A Fool's Utopia 5.15.08: The Best 20 Things I've Seen on TV

Posted by Ron Martin on 05.15.2008

This week in one man's utopia I take a look at all the TV I have watched in my lifetime and pick out my best 20 moments. I know I forgot something.

As a general rule, I try to stay away from columns like this. Sure, lists of the Top whatevers are easy and you'd probably open the link just so you'd have the right to call me an idiot because I obviously am. Obviously. There are a ton of lists for you to read on any given week on 411: regular columns that are lists, special columns of lists and even every once in awhile huge compiled lists. So here I am this week to give you another one. The formula really is pretty simple. I'm in Disneyworld while you're reading this, so I figured I'd give you guys something quick and easy to read while giving you ample opportunity to spout off your opinion. You love it, don't you?

Here were the rules. The Top 20 Things I Have Seen on TV was compiled as such: I had to see it on TV in either reruns or live; it had to air or have run regularly in syndication in my time (meaning since the early 1980s) and everything from the evening news to really good commercials were eligible. Remember this is a personal list. By no means is it definitive. I am absolutely sure that I left off some really good stuff, but I've been thinking about this for a week and these are the things that stand out.

Honorable Mentions:

Reggie Miller scores 8 points in 9 seconds
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Ghost Hunters Live Halloween Special 2006: The Stanley Hotel
The Twilight Zone
Mankind wins the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

20. Michael J Fox's last episode of Spin City
I was never a huge fan of Spin City. When I saw the show in syndication, it was always funny but never enough to make me a regular viewer of the first run shows. Then Michael J came down with the Parkinson's and everything changed. I watched Spin City for the one and only time in its regular first run spot. It was a great episode. They went out of their way to make it feel special not only for Michael J, but for the audience by not only giving him an excellent (and seemingly truthful and honestly emotional) good-bye scene but by bringing in old co-stars from Family Ties and referencing his old character. Me likey.

19. 100 Scariest Moments…
I know it's kind of gay that a list makes it on my list of greats. However, I was glued to my TV the first time this thing came on and still find it hard to turn the channel when it pops up every now and then in reruns. I have never seen a bigger collection of talent together in one countdown. Everyone who was anyone in the horror genre was involved with the countdown. While I thought a few of their rankings were a bit off, I suppose that's a quality of a great list. If everyone agreed, it wouldn't be a good list at all. Remember that.



18. Roseanne and the Beckys
A show that can laugh at itself is a show that I will watch. Never was this more prevalent than in Roseanne and the interaction of the characters to both Lecy Goranson and Sarah Chalke as they each played the role of Becky Conner. Lecy was the original, but when she headed off to college, Sarah took over. Lecy finally came back and the games begun. It started in her first scene back when she unexpectedly showed up in a scene to bring Roseanne paint. Roseanne quipped that it had seemed like three years since she'd asked her to get that paint (seeing as that was the time she was off the show). After that everything was fair game as the two girls alternating playing the character or periods of time. One episode they even alternated playing Becky every scene. What's better than that?

17. The last episode of Newhart
See #18. The biggest in joke to ever hit the small screen was the last episode of the show Newhart where we all learn the show was just a dream of Bob's and he was actually still living in the world created by The Bob Newhart Show from the 70s complete with Suzanne Plachette. Considered one of the best moments in TV history, it certainly fits on my list. I was a fan of the show and watched this as it aired. A little Newhart trivia: Lisa Kudrow played on the Darryl's wives in the last episode.



16. The I Love series
I Love the 80s, 90s, Toys, Holidays, whatever. Vh1 and I have a weird love/hate relationship. They found a format that I love but I hate myself for it. Present me with things and have funny people talk about it. What a novel approach. It seems silly, but I've watched every VH1 show with I Love in the title. I'm such a whore. For the quick thinkers in the audience, perhaps you've put together the fact that it was these shows that inspired the RETRO section that I usually have in this column. You're so smart. But you're ugly, so it evens out.

