The first thing that makes a TV show great is the writing.
The script is the only original creative part of the process – every other step in the process is an interpretation of the script.
The costuming, the direction, the lighting, the hair and makeup, the editing style – all the rest of the production process is a version of what’s on the page.
So that part has to be great for the rest of the production elements to stand out and get the recognition they deserve.
The Writers Guild Of America has announced its list of 101 Best Written TV Shows of all time.
I’ve bolded up my top 20-ish. Are your favourite shows near the top?
1. The Sopranos
2. Seinfeld
3. The Twilight Zone
4. All in the Family
5. M*A*S*H
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7. Mad Men
8. Cheers
9. The Wire
10. The West Wing
11. The Simpsons
12. I Love Lucy
13. Breaking Bad
14. The Dick Van Dyke Show
15. Hill Street Blues
16. Arrested Development
17. The Daily Show
18. Six Feet Under
19. Taxi
20. The Larry Sanders Show
21. 30 Rock
22. Friday Night Lights
23. Frasier
24. Friends
25. Saturday Night Live
26. The X-Files
27. Lost
28. ER
29. The Cosby Show
30. Curb Your Enthusiasm
31. The Honeymooners
32. Deadwood
33. Star Trek
34. Modern Family
35. Twin Peaks
36. NYPD Blue
37. The Carol Burnett Show
38. Battlestar Galactica
39. Sex and the City
40. Game of Thrones
41. The Bob Newhart Show
42. Your Show of Shows
43. Downton Abbey
44. Law & Order
45. Thirtysomething
46. St. Elsewhere
47. Homicide: Life on the Street
48. Homeland
49. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
50. The Good Wife
51. The Colbert Report
52. The Office (British version)
53. Northern Exposure
54. The Wonder Years
55. L.A. Law
56. Sesame Street
57. Columbo
58. The Rockford Files
59. Fawlty Towers
60. Moonlighting
61. Freaks and Geeks
62. Roots
63. Everybody Loves Raymond
64. South Park
65. Playhouse 90
66. The Office (U.S. version)
67. Dexter
68. My So-Called Life
69. Golden Girls
70. The Andy Griffith Show
71. The Shield
72. Roseanne
73. 24
74. Murphy Brown
75. House
76. Barney Miller
77. I, Claudius
78. The Odd Couple
79. Star Trek: The Next Generation
80. Alfred Hitchcock Presents
81. Upstairs Downstairs
82. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
83. Get Smart
84. Gunsmoke
85. The Defenders
86. Sergeant Bilko
87. Justified
88. Band of Brothers
89. Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
90. The Prisoner
91. The Muppet Show
92. Absolutely Fabulous
93. Boardwalk Empire
94. Will and Grace
95. Family Ties
96. Lonesome Dove
97. Soap
98. The Fugitive
99. Louie
100. Late Night With David Letterman
101. Oz