Awesomeness on Television!

Man did Ronald D. Moore blindside the hell out of me with this one! He cut his teeth on Star Trek, and helped to mastermind the continuation of the Next Generation through 4 more series. He had an abortive flirt with interesting but bleak supernatural history in Carnivale, and helped to conceive the worst of the now 4 Mission Impossible titles along with Robert Towne of all people in Mission Impossible 2. Then he decided to reboot a short lived but much loved science fiction Star Wars ripoff from the early 80's, and what do we end up with- one of the now greatest TV shows ever made! Bleak, depressing, desperate, mythological, allegorical and tribute (it's style is Black Hawk Down in space), the writing was superb, with an eye on a final denouement that was never compromised for money or ratings. 2 Oscar nominees in the veteran roles provided gravitas in Olmos and McDonall, and new faces in Sackhoff as the (then controversially) female re-imagining of Starbuck, the surprisingly English Jamie Bamber as Apollo, and the incomparable James Callis as the morally ambiguous Baltar. The tie in to our present was slightly predictable, and the spiritual ambiguity of the ending riled some (much like Lost), but this show was just perfect in nearly every way, with some of the best end of season finales you will ever see, and relationships that evolved with such complexity (the cylons themselves in particular) that it never spoon fed or insulted its audience. Perfect entertainment that could make you cheer, cry, and think, its just perfect television.

So into the top 2, and you could switch these 2 around on any given day if am honest, but at 2 for today, is this, enter, Aaron Sorkin. Its liberal idealistic heaven from a writer whose dialogue sparkles so brightly you need shades to behold it as it is delivered at rattling pace on the moves through the corridors of the White House. It's just so sharp, frenetic and authentic in its depiction of jobs so high pressured it baffles the mind, but idealistic in a way you wish politics could be (Sorkin can fall into schmaltz, like with the underrated but archly manipulative Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip). The characters are flawed but you know they are extremely intelligent, Martin Sheen landed the role of a lifetime in the diminutive but scholarly and often morally unflinching and intractable President Bartlett, whose speeches at times were so good as to make me almost cry that I might be half that keen an observer and author of such prose (that speech, Season 2, episode 3 'when the president walks into the room, everyone stands', total, utter, genius). The cast were universally superb, the big surprise at the time being the mercurial Rob Lowe, but for me the real under played excellence was that of the acerbic, self flagellating quintessential damaged optimist that was Richard Schiff as Toby Zeigler. The show took a slight downturn in the 5th season when Sorkin left it in the hands of others to pursue other projects, but the last 2 seasons made up for the loss of sharp dialogue in what is a now rather prescient storyline written 2 years before the rise of Mr Obama. Its perfect, smart, pure television, and deserves to be remembered as a seminal moment of televisual entertainment.

For any self respecting sci-fi TV fan, Farscape sits at or near the top of any geeks best of list. An Australian based production in conjunction with the Hensons that married puppetry, CGI and live actors to create a rich, diverse and very, very alien universe that was both dangerous and beautiful (just like Crichton says in his opening spiel), it combined great characters with powerful interpersonal relationships and a sweeping story arc that wasn't afraid to be weird and wonderful, and hold to an ongoing story throughout it's run. The chemistry of the leads is undeniable and compelling (only Claudia Black can really be said to have had much of a career outside of this show), and where many shows would teeter over into cliched sci-fi mulch, this show managed to combine some of the nerdier excesses of science fiction and meld them to powerful, sometimes dark and often desperate story telling that had a strangely complex and believable morality to them. Browder excels in particular as the constantly out of his depth John Crichton, but its probably the rather iconic and unforgettable Wayne Pygrim as the ambiguously natured and archly manipulative Scorpius who lingers longest in the memory. It just works, and works brilliantly, and thanks to some genuine fan pressure we were given our ending of sorts in The Peacekeeper Wars too. Long gone the show now is, but never forgotten, its one of the great underrated TV shows.

