The BBC is a very confident broadcasting organisation and it needs brands like 'Top of the Pops' and 'Top Gear.'
The only shows I saw as a kid were that holy trinity: 'Les Miz,' 'Cats,' 'Phantom.'
I just think 'Law & Order' is the gold standard. History is going to show that it's probably one of the best series of shows that has been on television.
One of the things that did intrigue me about when I read the pilot - because I had not read the books before doing the show - was the mystery aspect of it. I didn't feel that it was just a crime-based story. It really does have that mystery element, and it felt like a throwback to other shows in the past that had a bit more of that. There was something iconic about it. The fact that it's set in Boston gave it a feeling that was different to me. So, I am definitely more of a fan of mysteries than I am of a circular crime-based genre.
Like 'Twin Peaks,' '24,' 'Mad Men,' and 'The Sopranos' before it, 'Downton Abbey' enriches the iconography and collective lore of pop culture. It replenishes the stream.
I've never seen 'Mad Men.' I've never seen 'Breaking Bad.' I've never seen 'The Sopranos.' These sort of seminal shows.
I think 'Sex and the City' is a chapter that will never close. In a wonderful way, it's always going to be an open chapter because it seems like new generations discover the show and relate to it, which is amazing, and you can't hope for that.
Shows like Game of Thrones, stories like that, only really come around once every 10, 15 years. I can't remember the last time a show has really caught the imagination that way. Maybe Star Wars back in the '70s.
Jay Leno is wonderful and a good friend, but it will always be the Carson show to a lot of people.
