I like making lists.

Breaking Bad is muddled at times, yes. Good placement.

I don't think BB would break my top 10, maybe my top 15, just. I enjoyed huge portions of it but it was definitely flawed.

I've not seen much of the US Office, though I did watch the UK version in full a week or so ago. I think that's as near-perfect as a comedy show can get.

6. The X-Files
Seasons: 9
Aired: 1993-2002



I've always thought the show's appeal was based on two primary reasons: the public's interest in the paranormal and conspiratorial thinking. Every week we saw Fox Mulder's theories and opinions hold fast against Dana Scully's hoity-toity science. The X-Files wasn't just about aliens or monsters, it was about philosophy and many different types at that. Several episodes dealt with death, faith, religion and a lot of other seemingly controversial topics. A lot of episodes left you questioning what you just watched and how you should feel about it. That's a profound thing to come from a television series.

It also featured, in my opinion, three of the greatest characters to ever come out of television: Mulder, Scully, and the Cigarette-Smoking Man (although I prefer to call him Cancer Man). Like I said earlier, Scully was a great counter for Mulder and it was exciting to watch the two of them grow and develop over the course of the series, due in no small part to the obvious chemistry between Anderson and Duchovny. One of the things I always found so appealing about the Cancer Man was how he seemed to be a dark reflection of Mulder. Mulder was always after the truth, but Cancer Man knew the truth of nearly everything and had nothing to show for it aside from being a vile, lonely, bitter and evil man. Who’s to say Mulder wouldn’t have become Cancer Man in another life, let alone if he knew the full truth? He might be my all-time favorite television series villain.

The X-Files has also had a tremendous impact on a lot of the shows made today: Lost, Supernatural, Fringe, American Horror Story, or even normal mystery series like Bones, Elementary, and Castle (male/female stars, weaving in week to week mysteries with a larger central storyline, etc.). Obviously The X-Files is better than all of those, but its influence is there.

Beyond the characters, beyond the incredible writing, I think what most fans enjoyed the most was the increasingly complex mythology the series shined a light on every 5-6 episodes.  As much as I enjoyed the one-off episodes or the monster-of-the-week format, the series is remembered for the deeply serialized plot it presented. I've watched the entire series through twice (and a ton of individual episodes more), and I still notice new things all the time. Like I said earlier, the show wasn't about aliens and government conspiracies, but it was definitely something everybody looked forward to seeing more of every week.

I struggled with the placement of this a bit. For a while it was in the top five, but I bumped it out to make room for what is coming up next.

Quick recap:

10. Sherlock
9. Batman
8. Breaking Bad
7. The Office
6. The X-Files

Yeah, its nice to see X-Files in there. Nice screen shot by the way.

As for Breaking Bad, it is the type of cliffhanger type show that people can get really caught up in. And the major moments are still really powerful. The only thing I find as a fault is some of the family dynamics which always bugged me but I always tried to ignore it because everything else is so strong. The things i'm talking about are Skylar's annoyingness and the fact that the "try to hide it from my family" got repetitive and a little ridiculous. I was very happy when she found out.

That screenshot appears to be from the episode where they're investigating "Big Blue".

Continuing the Breaking Bad discussion, I'd personally put it very high, most likely at #1 with Fringe right behind it. A lot of people always complain how annoying Skyler was, but I dunno, I never really felt that way, to be honest. I think it's just because so many people loved Walt and wanted to see him succeed and Skyler was mainly just a form of opposition. Anyway, I'm planning on doing a series re-watch of it pretty soon.

Might be around #13-#10 for me.

Knowing you, you would watch 2 episodes and then say you need a break to focus on another TV show.

That was a different you.

5. Parks and Recreation
Seasons: 7
Aired: 2009-present



Ah, Parks and Rec. Hilarious, touching, insightful at times, great writing, lots of character growth, a huge cast of characters all better than the next, etc. I'm sure many of you probably don't agree with the placement here, but I don't care. Much like The Office, this is another show I'll have a hard time letting go of when it officially ends its final season here in the next couple of months.

I once read a comment about the series that while Leslie is the main character, you could pluck almost every other character out of the series and develop an entirely new show around that one person. And I totally agree. Who wouldn't watch another show starring Ron Swanson, or April and Andy, or Chris and Ben as auditors? Parks and Rec used to feel like a poor man's imitation of The Office, but that went away about halfway through Season 2 for me. The show makes you feel happy, you want these characters to be happy and succeed, and most episodes end on a positive note.

Above all, the show is incredibly funny and is insanely quotable. Ron has said two lines that I use on a somewhat regular basis: "When I eat, it is the food that is scared," and "Why is everyone else so bad at eating?" It's not a show that requires or even requests a lot of analysis, it's just a lot of fun. Some people have stuck with it, some have said it started to decline (admittedly I struggled a little during Season 4 with Leslie's City Council race, but I've enjoyed that more in re-watches) and abandoned ship and that's too bad. It's one of the greatest comedies of all-time, and the best of the last decade.