loki’s neck. Fortunately for us, Thanos was not quite right.

While that Loki would not be back, we learned about the multiverse and the unlimited number of Loki variants, one of which would become our protagonist of this series.

Grabbed by the TVA (Time Variance Authority), Loki was recruited by Mobius to help with the apprehension of another rogue Loki who was causing all kinds of trouble. We would come to find out that the rogue Loki was, in fact, a female Loki who named herself Sylvie. Loki and Sylvie had a real weird relationship that carried this show through its run.

But truthfully, the key relationship of the show was Loki and Mobius, played by Owen Wilson. This bromance was apparent from the first scene they had together. Hiddleston and Wilson had amazing chemistry and made an amazing duo.

Loki and Sylvie confronted the man at the beginning of time, He Who Remains, who turned out to be a variant of Kang the Conquerer. This was easily the best moment for that character in the MCU as Kang ended up being defeated by ants. However, this version of Kang was an omnious force over both seasons of Loki.

The writing was extremely clever and funny. It was also a major event in the MCU, with the finale changing things massively with ripples we are still waiting to discover.

Who would have guessed back in the first Thor movie that the antagonist of that movie and the major villain of The Avengers would have one of the best TV shows from Marvel?

Loki went for two seasons.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #18

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#18

Ted Lasso

This is the show that many people made an account to Apple TV + for. Ted Lasso had three seasons on the streamer and was some of the best TV you were going to find.

Ted Lasso was a American football coach who was hired to move to England and coach football (aka soccer to us Americans), despite the fact that he had never coached the sport before.

There has never been a character like Ted Lasso on TV before. I binged the first couple of seasons because I was catching up with all the hype, and I can remember multiple times thinking to myself, “I wish I was more like Ted Lasso.” The constant positives and the humor that he faced every situation was inspiring.

Ted Lasso was played by Jason Sudeikis with such a perfect balance of zeal and down-home-charm. The rest of the cast around Ted was great as well. This included Hannah Waddingham, as team owner Rebecca Welton. Her story arc as the evil owner felt right out of “Major League,” except it took an entirely different path, completely unexpectedly. Bret Goldstein was Roy Kent, aging superstar player who had to come to terms with his skills slipping way. The relationship with Roy and Keeley Jones, played by Juno Temple, was one of the best storylines on the show.

Others on the show included Phil Dunster, Nick Mohammad, Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift, James Lance, Andrea Anders, Sam Richardson, Anthony Head, Cristo Fernandez, Annette Badland, Billy Harris, and Keeley Hazell.

Much like the Tick, Ted Lasso became known for his quotes, dubbed Ted Lasso-isms. Here are some of my personal favorites:

  • “Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn’t it? If you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.”
  • “If that’s a joke, I love it. If not, can’t wait to unpack that with you later.”
  • “I always thought tea was going to taste like hot brown water. And do you know what? I was right.”
  • “You know what the happiest animal on earth is? It’s a goldfish. You know why? It’s got a 10-second memory.”
  • “This woman is strong, confident, and powerful. Boss, I tell you, I’d hate to see you and Michelle Obama arm wrestle, but I wouldn’t be able take my eyes off of it either.”
  • “Sam was more open than the jar of peanut butter on my counter.”
  • “You beating yourself up is like Woody Allen playing the clarinet. I don’t want to hear it.”
  • “It’s just a group of people who care, Roy. Not unlike folks at a hip-hop concert whose hands are not in the air.”
  • “Your body is like day-old rice. If it ain’t warmed up properly, something real bad could happen.”
  • “I promise you there is something worse out there than being sad, and that’s being alone and being sad.”
  • “There’s two buttons I never like to hit: that’s panic and snooze.”
  • “I shouldn’t bring an umbrella to a brainstorm.”
  • “Don’t fight back. Fight Forward”
  • “He thinks he’s mad now, wait till we win him over. He’ll be furious.”
  • “I’m like an incomplete list of Madeline Kahn’s best films. I ain’t got no clue.”
  •  “Well, fellas, if you’re looking for a pep talk from me, you’re in trouble. ‘Cause I’m like Michael Flatley at 11:59 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, I’m tapped out.”
  •  “I’ve had more psychotic episodes than Twin Peaks.”
  • “I do love a locker room. It smells like potential.”
  • “I’ve never been embarrassed about having streaks in my drawers. You know, it’s all part of growing up.”
  • “If the internet has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes it’s easier to speak our minds anonymously.”
  • “You two knuckleheads have split our locker room in half. And when it comes to locker rooms, I like ’em just like my mother’s bathing suits. I only wanna see ’em in one piece, you hear?”
  • “Here’s an idea that’s gonna help a little or hurt a whole lot. Who needs a drink?”
  •  “Well, as my doctor told me when I got addicted to fettuccine Alfredo, that’s a little rich for my blood.”
  • “Guys have underestimated me my entire life. And for years, I never understood why. It used to really bother me. But then one day, I was driving my little boy to school, and I saw this quote by Walt Whitman, and it was painted on the wall there. It said, ‘Be curious, not judgmental.’ I like that.”

