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What is the Best TV Drama of the last 20 Years?
West Wing 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
Deadwood 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
The Sopranos 11%  11%  [ 3 ]
Breaking Bad 29%  29%  [ 8 ]
The Shield 7%  7%  [ 2 ]
The Wire 7%  7%  [ 2 ]
Justified 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
Mad Men 11%  11%  [ 3 ]
Game of Thrones 11%  11%  [ 3 ]
Battlestar Galactica 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
Lost 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
24 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Other _____________ 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 27
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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 1:58 pm 
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Boring but true

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 2:43 pm 
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Mr. Robot.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 2:51 pm 
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Boring but true

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I gave up on that after 5 or 6 episodes.


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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 3:02 pm 
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Mr Robot is cool. It's the only show about techie stuff that actually bothers to get the techie stuff right. That said, I don't enjoy it enough to rate it the best drama of the past 20 years. :)

I'm going with Breaking Bad, of the ones I've seen.

West Wing - never watched
Deadwood - great characters (especially Al), but unsatisfying ending
The Sopranos - never watched
Breaking Bad - Amazing character arc, the most complete show probably
The Shield - nearly Breaking Bad-level, but maybe a notch below
The Wire - mind-numbingly dull. I couldn't make it through the second season.
Justified - never watched
Mad Men - made it through 4 episodes, but not much happening. Not as dull as the Wire though, so I may watch it all one day.
Game of Thrones - waiting for the whole thing to end and binge it all.
Battlestar Galactica - fun show, but not one I'd consider for a "best of" list.
Lost - great show completely ruined by a terrible ending. Unwatchable and rage inducing. :lol:
24 - lots of crazy action, but pretty repetitive and not much character growth, of course.


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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 3:18 pm 
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Evans wrote:
I gave up on that after 5 or 6 episodes.


Yeah, it's for smart people.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 3:19 pm 
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Boring but true

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Jeff wrote:
West Wing - never watched
The Sopranos - never watched
Justified - never watched

:shock: :shock:

I kind of envy you for this, because you have some amazing entertainment waiting for you right there. I've just this weekend been watching West Wing seasons 1 and 2 again and have been having a great time with them.


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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 3:45 pm 
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I'll probably watch Justified, of those three. I'm not really interested in older shows. I don't feel engaged unless they're widescreen and feel more cinematic. I know that's childishly snobby of me. :lol: I wouldn't even watch the Wire (what I did of it) until I found out it was rereleased in widescreen.


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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 3:50 pm 
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The last 20 years is included in "history of the Universe," so I went with Mad Men.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 3:53 pm 
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Jay is wise in the ways of TV drama.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 7:08 pm 
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That was an amazing list, by the way. Pretty much everything worth it Evans put it in the options.

Anyway, I haven't seen Justified and Deadwood, nor I plan to. Someday I'll get to The Sopranos and The West Wing.

I'm tentatively adding Mr. Robot and Fargo to the list. They have been some of the best ever, but let's see if the quality holds.

So:

Mad Men: Bleagh.

24: Exciting and all, but it was mostly a mess.

Game of Thrones: is this as good as its reputation or it's overrated? I don't know.

Lost: I love Lost. Yeah the ending blah blah. Whatever. It was a fascinating show that kept me hooked throughout its run.

I'll add Person of Interest. It's my all time favorite superhero show. Underneath its procedural identity there was a smart sci fi show.

And the pantheon:

Battlestar Galactica: the most thoughtful sci fi show I've ever seen. Pretty much the gold standard.

Breaking Bad: It would be the best of it weren't for..

The Wire. Still the best.

The whole "last 20 years" was unnecessary, IMO, these are the best ever.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 7:22 pm 
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Lemme see:

West Wing - started very strong, ended fairly strong. Some weak stuff in the middle though.
Deadwood - brilliant stuff, but the overly thick dialogue was tough to slog through sometimes, and the (non) ending was weak sauce.
The Sopranos - Great stuff for the first three seasons. Diminishing returns for seasons 4-6
Breaking Bad - Of the shows listed, this gets my vote. Incredibly strong from start to finish
The Shield - This almost tops BB, but there's some weak stuff in the later episodes. Easily one of the best pilot episodes EVER.
The Wire - didn't watch it
Justified - didn't watch it
Mad Men - didn't watch it
Game of Thrones - haven't watched it
Battlestar Galactica - didn't watch it
Lost - Gripped me for the first season, drifted in the second season, yanked me back in at the end of the third season, I liked the ending, but it could have wrapped up more conclusively
24 - Built strongly through seasons 1-4. Peaked in the 5th season. It was all downhill from there.


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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 7:30 pm 
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The Wire.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 7:56 pm 
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I picked Sopranos because it really was the domino that started the current awesome generation of tv dramas. The correct answer is Breaking Bad, tho.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 5:17 pm 
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Mad Men. It did everything perfectly. Period setting? Nailed it. Flawed, but attractive protagonist? Ditto. Rich supporting cast and acting talent. Peggy Olson, alone should give it that. Ambiguous ending? Well, that depends .


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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 6:01 pm 
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Man! I couldn't get past 20 minutes of Mad Men.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 10:58 pm 
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Can't vote for Mad Men when 2/3rds of AMC's FIRST actual TV series, Remember WENN, fits into this time frame.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 11:04 pm 
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Smallville.


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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 11:39 pm 
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Smallville does have the advantage of my actually having watched it… unlike these other wannabees.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 11:42 pm 
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One word.....Soprano's.

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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 12:42 am 
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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 10:41 am 
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There's a beverage here, man!

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Bobson Dugnutt wrote:
Mad Men. It did everything perfectly. Period setting? Nailed it. Flawed, but attractive protagonist? Ditto. Rich supporting cast and acting talent. Peggy Olson, alone should give it that. Ambiguous ending? Well, that depends .


I just started Season 3 yesterday. It was slow burn for me ... I tried once a few years ago, and I couldn't get past an episode. Then I started again a few weeks ago for whatever reason and now I'm hooked. It's a lot more compelling as it goes on and I'm sure it's going to get better given all of the praise I hear about it.

I don't feel right voting now, though. I would vote for Breaking Bad.


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 Post subject: Best TV Drama of the past 20 years
PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 10:41 am 
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There's a beverage here, man!

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The Wire was very much Must Watch too, though.


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