TV Shows with Best Writing

[TheRuleofThirds]

Hey, I thought I'd start up a thread talking about which TV shows throughout history have had some really phenomenal writing, that have a lot of heart.

I'd list:

Wagon Train
Twilight Zone
All in the Family
Star Trek The Next Generation
Everybody Loves Raymond

[Hennyb]

I'm a comedy guy so:

Cheers
Night Court
Seinfeld
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Arrested Development
Family Guy

[dpaterso]

You did say "phenomenal" writing, didn't you? Some bizarre choices have already appeared...

Here's Lucy, I Love Lucy, etc.
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Friends

-Derek
Derek's Web Page - stories, screenplays, novels, insanity. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57/scripts.htm)

[kevacho]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Lost

(need more coffee...)

Kevin
www.kevacho.com (http://www.kevacho.com)

[Rock]

I Love Lucy - hard to top this one for comedy....
Twilight Zone
Saturday Night Live

[Joe Calabrese]

Not in any order...

Lost
Frasier
Everone Loves Raymond
West Wing
ER
Will and Grace
24
St Elsewhere
Hill Street Blues
Homicide, Life on the Street.
Carnivale
Deadwood
Law and Order (1st 4 seasons)

And just because I love them even though the writing isn't Emmy worthy.

Startgate SG1
the 4400
Sopranos
ST, STNG, STDS9, STV, STE

[Inspired]

South Park
Saturday Night Live (at times)
Everybody Loves Raymond (mostly because that IS my family!)
Star Trek:NG
DS9

(But, I have to admit, I probably don't watch the stuff that is REALLY well written, and I rarely agree with others about what is a good show.)

[TheRuleofThirds]

I'm a comedy guy so:

Cheers
Night Court
Seinfeld
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Arrested Development
Family Guy

Ahh! How could I forget all my favorite sitcoms! Especially Arrested Development! My friends and I at college have watching parties every Sunday night for AD. Plus, I watch Cheers, Seinfeld, and FG religiously. Never seen Curb and I've only seen one episode of Night Court in the past 20 years (but it kept me in stitches...)

[sunandshadow]

Southpark is definitely my pick for best writing quality. There are a lot of great anime series too, although they often have the problem that the episodes are strictly linear, which is a problem for TV viewing where your audience is likely to miss some episodes. Great for watching them on DVD though.

[Perks]

No House, MD??? Are you all mad? :) Oh, this show is great. Tuesday nights 9pm Eastern (US, of course.)

The wit and irreverence in the dialogue is unaparalled genuis... at least by what's currently available.

And Hugh Laurie is my new hero... read his book, The Gun Seller. Most fun I've had with my clothes on in years.

[Joe Calabrese]

Okay, since were listing our fav's.

NOW LET'S EXPLAIN WHY.

Take a show you love and convince me it has great writing.

[Perks]

Only quoting here in homage to my favorite show:

***
House: Unfortunately, you have a deeper problem. Your wife is having an affair.
Orange Guy: What?!
House: You’re orange, you moron! It’s one thing for you not to notice, but if your wife hasn’t picked up on the fact that her husband has changed color, she’s just not paying attention.

***

House: Nice. [He walks over to the waiting room full of patients.] Hello, sick people and their loved ones! [Cuddy looks at him incredulously.] In the interest of saving time and avoiding a lot of boring chit-chat later, I’m Dr. Gregory House. You can call me Gregg. I’m one of three doctors staffing this clinic this morning.
Cuddy: Short, sweet. Grab a file.
House: This ray of sunshine is Dr. Lisa Cuddy. Dr. Cuddy runs this whole hospital so, unfortunately, she’s much too busy to deal with you. I am a bored [looks at Cuddy] certified diagnostician with a double specialty of infectious disease and nephrology. I’m also the only doctor currently employed at this clinic who is here against his will. That is true, isn’t it? [Cuddy just looks at him.] But not to worry, because for most of you this job could be done by a monkey with a bottle of Motrin. Speaking of which, if you’re particularly annoying, you may see me reach for this. This is Vicodin. It’s mine. You can’t have any. And no, I do not have a pain management problem, I have a pain problem. But who knows? Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m too stoned to tell. So, who wants me? [None of the clinic patients seem too eager.] And who would rather wait for one of the other two doctors? [Everyone raises their hands.] Okay, well, I’ll be in Exam Room 1 if you change your mind.

