GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS

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Cuttooth
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PostGRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Cuttooth » Thu May 21, 2009 5:06 pm

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For the past week and a half you've voted for what you think is the best television series of all time. And now here are the results.

The placing is sorted out by points, then total number of votes, then highest vote, so if two shows are tied on points and votes and one received a 2nd place vote while the other received a 3rd place vote, the first one places above the second.

Here we go.

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51. ER (1994-2009)
Created by Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton and premiering in September 1994, ER ran for fifteen seasons, in the process becoming the longest-running medical drama in American primetime history. The NBC show's original cast consisted of the likes of George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle, and Julianna Marguiles, but by the end of season twelve none of them remained. Continuing for three more years ER finally ended for good this April, with a season that saw many of the favourite characters from the first seasons return to send off a series that accumulated 123 Emmy nominations; more than any other series.

Total points: 15 Position last year: =48th

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50. Rome (2005-2007)
A joint project between HBO, the BBC, and the Italian network RAI, Rome portrayed the violent transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. The series followed the two main characters Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo from Caesar's invasion of Gaul to the death of Mark Antony and the rise of the first Emperor Augustus. The show was honored with numerous awards and award nominations in its two-season run. Co-creator Bruno Heller stated in December 2008 that a Rome movie is in development.

Total points: 17 Position last year: New Entry

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49. Chuck (2007-present)
Chuck is a comedy-action series about the "average computer-whiz-next-door", Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working in the CIA; the message embeds the only remaining copy of the world's greatest spy secrets into his brain. A strong fan campaign resulted in the much loved series being renewed for a third season.

Total points: 17 Position last year: New Entry

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48. Alias (2001-2006)
Alias was an action spy thriller created by J.J. Abrams starring Jennifer Garner as the spy heroine Sydney Bristow, a double agent for both the CIA and the organization SD-6, whose field operatives believe is part of the CIA but is in fact one of the United States enemies. Throughout the show Sydney would carry out her missions using a multitude of different disguises and aliases, from which the series derives its name.

Total points: 17 Position last year: New Entry

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47. Doctor Who (1963-1989, 2005-present)
A sci-fi classic for over thirty years and after a modestly successful 1996 TV movie that didn't lead to a new series, Doctor Who was relaunched for a new generation in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston taking the role as the Time Lord who travels through time and space in a police box. Eccleston left after only a year with David Tennant landing the part. Matt Smith will take over from Tennant next year to become the Eleventh Doctor.

Total points: 17 Position last year: 31st

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46. Carnivàle (2003-2005)
Carnivàle was an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes Christian theology with gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar. It's unique style led to widespread critical acclaim but poor ratings in its second season ultimately led to its cancellation.

Total points: 18 Position last year: New Entry

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45. Mad Men (2007-present)
Set in New York City, Mad Men begins in the late 1950s at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on New York City's Madison Avenue. The show centers on Don Draper (Jon Hamm), a high-level advertising executive, and the people in his life in and out of the office. It also depicts the changing social mores of 1960s America. It's debut season won six Emmy Awards including Outstanding Drama Series, the first basic cable series to do so, it has won Golden Globes for Best Drama Series two years in a row, and earned a Golden Globe acting win for Jon Hamm.

Total points: 18 Position last year: New Entry

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44. Prison Break (2005-2009)
The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other, a genius, devises an elaborate plan to help his brother escape prison using a full body tattoo in the process. Unrealistic from the beginning it only got more outlandish as it went on, but always remained entertaining enough to build a loyal fanbase.

Total points: 18 Position last year: 10th

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43. Frasier (1993-2004)
A spin-off from the hugely successful Cheers, Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane, one of the Boston bar's former regulars as he returns to his hometown of Seattle, Washington. There he becomes a radio psychiatrist for KACL (a radio station named after the show's three creators) and must deal with his down-to-earth father, Martin, suddenly moving in with him. His competitive, snobbish younger brother, Niles is stuck in a loveless marriage to Maris which leads to his affection for his father's live-in British physical therapist Daphne.

Over the course of eleven seasons the show won a record 37 Emmys.

Total points: 18 Position last year: New Entry

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42. Oz (1997-2003)
First one prison drama, now another. Oz was the first one-hour drama series to be produced by HBO and aired for six seasons. Set in the fictional Oswald State Correctional Facility (or Oz as it's nicknamed). Many of the plot arcs were set in an experimental unit of the prison, known as Emerald City, in which the unit manager attempts to emphasise rehabilitation and learning responsibility during incarceration.

