EWB's All-Time Favorite TV Show Tournament

[ruderrocket]

Edit: Double post, sorry!

Edited April 2, 2012 by ruderrocket

[ruderrocket]

Edit: Double post, sorry!

Edited April 2, 2012 by ruderrocket

[ruderrocket]

Edit: Double post, sorry.

Edited April 2, 2012 by ruderrocket

[ruderrocket]

Edit. Double post, sorry.

Edited April 2, 2012 by ruderrocket

[ruderrocket]

Edit. Double post, sorry.

Edited April 2, 2012 by ruderrocket

[buck...]

1) The Simpsons vs. 16) Boston Legal

8) House vs. 9) Oz

5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 12) Deadwood

4) The Sopranos vs. 13) Father Ted

6) Firefly vs. 11) Smallville

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie

7) 24 vs. 10) King of the Hill

2) Scrubs vs. 15) Roswell

[Nick Adams]

MOUNTAIN BRACKET

1) The Simpsons vs. 16) Boston Legal - I so wanted to vote for Shatner, but I couldn't in good conscience say that a spin-off of The Practice was better than one of the longest-running TV series ever

8) House vs. 9) Oz - "It's not TV, it's HBO." True in a way that HBO wasn't quite intending.

5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 12) Deadwood - Never seen either show, I like the premise of Deadwood more.

4) The Sopranos vs. 13) Father Ted - There is nothing that could make me vote for The Sopranos, and I've never even seen Father Ted

6) Firefly vs. 11) Smallville - If the final season of Smallville didn't exist, I would have voted for Firefly. However, I have two names: Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. Incorporating those into the mythos of the show made me love it.

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie - I liked the Dexter books, but after the first season, I just didn't get it.

7) 24 vs. 10) King of the Hill - Mike Judge's direction was great here. It's just a shame that one of the voice actors died far too young.

2) Scrubs vs. 15) Roswell - How many shows have actually survived being cancelled, moved to another network, then suddenly picked up on a third network for two more seasons? Even if I didn't enjoy it, it would get my vote.

[Josh]

1) The Simpsons vs. 16) Boston Legal - This kills me. I'm probably one of very few people who fucking LOVE Boston Legal, but . . . fuck man. It's The Simpsons. It's an All Time Top 5 choice for me, at least. Poor Boston Legal.

8) House vs. 9) Oz - Greg House is perhaps the best modern character creation since . . . Homer Simpson? I could be missing someone, but I honestly can't think of anyone. Plus, even if you feel House dropped off in the last 2 or 3 seasons, the first 5 or 6 were goddamn stellar. I'd honestly like to watch through Oz some time, but I cannot conceive of loving it the way that I do House.

5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 12) Deadwood - I've seen very little of both of these, but I have a soft spot for westerns.

4) The Sopranos vs. 13) Father Ted - Easy pick. Never seen Father Ted, but it can't possibly matter. The Sopranos might be the best TV drama of all time.

6) Firefly vs. 11) Smallville - Note what I said about Always Sunny vs. Deadwood, but add "space" to "western."

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie - Okay, pay attention here. I have no doubt that Dexter is really fucking good, at least in the initial seasons. But Louie? I'm can't think of a single bad episode. Moreover, Louie deftly takes on material that I would never trust in the hands of other shows - anything from masturbation to religion to suicide. It can be shockingly funny or deeply moving, and its shown the ability to do both in one episode. It has its very own point of view that cannot be found elsewhere, while most other shows will ultimately parrot each other at some point in time. I once saw Louie described (perhaps by someone on here?) as more akin to a series of short films than a sitcom. At the very least, it is miles beyond standard TV fare. I think Louie has the potential to transform what sitcoms are and even how they are made. Dexter may be very good, but it simply cannot touch Louie. At the very least, you owe it yourself to watch the episode titled "Duckling."

7) 24 vs. 10) King of the Hill - I saw the whole first season of 24. I saw no further need for the series past that. If not for The Simpsons, King of the Hill would be the very best modern animated series. Even then, it's one of history's best sitcoms and sorely overlooked.

2) Scrubs vs. 15) Roswell - Never cared for Roswell. Scrubs was far from perfect, but it entertained me on more than one occasion.

Some video evidence for a couple of my picks:

A brief look at Louie. (Um. Probably NSFW.)

A father/son scene from King of the Hill.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I thought KOTH was on the chopping block before Brittany Murphy's death?

1) The Simpsons vs. 16) Boston Legal

8) House vs. 9) Oz

5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 12) Deadwood

4) The Sopranos vs. 13) Father Ted

6) Firefly vs. 11) Smallville

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie

7) 24 vs. 10) King of the Hill

2) Scrubs vs. 15) Roswell

The only ones that were a hard pick for me were Firefly/Smallville and Deadwood/Always Sunny. I've seen maybe an episode of Firefly as opposed to no episodes of Smallville, and I've seen 4 or 5 Deadwood episodes and only 2 Always Sunny eps.

[Josh]

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie - Fuck. Louie's going to get slaughtered. Louie is awesome. You suck Josh.

I didn't determine the bracketing, the nominations did! If I did determine the bracketing, The Tick would have gone up against something besides current ratings juggernaut, Zombies Zombies Zombies.

