TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows

It was facetiously billed as the "show about nothing," but the editors of TV Guide rank the NBC smash comedy hit "Seinfeld" as the greatest television show of all time.

The 1990s show starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld as a New York comedian hanging out with three of his pals -- Elaine, George and Kramer -- topped TV Guide's list of the 50 most entertaining or influential television series in American pop culture.

The list, appearing in next week's issue, will get the countdown treatment in an ABC special on May 13, "TV Guide's 50 Best Shows of All Time," part of the magazine's celebration of its golden anniversary.

The 50 entries, chosen and ranked by TV Guide editors, consist of regularly scheduled series spanning more than a half century of television, going as far back as NBC's pioneering live comedy/variety program, "Your Show of Shows."

That show, which debuted in 1950 starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, was ranked No. 30.

TV movies, miniseries and specials were not eligible.

Prime time accounts for most of the shows, though a few daytime programs made the list -- NBC's "Today" (No. 17) and the syndicated talk shows "Donahue" (No. 29) and "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (No. 49).

On the late-night front, the CBS "Late Show with David Letterman" got the highest ranking, at No. 7, beating out even NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (No. 12). Letterman's arch rival -- and Carson's successor -- Jay Leno, failed to make the cut. ABC's "Nightline" ranked 23rd.

NBC dominated the list with 17 shows, which, besides "Seinfeld," ranged from "Saturday Night Live" at No. 10 to the Judd Hirsch sitcom "Taxi," which also aired on ABC, at No. 48.

CBS made the list with 16 shows, led by "I Love Lucy" at No. 2, and boasted five other programs in the top 10, including "The Honeymooners" (No. 3), "All in the Family" (No. 4), "60 Minutes" (No. 6) and "The Andy Griffith Show" (No. 9).

A total of eight ABC shows made the list, led by the late-1980s, early '90s drama "thirtysomething," while Fox had two entries -- animated sitcom satire "The Simpsons" at No. 8 and sci-fi thriller "The X-Files" at No. 37.

The only other cartoon series to make the list was ABC's "Rocky and His Friends" at No. 47.

Cable television was represented by just two shows -- mob drama "The Sopranos" at No. 5 and Garry Shandling's "The Larry Sanders Show" at No. 38, both on HBO.

Public TV also had two series on the list -- the landmark children's program "Sesame Street" (No. 27) and the pioneering 1973 "reality" series "An American Family" (No. 32). But modern-day reality hit "Survivor" was snubbed, as were all game shows. Not even "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" made the list.

The fledgling networks the WB and UPN had to settle for one shared entry, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which has aired on both outlets.

The following is the complete list:
1. Seinfeld (NBC)
2. I Love Lucy (CBS)
3. The Honeymooners (CBS)
4. All in the Family (CBS)
5. The Sopranos (HBO)
6. 60 Minutes (CBS)
7. Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
8. The Simpsons (Fox)
9. The Andy Griffith Show (CBS)
10. Saturday Night Live (NBC)
11. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS)
12. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (NBC)
13. The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS)
14. Hill Street Blues (NBC)
15. The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
16. The Carol Burnett Show (CBS)
17. Today (NBC)
18. Cheers (NBC)
19. thirtysomething (ABC)
20. St. Elsewhere (NBC)
21. Friends (NBC)
22. ER (NBC
23. Nightline (ABC)
24. Law & Order (NBC)
25. M+A+S+H (CBS)
26. The Twilight Zone (CBS)
27. Sesame Street (PBS)
28. The Cosby Show (NBC)
29. Donahue (syndicated)
30. Your Show of Shows (NBC)
31. The Defenders (CBS)
32. An American Family (PBS)
33. Playhouse 90 (CBS)
34. Frasier (NBC)
35. Roseanne (ABC)
36. The Fugitive (ABC)
37. The X-Files (Fox)
38. The Larry Sanders Show (HBO)
39. The Rockford Files (NBC)
40. Gunsmoke (CBS)
41. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB/UPN)
42. Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (NBC)
43. Bonanza (NBC)
44. The Bob Newhart Show (CBS)
45. Twin Peaks (ABC)
46. Star Trek: The Next Generation (syndicated)
47. Rocky and His Friends (ABC)
48. Taxi (ABC/NBC)
49. The Oprah Winfrey Show (syndicated)
50. Bewitched (ABC)
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NBC is a division of General Electric Co., ABC is part of The Walt Disney Co., CBS and UPN are owned by Viacom Inc., the WB is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc. and the Fox network belongs to News Corp. Ltd.

[Hotdiggitydang]

THE ROCKFORD FILES ROCKS!

