Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

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TwinsPeak
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Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by TwinsPeak »

There's been a lot of talk about other shows lately on here so I thought I would post my top 10...I tried to keep it as brief as possible...What do you think of my list???? what's your list???? I might change my mind, I'm sure I haven't thought of all the shows.


10. Battlestar Galactica – frackin cylons
9. Breaking Bad – I would've rated it higher but I didn’t really like Hank or Skylar, but the rest of the cast especially Cranston were amazing.
8. Curb Your Enthusiasm – I wanted one funny one. Arrested Development and Seinfeld were also considered.
7. Lost – Obviously the ending was disappointing, but when the show was airing I wouldn’t miss it, and the 1st season was awesome.
6. Black Mirror - When is the next season coming?
5. Game of Thrones – My guilty pleasure, and yes the last season was horrible imo... I really hope the books are finished in Martin’s lifetime.
4. Mad Men – I just did a re watch and man it’s good. Don Draper is a great character. Good cast in this.
3. The Sopranos –Every season is solid. Gandolfini tour de force.
2. The Wire – I was late to watching the Wire but boy was I impressed, I think coming in with low expectations really helped.
1. Twin Peaks – I watched it when it aired. When I was 11yrs old with my older brother. I thought BOB was the killer. The killer reveal blew my young mind. Ever since then I’ve been hooked on Lynch and Peaks. And as I get older I see more beauty in it. Lynch might be the best at making things I can re watch better than anyone else. And the way he can make me think about the meanings behind what he’s showing is why Twin Peaks gets my number 1 spot!


Almost made the list: Boardwalk Empires, Band of Brothers, Seinfeld, Fargo, Star Trek TNG, Heroes, Big Love, Mindhunter, Chernobyl, Planet Earth, Arrested Development, Stranger Things, Better Call Saul, Downton Abbey, Atlanta, Friday Night Lights, Oz

Shows that are popular that I don’t like: The Walking Dead, Peaky Blinders, Mr. Robot , Westworld, True Detective, Shameless, Big Little Lies

Shows I need to watch still: Rick and Morty, American Horror Story, The Handmaids Tale, His Dark Materials.

Shows I’m enjoying that are recent: Watchmen, The Mandalorian and See.

What do you think of my list?

What is your top 10 and why?
"Wanting something to be different will not make it so." "Explaining a different rule is not complaining for months. A lie will never be true." - Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes.
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by eyeboogers »

10. "Press Gang"
9. "My So-Called Life"
8. "Profit"
7. "The Newsroom"
6. "The Leftovers"
5. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"
4. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
3. "Millennium" - but only season 2, different showrunners for the other seasons
2. "Moon Over Miami"
1. "Twin Peaks"
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by Agent Earle »

In no particular order:

- Twin Peaks (only seasons 1 and 2);
- The Sopranos;
- You Rang, M'Lord? (Brit sitcom);
- Mother and Son (Aussie sitcom);
- Northern Exposure;
- The Wire;
- Breaking Bad;
- Game of Thrones (loved ALL of it, thought the much-reviled conclusion was a masterpiece);
- Six Feet Under;
- Boardwalk Empire.

Honorable mentions: Oz, Bates Motel, Fargo, Upstairs, Downstairs (the old one), The New Statesman, Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Darkside, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Deadwood, The Detectorists, Brooklyn Bridge, I'll Fly Away.

Still haven't watched, dying to (off the top of my head): Mad Men, Justified, Vikings, Black Sails, Halt and Catch Fire, Ray Donovan, Peaky Blinders, Gommorah, Narcos (curently in the middle of S1 - it's pretty darn good), Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, Girls, Veep, Better Call Saul, Sons of Anarchy, Black Mirror, BoJack Horseman, Rick and Morty, Masters of Sex, Masters of Horror, Stranger Things, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Millenium, Westworld, American Gods, The Americans, Ash vs Evil Dead, Wolf Creek, Dexter, From Dusk till Dawn, American Horror Story, Walking Dead, Dexter, Preacher, Fear the Walking Dead, Fleabag, Sherlock, Homicide: Life on the Street, Hill Street Blues, Friday Night Lights, Babylon 5, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Mindhunter, Kolchak: the Night Stalker, Friday the 13th, Monsters, The Hitchhiker, The Werewolf, American Gothic, The Gargoyles, Batman: The Animated Series ...

