Quaeritur…

If you were to be stranded on an island with a big flat TV screen, …

…which THREE TV series on DVD (or other) would you choose to have with you?

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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142 Comments

  1. Brian O'Gallagher, Boston says:

    Star Trek: The Next Generation
    Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
    Star Trek (The Original Series)

    let’s hope all DVDs of Voyager and Enterprise went down with the ship. [EXECUTIVE RULING: “Star Trek” automatically includes all the series in all its forms. You get two more.]

  2. Symeon says:

    Battlestar Galactica and Lost, definately. I’m not sure about the third – but I think it’d be either Heroes or Fringe.

  3. Mary W says:

    Life is Worth Living, Murder She Wrote, and Monk.

  4. Stephen Morgan says:

    1. Fawltey Towers
    2. Complete BBC Shakespeare
    3. Sharpe

  5. Ryan says:

    Battlestar Galactica
    Simpsons
    Futurama

  6. The Simpsons – If I watched one show a day it would take me over a year to watch the whole thing.
    Band of Brothers – As good as tv gets. The best mini-series of all time.
    The Muppet Show – Music, comedy, and famous guest stars. What else would you want?

  7. Christabel says:

    (1) Upstairs Downstairs
    (2) Band of Brothers
    (3) Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)

  8. Mark says:

    Cheers
    Frasier
    The Simpsons

  9. Definitely:

    (1) House
    (2) Lost
    (3) Joan of Arcadia (I know, right?)

    ~cmpt

  10. Jane says:

    Thats a tough question. I’ll have to think about it.

  11. Brian Anderson says:

    1.

  12. Brian Anderson says:

    1. Six Great Ideas with Mortimer Adler and Bill Moyers
    2. Civilization with Kenneth Clark
    3. American Civil War by Ken Burns

    Brian

  13. Steve says:

    ***NEWSFLASH***

    Father Z will probably see this soon enough and make a post… The Russian Patriarch of the Orthodox Church has died – http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,462326,00.html

  14. christopher says:

    Hi Father,
    long time listener, first time caller. Couldn’t resist replying here:

    Fawlty Towers
    X-Files
    Heros

    Thanks, I’ll listen for your response off the air!

  15. Vicki says:

    Columbo
    The Twilight Zone (the original)
    Star Trek Next Generation [EXECUTIVE RULING: “Star Trek” automatically includes all the series in all its forms. I rule that spin offs are included.]

  16. Subvet says:

    The original Twilight Zone
    The Outer Limits
    Law & Order

  17. Paul says:

    M.A.S.H.

    The Woodwright Shop

    Fly Fishing Masters or On the Rise

    Close behind would be

    Lost

    BSG

    Heroes

    and maybe something like Top Chef, Kitchen Nightmares (BBC) or Iron Chef Japan

  18. Mary Jane says:

    Yankee Workshop
    The Sopranos
    Fawlty Towers

  19. Christabel @ 3:01 am
    What can I add? You got them. The best three. In the right order.

  20. John Harden says:

    1) Lost
    2) Band of Brothers
    3) Flight of the Conchords (assuming they make more than the one season)

  21. John Hammond says:

    1. M*A*S*H
    2. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
    3. Battlestar Galactica (re-imagined series)

  22. Paul says:

    I know you said three and TV series but you can’t go wrong with

    Chad Vader – Day Shift Manager

  23. eyeclinic says:

    It wouldn’t matter…there’s no electricity!

  24. Aelric says:

    ^ ha!

    I’d rather be stranded with Ginger, but on to the question: [EXECUTIVE RULING: Stranded with Ginger also includes the other dopes. Are you sure you want to go there?]

    1. Original Twilight Zone
    2. Original Mission Impossible
    3. BBC Jane Austen set

  25. John says:

    – Monty Python’s Flying Circus
    – Lost
    – Heroes

  26. Paul says:

    1 – Blackadder
    2 – Dad’s Army
    3 – Frasier

  27. Brian Wisconsin says:

    Twighlight Zone
    Cheers
    The EWTN Saints Shows of Bob & Penny Lord

    Honorable mention: Lost and Chuck (funniest show on NBC)

  28. Dave says:

    Gilligan’s Island, of course, so I could study all those neat gadgets that the Professor built. I would then reproduce them and live an idyllic life of ease on my island.

