25 Greatest Classic TV Series

In 2012, I became one of the founding members of the Classic TV Blog Association (CTVBA), a fabulous group of bloggers who celebrate classic television. This year, the CTVBA embarked on its most ambitious project to date: a list of the 25 Greatest Classic TV Series.

Our definition of "classic" was any prime-time TV series that began broadcasting prior to 1990. Each member applied his or her own criteria in nominating series. My criteria were quality, enduring popularity, and social influence. Over 55 shows were nominated in the first round of voting, but only 29 made it to the second and final round.

Here is the final official list of the 25 Greatest Classic TV Series (for more details, check out the CTVBA web site):

1.    The Twilight Zone

2.    I Love Lucy 

3.    The Mary Tyler Moore Show

4.    Columbo

5.    All in the Family

6.    Dragnet

7.    Monty Python’s Flying Circus

8.    Star Trek

9.    The Prisoner

10.  M*A*S*H

11.  The Dick Van Dyke Show

12.  The Fugitive

13.  Dallas

14.  Doctor Who

15.  The Andy Griffith Show

16.  The Defenders

17.  The Golden Girls

18.  Perry Mason

19.  SCTV

20.  The Honeymooners

21.  Alfred Hitchcock Presents

22.  Hill Street Blues

23.  The Odd Couple

24.  The Outer Limits

25.  The Avengers

Honorable Mentions:  Get Smart, The Ed Sullivan Show, Leave It to Beaver, and WKRP in Cincinnati.

I think it's a pretty strong list overall, but there were some definite surprises. I can't argue with The Twilight Zone and I Love Lucy in the top two spots. Both were landmark TV series that are just as good today as when they debuted.

David Janssen as Dr. Richard Kimble.

However, my choice for #1 spot was The Fugitive. I can think of no other TV series that was as uniformly strong for a three-year period (and the fourth season was also good). This modern-day Les Miserables turned Dr. Kimble and Lieutenant Gerard into iconic characters. The two-part series finale was a national phenomenon, with the last episode earning the highest Nielsen rating of any regular TV series until M*A*S*H eclipsed it.

The Defenders belongs in the Top Five. It boasted superb writing and acting, plus it explored some of the most complex social issues of the 1960s. Indeed, many of its episodes seem just as timely today. I suspect its too-low ranking may have been a case of not enough voters having seen The Defenders.

Beaver and his father.

Leave It to Beaver, which is relegated to an honorable mention, is one of the finest family sitcoms. The dialogue and plots are remarkably realistic and many of my favorite episodes are the ones in which Ward Cleaver admits to one of his shortcomings as a parent. There were many good family sitcoms, but Beaver was one of the best.

While I watched Dragnet (the 1967-70 version mostly), I wouldn't rank it among the greatest classic TV series. Yes, it was one of the first radio hits to make a successful transition to television, the music remains recognizable, and there were some famous quotes. But the repetitious formula caused me to lose interest quickly.

Peter Falk as Columbo.

Likewise, Columbo seems ranked too high. Don't get me wrong, Peter Falk is a fine actor and he makes Lieutenant Columbo one of the great TV characters--but the show's formula also wore thin despite the production of fewer episodes than most series. I suspect I'm in the minority here since Columbo is still in heavy rotation on cable television thanks to Falk and his guest star murderers.

Finally, The Odd Couple was a good show with a funny premise, strong characters, and two terrific actors--but it doesn't belong among the 25 Greatest Classic TV Series.

Of course, any "greatest" list is bound to stir some debate...and that's part of the fun! What do you think of the Classic TV Blog Association's 25 Greatest Classic TV Series list?

Seven Things to Know About Patrick McGoohan

1. Although considered a British actor, Patrick McGoohan was actually born in Astoria, New York, in 1928. His parents moved back to Ireland when he was six months old. The family relocated to Sheffield, England, when he was seven.

2. Patrick McGoohan won two Emmys for guest appearances on Columbo. In 1975, he played a murderous commandant of a military academy in the episode "By Dawn's Early Light." Then, in 1990, he portrayed a vice presidential candidate who makes a murder look like suicide in "Agenda for Murder"; McGoohan also directed this episode. (Note: He appeared two other Columbo episodes for a total of four.)

Behind the mask in Scarecrow.

3. In the 1963, McGoohan signed a contract with Walt Disney. He first appeared on Disney's Wonderful World of Color in the fondly-remembered three-part tale The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. He played the quiet vicar of an English village in the late 1770s--who was actually a smuggler who used his plunder to put food on the over-taxed parishioners' tables. It was edited and released as the film Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow in Great Britain. McGoohan's second Disney effort was the theatrical release The Three Lives of Thomasina, in which he portrayed a veterinarian faced with the decision of saving his daughter's cat or a a blind man's seeing eye dog.

As Dr. Sid Rafferty.

4. McGoohan TV's series Secret Agent (aka Danger Man) and The Prisoner are well documented. However, he also starred in the mostly forgotten 1977 TV series Rafferty, which lasted for just 13 episodes on CBS. He played a cantankerous, retired Army doctor who had trouble adjusting to civilian life. He also directed one episode ("The Wild Child").