Looks like I'll be quite busy in the foreseeable future! :)
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

This is a tough one. For one thing, TV is by its nature expansive and erratic, with a strong potential to be uneven in quality (TP being Exhibit A). If The Simpsons had ended after the first nine seasons, it would absolutely be on this list. But the many many subsequent seasons of mediocrity (which at this point outnumber the good stuff 2:1) have so soured me on the show that I stopped watching years ago, and rarely even think about or rewatch classic episodes of a show that was once a personal obsession. Louie would also have absolutely been on my list, but the revelations a couple of years ago about the misconduct of the auteur behind the show (and, perhaps even moreso than the actual behavior, his recent arrogance and self-righteousness in trying to ignore and even mock the controversy while staging a “comeback” and refusing to engage in thoughtful dialogue) have made the series impossible to revisit and reevaluate in light of the shifted perspective.

On top of that, watching TV shows is immensely time consuming, and there are many favorite shows I haven’t revisited in years. My rankings and tastes will likely change on a daily basis based on where I am in my life, but it’s hard to mentally categorize a show I may remember imperfectly.

That said, I’ll give this a shot.

1) Twin Peaks — Nuff said. If there was ever a point where this show wasn’t the top for me (I don’t think there was), TP:TR has made sure it sits comfortably at the top of the pack.
2) Lost — Not ashamed to say it. Yeah, the final season was frustrating in a lot of ways (although I love the finale itself), but for me, it’s all about the journey. Moment to moment, I can’t think of any show over so many episodes that contains so many incredible moments that made me feel so much joy, wonder, sadness, and excitement.
3) Mad Men — As a character study, period piece, sociological/political commentary, and exploration of depression, relationships, and the American experience, it just doesn’t get any better. The show is in the proud tradition of John Cheever and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and sits comfortably beside those works.
4) The Prisoner — The granddaddy of all “puzzle box” shows, this one still holds up alongside the best of them. It took about 20 years for anyone to even attempt to do another show as weird and immersive as this, and it has been acknowledged as a massive influence on TP (via Frost), The X Files, Lost, and pretty much any subsequent mythology-driven genre-defying show.
5) The Twilight Zone — Probably has more iconic/brilliant episodes than any other series in history. It’s like the best collection of sci-fi/fantasy short stories in history in audiovisual form, and the greatest collection of modern parables in American culture. I still geek out every time Serling wanders on set to do his purple-prose intro. “The Howling Man” might be my absolute favorite.
6) The Leftovers — Lindelof gets me. An objectively stronger show beginning-to-end than Lost (partially due to its shorter, tighter episode run and much more forgiving production schedule), the show doesn’t quite match the purely ecstatic magic Lost brought me on a regular basis, but it is much more consistent and focused, and is one of the strongest explorations of loss, religion and social dysfunction I’ve seen. Also one of the strongest finales in history, a masterclass in putting the ball in the audience’s court as to how they choose to view the entire show in retrospect.
7) The Wire — Alright, now we’re getting to the point where I don’t need to justify my choices, because inevitably, these lists move from the personal to the generally accepted. I almost want to buck the common narrative and list, say, Monty Python’s Flying Circus or Hannibal or Bojack Horseman or Community...shows that have had an enormous personal significance to me and don’t generally appear on top 10 lists. But the fact is, The Wire and the next two shows are so great, and so important to me, that I just have to be cliché and include them. As for The Wire, no show before or since has done such a brilliant job of simultaneously humanizing both law enforcement and the “criminals”/victims of the system. To call the show Dickensian is also a cliché at this point, but it’s hard to think of stronger praise. As Mad Men may be the definitive statement on American existential dread, The Wire is the definitive statement on the failures of the American experiment writ large.
8.) The Sopranos —A densely layered show, with a mythology as deep as that of Game of Thrones, but set entirely in the real world. The family dynamics and power plays turned the ugly world of New Jersey Mafia players into an unlikely Shakespearean tapestry, with Tony—still one of the most complex, nuanced, fully-formed human beings in TV history—as the reluctant, miserable center. As with The Prisoner, this show changed the landscape in a way that can’t even fully be fathomed.
9) Breaking Bad — Arguably the greatest Western ever put to celluloid, the ballad of Walter White is a brilliant deconstruction of the American fascination/obsession with the outlaw. The twist of the series—that Walt was always a terrible person and just needed an excuse to drop his inhibitions—is one of the strongest, and most brilliantly-revealed, throughlines of any series.
10) Atlanta — Atlanta is a show that simultaneously is a different show every episode, and knows exactly what it wants to be. The Sopranos had “Pine Barrens,” The Leftovers did “International Assassin”—format-breaking episodes that became iconic series favorites. Atlanta seems to do that almost every episode, from the surreal horror film “Teddy Perkins” to the brutally satirical talk show spoof “B.A.N.” to the zany farce “Barbershop.” Some shows are hilarious and devastating by turns...Atlanta is frequently both at the exact same time, exploring issues of race in modern America while reveling in the inherent absurdity and surrealism of the interactions and personalities depicted.
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