  29. Frank H says:

    This will clearly date me…

    1. Combat!
    2. The Prisoner [Haven’t thought about that for a while!.]
    3. The Fugitive (but only a bootleg copy since CBS/Paramount replaced all the original incidental music for Season 2)

  30. matt says:

    M*A*S*H
    Battlestar Galactica (new)
    Lost

  31. Matt Callihan says:

    Rockford Files
    Hawaii Five O
    Magnum P.I.

  32. Renee says:

    The Fugitive
    Perry Mason
    Miss Marple (the one with Joan Hickson)

  33. Vianney33 says:

    I love the excellent choices from the late 60’s and early 70’s.
    My three span the 60’s – 90’s.
    1. Star Trek (the original)
    2. Little House on the Prairie (I would have never admitted this back then)
    3. The Wonder Years (I love nostalgic shows)

  34. David Andrew says:

    1) Rumpole of the Baily
    2) Monty Python’s Flying Circus

    and the third is difficult; it’s a tie between Family Guy, M*A*S*H, The Addams Family or something more serious like the made-for-television serial of Brideshead Revisited (which may not qualify because it’s not actually a TV series per se.)

  35. Miseno says:

    1.)The Office
    2.)24
    3.)Brideshead Revisited (mini-series)

  36. Vianney33 says:

    Sorry, I got to thinking and decided I just couldn’t leave these three out.
    1. Leave it to Beaver
    2. Alfred Hitchcock
    3. Combat

    When you think about it, you didn’t have to worry about being assaulted by something vulgar or a politically correct story line back then, and were often times treated to a good “moral of the story”. Now adays you can’t avoid this, even in commercials. It is a little like sitting through some homilies that make you cringe these days.

  37. Mitchell says:

    1. Perry Mason
    2. Hogan’s Heroes
    3. The Prisoner

  38. MJS says:

    1. The Real McCoys
    2. The Dick Van Dyke Show
    3. The Untouchables (tied with) The Honeymooners

  39. WRiley says:

    1. Battlestar Galactica

    2. Band of Brothers

    3. Star Trek (original)

  40. Lindsay says:

    I hadn’t thought of Gilligan’s Island, my thought was MacGyver for inspiration;)

    Leave It to Beaver, Dick van Dyke, and I Love Lucy would probably tie for one, at least. Maybe the Andy Griffith show?

    Dick van Dyke is probably the most consistent through the whole series. Now, if I could have only the first three seasons of more than three shows, that would be ideal. Then I could consider Little House or The Waltons.

    And since someone else posted Murder She Wrote, I no longer feel so embarrassed that it is my secret favorite, lol. However, murder mysteries could be kind of creepy to have a steady diet of if alone on an island.

  41. jarhead462 says:

    Star Trek (original)
    M*A*S*H*
    Seinfeld

    Can I get another 3? or 6? [… no …]
    Columbo
    Fraiser
    Mary Tyler Moore
    The Shield
    Life is Worth Living
    Parker Lewis Can’t Loose
    etc. etc. etc.

    Semper Fi!

  42. 1. The West Wing [I was wondering when someone would come up with this one.]
    2. C.S.I. (Las Vegas)
    3. Law and Order (the original series)

  43. jarhead462 says:

    Wow I forgot The Rifleman!
    Shame on me!

    Semper Fi!

  44. tihald says:

    Babylon 5 for my geeky entertainment
    Firing Line with Wm Buckley and Life is Worth Living not only for the entertainment, but to give me something to ponder.

