As we return to the new year and wake the site back up from its extended post-festive slumber, we’re going to kick things off with a new annual tradition. We completed the Geektown Awards at the end of 2023, however, at the bottom of the voting form, we had a free text box where voters can enter their favourite TV show of all time. It didn’t need to be something released in the voting period. Just a show that you love, that is either a great series, a comfort watch, or something to keep returning to. I then tabulated those results into a top list which we usually read out of the Geektown Radio podcast. However, from this year, I’ve decided to release it on the site instead. So here is the 2024 edition, voted for by you, of your Top Twenty Favourite TV Shows Of All Time.
20. The Wire
David Simon’s classic drama about the drug trade in Baltimore, Maryland. In the city of Baltimore, there are good and bad guys. Sometimes you need more than a badge to tell them apart. This highly realistic and unvarnished drama series chronicles the vagaries of crime, law enforcement, politics, education and media in Baltimore as it follows a team of cops and the criminals they are after.
19. Shadow And Bone
An adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels which sees dark forces conspire against orphan mapmaker Alina Starkov when she unleashes an extraordinary power that could change the fate of her war-torn world. A good drama which lasted two seasons, because… Netflix…
18. Lost
Ahh, ‘Lost’… Are they alive? Are They dead? What is that smoke monster? Why is there a polar bear? What is that hatch? J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof’s drama which followed a group of plane crash survivors, ran for six seasons, coming in for something of a bumpy landing at the end, but still beloved by many.
17. Ghosts
The wonderful ghost comedy concluded beautifully over Christmas after five seasons following the alive and dead residents of Button House. A great British show from start to finish, from the creative team behind Yonderland and Horrible Histories. We can’t wait to see what they do next.
16. Fawlty Towers
John Cleese’s magnum opus may only have 12 episodes, but every one of them is a work of comedic genius. The sort of show you can come back to again and again, and still find laugh-out-loud funny. A true British classic.
15. The Big Bang Theory
A modern American classic sitcom which introduced us to Leonard, Sheldon and (knock, knock, knock) Penny, alongside Howard, Rajesh, Bernadette and Amy. A group of science geeks and their various on/off partners. Not only was it a ratings smash, catapulting the show’s actors to stardom, it also spawned the hugely successful spin-off ‘Young Sheldon’.
14. Stranger Things / The X Files
It was a tie for 14th place, but I couldn’t think of two shows more perfectly matched to sit together. Netflix’s hit series, with its creepy Upside Down would be a perfect fit for investigation by Mulder and Scully. We have one final season to come of ‘Stranger Things’ as the… kids… who at this point probably have their own mortgages, head out for one final showdown… and we can’t wait!
13. Supernatural
Ahh, our beloved ‘Supernatural’. Lightning in a bottle. They’ve tried so many times to come up with spin-offs, but sadly nothing seems to stick. It just doesn’t seem to work without the boys – Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. There are a number of rumours floating around about a possible 16th Season of the show, but nothing has been confirmed, only that they would be up for doing it. And thankfully, we also still have Mark Sheppard (Crowley) with us after almost losing him to a massive cardiac event last year. Mark, we love you, you are a wonderful human being (as are all the cast we’ve had the pleasure of meeting), and glad to see you’re on the mend. The world is better with you in it!
12. Red Dwarf
A personal love of mine, and a classic British sitcom which just happens to be set in space. It’s been missing from our screens for a while due to some legal issues behind the scenes between co-creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, but thankfully, that is all sorted, so we hope to see the boys from the Dwarf back soon!
11. 24
A great concept with a great star in Kiefer Sutherland. We’d love to see a new series land at some point, even if it’s just to resolve the finale which (spoilers!) saw Jack rotting away in a Russian gulag. We know they’ve tried spin-offs, and talked about using the realtime format in different situations (like a hospital or law firm), but what we really want is Jack back.
10. The Sopranos
We hit the top ten with an American classic. David Chase’s story of Tony Soprano and the rather less-than-legal activities of his organisation captivated audiences for six seasons. It had its ups and downs, and a somewhat ambiguous ending, but still a phenomenal drama, with a great lead in the dearly departed James Gandolfini.
