The 10 best shows in FOX network history
Looking back on the genius of 'The Simpsons,' 'Arrested Development' & more
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Next 69 CommentsHoward
April 18, 2012 at 10:10PM EST Reply to CommentDollhouse deserves an honorable mention.
Chris L Not really.
April 19, 2012 at 9:20AM ESTMichael
April 18, 2012 at 10:18PM EST Reply to CommentFamily Guy?
velocityknown Questioning why Family Guy isn't on this list is funnier than what Family Guy has put on the air in its past four seasons.
April 18, 2012 at 11:00PM ESTxavier Good point - there does seem to be something missing on Family Guy the past few seasons, almost coinciding with their long-delayed move to the HD/widescreen format.
April 19, 2012 at 10:06AM ESTThat said, I still enjoy the Brian/Stewie-centric episodes where they're off on some time-traveling adventure (although the episode where they were locked in the bank vault was a little disturbing).
gregel
April 18, 2012 at 10:19PM EST Reply to CommentThe Tracey Ullman Show?
Bmk
April 18, 2012 at 10:29PM EST Reply to CommentLove The OC. The only reason I got into it was because I heard a song that I liked when a friend was watching. I googled it and found Fox's OC music page. They had a video from the first scene of the pilot, and I was hooked. That first season was just fantastic.
jcpdiesel21 I also love The O.C. unconditionally. I own all four seasons on DVD and have watched them multiple times, even though the first and last seasons are definitely miles better. The music on that show was top-notch and got me into a lot of the bands that I am still listening to today.
April 18, 2012 at 10:48PM ESTisaacl
April 18, 2012 at 10:33PM EST Reply to CommentThanks for the great write-up on King of the Hill; Hank's struggle to overcome his personal limitations is indeed what made the show special.
In its early seasons, I saw Beverly Hills 90210 as a Hollywood version of Degrassi, as it featured story arcs that addressed teen issues. Later on, though, as the arcs shrunk in size and became more cliched (basically, as the show went into full soap mode), it became a guilty pleasure that I kept watching even though it wasn't very good any more. I did start watching the current 90210 series, but thankfully kicked the habit this season...
24 was one of the most compelling shows I've seen: in spite of the badly-pastiched technobabble (often the words were right, but put together in unintelligible ways) and ridiculous turns of events (what, CTU penetrated again?), each episode kept you wondering what was next for Jack in his latest one-day whirlwind mission.
Patrick
April 18, 2012 at 10:40PM EST Reply to CommentBen Stiller only got his own show because of nepotism.
NJMark So being funny had nothing to do with it?
April 19, 2012 at 11:11AM ESTsepinwall It's a joke riffing on one of the weirder aspects of the "Girls" backlash.
April 19, 2012 at 11:21AM ESTNJMark I must not be as plugged in as I thought. I didn't know there WAS a "Girls" backlash.
April 19, 2012 at 1:45PM ESTJames
April 18, 2012 at 10:57PM EST Reply to CommentNo love for Herman's Head?
xavier YES!!!
April 19, 2012 at 10:07AM ESTJoel
April 18, 2012 at 11:32PM EST Reply to CommentNo Family Guy? even if you dont like it you cant deny that at one stage it was a phenomenon and nothing like that has been on before!
not even a honorable mention for shame, for shame...
Pizpot Gargravarr It's a list of his favourite Fox shows- phenomenon and originality are irrelevant.
April 19, 2012 at 4:16AM ESTrravargrag topzip Nothing like that has been on before? All SM did was take the premise of 'The Simpsons' and make it even more cartoonish and outlandish.
April 19, 2012 at 10:09AM ESTML
April 18, 2012 at 11:37PM EST Reply to CommentThe OC? Firefly?
But no Fringe?! Come on now
ML
April 18, 2012 at 11:38PM EST Reply to CommentThe OC? Firefly?
But no FRINGE?! Okay then
Amber
April 18, 2012 at 11:39PM EST Reply to CommentHow is That 70's Show not on this list?
ML
April 18, 2012 at 11:40PM EST Reply to CommentErm how can you not like Fringe but like The OC? Or Firefly?
Okay then
reply Maybe Fringe isn't on here because it's a wildly inconsistent show that's only managed to churn out half a season's worth of good storylines in its four years on the air. Just a thought.
April 19, 2012 at 9:21AM ESTKate Hmmm, the fact that you lumped The OC and Firefly together makes me think you've never seen either. I get your gripe for The OC - and agree Fringe is a better series than that was. But Firefly definitely deserves a place on this list. And Fringe is wildly uneven (I skipped the entire first season after watching 8 boring episodes - it didn't get into the good stuff until halfway into season 2).
