I doubt that I will have as
much of this written as I would have liked, but that shouldn’t matter too much
in the end. I’m going to get this post done where I rank all of the primetime
NBC shows that I have seen thus far at some point in time. I apologize in
advance if I forget anything. I’m also sorry that I rushed this post and
published it so fucking late.
List of all of the NBC shows
that I’ve seen: The Flintstones, 30 Rock, Friends, Parks and Recreation, JAG,
The Blacklist, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Law and Order, Law and Order: True Crime,
Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: Special Victims Units, Law and
Order: Organized Crime, Community, Chicago Med, Matlock, Will and Grace,
Seinfeld, Smash, Superstore, American Odyssey, Better Late Than Never, Betty
White’s Off Their Rockers, I versus 100, 1600 Penn, The Blacklist: Redemption,
Blindspot, Bluff City Law, Awake, A to Z, AD: The Bible Continues, Allegiance,
Cheers, Deal or No Deal, Debris, Connecting, The Cape, Council of Dads, Crisis,
Crossbones, Ellen’s Game of Games, Emerald City, The Enemy Within, Grimm, The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Game Fight, Guys with Kids, Howie Do It, La
Brea, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Last Comic Standing, Manifest, The Michael J Fox
Show, Mr. Mayor, My Name is Earl, Nurses (Canadian series), Powerless, The
Pretender, Prime Suspect, Ordinary Joe, Parenthood (2010 series), Perfect
Couples, Shades of Blue, The Island, Saturday Night Live Weekend Update
Thursday, Truth be Told, Night Court, Taken, Up All Night, Bad Judge, New
Amsterdam, Timeless, Weakest Link, Celebrity Name Game, That’s My Jam, Undateable,
Just Shoot Me!
What isn’t ranked and why: The
Flintstones (It has been far too long since I have seen this and I don’t
remember it as a result. Plus, I can’t remember if this was even a primetime
show like I think that it was.), Awake (I haven’t seen the end of this so don’t
know how that would affect my ranking of it as a result), Cheers (While the
only episode I saw of this was the pilot and I remember not being impressed by
it, it has still been too long ago that I’ve seen this for me to rank it fairly)
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Again,
I can’t remember this show as it has been too long and it didn’t stick out for
me as a result), My Name is Earl (With this one, I haven’t seen the ending and don’t
know how that would affect the ranking of it as a result), Weakest Link (There
have been too many different versions of this for me to know for sure how it
would rank among all of the shows)
The bad shows
Betty White’s Off Their
Rockers- It is hard for me to think of a worst NBC show which is why this is
the lowest of them all. I have probably seen less NBC primetime shows than any
other network, including those on FOX and the CW which air less shows. (This
does not count the former WB network.) Anyways, this was just a pointless show
full of dumb crap as old people pranked others in a hidden camera show that
didn’t go anywhere and was far from being funny.
Just Shoot Me!- Too much of
the acting in this was just awful with the writing not much better. This could
reinforce negative stereotypes about David Spade despite him not being a bad
part of this. Taken- This was so boring and didn’t have much to offer about the
back story of the lead of the movie that this was a prequel to that people didn’t
even need.
The Pretender- I can’t believe
that I wasted so much time with this show since I knew it wasn’t that good in
the end. I remember it for what I consider to be the worst plot twist in the
history of fiction. They took what was a series long plot thread and decided to
effectively retcon it in what wound up being the series finale. It then had a
bunch of more questioned asked in its not one but two follow up movies that did
not resolve anything.
Guys with Kids- No wonder so
many people don’t think that Jimmy Fallon is funny when they have this type of shit
coming out of his writing mind. I don’t know how they could have fixed it. Law
and Order: True Crime- They tried to play both sides of this and it didn’t work
at all. I’m not upset that I only saw this once in the end. The Blacklist:
Redemption- Did they ever resolve the cliffhanger that ended this? It could
have worked better, but never really did.
Will and Grace- I found this
to be too overrated in my mind as what I’ve seen of this just wasn’t good in my
mind. Law and Order: Criminal Intent- I couldn’t find much interesting or good
about this show that also aired on USA Network. American Odyssey- This had
potential, but just became a thread of just how often could the lead get
kidnapped and it became to dragged out.
The Blacklist- There is too
much deception with this show. First, he’s not the father, then he is, then he’s
not even who he said he was supposed to be. I’m glad that I left this behind a long
while ago. The Enemy Within- There could have been better aspects of the show,
but it not lasting probably would not have saved it from its low point on this
list. Crisis- The plot got far too ridiculous in the end. Truth be Told- What
was this even about? It was dumb. Superstore- I had forgotten that I had even
watched this show when it was ending. It was also overrated in some ways.
The average shows
The Island- A reality show
about people surviving on an island with no real purpose was better than some
might think, although just good enough to avoid being labeled a bad show. That’s
My Jam- I won’t be seeing this again for reasons I’ll get into when I review it
later. It wasn’t bad, just dumb. Law and Order- The original was known for
changing its cast constantly. While I only saw one episode of this and found it
boring, it did provide a franchise of other great shows, two of which you’ll
see later.