5. In addition to his highly-regarded television performances, Patrick McGoohan earned acclaim on the stage in both Great Britain and the U.S. In 1959, he won the London Drama Critics Award for his performance in the title role of Henrik Ibsen's Brand. Twenty six years later, he earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor for Pack of Lies. He played a government agent who convinces to a family to allow him to conduct surveillance on their neighbors, who may be spies. It was McGoohan's Broadway debut (when the play was adapted for television in 1987, Alan Bates played McGoohan's role).

He even brought an edge to The Three
Lives of Thomasina.

6. McGoohan chose a variety of eclectic roles over his career. His filmography includes: All Night Long (1962), a contemporary version of Othello set in the world of jazz; the submarine espionage film Ice Station Zebra (1968), which was allegedly one of Howard Hughes' favorite films; and The Moonshine War (1970), in which he played a crooked IRS agent in Prohibition-era Kentucky.

7. In an NPR obituary in 2009, film critic David Thomson said: "This was a man who very easily, I think, could have been up there with Olivier and Gielgud in terms of being that famous an actor. He was handsome. He had a great voice. He was a tremendous actor. But as he admitted himself, he was difficult. He wanted to do things his way and he had his own vision. And that meant he did much less."

Peter Falk's First Case as Columbo

Falk's first close-up as Columbo.

Upon suspecting that her psychiatrist husband left their anniversary party for a rendezvous with his mistress, Joan Flemming threatens to ruin him professionally and financially. Dr. Ray Flemming (Gene Barry) comes up with a convincing lie--he was planning a surprise second honeymoon in Mexico. Yet, the reality is that he has already plotted Joan's murder to the last detail. The following day, with an assist from his actress girlfriend, Flemming pulls off what he believes to be the perfect crime. The only problem is that the L.A. detective assigned to the case is Lieutenant Columbo.

Bert Freed was the first Columbo.

Prescription: Murder, a 1968 made-for-TV movie, marked Peter Falk's debut as the crafty Columbo. However, it was not the first appearance of the fictional sleuth created by Richard Levinson and William Link. Columbo--then known as Fisher--was featured in the short story "Dear Corpus Delicti," which was published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 1960. That same year, Levinson and Link adapated their short story into "Enough Rope," an episode of the live drama anthology Chevy Mystery Show. Bert Freed played Columbo, who was a secondary character to the villainous Dr. Flemming (played by Richard Carlson).

A year later, Levinson and Link expanded "Enough Rope" into a stage play called Prescription: Murder. It starred Joseph Cotten as Flemming, Agnes Moorehead as his wife, and Thomas Mitchell as Columbo. Sadly, the play never made it to Broadway, in part because Thomas Mitchell died of cancer in 1962.

Levinson and Link, who met in junior high school, dusted off Prescription: Murder again in 1968--this time as a telefilm for NBC. They originally wanted Lee J. Cobb to play Columbo. When his schedule prevented him from taking the role, they offered it to Bing Crosby. When he also declined, the part went to Peter Falk. Levinson and Link initially worried that the 41-year-old Falk was too young to play Columbo (Mitchell was 70). However, once they saw his performance, they knew it was a perfect pairing of actor and role. 

Gene Barry as the murderer.

Considering that Columbo would eventually become a TV icon, it's somewhat surprising that he doesn't make his entrance until 32 minutes into Prescription: Murder. He introduces himself to Gene Barry's murderer as simply: "Lieutenant Columbo, police." Thus, it's up to Barry to carry the film's opening scenes and he's quite persuasive as the intelligent, egotistical Flemming. His simple, yet ingenious, murder plot relies on an axiom employed by Agatha Christie in her classic Hercule Poirot novel Lord Edgware Dies. Flemming explains it to his accomplice: "People see what they expect to see."

It takes Flemming most of the film to realize that he has underestimated his dogged pursuer. In the best scene, the two men discuss the murder in theoretical terms--though each knows exactly what happened. Flemming even offers a psychoanalysis of Columbo's tactic of masking his intelligence. At its best, Prescription: Murder is a two-character play--and I mean that as a compliment. William Windom, Nina Foch, and Katherine Justice are fine in supporting roles, but the crux of the film is the cat-and-mouse game between Columbo and Flemming.

Columbo: "There's just one more thing..."

Although Prescription: Murder is sometimes described as a pilot for a TV series, most sources claim that neither Falk nor Levinson and Link were interested in the grind of a weekly show. NBC addressed their concern in 1971 when it suggested a Columbo drama as part of its 90-minute umbrella series, The NBC Mystery Movie. Thus, instead of starring in 24 or more weekly hour shows, Falk had to commit to just seven 90-minute shows yearly.

Lee Grant as the first female killer.

However, before finalizing the deal, NBC asked for a pilot film that became Ransom for a Dead Man. It was telecast in March 1971, with the Columbo TV series debuting the following September. Ransom stars Lee Grant as a tough attorney who murders her husband--and then devises a fake kidnapping in order to liquidate his financial assets to pay a ransom. Columbo makes an earlier appearance this time (at the 12-minute mark). Although Grant was nominated for an Emmy, Ransom for a Dead Man lacks the bite that permeates Prescription: Murder--perhaps because Levinson and Link penned the story, but not the script.

