I feel like Mad Men is up there for best TV series of all time

[TM Riddle]

Just finished rewatching the entire show in one go and boy what a journey it was.
I feel I couldn't appreciate it's greatness when I first watched it a few years ago but as you mature you start admiring the small things that made this programme stand out from others. Brilliant acting from almost every character and I loved how they closed the arc for even some minor ones. The writing was fantastic and every episode felt like there was some plot development, big or small.

Don Draper imo is easily the classiest TV character of all time. So flawed(read conceited) and broken from inside and yet managed to garner our sympathy despite being such a big mf in general. Ending was marvelous and I would put it as one of the greatest of all time. The epiphany smile on Don's face and the famous coke commercial in the next scene, Brilliant!

If only this show got as much attention as the overrated Game of Thrones.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Just finished rewatching the entire show in one go and boy what a journey it was.

Damn bro. I envy your life. Are you a student?

Seriously tho, totally agree with you. Show is awesome. Flawless and well directed.

If only this show got as much attention as the overrated Game of Thrones.

TBH, GOT is not bad. Fantasy settings with lot of "empowered" women is what makes it 'overrated'

 

[TM Riddle]

Damn bro. I envy your life. Are you a student?

Seriously tho, totally agree with you. Show is awesome. Flawless and well directed.


TBH, GOT is not bad. Fantasy settings with lot of "empowered" women is what makes it 'overrated'

Was kinda free these days hence decided to put the time to good use

I don't know man but Game of Thrones has lost it's charm for me. Don't even know whether I would want to watch the final season when it airs next year. After season 4 it all went downhill for me and after witnessing the disaster that the last season was, I don't think I have it in me to put up with all that crap once again. D&D turned into massive disappointments after the writing material from George ran out. These days it's just a rich man's Spartacus with better visuals and nothing more.

 

[topspin]

Just finished rewatching the entire show in one go and boy what a journey it was.
I feel I couldn't appreciate it's greatness when I first watched it a few years ago but as you mature you start admiring the small things that made this programme stand out from others. Brilliant acting from almost every character and I loved how they closed the arc for even some minor ones. The writing was fantastic and every episode felt like there was some plot development, big or small.

Don Draper imo is easily the classiest TV character of all time. So flawed(read conceited) and broken from inside and yet managed to garner our sympathy despite being such a big mf in general. Ending was marvelous and I would put it as one of the greatest of all time. The epiphany smile on Don's face and the famous coke commercial in the next scene, Brilliant!

If only this show got as much attention as the overrated Game of Thrones.

If it's on netflix I'll give this a go but sorry GOT is the greatest series of all time.

 

[JaDed]

If it's on netflix I'll give this a go but sorry GOT is the greatest series of all time.

It's defn not the greatest series, it would had been had they stopped it by 3rd

 

[TM Riddle]

If it's on netflix I'll give this a go but sorry GOT is the greatest series of all time.

It's on Netflix yes.
Sorry but GOT isn't even in the top 10.

1. The Sopranos
2. Mad Men
3. The Wire
4. Breaking Bad
5. The Shield
6. Seinfeld
7. Six feet Under
8. The West Wing
9. Friends
10. The Simpsons/Battlestar Galactica
[MENTION=139150]aliasad1998[/MENTION] whaddya think?

 

[topspin]

It's defn not the greatest series, it would had been had they stopped it by 3rd

Disagree I think the series has maintained the momentum so far. Also it's ranked no.2 by IMDB as the second greatest series of all time, so it certainly isn't overrated.

 

[topspin]

It's on Netflix yes.
Sorry but GOT isn't even in the top 10.

1. The Sopranos
2. Mad Men
3. The Wire
4. Breaking Bad
5. The Shield
6. Seinfeld
7. Six feet Under
8. The West Wing
9. Friends
10. The Simpsons/Battlestar Galactica

[MENTION=139150]aliasad1998[/MENTION] whaddya think?

Surprising that IMDB's no.2 doesn't even make the top 10.