Total points: 19 Position last year: 41st

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41. Red Dwarf (1988-1999, 2009)
The main setting of the off-the-wall science-fiction comedy series is the mining spaceship Red Dwarf, a radiation leak kills everyone except from Dave Lister. He is accompanied by a hologram of his old bunkmate, a humanoid creature who evolved from a cat and, from series 2 onwards, a robot. The series follows them as they encounter such phenomena as time distortions, faster than light travel, mutant diseases and strange lifeforms that developed in the intervening millions of years. After ten years off our screens Red Dwarf returned for an Easter special, which was generally poorly received by fans.

Total points: 19 Position last year: 20th

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40. My Name Is Earl (2005-2009)
This sitcom stars Jason Lee in the title role as "Earl J. Hickey", a petty crook with occasional run-ins with the law, whose newly won $100,000 lottery ticket is lost when he is hit by a car. Lying in a hospital bed, under the influence of morphine, he develops a belief in the concept of karma when he hears about it during an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. He decides he wants to turn his life around and makes a list of all the bad things he's ever done. After doing his first good deed, he finds his $100,000 lottery ticket. He sees this as a sign and, with his new lucky money and accompanied with his dimwitted but kind brother Randy, he proceeds to cross items off the list, one-by-one, by doing good deeds to atone for them.

Total points: 20 Position last year: =35th

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39. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-present)
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American sitcom starring Seinfeld writer, co-creator, and executive producer Larry David as an exaggerated version of himself. Set in Santa Monica and loosely based on David's life as a semi-retired multi-millionaire in the world after Seinfeld, the series depicts Larry's lack of social skills and the crises he gets into as a result.

Shot on location with hand-held cameras, Curb Your Enthusiasm is produced unconventionally, eschewing traditional scripts in favor of detailed scene outlines from which actors improvise dialogue (a practice referred to as retroscripting). Curb Your Enthusiasm develops ongoing story lines and in-jokes set around Larry's interaction with his easily annoyed but put-upon wife Cheryl David (Cheryl Hines), his loyal manager Jeff Greene (Jeff Garlin), and Jeff's foul-mouthed outburst-prone wife Susie (Susie Essman)

Total points: 20 Position last year: =35th

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38. Seinfeld (1989-1998)
Appropriately paired next to Curb, Seinfeld was an Emmy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning American sitcom. The eponymous series was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, with the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself. Set predominantly in an apartment block on New York City's Upper West Side (but shot mostly in Los Angeles, California), the show features a host of Jerry's friends and acquaintances, who include George Costanza, Elaine Benes and Cosmo Kramer. A phenomenal success during the 1990's, the “show about nothing” is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV series ever made. Which is why it's only 38th here...

Total points: 21 Position last year: =27th

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37. Breaking Bad (2008-present)
Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher with a pregnant wife and a teenage son with cerebral palsy, develops stage three lung cancer. Walter enters the dangerous world of drugs by using his chemistry knowledge to cook crystal meth in order to support his family when he's gone. With the help of a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), he looks to break into the criminal world he knows little about.

Cranston last year won the Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Walter.

Total points: 23 Position last year: New Entry

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36. Farscape (1999-2003)
An Australian sci-fi series featuring a current day astronaut, John Crichton, who travels through a wormhole to a distant part of the universe. Produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark, The Jim Henson Company was largely responsible for the various alien makeup and prosthetics, and two regular characters (the animatronic puppets Rygel and Pilot) are entirely Creature Shop creations.. The show was abruptly cancelled after its fourth series, leaving it on a cliffhanger. However in 2004 the mini-series The Peacekeeper Wars tied up the loose ends left by the series' cancellation.

Total points: 24 Position last year: =48th

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35. Life on Mars (2006-2007)
This British sci-fi drama tells the story of DCI Sam Tyler (John Simm), who, after being hit by a car in 2006, finds himself in the year 1973. There, he works for Manchester and Salford Police CID as a DI under DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister). Over the course of the series, Tyler faces various culture clashes, most frequently regarding the differences between his modern approach to policing and the more traditional methods of his colleagues. Mixing the genres of science fiction and police procedural, the series centres on the ambiguity concerning Tyler's predicament: it is unclear whether he is insane, in a coma, or if he really has travelled back in time. Often hailed as one of the best British dramas of recent times, the series was followed up by Ashes to Ashes with Keeley Hawes, keeping the character of Gene Hunt but moving the setting to 1980s London.

