re: Rank the best TV series in the last 10 years or so as provided.

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Sometimes I hate this site for people's inability to follow simple, idiot-proof guidelines.

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Well you cant come on here and go "These are the best TV shows of the past decade rank them and dont debate that!!!"


If he wanted those specific shows ranked he couldve just said "rank these shows"

The Shield
Justified
The wire
Dexter
Game of thrones (but will get higher as more seasons come out)
Breaking bad
Firefly (would be higher if they did more seasons)
Sopranos
Boardwalk Empire(I'm kind of at a crossroads on this one, sometimes really good but sometimes really bad)
Mad men (never seen)

Well shite if we can add The Shield and Boardwalk Empire I'll edit to include.

Can't say best shows of the last decade and leave off two of the most critically acclaimed shows ever: Arrested Developement and Friday Night Lights.

I don't think Firefly should be on this list of ranking great shows. The few episodes we got are awesome, but it didn't last long enough to deserve to be in these type of ranking threads, much like Freaks & Geeks.

That said:

Dexter
Firefly
The Sopranos
Game of Thrones
Breaking Bad
The Wire
Mad Men
Justified

Game of Thrones is an awesome current show, but it should be no where near the top of the list as of now.

I think people are still judging it based on what the books achieved and not the show. Its only the 3rd season.

ETA:

Lost
Sherlock
The Wire
Breaking Bad
Sopranos
Battlestar Galactica
Luther
Mad Men
The Shield
Justified
Dexter
Boardwalk Empire

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Sopranos. Groundbreaking, maybe, bot so boring.

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I think Sopranos gets a bit too much credit for being the groundbreaking series. First off, the first HBO drama is Oz, which is every bit as challenging and groundbreaking as Sopranos (well, let's pretend the 5th season didn't happen). Sopranos had the good fortune to be groundbreaking AND popular. It caught the lightning in the bottle.

But as far as the proto-show which "changed everything about TV", that show is clearly Twin Peaks. Without Twin Peaks, the Golden Era of TV doesn't happen. At least not the same way. I like Sopranos, but I think it should be judged on its merits rather than getting bonus points for creating the Modern Era. Unless we're going to give the same credit to Homicide, Twin Peaks, Oz, and let's be honest, the Simpsons.

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not gonna put Deadwood and Rome in there?

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These are both tough to rate but for different reasons.

I'd put the first season of Rome up against anything ever produced, including the The Wire. There's a big falloff midway of the second season but they did the best they could to wrap it up after the cancellation. But even in the rushed second season it was probably the best casting in TV history. Every single actor nailed it.

Deadwood is just such a unique show; with the brilliant dialogue and the darker than dark characters which were mostly based on real life villains. And of course the WTF moment of all WTF moments when they ended the show to concentrate on John From Cinncinati. Again, what the frick was that?

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was this just before most peoples time? Most people are all "Sopranos this, Sporanos that" without ever mentioning OZ. OZ was awesome, sans the last season and all the gay sex.

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that's what gets me. Oz debuted in 1997. Sopranos in 1999. hell, it was the success of Oz that allowed HBO to greenlight another drama series. Had Oz failed, Sopranos never happens and we never get the HBO run of shows.

No love for Homeland in this thread?

I haven't watched all of the provided shows in the OP, but my list would be as follows (sorry OP):

Game of Thrones
Homeland
The Sopranos
Boardwalk Empire
Mad Men
Dexter

I have been meaning to get into Breaking Bad, I just haven't had the time. I watched most of the first season and it was incredible but I haven't seen enough to make it on my list. The same goes with The Wire.