15. Post 9-11 baseball
I'm not a baseball fan. I don't live in New York, I've only been there once. Of course, the terrible attacks of September 11th affected me as much as anyone else in the country. I was down for weeks. I was sad. I was mad. I was scared. I was also curious. I'm always a little bit curious when these sorts of things happen. Curious to watch the people – see how they react. Now, I didn't see these things live and they weren't broadcast on my TV but seeing just the highlights of two of the most affected sports teams in the country once baseball continued was enough. To see the fans of Boston sing Sinatra's "New York, New York" to their hated rivals and to see the crowd just release emotion after the Mets' Mike Piazza belted a homerun was awe-inspiring and heart warming. America, through it's national pastime, had gotten it's mojo back.

14. Planet Earth
I've lived with The Discovery Channel, The Travel Channel and Animal Planet for over a decade now. Let me tell you that nothing I've seen on those stations prior or since the airing of this series is even close in quality to Planet Earth. I think that it's safe to say that this six episode set has the most amazing snapshots of our mother planet that exist today. If you are not awestruck watching these films then you are either blind or on your way to being a serial killer. Watching the documentaries of every nook and cranny of Earth causes you to stare blankly at the TV and then get angry when it's over. You want more even though it took the filmmakers three years to get the one five minute shot. No better view of Earth exist.



13. The 1998 Eastern Conference Finals
Indiana Pacers vs. Chicago Bulls. See – told you this was a personal list. The rise of the Pacers in the 1990s made me a follower of the NBA. The only thing that held the Pacers from championships in those days were the Knicks and the refs. The Bulls won 6 championships in the 90s while the Pacers would go onto the Eastern Conference finals 6 times. Oddly enough this was the two teams' only meeting in the playoffs. This was the year that the Bulls had the record for most wins in a season and only one eastern team managed a .500 record against them – that being the Pacers. Each team swept the other at home in this series that would start with two blowouts and end up with nail biter finishes in each of the rest of the games including game winners by both Reggie Miller and Michael Jordan. I am no longer a fan of NBA basketball, but if there were a DVD of this series – I'd be all over it.

12. Late Night with David Letterman
Say what you want about ol' Dave, but the man makes me laugh. He's gotten softer since his massive heart surgery, but Dave can be a lot harder on his guest than any of his contemporaries. Leno might get better ratings because of the old Baby Boomer vote, but anyone who matters knows that Dave's show is by far better entertainment. Dave is one of two (Eddie Murphy being the other) men on the planet that can make me laugh with just a facial expression. Laughing out loud that is. By myself. If you can do that, than my hats off to you.

11. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
I waxed poetic about The Great Pumpkin last year around Halloween. I'm going to do it again. Charles Schulz could have had no idea what he was creating back in the 1960's when he popped this one out. The Great Pumpkin somehow manages to capture every detail of the holiday without overproduction or getting too cute. There's a reason that this Halloween special is the only one that survives until this very day. Is it October and you just don't feel in the season? Pop in The Great Pumpkin and you'll have no choice. Even the much hated Snoopy-Red Baron scene has spooky music to offer. By the way who is the kid who salutes Snoopy on the way out the door?



10. Northern Exposure Seasons 1-4
I got the theme song stuck in my head now. The story of Dr. Joel Fleishmann and his practice in Sicily, Alaska may not appeal to everyone. There's not a whole lot of action, not a whole lot of flash. That's exactly what I love about it. If there was a class on how to write a character based television show, they should just show this show over and over again. Each character interacts with the others quirkiness with ease and interest. When an episode is finished it leaves you with the satisfaction of the perfect sized meal. Try and explain to someone why Northern Exposure is so good and you just can't. It just is.



9. The Original Dream Team
I was in the middle of my NBA phase when these guys were assembled, but it may have been a given that I needn't have been. Many other supposed "Dream Teams" have followed but none will ever be better than this one. When John Stockton is the 11th guy on your bench, you're sitting pretty. Watching these guys defeat the competition at the Olympics by 50-60 points every game was as close as I've ever come to watching men with superpowers. I would say this team could not be approved on, but wasn't Christian Laettner the last guy? Yeah, Christian f'ing Laettner.

