I'm going to define that as a show that is/was intended to run for multiple seasons, has a central continuing cast, and for which the show is in some sense about that cast. The idea is to set up a definition that makes Downton Abbey and The Carol Burnett Show and The Late Show with (whichever host) series, and Roots and Monday Night Football and The PBS Newshour not series.
Firefly. Because Joss Whedon. And because of the richness and depth of the stories. And despite quite a few questionable plot drivers.
Original Star Trek. The inspiration for so much of the media science fiction that has followed it, not to mention some real-world devices available now. And they got recognized science fiction writers to write some stories for them, and adapted a few more stories by recognized authors.
Thunderbirds. I didn't get to see many of these, but the ones I have seen I enjoyed greatly.
Top Chef. I say this counts. It has a core ensemble (Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi), a "cast" (the contestants) that continues for an entire seasion, episodic form, and, once they worked out what qualifications for their contestants made a good show, something they can present year after year without it becoming old. What makes it for me is that the challenges highlight things that real chefs wanting to succeed in the arduous restarant business must face as part of their job, and while the challenges may be eccentric from time to time, they are very seldom all about the gimmick. The results are judged on the basis of their merits, by recognized experts in their field. And the winner winds up being someone who has a good chance to succeed, and obtains the recognition and stake to give it a go. Many have, often successfully.
The Wild, Wild West. Steampunk well before it became recognized or codified as a genre. Leavened nicely by the humorous interplay between the leads. And ironically cancelled because occasional gunplay and a couple of fight scenes per episode were deemed "too much violence", when quite a few present-day series seem to me much too laden with automatic weapons fire and hand-to-hand combat.
Just missed: The Orville. STO fanvid by Seth Macfarlane. Took a season to get its feet under itself, and still a bit too many crude jokes for my taste (OK, so you get that with Macfarlane), but overall an interesting modern-day spin on some Star Trekky plot setups, and some stuff the TV audience was in no way ready for then. Also, part of the miss was their warping over to planet Hulu.
Also: Colbert. Love most of his stuff. But the guests that work are the ones who are there to be part of the show, as opposed to the ones who are on for promotional reasons. So it usually gets turned off when those start.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2020-03-27 05:50 pm (UTC)Just missed: The Orville. STO fanvid by Seth Macfarlane. Took a season to get its feet under itself, and still a bit too many crude jokes for my taste (OK, so you get that with Macfarlane), but overall an interesting modern-day spin on some Star Trekky plot setups, and some stuff the TV audience was in no way ready for then. Also, part of the miss was their warping over to planet Hulu.
Also: Colbert. Love most of his stuff. But the guests that work are the ones who are there to be part of the show, as opposed to the ones who are on for promotional reasons. So it usually gets turned off when those start.