My top 5 are as follows:

1. GOT
2. Sopranos
3. Breaking Bad
4. The Wire
5. Power

 

[TM Riddle]

Disagree I think the series has maintained the momentum so far. Also it's ranked no.2 by IMDB as the second greatest series of all time, so it certainly isn't overrated.

IMDb had Vampire Diaries above 8.5 for a loong time. Let that sink in.

Game of Thrones has become a joke post A Dance with Dragons. Now it's mostly 7 filler episodes packed with last 3 emotionally charged violent ones to keep the general viewer interested for the next season. Lost the novelty factor that made the initial 4 seasons such a joy to watch.

 

[topspin]

IMDb had Vampire Diaries above 8.5 for a loong time. Let that sink in.

Game of Thrones has become a joke post A Dance with Dragons. Now it's mostly 7 filler episodes packed with last 3 emotionally charged violent ones to keep the general viewer interested for the next season. Lost the novelty factor that made the initial 4 seasons such a joy to watch.

But when the series finished it went down to 7.7 . GOT however I believe will not only stand the test of time but end the show at no.1 of the IMDB list of series.

 

[TM Riddle]

But when the series finished it went down to 7.7 . GOT however I believe will not only stand the test of time but end the show at no.1 of the IMDB list of series.

Till season 5 it was around 8.5 and I remember it clearly since I had to endure it because of my moronic girlfriend. Are you honestly telling me the first 5 seasons of Vampire Diaries deserved such a high rating? I mean sure if you are a love struck teenage girl with huge crush on Damon Salvatore otherwise no sane person rated it above 7 let alone 8.

IMDb is no judge for quality of shows. RT and Metacritic as well as Writers guild of America are much better at it.

 

[PetroDollars]

i watched the first 2 and were good but the first episode of the first season was easily one of the best ive seen.

 

[imrankhannsu]

I watched Mad Men and it wasnt for me.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

One of my all time favourite tv shows, and I only have a handful which I rate up there, and that doesn't include GOT, which is a great show for sure, but that's down to the author of the books, without them to use as a script, the quality of the show has fallen.

Mad Men was just so different from anything else I've ever watched, and I just loved everything about it, from the main characters to the ad agency backdrop, and of course the 60's era which was what made it for me. There's probably been other attempts to recreate something similar, but I don't think they quite caught on.

 

[TM Riddle]

One of my all time favourite tv shows, and I only have a handful which I rate up there, and that doesn't include GOT, which is a great show for sure, but that's down to the author of the books, without them to use as a script, the quality of the show has fallen.

Mad Men was just so different from anything else I've ever watched, and I just loved everything about it, from the main characters to the ad agency backdrop, and of course the 60's era which was what made it for me. There's probably been other attempts to recreate something similar, but I don't think they quite caught on.

Almost all the major characters had a great arc and I liked how they didn't solely focus on the main character as such ala The Sopranos. For instance you have Peter Campbell, the snobbish guy everyone despised in the first season and who had a great personal growth in the subsequent seasons.
Roger Sterling with his witty dialogues and Peggy Olson were another stand outs for me.

 

[AFM]

I watched it until Season 5, after which it got rather tedious for me. Have seen the last scene on youtube when Don gets the idea for the coke ad.

Did they ever resolve of what happened to Peggy's baby?

 

[enkidu_]

I've tried many "classics" from the TV series (Twin Peaks, Breaking Bad, etc) but the only one I somehow loved.

The number of characters and their characterization/how well they're written is amazing, and it becomes a panorama of how the US (and basically the West) made its transition from the era so much prized by the conservatives to the postmodern culture, and it's well reflected in the changes of characters (Don Draper's own situation, the psychology and role of women, etc). I rarely see this complexity of writing outside Japanese/Korean stuff.

GoT on the other hand is just some fun watch.

 

[TM Riddle]

I've tried many "classics" from the TV series (Twin Peaks, Breaking Bad, etc) but the only one I somehow loved.