  45. Jenny Z says:

    Hmm…

    1) Battlestar Galactica (that’s a given)
    2) Firefly
    3) Futurama

  46. Cliff says:

    1. Frasier
    2. The Office (US)
    3. The Mighty Boosh series 3

  47. 1. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
    2. Star Trek: TNG
    3. The Simpsons

  48. Theresa says:

    Frasier
    Seinfeld
    The Bob Newhart Show
    (If one more could be allowed: Dr. Who, but only the early ones…)

  49. Thomas L says:

    Well,
    1. Arrested Development
    2. Bishop Sheen’s Life is Worth Living
    3. Probably, Law and Order (Original)- There’s just so many episodes [EXECUTIVE RULING: This automatically includes all the series in all its forms, as would Star Trek and CSI… I guess All In The Family would have to include The Jeffersons too, come to think of it.]

    With The Office(US), Psych or Monk, and Curb Your Enthusiasm as alternates/replacements for L&O

  50. Eric says:

    1. The Office (US version)
    2. 24
    3. Mythbusters

  51. Tomás López says:

    Not one vote for the Flying Nun? [Yah… that’s a shocker, ain’t it?]

  52. MargoB says:

    1. Mad About You, #1!
    2. Providence
    3. House or Ballykissangel

    Runners-up: Kenneth Clark’s Civilization; Will and Grace [ducks] (not likin’ the agenda, but it does have great writing and some good acting!)

  53. A Random Friar says:

    I’m more nerdy:

    1) McGyver — so I can figure out how to get OFF the island and power my large screen tv using coconut and seashell batteries. Although that may be a chicken-and-egg question. And get a lot of cornball entertainment out of it.

    2) Mythbusters — so I don’t actually attempt most of McGyver’s stunts — and get a lot of cornball education out of it.

    3) Someone else mentioned it, but Iron Chef Japan, so I can be inspired for my 1000th “Battle Coconut” against my imaginary, but very fierce opponent and archrival: Iron Chef Jesuit. And get a lot of cornball entertainment out of it.

  54. MargoB says:

    Wait! 1st place is a tie: how could I have forgotten “Jon and Kate Plus Eight”?!!

  55. So… lots of ideas here. Some of the series can be pretty long. BBC Shakespeare, for example, or all the Sherlock Holmes. We can’t, however, just say “Masterpiece Theatre”. CSI has about a zillion… but I think you would wind up suicidal. The Sopranos is brutal, but so very engaging. Star Trek with all the spinoffs would keep you busy. I didn’t see StarGate… but then again, I’ve never seen StarGate, other than the movie.

    Quite a few Battlestar Galactica fans, I see! You are to be praised.

    I noticed The West Wing: truly intelligent television once you get past the bias.

    Fulton Sheen! Interesting.

    Firing Line was creative! I didn’t think about a news/talk series. How about endless years of CBS Nightly News with Dan Rather. I’d Rather die, I think.

    Some oldies, too. I haven’t thought of Combat in years. I think I would rule that you can throw in The Rat Patrol as a bonus.

    Okay… back at it.

    If you want to revise.. go ahead.

  56. Chris says:

    First, don’t get me wrong, I love the show. But, I don’t understand why so many people would want to have LOST while stranded on a deserted island. Creepy.

    So my 3….
    1. the Practical(ish) one: Man vs Wild – so I could build a hut around my big screen to cut down on glare
    2. humorous: Everybody Loves Raymond
    3. something dramatic and cathartic, not depressing though…. Well, so much for my intro: LOST. I’d rather have it and then decide not to watch it, than not to have it.

  57. Aelric says:

    [EXECUTIVE RULING: Stranded with Ginger also includes the other dopes. Are you sure you want to go there?]

    Is this a trick question?

    * The Professor would be great for dealing with practicalities that I would be at a loss to solve (being one of those professor types that is mechanically challenged).
    * Gilligan’s antics would ensure I would not be rescued from this fantasy life with Ginger.
    * The Skipper, well, somebody has to do the physical labor and that would not be me (see The Professor).
    * The Howells: better than having the in-laws resident or within driving distance.
    * Mary Ann: Well, Ginger needs a girl-friend so that I would have peace and quiet to recite the Office and my daily Rosary.

    PS: The Prisoner – that white ball caused me nightmares when I was a kid!

