The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME

"First, I apologize. I know I left some of your favorite shows off this list. How do I know that? Because I left some of my favorite shows off this list. The happy and unfortunate fact is that there are far more than 100 great shows, and more created every year. Lists are incredibly important: they are how we define what matters to us, what we want entertainment and art to do, what we expect of our culture."
—TIME TV critic James Poniewozik

Sesame Street

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Recognizing that television was going to be an electronic babysitter whether anyone liked it or not, Jim Henson and his Muppets provided a safe, friendly haven that spoofed the media world that kids were immersed in when the show wasn't on. From Kermit's news reports to Guy Smiley's game shows to Elmo's World, Sesame Street has been filled with shows within shows, which take the commercial TV world's come-ons and apply them to educational building blocks. Along the way, kids have learned about friendship, cooperation and even (through Mr. Hooper) death. The show's format has evolved over the years (recently taking cues from hits like Blue's Clues and Dora the Explorer), but it remains one of the savviest things ever brought to kids by the letters T and V.

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  1. Scientology : The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power
  2. Workers of the World vs. China Inc.
  3. The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
  4. The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell
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  7. Florida Grapples With Its Deadly Hit-and-Run Car Culture
  8. If Women Were More Like Men: Why Females Earn Less
  9. Bible-Belt Catholics
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