9. Happy Valley
Sally Wainwright’s brilliant crime drama lands the number nine spot, in part due to an outstanding finale season. If you want to know how dedicated Wainwright is to continuity, she held off on the final season to allow Rhys Connah (Ryan) to grow up into the teenager they needed for the story… It didn’t hurt that Sally had plenty of other work to write in the meantime!
8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Our beloved Buffy… Yes, the behaviour of its creator has been problematic in recent years, however, the show itself is still brilliant and the Buffyverse has recently reemerged as an audio drama, created by Amber Benson (aka Tara) and author Christopher Golden. Slayers: A Buffyverse Story sees Benson, joined by Charisma Carpenter, James Charles Leary, Emma Caulfield Ford, Juno Dawson, Laya DeLeon Hayes, Anthony Head, Juliet Landau, James Marsters, and Danny Strong in a brand new original story. Plus… That musical episode…
7. The Walking Dead
Another show we adore. It did have its ups and downs, and there were parts towards the end of Scott Gimple’s time as showrunner where the story was so slow it felt like wading through Treacle, but overall, it was a really fun zombie series, with a great cast, who seemed very much like a family. It gave us the brilliant Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, who is continuing his adventures with Lauren Cohan’s Maggie, Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon who is now in France, and we’ll soon get to find out what happens with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira)… assuming someone in the UK actually bothers to pick up these series in 2024…
6. Breaking Bad
Hard to think of a more perfectly crafted series than ‘Breaking Bad’. Even an under-par episode of this show (not that there are many) is better than most drama on TV. Astounding acting from Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Giancarlo Esposito, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks and the rest of the cast. Stunning scripts and directing from Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould and the team. The closest you’ll get to a flawless TV series.
5. Game of Thrones
Ahh… Game Of Thrones… The show which screwed up the final season so badly, it tanked the rewatchability of the entire series. That’s not to say there weren’t great moments across the seasons. There were many… which makes it rather worse… David Benioff & D. B. Weiss’ inability to pull it together and rush the finale season has to be one of the most epic failures in TV history. It was all right there, and they blew it.
4. Friends
The pinnacle of American sitcoms. When they cast the show, they captured lightning in a bottle. Everyone perfectly fitted their roles, it was funny, well-paced and produced some classic TV moments. We did, of course, tragically lose Matthew Perry last year, and the outpouring of love highlighted how much these characters and this show still means to people today.
3. Only Fools and Horses
From the ultimate classic American sitcom to the ultimate classic British sitcom. Only Fools and Horses might be 43 years old, but the adventures of Del Boy and Rodney are such a part of British culture at this point I don’t think they’ll ever go away. Such classic moments as Batman and Robin, falling through the bar, the chandelier, and many many more! It’s funny, it’s comfort, it’s home.
2. Doctor Who
Regenerated (or rather, “bigenerated”!) with a bang last year, the Doctor is back and stronger than ever! The Christmas special, which introduced us properly to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, alongside Millie Gibson as Ruby Rose, was the 3rd highest rated show on BBC One over the 2023 Christmas week (behind the New Year’s Fireworks and Call The Midwife). Plus you can now binge your way through a stack of old and NuWho seasons on BBC iPlayer, and there are rumours of various new spin-offs. Doctor Who is back in the hands of Russell T. Davies, and looks to be taking over the universe once again.
1. Lockwood & Co
So… yes. I know to many of you, this number one will be a shock. However, I can’t say I’m disappointed by it. Taking the top spot is ‘Lockwood & Co‘, the series which was cruelly axed by Netflix after one season last year. Written and directed by Joe Cornish, and based on Jonathan Stroud’s beloved young adult supernatural novels of the same name, the series was set in London, where the most gifted teenage ghost-hunters ventured nightly into perilous combat with deadly spirits. Amidst the many corporate, adult-run agencies, one stood alone: independent of any commercial imperative or adult supervision – a tiny startup, run by two teenage boys and a newly arrived, supremely psychically gifted girl, a renegade trio destined to unravel a mystery that would change the course of history: Lockwood & Co.
What’s so frustrating is that the series had so much potential. It was well cast, well acted, well directed, funny, entertaining, dramatic, and there are five books to work from, so lots more stories to tell. But, according to Netflix, it didn’t have enough eyes on it for the algorithm overlords to renew it. Really is a shame, and I would love someone else to pick it up and make more.
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