Forget the occasionally good but strangely juvenile Buffy, you want a show by the Whedon that really was great, then this short lived 14 episode piece of ensemble sci-fi is just a peach of an example. Whedon's comic book ideals, flare for punchy dialogue, and eye for compelling and desirable personal relationships in his characters was never better realised or show cased than it was here. The idea's of cowboys in space is hardly a new one, but Joss managed to create a context for it that made more sense than ever before, and pepper his universe with wonderfully rich cliches and stereotypes of western cinema and TV, placing them in their interstellar context and making a marriage of genres made in geek heaven. The interactions of the principals are the key though, and so successfully did Mr Fillion and co make you care for them as a group, that I may never have been so desperately sad, upset, and annoyed that a show was cancelled and ended as I was with this one. Unfulfilled promise aside, be grateful for the 14 episodes and one very entertaining movie we got out of it, rarely has a star shined so short but so bright on our television sets.

Sorkin love continues with this, his latest effort- it's only part way through the 2nd season and while it isn't as sharp as The West Wing in its themes or even its writing it is still very very well written indeed, and in Jeff Daniels has a lead every bit as good as the awesome Martin Sheen. This programme could easily have made it here off the back of the opening 10 mins in the first episode alone (a moment of total genius), but it's shaping up to be truly fantastic and am loving every new episode that comes out.

We all know Friends, and for my generation, this may well be the number one show any of us will remember from the mid 90's to the mid 00's, so embedded in the Zeitgeist it was. As a show they rarely come as universally loved as this did, and still is by many, and it just did what it did so well thanks to some underrated actors in the leads (in particular Lisa Kudrow who for me is much underrated as an actress in general), and a warm heart that would melt even the most cynical of facades. It was stupid, it was goofy, and it was as lovable a show as you are ever likely to see. You may not want to admit it, but Friends is a true classic of its kind, and the world is a sadder place without it on screens (bar re-runs of course), even 9 years after its finish!

3 years after a first successful pairing as actor and director in Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg decided to team up and produce this gem of a mini-series in conjunction with Blighty's very own BBC. What they did was tell the story of the 101st Airbourne from training through D-Day and right up to the capture of the Eagles Nest via way of the Bulge, a unit at the front of the allied advance across Europe from 1944 to the end of the war. Its just wonderfully crafted, acted and realised, with personal dramas and unbelievable acts of heroism, and sometime brutality mixed up into a heady image of suffering and violence for a war that had to be won. It managed to focus on an American unit without the jingoistic attitude that other US-centric war movies and shows could display, with a cast of talented Americans and Brits alike bringing authenticity and pathos to their characters in equal measure, and none more so than the de-facto lead Damien Lewis, whose abilities as an actor should be lauded and have rarely been better showcased than they were right here (possibly in the rather silly Homeland too). A fantastic slice of early 00's television that is practically 10 one hour movies of very moving history and heroism on screen.

Edgar Wright, Hollywood director. Simon Pegg, Hollywood star and even sometime leading man. Nick Frost, lovable large guy and unforeseen comedy movie support. Here's where they started, a simple, movie referencing, guy and a gal in an apartment comedy that kick started their careers and made the most unlikely of all movie stars out of its lead. Its brilliant, well made, over too soon, hilarious, oh so very British, and should be revisited or watched by anyone who can get hold of the DVD. It's heart is so large it will squeeze its way into you and you will love it like you would a trusted family member. TV awesomeness!

It's hard to say more about this than has already been said- it's another one I came to late because it took me ages to get into that first episode (I tried to watch it like 8 times unsuccessfully!), but once I did, it was impossible to do anything but admire the sheer quality of writing in evidence throughout the 5 season run. I won't say anymore, but it's a genuinely must watch television show, brave, hard hitting, realistic and immersive. I have had a lot of arguments with people as to who produce the better television, the US or Brits. When it comes to comedy I would say us all the way, but in the last decade and a half, American drama TV has stepped up, and if you wanted a compelling argument as to why the US currently does it better, you need look no further than something like this show here as an example.

