TV: All-Time Greatest, Nos. 75-51
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75. Beverly Hills, 90210
Fox, 1990-2000
Wholesome Minnesota twins Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda (Shannen Doherty) moved to the tony zip and tackled issues like sex, divorce, suicide, poverty, and Color Me Badd. Even the replacement cast and receding hairlines of season 10 couldn't tarnish the brilliance that was 1991's summer season.
74. Homeland
Showtime, 2011-present
Exploring CIA intelligence and terrorism paranoia in America, this thriller feels just as timely as anything on CNN — and is way more fun to watch.
73. Six Feet Under
HBO, 2001-05
Set in the Fishers' family-run funeral home, this deep and deeply quirky drama offered a range of exhilarating highs (those final 10 minutes — damn!) that overcame its rather disappointing lows (Michael C. Hall's David getting carjacked).
72. Battlestar Galactica
Syfy, 2003-09
A submarine thriller in space, a post-9/11 religio-political allegory, and a truly bleak romantic comedy, it was also just frakking addictive TV.
71. Beavis and Butt-head
MTV, 1993-97
The decline of civilization, as hilariously embodied by two noxious, obnoxious headbanging teens. Heh-heh. We said ''banging.''
70. Will & Grace
NBC, 1998-2005
Take it away, Joe Biden! ''I think Will & Grace probably did more to educate the American public [on gay issues] than almost anything anybody's ever done so far.''
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Amazon
69. Star Trek: The Next Generation
Syndicated, 1987-94
Assimilating legions of new fans into the cult of Trek, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his enterprising crew boldly proved that cerebral sci-fi storytelling still has a place on the small screen.
68. Family
ABC, 1976-80
An unusually quiet, uncommonly literate suburban-family drama, starring fine actors Sada Thompson and James Broderick (Mike Nichols exec-produced, a rare TV credit for him). This modestly rated series made Kristy McNichol and Meredith Baxter Birney famous.
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Amazon
67. The Prisoner
ITV, 1967-68
This head-trip suspense thriller was one of television's great experiments. Star and co-creator Patrick McGoohan played a Brit ex-secret agent trapped in ''the Village,'' a quaint hamlet with sinister rulers. Every week, he tried to escape; many weeks, a giant balloon trapped him, preventing him from fleeing (yes, this was TV in the swinging '60s).
66. Chappelle's Show
Comedy Central, 2003-06
Not only was Dave Chappelle an expert at wringing laughs from race on his delirious sketch show, he totally was Rick James, bitch!
65. Doctor Who
BBC, 1963-present
A cultural institution as much as a show, the series has long taken the ridiculous — an eccentric humanoid alien with a time-traveling police box — and made it sublime. If its wonderful silliness doesn't warm your heart(s), you may be a Dalek.
64. Modern Family
ABC, 2009-present
Featuring six adults, six kids, and a thousand ways to a punchline, Modern is that rare family comedy that is both well-rounded and slightly edgy. (See: three consecutive Outstanding Comedy Emmys.) Its brisk jokes are meticulously crafted, and its depiction of a mature gay relationship is the most resonant that we've seen on a TV comedy since, well, ever.
63. Absolutely Fabulous
BBC, 1992-2012
Sweetie, darling, there's very little that's politically correct or socially redeeming about this brilliantly boozy Brit import concerning middle-aged besties Edina, a PR agent, and Patsy, a fashion editor. Where else could you hear a line like ''I don't do holidays. Everybody's a nobody in a bikini''?
62. Homicide: Life on the Street
NBC, 1993-99
Based on reporting from David Simon — who also created The Wire — this ferociously downbeat yet exhilarating cop show made a star of Andre Braugher as terse Frank Pembleton and included a superb supporting cast ranging from Melissa Leo to Daniel Baldwin.
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Amazon
61. Dallas
CBS, 1978-91
Look up ''cliff-hanger'' in the dictionary, and Dallas — particularly the mystery of who shot lovable scoundrel J.R. — should be listed. The tale of greed and the oil-obsessed Ewing family was potent enough to run for 14 seasons, and then spawn a successful reboot on TNT, picking up 20 years later in the summer of 2012.
60. Deadwood
HBO, 2004-06
Creator David Milch's bawdy, grungy reinvention of the Western featured a career-making performance by Ian McShane as swearin' Al Swearengen, and provided a showcase for a purty face named Timothy Olyphant.
59. Freaks and Geeks
NBC, 1999-2000
A short-lived dramedy about high school underdogs — played by future stars like Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segel, and Linda Cardellini — that masterfully mined heartbreak and humor in the cranniest of nooks.
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Amazon
58. Sex and the City
HBO, 1998-2004
The sex was fun, the locations chic, and the clothes out of this world, but the greatest legacy of HBO's pioneering series about the life and times of Carrie Bradshaw is how lovingly it celebrated New York City and the power of female friendship.
57. The Shield
FX, 2002-08
The journey of Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), a corrupt cop with his own brand of street justice, ended with a gut punch of a series finale — showing a man who was ultimately punished for his many crimes, but not in the way anyone expected.
56. 30 Rock
NBC, 2006-13
Mining her experience at Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey played the prickly, winningly uncool, sandwich-loving head writer of a sketch-comedy show who thrived on managing the egos of her wacko stars and her maddeningly superior boss (Alec Baldwin at his most sublime).
55. thirtysomething
ABC, 1987-91
A show about yuppie baby boomers struggling with marriages, careers, and friendships could have been annoying. But in the hands of Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, along with excellent actors, it was funny, inventive, and sometimes devastating (R.I.P. Gary).
54. NYPD Blue
ABC, 1993-2005
The network-TV landscape was forever altered after 12 years of this Emmy-winning cop saga, which introduced viewers to a groundbreakingly raw style of detective drama. (And Dennis Franz's naked butt.)
53. American Idol
Fox, 2002-present
The long-running series has produced stars like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, set the template for musical-competition shows in the U.S., and turned a cranky, brush-haired Brit named Simon Cowell into an unlikely icon.
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Amazon
52. Soap
ABC, 1977-81
Built on an ingenious conceit, the series parodied daytime soaps with a mixture of absurdist humor (Chuck and his mind-reading ventriloquist's dummy, Bob), social commentary (Billy Crystal as Jodie, one of TV's first gay characters), and truly poignant family drama.
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Amazon
51. The West Wing
NBC, 1999-2006
Aaron Sorkin and a perfectly cast group of loquacious characters gave us the best walking and talking and debating and flirting and faith-in-government-restoring TV show of all time.
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