The number of characters and their characterization/how well they're written is amazing, and it becomes a panorama of how the US (and basically the West) made its transition from the era so much prized by the conservatives to the postmodern culture, and it's well reflected in the changes of characters (Don Draper's own situation, the psychology and role of women, etc). I rarely see this complexity of writing outside Japanese/Korean stuff.

GoT on the other hand is just some fun watch.

I liked how they showed the impact of consumerism culture and the subsequent counter cultural movement it led to in the late 60s America (the whole hippie thing in the later seasons).

 

[Robert]

I loved the social commentary of the first two or three seasons.

After that it turned into a sort of high class soap opera.

Though I do wonder what Don, Peggy, Joan etc. are doing in the modern era.

 

[Fahdi]

One of my all time favourite tv shows, and I only have a handful which I rate up there, and that doesn't include GOT, which is a great show for sure, but that's down to the author of the books, without them to use as a script, the quality of the show has fallen.

Mad Men was just so different from anything else I've ever watched, and I just loved everything about it, from the main characters to the ad agency backdrop, and of course the 60's era which was what made it for me. There's probably been other attempts to recreate something similar, but I don't think they quite caught on.

True. Ever since they ran past the books the show has gone downhill. The last season was terrible honestly.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

True. Ever since they ran past the books the show has gone downhill. The last season was terrible honestly.

It's not surprising, the brilliance of GOT was all in the writing. I know that the producers were given the rough outline of the plot by the author, but there was no way they could reproduce the outstanding dialogue or twists of the books. It all feels very rushed and one dimensional now, although the story is still solid. Just lacks the depth and bite of the first few series.

 

[dildilpak]

Mad men was awesome & so was Breaking bad.

 

[Itachi]

I'll wait for aliasad on this. I trust his judgement. In movies and series, he and I have similar taste.

 

[Devilsadvokat]

I watched it recently for first time, took me a week, agree to the opinion that it is easily top 5, if not top 3. It is easily top 1 if rated on the beauty and sexiness and acting ability of its female cast, wow. Wow. John Hamm(?) has only 3 or 4 looks in all seven seasons. The amount of alcohol imbibed was legendary and they say "really" a lot.

The Pete character has to be one of the most complex, layered, detailed character in tv history.

A must watch.

 

[Extra_Cover]

It's on Netflix yes.
Sorry but GOT isn't even in the top 10.

1. The Sopranos
2. Mad Men
3. The Wire
4. Breaking Bad
5. The Shield
6. Seinfeld
7. Six feet Under
8. The West Wing
9. Friends
10. The Simpsons/Battlestar Galactica

[MENTION=139150]aliasad1998[/MENTION] whaddya think?

Surprised not to find peaky blinders on here.

My personal opinion, the best season ever on television has to be True Detective season 1. Never, has there been such a noir short crime drama with intriguing characters on tv before.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I'll wait for aliasad on this. I trust his judgement. In movies and series, he and I have similar taste.

aliasad does have good judgement, but you could try watching it independently and offering your own opinion instead. Mad Men is highly acclaimed anyway regardless of PP member reviews.

 

[Devilsadvokat]

Surprised not to find peaky blinders on here.

Good call on both. I can't take anyone who says GOT isn't in the top ten seriously. Haven't seen Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield or West Wing, can't fault the others. For me as mentioned elsewhere I would put The Leftovers somewhere there and add one or two or all three of Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses and Blackadder.

Usually I watch a film that has been slated on imdb and invariably the bad reviews are from disgruntled people who had read the book that said film was based on, but as a stand-alone the film is usually perfectly acceptable.

I have not read the books GOT was based on.

 

[Darkrai]

I been wanting to watch Mad men but i feel like it's not my kind of show.

I start watching many shows but end up dropping them. I dropped The wire and SOA because i got bored after 1 season.

My favorite show is Breaking Bad, probably the only show where i watched every single min of every episode. I usually get bored if it's not something i'm into and it's not particularly done well.