Total points: 24 Position last year: =50th

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34. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Who doesn't like a bit of Picard? A lot of people probably but those people are wrong. Coming off the back of successful feature films that garnered interest into the Star Trek franchise again, The Next Generation was set some 70 years after the original series and is the longest running Star Trek series, and resulted in three more different series from 1993-2005.

Total points: 24 Position last year: 42nd

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33. Weeds (2005-present)
A dark comedy about a widowed housewife (Mary-Louise Parker) from the Californian suburb of Agrestic who becomes a marijuana dealer to make ends meet. It began with a 10-episode series in 2005 and was the highest rated series for Showtime that year. Its fifth season is set to begin soon.

Total points: 24 Position last year: =35th

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32. Spooks (2002-present)
Spooks is a BAFTA award-winning British television drama series produced by the independent production company Kudos for BBC One. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 intelligence officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid.

Total points: 25 Position last year: =46th

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31. Fawlty Towers (1975-1979)
Only twelve episodes of Fawlty Towers were made but for many, it is the pinnacle of British comedy. Set in the chaotic hotel, Fawlty Towers, in Torquay, episodes revolve around Basil's efforts to succeed and his frustration at mistakes, both his own and those of others, particularly the long suffering Spanish waiter Manuel, which prevent him from doing so.

Total points: 25 Position last year: 17th

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30. Twin Peaks (1990-1991)
Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, the series follows the investigation, headed by Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), of the brutal murder of a popular and respected teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer. Its surreal style and a host of quirky and bizarre characters made it a cult favourite and has been called one of the best drama series of the 1990s, and one of the most important network series ever.

Total points: 25 Position last year: New Entry

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29. Scrubs (2001-present)
Scrubs is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning American comedy-drama. It was created by Bill Lawrence. The show focuses on the lives of several people working at Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced dialogue, slapstick, and surreal vignettes presented mostly as the daydreams of the central character, Dr. John "J.D." Dorian. The name is a play on surgical scrubs and “scrubs” as slang for the new and inexperienced.

Season eight looked liked it had wrapped things up with the episode "My Finale", but the sitcom has been renewed for a ninth season.

Total points: 28 Position last year: 19th

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28. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
The cult series was created in 1997 by writer-director Joss Whedon under his production tag, Mutant Enemy Productions with later co-executive producers being Jane Espenson, David Fury, and Marti Noxon. Born from a disastrous 1992 movie, the series narrative follows Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), the latest in a line of young women known as Slayers. Slayers are chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. Like previous Slayers, Buffy is aided by a Watcher, who guides and trains her. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy surrounds herself with a circle of loyal friends who become known as the "Scooby Gang".

Total points: 30 Position last year: 29th

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27. The Office (US) (2005-present)
Defying the belief that US adaptations of British shows simply can't work, the US version of The Office has gone from strength to strength to become one of the most popular sitcoms currently on US screens. Taking the same general plot and characters from the BBC original, it has exceeded the amount of episodes from the British version and has just finished its fifth season.

In 2006 it won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Total points: 31 Position last year: New Entry

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26. Family Guy (1999-2002, 2005-present)
Family Guy is an animated American television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane that airs on Fox and regularly on other television networks in syndication. The show centers on a semi-dysfunctional family that lives in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. The show uses frequent "cutaway gags", jokes in the form of tangential vignettes. Family Guy was cancelled once in 2000 and again in 2002, but strong DVD sales and the large viewership of reruns on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim convinced Fox to resume the show in 2005.

Total points: 32 Position last year: 6th

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25. Dexter (2006-present)
Dexter is an American television drama series based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and adapted for television by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the pilot episode. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a serial killer governed by an ambiguous moral code who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.

Total points: 34 Position last year: 13th

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24. Black Books (2000-2004)
The series is set in the eponymous "Black Books", a small, independent bookshop in the Bloomsbury area of central London. The show is based around the lives and often surreal antics of its foul-mouthed, eccentric, misanthropic, alcoholic Irish owner Bernard Black (Dylan Moran), his longhaired assistant Manny (Bill Bailey), and their friend Fran (Tamsin Greig).

