Television

The greatest TV show of all time, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I grew up on it so I feel like I'm pretty nostalgic about it but watching it helps me reinforce my value system. It taught me young that our differences are what make us strong and that we can triumph against great odds if we can learn to accept each other and work together. In a world where violence and hate seem so prevalent every day, that message hits a lot harder than it did when I was a kid. Throwing on an episode of TNG lights up that little spark of hope I have left for our species. Well, as long as it's not episode 4, Code of Honor. Lmao.

The Wire. It's the best TV show ever made and will almost certainly always be that. Nothing else comes close.

Band of Brothers

Burn the land, boil the sea, you can’t take the sky from me….

Star Trek TNG

It's almost impossible to say just one because the other 2-3 that I thought about just hit different depending on my mood. Comedy vs drama vs Sci fi etc.

Yeah it's hard to choose. I'll probably go with Chernobyl, because there's no bad episode, and everything from the writing, acting, to the score and cinematography is amazing.

there's a lot of clever, tightly written, whimsical comedies out there but the venture bros reigns supreme

Better call Saul. Such a great character study. Fun high jinx. Every major character has an arch. Deals with corruption, justice and revenge. The choices they make, where it leads them, and how they reckon with it. It was the show breaking bad tried to be.

The one show I can always hit shuffle on and as long as it's before Browder it's gonna be good, Stargate SG1.

Stargate SG-1.

I'm not saying it's always better than every other show, but it's my personal warm feelings favourite ♥️

Ted Lasso. The tempo and overlapping subplots interspersed with rocketship sized fireworks - it's like a song.

Expanse

‘Bojack Horseman’. Outstanding in every way, and the only series that I've watched twice without a twenty-year break inbetween. Also the only show where I needed to slow playback down a bit to get all the jokes, instead of my usual 110% speed.

I'd have chosen Firefly, I never get tired of it, and I just love it.

So many other amazing shows though, a few already mentioned in other comments, like BSG would be a close second to Firefly.

But there are some shows that haven't been mentioned and I think they deserve it just as much. And because having to choose only one would make me regret losing these other ones, here they are:

Breaking Bad, it absolutely fascinates me and I just can't get over the character development and the writing and acting from the whole cast.

And probably the newest show that for me is on the very top, and actually I must admit it might have gone past the other ones (except firefly), Arcane. Everything about it, I love. The writing, the animation, the music, the characters, the world building, the character growth, ...

If I choose Firefly, I'd regret not choosing Arcane, but I just can't not choose firefly.

I'll go with "The Good Place".

To me the show has everything. Comedy, Surprise, deep emotions, and it even is educational. If also is full of positivity, which in today's times seems harder to do right.

Where lesser shows might have drawn out the ideas over multiple seasons, they constantly moved on from one setting to the next.

And they nailed the finale.

I fell in absolute love with Scavenger's Reign.

It will always be Babylon 5.* Great writing, great characters, great storytelling, and the ability to go from light and humorous to deep and meaningful or tragic and somber without any of it ever feeling out of place.

* OK, obviously I would like for something even better to come along and replace it, but I'm not holding my breath.

Battlestar Galactica (the new one).

Then probably MASH.

Archer. Even if you include the 3 "coma seasons" it's still some of the most consistently funny TV there's ever been.

I would say the original Battlestar Galactica has a special place in my heart. As a kid watching it, I couldn’t believe it — it was like having Star Wars in my home. The production spent money on the first half of the season, and it showed.

True Detective Season 1. I have never watched a better show than this although there are many good ones out there as well

Night Court

If they didn't try to subvert expectations by royally fucking up season 8 so badly that it ruined the entire show for me, it would have been Game of Thrones.

So instead I'll say Avatar the Last Airbender. Honestly an amazing show, and to this day its the only show I've managed to rewatch without getting bored and dropping it.

If I could only pick one and it were to be "locked in" for life - I'd have to go with Deep Space Nine.

I understand why people say Babylon 5, but for me it's a bit too "rough around the edges" to be an all time #1.

I could argue DS9 is a bit of a cheat answer due to it being Star Trek, however even if it were in a vacuum I think it'd still be my number one. There are just too many singular episodes that stand out with a great overarching storyline to boot.

There's so many good ones it would have to be Red Dwarf for me though.

With Spaced in second place.

As always to this, Babylon Berlin

Father Ted. Man, I miss that show. The humor was just so dry and on the nose.

The Goodies. Irreverent comedy with large lashings of brilliant slapstick. It was my childhood.

For comfort and warmth, I might have to go with a sleeper: Joe Pera Talks With You.

But Deadwood is way up there, too.

Columbo.

It has to be Mad Men, which I've watched all the way through three or four times, definitely three at least.

Firefly, even after the deluge of post-marvel Whedonesque slop that has worn away some of the charm of the banter. Only a little bit though, it's fortunately not quite the same.

It managed to slip in just before they killed off episodic story telling for genre shows, but just after there was a very noticeable increase in production quality. So it's got that rewatch factor nothing made after like 2005 has but without my girlfriend rolling her eyes at sets and costumes that were designed to be viewed on a tiny 4:3 CRT.

Obviously there were other episodic genre shows made in this weird interstitial period but none have nearly as many banger episodes, even those that got additional seasons.

The Wire is the best, IMO.

I'd most likely go for something I have a deep connection with though: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Home Movies, or Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Actually, I'll pick Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It's endlessly fun every time I watch it.

Ted Lasso. It’s such a feel good show.

I'd say probably The Adventures of Tintin just because it has the nostalgia value of not just being a show from my childhood but also memories of watching it every Sunday morning at my dad's house (he had HBO so it was rare to see it).