Daily Countdown: TV Show #19

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#19

The Tick (animated series)

This is the third time that The Tick has made it on to this list. His live action show on FOX was first, then his live action show on Prime was next, and now is the show that, for me, started it all.

Yes, I know the Tick was from comics, but I had not owned any Tick comics when he debuted on FOX Kids Saturday mornings. My introduction to the character was from that animated series and it made the Tick, along with the other eccentric and wild characters from this world, one of my favorite shows ever.

Spooooooooooooooooooooon!

From sidekick Arthur to Chairface Chippendale to Man-Eating Cow to Barry, the characters were so fun, so funny and worth the time. This is the last time we would see Die Fledermaus and American Maid, as these characters did not appear in live action because of legal reasons.

There are a couple of notable episodes that I will never forget with minor characters (if you can call them that) that absolutely were sensations. Little Wooden Boy was Tick’s sidekick after a spat with Arthur. I wanted my own Little Wooden Boy, so badly. Then, there was Tick’s pet, Speak, the “dog” who was named because “that’s what you do.” Speak was actually a capybara, which is a rodent.

Blowhole, the Terror, Proto the Clown, El Seed, Dinosaur Neil, Thrakkorzog, the Breadmaster, Filth, The Evil Midnight Bomber that Bombs at Midnight… so many creative and extremely clever characters, some adapted from the comics, some seen first time on the animated show. The group of super heroes running around The City was as great too.

There were three seasons of this animated show and I waited patiently for each one. I loved this show so much. It gave me a character that I could completely relate to and it was as funny as any show on this list.

Creator and EYG Hall of famer Ben Edlund was behind the show, in all its forms. With all due respect to both Patrick Warburton and Peter Serafinowicz, the classic and all-time Tick performer was Townsend Coleman, who voiced the animated version in this show. Coleman’s voice was perfect for this character and was what helped this show become the cult classic that it is.

Because of this show, I spent many years finding Tick comics from New England Comics (thanks Todd) and the Tick is one of my favorite comic book heroes of all time.

The animated show provided some of the best quotes of all time… some of which I still use in real life.

“Gravity is a harsh mistress”

“You’re not going crazy. You’re going sane in a crazy world!”

“Four yaks and a dog. Laxative log. Susan.“

“You know, Arthur, when evil is afoot, and you don’t have any arms, you’ve gotta use your head. And when evil is ahead and you’re behind, you’ve gotta do the legwork. But when you can’t get a leg up, you gotta be hip. You gotta keep your chin up, and kick some-…”

“Eating kittens is just plain… plain wrong! And no-one should do it, ever!“

“Yeah, well, don’t count your weasels before they pop, dink!”

“Yes, destiny has her hand on my back, and she’s pushing.”

“Mucal invader, is there no end to your oozing?”

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #20

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#20

The Big Bang Theory

As we enter the Top 20 remaining in our Daily Countdown, we come to a sitcom that ran for 12 seasons on CBS.

Bazinga!

The Big Bang Theory was the story of a group of four geeks, all incredibly smart scientists, engineers and physicists, who love geek culture, playing D & D, and comic books. We follow these four men, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali and Sheldon Cooper, through their lives, loves and shenanigans.