  58. tj says:

    In no particular order…

    1. The Office
    2. The Simpsons
    3. Fulton Sheen

  59. Willie Z says:

    The Munsters
    The Waltons
    Frasier / Seinfeld

  60. Liam says:

    In alphabetical order:

    Carol Burnett Show
    The Twilight Zone (original)
    Upstairs, Downstairs

    Runners up:
    The Mary Tyler Moore Show (this was tough to make a runner up, but I’ve seen more of it repeatedly than Twilight Zone so there you go)
    The Waltons (yes, it could get rote, and the seasons sagged at the end, but it was a remarkably consistent ensemble bit of drama)
    Joan of Arcadia (season 1 had so much promise – and Little Girl God rocked!)
    Six Feet Under (maddeningly uneven, but superlative when it was)
    Mad Men (may rise to the first list if it continues – the image of Betty with a cigarette dangling from her lips while taking care of the neighbor’s avian pals is among the more priceless of the past decade of TV)

  61. Aelric says:

    Just for the record, I would trade in the TV and videos for the Complete Calvin & Hobbes.

  62. Anna Jean says:

    1.The Rifleman
    2. The Lone Ranger
    3. The Munsters

  63. Ed Casey says:

    Dick van Dyke Show (and spin-offs)
    The Carol Burnett Show (and spin-offs)
    Laugh-In (and spin-offs)

    I\’d want to keep it light and upbeat.

    Ed

  64. Helen Donnelly says:

    Life is Worth Living
    Carol Burnett Show
    Gunsmoke

    Helen
    Dearborn, MI

  65. Sawyer says:

    1. Paris Hilton’s My New BFF
    2. The Hills
    3. Rock of Love

  66. chironomo says:

    Aelric…

    Could you really be comfortable reciting the Rosary and saying Daily Office given the likely nature of your relationship with Ginger? Quite frankly… I could think of better things to do with MaryAnn than have her keep Ginger company…

    1. The Office (could we include all future episodes?)
    2. Fat March (truly… it was captivating…)
    3. X-Files

  67. Roland de Chanson says:

    1) Kenneth Clark’ Civilisation
    2) Jacob Bronowski’s Ascent of Man
    3) Abba Eban’s Heritage: Civilisation and the Jews
    4) Fulton Sheen’s Life is Worth Living

    (If I can’t take all four, I would refuse to be stranded!) [No… one of the series must be ejected from the lifeboat.]

  68. Ohio Annie says:

    I will trade my entire video collection to somebody on the neighboring island for their collection of US Army survival manuals. (how do you make a snare out of vines anyway?)

  69. booklover says:

    1. THE HONEYMOONERS no competition
    2. KOJAK who’s your baby?
    3. THE TONIGHT SHOW

  70. Lynne says:

    Law and Order
    Monty Python
    Battlestar Galactica

  71. Fr. Seth Wymer says:

    1. House
    2. Family Guy-extremely irreverent, but awfully funny
    3. The Roast of Dean Martin

  72. Brian Day says:

    1) House, MD – I love this show although the writing has fallen off a bit.
    2) Babylon 5 – hands down over Battlestar Galactica (OK – flame me!)
    3) X-Files – though I have to acknowledge Fringe as a worthy successor.

  73. Fr. Gary V says:

    1. I Love Lucy
    2. Golden Girls
    3. Mama\’s Family

  74. Baron Korf says:

    Highlander
    Babylon 5 [A lot of people really like this series. I have never seen it.]
    Life is Worth Living

  75. Charivari Rob says:

    I think A Random Friar is closest to my thought processes in this matter.

    If I’m in my problem-solving, geek/engineer mode (presuming I’m on the proverbial tropical deserted island), I’m looking for the collected DVD set of some how-to/survival/cooking series. Something to teach me how to build a dugout/outrigger canoe, something to teach me to survive in the hunter/gatherer department (episode 1 – Poisonous Mushrooms), and something to teach me how to cannibalize the components of said TV/DVD player to build a transmitter. Honorable Mention to MacGyver (and Mythbusters).

    Brings to mind a parody I saw of that Tom Hanks movie from a few years back. At the end, the protagonist has been rescued, is somewhere in the American Heartland, discharging his duty by delivering that one last express passage, the one he kept sealed all that time on that lonely island, etc… It turns out to have a been a Satellite phone and a box of batteries!

