Here was Vulture.com's brackets of the best sitcom and drama of the past few decades: The winners being The Wire and The Simpsons. I can't say I really disagree with any of their selections. Although I always thought Frasier was better than Cheers.
My first watch-through of The Wire bored me to tears and made me quit at about episode 7 or 8 of the first season, but I'm giving it another shot from the beginning just because it can't go without mention by people in best ever lists. I simply can't understand why.
Breaking Bad is #2 on my list, with Deadwood never surrendering the #1 spot. Seinfeld will always hold the #1 spot in terms of sitcoms, and there really is no challenge.
EDIT: The fact that Buffy the Vampire Slayer beat Deadwood in the above mentioned brackets makes me want to choke an infant. This is why democracy is such a fundamentally flawed system.
__________________ "It's a great day for hockey."
-'Badger' Bob Johnson (1931-1991)
"I see as much misery out of them moving to justify theirselves as them that set out to do harm." -Dr. Amos "Doc" Cochran
EDIT: The fact that Buffy the Vampire Slayer beat Deadwood in the above mentioned brackets makes me want to choke an infant. This is why democracy is such a fundamentally flawed system.
Yeah, that was my WTF moment looking at that bracket. But I'm only 1/2 way into season 1 of Buffy, so I'll wait and see. I'm guessing Buffy at least got a good ending to their series...
Yeah, that was my WTF moment looking at that bracket. But I'm only 1/2 way into season 1 of Buffy, so I'll wait and see. I'm guessing Buffy at least got a good ending to their series...
There's that, and I think Deadwood was and remains tragically underrated. Every single person I have recommended it to has either liked or loved it, and all of them had never even heard of it. I can't even say the same about Breaking Bad.
__________________ "It's a great day for hockey."
-'Badger' Bob Johnson (1931-1991)
"I see as much misery out of them moving to justify theirselves as them that set out to do harm." -Dr. Amos "Doc" Cochran
EDIT: The fact that Buffy the Vampire Slayer beat Deadwood in the above mentioned brackets makes me want to choke an infant. This is why democracy is such a fundamentally flawed system.
Well it's not a popularity contest at all, it's just a bunch of critics and writers making a case for which show is better in their opinions. I read a few of their articles, and they are actually very well written. They make compelling cases for why they chose one show over the other. The one on Deadwood vs. Buffy was written by Paul Scheer from The League and How Did This Get Made fame. Here's an exert on why he chose Buffy over Deadwood.
Quote:
Spike’s evolution on the show was astonishing: He started as a supporting character, but thanks to his sly charm, he grew to be the most fully developed character in the Buffy universe. He rose from the dead to co-star on the Buffy spinoff Angel, and has since spawned his own comic book series, which continues his adventures. Hands down, he’s the show’s M.V.P.
But Spike also demonstrates why, in my mind, Buffy ultimately trumps Deadwood. If Deadwood could be opaque at times, Buffy actively invited the viewer in; it was as though Whedon and Co. wanted you to be a member of the Scooby gang from your living room. Buffy yielded a fully living, breathing world where the continuing adventures of characters like Spike never truly die. Whedon knew that the best ending was no ending at all, and in the end, left us wanting what every fan wants: More.
I would agree that Buffy is the better show. Joss Whedon is an amazing writer, and created a unique universe with countless interesting characters and stories. Buffy really established the whole CW/Teenage Drama genre, and while 99% of those shows are terrible, Buffy deserves to be called one of the best shows ever. I never bothered to watch the third season of Deadwood. Some of the performances were just not what I was expecting, and the only character I really loved was Swearengen. I know it wanted to be realistic, but some of the characters just really turned me off. I can see why people love the show mind you, but much like Six Feet Under I found it to be a disappointing experience.
I am sort of surprised it's that one-sided, but I guess The Simpsons is more of a broad comedy and appeals to pretty much every viewer, while with Seinfeld it only appeals to a certain subsection of viewership (which is why it rarely beat Friends in the ratings).
Last edited by trackercowe; 03-01-2014 at 05:11 PM.
Simpsons beating Seinfeld in popularity isn't surprising at all. It appealed to a small range of people during it's run while Simpsons has had kids and adults watching it for 25 years.
Simpsons beating Seinfeld in popularity isn't surprising at all. It appealed to a small range of people during it's run while Simpsons has had kids and adults watching it for 25 years.
While I agree that Simpsons winning isn't surprising, you're severely underestimating Seinfelds appeal.
“I’m going to ask you, really, seriously, I wasn’t so sure that you died, I really wasn’t," CNN's Ashleigh Banfield said on Thursday night. "Your eyes were open and I thought, ‘what if the police just take him into custody, he gets better, breaks out and just goes nuts?'"
Cranston: “Hey, you never saw bags zip up or anything."
Banfield: “Is he dead?”
Cranston: “I don’t know."
Banfield: “No movie? No nothing? No Walter White ever again?”
“I’m going to ask you, really, seriously, I wasn’t so sure that you died, I really wasn’t," CNN's Ashleigh Banfield said on Thursday night. "Your eyes were open and I thought, ‘what if the police just take him into custody, he gets better, breaks out and just goes nuts?'"
Cranston: “Hey, you never saw bags zip up or anything."
Banfield: “Is he dead?”
Cranston: “I don’t know."
Banfield: “No movie? No nothing? No Walter White ever again?”
But Walt had no idea who Saul was until the second season of BB.
If it's prequelish to BB, then Walt can't really be in the show. Perhaps later in the show it overlaps with BB's timeline and we see glimpses of him? Who knows.
