Cataloging the Golden Age of Dramatic TV

When Mad Men ended, many that follow TV felt that was the end of this golden age of TV. What began with HBO establishing its dominance with The Sopranos has been some of the best television shows that ever existed during that time. Mad Men makes a fitting end cap for that considering its creator, Matthew Weiner, worked with David Chase on The Sopranos as well. Everyone has a favorite show, but this really is about celebrating how spoiled we have been as TV watchers over the last decade-plus. In trying to define how great this time period has been for the small screen in drama (sorry, no traditional comedies listed), here are some of the best shows or moments in specific circumstances.

And please note, this is supposed to be fun and debatable. It’s all objective, folks. Tell us some of your favorites in the comments. Best Series Finale: Six Feet Under wasn’t a perfection show, but it was still a really, really good one. It is still one of the most original dramas ever (examining the crazy day-to-day life of people running a funeral parlor), was unabashedly diverse (a little on racial diversity, largely on LGBTQ identification), and turned hyperbole into an art form. Yes, every disagreement ended with someone yelling, but the show gave rise to some stellar TV actors including Michael C. Hall who would eventually become Dexter. But it lays claim to still having the best last episode ever, possibly the only show whose last episode might have been its best (not bad for a show tha…