Agent Earle wrote:
Still haven't watched, dying to (off the top of my head): Mad Men, Justified, Vikings, Black Sails, Halt and Catch Fire, Ray Donovan, Peaky Blinders, Gommorah, Narcos (curently in the middle of S1 - it's pretty darn good), Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, Girls, Veep, Better Call Saul, Sons of Anarchy, Black Mirror, BoJack Horseman, Rick and Morty, Masters of Sex, Masters of Horror, Stranger Things, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Millenium, Westworld, American Gods, The Americans, Ash vs Evil Dead, Wolf Creek, Dexter, From Dusk till Dawn, American Horror Story, Walking Dead, Dexter, Preacher, Fear the Walking Dead, Fleabag, Sherlock, Homicide: Life on the Street, Hill Street Blues, Friday Night Lights, Babylon 5, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Mindhunter, Kolchak: the Night Stalker, Friday the 13th, Monsters, The Hitchhiker, The Werewolf, American Gothic, The Gargoyles, Batman: The Animated Series ...

Looks like I'll be quite busy in the foreseeable future! :)
Heh, that is a wide-ranging and ambitious list!! Great picks (with a few that are still on my personal watch list as well—Fleabag is next up!). I appreciate the last two, pretty obscure choices! Gargoyles (a 1994 Disney animated “children’s” series, for those who don’t know) was the first show that really got me interested in the art of serialized storytelling as a kid, and for me, still holds up as a wonderfully-crafted mythology (with a terrific voice cast). It’s a shame Disney isn’t motivated to do anything with the property, since they now own everything on Earth and have much bigger fish to fry. IMO, the stuff they were doing on Gargoyles in mid-‘90s syndication was far more interesting and nuanced than the next Avatar movie will inevitably be. :roll:
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by Jerry Horne »

10 Lost
9 Breaking Bad
8 Better Call Saul
7 Monty Python's Flying Circus
6 Thriller (UK)
5 Upstairs, Downstairs
4 Blake's 7
3 Doctor Who ('63-'86)
2 The Prisoner
1 Twin Peaks
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by AXX°N N. »

The only thing I could deign to say almost ties TP for me is the original Evangelion. After that is Lost, and my opinion of it is shared with Mr. Reindeer almost word by word. I'd add that, personally, the back end of season 3, all of Season 5, and the series finale are its crowning moments. After that, as far as artistic merit is concerned, I'd throw 98% of TV off a cliff without remorse. Honorable mentions go to old, stylish, just pulp and philosophical enough anime like Galaxy Express 999 and the Tomino led Gundams, and comedies to fill out my other slots: Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, classic Simpsons, Wonder Showzen, and especially Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! which I consider all a more fitting meta apotheosis of what's ill in the TV medium than whatever Twin Perfect tries to make TP out to be, in that they can truly embody the actual worst of the medium, with an effort as unserious as it deserves.
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by krishnanspace »

1.Twin Peaks
2.Breaking Bad
3.True Detective(S1)
4.Fargo
5.Dark
6.The Night Of
7.The Office
8.Lost
9.Stranger Things
10.Game Of Thrones
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by MoondogJR »

1. Twin Peaks
2. Carnivàle
3. Twin Peaks The Return
4. Riget (The Kingdom)
5. True Detective (season 1)
6. The End of The F***ing World
7. Maniac
8. Dexter
9. Les Revenants
10. Dark

IMO Carnivàle is the only thing that comes close to Twin Peaks season 1.