The series is notable for its surreal, and off-beat, sense of humour, particularly when regarding the state of the shop: It is frequently depicted to be in an unhealthy state of dirtiness,

Total points: 36 Position last year: New Entry

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23. The West Wing (1999-2006)
The West Wing was an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin. The series is set in the West Wing of the White House, the location of the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior staff, during the fictional Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen). Adored by viewers and critics alike it won three Golden Globes and 27 Emmy Awards in its eight year run.

Total points: 37 Position last year: =50th

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22. Father Ted (1995-1998)
The show follows the exploits of three Roman Catholic priests who preside over a parish on Craggy Island, located off the west coast of Ireland. Father Ted Crilly, Father Dougal McGuire and the retired Father Jack Hackett live together in Craggy Island's parochial house, along with their housekeeper Mrs Doyle, who is often wanting to serve them tea. Brilliantly funny the show lasted for three years before Dermot Morgan, who played Ted, died of a heart attack after filming the final episode.

Total points: 37 Position last year: 21st

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21. The Office (UK) (2001-2003)
Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough-based fictitious Wernham-Hogg Paper Company. The programme takes the form of a fictional documentary with the presence of the camera often acknowledged. Two six-episode series were made, along with a further two 45-minute Christmas specials. It was hugely popular in the UK and US alike; it was the first British comedy to win a Golden Globe. The popularity of it in the US saw the launch of the already mentioned American version.

Total points: 45 Position last year: =23rd

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20. Band of Brothers (2001)
An acclaimed 10-part World War II miniseries based on the book of the same title written by historian Stephen Ambrose. It was co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks who collaborated on the film Saving Private Ryan. It told the story of the US Army 101st Airborne Division's Easy Company from boot camp to victory and despite a lot of artistic license was taken in terms of historical fact, it was all the better for it. A new miniseries from the creators of Band of Brothers, called The Pacific, is in development and is estimated to air in March 2010.

Total points: 45 Position last year: =27th

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19. Deadwood (2004-2006)
An American western–drama television series created by David Milch. The series is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before and after its annexation to the Dakota Territory. The series charts Deadwood's growth from camp to town, incorporating themes ranging from the formation of communities to western capitalism. It has received wide critical acclaim and won eight Emmys and one Golden Globe. Many historical Western figures were incorporated into the series, including the foul mouthed Al Swearengen played by Ian McShane, best known to British viewers at the time as Lovejoy. But taking the role as his own he won a Golden Globe for his work in the second season.

Total points: 48 Position last year: 28th

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18. House (2004-present)
Another British actor to be reborn in the US, Hugh Laurie plays the maverick medical genius Dr. Gregory House. House is a character with parallels to Sherlock Holmes — both are drug users, aloof, and largely friendless. The show's producers wanted House disabled in some way, and gave the character a damaged leg arising from an improper diagnosis.Dr. House often clashes with his boss, hospital administrator and Dean of Medicine, Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), because his theories about a patient's illness tend to be based on subtle or controversial insights. House's only true friend is Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), head of the Department of Oncology. Episodes generally take the form of a weekly patient whose problems baffle all but House and his team.

Total points: 48 Position last year: 38th

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17. Peep Show (2003-present)
A BAFTA winning Channel 4 sitcom staring David Mitchell and Robert Webb as two best friends who share a flat in south London and lead miserable, miserable lives.

It's hilarious.

Total points: 48 Position last year: =48th

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16. Battlestar Galactica (2003, 2004-2009)
This re-imagining of the 1970s sci-fi show marked an entirely new direction for the franchise. The new series emphasises character drama in an survivalist setting and has many of the characteristics of military science fiction, shedding the light-hearted action/adventure style of the original show. As such it has received numerous Emmy nominations for its writing and direction and was even hosted by the United Nations including a discussion with Mary McDonnell, Edward James Olmos, Ronald D. Moore and David Eick on human rights, terrorism, children and armed conflict, and reconciliation between civilians and faiths.

A TV movie is planned to air later this year and a spin-off prequel series, Caprica, is set to broadcast early next year.