Now that i think about it there are so many shows that i never finished watching...

 

[Devilsadvokat]

I been wanting to watch Mad men but i feel like it's not my kind of show.

I start watching many shows but end up dropping them. I dropped The wire and SOA because i got bored after 1 season.

My favorite show is Breaking Bad, probably the only show where i watched every single min of every episode. I usually get bored if it's not something i'm into and it's not particularly done well.

Now that i think about it there are so many shows that i never finished watching...

What are your second and third favourite shows?

 

[CricFan2012]

Looks genuinely boring to me.

Top shows like Breaking Bad, GoT, the wire have some sort of intrigue, this one looks like a drama with sex, no action or mystery.

 

[Darkrai]

What are your second and third favourite shows?

I don't have a second favorite. I think Breaking Bad is the only show that i fully watched till the end. I am keeping up with Better call saul, i like this show a lot.

Here are some of the shows that i've put on hold (some for many years) but i do like them, and will probably complete them :

Seinfeld (only seen 2 seasons)
The leftovers (only seen 1 season)
Mr Robot (1 season)
Lost (3 seasons)
Fargo (1 season)
Supernatural (5 seasons)
Prison break (3 seasons)
The originals (3 seasons)


Some shows that i dropped:

The walking dead
Stranger things
Teen wolf
Vampire diaries
Riverdale
Suits
Gotham
Arrow and some other cw superhero shows - i do like superheros so never know when i may start watching them again.

 

[Robert]

My personal opinion, the best season ever on television has to be True Detective season 1. Never, has there been such a noir short crime drama with intriguing characters on tv before.

Agreed, with all that Yellow King / Carcosa mythology too.

 

[DeadBall]

Good call on both. I can't take anyone who says GOT isn't in the top ten seriously. Haven't seen Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield or West Wing, can't fault the others. For me as mentioned elsewhere I would put The Leftovers somewhere there and add one or two or all three of Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses and Blackadder.

Usually I watch a film that has been slated on imdb and invariably the bad reviews are from disgruntled people who had read the book that said film was based on, but as a stand-alone the film is usually perfectly acceptable.

I have not read the books GOT was based on.

It's all subjective. You haven't seen The Sopranos, The Wire, the Shield, West Wing and can't take people who don't rate GOT in their top 10 seriously. That's like saying I don't know anything about Islam, Christianity, Judaism but I don't take anyone who doesn't follow Buddhism seriously.

Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses and Blackadder are works of genius in their own right but they are a totally different genre and have nothing to do with the aforementioned shows you have never seen.

In the end all of it is subjective, maybe one likes comedy and fantasy shows more than crime, drama or political shows and therefore I am very wary of these top 10 top 20 lists as they are dependent on many factors and variables and in the end just end up hyping one thing or underrating the other.

 

[Devilsadvokat]

It's all subjective. You haven't seen The Sopranos, The Wire, the Shield, West Wing and can't take people who don't rate GOT in their top 10 seriously. That's like saying I don't know anything about Islam, Christianity, Judaism but I don't take anyone who doesn't follow Buddhism seriously.

Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses and Blackadder are works of genius in their own right but they are a totally different genre and have nothing to do with the aforementioned shows you have never seen.

In the end all of it is subjective, maybe one likes comedy and fantasy shows more than crime, drama or political shows and therefore I am very wary of these top 10 top 20 lists as they are dependent on many factors and variables and in the end just end up hyping one thing or underrating the other.

I didn't want to step on any toes in this thread. I was being very flippant. As I said the rest of the list had shows that I watched and I stated that I had no disagreement, I was being honest about the shows I haven't watched but I know those shows occupy many a peoples top ten.

I alluded as to why GOT may not have made his top ten, iirc he was a fan of the books and many fans of books don't like films or shows that depart from the story that they originally fell in love with.

I am suitably admonished.