8. Thriller
Those of you who are not kids of the 80s just don't understand. There was a day when the music video was everything. I'm not saying that it doesn't mean anything today, but it's importance has been greatly diminished. Thriller at the time was on its way to becoming the top selling album of all time so it needed to deliver with it's music video. I think we can rack this one as living up to they hype. With a voiceover from horror guru Vincent Price and directions from the great John Landis, Thriller would become the most memorable video of all time. Don't think so? It's still #1 on a ton of top videos of all time countdowns and is still being parodied in Super Bowl commercials from 2008.



7. A Christmas Story
For background on this one go reread #11. It's the same here only exchange 1960s with 1980s and Halloween for Christmas. A Christmas season is not complete until a viewing of A Christmas Story has happened. The most ingenius thing ever? Not playing A Christmas Story all month until Christmas Eve and then playing it twelve times in a row. You think it's overkill, but it makes it an event. This is an event people! Like It's A Great Pumpkin, A Christmas Story captures the magic of Christmas perfectly. The amazing thing is that the story takes place in the 40s and without even a TV!

6. Saturday Night Live
I know sometimes it's vogue to make fun of SNL and I love to join in. The great thing about the show is that this year sucked, but maybe next year will be better. How can you not rank a show that has produced so many huge stars and given us so many memorable moments? From Andy Kaufman to Ashley Simpson, SNL always entertains me in some way or another. It's like comfort food. I sleep well knowing that no matter how bad things are, at 11:30 PM on Saturdays, SNL will be there for me.



5. The Wizard of Oz
I know, I know – this is a movie not a TV show. Well, so was A Christmas Story, bitches! Flip through the channels when Wizard is on and see if you can keep flipping. Wizard has become much more than a movie – it's become an event. There was a time when Wizard was on only once a year. I would sit in front of the TV for a good hour before it came on in anticipation. I don't still do that, but whenever I see it a little smile grows on my face. And yes, I am straight.

4. Cheers
In my opinion, this is the greatest sitcom of all time. All the seasons it ran, there were never "very special" episodes. It never got preachy. It went through two major cast changes and still managed to be just as if not funnier than it was before. Very few major sitcoms are able to pull this off. I can't think of any sitcom that went as long as Cheers and maintained an equal level of quality all the way through. There were no kids growing up, no major setting change. Cheers was a bar in Boston in the first episode and still was in the last episode. In between, it made a lot of people laugh – myself included.

3. Wrestlemania XX
I realize that WM XVII was probably a better card, but I didn't see than one live. WM XX was the last PPV I ever bought. The Return of the Taker, Angle vs. Eddie, Christian vs. Jericho, the Rock's last PPV and HHH vs. HBK vs. Benoit. I liked Benoit, but I wasn't his biggest fan. Despite that, I was standing in front of my TV telling HHH to tap. That's how good the match was. My favorite wrestler (Christian) got a win and the girl, the spectacle that was Goldberg vs. Lesnar and the Rock N' Sock back together again. One of the best Wrestlemania's ever and one that I will always remember. Mostly because I taped it off PPV.

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Seasons 1-5
I'm biased. I'm a Whedonite. Before this show I had never seen one with such clever, dramatic and humorous writing. Then Season Six came and everything went to hell, but that's for another countdown. The first five seasons of Buffy is some of the best TV ever with the midway point of Season Two to the end of Season Three as the best episodic TV in the history of the medium. Even the bad episodes were pretty good. This show had everything a TV fan could want: drama, comedy, horror, wit and continuity. It doesn't seem like it should be that hard, but no one has been able to duplicate it yet.




1. 2007 AFC Championship Game
I told you this was a very personal countdown. This was the big showdown between the hometown Indianapolis Colts and the much hated New England Patriots. The New England Patriots who routinely kicked the Colts in the groin in playoffs past. The enemy got up by quite a bit early making me turn off my TV. I turned it back on just in time to see Peyton Manning and crew mount a momentous comeback capping it off with a game winning TD with a minute to go. This would lead to the Super Bowl which was somewhat anticlimactic against the Bears whom I hold no personal grudge against. This was the only time a team I root for won a championship while I was rooting for them. I can watch this game all day every day and love it every time.

I must leave you now.

I'll be back next week with a more traditional column. Until then, I got to go find a mouse!