Up All Night- This sitcom
about parents of babies had a lot of behind the scenes issues for reasons that I
honestly don’t remember or care to look up right now. I do remember liking it
to an extent, but can’t remember much else about it. Howie Do It- A hidden
camera show where the cameras weren’t even really hidden could have had more to
it than it did and it wasn’t a surprise that it didn’t last. Crossbones- This
pirate drama about Blackbeard had some issues with it, such as, you know, not
having someone with a black beard play the main character, but it was pretty
decent, if not too much better than it could have been in the end.
Bad Judge- Well,
unconventional judge would have been a better name. There were problems with
the show, but it was decent enough in the end. Shades of Blue- It was a bit
ahead of its time by covering dirty cops. The plots were good enough and
characters interesting enough to overlook how you can’t get behind anyone in
the end. Still, at least there was justice served in the end for the lead
character. Bluff City Law- It was an interesting enough show, even if it never
focused that much on things that could make it better. Mr. Mayor- This has room
for improvement and could be ranked higher in the future, but we’ll have to see
just how well it does. The Cape- A show that was often so bad it was good, it
is hard to rank it so middle of the road seems to work best.
Connecting- This comedy about
people trying to stay together remotely during the pandemic did not work as
well as it could have. It wasn’t funny and would have worked better as a drama
instead. The Michael J Fox Show- Too much of this was strange as the project
that caused them to talk to the camera at times didn’t seem to work as well in
the long run than it could have. Plus, it didn’t get to grow as much as it
could have. Manifest- Set to air on Netflix to finish its run, a lot of this is
weird and doesn’t make sense. I’m not sure that I care about how it will end,
although I’m glad that it will have a better ending than it would have had it
not been picked up by Netflix.
Ellen’s Game of Games- Much of
this should have just been left on her show instead of trying to work as a game
show which a lot of it didn’t. She’d make a better game show host on a
different project. Council of Dads- I never saw much of this outside of its
first episode, but feel that it is fair enough to rank it and put it here. Debris-
While the ending leaves much to be desired, it was good in some places, just
not as good as it could have been. 1600 Penn- A comedy about the White House
family, it actually worked some, but not as good as it could have. Powerless- Set
in the world of DC comics, we saw more of the everyman involved in the stories.
But it never got much of a chance and not airing this in order did not help
this out in the end.
Nurses (Canadian series)- I
still don’t know if the second season of this is coming to the US. There was an
American series by this same name on NBC at one point, but I never saw this. I
liked some of what I saw of this, even as it seemed like a poor man’s version
of Grey’s Anatomy only not about doctors. Emerald City- This show set in the
world of Oz had great costumes and set design, but it should have also spent
more time working on special effects and the story to not have too much in it
seem unrelated to the main plot of what was going on. Smash- This musical show
about two competing Broadway productions had a lot to it, but can’t be too
highly ranked as it just didn’t stand out like it should have.
The good shows
Chicago Med- I don’t watch
this anymore, but it was good when I saw it. I can’t keep up with it anymore
due to various reasons. It got boring in some cases so I don’t miss it. But I
feel that it is good. 1 versus 100- This game show was quite interesting with
its format and questions worked well. Last Comic Standing- This reality show
was a pretty good one, even if it was only as good as the people on it. Night
Court- I haven’t seen much of this show, but it was nice to see when I did
watch it and I feel that it works well in this part of the list as a result.
Saturday Night Live Weekend
Update Thursday- While nothing more than a set of specials and an offshoot of
the late night show, I feel that it best works here as a result. It could be
higher if they did more with it, but I doubt that they could. If only this were
a regular summer series. Prime Suspect- A lot of American adaptation of shows
can be hit or miss and while this didn’t last long on TV, it did have a lot of
stars who worked on other things in the future. Perfect Couples- I’ll never
understand the hatred of this show as I felt it was very good. Celebrity Name
Game- It can be confusing at times, but it can also be the best run of all the
NBC game shows.
The Jeff Foxworthy Show- Also
airing on ABC, it never had that much time to grow, but did proved to be good
throughout its short run. Family Game Fight- This game show has a great format
as part of it and works pretty well. Deal or No Deal- This fun game show is
complicated, but works pretty well. It now airs on CNBC. A to Z- While it actually
stopped at m since that’s all the episodes of it that were made, it was a nice,
sweet story despite being an obvious plot from the start to finish.
Better Late Than Never- I saw
more of the second season than the first, but it seemed to work out pretty
well, seeing older people traveling in places that they would need to see
before the end. Law and Order: Organized Crime- This is still rather new and
can drag on with its story, but I like it thus far. Undateable- While I only
ever saw this live and don’t know if it was better in earlier seasons, I did
like what I saw of this and felt that it worked out pretty well as a comedy.
JAG- While it had most of its
run on CBS, the first season of it did run on NBC. It was interesting even as
it got to be confusing in some places and it could lose its plot during an
episode. Friends- One of the most notable shows of our times, while it often
became too focused on the character’s sex lives, we saw much more than that throughout
the show’s run. La Brea- While this show is still rather new, I like what I’ve
seen of this thus far and look forward to seeing more of it.