Also, wow, the rare septuple post from ruderrocket. You having some formatting trouble?

[Your Mom]

I wis h king of the hill had been up against some of mthe garbaeg in this braket and not 34. I was obsessed with12 and could not vote it out firgt roung

[ruderrocket]

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie - Fuck. Louie's going to get slaughtered. Louie is awesome. You suck Josh.

I didn't determine the bracketing, the nominations did! If I did determine the bracketing, The Tick would have gone up against something besides current ratings juggernaut, Zombies Zombies Zombies.

Also, wow, the rare septuple post from ruderrocket. You having some formatting trouble?

Yessir, sorry. I'll keep my formatting simple next time.

[C-MIL]

1) The Simpsons vs. 16) Boston Legal - breaking my self-imposed rule of never voting shows I haven't seen over shows I have, NO SHUTOUTS

8) House vs. 9) Oz - only one I've seen but I would vote it over most, I like predictable and formulaic storytelling said the grown-up pro wrestling fan

5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 12) Deadwood - only one I've seen but I also like it a lot too

4) The Sopranos vs. 13) Father Ted - only one I've seen, but I don't like it so much, still rules are rules...

6) Firefly vs. 11) Smallville - never seen either, heard of Smallville though and it's not my bag, Firefly gets the benefit of the doubt

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie - gave Dexter a shot and liked it okay but never picked it back up, probably would switch this if I ever do

7) 24 vs. 10) King of the Hill - 24's an all-or-nothing show, KOTH you can just watch here and there and enjoy, I'll always favor that

2) Scrubs vs. 15) Roswell - only one I've seen or endeavor to, this won't be getting my round two votes I bet

[Josh]

I thought KOTH was on the chopping block before Brittany Murphy's death?

I seem to remember it happening that way, too.

And, dude, you should seriously check out Louie. Seems right up your alley. Then again, you already watch some other FX shows, so you may be well aware.

[Kane's Mullet Slacker]

MOUNTAIN BRACKET

1) The Simpsons vs. 16) Boston Legal

8) House vs. 9) Oz

5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 12) Deadwood

4) The Sopranos vs. 13) Father Ted

6) Firefly vs. 11) Smallville

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie

7) 24 vs. 10) King of the Hill

2) Scrubs vs. 15) Roswell

[GoGo Yubari]

MOUNTAIN BRACKET

1) The Simpsons vs. 16) Boston Legal - no contest. I've seen a season + a couple episodes of Boston Legal and it's amusing and well-cast but not really a good show. The Simpsons is one of the greatest and most important shows in the history of television. If it wins the whole thing I can't even complain.

8) House vs. 9) Oz -- I've seen a couple episodes of House. Never seen any of Oz, unfortunately, because I think if I'd seen a single episode of it I probably would have voted for it. It's probably the biggest gap in my HBO series viewing right now, I think I've seen nearly every other major series.

5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 12) Deadwood -- unpopular opinion but while I like Deadwood I'm not in love with it in the way so many people are. Always Sunny entertains me more, even if Deadwood is probably a much more important, momentous show.

4) The Sopranos vs. 13) Father Ted -- The Sopranos is neck-and-neck with The Wire for being the best TV drama of all time. Never seen an episode of Father Ted, so this is a default vote.

6) Firefly vs. 11) Smallville -- Never seen an episode of Smallville. Firefly is one of the all-time great short-lived shows.

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie -- oh god, deliver me from Dexter. Louie hasn't gone to absolute shit, so Louie gets my vote.

7) 24 vs. 10) King of the Hill -- I would love to go against 24 but while I like King of the Hill, it wasn't must-watch TV the way the first four seasons of 24 were for me.

2) Scrubs vs. 15) Roswell -- never seen an episode of Roswell. I dread that Scrubs is going to run much deeper than it deserves but it has three great seasons and one to two good seasons.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I thought KOTH was on the chopping block before Brittany Murphy's death?

I seem to remember it happening that way, too.

And, dude, you should seriously check out Louie. Seems right up your alley. Then again, you already watch some other FX shows, so you may be well aware.

I really need to. It looks like a good show, but I forget when it's on and have so many other shows I watch as well, I dunno if I can justify adding my zillionth show to the DVR.

[GoGo Yubari]

Louie is worth adding. You should add season one to your shows-to-watch list.

[Josh]

The other nice thing about Louie is that it typically airs in the summer, when there's not much else on to distract you from it. I think Season 3 will start in late June on FX. I know they're already filming it.

[Quom]

Central Bracket voting has closed. I will tabulate the results and have them later. In the meantime . . .

MOUNTAIN BRACKET

1) The Simpsons vs. 16) Boston Legal

8) House vs. 9) Oz

5) It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vs. 12) Deadwood

4) The Sopranos vs. 13) Father Ted

6) Firefly vs. 11) Smallville

3) Dexter vs. 14) Louie

7) 24 vs. 10) King of the Hill

2) Scrubs vs. 15) Roswell

You have approximately 67 hours to place your votes. Voting for this bracket will end at 6:59 EDT/5:59 PM CDT/11:59 PM GMT on Wednesday, April 4th. Remember to vote on every match-up, or else your votes will not be counted.