    If I’m looking to kick back and enjoy the stay (let’s say it’s Manhattan Island), [LOL! Good one…. but no.] then I’d say…

    Star Trek
    Monty Python’s Flying Circus
    The Muppet Show

    Honorable mention to Northern Exposure & Ballykissangel.

    Rob

  76. Lirioroja says:

    1. The Simpsons
    2. The Muppet Show
    3. The Twilight Zone (original)

    I seriously considered Brideshead Revisited and the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice.
    Even though I love those mini-series, if I were stranded I think I’d rather have the
    books.

  77. MikeG says:

    1. Battlestar Galactica
    2. Futurama
    3. The Office [EXECUTIVE DECREE: The Office includes both UK and USA versions.]

  78. TNCath says:

    1. The Andy Griffith Show
    2. The Beverly Hillbillies
    3. I Love Lucy

  79. David says:

    1. ER
    2. M*A*S*H
    3. JAG

    if the store was out of any of these, then The West Wing is a very suitable substitute

  80. Eric says:

    All in the Family [You get The Jeffersons with that, of course.]
    Carol Burnett
    Andy Griffith

  81. Nicola C says:

    1. Only Fools and Horses
    2. Inspector Morse
    3. I’m torn between Numbers and Bones

  82. Jeff R. says:

    Alright, here are my three:

    1.) Battlestar Galactica (re-imagined)
    2.) Lost [This is popping up frequently. I saw a couple episodes, but decided that if I would ever see it, I would wait a few years and try to see the series as a whole.]
    3.) The West Wing [Good choice.]

    I pick them because in each case, the writing is very well done, the plot is engaging, the characters are well developed, and there is a decent mix of heavy drama and humor. Pure comedy is great, but I think if I were stranded on an island I’d want each of my choices to have some depth to them as well.

  83. Ager Flandriae says:

    1) Dallas
    2) Alf
    3) Family Guy

  84. Andy Lucy says:

    Let’s see…. gonna go with…

    Firefly.. short-lived, but I can watch it over and over (I include the follow up movie “Serenity” in this as well) [EXECUTIVE DECREE: Movies from shows are included in the series.]

    BSG… of course

    NCIS… there is just something so right about a Goth chick in the basement doing the forensics.

    Close runners-up… UFO, the early 70s series by Gerry Anderson, and The Prisoner.

  85. Joan says:

    Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister (I consider this required viewing for all would-be politicians!) [How I wish there was an ecclesiastical version. One of the sharpest shows I’ve seen!]
    Law & Order
    CSI Miami

  86. Fr. Z. said “EXECUTIVE RULING: This automatically includes all the series in all its forms, as would Star Trek and CSI… I guess All In The Family would have to include The Jeffersons too, come to think of it.

    All in the Family would also have to include Maude, and from that Good Times

    If you really want the most bang for your buck, pick Saint Elsewhere because of the “Tommy Westphall Crossover theory”

  87. supertradmom says:

    BBC Complete Shakespeare

    BBC Peter Whimsey Series-either one

    BBC Series of Dickens

  88. Paul the Other says:

    Eh, something that would inform me as to how to build a boat in primitive circumstances.

  89. Todd says:

    1. Dr. Who (The new series is fantastic, and I can’t believe I’m the first to mention it! The great thing is, by Fr. Z’s executive ruling, it includes both the older and new series and it’s equally great, if not darker spin off, Torchwood.) [Weird show… and I detested the homosexual overtone. Couldn’t do that one after checking out the first season.]

    2. Heroes [Another weird but more engaging show. What I find troubling is the ambiguity of good and evil. This reflects out age, I guess.]

    3. Frasier (I guess, by executive decree, this also includes Cheers?) [EXECUTIVE DECREE: Yes. Cheers and Frasier must go together.]

    (Battlestar Galactica and The Golden Girls I might have to sneak in.) [Like matter and anti-matter. For the safety of the universe, I decree that it must be one or the other, but not both on the same island.]