 

[Devilsadvokat]

Also I mentioned Fawlty Towers et al because iirc the list included, The Simpsons, Seinfeld and Friends

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

One of the few shows that stayed consistently amazing through out its seven season run.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Looks genuinely boring to me.

Top shows like Breaking Bad, GoT, the wire have some sort of intrigue, this one looks like a drama with sex, no action or mystery.

I don't think you know what you talking about bro.

Check this scene out:

 

[ManFan]

My second favorite show after you know... "Time and immemorial".

The show however started to suffer after Season Four and went on too long in my opinion but it was riveting for the first three seasons with the fourth being decent as well.

After the merger with CGC, there was no motivation for the guys and gals to keep going on. The show started to focus more intrinsically on Don's alcoholism and promiscuity and the supporting cast like Roger, Peggy, Joan, Pete, Ken, and Bert took a backseat.

My favorite character on the show was Bert Cooper; very shrewd "cookie-and-milk" old man.

 

[ManFan]

Looks genuinely boring to me.

Top shows like Breaking Bad, GoT, the wire have some sort of intrigue, this one looks like a drama with sex, no action or mystery.

The sex and drama is to cover the inner-hallowness these supposedly "have-it-alls" actually experience and attempt to cover it with materialism.

It is actually a satire of the advertising world and our materialistic nature in the larger sense.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

It's on Netflix yes.
Sorry but GOT isn't even in the top 10.

1. The Sopranos
2. Mad Men
3. The Wire
4. Breaking Bad
5. The Shield
6. Seinfeld
7. Six feet Under
8. The West Wing
9. Friends
10. The Simpsons/Battlestar Galactica

[MENTION=139150]aliasad1998[/MENTION] whaddya think?

I agree with a lot of that list but didn’t you say you hate friends? I haven’t seen Six feet under, mad men or battle star galactica. Need to watch all 3.

 

[TM Riddle]

I agree with a lot of that list but didn’t you say you hate friends? I haven’t seen Six feet under, mad men or battle star galactica. Need to watch all 3.

Yes I'm not a big fan of friends but I feel the impact it had on American television and the unprecedented global success it enjoyed puts it on par with one of the greats. Not my type of TV but impact wise it deserves a mention.

 

[Mamoon]

I really need to give Breaking Bad another go. I am not a contrarian when it comes to movies and shows. I admire all the highly acclaimed ones that I have watched, but I could never connect with Breaking Bad and never understood the hype.

I find it extremely overrated, but perhaps I missed something that others did not. Would probably give it another ago after finish binge watching Friends for the 10th time.

 

[TM Riddle]

I really need to give Breaking Bad another go. I am not a contrarian when it comes to movies and shows. I admire all the highly acclaimed ones that I have watched, but I could never connect with Breaking Bad and never understood the hype.

I find it extremely overrated, but perhaps I missed something that others did not. Would probably give it another ago after finish binge watching Friends for the 10th time.

Your views on mad men?

 

[Mamoon]

Your views on mad men?

Haven’t watched it yet. Somehow, I always end up not watching Mad Men and The Sopranos after deciding to give them a go.

Surely one day though.

 

[shaz619]

I never thought this show was under rated, it has generally been regarded as one of the best ever. Thing is shows like Mad Men and LOST came out a while back so we forget how popular they were during their prime, GOT is the flavour of the month and with social media in the current gen and one of the golden eras for entertainment in general especially from the POV of demand; the shows popularity is inflated, had it released around 07 I can see it enjoying similar levels of popularity as the best shows of that decade.

Gave Mad Men a go many many years ago, it was very very good but I never continued it for one reason or another, I probably will give it another go at some point with a new set of eyes as well.

 

[Devilsadvokat]

Surely one day though.

Yeah, I actually had the 'one day' experience with Mad Men. Obviously I had come across it on popular culture but it never came on my viewing radar. At a loose end, googled top 5 shows Netflix and of the ones in the list at the time the most famous one was MM.

General rule of thumb imo you have to give something new four episodes, this is duration for the mind to come to terms with watching something that might give no return.