***
Everytime this guy, House, opens his mouth, I hold my breath so I don't miss anything. That's good writing. I know that good screenwriting needs good acting to pull it off. This show happens to have both, but I think the scale tips in favor of the screenwriters. It would just be hard to screw-up these wonderful lines. The characters are wonderful foils for each other, without being cutesy.

Having said that, they've only shown us one season thus far and there's romantic possibility between House and one of his staff that they've been skirting. If it goes there, it could well be disasterous. Anyway, i almost never watch TV... HouseMD and NFL football (come on pre-season!!)

[sspunisher]

X-Files gets my vote. At times they have not so great episodes, but even the bad episodes have memorable dialogue moments between Mulder and Scully. One of my fav shows of all time.

[Perks]

X-Files gets my vote. At times they have not so great episodes, but even the bad episodes have memorable dialogue moments between Mulder and Scully. One of my fav shows of all time.

You know, I have to agree. I was a huge XFiles fan. It sorta fell into the toilet at the end, but the dialogue was always great! Good call.

[TheRuleofThirds]

Wagon Train: The static characters all relate to each other really well and help the guests on the train out with their problems in a heartening way.

Twilight Zone: It uses science fiction to get incredibly profound, yet simple messages across.

All in the Family: Archie's soft side was usually something not to miss and was to the point, morally, when it was exposed.

Star Trek The Next Generation: Incredible storytelling, bringing up many issues and ideas that you'd never think a science fiction TV show would deal with. For instance, in the episode "Pegasus" Riker was seriously struggling with a decision he'd made 12 years prior to the episode, in which making the right choice would've cost him his life. What's that dilemma got to do with space, the final frontier? Yet, it was an incredibly human story.

Everybody Loves Raymond: The show's hilarious and inventive in the way it always presents Frank, Marie, and Robert as the new villains-of-the-week, even though they're there every week. Plus, the situations that they find themselves are fairly hilarious. The episode I've seen lately that I liked the most was the flashback to Ray and Deb's wedding. It was the most original wedding ceremony I've seen on TV. Plus, the explanation for why it turned out that way (in the episode) was a nice twist, too.

Cheers: Cliff and Norm. Nuff said.

Night Court: Umm...Bull?

Seinfeld: It's so neat the way nearly every episode gets the characters into an outlandish, but extremely realistic problem that we can all relate to and find some weird way to resolve that by bringing it all full circle. Plus, it's got an array of quirky characters--all are well-developed.

Arrested Development: Seinfeld to the extreme. I think if Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen put their heads together...they'd make something very similar to AD. While the characters are VERY quirky, the situations themselves often are more preposterous and hilarious, and prove to be more than a match for the Bluth family. Plus...they're all idiots. I like watching shows about idiots. That's why I keep watching the Simpsons.

Family Guy: They cover all the comedic bases. I think every obscure movie I like that I'd be ashamed to admit I've seen has been nodded to in Family Guy. Most notably, Tron and Superman II. Plus, I mean...the comedy's so off-the-wall. I can't even begin to wonder where they get it.

Simpsons: It used to be a show with heart, but now it just seems like the heart and the jokes compete. Plus, they cut out all the random flashbacks and daydreams. The writing's still witty, but almost too witty.

[Rock]

I Love Lucy - because Lucy was always allowed to act like a kid - simple/fun/happy.
Twilight Zone - you never knew what the catch was going to be & held your interest until the end.
SNL - just down right fun - a lot like the Three Stooges type comedy in a modern age.
..........

