1001 TV Series You Must Watch Before You Die (2015)
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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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50 new
The 20th Annual Golden Globes Awards
1963, in 0 top lists Check -
99 new
Seven Up!
1964, in 5 top lists Check -
100 new
7 Plus Seven
1970, in 2 top lists Check -
101 new
21 Up
1977, in 2 top lists Check -
102 new
28 Up
1984, in 5 top lists Check -
103 new
35 Up
1991, in 2 top lists Check -
104 new
42 Up
1998, in 2 top lists Check -
105 new
49 Up
2005, in 2 top lists Check -
106 new
56 Up
2012, in 2 top lists Check -
142 new
AFL-NFL World Championship Game
1967, in 0 top lists Check -
204 new
Semnadtsat mgnoveniy vesny
1973 — a.k.a. Seventeen Moments of Spring, in 2 top lists Check -
209 new
The World at War
1973, in 1 top list Check -
212 new
Welt am Draht
1973 — a.k.a. World on a Wire, in 2 top lists Check -
214 new
Scener ur ett äktenskap
1973 — a.k.a. Scenes from a Marriage, in 4 top lists Check -
217 new
The Magician
1973, in 0 top lists Check -
248 new
I, Claudius
1976, in 2 top lists Check -
266 new
Roots
1977, in 0 top lists Check -
278 new
Jesus of Nazareth
1977, in 1 top list Check -
307 new
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
1979, in 2 top lists Check -
312 new
Berlin Alexanderplatz
1980, in 7 top lists Check -
324 new
Brideshead Revisited
1981, in 2 top lists Check -
325 new
The Borgias
1981, in 0 top lists Check -
365 new
1st Annual MTV Video Music Awards
1984, in 0 top lists Check -
380 new
La piovra
1984, in 0 top lists Check -
389 new
Heimat - Eine Chronik in elf Teilen
1984 — a.k.a. Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany, in 10 top lists Check -
390 new
Die Zweite Heimat - Chronik Einer Jugend
1992 — a.k.a. Heimat 2: Chronicle of a Generation, in 4 top lists Check -
397 new
Anzacs
1985, in 0 top lists Check -
399 new
Das Boot
1985, in 1 top list Check -
400 new
Edge of Darkness
1985, in 0 top lists Check -
413 new
The Flying Doctors
1985, in 0 top lists Check -
428 new
The Singing Detective
1986, in 3 top lists Check -
458 new
Dekalog
1989, in 11 top lists Check -
482 new
House of Cards
1990, in 1 top list Check -
523 new
Century Falls
1993, in 0 top lists Check -
556 new
Pride and Prejudice
1995, in 2 top lists Check -
580 new
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
1997, in 2 top lists Check -
628 new
The Corner
2000, in 1 top list Check -
645 new
Waiting for Godot
2001, in 0 top lists Check -
650 new
Krapp's Last Tape
2000, in 0 top lists Check -
651 new
Rough for Theatre I
2000, in 0 top lists Check -
652 new
Rough for Theatre II
2000, in 0 top lists Check -
653 new
Play
2001, in 0 top lists Check -
655 new
Breath
2001, in 0 top lists Check -
656 new
Not I
2000, in 0 top lists Check -
657 new
That Time
2000, in 0 top lists Check -
658 new
Footfalls
2001, in 0 top lists Check -
662 new
Catastrophe
2000, in 0 top lists Check -
663 new
What Where
2000, in 0 top lists Check -
667 new
The Blue Planet
2001, in 1 top list Check -
668 new
Band of Brothers
2001, in 1 top list Check
Last updated on Nov 3, 2023; source