Total points: 53 Position last year: 11th

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15. South Park (1997-present)
South Park is an animated American television comedy series famous for its off-color humor, pop culture parody, and biting satire covering a wide range of topics. The plot revolves around four boys - Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny - who live in the fictional mountain town of South Park, Colorado. Its parodies targeting anyone and everyone, have been controversial many times in its long history and helped it to quickly climb from a cult show to a sensation that spawned a 1999 feature film.

Total points: 54 Position last year: 2nd

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14. Firefly (2002)
A short lived but well loved sci-fi series from Buffy and Angel creator Joss Whedon, Firefly is set in the year 2517, after humans have arrived at a new star system, and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. A vocal fanbase were dismayed at the decision by Fox to cancel the series only part way through its first season and strong DVD sales led to the feature film Serenity in 2005.

Total points: 56 Position last year: =16th

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13. The Shield (2002-2008)
The Shield was about an experimental division of the Los Angeles Police Department set up in the fictional Farmington district ("the Farm") of Los Angeles, using a converted church ("the Barn") as their police station, and featuring a group of detectives called the Strike Team who will stop at nothing to bring their version of justice to the streets. Michael Chiklis has top billing with his portrayal of Strike Team leader Vic Mackey. Detective Vic Mackey was the leader of the Strike Team, a four-man anti-gang unit based on the Los Angeles Police Department's real-life Rampart Division CRASH unit. The Strike Team uses a variety of illegal and unethical methods to maintain peace on the streets, while making a profit through illegal drug protection schemes and robbery.

Total points: 59 Position last year: =37th

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12. Six Feet Under (2001-2005)

Created and produced by the Oscar winning writer of American Beauty, Six Feet Under portrays the lives of the Fisher family who run and live in a funeral home. Peter Krause stars as Nathaniel "Nate" Fisher Jr who, upon the sudden death of his father (Richard Jenkins) at Christmas, reluctantly becomes a partner in the family funeral business with his brother David, played by Michael C. Hall. The Fisher clan also includes mother Ruth (Frances Conroy) and sister Claire (Lauren Ambrose). Other regulars include mortician and family friend Federico Diaz (Freddy Rodriguez), Nate's on-again, off-again girlfriend Brenda Chenowith (Rachel Griffiths), and David's on-again, off-again boyfriend Keith Charles (Mathew St. Patrick). Mortality being a central theme for the series, each episode opens with someone's death. The series won three Golden Globes and nine Emmys.

Total points: 62 Position last year: 30th

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11. Blackadder (1983-1989)
The acclaimed BBC historical sitcom had four series, each one set in a different time frame but all starring Rowan Atkinson as the anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as each respective Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick. The first series was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, while subsequent episodes were written by Curtis and Ben Elton. As well as the four series there have been several separate specials, as well as talk of a fifth series or film.

Total points: 62 Position last year: =35th

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10. WWE Raw (1993-present)
You may have noticed this list started with ER placed at 51st this year, and all because I didn't want Raw of all things taking up the top 50, so if you want to just believe this is some anomaly and it doesn't exist. Wrastlin' then. Links to classical Greek theatre about basic good, evil, and anti-hero themes? Maybe. An industry built in the Deep South that has a culture more in common with a high-school locker room than anything and has led to the premature deaths of many broken men? Most definitely. :fp:

Total points: 65 Position last year: 14th

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9. The X-Files (1993-2002)
In the series, FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are the investigators of "X-Files": marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder is a "believer" in the existence of aliens and the paranormal, while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned by powerful forces to debunk and control Mulder's unorthodox work. Episodes would either be "mytharc" episodes that progressed the main story throughout the series, or "monster of the week" standalone episodes ranging in tone from horror to comedy, and made up roughly two-thirds of the series.

Total points: 70 Position last year: 18th

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8. Futurama (1999-2003, 2007-2009)
The brainchild of Simpsons creator Matt Groening, the animated series begins with Fry, a loser pizza delivery boy, being frozen on New Year's Eve 1999 and waking up 1000 years into the future. There he befriends the bending robot Bender and the cyclops Leela and all three start working for Fry's distant relative, the senile 160 year old Professor Hubert Farnsworth and his delivery company, Planet Express.

Popular with fans the series was cancelled in 2003 but strong DVD sales and syndication ratings brought the series back in the form of four DVD movies, the first in 2007 and the last earlier this year. They generally weren't well received by fans but may still lead to a new season being commissioned.