[nganok]

Not in any order...

Lost
Frasier
Everone Loves Raymond
West Wing
ER
Will and Grace
24
St Elsewhere
Hill Street Blues
Homicide, Life on the Street.
Carnivale
Deadwood
Law and Order (1st 4 seasons)

And just because I love them even though the writing isn't Emmy worthy.

Startgate SG1
the 4400
Sopranos
ST, STNG, STDS9, STV, STE

What made you stop liking Law and Order after Season 4.


Hers mine by the way.

*MASH*
Carnivale
OZ
L&O SVU
King of Queens
Everybody loves Ray
Cheers
Family Guy - ( all though I don't think they write that stuff)

[kevacho]

Humbly, (and as it concerns "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"… not so humbly) I would argue that Joss Whedon and his crew were instigators of some of the greatest writing ever heard out of the "idiot box".

Now, a great many will say things like, "Buffy, isn't that about vampires and such?" and "ain't there just a bunch'a nubile ladies rushing about in tight, leather pants and halter tops?" Yes and yes. However, "Buffy" was, and forever shall be, so much more. The dialogue was sharp and crisp, sounding more like the brilliant movie "Heathers", rather than your run-of-the-mill TV show. The story arc was simply superb and the character development some of the best around (one moment you're routing for a character, the next moment they're either dead or somehow, evil).

I put this test to all (as I have to some of my friends). Buy a season of "Buffy" on DVD, any season will do. Watch the show, but only watch one episode a week (that's the best way to do it… trust me). If you're not "hooked" after 5 or 6 episodes, there might be something wrong with you.:ROFL:

(Or, you just don't enjoy horrific melodrama, in which case I'm sorry you bought a full season of "Buffy", but if you like, I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands. :D)

Oh! "Lost", for lack of a better word, rocks too!


Kevin
www.kevacho.com (http://www.kevacho.com)


(Sweet, dark, elixir of life... :Coffee:)

[Joe Calabrese]

What made you stop liking Law and Order after Season 4.

Although each season has elements of good writing and many great episodes, on the whole, after season 4 they began falling into the "ripped from the headlines" and rehashing stuff we've seen before.

[NikeeGoddess]

Desperate Housewives - you never know what's going to happen next and they make serious issues (murder, adultery, in need of Nanny 911 childrearing, gay bashing, S & M, more murder, neighborly love, etc...) funny....in a black comedy kind of way.

[TheRuleofThirds]

Was Roswell ever any good? I mean they had Ron D. Moore and Jon Frakes from TNG working on it, so it should've been decent. Now...was it?

[Inspired]

South Park - It has the most clever, original satire ever! I don't know what drugs those guys do, but I hope they keep it up. It's amazing to me how they can make their satirical digs without being incredibly insulting. They really know the issues, too, inside and out. There is a great deal of truth to their exaggerated story lines. Some satire comes across as crude, purely out of the lack of thought that went into it. SP is based on some very intelligent, deep thought about the issues.

[maestrowork]

I don't watch that much TV... but shows I think that has really wicked writing (I'm judging by the writing alone, not the acting, production, etc.):


Six Feet Under -- it does flawed characters and bizarre relationships so well
Hill Street Blue -- simpy the best cop shows around
ER (the early seasons) -- brought realism to medical shows
Battlestar Galactica (the new series) -- one of the best sci-fi around
Curb your Enthusiasm -- most of it is improv, but it's just so funny
Frasier -- one of the smartest sitcoms ever
Seinfeld -- the writing is simply dead on
Deadwood -- poetic and profane
Sex and the City -- captures the spirit of New York singles very well
The Simpsons -- it's uneven, but usually pretty good, and we love the characters
The West Wing (early seasons) -- one of the best political dramas ever

[Kosh]

I get wierd stares everytime I say this, but I love Babylon 5. It was a show that took really big risks, had poetic writing, and the first non animated show I watched that had a really huge story arc.