Ordinary Joe- Three timelines
run at once as we see a man’s life. While this could be confusing at times, we’ll
have to see when it ends its run next year just how good a show it will remain
over time. Timeless- It probably failed due to being similar to other fix
history shows of the time like Legends of Tomorrow. It still wound up being
good in the end thanks to its finale movie that wrapped up everything. I don’t
know how much history it got right and wrong.
Grimm- While parts of this
could be disturbing and it was one of the weirdest shows that ever aired on TV,
it provided great plots and story throughout its run. New Amsterdam- This
medical drama has a lot of good with it, even if it gets to be a bit too
strange at times. AD: The Bible Continues- It can always be controversial to
cover Christian stories since you run of risk of pissing off Christians if you
get it wrong and everyone else by simply covering the topic, this seemed to
have a good run based on the episodes that I saw of it where it worked as a
show without adding too much to it or losing too much of the story. It never
seemed to go its own way.
Top Ten
Community- This sitcom about a
study group from a community college had lots of things going on with it while
featuring people from all walks of life getting together. It ran for five
seasons on NBC and one on Yahoo Screen. A quote from this show was six seasons
and a movie so we’ll see if this movie ever winds up being made in the future.
Blindspot- A show like this
was weird in how it evolved over time, but it always remained to be about one
woman helping the FBI solve crimes, even when her evil side took over at one
point during the series later. It was confusing in some places, but was always
good to watch at times.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine- While this
started on FOX, it moved to NBC for the end of its run. While NBC never did
find good slots to air it on at least in terms of scheduling in the time of
year with it airing later and later including ending its run during the summer,
this cop comedy was very good and proved that there could be comedies in this
type of genre.
Seinfeld- A show about nothing
proved that four neurotic friends could provide a whole lot of great stories. While
the ending was never one that was well liked, pretty much everything else that
I have seen before this is good to some degree and worth watching again and
again.
Allegiance- I loved this show.
It was one of the most underrated shows that I know of. And to think, people
just thought this was a rip-off of The Americans, a show I never even heard of
before and will never ever watch. This show was a drama about a man working
with the US government who then has to work with his parents on conflicting
issues in an interesting show from start to finish.
Parks and Recreation- While
the title of this pretty much explains what the show is about, it was always a
fun show to watch with all of its characters doing interesting and funny things
in a show that seemed to best fit the mockumentary craze that we see from time
to time.
30 Rock- There was a lot of
good sitcoms on NBC back in the day, which makes you wonder why they aren’t
trying as hard nowadays. But I loved this sitcom inspired by Tina Fey’s time as
the head writer on Saturday Night Live. It proved that it could have a lot of
relevant storylines going on and it could work in the occasional current event
in as well.
Parenthood (2010 series)- There
was another NBC show of the same name that didn’t last as long which should not
be confused with this one, also inspired by the same movie. It was easy to see
why the critics loved it even as it struggled to find viewers throughout its
whole run. It focused on a lot of characters and kept up with the kids as much
as the parents did too. It also gave us one of the best endings of a show in
television history.
Matlock- Also airing on ABC,
this courtroom drama about a lawyer and people who help him solve cases may not
have had much in terms of a recurring storyline, but did last quite well in
terms of making a good episode most of the time. Its simplicity is missed in
today’s TV shows.
Law and Order: Special Victims
Units- While a show about sex crimes is certain to be gruesome at times, it
also has a great plot with interesting characters and quite a gripped story
that keeps you coming back for more. It isn’t hard to see why this would be the
best NBC show in my mind and there’s a reason that it has outlasted all the
other primetime dramas in TV history.
The complete ranking (worst to
best): Betty White’s Off Their Rockers, Just Shoot Me!, Taken, The Pretender, Guys
with Kids, Law and Order: True Crime, The Blacklist: Redemption, Will and
Grace, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, American Odyssey, The Blacklist, The
Enemy Within, Crisis, Truth be Told, Superstore, The Island, That’s My Jam, Law
and Order, Up All Night, Howie Do It, Crossbones, Bad Judge, Shades of Blue, Bluff
City Law, Mr. Mayor, The Cape, Connecting, The Michael J Fox Show, Manifest, Ellen’s
Game of Games, Council of Dads, Debris, 1600 Penn, Powerless, Nurses (Canadian
series), Emerald City, Smash, Chicago Med, 1 versus 100, Last Comic Standing, Night
Court, Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, Prime Suspect, Perfect
Couples, Celebrity Name Game, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Family Game Fight, Deal
or No Deal, A to Z, Better Late Than Never, Law and Order: Organized Crime, Undateable,
JAG, Friends, La Brea, Ordinary Joe, Timeless, Grimm, New Amsterdam, AD: The
Bible Continues, Community, Blindspot, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Seinfeld, Allegiance,
Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, Parenthood (2010 series), Matlock, Law and
Order: Special Victims Units
