My Top 25 Favorite TV Shows (5-1) · 5:31am Sep 19th, 2013
Let's finish up my list of my top 25 favorite television shows with numbers 5-1!
#5: Gargoyles
Gargoyles focuses on a group of gargoyles (creatures who are frozen in stone during the day and come to life at night) who, following the mass murder of their clan in 994, are cursed to remain frozen in stone until their home castle rises above the clouds, which it manages to do in New York City 1000 years later thanks to billionaire David Xanatos. The gargoyles, which consist of Goliath, Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, and Bronx, are soon betrayed by Xanatos as well as by Goliath's mate Demona (who is mysteriously still alive after 1000 years but I won't give away her backstory because spoilers) but they find a new home in the city thanks to their new friend, NYPD detective Elisa Maza. The series depicts their adventures as they protect New York City from criminals, Xanatos, Demona, and a wide assortment on villains of both earthly and supernatural origins. This series is just awesome. Everything about it is great. The characters, the action, the mythos, the story arcs, everything. There's even some cool references to Shakespearean plays with one of the major villains in the series being Macbeth himself, who, in this series, is a badass bounty hunter who has quite an interesting connection to Demona. The series spanned three seasons and even continued on a bit in comic book form. The first two seasons are the best though while the third was just meh. Heck, most of the third season isn't even considered canon by the creators. I've yet to get my hands on the comic books but I sure do want to read them. And, for anyone who's wondering, my favorite character is Brooklyn. You can find all of the episodes on Youtube and I highly recommend that you check this series out if you haven't yet because it's absolutely fantastic!
#4: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012
My first and only tie on this list. I'm sure a lot of you have at least heard of TMNT by this point. As of now, it's already in its third incarnation (or fourth if you count the comics). Anyway, for those of you who don't know, the basic premise of TMNT is there are four mutated turtle brothers, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo, who are taught martial arts by their sensei and surrogate father Splinter (who is either a human martial arts master named Hamato Yoshi mutated into a humanoid rat or is a mutated rat who used to be the pet of a human martial arts master named Hamato Yoshi depending on which incarnation you're watching). Together, alongside their main human friend April O'Neil (whose profession varies in each incarnation), they fight against their arch-enemy Oroku "The Shredder" Saki in order to protect New York City and, by extension, the world (and even the universe) from his evil. Now, while I respect it, I was never a fan of the 1987 incarnation of the series. No disrespect to it (as I have to thank it for paving the way for the later incarnations that I would grow to love), the series was just before my time and what I have seen of it just hasn't pulled me in. For me, I started with the second incarnation: the 2003-2009 series. The characters were extremely likable, the action was fast paced and exciting, it was dark, it was gritty, it was funny, it was emotional, it was bodacious (okay, I'm never using that word again). I think it's clear that I really liked it. The series spanned seven spectacular seasons and ended with a film in 2009 called Turtles Forever which brought together the 2003 turtles, the 1987 turtles, and the original turtles from the 1984 Mirage comics. I was sad to see the series go as it was, and still is obviously, one of my favorite shows. Later, I heard that a new incarnation of the show was being made and it was going to be a CGI series on Nickelodeon. At first, I was really skeptical. Firstly because Nickelodeon hadn't had a really good reputation at the time (and still kinda doesn't) thanks to shows like Fred: The Series, The Annoying Orange, and various other gems of awfulness; and secondly because I was still hooked on the 2003 series. However, I kept an open mind and gave this new incarnation a chance. And I'm glad I did because I quickly grew to love this new incarnation of TMNT as much as the 2003 series! The characters were just as likable here as they were in the 2003 series but in their own, different ways. I liked the introduction of a teenage April (and, yes, I took a liking to how Donatello has a crush on her), I grew fond of the new Splinter and the CGI style, and I loved the opening which had throwbacks to all the way back to the 1984 Mirage comics! Like the 2003 series, the action is great, the characters are likable, and the show knows when to be funny and goofy and when to be dark and serious. I'm certainly looking forward to the upcoming second season! Turtle Power! Cowabunga! Booyakasha! Okay I'm done.
#3: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
I'm pretty sure it's no surprise to anyone that this is on my list and I'm also pretty sure that I don't have to go much into what the show's about or why I like it for, well, obvious reasons. Great characters, fun episodes, well-executed morals, fantastic animation, wonderful songs, what else needs to be said? I guess I could just go and say who my favorite character is. Well, it actually comes to a tie between Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Spike. I bet the only thing you guys need to know now is what two shows were able to top this one. Well you're about to find out.