Still, Ransom for a Dead Man was a ratings hit and the rest--as they say--is television history. Counting Prescription and Ransom, Peter Falk played Columbo in 68 telefilms or TV episodes over a span of 35 years.

The Five Best Classic TV Detectives

In trying to come up with the "five best" classic TV detectives, I used the following criteria: quality; longevity; and iconic status. And, of course, to be considered classic TV, the detective's series must have originated no later than the 1980s. Thus, it was with heavy heart that I omitted later personal favorites like Cadfael and Christopher Foyle of Foyle's War. I also left out TV series where the protagonists may have done some sleuthing, but weren't necessarily detectives by trade (e.g., The Avengers, The Saint). Without further ado, here are my top five choices:

1. Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie's Poirot) (1989 - ). Incredibly, David Suchet has never won an acting award for his pitch-perfect portrayal of Ms. Christie's Belgium detective. He captures all the nuances of the prissy, perceptive sleuth who uses his "little gray cells" to solve the most baffling cases. When Poirot proclaims he is the world's greatest detective, he's not being egotistical--he's being honest. This series, which debuted in 1989, will conclude in 2013 after 13 nonconsecutive seasons. Its enduring popularity can be partially attributed to the fact that its episodes are based on Ms. Christie's short stories or novels--which often feature ingenious plot twists and/or methods of murder. Many fans favor the one-hour episodes, but I have a soft spot for the longer "movies" based on Christie's novels, several of which are set in exotic locations ("Murder in Mesopotamia") or English country estates ("The Mysterious Affair at Styles"). 

2. Columbo (1968-78; 1989-2003). William Link and Richard Levinson created this persistent police detective for a 1960 episode of the TV anthology series The Chevy Mystery Show starring Bert Freed. Thomas Mitchell played Columbo in a 1962 stage play and Bing Crosby even once considered donning the now-famous crumpled raincoat. However, it was Peter Falk who made the part famous, first in a pair of made-for-TV movies and then in a subsequent long-running TV series. At the start of each episode, the viewer watched the murderer commit his or her crime. Then, Columbo--whom the killer always underestimated--would methodically unravel the mystery and catch the culprit (his trademark was leaving the the room after questioning the killer, only to pause with a variation of: "Just one more thing..."). Falk excelled in this cat-and-mouse game construct, often acting opposite quality guest stars like Patrick McGoohan, John Cassavetes, Laurence Harvey, Vera Miles, and Faye Dunaway.

3. Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote) (1984-96). Link and Levinson were also responsible for creating the most successful female detective on American television. Personally, I think Agatha Christie ought to get a little credit since there are similarities between middle-aged widow Jessica Fletcher and elderly spinster Miss Jane Marple. Ironically, Angela Lansbury played both characters, appearing as Miss Marple in the 1980 motion picture The Mirror Crack'd. Before Lansbury was cast as Jessica Fletcher, Jean Stapleton and Doris Day were considered for the lead in Murder, She Wrote. Frankly, though, I can't imagine anyone but Lansbury, who was Emmy-nominated 12 times for playing Jessica Fletcher--and somehow never won. The series took place in Cabot Cove, a small coastal town in Maine...and apparently a hot spot for murders. Fortunately, the town's most famous resident--bestselling mystery writer Jessica--was as astute as any of her fictional creations and never failed to unmask the culprit.

4. Jim Rockford (The Rockford Files) (1974-80). A wrongly-accused ex-convict who lived in a mobile home, Jim Rockford had little in common with most of the detectives on the airwaves in the 1970s. However, his unique persona--plus the fact he was played by James Garner--kept fans tuning in for six years. Since the series was co-created  by Roy Huggins and starred Garner, it's often compared to their earlier offbeat Western show Maverick. Yet, other than being laid-back and preferring to avoid violence, I think Rockford is a solid departure from the slippery Bret Maverick. Rockford was often assisted by his father Rocky (Noah Beery, Jr.), a retired truck driver and Angel (Stuart Margolin), a con artist Rockford met in prison.

5. Sherlock Holmes (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) (1984-94). For many Holmes enthusiasts, Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Conan Doyle's Baker Street sleuth is considered the definitive one (personally, I'm frightfully fond of Peter Cushing in Hammer's The Hound of the Baskervilles). The series debuted on Britain's ITV network in 1984, with David Burke as Dr. Watson (he was subsequently replaced by Edward Hardwicke). It was developed by John Hawkesworth, who produced other noteworthy classic series such as Upstairs, Downstairs and The Duchess of Duke Street. During its ten-year run, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes featured 35 one-hour episodes, a two-parter, and five movies (which included adaptations of Conan Doyle's novels The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sign of Four). In the U.S., the series became one of the most popular ones that appeared under the Mystery! banner on PBS. Brett, who died of heart failure at 59, also appeared on stage as Dr. Watson--opposite Charlton Heston as Holmes in The Crucifer of Blood in 1981.