The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME

A - F

The Dick Van Dyke Show

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TV has always loved to talk about itself, and this sitcom was the first in a line of classic shows set in the TV business. Unlike some of its cutthroat successors, DVD made the TV biz seem downright friendly, as Rob Petrie wrote sketches for the egotistical Alan Brady (Carl Reiner, in occasional guest shots) and cut up with pals Buddy Sorrell and Sally Rogers (Rose Marie, in a rare early role as working woman comic). But this hybrid series was also set half at home, and the comic chemistry between the dashing, ottoman-tripping Van Dyke and a smokin' young Mary Tyler Moore as Laura makes the show hold up even today.

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How I Chose The List

Adding to this list would be easy; taking shows off is the tricky part. How did I settle on this list? I set a few guidelines...

Talk Back

What is your all-time favorite TV show?

Which films should have been included and weren't? Did we leave off any of your favorites? Were any shows on the list more influential than others? Tell us what you think

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Tuned In

TIME's TV critic James Poniewozik blogs daily on all visual media. Join the discussion here

A - F

From Abbott and Costello to Friends

G - M

From General Hospital to Mystery Science Theater 3000

N - S

From The Odd Couple to Survivor

T - Z

From Taxi to Your Show of Shows

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