  90. pelerin says:

    What a fascinating selection. I’m surprised nobody has mentioned ‘One foot in the grave’ but perhaps it is too English to have been shown in America? It would remind the castaway of the problems he had left behind in civilisation and also raise a laugh.
    Yes I think watching archbishop Fulton Sheen would be most uplifting but although I used to enjoy the original ‘Twilight Zone’ it would be far too spooky to watch stranded alone.
    And my third would also have to be ‘Faulty Towers’ which never fails to raise a laugh. So two comedies and all of Fulton Sheen’s talks to lift the spirits.

  91. Paul says:

    “Eh, something that would inform me as to how to build a boat in primitive circumstances.

    Comment by Paul the Other — 5 December 2008 @ 10:47 am ”

    That’s why I picked the Woodwrights Shop and not the New Yankee Workshop

  92. Thomas L says:

    Father Z, I have to agree about The West Wing. If it weren’t for the obnoxious bias, it would definitely make my top 3.

  93. Massachusetts Catholic says:

    Hi,
    Going back to the ’90s, I would add my old favorite,
    *Homicide: Life on the Street (Andre Brauer (sp?) was Catholic)
    *Pride and Prejudice — BBC version (I’m a girl)
    *Battlestar Galactica — new (I’m a geek)

  94. Devin says:

    1.firefly. Best show on the planet, anyone who likes BSG or Star Trek would love it, and people who don’t even like sci-fi, but appreciate drama humour and action will love it :)
    2.All Creatures Great and Small(BBC)
    3. Toss up, BSG or Star Trek, maybe House.

  95. Brendan says:

    Dexter
    Seinfeld
    It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

  96. Luke says:

    1) Scrubs
    2) Jeeves & Wooster (BBC)
    3) Arrested Development

    4) Lost (if the island inhabited by strange forces with mysterious intent)

    I figure I’d want my favorite comedy shows with me if I was on a depressing desert island. I included Lost, however, as a fourth potential show because it could help me survive if it turned out that the island I was on was being controlled by mysterious powers. Or if I could bring future seasons of Lost with me and find out the ending.

    -L

  97. Dominic says:

    1. Friends (need some comedy)
    2. 24 (Makes you realise how much worse things could be)
    3. Brideshead Revisited (the Granada Series – sublime)

    No. 4 would have been Fr Z’s podcasts of course :-)

  98. Romulus says:

    Can’t believe no one has mentioned Green Acres.

  99. Mike Morrow says:

    1. All Creatures Great and Small (All 90 episodes!)
    2. Band of Brothers
    3. Cosmos (Carl Sagan)

  100. Geoffrey says:

    1. Alias
    2. King of Queens
    3. Fraiser

  101. Art says:

    1) Survivorman – I’d like to stay alive, thanks.
    2) The Boat Shop – That palm tree would make make a nice boat…
    3) HowStuffWorks – I bet I can make a radio transceiver out of that TV and power supply I have here.

    Trying to enjoy being on a desert island would be like trying to enjoy purgatory. I’d rather get off it and back to civilization sooner rather than later. ;-)

  102. marnie says:

    1. I Love Lucy
    2, Law and Order (all the different ones)
    3. The Immemorial Tridentine Mass- Narrated by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

  103. RosieC says:

    Northern Exposure(as yet unmentioned)
    The West Wing(infuriating at times but very well written and thought provoking)
    Days of Our Lives (Not actually on video, but so many characters die and come back to life that it’s probably got some useful hints on it.)

  104. If I’m stuck with 3 here’s the list.

    1. Solemn Mass DVD…If I’m going to be trapped on a deserted Island, and since I’m not anticipating a priest being on this island, having Mass will remind me of what I’m missing.
    2. Mythbusters…My inner science nerd.
    3. Dinosaurs …I was mad when that show got canceled…no more.

