Izuldean Rules Greatest TV Show Regular Season Thread

[Izulde]

Some Surprises, Some Not In Early Going

The first several games of the Izuldean Rules Greatest TV Show regular season are in the books and thus far, it appears we have an answer to the two biggest questions heading into the start of the season.

1. Can Seinfeld continue its traditional dominance?
Thus far, the answer is yes. Seinfeld, the prohibitive preseason favorite, leads the FOFC in wins with 12. They appear to have a very strong case and should be a virtual lock for a #1 seed, but it's still early yet and anything can happen. Whether or not Seinfeld can keep its #1 overall seed remains to be seen. The other #1 candidates aren't far off and could make a run at any point as the year goes on.

2. Will The Wire live up to its fast-rising reputation and secure a #1 seed?
A few years ago, The Wire was tabbed as an improving program, but they didn't appear to have what it took to be a top seed. But right now, they're #3 in the FOFC with 9 wins and are a #1 seed. The Wire has the most passionate and vocal fans in the entire FOFC, but it remains to be seen if they can attract enough other members outside of the diehard core to keep their #1 seed come tournament time and make a run for the championship their supporters believe the show deserves.

Current Projected #1 Seeds
Seinfeld - 12 wins
The Sopranos - 10 wins
The Wire - 9 wins
Cheers - 8 wins

Seinfeld has been the top show for virtually the entire season thus far, while other three started off a little slow before picking up steam. Note that Cheers was on the verge of falling to a #2 seed before picking up a key win in the Eaglefan recently to give them a two win edge on the shows lurking just behind it. Seinfeld appears a lock for a #1 seed based on our projects and the The Sopranos should be there, too. But The Wire and Cheers could be superseded by the next group of four.

Current Projected #2 Seeds
M*A*S*H* - 7
South Park - 6
The Simpsons - 6
The X-Files - 6

M*A*S*H started off hot and looking like a #1 seed until The Wire and The Sopranos gained momentum. Since then, they've started to fall off the radar and it's hard to project just where they'll end up in the final seeding. South Park is another team that looked like a borderline #1 seed early, but they've slumped as of late and could experience a loss in the Izulde, which would drop them to potential #3 seed status. The Simpsons are doing about as expected, but The X-Files are performing better than anticipated.

Greatest Early Surprise Success
The West Wing, which, with 5 wins, is currently a solid #3 seed. Preseason projections had the show tabbed as more of a #5 or #6, but they're playing fantastically right now and who knows? Maybe they'll keep the trend going and stay where they are. A move up to #2 seems highly unlikely; at best, The West Wing will hold to its #3 spot.

The Joss Whedon Curse
Poor, poor Joss Whedon. Despite critical and popular acclaim, as of press time, just one of the shows runnning the Joss Whedon offense has a win, and that's [i]Buffy: the Vampire Slayer[i]. It's been a terrible start for programs using the Joss Whedon system and perhaps the biggest shock of the early season is that Firefly has yet to win a game after most preseason media had the show listed as a lock to make the Big Dance. There's still plenty of time to recover and get in the field, however.

Current Number of Big Dance Candidates
115 (through the Pumpy Tudors Classic)

We'll have more updates on the season continues.
[i]

[Greyroofoo]

Kudos for the idea btw

[ntndeacon]

Agreed wonderful idea.

[Izulde]

Thanks, guys. Updating.

[Izulde]

Race For #1 Seeds Heating Up

The Izuldean Rules Greatest TV Show regular season continues on and we're starting to see Seinfeld show that it is once again -the- dominant force in the FOFC. But we're also seeing The Wire emerge as the clear-cut second favorite... and then is when is things get murky.

Current Projected #1 Seeds (Includes Ties)
Seinfeld - 20 wins
The Wire - 14 wins
The Simpsons - 11 wins
Cheers - 11 wins
The Sopranos - 11 wins
The West Wing - 11 wins

Under this scenario, [i]The Sopranos[/b] are likely to drop to a #2 seed. Unlike The Simpsons and Cheers, who have played consistently all season long, The Sopranos started off white-hot, but has faded lately. The West Wing has been absolutely on fire lately, going from a predicted #3 seed all the way to a #1 seed contender. If they can keep it going, they've got a strong shot at winning a top seed. Seinfeld's a lock for a #1 seed and The Wire is quite close to that as well, but there's still a lot of games left and the gap between The Wire and the others isn't anywhere near that of Seinfeld over everyone else.

It's hard to project who stays and who goes, but we'll give the nod to The West Wing right now because of their terrific run of form and The Simpsons strikes as a little more consistent than Cheers to earn that fourth and final #1 seed.

