I was wanting to write about my top 5 favourite shows. But I realised that I have more than 5 favourites. So I changed the title of the post from Top 5 Favourite TV Shows to what it is now. Well, in no particular order, my favourite TV shows of all times have been:
- Friends
Monica’s neuroses, Chandler’s sarcastic humour, the dimwitted Joey, Ross the divorce-force, Rachael the fashionista and the eccentric Phoebe they all brought smiles to my blues and brightened any dull day. My favourite character being Chandler.
This sitcom combined wit and punch lines that left me clutching my stomach many times. The characters of these 6 friends seemed real to me and became beloved figures
There has yet to be another comedy hit on quite the same scale and with the same cultural or international appeal.
2. The Big Bang Theory
The geeky blissful existence of the two Physicists Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter is interrupted when a wannabe actress Penny moves in across the hall.
Sheldon is at the same time both self-centered and endearing. And Leonard is the geek who dares to break their social isolation by trying to win Penny over.
Raj and Howard are their equally geeky friends and co-workers at Caltech’s science department.
Raj is an Indian who is ‘Americanised’ beyond his parent’s approval but is afraid of approaching women and is forever without a girl unless he is well inebriated. 🙂
Howard is Jewish and lives with his mother. As unsuccessful with women as his friends but still considers himself a ladies’ man with cheesy pickup lines and limited success rate.
The geeky intellect of these four friends is contrasted with Penny’s social skills and common sense. Tons of science-related jokes, intelligent and sarcastic lines and basically loads of fun is what The Big Bang Theory is all about.
3. The Wonder Years
Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
The wonder years were the growing up years of Kevin Arnold narrated as a flashback by the adult Kevin. It’s about his life and friends and heart breaks and ambitions and of course, his family. I first saw The Wonder Years when I was in school myself. My life had ups and downs and I was happy and even drawn to watch this show because it stayed true to real life. It always ended in ways that I could relate to, even learn from.
4. Full House
Some hate it saying its the cheesiest show ever. Then again, some will disagree. That’s inevitable. But I loved the simple drama of Danny Tanner raising his daughters as a single father after the death of his wife in a car accident. His brother-in-law Jessy and friend Joey move in with him to help him raise the kids.
It’s a sitcom about average American Family back in the 90s. And man, life was different then. Simpler, if you may. I enjoyed Jessy’s – ‘watch the hair!’ & ‘have mercy!’ and Joey’s ‘cut-it-out’ and Michelle’s ‘you are in big trouble, mister’ and Gibbler’s ‘Mr.T’… I loved the harmless, almost innocent humour of the show and the moral and emotional issues it tackled that crop up when raising kids.
5. Criminal Minds
This seems like a misfit in the series of comedies I have quoted above as my favourites. Don’t ask me why, but I just love Criminal Minds. Its only about murders and psychos and gore. But I love it. If I sit and think why, I realise it’s the characters I love the most – Morgan, Hotchner, Rossi, Jason, Prentiss and not to forget Penelope. Morgan being my favourite. Why? I just do. There’s something about the man that’s magnetic. Not to mention how handsome he is.
And then I am most impressed by the way they go about profiling the criminals. It makes me wonder though if such intelligent and precise profilers really do exist within the BAU! Especially because sometimes these characters “confuse critical thinking with supernatural abilities”, which seem outside the realm of real life murder investigations. Nevertheless, I am presently totally hooked on Criminal Minds.
6. Whose Line Is It Anyway?
I am back to comedies. Although I must admit when I first started watching Whose Line I did not understand the format at all. It took me a while and some serious watching for it to grow on me.
There are 4 performers in each episode and a host in the show. The format is of a ‘game show’ with a comic twist. The performers create characters, scenes, songs on the spot based on either audience suggestions or prompts from the host. What grabbed my attention is the creativity of the performers to come up with hilarious unrehearsed performances. Such impromptu humour must mean a real talent on their part. Just Wow!
7. Ally McBeal
Unique and entertaining is how I rate this show. For all her insecurities, idiosyncrasies and apparent bad luck in personal life Ally McBeal made the TV showing a delight to watch. David Kelly’s talented writing and the great performances from all the actors made the viewing further irresistable.
When I saw the episode where Ally’s therapist tells her to find a theme song for herself and Ally chooses the song ‘tell him’ which she hums while waiting at the street corner for the signal to turn green and the whole crowd dances to it, I fell in love with this show.
And the added attraction were the Vonda Shephard cover versions. Mr.Kelley’s expertly chosen music to counterpoint and illuminate the inner conflicts and outer dilemmas of the characters enhances the brilliance of his innovative series about the complexly intertwined lives, loves, obsessions and working relationships of the lawyers working for the firm of Fish and Cage, and in particular, the titular heroine of the series, Ally McBeal herself.
So there’s the list. Sure there were some other shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, Boston Legal, 3rd Rock from the Sun and X-Files that I lopped off because although I had liked them, I hadn’t really followed all the seasons with the religious singularity that I followed all of the above.
So which ones are your favourites?
Life, Christ & Me 