The article is up on Best Shows You’re Not Watching. Enjoy!
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I would have to put Carnival at number one, and I am so glad you put Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip on your list. I am surprised Freaks and Geeks didn’t make it…it would be my number two (is there a trend there). On other lists I’ve seen The Tick was mentioned. I saw a screening of it in Savannah…I think it squeaks in. Also mentioned around have been Andy Richter Controls the Universe (although I would go with Andy Barker PI), Chappelle’s Show, and Firefly. In our town the number one is Jericho…but I live in Jericho.
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Hey Ben: If I’d done a list of ten perhaps Andy Richter would have made it in, The Chapelle Show as well.
Firefly was good, but I don’t know if it’s a top ten of the decade for me. Maybe if Fox had let Whedon do what he wanted it would have been one of those shows for me, but in general, though I loved the concept, I think the execution could not live up to Buffy for me…which is nearly impossible anyway.
Technically, Freaks and Geeks debuted in 1999 and wouldn’t be eligible for this list…and since it was only a season-ish long, only 13 episodes occurred in 2000, which is not much. But I’m willing to admit that’s completely a technicality. F&G is actually a total blind spot for me. It’s one of those shows I just kind of missed and have never managed to go back and pick up. I suspect if I had seen it along with everyone else it would be on the list.
Although, if you go back and look at F&G’s original air dates it’s no wonder it never made it. The air dates were all over the place. Beginning in September there were only 5 episodes aired over three months. And then in January and February it was somewhat regular, but then after one episode in March and one in April it jumped to July and then the final episodes in October. I don’t know why a network is surprised that they couldn’t anchor in a fanbase for it. Ridiculous.
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I wouldn’t go to the matte for Firefly, but I am surprised it didn’t grip you. For me it was the swearing in Chinese.
YOU MUST, drop what you are doing and watch Freaks and Geeks. It is one of the the best shows ever made. I basically never saw it until two years ago. I saw maybe 15 minutes once when it was on the air, and was unimpressed, and yes it jumped around. But no other show since the Wonder Years has shown school life with such an authenticity. And he Wonder Years had nothing on the characters and character development that F&G has. Apatow has yet to accomplish in film the quality he created in three episodes of F&G. Lesli Linka Glatter has worked on most of the great TV shows of this past decade, for me this is highlight. For all the directors involved this is their best work.
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Fantastic list. Tried to get family and friends to watch Arrested Development, only to be shocked that they didn’t fully grasp the humor. Still holding out for a theatrical release. ALways glad to see that my tastes mirror those of somebody else. Looking forward to more articles.
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I have to second Ben Cohen, you definitely should go watch Freaks and Geeks. I didn’t watch it when it came out. I watched it last year when one of my roommates found out I had not seen it and insisted I watch it. It ranks very highly on my list of great tv shows ever, right up there with Arrested Development. I think the way tv is changing, with really good shows being on cable (Six Feet Under, Mad Men) I think Freaks and Geeks, Arrested Development and Pushing Daises would’ve had longer runs if they were on a cable stations in todays current market, but that’s just wishful what if thinking…
Firefly would have been on my list:)
Great article by the way. I came this way via 10 great female comic book characters on CBR and I’ve been enjoying your articles.
p.s. (You refer to Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) as Michael Bateman about midway through the paragraph)
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Ben: There were plenty of things that gripped me about Firefly but with only 5 picks in 10 years…yeah, it just didn’t stand a chance.
james andrews: yeah, the humor of arrested development is not for everybody, but for those of us that it’s for it’s the PERFECT show
the real joe ben: I plan on watching F&G very soon, soon as I can get a decent hole in my schedule (I assume I’ll want to watch the whole thing in one giant fest). I agree that F&G, AD, and PD would all possibly still be on tv, or at least have lasted much much longer if they had been on cable.
Thanks for the typo catch, I noticed it as well, unfortunately once I post to Best Shows I can’t go back and edit. Which drives me a little bit nuts.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the posts and I hope you keep coming back!
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