There are people I know who hate The Big Bang Theory because of their portrayal of the main characters as geeks. They say it is insulting to the geek community. While they are welcome to that opinion, I disagree. It is a sitcom and the characters are exaggerated. It’s like saying that detectives should be mad about Monk or that doctors should be offended by Doogie Howser.

The center relationship of the show is Leonard and Sheldon, who are roommates. Sheldon is, let’s say, difficult to deal with, yet Leonard continued to put up with his craziness. When Penny (no last name) moves in next door, Leonard fall for her hard. Other love interests were introduced into the show as regulars: Bernadette Rostenkowski, who would wind up marrying Howard, and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, whose relationship with Sheldon would be a major focus of the last half of the show’s run.

The relationship with Howard and Bernadette, for me, really saved the character of Howard, who I disliked for much of the early seasons. He was so creepy so often that I just did not understand why the others wanted him around. Still, Howard had his moments and became one of my favorites as he became a husband and father.

The show had a regular set that was a comic book shop, which I always find awesome. The comic book shop owner, Stuart, eventually became a regular, and is reportedly part of a spin off of the show coming sometime over the next year or two.

The cast included Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, and Kevin Sussman. Recurring actors to appear on the show included such stars as Kathy Bates, Bob Newhart, Sara Gilbert, Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O’Connell, Teller, and Stephen Hawking. There were also a bunch of cameos of people as themselves including Stan Lee, Leonard Nemoy, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Levar Burton, Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, James Earl Jones, Kevin Smith, Nathan Fillion, and many more.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #21

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#21

Laverne & Shirley

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!

Schlemiel! Shlimazel!

Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!”

Two girls debuted on Happy Days as a blind date for Richie Cunningham. Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney made a couple of appearances on Happy Days and, from that, wound up in their own spin off series on ABC that lasted for eight seasons.

Channeling their inner Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz, Laverne and Shirley had amazing chemistry with each other and were unbelievable with physical comedy. Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams had found that perfect balance with each other that when Shirley stepped away from the show, you could feel the hole.

The show included the breakout characters of Lenny and Squiggy, played by Michael McKean and David Lander. “Hello” became a huge quote from the show as Lenny and Squiggy burst through the door.

The characters went from Milwaukee bottle cappers to Caliofornia girls. Over the years Laverne & Shirley were placed in all kinds of funny situations and they were always up to it with the power of friendship.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #22

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#22

WKRP in Cincinnati

“I almost forgot, fellow babies…… BOOGER!”

And with that, WKRP went from an elevator-music playing radio sttion in the greater Cincinnati area to a rock ‘n roll station with some of the most eccentric characters you are ever going to find.

WKRP in Cincinnati was a CBS sitcom that aired for four seasons. Some of the funniest moments on television originated on WKRP.

The cast ensemble was tremendous. Gary Sandy, Howard Hessman, Loni Anderson, Gordon Jump, Tim Reid, Frank Bonner, Jan Smithers and Richard Sanders were amazing in their roles. Each person brought something special to the crew.

I can’t talk about WKRP in Cincinnati without talking about “Turkeys Away” which is maybe my favorite sitcom episode ever. Station Manager Arthur Carlson wanted to get involved in promotions so he came up with a Thanksgiving plan that no one ever forget. He rented a helicopter and dropped live turkeys over the parking lot of the Pinedale Shopping Mall. The turkeys crashed to the ground, as newsman Les Nesman watched on horrified. Actor Richard Sanders delivered the iconic line, “OH MY GOD THEY’RE TURKEYS!”

DJ Dr. Johnny Fever added, as Les’s connection was lost, that the “Pinedale Shopping Mall has just been bombed with live turkeys… fim at 11.”

Tying the event into the crashing of the Hindenburg was brillaint. Finally, the episode was finalized with the line from Mr. Carlson that would live in infamy.

“As God is my witness I thought turkeys could fly.”

I watch this episode as my Thanksgiving tradition every year.

WKRP in Cincinnati struggled for ratings during its time on CBS, but the show’s quality was obvious to anyone who watched it.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #23

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#23

Monday Night RAW

January 11, 1993 at the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center, a show debuted on the USA Network. 33 years later, Monday Night RAW is live weekly on Netflix, nearing its 1700th episode.