Current Projected #2 Seeds
The Sopranos - 11 wins
Cheers - 11 wins
M*A*S*H* - 9 wins
South Park - 9 wins

No real ambiguity here. These shows are what they are; good enough on paper to be potential #1 seeds, but they've got just enough problems to keep them out of the penthouse. Not that there's anything wrong with a #2 seed, but The Sopranos and Cheers have to be disappointed to be here and M*A*S*H* is just slightly down from what they used to be. South Park, on the other hand, fits perfectly in the #2 seed range, matching preseason expectations.

Current Projected #3 and #4 Seeds (Including Ties)
Lost - 8 wins
The Wonder Years - 7 wins
The X-Files - 6 wins
Arrested Development - 6 wins
Sports Night - 6 wins
Deadwood - 6 wins
Big Bang Theory - 6 wins
Family Guy - 6 wins

Lost and The Wonder Years would obviously be slotted in at #3 in this scenario, but as for everyone else, it's a complete mystery where they would fall. The selection committee would have a long and hard debate over where to place the seven 6 win shows. And the real kicker is, one of these shows would drop down to a #5 seed. We wouldn't want to be that unfortunate show, as it could well mean a much tougher matchup.

Biggest Surprise of the Season Not Named The West Wing
iCarly, which recently pulled off a huge upset to get its second win on the year and firmly plant itself as a bubble show. While iCarly is still iffy to make the tournament, the fact that it's even in contention for a Big Dance ticket is far more than even its most ardent fans could have hoped for.

Joss Whedon Offense Update
A mix here for the Whedon offense shows. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has 4 wins and has a good chance of making the dance, but Firefly continues its miserable showing, with just one win to its credit. Perhaps the head honchos at the Fox Conference knew what it was doing when they voted to eject Firefly from the league.

Current Number of Listed Contenders (through Noop Roundup)
165

Current Number of Hopefuls with 2 or more wins (through Noop Roundup)
66, which could mean a play-in game between shows 65 and 66 should this hold

[sterlingice]

(Maybe it's because Joss Whedon and Firefly are horribly overrated in certain circles, despite how the vote here in a narrow demographic is going to go down)

SI

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

(Maybe it's because Joss Whedon and Firefly are horribly overrated in certain circles, despite how the vote here in a narrow demographic is going to go down)

SI

I make no claims as to the merits or not of Firefly. I haven't seen it yet though I have the complete series sitting back in Wisconsin that I got a couple years back when it was $20 at Best Buy. I'm just a little surprised that it's only received one vote so far, given the hype it's gotten.

[PraetorianX]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

(Maybe it's because Joss Whedon and Firefly are horribly overrated in certain circles, despite how the vote here in a narrow demographic is going to go down)

SI

It wasn't a bad show and I could have done with more of it, but it doesn't compare to the longevity and quality of Stargate/Star Trek/Dr Who nor does it have enough quality to make up for the shorter run like Battlestar Galactica.

It's unfortunate that Stargate likely won't be represented with only one win though. Not the greatest series ever, but still deserves a place. Oh well.

Even Star Trek only has two votes I think...although it's difficult for the show as it's spread out over several different shows.

Guess there aren't enough sci-fi fans on these forums.

EDIT: I know X-Files is doing well, but I don't count that as pure Sci-fi like Stargate or Star Trek or to a lesser extent BSG (which, while Sci-fi, is very much a drama as opposed to pure Science Fiction)

I don't really count Lost as Sci-fi either, it's...well, I don't know what it is, but it's something.

[RainMaker]

I think there is an element of length that plays into how we perceive television shows. The longer show runs it seems, you give up an element of quality for quantity. If Firefly had run for 6 seasons, I think that it would not have the same value it has now.

For instance, I liked Sopranos a lot but felt the last few seasons really hurt the show. Same can be said for The Simpsons.

[PraetorianX]

Oh, the Simpsons have definitely gone on a bit too long I think.

And I understand what you're saying, but you have to have more than a dozen or so episodes like Firefly. I'd say at least a good four or five seasons would be the sweet spot.

Dr Who is, I think, an exception though as it could probably go on for another twenty years with the occasional break here and there.

Star Trek is too tainted with some of the utter crap that was produced, especially in later years, that over shadowed some of the more brilliant bits.

X-Files sucked without Spooky Mulder and I for one refuse to believe that the show did in fact continue after he left. I'm certain that it was all a government conspiracy to make us think that X-Files continued when in fact it didn't.

And then Stargate got a bit old in later seasons, especially when Richard Dean Anderson started to simply mail his performances in. I also think that the Ori storyline suffered from TPTB not knowing how long they had left before it got canceled. I actually liked the Ori storyline and think some of the best episodes in SG-1 history were in the final two seasons and if they'd had more backing from Sci-fi (or Syfy, whatever) then they could have been better.

