My Top 10 Favorite TV Dramas

A few weeks ago I posted my top 10 favorite TV sitcoms, so naturally I had to follow that up with my top 10 favorite TV dramas.  The first two are virtually a tie in my mind, but I had to pick one. Again, these are my favorite shows, not what I necessarily consider the best. Here's what I eventually came up with:

1.  The Sopranos-  Talk about drama. Look up the word "drama" in the dictionary and you'll find the Sopranos in the discription (or at least should). Each week was gritty, very violent, and completely engaging. Probably TV's first R-rated show. Although a couple of the final years dropped off a notch in quality, and the series finale somewhat contraversial, the entire run of the show was highly entertaining.  Great acting, top notch writing....and only one Best Drama emmy?  Read on....

2.  West Wing- A close second, and the reason why The Sopranos only won one Best Drama emmy. It's funny, but there was a time when I refused to watch the West Wing because it kept defeating The Sopranos! But when I finally got around to watching it, I was hooked. By that time, the show had come out on DVD, and I was renting them left and right in order to get caught up. Like the Sopranos, a couple of the final seasons were a little weaker, but overall the show provided a fascinating look into the lives and work of the staff of a (ficticious) U.S. President.  Sure, it was based on a democratic White House, but it was written well enough for right-wingers to enjoy.

3.  Rockford Files-  One of my must-see shows in the 70's. Loved the combination of drama and dry humor throughout the show about the weekly cases of private eye Jim Rockford (James Garner). Rockford was an every day, easy to relate guy, which was a big part of the shows appeal.  He would frequently get hit, hurt and cheated on, but he always managed to solve the crime.

4.  Hill Street Blues- Ground breaking, realistic police drama about the goings on of a New York police station.  This show had some of the most memberable characters in TV history (Belker, LaRue, Renko, Furillo, etc). The acting and writing were superb.  The show wasn't shy about killing off it's stars either, which provided some of the most shocking and at the same time emotional episodes on dramatic TV. Probably the first real gritty, violent show on TV. Paved the way for several other shows (NYPD Blue, Law & Order, etc.)

5.  L.A. Law- Another well written, well acted show featuring the daily activity of a Los Angeles Law Firm.  If you like courthouse drama, this is your show. Takes Perry Mason to another level, although it wasn't shy to slip in some pretty funny humor from time-to-time.  Once most of the major stars left the show in the early 90's, the final two seasons were a bit weaker. But overall, a very enjoyable drama that I watched on a regular basis. Now when is it coming out on DVD?

6.  Lou Grant-  This is probably a surprise to some, but this show was actually a two-time best drama emmy winner in 1979-1980. Lou Grant, if you don't know, is actually a character from the old Mary Tyler Moore comedy played by Ed Asner. When the MTM show ended, "Lou Grant" was spunoff as a drama, a bold move in itself. But it worked, as it provided an interesting and and entertaining look into the grinds of a daily newspaper.  It didn't hurt that during that time I was a Journalism major in college, so I automatically had an interest in it! I recently watched some episodes of Lou Grant on Hulu, and still found them entertaining.

7.  NYPD Blue-  Another classic, gritty, violent police show inspired by Hill Street Blues a decade earlier and developed by it's creator, Steven Bochco.  Although based on a New York police station as well, the show was completely different than Hill Street.  This time around, Bochco focused primarily on one cop, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), and his rotating list of partners (David Caruso, Jimmy Smits, and a few others) throughout the 12 year run of the show.  Predictably, the first few years were better than the last few, but the show did a pretty good job keeping continuity during the entire decade despite the different cast changes. It was particularly interesting to watch the evolution of Sipowicz during that entire time.

8.  LOST-  Although I admit that I didn't really care for the final two seasons of this show, which featured the saga of the survivors of a commercial airline crash on a remote island in the southern Pacific, I really did enjoy the first three.  The first two, in particular, were among the best of any TV drama in television history. It was groundbreaking and unique, as there really hadn't been a dramatical series on TV like it before. A serious Gilligan's Island, I guess you can say.

9.  Emergency!-  Now the surprises begin.  I'm not shamed to admit that this was one my favorite shows in the 70's....I never missed it. I recently watched a few episodes of this on Netflix and have to say I still enjoyed it.  In case you don't know, this was a Jack Webb-produced action/drama based on the day-to-day life of fire station 51, and in particular paramedics Gage and DeSoto. I have heard that many a real life paramedic/fireman credited this show for inspiring them to become a firefighter/paramedic.  My cousin's husband is one of them!

10.  Highway to Heaven-  Ok, either your mouth is wide open right now, or you have fallen off of your computer chair.  Either way, I know you didn't expect to see this on my list. Sappy at times....yes;  occasionally cheesy.....yes.  But I found this show to be one of the most heartwarming ever produced on TV.  The show had heart and nothing but good intentions. Plus it lasted five seasons, so I wasn't the only one to feel that way!

Next 10 (no particular order): Mission Impossible, Picket Fences, Northern Exposure, Perry Mason, Quincy, McMillan & Wife, Police Story, Adam 12, Mad Men, Ellery Queen (anyone remember this?).

So those are my 10 all-time favorite TV dramas. Feel free to chime in with yours and why you chose them!

JW