I like making lists.

Disagree.

I think the drop is much more noticeable for The Office though.

Funny, because I think Parks & Rec Season 1 is the weakest of the series, getting better after that, and remaining very funny to this day.

Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson are two of my favorite TV characters of all time, and I'm very fond of Andy and Ben as well.

All hypotheticals.

4. Game of Thrones
Seasons: 4
Aired: 2011-present



Game of Thrones has more in common with film than television. It doesn’t play nice, it rarely gives you what you want, it’s not afraid of killing main characters and upsetting the fan base, it breaks almost every rule people have come to expect out of watching television. It’s a game of dominoes as much as it is chess, it’s a political drama as much as it is a fantasy epic, it features excellent performances from nearly every member of its incredibly large cast, gorgeous cinematography, stirring music, and elaborate sets and visual effects. By the time the series is over, I’m sure Game of Thrones will be higher on this list. After four seasons and forty episodes I just haven’t seen enough to rank it any higher than 4th on the list.

My criticisms of the series are few and far between though. I do think a couple of the characters tend to fall into deep holding patterns while the other pieces on the board are set (Danerys and Bran primarily), and sometimes I think the show spends too much time on things that personally I don’t care as much about (Theon/Reek and Littlefinger), but again they are not huge issues. There is so much momentum building throughout a season (and the series as a whole), that whether the show is sitting idle or barreling full-steam ahead it’s riveting. The show is incredibly dark and depressing, to the point that even the smallest of victories or humor can seem like an oasis in the middle of the desert.

As an ensemble piece it’s difficult to shine a lot of attention on any one actor or character, but I definitely think Peter Dinklage is pretty tremendous in his role as Tyrion. I’ve also enjoyed the arcs the show has set Jon and Cersei on, and Jaime, and Danerys, and everybody. Like I said there are so few missteps in the series that I almost feel bad I’m not ranking this any higher.

As fast as the series sometimes moves, I also enjoy some of the slower burns the show uses. For example, the use of magic and some of the more supernatural elements of the world shown off – the white walkers, mammoths, giants, the dragons (although they’ve been around much longer than some of the others on the list). And I love the violence and the sex, I love that the show caters to my fascination with fictional dystopian societies and worlds; the show is just nearly perfect. In fact, the more I write about it the more I think I made a mistake and it should be #1. But, for now, I’ll keep it in the 4th spot. Maybe the pending Season 5 will cement a greater position.

I can't shake the thought that I should have ranked it higher.

Shit. This is ruined lol.

Actually yes, I did watch it a few months after you recommended it last time. I liked it a lot and I can see why its legacy has held up. I watched the remake then too... that I didn't enjoy as much.

Son of a bitch.

3. Seinfeld
Seasons: 9
Aired: 1989-1998



Truth be told, I don’t think there will ever be a better comedy/sit-com/whatever you want to call it than Seinfeld. It did more than just act as a great show, it changed our vernacular. There are words, terms, and catchphrases used every day that simply didn’t exist before the series came around. Its crowning achievement though was parading itself as a show about nothing, when instead it was very much about human interactions and mannerisms outside societal norms. Nearly every episode was about how strange one thing or another that somebody was doing or saying was.

While I think Seinfeld could be the subject of many lengthy debates, I’m not going to get into any kind of a philosophical discussion here. The show is, to me, funnier than any other show ever. I’ve seen every episode at a minimum of probably 8-10 times and I still laugh at a lot of the jokes. I don’t know that I can that about any other series, usually the repetition tends to wear pretty thin on me. The show also spawned my all-time favorite television character – George Costanza. The constant lying, the depression, the hatred for his parents, the insecurities, all of it is just perfect. The only other character out there that gives him a run for my money is Ron Swanson, but I still think George probably takes the cake.

The show is a timeless classic. Pull it out of the 80’s and 90’s and set it in today’s society and it would still be very relevant. Some of the things the characters do and say are quite racy and sometimes sexist, so you’d probably need to change those up to fit our over-the-top politically correct culture, but they could make it work.

I feel silly that I’ve now written four paragraphs about a show that literally everybody on this board has seen at least one episode of, if not every episode as many times as I have. Serenity now.

Thank you.

I'm glad Archer didn't actually break into the list itself in hindsight. That placement was clearly only there because I happened to be rewatching the series as I was starting this list. I sometimes get caught up in what I'm doing at the moment versus a long-term feeling/thought.

Your top 4 so far would both be in my top 4, though possibly in different positions.

Are you guessing at what the top two are? Or are you referring to #'s 3-6?