RAW has been a major influential show among the pro wrestling world. Created by Vince McMahon, RAW was shot live and dealt with storylines as they went.

Over the years, RAW has been on USA Network, Spike TV, and Netflix.

It had some of the greatest memories of WWE wrestling over the years. Just a few included:

  • Mankind (Mick Foley) defeating the Rock for the WWE Championship thanks to a chair shot by Stone Cold Steve Austin (Still the largest “pop” by a crowd I have ever heard).
  • D-Generation X invading rival wrestliong company WCW in a tank.
  • CM Punk’s “pipebomb” promo
  • Stone Cold Steve Austin’s confrontation with Mike Tyson
  • The SHIELD collapsing when Set Rollins turned on his brothers in the SHIELD.
  • Shane McMahon showed up on Monday Nitro to official purchase WCW out from under his father.
  • Edge and Lita had a “live-sex celebration”
  • The Dudley Boys put 80 + year old Mae Young through a table off the stage.
  • Mr. McMahon’s limosine exploded… with him inside!
  • Brian Pillman brings out a gun to prevent Stone Cold’s home invasion.
  • Chris Jericho debuts, interrupting the Rock, bringing Y2J to the WWE.
  • Mick zfoley hosts “This is your Life” for The Rock.
  • Triple H reveals that he had married Stephanie McMahon in Vegas.

After 33 years, the show continues to surprise and create the controversy necessary for headlines to be made.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #24

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#24

Boston Legal

Denny Crane….

Boston Legal was a spin off of The Practice on ABC that ran for five seasons. It spun off the character of Alan Shore, who arrived in the final season of The Practice. Played by James Spader, Alan was a morally-compromised lawyer with a heart of gold who was happy to take on any seemingly unwinnable case.

He was paired with Denny Crane, a legend of a lawyer who, at times, just had to say his name to express his power. Denny Crane was played by Willaim Shatner in the most over-the-top manner. Spader and Shatner had the most amazing chemistry and comedic timing with each other. The show realized quickly what they had with this pairing and turned them into the biggest bromance ever seen on TV.

The show, produced by David E. Kelley, was set at the Boston law firm, Crane, Poole & Schmidt. The firm tackled every case imaginable, including against tobacco, big pharm, and the US Government.

Denny Crane was as eccentric as imaginable, but he was dealing with the early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, which he would joke was Mad Cow, and the struggle of someone as larger than life as Denny Crane not being as in control than he once was.

The cast changed over the five seasons, but it included Candace Bergen, René Auberjonois, Julie Bowen, Mark Valley, Gary Anthony Williams, John Larroquette, Christian Clemenson, Constance Zimmer, Lake Bell and Rhona Mitre.

One of the features of the show was the big final argument that the lawyers, especially Alan Shore, would deliver to the jury in their weekly case. Always compelling, the closing argument highlighted the issue of the week.

Boston Legal was funny, dramatic and worked on multiple levels.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #25

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#25

Only Murders in the Building

As we kick off the top 25, we come to Hulu’s greatest success story, a murder mystery show that is both clever and hilarious. There are three reasons why Only Murders in the Building is such a sensation: Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez.

The trio has so much charisma and chemistry that the show could have been just them getting on, but it is so much more than just that.

The mysteries each season are written so well, with twists and turns that few shows are able to accomplish, while still being laugh out loud funny. It is a show where major celebrities want to join up for small orles or cameos. Just to name a few, Oscar winners Meryl Streep, Christoph Waltz, Dianne Wiest, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Renée Zellweger, plus notable stars Nathan Lane, Bobby Cannavale, Jane Lynch, Melissa McCarthy, Sting, Paul Rudd, Tina Fey, Richard Kind, Shirley MacLaine, Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, Molly Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani, Eva Longoria, and Logan Lerman, among others.

Each season has found its own voice. The show has never fallen into formula, which is an impressive feat considering. Season three, which centered around the development of Oliver’s Broadway play, had some of the best songs from any show throughout that season (particularly Martin’s performance of “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?” .

The real life friendship between Steve Martin and Martin Short comes through on film, but who would have expected that Selina Gomez would be able to fit into that pairing with such a perfect fluidity. It never felt like she was forced in. It always felt as if she fit beautifully.