Didn't make my list, but were close: Deadwood, Lost, Stranger Things, Weeds, Northern Exposure, Handmaids Tale and Arrested Development
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by MoondogJR »

Jerry Horne wrote:10 Lost
9 Breaking Bad
8 Better Call Saul
7 Monty Python's Flying Circus
6 Thriller (UK)
5 Upstairs, Downstairs
4 Blake's 7
3 Doctor Who ('63-'86)
2 The Prisoner
1 Twin Peaks
I didn't consider Monthy Python because it's a sketch show. Blackadder and Fawlty Towers should be in my top 10 though.
Dammit! This is too hard :)
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

MoondogJR wrote:
Jerry Horne wrote:10 Lost
9 Breaking Bad
8 Better Call Saul
7 Monty Python's Flying Circus
6 Thriller (UK)
5 Upstairs, Downstairs
4 Blake's 7
3 Doctor Who ('63-'86)
2 The Prisoner
1 Twin Peaks
I didn't consider Monthy Python because it's a sketch show. Blackadder and Fawlty Towers should be in my top 10 though.
Dammit! This is too hard :)
Haha, I had a very similar reaction when I saw Carnivàle on your list. When I did a quick scan of my DVD/Blu Ray collection, I must have glanced over it. We’re truly suffering from an abundance of riches.

Also, I really don’t get why Knauf doesn’t do a novel or comic book to finish the story. It’s not like a TV extension is ever going to happen at this point.
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by Saturn's child »

Good idea for a thread TwinsPeak! Off the top of my head, in no particular order, & liable to change tomorrow --

- Twin Peaks
OK, I know I said no particular order, but this is the one for me. Probably don't have to explain it to y'all though...

- Millennium
I was ridiculously into this as it aired. It's an uneven beast, but most of my favourites share this quality. Lance Henriksen as Frank Black is just... perfect. I really enjoy all three seasons (less so the third), but as eyeboogers said, the second is where it really hit home for me.

- The Extraordinary
As a long-time devotee of paranormal phenomena, this Australian show hit hard when I was at that beautiful undiscerning age where every story seemed true & creepy as heck. As with similar shows listed below, the presenter (Warwick Moss) & sound design were important parts of the overall vibe.

- The X-Files
This came out when my interest in weird shit was really ramping up. At first I thought the episodes were all going to be based on actual cases & I was dismayed when they weren't. I quickly changed my tune though. It petered out for me as the seasons progressed, but for the first 5ish I gobbled it up hook, line, & sinker.

- The Simpsons (1-9)
Again, another show that went astray for me (as Reindeer said). Endlessly quotable & when it was good was an absolute classic.

- Neon Genesis: Evangelion
I had half forgotten this show, which I haven't seen for many years, but AXXoN N's mention brought it rushing back to mind. Will have to watch it again, but I was engrossed when it first came out. It really cemented anime as an important art form for me.

- In Search Of
Again with the paranormal (it won't be the last time). As before, Leonard Nimoy's voice just evokes possibility & mystery. The incidental music was also great.

- Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO)
Don't know what it is exactly that drew me to this, but I loved the series. The awesome soundtrack helps out, & it has heart in all the right places.

- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Again, a series that petered out for me as it went on, but especially the first three seasons have always been dear to me. I also liked Angel, which I felt finished stronger, but it didn't have the same overall impact on me.

- Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World
Might as well finish off with another paranormal-based show. Less of an iconic/evocative voice, but Clarke makes for a good presenter nonetheless.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some other honourable mentions that came close: The Twilight Zone (ahh, Rod Serling!), American Gothic, Police Squad, Happy Days, & The Wonder Years.

More recent shows I enjoyed were True Detective (season 1), Carnivale, & Stranger Things. For some reason though (maybe it's the lack of grain &/or nostalgia), they just don't sit in the same place for me as the ten listed above.

