With all that said, I present my Top Ten TV Programs of my time.
No. 10 - Rat Patrol
THE RAT PATROL followed the adventures of an elite team of commandos of 111th Armor Recon, attached to the Long Range Desert Group, as they wreaked havoc with Rommel's Afrika Korps during WW II.
Led by the charismatic Sergeant Sam Troy, our heroes often found themselves pitted against their German nemesis DAK Hauptmann Dietrich.
These guys were just badass...firing weapons mounted in jeeps while catching big air jumping sand dunes, holy shit! My friends and I spent hours building dirt ramps and playing this out in our back yards.
The Rat Patrol-ran for two seasons, a total of 56 color episodes, on ABC from September 12, 1966 to September 16, 1968. The show starred Christopher George as Troy, and Eric Braden as Dietrich; writers included Larry Cohen and Lorenzo Semple Jr.
No. 9 - Combat
COMBAT! was TV's longest running WWII drama, honoring the frontline U.S. infantryman. On ABC from 1962 through 1967, Combat! starred Vic Morrow as Sergeant Saunders and Rick Jason as Lieutenant Hanley.
"Combat!" was the most realistic, exciting and emotional show in television history. This gem about a squad of soldiers battling it out in WWII after D-Day did not glorify war, though there were lots and lots of actions scenes and firefights, but instead focused on the individual soldier and how he dealt with the war personally and as part of a brotherhood. Terrific writing, superb direction, believable characters and slam bam action were the trademarks of this true TV classic. Big name directors and actors lined up to become part of the show which ran for 5 seasons and 152 episodes on ABC and has developed a huge following to this day. The series regulars were superb and believable. Vic Morrow, Rick Jason, Jack Hogan, Piere Jalbert, Dick Peabody and Conlan Carter all shone on their own unique ways. The characters of Saunders, Hanley, Kirby, Caje, Littlejohn and Doc have become etched in our minds forever. "Caje, take the point" was a phrase uttered quite often as myself and my childhood friends would act out the episode of Combat!
No. 8 - Mannix
The Mannix TV show was a 60 minute action, detective series on CBS that began with Joe Mannix working for an agency called, "Intertect" and evolved into his opening his own agency. Regardless, every episode involved Joe Mannix fighting, shooting, and car chasing his way through his dangerous cases. While pretty normal by today's standards, Mannix was one of the most violent shows of its day! And he always got the girl. This was like a weekly James Bond show. Running from 1967 to 1975, it set the stage for crime dramas of today. Mike Connors was suave and badass!
No. 7 - The Man From UNCLE
Napoleon Solo and Illya Kullyakin are the two agents of the United Network Command for Law Enforcement, who fight evil (primarily an organization of Bad people called, THRUSH) and use charm, wit, and a never ending assortment of gadgets. the show ran for 4 years from 1964 to 1968. Season 1 was shot entirely in black and white and the balance of the season were in color. I loved the fact it was on Friday nights and I got to stay up late and watch it! Then Saturdays were all about my friends and I playing secret agent throughout the neighborhood.
This Wiki link has great background refresher material.
Original theme song.
Original opening:
No. 6 - Star Trek
The adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise, representing the United Federation of Planets on a five-year mission in outer space to explore new worlds, seek new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before. The Enterprise is commanded by handsome and brash Captain James T. Kirk. His First Officer and best friend is Mr. Spock ("Fascinating Captain")" from the planet Vulcan, and Kirk's Medical Officer is Dr. McCoy ("Jim, I'm only a doctor!") and Engineer Scotty ("I've given her all she's got, Captain"). With its crew of approximately 430, the Enterprise battles aliens, megalomanical computers, time paradoxes, psychotic murderers, and even Genghis Khan! This show ran for only 3 years from 66 to 69. The rest is histsory!
I am sure I have seen every episode of this show many, many times. You could always play Star Trek as a kid whenever it rained or snowed and you were stuck inside. I was crushed when this show ended.
Stop by this site and watch full episodes, careful, you might get stuck in this wormhole for a while.
No. 5 - Law And Order
This long running show (over 20 years) just ended this past May. Never had a bad episode.
"In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories." Dun dun...
The show follows a crime, usually adapted from current headlines, from two separate vantage points. The first half of the show concentrates on the investigation of the crime by the police, the second half follows the prosecution of the crime in court. To me this has always been riveting as the cases are "ripped from the headlines" so it is as close to reality crime TV there is. Plus the female ADA's were always so hot! Even the lesbian.
RIP Jerry.