MM is pure escapist indulgence, rich and I envy you that you can still undergo the MM experience, remember at least 4 episodes.

In that top 10, I am surprised no mention has been made of imo all 3 seasons of Fargo, it is as efficient in dialogue as any of its peers. The ever changing all star cast, great viewing.

 

[TM Riddle]

Yeah, I actually had the 'one day' experience with Mad Men. Obviously I had come across it on popular culture but it never came on my viewing radar. At a loose end, googled top 5 shows Netflix and of the ones in the list at the time the most famous one was MM.

General rule of thumb imo you have to give something new four episodes, this is duration for the mind to come to terms with watching something that might give no return.

MM is pure escapist indulgence, rich and I envy you that you can still undergo the MM experience, remember at least 4 episodes.

In that top 10, I am surprised no mention has been made of imo all 3 seasons of Fargo, it is as efficient in dialogue as any of its peers. The ever changing all star cast, great viewing.

Which show you think Fargo should replace in my top ten list above and why?

Mind you it's a great piece of television and so are Better call Saul, Twilight Zone, Blackadder etc but top 10 nah that's too much.

 

[Devilsadvokat]

Which show you think Fargo should replace in my top ten list above and why?

Mind you it's a great piece of television and so are Better call Saul, Twilight Zone, Blackadder etc but top 10 nah that's too much.

My apologies I _never_ meant to write 'In that top 10. After all it is subjective. I just wanted to say no one has mentioned Fargo which has a good chance of being in my top ten.

Literally answering your question I would say at least six on your list as I have not six shows on your list. Maybe when compililing lists it be handy list those one hasn't seen (I know that could run into thousands but you know what I mean).

Peaky Blinders, True detective (I was a fan of the second season too), would be ahead of Fargo.

 

[shaz619]

My apologies I _never_ meant to write 'In that top 10. After all it is subjective. I just wanted to say no one has mentioned Fargo which has a good chance of being in my top ten.

Literally answering your question I would say at least six on your list as I have not six shows on your list. Maybe when compililing lists it be handy list those one hasn't seen (I know that could run into thousands but you know what I mean).

Peaky Blinders, True detective (I was a fan of the second season too), would be ahead of Fargo.

Fargo individual stand alone seasons are right up there with the greatest of all time, as it's an anthology product it wont find itself rated amongst orthodox TV series as much I suppose. But among anthology series it is arguably the greatest ever although from the top of my head there are not many high profile ones out there outside True Detective, American Horror Story, Lore and Black Mirror.

 

[Devilsadvokat]

Started to rewatch but as I have given up smoking (well it has been nearly two weeks), it is going to be a tougher watch second time round.

 

[Chrish]

Wish Fargo would have been picked up by HBO. I prefer rated R version without any censorship restrictions.

The show is rated MA but still has been toned down a lot due to airing on FX

 

[Devilsadvokat]

Wish Fargo would have been picked up by HBO. I prefer rated R version without any censorship restrictions.

The show is rated MA but still has been toned down a lot due to airing on FX

This thread is about Mad Men.

 

[Chrish]

This thread is about Mad Men.

In that case you might wanna follow your own advice

 

[Devilsadvokat]

In that case you might wanna follow your own advice

I loved Fargo. Which season was best for you. Movie too.

I only pointed it out because you got wrong thread twice on the trot.

 

[Robert]

Looks genuinely boring to me.

Top shows like Breaking Bad, GoT, the wire have some sort of intrigue, this one looks like a drama with sex, no action or mystery.

It started off truly fascinating as a period piece, given that 1960 USA was so different to the modern world in terms of the position of women, blacks and gays.

As it moved through the sixties it started to become more familiar, catching up with today.

The stories of Peggy and Joan told of the struggles of women to gain credibility. Mrs Robert was very fond of Joan and always shouted for her when she was challenged.

The character of Don was multilayered though I felt he lost a bit of intrigue after the big reveal at the end of season one.