What are your top three favorite shows of all time?
Q&A With Shay Each Sunday
It’s difficult to find those few loved shows that feel near-perfect, especially with the abundance of TV shows now. I struggle to pick an all-time favorite for anything in any art form. I don’t like to name a favorite book, movie, song, band, and of course show, even though I have many favorites—plural. There are quite a few shows that are done so well and are inspiring regardless of genre, plus make you feel jealous that the writers, directors, and actors, and everyone else involved created such a masterpiece.
Older shows, well, older TV, bring me a sense of nostalgia and fun. I kind of liked the idea of sitting in front of the TV on that one day a week when the show aired instead of being bombarded like we are now—streaming, watching it all at once, no commercials. I can hardly remember the last time I watched a cable TV show at the time it aired—probably YEARS ago. Any show I still watch on cable I record or pull up on demand after the fact because it’s made so easy. It feels a little sad and anti-climactic now, like something we’re doing to fill time or while doing other things, whereas before it felt more like an anticipated event. Anyway, instead of projecting my thoughts on the evolution of TV and the drastic changes viewing shows have undergone, I will try to pick my top three favorites ever. I can’t be held to this for all of the future, though, because I might change my mind.
Q: What are your top three favorite shows of all time?
A: These are all vastly different genres, which isn’t even totally intentional, though I do like a wide variety of shows in different genres, and I feel that these three encapsulate a sort of perfection in their respective genres.
1. Friends. Probably my all-time favorite. Friends created this fun and light life and atmosphere that made us feel like we were a part of the group. I love the dynamic and the extreme exaggerations of characters that were created, and the way each actor portrayed them. It definitely never got worse or lost our interest as seasons progressed, despite the changes the friends went through. Of course, I have plenty of issues with the show and its believability, and its occasionally cheesy jokes or inconsistencies, but for some reason in Friends, a lot of those aspects can be overlooked where they wouldn’t be in other shows, because it’s just that good as an overall.
2. Degrassi. I really love teen dramas. It’s probably my favorite genre of TV show or movie, obviously in large part because that is what I write, but I think that’s what I write because I like it so much to begin with. Degrassi is the absolute best teen drama I’ve ever seen. I also love that this show keeps reviving and trnasforming with new characters throughout the course of so many decades. I’m actually pretty disappointed that there’s nothing going on in the Degrassi world right now and I really hope they bring it back again (for the fourth time?) soon. I never saw Degrassi Junior High, which was the original show from the 80s, but I started right at the beginning of Degrassi: The Next Generation, and picked up on the fact that the parents and older characters were some of the original cast and they carried on storylines from then! So cool. And then it finally transitioned to Degrassi: The Next Class, which was another great and necessary update with our newest teen culture. The issues and social commentary constantly evolves in this show for what teens are faced with in current times, and it’s in a relatable and entertaining way, but it’s also important. And it will always remind me of my own teen years. The Next Generation started right when I was about the same age as the characters and I’ll always remember following along and all the heartbreak endured on the way. Ah, nostalgia.
3. Breaking Bad. I didn’t watch Breaking Bad when it originally aired. I actually only watched it a couple years ago on Netflix, but have watched it two more times since. This show was a MASTERPIECE. It kept viewers engaged and desiring what came next for every episode, every season, and the stakes got higher and higher as the characters and their situations changed. My typical complaint about series (and I’m sure others would agree) is that shows usually get much worse in later seasons. This didn’t happen with Breaking Bad, it got darker as the story got darker, but it never lost momentum. They also did not drag the show on for a bunch of unnecessary seasons, which I appreciate. I wish there could have been more and more because I loved the plot and characters so much, but I’m also glad it ended when it did. Also, Jesse Pinkman is probably my favorite fictional character of all time; he’s so complex when you really reflect on him. In my opinion, and I assume many others who loved the show, Breaking Bad was pretty perfect in terms of overall plot/storyline—the writing—character development, actors who played those characters, and had a good dosing of symbolism. Basically, everything needed to make a great story.
What are your all time favorite TV shows?