Still to check out: Riget & Lost. There are more, but those stick out in my mind.
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by Agent Earle »

Mr. Reindeer wrote:
Heh, that is a wide-ranging and ambitious list!! Great picks (with a few that are still on my personal watch list as well—Fleabag is next up!). I appreciate the last two, pretty obscure choices! Gargoyles (a 1994 Disney animated “children’s” series, for those who don’t know) was the first show that really got me interested in the art of serialized storytelling as a kid, and for me, still holds up as a wonderfully-crafted mythology (with a terrific voice cast). It’s a shame Disney isn’t motivated to do anything with the property, since they now own everything on Earth and have much bigger fish to fry. IMO, the stuff they were doing on Gargoyles in mid-‘90s syndication was far more interesting and nuanced than the next Avatar movie will inevitably be. :roll:
Wow, you just stimulated me to move Gargoyles a few slots up on my to-watch list! Truth be told, I did watch the 4-part opening back in the day and found it holding an immense promise , but then hadn't had the time to devote myself to the show properly and put its viewing on indefinite hold. Whereas Batman: The Animated Series is an even weirder title to be on my list, since I normally can't stand superhero comic book stuff and downright detest the MCU and DCCU madness gripping the cinema currently, but I heard such unanimous praise of this show over the years that I have to give it a whirl sometime down the line. I also hear HBO's animated Spawn has traits that any serious fan of adult animation (which I proudly am, especially of animes and Ralph Bakshi stuff) would appreciate, so that's another one to add to my list.
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by Agent Earle »

MoondogJR wrote:1. Twin Peaks
2. Carnivàle
3. Twin Peaks The Return
4. Riget (The Kingdom)
5. True Detective (season 1)
6. The End of The F***ing World
7. Maniac
8. Dexter
9. Les Revenants
10. Dark

IMO Carnivàle is the only thing that comes close to Twin Peaks season 1.

Didn't make my list, but were close: Deadwood, Lost, Stranger Things, Weeds, Northern Exposure, Handmaids Tale and Arrested Development
Boy, I completely forgot about Carnivàle, which I always meant to watch, and Riget/The Kingdom that I adored upon my first watch when I was in college (some 15 years ago) and would surely put it in the top 10 list if it weren't for all the magnificent art that came from the current Golden Age of Television - hey, there's only 10 slots on that list ...

Yeah, a great thread!
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Re: Peaks Fans Top 10 TV shows

Post by TwinsPeak »

I completely agree that these lists aren’t fair. There’s too many good shows and too many different categories. But it’s a good way to see what shows I need to watch. Other peoples lists shows me I need to watch more non mainstream TV.

Saturn’s child- I can’t believe I completely forgot about The Wonder Years. I think I might have to replace number 10 on my list and put in the Wonder Years.

Mr. Reindeer – We seem to have very similar taste in television. I complete agree with you that Atlanta is a phenomenal show. And like you said the episode Teddy Perkins really sent the show to the next level for me.

Jerry Horne – Better Call Saul rated higher than Breaking Bad? Interesting, I can understand it. Why do you rate it higher?

Krishnanspace – I liked The Night Of as well. The only show I haven’t seen on your list is Dark. I’ll have to give it a go.

MoonDogJR – Twin Peaks and Season 3 Twin Peaks are separated???? You aren’t willing to combine them?

Eyeboogers – 1st off I love your user name mixed with profile pic, easy to remember. 2nd your list has a lot of shows I still haven’t watched.

* Spoilers for Game of Thrones coming up:

Agent Earle – You liked the last season of GOT? A masterpiece. Yet you hate Season 3 of Peaks. You like going against the grain it seems. You enjoyed that in the end of GOT they just decided to give the iron throne to Bran the broken in a meeting? All the fighting was leading up to that climax? I for one was loving when the dragon lady went ”mad” and took the Throne for herself. When they showed the dragon’s wings behind her I was yelling YES YES!!!....It was what I wanted since the start of the show but then they just give the throne to Bran In a lame meeting. I loved Arya aswell but I didn’t like what they did with the night king either. Arya just jumping out of nowhere. Like come on, they could of at least had her wear another face and trick the night King. I thought Arya was gonna kill Cersei not the Night King. Why do you think the last season is a masterpiece?

I'm surprised I'm the only one with Black Mirror in their top 10


Also I too really enjoyed Carnivale it should be on my list. I wish there were more seasons. So much is unanswered.
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