Total points: 73 Position last year: 7th

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7. Spaced (1999-2001)
This sitcom largely concerns the colourful and surreal adventures of Tim (Simon Pegg) and Daisy (Jessica Stevenson) as they navigate through life, decide on what they want to do with their lives, come to terms with affairs of the heart, and try to figure out new ways of killing time in largely unproductive ways. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent dropping of pop-culture references, and occasional displays of surrealism. Although there have been calls for it, any kind of third series has been ruled out by Pegg and the director Edgar Wright.

Total points: 87 Position last year: =16th

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6. 24 (2001-present)
24 is presented in real time, with each season depicting a 24-hour period in the life of Jack Bauer, who works with the U.S. government as it fights domestic threats. Bauer is often in the field for the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit as they try to safeguard the nation from terrorist threats. The adrenaline fueled action packed Jack Bauer Power Hour has become a fan favourite over the years and Kiefer Sutherland has won a Golden Globe and Emmy for his portrayal as the no-nonsense field agent.

Total points: 95 Position last year: 5th

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5. The Sopranos (1999-2007)
Set and produced in New Jersey, the series revolves around mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. The show is noted for Chase's multifaceted, heavily symbolic style of writing. Over the course of the series' six-season run, Chase and his co-writers addressed a large number of psychological, philosophical, social and political themes and motifs. Paving the way for a new golden age of TV from the United States, The Sopranos was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for every year in its run and won it in 2004 and 2007 and two consecutive Peabody Awards. James Gandolfini and Edie Falco were both nominated five times for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress, and both won three times.

Total points: 110 Position last year: 4th

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4. Arrested Development (2003-2006)
Arrested Development is an American television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show is about the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, habitually dysfunctional family and is presented in a pseudo-documentary format, incorporating hand-held camera work, narration, archival photos, and historical footage. Ron Howard is an executive producer and the uncredited narrator.

Described as simply one of the funniest and most intelligent sitcoms of all time it regularly features callbacks and running background jokes that makes it getting old impossible on even the fifth time through. A movie is in development.

Total points: 119 Position last year: 9th

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3. The Simpsons (1989-present)
One year on and still in the same position, its popularity clearly hasn't waned. Although the quality has declined drastically over the past nine years it's the brilliant episodes during the first seven or so seasons that have made it so timeless. For my money for that era of genius, The Simpsons is simply the greatest mainstream TV series ever made.

Total points: 154 Position last year: 3rd

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2. Lost (2004-2010)
But you guys clearly don't agree and although it has now been dethroned of the position of GRcade's Best TV Series Ever, it's still the best for a lot of you and the highest US network show on the list. Lost follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island. With a level of intrigue, interesting characters, and plot twists rivalled by few others it has become one of the most popular dramas of this decade.

Total points: 165 Position last year: 1st

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1. The Wire (2002-2008)
And here's number one. If you've just scrolled all the way down here to see what has won, then here it is; The Wire. Frequently described by critics as the greatest television series of all time it has been ignored over by every major awards ceremony, nominated at the Emmys only for the quality of writing and won only Peabody and WGA awards in its five season run.

Taking place in Baltimore, Maryland, The Wire was created by former Baltimore journalist David Simon and each season focuses on a different facet of the city. They are, in order: the drug trade, the port, the city government & bureaucracy, the school system, and the print news media and the large cast consists mainly of character actors who are little known for their other roles. Outstanding acting, writing, and direction with a plot often described as both Dickensian and Shakespearean in nature, the police drama has seen a rise in popularity over the year culminating in a terrestrial airing in the UK for the first time.

Total points: 193 Position last year: 12th






Well then, The Wire wins it by some margin.

Thank you for voting all those who did and thank you to Hexx and Goat because I just copied a lot of the show descriptions from he USTV thread and last year's results. :shifty:

