2024 the best tv series of all time review

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Is The Wire better than Breaking Bad? Is Cheers better than Seinfeld? What's the best high school show ever made? Why did Moonlighting really fall apart? Was the Arrested Development Netflix season brilliant or terrible?

For twenty years-since they shared a TV column at Tony Soprano's hometown newspaper-critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz have been debating these questions and many more, but it all ultimately boils down to this:

What's the greatest TV show ever?

That debate reaches an epic conclusion in TV (THE BOOK). Sepinwall and Seitz have identified and ranked the 100 greatest scripted shows in American TV history. Using a complex, obsessively all-encompassing scoring system, they've created a Pantheon of top TV shows, each accompanied by essays delving into what made these shows great. From vintage classics like The Twilight Zone and I Love Lucy to modern masterpieces like Mad Men and Friday Night Lights, from huge hits like All in the Family and ER to short-lived favorites like Firefly and Freaks and Geeks, TV (THE BOOK) will bring the triumphs of the small screen together in one amazing compendium.

Sepinwall and Seitz's argument has ended. Now it's time for yours to begin!

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grand Central Publishing (September 6, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1455588199
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1455588190
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.13 x 9 inches
Reviewer: Ryan S.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: You'll want to watch the shows you haven't seen and rewatch the ones you have
Review: TV (The Book) is an exploration and celebration of television as a narrative form. It presents a ranking of the one-hundred best American television series, with short essays that touch on each series' unique merits and place in TV history. These essays are insightful and fun to read; they will make you want to watch the shows you haven't seen and rewatch the shows you have.The best part of the book is the opening debate, in which Seitz and Sepinwall argue how the top five TV shows, which wound up with tied scores, should be ranked. It's an effective opening for the book because the authors find themselves exploring what TV is at its best, creating a framework that helps the reader understand the significance of the shows that the authors discuss later in the book. It's a slight shame the authors didn't maintain the back-and-forth while discussing the rest of the shows. (I'd love, for example, to hear Mr. Seitz's rebuttal to Mr. Sepinwall's complaints with the fourth season of Arrested Development; I myself am in agreement with Mr. Seitz. The fourth season is structurally ambitious and as funny as the first three seasons.)Though they find much to agree on with regard to the best television series of all time, Seitz and Sepinwall also bring slightly different perspectives to their essays. Mr. Sepinwall often puts the TV shows he examines in the context of other TV, directing the reader's attention to characters and stories that are indebted to TV of the past (referencing, for example, the influence of "NYPD Blue" and "Homocide" on "The Shield," or the way "Seinfeld" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" look like "funhouse-mirror versions of each other." On the other hand, Mr. Seitz tends to put the TV shows within a broader artistic context, referencing everyone from Godard and Dali to Looney Tunes and the Marx Brothers. Both of these approaches work, and both are helpful in arguing for the significance of television as a narrative form.This book does so much more than pit beloved TV series against one another. Authors Seitz and Sepinwall touch on more than a hundred shows, from certified classics like "I Love Lucy" or "The Sopranos" to newer works in progress, such as "The Leftovers" and "The Americans." In this era of Peak TV, Seitz and Sepinwall provide a useful encapsulation of the best television of the past and argue persuasively for the significance of these shows.

Reviewer: mfsunderland
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An Enlightening Read on TV
Review: I have enjoyed reading Sepinwall's episode reviews for many shows, such as Lost, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and so forth. I also enjoyed Zoller Seitz' book of critical commentaries on Mad Men, so I knew that TV (The Book) would be an enjoyable read for me.This is a valuable book for thinking about TV in a serious, intelligent way rather than merely looking down upon TV as idle trash. Sepinwall and Zoller Seitz' opening debate is excellent to read. I loved reading about their views on the merits of The Sopranos versus The Wire versus The Simpsons as the greatest show of all time. I learned about many new shows as I read through their ranking of the best 100 shows in American history. I have added some new shows to my list of series that I need to watch some day (Freaks and Geeks, Twin Peaks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc).I would say the only drawback to the book is that it became a little tedious to read every review and every page, especially for shows which I do not really plan on ever watching. However, overall I would recommend this book to anyone interested in TV in a serious way, or if you are just looking to learn about important shows that you might have missed. Their writing is clear, often witty and humorous, and enlightening.

Reviewer: Just a boy, not quite a woman grown
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I love TV, and they do too
Review: I’ve enjoyed Alan’s work for a LONG time. There’s no one whose opinion on shows carries more weight than his. Every single rank was carefully thought out, and there’s not too many things I disagree with (Simpsons over Breaking Bad, though?).

Reviewer: Richard
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Flawed, but still worth the read.
Review: The book is interesting for the most part and I have enjoyed plugging though it. I appreciate their efforts in trying to rank the greats of all time in television, but it sure "feels" front loaded. What I mean is that most of the "best shows ever" are super recent in the grand scope of television history. I understand that television has taken an upward swing in quality, in many cases, but there are shows that somehow have been pushed down the list of these gentlemen, that frankly shouldn't be.If you are person who loves lists, as I do, this book will satisfy your need to disagree with their results (if you are anything like me). So, enjoy and I look forward to seeing your review.

Reviewer: Bobby Drake
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great book with a wide selection of TV shows covered. Its great to just pick up and read something at random especially as there are that many shows covered that I could never possibly watch them all. Some very interesting reading especially about some of my favourite shows such as Buffy and Lost.

Reviewer: Keith Raymond Beard
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Written with great depth, passion and wit. Its not only a well thought up book but one which should inspire anyone who enjoys lists. It covers most genres of shows and makes good arguments for some widely seen classics, but also fights for some other little known shows. Is a good book to introduce you to new shows while making you think about your own favourites. You can pick fault with the order of certain shows, but its a very enjoyable read none the less.

Reviewer: Prax
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Reading this book has given me the itch to watch many of the shows in it that I had never seen. The authors are really good pitch men in that sense. However, when you come across an entry they don't know much about but, say, included out of obligation or necessity, it is readily apparent. The authors have the most impressive TV knowledge I've ever seen, but it isn't exhaustive. What's more, the lit gets somewhat tedious near the end, especially with things like miniseries and TV movies. But it is nonetheless a great read.

Reviewer: Laurence Young
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Very prompt delivery and entertaining book.

Reviewer: Cliff
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Well done