#2: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Ah yes. This show. For those of you who don't know, Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place in a world where there are four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. In this world, there are people who can bend either fire, water, earth, or air to their will. And living among them to keep balance between the elements, the mortal world, and the spirit world is the Avatar: a person who can bend all four elements. There can only be one Avatar at a time and when an Avatar dies they are reincarnated into another body. This series follows Aang, a 12-year-old airbender from the Southern Air Temple who is the current Avatar. However, he has been frozen in an iceberg for over 100 years. During that time, the Fire Nation has risen up and declared war on the other nations. The series depicts Aang's journey to master the other elements, make new friends, and ultimately bring balance back to the world. This show is just epic. Epic, emotional, dark, exciting, well-paced, well-acted, well-animated, shall I go on? The series ran three seasons that ended with a, for lack of a better word, epic four-part finale. And, yes, I have seen and am a fan of the sequel series: The Legend of Korra (which follows the adventures of the Avatar that comes after Aang, Korra). I enjoy the sequel series, which has currently just started its second season, and I will always love the original series. Let's just all agree to forget about the 2010 live action film, 'kay?
#1: Doctor Who
Never before in my life has a show so quickly jumped up to being one of my favorites. I started watching the show in the summer of 2012 and I've been loving it ever since! I'm sure a majority of the people reading this blog already know about this show, as a majority of my stories are crossovers between DW and MLP: FiM. This show captures every amazing aspect of sci-fi, polishes it to a fine sheen, and couples it with complex characters and emotional drama. My favorite Doctors would have to be the Tenth (David Tennant), the Eleventh (Matt Smith), and the Ninth (Christopher Eccleston) in that order as they were the first set of Doctors that I was introduced to. My favorite companions would have to be Donna Noble, Clara Oswald, and Martha Jones. My favorite monsters are the Weeping Angels and my favorite episode is Blink! However, if the upcoming 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, is fan-pleasing enough it might just take Blink's spot. But we'll just have to wait and see. Onwards and upwards to November 23!!!
And that concludes my list. But, before I end this blog, I just want to list off a few honorable mentions in no particular order down below:
Dinosapien
R.L. Stines's The Haunting Hour
Krypto the Superdog
Drake and Josh
Scooby-Doo
Game of Thrones
Recess
American Dragon: Jake Long
Ghostly Encounters
Celebrity Ghost Stories
Death Note
That's So Raven
Spider-Man: Unlimited
Watership Down
Broadchurch
Awake
The Powerpuff Girls
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
Rescue 911
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
Deadly Women
Destroyed in Seconds
Dragon Drive
Ghost Stories from Japan
Breaking Bad
Eden of the East
Redwall
Static Shock
Touch
Dexter
Geronimo!
My own top 10:
Daria
Avatar: the Last Airbender
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Yes Minister
Coupling
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Blackadder
Futurama
Dexter
All 10/10 on IMDb. Doctor Who is certainly a favourite but it's just not consistent enough in quality for a 10.
My honourable mentions:
Life on Mars
Lost
Black Books
How I Met Your Mother
City Homicide
Sherlock
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel
24
The Simpsons
Star Trek: The Next Generation
The West Wing
Battlestar Galactica
The IT Crowd
Friends
House
Death Note
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Paranoia Agent
Anything involving The Chaser, though the Hamster Wheel is probably most consistent.
1359657 Oh you like Blackadder too. I love that show! I love Buffy/Angel as well! Pretty much everything Joss Whedon does.
What a surprise. You're favorite show is Doctor Who and MLP is number 3. I was not expecting that.
Anywho, I loved Gargoyles growing up! It's probably responsible for my continued fascination with dark things. That and Batman: The Animated Series. I grew up watching the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Never even knew there was a 2003 series, and I haven't gotten around to the most recent series yet. I have seen some of the live action movies though. Avatar: The Last Airbender I haven't checked out yet, but I'm very eager too as well as Legend of Korra eventually.
Overall, I really liked your list. I'd like to see more lists like this for favorite movies or books or fanfictions.
A have a few things to say:
1) I agree with your top three 100% of the way, though not in that order. My ordering would be A:TLA, MLP, DW.
2) Allons-y!
3) I have actually seen one episode of Gargoyles, and was actually quite fascinated, though it's hard to come by, now, so I haven't seen any more.
4) I noticed that LOST was nowhere in your list, even the HMs. I suggest you check it out if you're a fan of ONCE.
5) I could rant for a long time about how terrible The Last Airbender movie was, but the thing that wanted to make me kill the movie was the fact that ALL OF THE NAMES WERE MISPRONOUNCED!!!!!!!
Additional thought. I have been watching a number of episodes of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I agree that it is as good as you say it is.
Here's one thing though. Have you noticed that Michelango is a lot like Pinkie Pie? 
That have that same kind of random personality. And no one takes them seriously most of the time, but sometimes they're the ones to save the day or whatever.
"Have you ever wondered if cupcakes could talk?" I can imagine that coming out of Pinkie Pie's mouth.
1361425 How did I not notice LOST wasn't on this list?
That's definitely in my top ten.