The Bermaga-Era Star Treks (TNG-ENT). For better or worse, they were some of the best television made in that time, and a guiding light for morality, ethics, and hope for what the best of humanity can be. Eventually…

Ya know, after we nearly annihilate ourselves in a few decades in WWIII, then invent warp drive, get visited by aliens, and decide to form a democratic socialist world government that puts the worst mistakes of humanity behind us so that we can finally begin exploring the stars.

It doesn’t get mentioned much outside that one movie, but all that has to happen first before humanity gets over its collective bullshit. I’ll probably be dead by then, though.

All of the Star Trek show, especially TNG, Voyager and Emterprise, because I've watched them so many times when I was a kid at my grandparent's house.

I was fascinated by the various captains. They were always so smart, capable, full of resources, curious, charismatic and generally great leaders, mostly coherent with their morals. They were basically badass scientist explorers and I identified so much with them without even realizing it.

Now whenever I find myself in any leadership position, I ask myself what they would do. I could choose to be logical and intellectual like Picard, empathetic like Janeway or brave like Archer. This shaped me more than I could ever imagine.

Stargate SG-1

Dark really sucks me into a dark damp place that is just really calming when I’m feeling down.

Star Trek, of course. Especially TNG has been the best role model for humanity that's ever been on TV.

Firefly helped me realize perceptions are just that and don't have much bearing on people, also that there is a liminal space between society and revolutionaries.

Deadwood helped me understand that personalities are expressed, refined philosophies.

Cowboy bebop reminded me how dreams and life are made of the same stuff and that nothing is permanent, stagnant or impossible.

Twin Peaks

Star Trek TNG

The Good Place. My wife and I were going through some spiritual crisis as we were questioning Mormonism. We started watching the Good Place, not really knowing what it was. The philosophy and comedy came at just the right time. It's a great show.

MASH, is a show that always makes me laugh. It's also taught me to appreciate the things I have, because the characters in the show don't have much, but they still find ways to have fun.

Sliders. One of those accessible sci-fi shows that helped instill a love of the genre

Arcane. Hands down 10/10 on practically every possible metric, but the thing that really got me was the way they portray trauma and the subsequent impact on mental health. I work with folks who have experienced trauma and I thought this was one of the best depictions of the aftermath I had ever seen in media.

Also, this is a perfect depiction of a Greek tragedy, in the sense that everything ends in tragedy not despite, but because of everyone's best intentions. As the story unfolds you understand everyone's motivations and they all make sense. There's no perfectly good or bad characters, just a lot of people doing the best they can with the cards they were dealt.

Reading Rainbow.

I'm old and I'm not kidding.

The expanse. Battlestar Galactica. Just how wild things get and the whole "what if" factor of where society is headed and what could be in the black beyond.

X Files - scared the crap out of me. Wasn’t a fan of aliens and screw that one episode with the inbred family.

Babylon 5! I was born in 94, when it premiered and have always watched it (along with Star Trek). It was one of the first shows that really pushed the continuous plot over serialized and it makes rewatches a game of finding the hints.

I've said before that Babylon 5 is the more realistic depiction of if we had made contact with aliens over star trek (at least the early ones), but the heros are still that.

Whose Line is it Anyway. It got me interested in improv, which has become something I enjoy doing.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Silicon valley

I totally relate with gifoyle a lot

Gilmore Girls. I know the show has some problematic humor but it's one of the best shows I've ever watched as far as characterization is concerned. The writing and the characters have a way of sucking you into the story that I haven't really found in any other show.

A newer show that hit me a bit hard is Pantheon, it's sci-fi with a premise on AI, government and business control, cults, and has great animation.

Mr. Robot; showing the worse of humanity, how far people will go corrupting once held morals the whole way. Not being able to understand oneself or the people around them, but still wanting and hoping to see people enjoy life.

I believe the series ended on a great note, though some may disagree.

I'm not even kidding but planet earth the original series. I learned some life lessons from that one surprisingly.

Scrubs - landed at just the right time for me, fresh out of school and working through first real job/relationship. While my mates and I aren't Turk n JD close, we were closer than the typical dude-bro stereotype of the time and it felt like this show just made it a lot easier to love your best mate without the homophobic shame BS!

Mr. Wizard's World. MacGyver. The A-Team.
And all the cooking shows on PBS in the 80s.

I've always been someone to tinker and break things apart to create new things. I've always been a problem solver.

Oh - and I pretty much got my entire sense of humor from Three's Company, Mork and Mindy, Cheers, and Mash.

adventure time and bojack horseman

Mr. Wizard and MacGyver were big ones for me. They hit a curiosity and adventure sweet spot for me as a kid. Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross also helped teach me empathy and kept my artistic side interested.

I’m really grateful for the era I grew up in and the television personalities it gave me. It’s nice knowing that my influences have stood the test of time and I appreciate the foundation they gave my young mind.

If only I could keep that energy and inspiration going. Anxiety coupled with depression can really get you lost.

Six Feet Under, by far. It’s (in my opinion) the best show ever made. I never cry, but I cannot stop myself from crying at the end. It’s a perfect end to a perfect show. Its themes have a lot to do with themes in my own life and it changed my perspective on… everything? Nah, but a lot of things. Especially grief.

I was elated that my now-spouse who is a mortician had never heard of it… watching it again with someone to whom the subject matter… mattered even more was an incredible experience.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Just a damned good show all around that showed younger me a lot of what makes compelling stories work.

Twin peaks X-files Xena

The Simpsons raised me. It was a paternal and maternal figure, and friend. It prepared me for the rest of my life.

While young, x files and South Park. While older, Twin peaks, which I only watched recently including the new season 3.

Malcolm in the middle

When I was young, I read "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang".

Littlest Hobo was my fav show, about a dog helping people.

Big bang theory. Sheldon made me realise that I am often selfish, compulsive neurotic, socially inept, an asshole without realising/ wanting it and super intelligent.

National Geographic. Mutual of Omaha. Reading Rainbow. Magic School Bus. Bill Nye the Science Guy. Ghostwriter. Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

I grew up on PBS and books. Couldn't tell you if it was good or bad, but that TV had a lot of of impact on me.

Basically any show on PBS Kids. I used to watch back when Mister Rogers' Neighborhood aired regularly on it. Other shows I watched included Zoboomafoo (with the Kratt brothers!), Clifford, Arthur (was sad when I heard it'd aired its final new episode recently), Cyberchase, and Clifford's Puppy Days. My parents didn't have cable until I was a teenager, so I was pretty much raised on nothing but PBS Kids (as far as TV shows I could watch).

Another show I used to watch when I was really young, though, was Disney's House of Mouse on ABC Saturday Mornings. I was devastated when they stopped airing it. We didn't have a TV guide or anything, so, when it simply didn't come on one morning, it caught me by complete surprise. On a less sad note, I think I actually still have Snowed In at the House of Mouse on VHS.