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In no particular order these are my top 10 favourite TV shows, and favourite character from each show.
Family Guy. Seth McFarlane’s satire on American society, pop culture jokes, silly humour that makes tears pour down your cheeks – FG is comedy gold. The cutaways are legend. The characters are all ridiculous apart from Brian and Stewie, my two favourites. FG takes the piss out of stuff we all think about in real life. At times the humour can be a bit crass and far-fetched, and newer seasons are more repetitive and less interesting than older seasons, but overall it’s a huge fav.
American Dad. Another Seth McFarlane show. I’ve come to believe that AD is better than FG. The characters are more likeable and well developed, the storylines are better, and the humour is less stupid than FG. Let’s not forget Roger, the crazy sociopathic alien who owns fifty per cent of the awesomeness of the show. Sometimes I really hate Roger, other times I just think he’s hilarious. My favourite character is Steve, who’s adorable and a wicked R&B singer.
The Simpsons. The original; better than both FG and AD. Every episode is well-written and interesting, with different plots and storylines everytime. There are so many seasons and I haven’t seen all of them, but it’s great to see a show that came out before I was born still going strong. Fav character: Lisa Simpson. My brother often compares me to her. Sigh, I do feel like Lisa at times.
The Sopranos. One of the best TV shows ever made. It’s funny, thrilling, action packed; at times philosophical and tragic. Excellent (albeit often unlikeable) characters who are relatable, realistic and flawed. A brilliant show about the mafia and the life of gangster Tony Soprano balancing life between his family, his work and his therapy sessions. My favourite character in the show is Tony’s therapist Dr Melfi. She acts almost like the voice of reason and morality throughout the show (though even she’s guilty of treating/being drawn to a mobster). Tony lies, cheats, steals, and kills, but he is also vulnerable and loving to those he cares about. Altogether a brilliant show that shows the complexity of humans.
Oz. Thank God for online streaming making it possible to watch these 90s HBO shows. Humorous, dark, raw and gritty, Oz is a drama about life in a high security male prison full of rapists, murderers, Neo-Nazis, addicts, and the like. It’s every man for himself, even when he’s part of a clique. Oz highlights the social segregation still prominent in 90s America; Latinos, Muslims, Aryans, Italian gangsters – everyone sticks to their own ‘crew’, unless they’re a loner who double crosses everyone to survive like Ryan O’Reilly. My favourite characters in Oz are Ryan O’Reilly, Tobias Beecher, Karim Syed and Augustus Hill – the latter who is the narrator throughout the entire show. I won’t go into depths about their characters but if you haven’t seen Oz then it’s a show worth watching.
Sex and the City. A fun, hilarious show that highlights womanhood and female companionship, much better than lame modern rom-coms. It’s a show about the friendship of four women and their lives – mainly sex lives – in the city (i.e. New York). It also highlights marriage, motherhood, careers, education, and day to day issues surrounding modern women. All four of them are well-developed as characters. I relate most to Carrie, the writer and narrator of the show, but my favourite is Samantha. Feisty, fun, free-spirited and strong-willed, Samantha is the only one out of the four that never once annoys me. A great show for girls and women alike.
The Inbetweeners. YES, the first (and only) British show on this list. The Inbetweeners is a funny show aimed at teenagers that exaggerates the horny awkward teenage boy – or boys, as there are four of them. I’ve seen every episode a thousand times as there are only three seasons; loved the first movie, thought the second one was good but not as good. A great show if you want to have a laugh. I have a soft spot for hilarious Will, who I’m probably most like, being a bit of an arrogant brainiac. Thankfully I’m not as awkward as him though.
Daria. Another 90s show which I’ve recently discovered online. Daria is a coming-of-age cartoon teen show that used to run on MTV. It’s about a sarcastic, fiercely intellectual and anti-social teenage girl named Daria who’s outcast from pretty much everyone at her school apart from her best friend Jane, a cool and funny artist. Daria is probably one of my favourite characters ever, she says things that we’re all thinking but not saying, like FG does. A funny show that lets you sit back and laugh at how stupid us humans can be.
Totally Spies. Probably my favourite show as a child – only reason it’s on the list is because I still watch it on YouTube from time to time. A wicked cartoon about three teenage girls who are spies. They’re glamorous and girly but they also kick ass and go on dangerous missions. They all have unique personalities and are definitely strong cut-throat females. My favourite is Sam, again because I always felt most like her. I love Sam because she’s the smartest and reads a lot. Clover’s very over-dramatic and Miss Fashionista and Alex is more sweet and naive. But I love all of them and I love the show, was one of the best things about my childhood.
The Big Bang Theory. So last but not least, to end is another American comedy show. There’s not much to say about it – it’s hilarious, light-hearted raw comedy with entertaining characters and storylines. My favourite is Sheldon, because he’s hilarious. He’s that character that makes the show, like Roger from AD or Stewie from FG. Also love Penny; she’s dumb but has a heart of gold, and Leonard is a sweetie – I’d totally date him if he were less needy.
So yeah, there’s my list of (mostly American) comedies or dramas. Comedies, dramas and psychological thrillers are my favourite genres in general when it comes to film or TV. Leave a comment if you like any of these shows too or have a particular show you love. Thanks for reading!
Note: this post is from 2017, and I since wrote another list of my favourite TV shows which you can check out here.
