My Top 20 Television Programmes

Why

Lost was a consistantly brilliant television programme with a flawless ensemble of diverse and interesting characters. The plot was complex and multi-layered and incredibly emotive. Lost, whilst appreciated on a large scale by those who did watch it, has never got the full praise it deserves. People who dislike it have usually shunned it for ridiculous reasons and have never given the programme a proper try.

Best Character

John Locke

Best Actor

Terry O' Quinn as John Locke

Best Seasons in Order

2
6
3
1
4
5

Why

A complex Anime thriller that wasn't full of stupid mythology and half arsed creatures. It is well drawn, with exceptional voice acting (The Japanese, not the Amerian re-dub, even though that wasn't bad either) and the plot was one giant web of complexity, that never allowed once for a dull moment.

Best Character

L

Best Voice Actor

Mamoru Miyano as Light Yagami

Why

One of the smartest comedy series made. Spot on, unflinching satire and genuinely funny, too. Whilst I find myself laughing more when I watch Family Guy, South Park is a better show simply because of its intellegence. Nothing annoys me more than when people say South Park is stupid potty humour. That may be the case but it gets their point across doesn't it?

Best Character

Randy Marsh

Best Voice Actor

Trey Parker/Matt Stone (They do most of the voices)

Why

A lot of people hate this show and the ones that do like it usually don't have a clue about what they are actually meant to find funny. Yes, it may not have the smartest plot lines (saying that, the writing as a whole is great and the plot is never the main focus of Family Guy anyway) and it occasionally uses obvious filler material. However, the pop culture references and the 'Oh no he didn't' satire are golden. People only hate it beause, as with South Park, they don't understand the true aim of the programme.

Best Character

Peter Griffin

Best Voice Actor

Seth MacFarlane as various characters

Why

One of the finest 'Dramedy' series ever made. I am not ashamed to admit that I have cried when watching this. Never has a show had such a perfect mix between sorrow and comedy and it will hopefully never be forgotten because of this.

Best Character

Dr. Cox

Best Actor

John C. McGinley as Dr. Cox

Why

Unfortunately, this has slid down the ranks because of the uneventful, forced and commericial recent series. We all knw there would come a time when the magic of the Simpsons would be lost and I'm afraid it is upon us. However, not matter how monotone the comedy has become, the satire is still going fresh. Also, you can never truly rate The Simpsons down because of how great the older seasons were and the impact it has had on popular culture since it started over 20 years ago.

Best Character

Homer Simpson

Best Minor Character

Hans Molman

Best Voice Actor

Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson and various

Why

Fantastic suburban thriller series that always provides some apt comic relief. Each series has a great mystery that will keep you hooked until the end. I don'r care if people say this is a 'gay' show because if they actually sat down to watch it, they would take those words back in an instant.

Best Female Character

Lynette Scavo

Best Male Character

Orson Hodge

Best Actress

Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo

Best Actor

Kyle MacLachlan as Orson Hodge

Why

Probably the programme that has made me laugh the hardest I have ever laughed whilst watching TV. Well observed, realistic teenage characters with great scripts for each episode without fail. I have seen the episodes from series one countless times and I can never get bored of it.

Best Character

Neil Sutherland

Best Actor

Simon Bird as William Mackenzie

Why

Friends was a charming show from beginning to end with endearing characters that the audience always care about. A dramedy (of lesser proportions to that of Scrubs because the focus here is 80% comedy) that offers interesting plotlines as well as one liners and far out comic situations in one. The charisma of the main cast and their incredibly realistic chemistry makes for one of the best and memorable television sitcoms of all time.

Best Male Character

Chandler Bing

Best Male Actor

David Schwimmer as Ross Geller

Best Female Character

Phoebe Buffay

Best Female Actress

Courtney Cox Arquette as Monica Geller

Best Seasons in Order

5
2
3
4
1
6
9
8
10

Why

Undoubtedly iconic, Alfred Hitchcock Presents offers a different 20 minute story each episode. Whilst the quality varies, each story is usually a thrilling Hitchcockian watch. The ones directed by the man himself are always the best, as expected.

Best Performance

Jack Mullaney in The Belfry

Why

Cult favourite Red Dwarf was full of of great British wit. Well written with a fine array of characters and ridiculous farcical plots that never got tiring.

Best Character

The Cat

Best Actor

Christopher Barrie as Arnold J. Rimmer

Best Seasons in Order

2
1
6
7
4
3
8
5

Why

Endearing sitcom that merges smart comedy, witty one-liners and a great dosage of slapstick, all making up one of the best comedy shows of recent times.

Best Character

Sheldon Cooper

Best Actor

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper

Why

Before I watched this I figured it would be another typical, over the top and incredibly annoying American sit-com full of inappropiate canned laughter. I was more than pleasantly surprised when I discovered that this show was a well written and differently structured to most other shows in the genre. The laughter track is more subtle. It is real audience laugher, recorded from when they are shown the episode after it has been made(as opposed to live audience). How I Met Your Mother is very authenic viewing.

Best Character

Barney Stinson

Best Actor

Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby

Why

Dry humour at its hilarious best. It isn't in your face comedy and that is what I love about this. A very original animation with a distinctive style both in the drawing and the actual comedy.

Best Character

Tim

Best Voice Actor

Steve Dildarian as Tim

Why

Toilet humour never sounded so intellectual. A lot of the gags are derived from sex jokes but it is never done in a silly way and the intelligent humour is never wasted on the audience because it is delivered in a way that any viewer can access. The innovative Point of View filming technique is also a high point.

Best Character

Mark Corrigan

Best Actor

David Mitchell as Mark Corrigan

Why

Tim Roth steals the show in this crime drama. Like CSI but nothing like it, Lie to Me is an original spin of the crime investigation programmes.

Best Charactrer

Cal Lightman

Best Actor

Tim Roth as Cal Lightman

Why

Absurd, surreal and abstract comedy that was way ahead of its time made for quality viewing with famous sketches having gone down in the history of comedy.

Best Character

The Interviewer in the Job Interview sketch

Best Actor

All

Why

Exaggerated beyond belief but that is all part of the fun. It is Family Guy with less pop culture references and more of a centre plot. You either love it or you hate it but for what it is, I love it.

Best Character

Roger the Alien

Best Voice Actor

Seth MacFarlene as Stan Smith and various.

Why

Futurama was a fantastic concept for a show. The future is represented as both the stereotypical expectations we have and an exciting new vision of what it may be. The characters are less developed than that of The Simpsons but it doesn't really matter in the big picture because the humour comes from the situations rather than them and this works in the favour of a series like this.

Best Character

Bender

Best Voice Actor

John DiMaggio as Bender

Why

This is more of a guilty pleasure for me. It is one of the loudest and least subtle of all of the American sitcoms I have seen and the laughter track is seemingly constant. However, despite the hang ups, the writers do a very good job in creating entertaining scenarios off a limited source. The dialogue is usually centred around family arguements, creating a volley of one liners and retorts. This is done in a clever way, usually resulting in an interesting plot development rather than an outright funny one. This show has more layers than you would first think and that is exactly why I love it.

Best Character

Frank Barone

Best Actor

Peter Boyle as Frank Barone