TV (The Book)

Two TV critics decide the 100 best US shows of all time, decided on overall quality (writing, performance, directing, editing), innovation, consistency, how much they changed TV overall,... Every entry in the top 100 gets their own essay saying why that show was so good and how it earned their place.

Mixed in with the top 100 there's also a few fun stuff like “Best Bosses” or “Best Cliffhangers” or simply “Best Pilots” and “Best Finales”. After the top 100 is done, there is also a section on current shows that may get their place in the “all-time best” if they don't drop in quality before their end, and also shows that had at least one outstanding season but didn't make it because the overall quality of the series was inconsistent.

I love TV, and I love finding out about TV and discussing TV, so I was a bit disappointed to find out I wasn't really familiar with a lot of shows from the Top 100, since a lot of them were from the 60s-90s era, and a lot of them were classic US shows that I never bothered to check out. But I was way more familiar when they got to the parts after that.

Even then, it's still fun to hear both Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall talk passionately about TV, even if you're not familiar with what they're referencing. Of course, in the print or digital book you get to skip around to shows you know and read their essays, but as I listened to the audiobook, I didn't have that luxury. That's a good thing though! I may have to check out some of those classic TV shows.