The best television programmes ever. I tried to do a top twenty. So here’s the top 120!

The plan was to list my top 30 television programmes ever.

It didn’t go to plan. It couldn’t go to plan.

I’m 66. I’ve an awful lot of television. I think I was eight when the first big black and white job arrived into our home.

RTE only. But sure, that was great. We had Jackpot and the Late Late and Charles Mitchell reading the news and Daithí Lacha and Buntús Cainte and Michael Dillon giving us the cattle prices on Mart and Market. Sure what else would you want?

So I started putting down the names of programmes I remembered. Then I scratched out the ones I didn’t really like.

And I was left with these. 120 of them.

First thirty or so are in order. After that, it’s random.

I mean, I have three soaps – Corrie, Fair City and Red Rock down the bottom. They should all be higher for different reasons – longevity, a real local feeling and just great plots in that order.

So. Bearing in mind I’ve never seen Breaking Bad or Mad Men or Better Call Saul or Game of Thrones and I have Normal People recorded but haven’t seen it yet, what have I left out?

1. Hill Street Blues
2. The West Wing
3. Fawlty Towers
4. Father Ted
5. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
6. Yes Minister
7. Sopranos
8. Parkinson
9. Love Hate
10. The Late Late Show
11. Life on Earth
12. Greatest American Hero
13. Old Grey Whistle Test
14. The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
15. The World at War
16. I’m Alan Partridge
17. The Monkees
18. Life on Mars
19. Only Fools and Horses
20. M*A*S*H*
21. Cheers
22. The Office
23. Roots
24. Colombo
25. Rásaí na Gaillimhe.
26. Blackadder
27. Apres Match
28. Paths to Freedom
29. Young Offenders
30. Tommy Cooper
31. Strumpet City
32. The Riordans
33. The Forsyth Saga
34. Morecambe and Wise
35. The Two Ronnies
36. Magic Roundabout
37. Porridge
38. Top of the Pops
39. One Foot in the Grave
40. Spitting Image
41. Friends
42. Sex and the City
43. The Twilight Zone
44. Simpsons
45. Podge and Rodge
46. Raw
47. Reeling in the years
48. CU Burn
49. Scannal
50. MT Usa
51. Get Smart
52. The Rowan and Martin Laugh In
53. Radharc
54. Seven Days
55. The Tommy Tiernan Show
56. Nationwide
57. Up for the Match
58. The Sunday Game
59. Hands
60. The School Around the Corner
61. Trom agus Éadrom
62. The Fugitive
63. Ironside
64. Mister Ed
65. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
66. This is Your Life
67. Opportunity Knocks
68. Bilko
69. Das Boot
70. ‘Allo ‘Allo
71. Bread
72. The Royle Family
73. Butterflies
74. Dad’s Army
75. Hancock’s Half Hour
76. Last of the Summer Wine
77. Grumpy Old Men
78. Men Behaving Badly
79. Phoenix Nights
80. Steptoe and Son
81. The Likely Lads
82. The Good Life
83. The Young Ones
84. Till Death Us Do Part
85. All in the Family
86. The Bob Newhart Show
87. Letterman
88. Police Squad!
89. Frasier
90. Taxi
91. I Love Lucy
92. The Jack Benny Show
93. Lou Grant
94. Bonanza
95. Virginian
96. The Flintstones
97. The Munsters
98. Mission Impossible
99. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
100. Alfred Hitchcock Presents
101. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
102. Green Acres
103. Hawaii Five-O
104. Gunsmoke
105. The Avengers
106. F Troop Dragnet
107. The Huckleberry Hound Show
108. The Saint
109. Top Cat
110. Have Gun – Will Travel
111. Car 54, Where Are You?
112. Sesame Street
113. Mr Magoo
114. The Donna Reed Show
115. The Ed Sullivan Show
116. That Was The Week That Was
117. Coronation Street
118. Fair City
119. Red Rock
120. Wanderly Wagon