My other favorites include:

Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Angel
The West Wing
Star Trek TOS

and I forgot :

Sienfield and Rosanne.

[TheRuleofThirds]

I hated how they always resorted to diplomacy, as if every major conflict in the galaxy could be resolved through peace talks on B5. Instead of beating the bad guys to a pulp and MAKING them come to the peace table, they just did some weird deus ex machina magic and made the bad guys and the good guys kiss and make up. I can't really remember which conflicts ended that way, but I know some of the big ones did. It seems like the war with the Shadows ended in negotiations, and the war with the Centauri or G'Kar's race did too or something. It's been like 8 years since I've seen an episode, though. It's a bit fuzzy.

[JERETHAL]

Now I'm starting to understand some people around here. My goodness!!!!

How about:

Seinfeld
Matlock
Seinfeld
The Practice
Seinfeld
Columbo
Seinfeld
Monk
Seinfeld
Andy Griffith Show
Seinfeld
Alias Smith and Jones
Taxi
Mash

And did I mention Seinfeld?

[Kosh]

I hated how they always resorted to diplomacy, as if every major conflict in the galaxy could be resolved through peace talks on B5. Instead of beating the bad guys to a pulp and MAKING them come to the peace table, they just did some weird deus ex machina magic and made the bad guys and the good guys kiss and make up. I can't really remember which conflicts ended that way, but I know some of the big ones did. It seems like the war with the Shadows ended in negotiations, and the war with the Centauri or G'Kar's race did too or something. It's been like 8 years since I've seen an episode, though. It's a bit fuzzy.

I actually liked how not every conflict ended with a battle (although the last battle in the human civil war was cool). While other shows would have ended with a big battle, I especially love the quiet poetry of the final episode, not many sci fi shows can match it (shows like voyager didn't even try).

[rich]

The Golden Girls.

NYPD Blue.

Catching in the Rye.

[Richard]

I vote 'House' as a recent favourite (along with Monk, but that's obvious) for the simple reason that they can natter about medical nonsense I have no idea about for an hour and still be entertainment.

[Kiva Wolfe]

We're talking writing, not action, special effects, music, star power...hum, specific to TV shows. Double hum. Not counting the Howdy Doody Show,

The Honeymooners
I Love Lucy
Andy of Mayberry
Mash
Columbo
Murder She Wrote
Cheers
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Outer Limits, old and new
X-Files
Northern Exposure

[WritingFool]

THE SIMPSONS, need I say more

[Boo_Radley]

The Shield
Oz
Family Guy
Seinfeld
Arrested Development
CSI (first season blew me away; after that, same old same)
Link (early-mid 90's Showtime channel series)
Frazier
Medium (not sure if it's still on the air or not, haven't watched much tv the last few months)
Friends
Sopranos

These are the only ones which immediately come to my mind, and which I watched with any amount of frequency.

[Gina_Ritter]

Law & Order SVU
Sopranos
Sex/City

and..
HOUSE


I don't know if anyone has mentioned this one. I tire of the same theme - sick person, curve balls, cure.

But MAJOR kudos to the nasty wit of Dr. House and the sheer unbelievable medical oddities and knowledge the writers have.
.
.

[mistri]

This is a hard, hard question. I love TV, and sometimes it's hard to separate good writing from good acting/chemistry.

Like many others here, I really enjoy House. I enjoy the way that it's a drama, an investigative show, and a show that can make me laugh.

I'd also put Battlestar Galactica down as an amazing show (the new one). It's rarely disappoints, and when it starts again (tomorrow (in the US) !) I can't wait to turn into a gibbering fangirl once more.

One of my other favourite shows this year was Veronica Mars - it had an excellent almost standalone first season. However, I'm not sure whether this is down to writing or performance. I can't quite vote for Lost because I got irritated by the way more questions were raised than ever answered.

Older faves would include Buffy, Firefly and Seinfeld. Probably more that I can't think of right now.

[Kiva Wolfe]

I think you should start a thread on worst TV show writing.