Emmy® winner James Garner stars as the offbeat Jim Rockford, an ex-con-turned-private-investigator who would rather fish than fight but whose instinct on closed cases is more golden than his classic Pontiac Firebird. From his mobile home in Malibu, this wisecracking private eye takes you on the cases of the lost and the dispossessed, chasing down seemingly long-dead clues in the sun-baked streets and seamy alleys of Los Angeles.
| Season | From | To | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Seasons | |||
| Specials | March 1974 | April 1999 | 12 |
| Season 1 | September 1974 | March 1975 | 23 |
| Season 2 | September 1975 | March 1976 | 22 |
| Season 3 | September 1976 | April 1977 | 22 |
| Season 4 | September 1977 | February 1978 | 22 |
| Season 5 | September 1978 | April 1979 | 22 |
| Season 6 | September 1979 | January 1980 | 12 |
| Unassigned Episodes | 0 |
| Season | From | To | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | March 1974 | March 1975 | 24 |
| Unassigned Episodes | 111 |
| Season | From | To | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 0 | ||
| Unassigned Episodes | 135 |
| Name | Number of Episodes | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen J. Cannell | 43 | 03/27/1974 - 11/23/1979 | |
| Juanita Bartlett | 32 | 09/20/1974 - 11/30/1979 | |
| William Wiard | 25 | 01/17/1975 - 11/23/1979 | |
| David Chase | 15 | 10/01/1976 - 11/09/1979 | |
| Lawrence Doheny | 12 | 11/01/1974 - 12/17/1976 | |
| Jerry London | 8 | 10/11/1974 - 01/28/1977 | |
| Ivan Dixon | 8 | 10/31/1975 - 01/12/1979 | |
| Jackie Cooper | 8 | 01/03/1975 - 02/13/1976 | |
| Russ Mayberry | 7 | 09/27/1974 - 12/02/1977 | |
| Reza Badiyi | 7 | 02/11/1977 - 04/13/1979 | |
| Meta Rosenberg | 6 | 01/23/1976 - 12/08/1978 | |
| Lou Antonio | 5 | 09/13/1974 - 03/12/1976 | |
| Stuart Margolin | 4 | 12/06/1974 - 04/01/1977 | |
| Lester William Berke | 3 | 03/19/1976 - 01/10/1980 | |
| Chas. Floyd Johnson | 3 | 10/10/1975 - 02/11/1977 | |
| Corey Allen | 3 | 11/03/1978 - 11/30/1979 | |
| Jeannot Szwarc | 3 | 11/21/1975 - 02/25/1977 | |
| Alex Grasshoff | 2 | 10/04/1974 - 11/15/1974 | |
| Hy Averback | 2 | 02/24/1978 | |
| John Patterson | 2 | 11/09/1979 - 11/16/1979 | |
| James Garner | 2 | 12/19/1975 | |
| Bernard L. Kowalski | 2 | 10/18/1974 | |
| Dana Elcar | 2 | 01/06/1978 | |
| Harry Falk | 2 | 01/13/1978 - 02/10/1978 | |
| James Coburn | 1 | 11/18/1977 | |
| Mann Rubin | 1 | 01/12/1979 | |
| Charles S. Dubin | 1 | 11/08/1974 | |
| Burt Prelutsky | 1 | 11/04/1977 | |
| Dorothy J. Bailey | 1 | 03/12/1976 | |
| Bruce Kessler | 1 | 12/10/1976 | |
| Donald Gold | 1 | 10/15/1976 | |
| Don L. Gold | 1 | 01/10/1980 | |
| Vincent McEveety | 1 | 10/25/1974 | |
| Alexander Singer | 1 | 12/09/1977 | |
| Calvin Kelly | 1 | 09/16/1977 | |
| Michael Schultz | 1 | 09/20/1974 | |
| Bernard McEveety | 1 | 01/26/1979 | |
| Winrich Kolbe | 1 | 01/10/1980 | |
| Leroy Robinson | 1 | 02/25/1977 | |
| Booker Bradshaw | 1 | 09/16/1977 | |
| Michael Wagner | 1 | 01/12/1979 | |
| Joseph Pevney | 1 | 12/07/1979 | |
| Richard T. Heffron | 1 | 03/27/1974 | |
| Ted Harris | 1 | 02/11/1977 | |
| Richard Crenna | 1 | 01/20/1978 | |
| Christian I. Nyby II | 1 | 12/24/1976 | |
| Bernard Rollins | 1 | 02/25/1977 |
| Name | Number of Episodes | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Thomas James | 16 | 09/13/1974 - 02/14/1975 | |
| Gordon Dawson | 9 | 11/29/1975 - 01/26/1979 | |
| Edward J. Lakso | 4 | 01/03/1975 - 02/13/1976 | |