Here's the rest of the votes:
52. Green Wing – 15 (2)
53. Heroes – 15 (2)
54. Jonathan Creek – 14 (2)
55. Flight of the Conchords – 14 (2)
56. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia – 13 (3)
57. The Big Bang Theory – 13 (3)
58. The Twilight Zone – 13 (2)
59. American Dad! - 12 (3)
60. Millennium – 12 (2)
=62. The Inbetweeners – 12 (2)
=62. Match of the Day – 12 (2)
63. 30 Rock – 11 (3)
64. Friends – 11 (3)
65. Supernatural – 10 (2)
66. Quantum Leap – 10 (2)
=68. Star Trek: Voyager – 10 (1)
=68. The World at War – 10 (1)
69. Phoenix Nights – 9 (2)
=73. Coupling – 9 (1)
=73. The Day Today – 9 (1)
=73. House of Cards – 9 (1)
=73. Lewis – 9 (1)
74. Look Around You – 8 (2)
=83. Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe – 8 (1)
=83. Dawson's Creek – 8 (1)
=83. Desperate Housewives – 8 (1)
=83. Mysterious Cities of Gold – 8 (1)
=83. Pokemon – 8 (1)
=83. Stargate SG-1 – 8 (1)
=83. The Tudors – 8 (1)
=83. The Wonder Years – 8 (1)
=83. The Larry Sanders Show – 8 (1)
=92. The Apprentice – 7 (1)
=92. The Book Group – 7 (1)
=92. Charlie Brooker's Newswipe – 7 (1)
=92. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – 7 (1)
=92. The IT Crowd – 7 (1)
=92. Love Hina – 7 (1)
=92. Skins – 7 (1)
=92. Smackdown! - 7 (1)
=92. Hill Street Blues – 7 (1)
93. Smallville – 6 (3)
94. Californication – 6 (2)
95. Angel – 6 (2)
=102. 3rd Rock From the Sun – 6 (1)
=102. Brotherhood – 6 (1)
=102. Charmed – 6 (1)
=102. Dad's Army – 6 (1)
=102. Hannah Montana – 6 (1)
=102. Rules of Engagement – 6 (1)
=102. Shooting Stars – 6 (1)
=104. Babylon 5 – 5 (2)
=104. Friday Night Lights – 5 (2)
=110. The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog – 5 (1)
=110. Agatha Christie's Poirot – 5 (1)
=110. Masters of Horror – 5 (1)
=110. One Foot in the Grave – 5 (1)
=110. Only Fools And Horses – 5 (1)
=110. Two and a Half Men – 5 (1)
111. Garth Marenghis Darkplace – 4 (2)
112. The Prisoner – 4 (2)
=117. Cold Feet – 4 (1)
=117. Fringe – 4 (1)
=117. How I Met Your Mother – 4 (1)
=117. V – 4 (1)
=117. WCW Nitro – 4 (1)
=121. Boston Legal – 3 (1)
=121. The Colbert Report – 3 (1)
=121. I'm Alan Partridge – 3 (1)
=121. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – 3 (1)
=131. Storeys High – 2 (1)
=131. Big Love – 2 (1)
=131. Day of the Triffids – 2 (1)
=131. EastEnders - 2 (1)
=131. Extras – 2 (1)
=131. Jericho – 2 (1)
=131. Outnumbered – 2 (1)
=131. Renford Rejects – 2 (1)
=131. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – 2 (1)
=131. Taken – 2 (1)
=139. Bones – 1 (1)
=139. Entourage – 1 (1)
=139. Jackass – 1 (1)
=139. Journeyman – 1 (1)
=139. Monkey Dust – 1 (1)
=139. The Munsters – 1 (1)
=139. Nip/Tuck – 1 (1)
=139. Wild Palms – 1 (1)


And here's how last year's Top 50 fared.

Gained Places
Peep Show - 29 places
The West Wing - 27 places
Blackadder - 24 places
The Shield - 24 places
House - 20 places
Six Feet Under - 18 places
Life On Mars - 15 places
Spooks - 13 places
Farscape - 12 places
The Wire - 11 places
Deadwood - 9 places
Spaced - 9 places
The X Files - 9 places
Star Trek: The Next Generation - 8 places
Band of Brothers - 7 places
Arrested Development - 5 places
WWE Raw - 4 places
Firefly - 2 places
The Office (UK) - 2 places
Weeds - 2 places
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 1 place

Dropped Places
Babylon 5 - 61 places
Angel - 58 places
Stargate SG-1 - 56 places
The Apprentice - 52 places
Heroes - 45 places
Supernatural - 38 places
Prison Break - 34 places
Friends - 24 places
Red Dwarf - 21 places
Family Guy - 20 places
Doctor Who - 16 places
Fawlty Towers - 14 places
South Park - 13 places
Dexter - 12 places
Seinfeld - 11 places
Scrubs - 10 places
Battlestar Galactica - 5 places
My Name Is Earl - 5 places
Curb Your Enthusiasm - 4 places
ER - 3 places
24 - 1 place
Father Ted - 1 place
Futurama - 1 place
Lost - 1 place
Oz – 1 place
The Sopranos - 1 place

No change
The Simpsons

Last edited by Cuttooth on Sat Jun 27, 2009 1:41 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Memento Mori
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Memento Mori » Thu May 21, 2009 5:10 pm

It should be first but second is good as well.