April 19, 2012 at 11:25AM ESTgigi Fringe is crap and has one of the most moronic fans I've ever seen but what can you expect from 16-year-old sheeps who also like Twilight.
April 23, 2012 at 4:11AM ESTJoshua
April 18, 2012 at 11:51PM EST Reply to CommentLOVE that Undeclared is on here. One of my favorite random shows to go back and rewatch.
It just *may* hit a little too close to home.
Roy
April 18, 2012 at 11:57PM EST Reply to CommentGlad to see some appreciation for the vastly underrated King of the Hill, an absolute personal favorite.
And boy did I love Brisco County Jr. To quote Homer Simpson on his diatribe about Platypus Man, "that show had limitless possibilities!"
David Sanders
April 19, 2012 at 12:37AM EST Reply to CommentFamily Guy and Prison Break.
KFBR392
April 19, 2012 at 1:23AM EST Reply to CommentI love your work Alan, but your list is missing the best Fox show of them all - Batman: The Animated Series. You didn't even give it an honorable mention!
sepinwall I stuck with primetime shows, or else that and Animaniacs would've been in contention somewhere.
April 19, 2012 at 7:01AM ESTkatie71483
April 19, 2012 at 4:24AM EST Reply to CommentIt's a great list, Alan. I get mad at Fox for canceling shows too soon, so it is good to be reminded they wouldn't even have been made on other networks. Ahem. That said, I wish you could have found room for Wonderfalls, T:TSCC, and the Epitaph One episode of Dollhouse.
Anon Ah, I still miss T:SCC.
April 22, 2012 at 1:58AM ESTHCarvalho
April 19, 2012 at 6:50AM EST Reply to CommentYou should make similar lists for the UPN and WB
Brett Podwoiski
April 19, 2012 at 8:31AM EST Reply to CommentAm i missing something or was Married With Children left of the list??????
ZacharyTF It's on the Honorable Mentions list.
April 19, 2012 at 1:17PM ESTZuckerkorn
April 19, 2012 at 9:08AM EST Reply to CommentArrested Development, Futurama, and King of the Hill would probably top my list.
Heisenberg
April 19, 2012 at 9:29AM EST Reply to CommentLike the list a lot. Personally, I would have put 24 at Number 1, definitely included Ally McBeal and found a way to get Bones in somehow.
Good choices with nicely supported reasoning for them.
Bgklein
April 19, 2012 at 9:53AM EST Reply to CommentUmmm....Where are "Life on a Stick" and "The Pitts"????
ritt momney Where the struggling economy has hit the hardest.
April 19, 2012 at 10:19AM ESTapk
April 19, 2012 at 10:36AM EST Reply to CommentAlan: How do you feel about Space: Above and Beyond? I kind of expected an Honorable Mention. Thanks for Parker Lewis Can't Lose, though. That show was fantastic fun.
Kate
April 19, 2012 at 11:21AM EST Reply to CommentI've been watching The X-Files for the first time, and it's a great show, but one area in which TV has progressed leaps and bounds is in the direction. The X-Files may have looked somewhat cinematic at the time, but the direction pales in comparison to what we see done on shows now (even network shows, although "Deadwood" and "Breaking Bad" take the cake for looking spectacular and creative use of camera).
soa Are you dumb or what? Do you even know what influential means you idiotic bitch?
April 23, 2012 at 4:08AM ESTsoa Are you dumb or what? Do you even know what influential means you idiotic bitch?
April 23, 2012 at 4:08AM ESTWinston5
April 19, 2012 at 11:26AM EST Reply to CommentWas this list only prime time? Because I'd better hear some love for Mad TV or we will have a problem. ;)
Mike
April 19, 2012 at 11:36AM EST Reply to CommentIn terms of their influence, I totally respect that the Simpsons and X-Files are 1 and 2, but if we're truly talking the 10 'best', AD has to be first, no?
fred
April 19, 2012 at 11:56AM EST Reply to CommentI know Alan isn't a fan, but Wonderfalls deserves to be on that list.
Bill
April 19, 2012 at 12:09PM EST Reply to CommentSorry, but 24 absolutely should be higher. Maybe even #1. And where is House? Also, if we're going strictly by popularity, how about Beverly Hills, 90210? That show put Fox on the map.
James Uh, we're not. This is Alan's personal fav list.
April 19, 2012 at 4:55PM ESTZacharyTF
April 19, 2012 at 1:20PM EST Reply to CommentHere's what my Top 10 would be (alphabetical order):
24
That 70's Show
Arrested Development
Family Guy
Firefly
Futurama
Married with Children
The Simpsons
Undeclared
The X-Files
April 19, 2012 at 1:34PM EST Reply to CommentBrisco County Jr. should be on the list somewhere
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