| Rudolph Borchert | 4 | 02/07/1975 - 04/13/1979 | |
| Don Carlos Dunaway | 4 | 09/26/1975 - 11/12/1976 | |
| Walter Dallenbach | 2 | 01/30/1976 - 12/10/1976 | |
| Rogers Turrentine | 2 | 01/12/1979 - 02/24/1979 | |
| James S. Crocker | 2 | 11/04/1977 - 01/13/1978 | |
| Zekial Marko | 2 | 02/14/1975 | |
| William R. Stratton | 2 | 11/25/1977 - 12/09/1977 | |
| David C. Taylor | 2 | 02/25/1977 - 04/01/1977 | |
| Shel Willens | 1 | 12/07/1979 | |
| Donald L. Gold | 1 | 03/19/1976 | |
| Gloryette Clark | 1 | 11/15/1974 | |
| Leigh Brackett | 1 | 02/21/1975 | |
| Jo Swerling Jr. | 1 | 10/25/1974 | |
| Mitchell Lindemann | 1 | 03/07/1975 | |
| Jo Swerling | 1 | 01/17/1975 | |
| Robert Hamner | 1 | 10/25/1974 | |
| Charles Sailor | 1 | 02/28/1975 | |
| Eric Kalder | 1 | 02/28/1975 | |
| Roy Huggins | 1 | 02/10/1979 | |
| Howard Berk | 1 | 01/24/1975 |
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A ranking of the most game-changing, side-splitting, tear-jerking, mind-blowing, world-building, genre-busting programs in television history, from the medium’s inception in the early 20th century through the ever-metastasizing era of Peak TV BY ALAN SEPINWALL
From time-capsule sitcoms to cutting-edge Peak-TV dramas — the definitive ranking of the game-changing small-screen classics
TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time is a collection of essays written by television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz. It was published in 2016. The main purpose of the book was to provide a canonical list of the top 100 greatest television programs in American history.
Mike Wallace and a vampire slayer? Letterman and Oprah? Andy Griffith and the Sopranos? On one list? What were we thinking? Simply put, the best of the best, from Day 1 to last night: quality, innovation and the ability to stay in our lives year after year after year. A touch of sentiment? Sure, but nostalgia alone couldn’t make the cut (sorry, Beav). And TV-movies, miniseries and specials will have to wait. These are the series we watched regularly — and will watch again. And again.
From a pioneering variety show from the black-and-white days to two faves on now -- see our No. 1. To see EW's picks of the top 100 all-time greatest TV shows
What's the best TV show of all time? Who knows? This poll is strictly about favorite shows, the programs people in Hollywood hold nearest to their hearts — that remind them of better times or speak to their inner child or inspire their creativity or just help them unwind after a crappy day at the studio — even if one or two of the programs listed here aren't exactly masterpieces of the medium.
The “TV 101” list honors classic, trailblazing series and miniseries, as well as current and critically acclaimed programs, from comedies and dramas to variety/talk and children’s programming. At their core, all of these wonderful series began with the words of the writers who created them and were sustained by the writers who joined their staffs or worked on individual episodes. “This list is not only a tribute to great TV, it is a dedication to all writers who devote their hearts and minds to advancing their craft.
We are what we watch-and over the last half century, we've watched some pretty fabulous TV. From Mary to Jerry, from Tonight to Today, from the sublime (Prime Suspect) to the ridiculous (Gilligan's Island), EW recalls everything you need to know about 100 shows that tell us who we are.
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