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Hexx
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Hexx » Thu May 21, 2009 5:10 pm

Thank you for voting all those who did and thank you to Hexx and Goat because I just copied a lot of the show descriptions from he USTV thread and last year's results. :shifty:


Shame you didn't edit out all of the pictures/categories. :fp:

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Memento Mori
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Memento Mori » Thu May 21, 2009 5:11 pm

Wait, what? Where's Smallville?

:o

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Cuttooth
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Cuttooth » Thu May 21, 2009 5:11 pm

Hexx wrote:
Thank you for voting all those who did and thank you to Hexx and Goat because I just copied a lot of the show descriptions from he USTV thread and last year's results. :shifty:


Shame you didn't edit out all of the pictures/categories. :fp:


Of course I was going to reuse the pictures, and I didn't include the categories. :?

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Alvin Flummux
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Alvin Flummux » Thu May 21, 2009 5:12 pm

The Wire is good, but it's not the be all and end all of television. [/opinionated]

Good to see Farscape actually made it into the running. :D

Last edited by Alvin Flummux on Thu May 21, 2009 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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teh bork
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by teh bork » Thu May 21, 2009 5:13 pm

Raw did it again :lol:

Also nice to see House move further up and Family Guy falling a lot.

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Cardinal Chunder
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Cardinal Chunder » Thu May 21, 2009 5:13 pm

LOST? strawberry floating. LOST?

gooseberry fool list.

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Memento Mori
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Memento Mori » Thu May 21, 2009 5:14 pm

Get out. How Simpsons is 3rd is a question which needs to be answered. It's not been funny for 10 years.

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Cardinal Chunder
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Cardinal Chunder » Thu May 21, 2009 5:15 pm

Memento Mori wrote:Get out. How Simpsons is 3rd is a question which needs to be answered. It's not been funny for 10 years.


Yet Lost has been consistantly gooseberry fool for five years and gets to number two.

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chalkitdown
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by chalkitdown » Thu May 21, 2009 5:16 pm

strawberry floating' Lost.

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Cuttooth
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Cuttooth » Thu May 21, 2009 5:16 pm

Memento Mori wrote:Wait, what? Where's Smallville?

:o


94th. :lol:

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Denster
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Denster » Thu May 21, 2009 5:19 pm

Nice to see Blackadder there.

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Poncho
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Poncho » Thu May 21, 2009 5:20 pm

A more than worthy winner.

Good work.

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Oh Teh Noes
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Oh Teh Noes » Thu May 21, 2009 5:20 pm

#7 should be #1. :x

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Count Nood
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Count Nood » Thu May 21, 2009 5:21 pm

I approve. The Wire FTW.

Shame 24 is down a place though.

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smurphy
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by smurphy » Thu May 21, 2009 5:27 pm

strawberry float yeah Wire.

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Igor
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Igor » Thu May 21, 2009 5:27 pm

I know I didn't vote an' all, but ER should be much higher than 51st/50th if RAW strawberry floated off.. It should be in the top 10.. In fact, swap ER and RAW around.

Much better.

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Memento Mori
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by Memento Mori » Thu May 21, 2009 5:36 pm

CosmoKramer wrote:
Memento Mori wrote:Get out. How Simpsons is 3rd is a question which needs to be answered. It's not been funny for 10 years.


Yet Lost has been consistantly gooseberry fool for five years and gets to number two.

Had you actually watched Lost you would know it's one of the best television shows ever made.

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SEP
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PostRe: GRcade's Best TV Series Ever - 2009 - THE RESULTS
by SEP » Thu May 21, 2009 5:38 pm

Memento Mori wrote:Get out. How Simpsons is 3rd is a question which needs to be answered. It's not been funny for 10 years.


Whilst it's not as funny as it used to be, it's still far better than 99% of pretty much everything else on TV.

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