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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1 new
Toast of the Town
1948 — a.k.a. The Ed Sullivan Show, in 0 top lists Check -
14 new
Bandstand
1952, in 0 top lists Check -
23 new
Tonight!
1953, in 0 top lists Check -
32 new
The Eurovision Song Contest
1956, in 0 top lists Check -
33 new
The Nat King Cole Show
1954, in 0 top lists Check -
47 new
Canzonissima
1958, in 0 top lists Check -
70 new
Die Rudi Carrell Show
1965, in 0 top lists Check -
76 new
Sábado gigante
1962, in 0 top lists Check -
77 new
The Andy Williams Show
1962, in 0 top lists Check -
78 new
The Andy Williams Show
1969, in 0 top lists Check -
85 new
Ready, Steady, Go!
1963, in 0 top lists Check -
88 new
The Judy Garland Show
1963, in 0 top lists Check -
110 new
Top of the Pops
1964, in 0 top lists Check -
133 new
The Monkees
1966, in 0 top lists Check -
153 new
Laugh-In
1967 — a.k.a. Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, in 0 top lists Check -
156 new
The Dick Cavett Show
1968, in 0 top lists Check -
157 new
Civilisation
1969, in 0 top lists Check -
159 new
Monty Python's Flying Circus
1969, in 1 top list Check -
168 new
The Partridge Family
1970, in 0 top lists Check -
174 new
Flip
1970, in 0 top lists Check -
175 new
Hey Hey, It's Saturday
1971, in 0 top lists Check -
185 new
Parkinson
1971, in 0 top lists Check -
187 new
Soul Train
1971, in 0 top lists Check -
206 new
An American Family
1973, in 0 top lists Check -
221 new
Happy Days
1974, in 0 top lists Check -
241 new
Saturday Night Live
1975, in 0 top lists Check -
253 new
Domenica in
1976, in 0 top lists Check -
259 new
The Muppet Show
1976, in 0 top lists Check -
286 new
The Kenny Everett Video Show
1978, in 0 top lists Check -
330 new
Wetten, dass..?
1981, in 0 top lists Check -
346 new
Fame
1982, in 0 top lists Check -
365 new
1st Annual MTV Video Music Awards
1984, in 0 top lists Check -
425 new
La corrida
1986, in 0 top lists Check -
512 new
Late Show with David Letterman
1993, in 0 top lists Check -
519 new
Beavis and Butt-Head
1993, in 0 top lists Check -
565 new
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
1996, in 0 top lists Check -
567 new
Pop Up Video
1997, in 0 top lists Check -
694 new
The Osbournes
2002, in 0 top lists Check -
750 new
Strictly Come Dancing
2004, in 0 top lists Check -
751 new
The X Factor
2004 — a.k.a. The X Factor UK, in 0 top lists Check -
768 new
Dancing with the Stars
2005, in 0 top lists Check -
791 new
America's Got Talent
2006, in 0 top lists Check -
832 new
Flight of the Conchords
2007, in 0 top lists Check -
894 new
Glee
2009, in 0 top lists Check -
978 new
Nashville
2012, in 0 top lists Check -
1070 new
Empire
2015, in 0 top lists Check
Last updated on Nov 3, 2023; source