Only Murders in the Building has had five seasons and has been renewed for a sixth season on Hulu.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #26

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#26

Agatha All Along

This is probably the most surprising of all the Disney + Marvel shows. If you would have told me that one of my all-time favorite Marvel shows would feature Agatha Harkness, I would not have believed you. Yet, here we are at #26.

Agatha All Along is a spin-off of WandaVision, featuring the character of Agatha Harkness, a witch who had been stranded in Westview because of a spell from Wanda Maximoff. When she is able to pull herself out of the spell, Agatha goes about trying to regain her stolen power by collecting a coven and traveling the Witches’ Road.

Anchored by the brilliant performance by Kathryn Hahn as Agatha, Agatha All Along was an exceptional show with a storyline that carried through the entire series, with comedy, drama and music.

Yes, the variety of ways that the show played “Done the Witches’ Road” was one of the highlights of the show. In episode two when the coven sang the song in Agatha’s basement (with Mrs. Hart’s perfectly deadpanned line, “Am I supposed to know this song?”) to the rock ballad version during the trials of the Road in episode four, the music was such an engaging part of the show.

The show introduces Billy/William, the resurrected son of Wanda and Vision. Of course, in the comics, Billy is known as Wiccan. We had met a younger version of Billy in WandaVision and seemingly lost him there too. This brought him back to the MCU in the form of actor Joe Locke.

The other members of the coven included Debra Jo Rupp (who returned to her Wandavision role of Sharon Davis, aka Mrs. Hart), Aubrie Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and Patti LuPone.

The mystery of the Witches’ Road is extremely compelling and led to some of the best episodes of Marvel TV you will find. I would argue that episode 7, “Death’s Hand in Mine,” is one of the best single episodes of TV Marvel has produced. It featured the backstory of coven witch Lilia Calderu, played by the grand dame of Broadway, Patti LuPone.

Agatha All Along was tremendously entertaining and was one of the best written Marvel Studios Disney + shows around. It was a surprise favorite and it deserves this high spot in the top 100.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #27

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#27

Daredevil

The Man Without Fear made his way to Netflix and what we got was brutal, violent, and brilliant.

Daredevil had three seasons on Netflix, before going back to Marvel Studios where they put out Daredevil: Born Again.

This show was supremely awesome for several reasons. It took people’s breath away with its hallway one-shot battles and its deacpitations with car doors.

Matt Murdock, blind attoney-at-law, was played by Charlie Cox and his main antagonist, Wilson Fisk, was played by Vincent D’Onofrio, and you could not have found two better actors. So great were they that, when Marvel got the rights back and were planning to do something different with Daredevil, they decided why fight the fan outrage because they simply could not replace these actors. No one would accept the recast.

The rest of the cast was great too. It included Elden Henson, Deborah Ann Woll, Jon Bernthal, Rosario Dawson, Elodie Yung, Ayelet Zurer, Toby Leonard Moore, Wilson Bethel, Scott Glenn, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Bob Gunton.

The show was so well written and enjoyable that Matt did not get into his Daredevil costume until the final episode of season one and people were okay with it.

Dardevil: Born Again will have a seaon two on Disney + continuing the legacy of these characters who made such an impact on Netflix.

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #28

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#28

SOAP

This is the story of two sisters, Jessica Tate… and Mary Campbell. These are the Tates. And these are the Campbells. And this is… SOAP.

Confused? You won’t be … after reading about #28 on the Top 100, a satire/parody of soap operas that ran on ABC for four seasons.

I loved SOAP so much. The stories of the Tates and Campbells never came up lame. Whether it be about affairs, murders, gay love or demonic possession, SOAP was filled with great comedic performances and laughs.

In fact, I do not think I have ever seen an episode of TV that I laughed harder at than when the Tates and their butler Benson discovered that the baby was possessed by Satan. I know it doesn’t sound like high comedy, but it was so wonderful that you couldn’t help yourself.

The castlist was large and filled with some of the best actors in the business. Billy Crystal was on the show as TV’s first homosexual. Others in the cast included Katherine Helmond, Robert Mandan, Richard Mulligan, Cathryn Damon, Jimmy Baio, Diana Canova, Jay Johnson, Robert Guillaume, Donnelly Rhodes, Roscoe Lee Brown, Ted Wass, Jennifer Salt and Arthur Peterson Jr.