  105. Vianney33 says:

    Sorry, this is my third post but I keep remembering great TV series from the 60’s & 70’s.
    Here is my tribute to Irwin Allen:
    1. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
    2. Lost in Space (allthough nobody like the weasel Dr. Smith)
    3. The Time Tunnel

  106. bobd says:

    Well, Father, you didn’t say whether there was any electricity to power that flat screen TV or the dvd player. [There is, of course, a miniature arc reactor available, useful also for popping the popcorn that washes up in crates from time to to time.] But assuming there is:
    1. The Donna Reed show-I had a crush on Shelley Fabares and I loved her song “Johnny Angel”
    2. I Dream of Jeannie
    3. If I say “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” can I get Gilligan thrown in (due to Bob Denver) because I loved MaryAnn.

  107. bobd says:

    P.S. also Paul Peterson (who played Shelley’s younger brother) also had a big hit that he sang on the show called “My Dad”. It was a really terrific song and made the top ten. Johnny Angel was #1 for several weeks and I voted for it every week on WKBW in Buffalo.

  108. Nathan says:

    To really stretch the conceputal envelope, I would hope that a “TV series” would include the TV coverage of the “World Series.” If that flies, my collection would be:

    1. EWTN’s coveage of EF Masses, especially Fr. Goodwin’s homily on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in 2007.
    2. The 2004 World Series.
    3. Any pick from Christabel and Henry Edwards’ selections.

    Is this a postmodernist interpretation of “TV Series?” [This is a WDTPRS benevolent dictator’s interpretation according to whim.] I do admit to defining the concept according to my feelings and my experience, rather than an objective reality….The objective reality is that I haven’t paid too much attention to a TV series since, well, Love Boat was on the air.

    In Christ,

  109. Sieber says:

    Boston Legal, for its unintended send up of mindless emotive liberalism.

    Time for Beany, circa 1948, with Daws Butler & Stan Freeberg. (Einsteins favorite)

    Ozzie & Harriet, so I can see the kids in the background with whom I went to school.

  110. Nathan: especially Fr. Goodwin’s homily on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in 2007

    Now that you mention it, the finest 25 minutes of audio the modern era has produced, with the first sight of the procession for that Mass being the most electric single visual image in the lifetimes of those of us who date to pre-Vatican II days.

  111. Roland de Chanson says:

    Fr. Z: [No… one of the series must be ejected from the lifeboat.]

    OK, fair enough. I hope Bronowski can swim.

  112. Michael UK says:

    House;
    Monk;
    Rockford;
    Columbo.

    Desert Island Disks allows Shakespeare and The Bible as automatics.

    CD of the late Fr. Oswald Baker’s Mass
    and,
    DVD of Pre-1962 Tridium at Durham University Debating Chamber -Celebrant Fr. T C G Glover. [Sorry. Something has to go. Only three.]

  113. Paul says:

    Tales of the Unexpected
    Night Gallery
    The Wild Wild West

  114. Ttony says:

    The Royle Family
    The Beiderbecke Affair
    Only Fools And Horses (when Del’s son is born)

  115. Ttony says:

    “Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister [How I wish there was an ecclesiastical version. One of the sharpest shows I’ve seen!]”

    There was an Anglican version in the 60s: “All Gas and Gaiters”

  116. pdt says:

    1) Connections (James Burke)
    2) Bless Me Father
    3) The West Wing

  117. Brian Day says:

    I’ve already voted but I wanted to make a comment about what our gracious host wrote about Lost: [This is popping up frequently. I saw a couple episodes, but decided that if I would ever see it, I would wait a few years and try to see the series as a whole.]

    My choices had both current TV series and older, or “classic” series. It would have been interesting to see how the choices would have been made if the choices had to be series that have “stood the test of time”.

  118. Giulio Vian says:

    1. Monk
    2. Il Giornalino di Gian Burrasca
    3. Nero Wolfe

  119. pelerin says:

    Paul mentions Tales of the Unexpected. A great series but surely once seen the end is no longer unexpected?!!

    Ttony mentions ‘All Gas and Gaiters’ which I also remember. Wasn’t there a ‘Catholic’ follow up with Derek Nimmo? – I think it was called ‘Oh Brother!.’ Has anyone mentioned ‘Father Ted’? Very funny and watchable over again.

