TV's Best Seasons (1 Viewer)

I was thinking about this last night watching a few shows I love. Even the best of shows have up and downs. So, forgetting "Favorite shows" maybe, "Favorite Seasons of any show"

My list would be something like:

The Wire - Season 4, while I love the whole series, Season 4 is to me the finest moment. From Carcetti worrying about the polls and still truly caring about his city, the kids in the classroom - some desperate to get out, some wanting to stay in. Season 4 is something I could watch in a marathon and still shake my head at the end.

Buffy, Season 5 - this is one that if I had watched it episodically I might have viewed it differently. But viewed in a batch, BtVS Season 5 really advances an interesting season long plot and has a ton of payoff along the way.

Carnivale, Season 2 - season 1 of Carnivale is a long prologue and if you've seen both seasons you love it. But Season 2 was such an audacious piece of writing, the right mix of fantasy, faith, horror and confusion.

The Outer Limits (new series) Season 5 - this show really managed to pump out some good sci-fi with some decent eps, but season 5 throughout was pretty solid.

Arrested Development, Season 2 - Every Single episode in Season 2 is fantastic.

Friday Night Lights, Season 1 - One of the best opening seasons to any show, Friday Night Lights first season was absolutely some awesome TV.

Star Trek, Deep Space 9 Season 7 - A lot of people miss how good this show really became. Season 7, has grown on me in how many truly difficult unresolvable issues are at least addressed. Great scriptwriting, and the finale arch is great SciFi.

I agree completely. It was like you were reading my mind for your reasons too.

Some other shows:

Lost: Season Two- Even at its slowest (S3), it's still the best show on network TV but I loved this season for the hatch storyline and starting to go 'deeper' into The Others living on the island.

The X-Files: Season Two- Classic monster of the week and mythology episodes and the series was still aiming to scare the audience.

Deadwood: Season Two- They took everything from S1 and expanded the camp and story. Garret Dillahunt was great as the frightening Francis Wolcott.

Good picks so far, although I would choose S1 of Lost over S2

Let's add:

The Office, S2
24, S4
Jericho, S1
Prison Break, S1
Firefly (only one season)
Freaks & Geeks (only one season)

Personally I prefer Season 6 of Deep Space 9

Also

Season 3 of Babylon 5 - I think I watched this on video in a week. I just couldnt stop watching it. Glad I didnt have to wait every week for another episode

It's not my favorite season (fun characters like McNulty or String were MIA), but it's probably the best, in part because of McNulty's absence, ironically. Freed from having a main character, the already vast scope of the show grew transcendentally bigger.

--
H

I'm all about the AD & Office season 2 love. A lot of sitcoms tend to peak in season 2--they worked out the kinks from season 1 and explore the natural storylines without resorting to bizarre wackiness. I'd say that the second seasons of NewsRadio, How I Met Your Mother, and 30 Rock (which is short but all killer, no filler) are the highlights of their run as well.

Surprised nobody's mention Simpsons S4. The fourth season of Seinfeld is generally considered the best but I give the nod to season 5. The first season of The Cosby Show doesn't have a single dud episode in the bunch. The first season of Survivor is amazing; ditto for the first Contender and second Amazing Race.

Hill Street Blues: Season One where the opening scenes both shocked TV audiences of the day and laid the way for cop (and other) series up to and including The Wire

NYPD Blue: Season One where we are introduced to Andy Sipowicz, the divorced, alcoholic, whoring detective who is only not also predujiced simply because he hates every ethnicity.

Mary Tyler Moore: Season Four, the last one that had Rhoda as a regular.

The Dick Van Dyke Show: Season Two, where the stellar cast never misses a beat and the writing is still fresh.

Your Show of Shows: Season Four—but how can you wrong picking any season with Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris with their gifted physical comedy and with the writing of Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Danny Simon, Neil Simon, Woody Allen and of course Reiner and Caesar. The very best of live comedy.

All in the Family: Season Two where the series is still fresh and shocking, but not yet diluted or filled with a self-importance that transcends being a comedy series.

Night Court season three, where Markie Post finally completes the ensemble that represented the show's golden age.

ST: TNG S3. After stumbling around for two years trying to figure out what kind of show it was, TNG finally finds its voice, before returning to mediocrity in later seasons. "Yesterday's Enterprise" was the "City on the Edge of Forever" of the post-TOS series.

I would find it hard to pick any one season of Dick Van Dyke, because the show was so consistently good. For other older shows - like the original Twilight Zone or I Love Lucy - I've mostly watched them in disjointed reruns over the years, and no longer remember which episodes fell in which seasons. I'd have to consult a reference book.

But I will add another vote for Babylon 5 season 3, which narrowly beats out S4 as my favorite. The three episode sequence of "Messages from Earth", "Point of No Return" and "Severed Dreams", which fall at the exact mid-point of the five-year arc, are the fulcrum on which much of the story turns.