Moments leap out of my memory. When Burt thought he could turn invisible and would snap his fingers in front of him. When Benson, The Major and Chester went to attempt to save Billy from a cult and ended up in blackface pretending to be a band. Jessica going to heaven.

I think SOAP is one of the most overlooked TV shows in television history.

ADDENDUM

While I have been doing this list, there have been several times where I thought that I had forgotten a show, only to see it on th elist. I thought I had forgotten Frasier, but it was there. I thought I had forgotten Night Court, but it was there. This is the first show where I thought, “Did I forget this one” and I had forgotten this one. So I decided to give an addendum to SOAP’s entry because this spin off of SOAP would have definitely been in the Top 100 and I missed it.

Benson

Benson saw Robert Guillaume’s character benson, who was the Tates’ butler for three years on SOAP, moved to the governor’s mansion of the state (whichever one they were in) to become the head of household affairs. Benson DuBois (finally got a last name) enteracted with the bumbling Governor with a heart of gold, the overbearing German cook Gretchen Kraus, and the Governor’s sweetheart of a daughter, Katie.

Robert Guillaume won an Emmy Award for his role in this show.

Sorry I forgot you, Benson. You deserved better….

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #29

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#29

Batman

POW! BOOM! ZOK!

In 1966, ABC broadcast a TV show starring the Caped Crusaders from DC Comics. Batman and Robin made their return to the public eye with this action/comedy series.

Batman was played by Adam West and Robin was played by Burt Ward, and they were the way that the Dynamic Duo was seen until the Batman ’89 movie where they gave batman an update.

The show was one of the earliest show I can remember being obsessed with. Each episode was similar as Batman and Robin would face a villain from Batman’s extensive rogue’s gallery and get captured at the end of the episode and placed in some kind of dasterdly death trap. The next episode would resolve that trap and would wrap up the villain. The villains became iconic too as we got the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, King Tut, Mad Hatter, among others.

When I was young, I always bugged my mom to make me a mask like Robin. I was a Robin fan as a youth. Looking back, whenever they had the big fights, Robin would have to fight the big bad villain and Batman would punch out the hoodlums. I was always surrpised how underappreciated Robin felt.

I was, of course, watching reruns of the show. I would always look forward to Batgirl episodes starring Yvonne Craig, who was added as a character in the third and final season.

My friends and I would use the term “Batman Leap” which was when one of us would make an illogical leap to answer a question or solve a problem… something that made no sense, much like Batman and Robin would do on the series. Glu Glutton’s Glue Factory being a prime example.

The campy nature of the show appealed to many, but typecast the actors involved for decades.

Either way, I loved the 1906s Batman series, and it belongs on this list.

So… what’s next on the list? We’ll find out… Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #30

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#30

Bates Motel

Bates Motel was based on Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Psycho, though it took some step that the movie did not take. And it was for the better.

Bates Motel was on A&E and went five seasons.

I loved Bates Motel. It was so insanely well written and acted that these already iconic characters became even more so.

Freddie Highmore played Norman Bates as a teen and his performance as the mentally imbalanced youth was amazing. You knew Norman’s destiny, but you just could not help but hope they would find a way around it.

Vera Farmiga played Norma Bates and she brought the character to life. She was spirited, passionate and a force of nature and you wished beyond all hope that she would not end up dead as a corpse in the attic. Her realtionship on the show with Nestor Carbonell’s Sheriff Alex Romero is one of my favorite TV couples of all time. Both of these damaged characters absolutely came to life when they got together. It was way too short of a relationship.

Of course, the signature relationship of Bates Motel was between Norman and Norma. The relationship bordered on obsessive from both sides and the toxicity was obvious. Another excellent addition to the show was Norma’s other son, Dylan, played by Max Thieriot. The second son brought such an unknown quality to the show and became one of my favorite characters on the canvas.

You were never quite sure where the show was going. It combined amazing drama with horror and mysteries that seemed to have clear answers, yet you were never quite sure.

As a “contemporary prequel” to Psycho, Bates Motel was a thrill a minute.