  120. C. D. says:

    1. Highway to Heaven
    2. Fantasy Island
    3. Law & Order

  121. Tony says:

    1. Supernatural
    2. Hee Haw
    3. Saturday Night Live (1972 vintage)

  122. CB says:

    Monk
    Lost
    As many BBC literary movies as possible. (Dickens collection, Austen collection, Gaskell collection, Brideshead Revisited, etc.) [only THREE – TV series – pick ’em]

  123. Derik says:

    I don’t watch TV series, so I may get an executive ruling. [EXECUTIVE DECREE: If they are sold together as a series, okay.]

    – Sagan’s Cosmos
    – Documentaries narrated by Attenborough
    – non-verbal films

  124. 1. Babylon 5 — The greatest and best-plotted SF show ever. And they have priests and rabbis in space, too.
    2. Firefly — The best characters of any SF show ever.
    3. Lost — if I am allowed to have the whole series, including future episodes! [EXECUTIVE RULING: All future episodes are miraculously updated, either via seagull or another washed up crate with the popcorn delivery.]

    Definitely not BSG. It’s a lot of fun, but the writers aren’t always consistent with what they have established before. That sometimes spoils it for me.

  125. Derik says:

    I don’t watch TV series, so I may get an executive ruling. [EXECUTIVE DECREE: If they are sold together as a series, okay.] OK so non-verbal films have to go. I would rather have Burke’s Connections.

  126. tradone says:

    Quick only 3 !!!!

    1. Thirty Something
    2. Frasier
    3. Seinfeld

  127. lmsrep says:

    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
    Bless me Father.
    Fawlty Towers

  128. David Cheney says:

    1) Columbo
    2) Brother Cadfael
    3) Dinosaurs

  129. Dennis says:

    Dr. Who ( old & new series)
    Green Acers
    Fawlty Towers

    Columbo [Just three]
    Newhart
    X-Files
    The Beverly Hillbillies

    yes it’s more than 3 but I found it so hard to pick only 3

  130. Kathleen says:

    Perry Mason
    Mary Tyler Moore
    Remington Steele

  131. Eric R. says:

    Lots of good selections. Since this is a desert island scenario, I’ll be somewhat practical and pick long-running series.

    Seinfeld
    M*A*S*H*
    Masterpiece Theater (hosted by Alistair Cooke from 1971-1992) – this doesn’t actually exist on DVD in its entirety, but since this is a fantasy scenario I’ll choose it anyway.

  132. little gal says:

    My three choices in no particular order:

    *Foyle’s War
    *The Jack Benny Show (no one is as funny as Jack!)
    *Jakers, the Adventures of Piggly Winks (yes, it’s a kid’s series, but it teaches moral lessons & captures the innocence of childhood from years past. It’s also very funny).

  133. Blue Falcon says:

    A-Team
    Sledgehammer
    Burn Notice

  134. 1. Airwolf
    2. Star Trek the Next Generation
    3. C.S.I. New York

  135. TKS says:

    Beauty and the Beast
    Murder She Wrote
    Magnum PI

  136. RBrown says:

    Two six hour mini series
    1. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    2. Smiley’s People

    3. Nero Wolfe or Sherlock Holmes (A&E quit running the Wolfe series, so I bought the set–I have two of the Holmes sets).

  137. Scott says:

    1. Father Ted
    2. Frasier
    3. Everybody Loves Raymond

  138. kdpfam says:

    1. The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
    2. Ozzie and Harriet
    3. My Three Sons
    4. Car 54 Where are You [Remember the part about “three”?]

  139. Willebrord says:

    Hmm, let’s see… Hogan’s Heroes.

    That’d be the only one I’d certainly want. Then whatever else seemed available (maybe Looney Tunes).

  140. Megan says:

    This was a hard choice, but here are mine:
    1. Beauty and the Beast
    2. Star Trek
    3. MacGyver

  141. BJA says:

    (1) Deadwood
    (2) The Wire
    (3) Lost

    Honorable mentions:

    Mad Men
    The Shield

  142. ken says:

    Twilight Zone
    Star Trek, all iterations (thanks for the loophole, Father!)
    Road to Avonlea (Hey, it’s about people stuck on an island, too!)

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