[jakelowes32]

where is dallas fantasy island magnum pi

[giantjott]

I'm surprised so many people found issue with this list. Well, okay...actually, I'm not surprised. But seriously people...what did you expect? I could have guessed the top 4, no problem, and probably would've put them in the right order, too. When approaching a list like this, you have to pretend like you're trying to guess the answers on Family Feud (not surprisingly unrepresented here). You have to think about what the people at TV guide would say are the top 50 shows ever, not what you believe in your hearts of hearts to be the best example of character development, or whatever you look for in shows. And don't think that those listed here, outside of possibly the first ten entries, are necessarily going to even be all that good.
The first four are the classics. You'd have these same four on any list created by a major entertainment company, unless perhaps they were biased against newer shows. The rest of the top ten are predictably filled out with the best in genres other than the sitcom. What's the all-time best HBO drama? Most people would say The Sopranos. What's the best late night talk show? Most people alive today (which includes anyone who has started watching TV post-Carson) are going to say Letterman. What's the most famous news syndicate? The most famous cartoon? The most famous sketch comedy show? You get the picture.
After this, you move in to the realm of catch-up, where they try to quickly usher in all those shows most likely to stir up controversy over not being included in the top ten. So, of course, we have Carson, and Mary Tyler Moore, and Dick Van ****. A lot of sitcoms round out the top twenty, since sitcoms have always been the genre which we associate the closest with classic television. As for the unpopular inclusion of thirtysomething, I never watched the show, and there remains little need since most hour-long dramas nowadays have gone much further in reflecting cinematic subject matter and style. Of course they have, because this was practically the first show to do it. And that's why it's included. Not because it stands up today, but because Party of Five, My So-Called Life, Friends, and even the term thirtysomething, would not exist without this program.
Outside of the top 20, they can afford to be more recent. And so we have the favorites of today's younger generations, like Friends, ER, and Law and Order. At around 25, we start to see the best examples of more fringe genres, like politico-medical drama (MASH), fantasy/horror (Twilight Zone), and educational programing (Sesame Street). Even the Cosby Show, with its pretty standard approach to the sitcom, could be considered fringe for its depiction of an affluent African American family, mingling with other ethnic and successful professionals, within the melting pot of the Big Apple. Then, at around 35, we have the same type thing, but for the younger audience. Roseanne replaces The Cosby Show, this time combatting stereotypes from the poor white trash angle. The X-Files is a fine continuation of The Twilight Zone, as well as Twin Peaks, which comes in later at 45.
The last ten perhaps contain the most surprising entries, but this in itself is not surprising. This is the part where the creators of such a list try to go out on a limb a little bit, sneak in some of their personal favorites, or make their predictions about which shows will ultimately gain greater clout over the years. For instance, they had to know they'd be ruffling some feathers by including Star Trek: The Next Generation, versus the original. And, of course, we all know how successful Buffy was, but has it really been so instrumental in TV land as to warrant its spot at 41? But that's the point of the last ten. To appear a little edgy, after 40 other safe bets. In that respect, I'd say they still played it pretty safe, especially with Laugh-In, Bob Newhart, and Bewitched. If they really wanted to show us how unconventional they were, they'd have replaced Oprah with Jerry Springer.
All that being said, only two omissions really surprised me: The Jeffersons, and The Gong Show. Actually, I'm not so much surprised with the omission of The Gong Show, seeing as how there are no other game shows on the list, and for good reason. But in the 60's and 70's game shows reigned high, and Chuck Barris created some of the best, with The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game already under his belt before he released The Gong Show in '76. But the Gong Show provides the most interesting insight into our country's viewership, as the show's basic format (making fun of horrible performances...and sometimes celebrating the good ones), would eventually lead to an all out craze in modern day reality TV, the most famous example being, of course, American Idol.

[puppuppup]

Gunsmoke ahead of Bonanza...I don't think so.
Where is the original 1960's Beverly Hillbillies?
I Love Lucy number two and not number one....really now!
McHales Navy??
I Dream of Jeannie??
The Munsters and the Addams Family??
Lost in Space??

[rainman199]

Letterman higher than Carson? That says all you need to know aot this worthless list. Laughable

[loop08]

Agree. Carson set the standard for all that followed. I cant remember when was the last time Letterman led in ratings.

[spencerpahrmd]

i'm shocked and appalled that some of these shows are placed above mash- about 24 of them really, but friends and thritysomething in particular are just plain insulting.

[Davedlb12]

Clearly "The Wire" is the best show of all time this list is not correct

[razenDan]

I find it just amazing that the original Star Trek is missing completely while Star Trek: The Next Generation IS on the list! It would have made more sense to have the top 10 news shows, top 10 comedy shows, top 10 sci-fi shows, top 10 drama shows, etc.

[Shahzoorsafdar]

I can't believe two and a half men didn't make he list.. The show is absolutely hilarious.

[mjsmith74]

How in the heck is the original Hawaii Five-O not on this "list"? Half these shows I wouldn't even want to watch, I disliked them so. This oversight is another reason why I don't subscribe to this dirtrag.