Then again, some shows never decline in quality such as The West Wing, which I thought was as brilliant towards the end as it ever was.

[Izulde]

Old Man Of The Harbor Assesses The Greatest TV Field

We sat down recently with the Old Man of the Harbor, an avid TV show watcher and asked him his opinions after the latest round of games in the regular season.

Who do you see as the #1 seeds?
Seinfeld, The Wire, The Sopranos and Cheers. They have separated themselves for the rest and will stand as the Four Kings atop the FOFC Game of Thrones.

Of those four, who do you see as the most vulnerable?
Aye, it all depends on how the cards play out when the lots are cast, no? But at this time, I declare The Wire the most precariously perched. Their retainers are loyal unto death, but their house is newly risen, the others Old Blood. This makes The Wire upstarts who will need to battle to prove the legitimacy of their crown.

Speaking of new powers, who has been the fastest rising show since our last update?
Many could justifiably claim the right, but in my eyes, it belongs to Dexter. Once they were but a minor family, but have been impressive in their gambits of late, the last a key triumph over Saturday Night Live on the Dodgerchick Fields. That victory places them anywhere in the 3rd to 5th rank at the moment.

Which show has seen its stock drop the most?
Can it be aught else but M*A*S*H? Once they seemed assured of holding one of the Four Thrones, but now they sit in the 3rd rank and will need to score some victories to get past South Park and Lost to move up to the 2nd rank.

What else can you tell us about the tournament?
60 shows have achieved 3 wins. This means just 4 places in the great tournament remain, all of whom will have to fight one of the Four Kings. 24 minors hope to sit at the table, but I believe some we can discard immediately. Like Hill Street Blues, for there are already many shows who attained their power via the police. Conversely, iCarly has a very good chance of making it right now, for those shows supported by the young have little representation and the tournament attempts to be as equal as possible.

Furthermore...

4 wins = Guaranteed 11th rank minimum
5 wins = Guaranteed 9th rank minimum
6 wins = Guaranteed 8th rank minimum
7 wins = Guaranteed 6th rank miminum
8 wins = Guaranteed 5th rank minimum
10 wins = Guaranteed 3rd rank minimum
12 wins = Guaranteed 2nd rank minimum
17 wins = Guaranteed 1st rank

These things, will of course, change, as the games go on, but this is how the matter stands now.

[Izulde]

Can you re-post this in the Nominations thread, oykib?

[Blackadar]

Ya'll are insane. All in the Family remains the best TV show of all time. No show dealt with the issues of the day like it did and it was remarkably funny.

[EagleFan]

When's the tourney start?

[Izulde]

Nominations will close sometime Friday and the tournament will start then. I wanted to make sure everyone that wanted to nominate got a chance to, so I gave it a week.

[Dodgerchick]

So what makes The Sopranos such an awesome show? I saw bits and pieces of a few shows and to be honest, it bored me.

[Drake]

What a clever idea, Izulde. Very nicely executed so far.

[Dodgerchick]

^^ yes, what he said.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

So what makes The Sopranos such an awesome show? I saw bits and pieces of a few shows and to be honest, it bored me.

The Wire was the same way for me. I only saw bits and pieces, without any context. It wasn't until I started watching the episodes sequentially that the awesomeness emerged.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

Ya'll are insane. All in the Family remains the best TV show of all time. No show dealt with the issues of the day like it did and it was remarkably funny.

The problem lies in the fact that "today" was 35 years ago.

[Izulde]

Thanks, Drake and DC.

Re: The Sopranos. I've watched a handful of the first season's episodes and for me, it was good enough to keep watching when I get the time to, but it didn't hook me in like The Wire or even The Shield. I can see where some people consider it boring, because the pacing tends to be slow and I suspect if it wasn't a Mafia show, it wouldn't have anywhere near the appeal it does.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

So what makes The Sopranos such an awesome show? I saw bits and pieces of a few shows and to be honest, it bored me.

If you saw bits and pieces of The Wire, it would bore you. The Wire is harder to get into than The Sopranos, IMO. The rewards of both shows multiply for those that watch every single episode more than once. What makes The Sopranos so great to me is:

-The music. David Chase, and whoever his music director was, have an amazing and broad taste in popular music. The music frames certain scenes so well that it becomes synonymous with the on-screen action. A few examples come to mind: The scene where the two hired goons try to whack Tony, who is wandering about town in a haze of depression. The song played is "Tiny Tears" by Tindersticks. It made me fall in love with the song, and I cover it nightly in my bedroom.

Another example of using music to fortify would be the episode where Ralph kills his stripper girlfriend. The song used multiple times during the episode is "Living On A Thin Line" by The Kinks. The slow burning opening guitar riff creates a sense of anticipation that is unparalleled. The drums kick in, and the song goes on unspectacularly. Only when the reprise hits at the end of the episode do you appreciate it in full.

