The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME

G - M

I Love Lucy

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The sitcom that by now is almost a synonym for "classic" got that way by doing all the things that everyone at the time knew you weren't supposed to do. You couldn't have a female star who was both attractive and funny. You couldn't have her male lead be an urban Latino—playing those devil conga drums at that!—whose Cuban accent was thicker than a platter of ropa vieja. You couldn't for God's sake build a storyline around a (gasp!) pregnancy. Lucille Ball's contributions to TV's past are so obvious—Vitameatavegamin, the Tropicana Club, the slapstick routines—that it's better to note what this show says about today's future: sometimes the greatest sign of a future-classic TV show is that it doesn't look like classic TV.

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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