1001 TV Series You Must Watch Before You Die (2015)
Created by Apu.
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This is the 1st edition (October 2015) and the latest addition to the bestselling and highly acclaimed 1001-series.
"From "Leave it to Beaver" to "Breaking Bad", "The Honeymooners" to "Homeland", this compilation of important and groundbreaking television shows is packed full of trivia and will be sure to make you want to pick up the remote or start streaming. Selected by an international team of experts and covering a worldwide spectrum of programs from the classics of the 1950s to the cutting-edge shows of today, 1001 TV Series is one of the most comprehensive books ever published on the topic of television."
This volume is virtually impossible to finish (as you have to watch every single episode of every single entry). Not to mention many of the shows are still running this very day.
If the authors instead chose to focus only on TV-series/TV-Mini-series/TV-movies you might have had a chance, but unfortunately, TV shows - including Game shows, Reality and Talk shows - are also included.
NOTE: the book contains some TV-movies or stand-alone episodes from TV-series, but the vast majority of the entries are either TV-series, TV-Mini-series or TV shows.
The genres are:
Action/Adventure: 43
Animation: 13
Awards show: 3
Biography: 1
Comedy: 246
Comedy/Drama: 31
Crime: 1
Crime/Mystery: 101
Documentary: 18
Drama: 226
Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi: 107
Game show: 26
Historical drama: 60
Music/Musical: 13
Reality: 31
Soap opera: 28
Sports: 2
Talk Show: 16
Variety: 22
Western: 13
= 1001
TV-series/shows/movies that, according to the introduction by Robb Pearlman, "could not be included" (it is never argued why):
The Winds of War (1983)
Lonesome Dove (1989)
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) [???????]
Sybil (1976)
Gia (1998)
Trilogy of Terror (1975)
Duel (1971)
V (1983)
Recount (2008)
Game Change (2012)
An Early Frost (1984)
And the Band Played On (1993)
Brian's Song (1971)
Mildred Pierce (2011)
Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001).
Some entries that most likely will cause some problems in terms of checking them are the Awards shows: Academy Awards (#17), Golden Globe Awards (#50), MTV Video Music Awards (#365) as well as "Eurovision Song Contest" (#32). Instead of adding every single annual event for these shows, I decided to add only the earliest entry I could locate on IMDb (as if you care about those shows and/or will finish this list anyway).
NOTE: "1001 TV Series You Must Watch Before You Die" and "1001 TV Shows You Must Watch Before You DIe" have identical entires (1948-2015) - as well as the same page total (960) - although they're two different books. Generally speaking, the only differences between the two books are:
- the introduciton is longer in "Shows" (an introduction by Robb Pearlman) whereas "Series" have a much shorter introduction and instead have an additional index (Index by Genre). The "Index by Genre" is not featured in "Shows".
- "Shows" is in hardcover whereas "Series" is in paperback.
- The front and back cover are different.
If you spot any errors (or if any of the abovementioned series/shows I've listed earlier has been added to IMDb), or if you have any questions about the entries or the list as a whole, please don't hesitate to PM me.
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57 new
The Twilight Zone
1959, in 0 top lists Check -
67 new
Mister Ed
1958, in 0 top lists Check -
91 new
The Outer Limits
1963, in 0 top lists Check -
92 new
Bewitched
1964, in 0 top lists Check -
112 new
The Munsters
1964, in 0 top lists Check -
115 new
I Dream of Jeannie
1965, in 0 top lists Check -
130 new
Dark Shadows
1966, in 0 top lists Check -
208 new
The Tomorrow People
1973, in 0 top lists Check -
228 new
Land of the Lost
1974, in 0 top lists Check -
258 new
The Krofft Supershow
1976, in 0 top lists Check -
265 new
Children of the Stones
1977, in 0 top lists Check -
279 new
Fantasy Island
1977, in 0 top lists Check -
392 new
Robin of Sherwood
1984 — a.k.a. Robin Hood, in 0 top lists Check -
425 new
La corrida
1986, in 0 top lists Check -
439 new
Ramayan
1987, in 0 top lists Check -
476 new
Northern Exposure
1990, in 0 top lists Check -
518 new
Goodnight Sweetheart
1993, in 0 top lists Check -
526 new
Riget
1994 — a.k.a. The Kingdom, in 7 top lists Check -
533 new
The Stand
1994, in 1 top list Check -
550 new
Sliders
1995, in 0 top lists Check -
573 new
Ally McBeal
1997, in 0 top lists Check -
578 new
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1997, in 0 top lists Check -
598 new
Charmed
1998, in 0 top lists Check -
610 new
Angel
1999, in 0 top lists Check -
653 new
Play
2001, in 0 top lists Check -
703 new
Angels in America
2003, in 1 top list Check -
704 new
Carnivà le
2003, in 0 top lists Check -
709 new
Dead Like Me
2003, in 0 top lists Check -
717 new
The Second Coming
2003, in 0 top lists Check -
719 new
Tru Calling
2003, in 0 top lists Check -
724 new
The Mighty Boosh
2003, in 0 top lists Check -
742 new
Lost
2004, in 0 top lists Check -
747 new
Hex
2004, in 0 top lists Check -
755 new
Supernatural
2005, in 0 top lists Check -
839 new
Pushing Daisies
2007, in 0 top lists Check -
845 new
Being Human
2008, in 0 top lists Check -
847 new
Ashes to Ashes
2008, in 0 top lists Check -
849 new
True Blood
2008, in 0 top lists Check -
870 new
Misfits
2009, in 0 top lists Check -
871 new
Being Erica
2009, in 0 top lists Check -
893 new
The Vampire Diaries
2009, in 0 top lists Check -
928 new
The Fades
2011, in 0 top lists Check -
948 new
Vampire Prosecutor
2011, in 0 top lists Check -
955 new
Once Upon a Time
2011, in 0 top lists Check -
961 new
Game of Thrones
2011, in 0 top lists Check -
962 new
Grimm
2011, in 0 top lists Check -
972 new
American Horror Story
2011, in 0 top lists Check -
980 new
Les Revenants
2012 — a.k.a. The Returned, in 0 top lists Check -
1011 new
Da Vinci's Demons
2013, in 0 top lists Check -
1012 new
Sleepy Hollow
2013, in 0 top lists Check
Last updated on Nov 3, 2023; source