Regards,

Joe

Fawlty Towers: Both Seasons==I’m unable to pick one over the other.

I'd like to cast another vote for
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 3 - Prior to Season 3 ST:TNG had produced about a dozen compelling stories in the first two seasons combined. That number was surpassed just past the mid-point of season three. Just to rattle off a few of the episodes from this season: In the "Too Good for TV" category we have "Yesterday's Enterprise", "Who Watches the Watchers?", "Sins of the Father", "Captain's Holiday", and "The Best of Both Worlds Part 1". In the merely excellent category we have "The Ensigns of Command", "The Enemy", "The Defector", "Deja Q", "The Offspring", "Tin Man", "Hollow Pursuits", and "Sarek". Practically all of the remaining 13 episodes were above average. An astonishingly dazzling season. And after the (mostly) mediocre first two seasons it seemed to come out of nowhere. Seasons 4 and 5 were also outstanding, but this season set the standard that those seasons had to live up to.

M*A*S*H - Season 1: when heavy doses of sarcasm and small doses of cruelty made this show brilliant brilliant brilliant. This show was at its' best when Hawkeye was all about lust, alcohol and general debauchery.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 3: Kray Eyez Killa, Corpse Sniffing Dog, Nanny From Hell, Mar, Joseph and Larry...great season with not one bad episode

Seinfeld - Season 8 : (The only show i can say that i like (love) every single episode, so this choice could be all 9 seasons) I chose this season as it has some of my favorites including "The Chicken Roaster", "The Little Kicks", "The Little Jerry", "The Andrea Doria". Greatest.show.ever

The Job - its only season: what a fantastic show!

It's Always Sunny in Philly - Season 2: The addition of Devito makes all the difference to me.

Hmm...I have opinions on this, too. Most of them severely dated.

ER Season 4: Doug and Carol are together and deal with grown up problems. Has my favorite ER eps: "Fathers and Sons" and "Exodus," both tremendous episodes for character growth and revelation.

Friends Season 2: We get the best of Ross and Rachel, apart and together. Chandler is still hysterical without being one dimensional. And Joey and Chandler learn the joy of home theater.

X-Files Season 3: Clyde Bruckman. Jose Chung. 'Nuff said.

Sports Night Season 1: Ties with Firefly for best damn show ever aired, IMNSHO. Season 2 was still better than 98% of the crap that's on, but wasn't nearly as good as the first season.

West Wing Season 2: Two Cathedrals. Josh's PTSD. Dealing with Bartlett's MS. Great stuff.

Moonlighting Season 3: Atomic Shakespeare. Blonde on Blonde. Donna Dixon as Addison's love muse. The Big Bang.

Ed Season 1: Another show that started out really strong, had an OK second season, but just petered out after that. And a huge tragedy that the show is not on DVD.

The 1st season of The Wonder Years, which consisted of just 6 episodes. The first, second and forth episodes for me rank up there with the finest of any show ever.

Season 6 of The Simpsons is my favorite followed very closely by season 5.

Season 6 of Leave It To Beaver. I liked it better when the focus was on Wally.

Season 1 of Star Trek. Space Seed, Arena, City On The Edge Of Forever, This Side Of Paradise, and on and on. Classic TV at its finest.

Season 6 of Three's Company. Jack was at his peak during this hilarious season.

I want to say Cheers and Lost but I have a hard time picking a best season as I love them both every season. I do prefer Cheers once Kirsty Alley joined though.

I really enjoyed season 1 of Alias. It was the best season of the whole series, because it was fresh, the storyline wasn't awkward like it was in S3&4.

Gilmore Girls S1 and 2 are probably my favorite seasons, although I like Paris much more in the later seasons than I did in the earlier ones. I have to admit that after S5 I gave up on the show because I felt it just went in a completely wrong direction, so I never saw S6. Honestly, I gave up after S3 on Lorelai, but continued to watch for Rory's sake until S5.

Survivor Micronesia was my favorite season by far, just for the fact that the men got their asses handed to them like no other season! The women dominated that season.

Bones: First Season before it became just another CSI type, forensic/cop show.

The Sopranos, season 1, 2, and/or 3: "Just when I thought I was out, THEY PULL ME BACK IN! "

I still think Season 1 of "24" was its best.

I'll echo the praise for Friday Night Lights, Season 1. An almost perfect season of shows with a satisfying resolution.

I still like Australia the best, but this was a strong season, too.

Dexter seasons 1-3.

I agree about Lost S2 (and also S1 as someone else mentioned), but I'd probably rate this season as being up there with the best so far, though obviously its not over to know for sure.

I like 24 myself, but don't see how it should be on this list in any season, because I can't remember a single season that was firing on all cylinders with every single episode like some of the others (and I especially don't think that S1 should be on that list, with the run of episodes it had from 13 until about 20 or so).

And Sports Night S1 I agree entirely about as well.