No. 4 - NYPD Blue
This show had me hooked from the beginning in 1993. Over the years several cast changes (99% of them good) kept the show fresh and riveting. Too many intertwined themes to review here, if you never saw the show (I'm sorry) you can get the synopsis here. Jimmy Smits last episode was legendary in its grit and reality. Dennis Franz was ideally cast and made a fashion statement with his short-sleeved shirt and tie outfit. I was genuinely sad when this show finished its run 12 years later. Once again hot women permeated the show from Kim Delaney to Charlotte Ross to Gail O'Grady. Good thing too since this show pioneered the gratuitous "side-boob naked shot".
The heavy drumming theme music was perfect for the show. And these Andy moments are great.
I still miss this show.
No. 3 - The X-Files
I freakin' loved this show! Period.
The X-Files was a popular American television series created by Chris Carter. It ran for nine seasons from 1993 until 2002, spawning a feature film in 1998 and one spin-off TV series. It originally aired on the FOX network. It was a critical and commercial success, due in part to its stars, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.
Fox Mulder, played by Duchovny, and Dana Scully, played by Anderson, are two FBI agents tasked with investigating the titular "X-Files", cases that often involve paranormal phenomena. With plots spanning conspiracy theories and high-level governmental cover-ups, the show mimicked episodic elements found in earlier shows such as The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, and the cult show Twin Peaks, in which Duchovny had appeared as a cross-dressing DEA agent. The series became a surprise runaway success, with a devoted following. Fans of the show became known as "eXcers" or more commonly, "X-Philes", a term coined by Matt Grommes on an early Fidonet X-Files message board.
The X-Files was declared by TV Guide to be one of the greatest television shows of all time, and the second greatest cult TV show of all time, behind Star Trek. Chris Carter used The X-Files as a springboard for a spin-off show involving characters from The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen. Carter's TV series, Millennium, survived three seasons. Millennium took place in the same diegesis as The X-Files, and eventually there were some cross-over episodes. Carter also created another short-lived TV series, Harsh Realm. None of these three shows garnered the same level of public or critical attention as The X-Files.
The opening was as chilling as it gets for TV.
Gillian Anderson was just killer hot!
No. 2 - 24
This show had me addicted like a drug from the first year. November 2001, after all the chaos and shock of the 9/11 attacks, the show almost was going to be delayed as it dealt with terrorism and count-terrorism. The decision was made to go ahead and debut on schedule. Clearly since the show was representative of a 24-hour day there had to be 24 episodes. After a few seasons the producers, in a move I consider genius, delayed the season opener until January. Then in another brilliant move, showed the episodes without a break (no reruns, no missed weeks) until the third week of May. The opening then became two consecutive nights of 2-hour episodes (usually a Sunday and Monday night). A truly brilliant concept, super great casting, and riveting subject matter made this an unmissable show. If you have never seen it, get season one on DVD or download it...you will not be able to stop until you have seen all 8 seasons.
AND there is a movie coming, of course!
Here is the Wiki stuff.
And that brings us to my top show of all time....
No. 1 - er
No amount of advance press could prepare you for the reality of this show. The intensity. Lives saved, lost and changed in this Chicago ER were as 3-dimensional as television gets. The list of stars on the cast, guest stars, and additions to the cast throughout the 15-year run was just superb. As Law and Order was intense courtroom drama, this was intense medical drama. The only bad thing I can say about this show is that the last episode in April of 09 was not what I thought the show deserved for the length of time it had been on the air. Although in retrospect, it may have been the perfect ending.
Here is snippet from Wiki:
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 1994 to April 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television. It is set primarily in the emergency room (ER) of fictional County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. The show ran for 15 seasons, becoming the longest-running primetime medical drama in American television history. It won 23 Emmy Awards, including the 1996 Outstanding Drama Series award. It received 124 Emmy nominations, the most of any television show in history.
Here is the whole Wiki link.
Final episode intro:
My Bonus Show (Foreign) - MI-5
I really liked this show but fell out of favor with it when they killed off virtually every main original character in the first two seasons. And the original characters were really well cast.
Honorable Mention:
The Avengers - Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, fogetaboutit...too hot!
The Saint - My first introduction to Roger Moore
Mission Impossible - I can still remember that episode where the geeky, nerdy dude with glasses (Wally Cox) got his fingers crushed. The show was great illusion.
Outer Limits - First show that really freaked me out.
I am sure this list is well incomplete but it was fun re-living earlier times while compiling it. Thanks Alex for another great blogfest!