Fantasy seems to galvanise producers to take big financial risks on quality commercial properties, in this case, GOT is in many ways the LOTR of the small screen in that it is an expensive and complex undertaking that was going to be difficult to film. The books are medieval England inspired plots of ruthless and complex political ambitions that focus heavily on character and less on the action, and twist and turn in often murderous ways. The show adapted the first book so successfully it truly shines as an example of expert and near perfect adaptation writing, with a mostly perfect cast that sell their characters with an often understated authenticity. Its lighter on the fantasy than most, but heavy on the old England brutality of sword, axe and dagger. If it continues to improve as it is, this will likely go down as a seminal moment in television history, it really is that good!

A recent discovery this one thanks to a friend, and what a discovery it is! Quite frankly, for me at least, you can forget Family Guy, Southpark, and even the now badly degraded Simpsons, this is the animated comedy that deserves all the plaudits. Possibly too adult to reach the broader audiences, it is truly irreverently hilarious, all about a fictional spy agency called ISIS and its main agent, the wonderfully narccisistic eponymous hero Archer himself, who bumbles, drinks, and sleazes his way through his assignments bickering non stop with his dysfunctional group of colleagues and friends. Seriously, over here in UK at least this is very unknown, I think people should go out there and get to know it better, your ribs will hurt from the hilarity of it all!

I'm making my way through this as I write this, season 3 and counting and the quality on show is undeniable. It's sharply written and played with patience to allow an audience to eek their way onto the lives of all the principal characters. Thus far my one complaint would be the things you don't see, such as Walters consistent absence from a school that seems to have no problems letting him come back whenever he likes, but it's easily ignored in favour of the surprising twists and turns that are thrown at you in every episode. Bryan Cranston especially is superb throughout, it is truly fascinating watching his character arc decline and descend, ever evolving into Walt the meth maker and less Walt the teacher and family man as time goes on. Worthy of its many plaudits indeed.

Another one I almost left off the list, but I couldn't tell you why, because when I think about it, it was truly great television. It almost ended up collapsing under the weight of it's own mysteries, of which there were many, and the writing became a little unfocused at times as it became clear the creators didn't quite have the complete vision for the show they at one time made out, but it really was a compelling and intriguing, at times spooky, always frustrating brain aching little time jumping mystery that sucked you in with its large list of characters all competing for a little bit of screen time. It stands up under repeat viewings and like 24, benefits greatly from bulk episode binges. It's been a little forgotten since due to an unnecessarily vilified ending that was high on continued mystery and light on spoon fed explanations (I think it was well played personally), but it was a mega event at the time, especially the first 2 seasons, and rightfully so for its highly frustrating tricksy and addictive plotting.

I almost left this off the list because of how downhill and self mocking the series became after season 5, but just remembering back to the first 3 and 5th seasons of this show and I remember how brilliant they were as pieces of action entertainment television. For a while there Jack Bauer was the hardest fictional man alive (step aside Chuck, even though you arent fictional), and this guns blazing, race against time, brutally violent show could genuinely not be beaten for pure adrenaline fueled 'OMG' moments. It was truly unique in its conception too, it's easy to forget as it fell into a deep hole of it's own unimaginative cliches later in its run, but the real time aspect was a true undertaking of technically large proportions. Great stuff though, and that 3rd season, wow!

So, after lauding Blackadder as the definitive British comedy classic, why would I then go and put this Steven Moffat (Dr Who and Sherlock) written and produced series above it? Well, simply, because this one connects with me on a slightly more personal humour level. Its a wonderfully witty, sometimes wacky piece of situation comedy driven British television, that spawned an vastly inferior (despite Moffat still at helm) US re-hash, and was defined by some very well created characterisations played by skilled Brit thesps that bounced off of each other particularly effectively. Like all great comedy its observations were sharp, which made the often disastrous situations that arose truly great car crash comedy moments! This is one I can happily go back to over and over and it can cheer me up and make me laugh in even my bleakest moments.

It took me 4 seasons of this show to finally bow down to opinion and give Dexter a go, am not a fan of crime shows in general, but I was wrong to avoid this as long as I did, as it is just pitch perfect in how it depicts the morality of an anti hero who really is no hero at all. You shouldn't want to root for Dexter, you shouldn't want to like him, but you do, and you do so much that 7 seasons later people are still tuning in in their millions to root for him some more. Michael C. Hall has to take a lot of the credit for his mannered portrayal, voiceover work may never have been used better, but like many in this list, it's the writing that kills (poor pun and 5th and 6th seasons aside), and an attention to characterisation outside of just the lead that really marks Dexter as a genuine television classic. Oh and one more thing, the opening credits of Dexter are just brilliant, insinuating violence in such a mundane exercise as getting ready in the mornings, it is just a triumph of simplicity and clever filming (True Blood tried to copy it outright, extremely unsuccessfully).

