‘sopranos’ named #1 by wga-tv guide: hammond on what series were snubbed

Here’s the full list of the 101 Best Written TV Shows Of All Time revealed tonight by the Writers Guild of America and their sponsor TV Guide in an event at the WGA theatre in Beverly Hills.

 This one seems tailored to some very short memories, or perhaps it is just designed to sell magazines for TV Guide. Voted on by the WGA membership in May 2012, this list does not have any

completely disastrous embarrassments among the shows chosen. But there are a number of ridiculously shocking omissions in my opinion. In summary, the WGA membership could and should have

done a lot better. It’s a slap to what many called the Golden Era of television – the 1950s and 1960s – because only a single show from that era, Rod Serling’s _The Twilight Zone (_1959), 

was deemed worthy enough to make the top 10. The rest of the top 10 were all from 1970 forward: HBO’s _The Sopranos _led followed by #2 _Seinfeld, _#3 _Twilight Zone _(1959), #4_ All In The

Family, _#5_ M*A*S*H, _#6_ The Mary Tyler Moore Show, _#7_ Mad Men, _#8_ Cheers, _#9_ The Wire _and #10_ The West Wing_. Let the arguments begin. This TV list is a sequel of sorts to the

WGA’s 2005 roster of the Top 101 Screenplays which many still argue over (led by 1943’s _Casablanca _but inexplicably putting _Groundhog Day _at #27 well above classics like _Midnight

Cowboy, The Searchers, Psycho, The Bridge On The River Kwai, Rear Window, The Hustler, It Happened One Night, The African Queen_ and so on). It’s kind of fun to argue about such lists. But

this one seems to be a list that sadly leaves off a lot of TV’s finest series not to mention many of the writers who made the medium what it is today. That is why ultimately these lists mean

nothing. WATCH ON DEADLINE Of the 101 Top Series Of All Time, only 12 were in black and white to give you an idea of how skewed it istowards more modern tastes. There are only seven shows

from the 1950s included at all. Not a lot of long memories here in a list that completely omits bonafide classics like _The Untouchables, The Naked City, Alcoa Theatre, Studio One _and just

about any other example of the Golden Age of Live TV drama other than #65 _Playhouse 90. _It also ignores as well lesser known gems like the brilliant but short-lived 1960s series _East

Side, West Side _with George C. Scott and Cicely Tyson, and _The Senator_ with Hal Holbrook_,_ and _He And She, _the 1967 CBS sitcom that won three WGA script nominations in its sole season.

And yet much more recent examples of quickly cancelled gems did make the cut like _My So Called Life _and _Freaks And Geeks. _There was also no room for iconic westerns like _Bonanza_ or

_Have Gun Will Travel_, but at least _Gunsmoke_ honored the genre by showing up at #84. Although Norman Lear was on the WGA panel tonight, only one of his ground-breaking shows of the 1970s,

_All In The Family _(#4), made the list. But really there should have been room for _Maude _at the very least, a show that pushed the boundaries in its time as much as any other. And though

_The Mary Tyler Moore Show _deservedly made the list at #6, I would have loved its dramatic spin-off _Lou Grant _remembered, a show that took a sharp look at journalism. (You would think

writers of all people would recognize that.) Asked on the panel if he wishes he could bring it back, Jim Brooks said, “We’d be covering the death of journalism if we did that show today”.

Another bewildering example: the list includes _Late Night With David Letterman _(tied at #98 with FX’s_ Louie _and_ The Fugitive)_, and_ The Colbert Report (_#50), and _Daily Show With Jon

Stewart (_#17). But not the most influential late night show of all, _The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson_? WTF? Carson didn’t have writers to make him as good as he was? But what do you

expect from a list that has _I Love Lucy _(the recent #1 champ in the People Magazine-20/20 list of greatest TV shows of all time) at only #12 and just four spots above _Arrested

Development? _Is this a joke? And for that matter I would have included other sitcoms of that era including _The Danny Thomas Show _which spawned #70 _The Andy Griffith Show. _At least that

classic made it. Included in the evening was a sterling panel of TV’s top creators hosted by writer Merrill Markoe and including Norman Lear, Carl Reiner, Steven Bochco, James L. Brooks,

Matt Weiner (who should be happy since he wrote for two shows in the top 10), _Breaking Bad’s _Vince Gilligan, Gail Parent, Steve Levitan, Winnie Holzman and _Battlestar Galactica’s _Ronald 

D. Moore.