The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME

A - F

The French Chef

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Like many postwar Americans, Julia Child took a trip to France and had meals that changed the way she looked at food and eating. Fortunately for us, she brought back a doggie bag of knowledge and enthusiasm. Child's public-TV show taught Americans weaned on frozen and canned food that using fresh ingredients didn't make you superior, it just made you happier; that cooking needn't be intimidating; and that it was OK to make mistakes. Laughing off her kitchen flubs, employing cream and butter in amounts fit to kill an army and ushering America into the foodie era with a disarming warble, Child served up TV dinners that were actually good for us.

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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...

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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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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

100 Best Movies

Presenting the 100 best films as chosen by TIME's movie critics Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel

All-TIME 100 Albums

A list of the greatest and most influential records ever by Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light

100 Best Novels

TIME critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo pick the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present

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