Some people would say Monty Python, some maybe Only Fools and Horses, others maybe more recent fare like The League of Gentleman, but prize for greatest comedy television show has to go to his Brit classic that made Rowan Atkinson Hollywood style famous, and (please ignore the slightly below par first season) had some of the greatest moments of on-screen comedy writing you might ever see. Its quintessentially British, ironic, sarcastic, innuendo filled humour both gross and sharp as tacs that actually managed to finish on a moment of powerful imagery that went beyond its cheap comedy roots. British humour never got better than this.

This is one of my little personal choices, just a low key short run British comedy series from the same stable as Green Wing (another one worth checking out actually) set in a London book store run by the wonderfully misanthropic Bernard (Dylan Moran) and his peace loving and lovable friend Manny (Bill Bailey). Its just really goofy funny, who doesn't love drunken rant humour and prat falls, it's one to strangely cheer you up no matter what is happening, a little gem in the backlog of British comedy staples.

A tribute in some ways to my fathers own obsessions, but also to a show that has been running since the week Kennedy was assassinated (50 years this year)- the popularity of this show is currently bigger than it has ever been before, now that it is successful in the US finally, and has in Matt Smith, a truly great and compelling lead actor. This show is a tribute to creativity over the decades that obviously has something that appeals to us all, goofy, funny, entertaining, spectacular, touching and bombastic, its real coup though, is that it has within it a protagonist who is both alien and human, and for whom his mind is his weapon. Fists don't solve problems here, the brain does, and often in very smart and complex way's you can genuinely believe. This is kudos for a show that continues to give 50 years later.

My guilty pleasure this show, it was 10 seasons of very cheesy entertainment sci-fi, with no real brain but a lot of heart, that I just found really easy and fun to watch. Sometimes you don't need to be challenged too much to enjoy things, and this is that show for me, and when the lead guy is having so much fun, it just oozes through the screen and into you!

I only mean the original miniseries and The Final Battle here, not the actual season afterwards which was disappointingly moronic and excessively cheap, or the remake which whilst well intentioned, didn't quite get it right despite a very good turn by Firefly and Homelands Morena Bocarin. The original was a brilliant little analogous piece of television with a purpose, that was paced very effectively to depict the slow but sure fascist-alike take over of our own world by genuinely intelligent and devious aliens. The effects haven't dated well, and the use of stock footage sometimes annoys, but the original V was a wonderful piece of sci-fi television and should be remembered.

If you can't have fun with this wonderfully goofy show then you have no heart as far as I'm concerned, and John C. McGinley, you rock!

I don't know what went wrong for this little slice of post apocalyptic fantasy television, it lasted just 2 seasons, and and the second was stunted due to falling ratings and an early cancellation. It was a fun, compelling, sometimes interesting and always entertaining idea about how one small town in America would cope after a nuclear holocaust, and the ensuing politics of survival that might arise under such circumstances. Skeet Ulrich managed to leave behind his weirdo persona a little after a slightly too effective turn in Scream left him constantly homicidal in the eyes of many, but it was Lenny James' mysterious is he a terrorist, is he a secret agent persona that really held the show and made it great. It was killed too soon, and it's one of those occasions where I wish I had really had a chance to see more of it, it's rare I am still bothered by that 7 years later, sometimes I wonder what is wrong with television audiences!

Ok, so had to put one childhood fave in here and the more I thought about it the more I could not look past the perfection of childhood wonder that was Thunderbirds. It was just awesome fun, and all boys wanted one of those ships themselves, personally I wanted Thunderbird 3 with the controls from Thunderbird 1 and the method of embarkation of Thunderbird 2! My childhood ambition was to join IR... still say it would be a cool job!