I was tagged over on Facebook to do this meme by SereneBabe -- I believe she listed her current favorites. Paula, who no longer blogs, responded on Facebook doing all-time favorites. I'll follow Paula's lead and list my all time faves. While I will not list F-Troop in my all-time, I totally agree with Paula that it was a hilarious program; the interactions between the characters was superb.
The Simpsons: OMG, ground-breaking in the same way Groening's print cartoon "Life In Hell" with its irreverent one-eared rabbit Binky was ground-breaking. It mocks everything. No religion is sacred, and even atheism takes its licks. Corporations, tree-huggers, punks, rebels, authority figures, politicians, families, television shows -- nothing escapes the scythe of Groening's wit. Lurves it.
Family Guy: As long as I'm on the topic of animated television shows, I have to list this one. MacFarlane admits that Groening was a role model and since his college days at the Rhode Island School of Design has more or less striven to follow in Homer Simpson's footsteps. His thesis film serves as the predecessor to Family Guy. The mockery is similar in scope, but different in execution, however it is MacFarlane's voices that give it additional pleasure for me.
Gilligan's Island: Dunno why this goofy sitcom made such a deep impression on me, but it did. I have seen every episode more times than I can count. I'm not nutter enough to be able to quote lines from the program, but let me just say that G.I. filled up many otherwise boring afternoons. I was one of those insufferable A student types who never had to do homework at home because I did it all while at school, half paying attention to class, half doing the homework for the previous class. Since all my friends were stuck doing their homework and chores, well ... Hello Gilligan!
Star Trek: The original. I enjoyed The Next Generation, but nowhere near as much as this corny, predictable, entirely beloved series. I did not see it when it originally aired, catching the afternoon reruns, but I developed a teenage obsession with Spock and Kirk. Shatner -- before he got pudgy, and in spite of his overly dramatic approach to the role -- made me dream moist and girlish dreams. Spock was beyond cool, though. So in my dreams I was a hot, strong-willed, impulsive, yet entirely rational and intelligent star ship captain; the perfect blend of Kirk and Spock, with Yeoman Rand's and Lt. Uhuru's beauty.
NCIS: I was first introduced to this show while it was in its fourth season after a years long hiatus from television. I developed a strong attachment to crime shows, especially those that portrayed some level of forensic science and deductive reasoning. (This is why I am not a fan of the Law & Order shows, as they just set up situations and plow through them without really showing us the science or solid deduction). And along the same lines as my girlhood sighs over strong male leads, Gibbs is totally to die for. I would totally not throw him out of bed. I am going to also toss CSI (the original, Las Vegas one), Criminal Minds, and Numb3rs in here for the reasons I list above, sans Gibbs.
Dark Shadows: both the old original soap, and the brief revival series in the early 90s. Mostly the original soap with Jonathan Frid as the romantic and dangerous Barnabas Collins. I am also a fan of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, so it was with interest that I read the following in Wikipedia:
Director Tim Burton and pop icon Madonna have both gone on record as fans of the series. As a child Johnny Depp was so obsessed with Barnabas Collins that he wanted to be him. In fact, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are collaborating yet again to bring this series back to life. Johnny Depp will play the lead role of Barnabas. It will be director Tim Burton's next project and eighth collaboration with Depp.
Cool.
Dr. Who: The portion of the original series featuring Tom Baker, (the fourth Doctor) and then the more recent revival with Christopher Eccleston (who briefly appeared in Heroes) and especially David Tennant. Baker and Tennant both filled the role deliciously. A beautiful, yet natural seeming mix of arrogance and twisted humor that I do not feel the other Doctors quite had. I'll admit I've not seen any with Doctors six through eight. What made this series worth watching was its total campiness. It made no apologies for its cheesy aliens and technology on the cheap. In fact, one might argue that it strove for low-end in order to capture camp. Was it the illegitimate child of "Lost In Space" and "Star Trek", I wonder? I later came to enjoy the film "Brazil" for the same reason. I would like to see "Torchwood," which is a spin-off from the later Who.
Gilligan's Island-what you said (except for the never having to do homework part. I was too goody-goody to do something else in class when I was expected to listen and take notes). But I've also always had an interest in what it would be like to have to live by one's wits using what's available in your environment. Loved the stories My Side of the Mountain and The Boxcar Children when I was young for that reason. That was also my draw with Cast Away. My dreams are most often filled with proving myself to have survival instincts extraordinaire, probably because I sooooo do not, nor am I interested in developing them. Weird, huh?
Star Trek-I have often lamented that I can't be more like Spock. There are times when I literally hate just how human (read emotional) I am.
NCIS-I sit and watch the marathon afternoons when I can. Love the whole cast, at least, once Ziva came on. But yeah, Gibbs is TDF.
Dark Shadows-now that's a production (JD and TB collaborating) I look forward to! My mom was totally into Dark Shadows, which was so unlike what one would expect of her. I think what makes it special for me is that I watched it with her. Hated the disembodied hand. It gave me nightmares. Loved Barnaby.
Naw, that's my all-time favorites. I just couldn't remember any others from way back. Six Feet Under and Sopranos are both as "old" as I've got a memory of. :-)
Love your list, though. Glad you did it. I almost put the Simpsons on there but since I only watched the 2-4ish seasons I felt I wasn't as addicted as I could've/should've been.
Don't know Family Guy except for recently seeing an article where someone interviewed the creators and she was completely offended by the show and didn't hide her bias at all in the interview. (Apparently there are jokes about rape = "getting some" or something.)
Dr. Who... guess what? I watched this as a kid and found it TOO SCARY so I stopped watching it and could never return. Just remembered X-Files. Might've added that to the list, too, though it did jump the shark towards the end.