-The humor. Yeah, The Wire has it's funny moments. Any drama worth anything uses humor at times. The best dramas use very sharp (and often very dark) humor. Wit seeps from every ceiling crack in the writing of The Sopranos. The writers both genuinely appreciate certain characters' sense of humor, and mock them by using things like malapropisms.

-The Mafia. The mafia is an unfailingly interesting subject. It's possible to make bad mob movies/shows, but it's a safe bet that any show or movie about the mob will be somewhat compelling. The Sopranos showcased a duality of two different lifestyles: Being in the withering world of modern day organized crime, and being in a so-called "nuclear family". It straddled the line marvelously, and effortlessly.

I could go on forever about this, but I gotta be on a stage in an hour.

[Izulde]

Professor Bowtie's Bracketology

A while back, we spoke with the Old Man of the Harbor about the Greatest TV Show Regular season. In the next part of the series, we get perspective from Professor Bowtie of FOFC University on how the brackets are shaking out.

Are the #1 seeds really that secure?
Anything can happen, of course, but with Seinfeld's impressive 32 wins and The Wire's 26, both those shows are locks. The Sopranos and Cheers are a little more vulnerable at 20 and 19 respective victories, but The Simpsons needs 3 more wins just to tie Cheers. Of course, I think if that happens, the committee puts The Simpsons as the #1 seed to give the Animated Conference a voice at the top table.

Who else do you see as a lock in their seeding?
Well, I'd say The Simpsons are safe to stay #2. As I said, I don't see them catching Cheers. On the other end of the spectrum, the highest #3 seed (either Lost or South Park[/i]) has 12 wins and at this late stage in the season, it'd be difficult for both shows to pass The Simpsons up. Save for Seinfeld, The Wire, The Sopranos Cheers and The Simpsons, however, nobody else strikes me as a surefire seeding. Too many shows are either 1 or 2 wins away from moving up or down, or are locked into a tie with competitors. It's still very much the dogfight.

What do you think will be the minimum number of wins to get in the tournament?
Right now, 4 wins guarantees you a #12 seed and 48 teams have 4 wins or more. That leaves 16 spots still remaining and I believe there are 17 shows with 3 wins, so somebody's going to be left out in the cold right now. This also means that Commissioner Izulde's pet show, iCarly, is out of the winning, as they have just 2 victories on the ledger. The same is true of cult sensation Jersey Shore.

Who do you think would be the unlucky 3 win show if the tournament started today?
That's hard to say, although I suspect dramas such as Law and Order and NCIS or sitcoms such as 30 Rock, to name a few hopefuls, will have a tough time proving their case with so many of their respective genres already in. Ultimately, though, I think it would be NYPD Blue. Although it was extremely controversial when it first aired, with The Wire, The Shield and Homicide: Life on the Street already guaranteed tournament spots, the committee would be hard-pressed to add yet another contemporary police drama to the field, no matter NYPD Blue's cultural or historical significance.

What does the Firefly situation tell us?
The truth of the obvious sports cliche` that it isn't how you start that matters; it's how you finish. The early season press bemoaned Firefly's underachievement and now they're sitting as a #6 or #7 seed with 7 wins. My guess is, if the tournament started today, they'd be a #7 seed, as I believe the committee may rule that its short run makes it unworthy of a 6 seed, in spite of its cult popularity. Incidentally, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is also giving the lie to earlier claims that the Joss Whedon system doesn't work, as they have 7 wins of their own and are currently a #6 seed if Firefly does become a #7, since there's 5 shows with 7 wins right now.

What's the fastest rising show?
Star Trek. For a long time, it was doubtful if they'd even make the tournament, but they've won a few as of late and are now in the #9 to #11 seed range. I'd say if the tournament began right now, they'd be a #9 seed because of its age, its cultural phenomenon and because of its genre. As critic PraetorianX noted, pure sci-fi shows aren't doing as well as some other genres. Not that it's surprising, even in the land of FOFC. As a New York Times article I read recently noted, the reason police procedurals and medical dramas tend to do well is because they intersect with areas that many of us have experience with in our daily lives, in a way that other shows don't. Of course, that truism is somewhat undercut in FOFC by the fact that the highest ranked medical show is House, currently a #7/#8 seed with 6 wins.

Who do you see as potential Cinderellas?
Way too early for that. There's still some games left to be played and even if they weren't, it's absurd to even think about Cinderellas until the brackets are released. Ask me this question again once we have the seedings.

[Lathum]

So when does this thing start?

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Lathum

So when does this thing start?

Either Thursday night or sometime Friday, depending on if more nominations come in.

[Kodos]

Great idea, Izulde. Will be fun to see how this plays out.