John's Top 10 TV Shows of 2008

It’s the middle of February, so it’s naturally the perfect time for my top 10 TV shows of 2008!

If you didn’t already know I was a slacker, I know you’d be disappointed in me for turning this in so embarrassingly late (seriously, a lot of my entries are going to sound WAY outdated), but better (two months) late than never, right?

I flirted with the idea of skipping this list since no one will see it, but, as you may have guessed, I love watching TV so not putting my list of favorites out there felt a bit wrong.

Once again, if one of your favorite shows is not on here, I either don’t have time to watch it or it’s garbage. (Wait, the latter can’t be true, because I thoroughly enjoy certain garbage.)

Anyway, let’s give out some preliminary awards.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Nip/Tuck: Still one of the most fun and outrageous hours on TV, but is not really taking advantage of its new Hollywood setting, especially with the return of most of its original (and annoying characters.

Ugly Betty: Has some of the funniest one-liners in television, thanks to its stellar supporting cast (including Ana Ortiz, Michael Urie and Becki Newton), but it’s probably not a good sign that the title character is often the most annoying person on the show. Also Justin (Mark Indelicato) and Claire Meade (Judith Light) spend way too much time on the sidelines (though axing Rebecca Romijn’s Alexis Meade was a good move). It might be time to streamline.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl: The Showtime dramedy has an engaging lead in Billie Piper and stylish, London-based production values. The fact that the lead character is a prostitute because she likes it (and not because she has kids to support or an abusive past) puts her in a unique class of TV characters who actually LIKE their jobs.

REALITY SHOW STOCK UP

American Idol: Cook/Archuleta was only a slightly less-heated debate than Obama/McCain last year. Last year also reminds us how lame this season looks so far.

REALITY SHOW STOCK DOWN

Project Runway: It’s probably not a good sign when people accuse a network of tanking a season of its signature show (“Runway” is supposed to move from Bravo to Lifetime) and no one says it’s crazy. I couldn’t even remember who won until I looked it up (and neither could you — it was Leann) and the season was also responsible for Kenley. Ugh!

(DIS)HONORABLE MENTIONS

Heroes: Still bad, but at least it knows that it’s not a serious drama anymore.

Grey’s Anatomy: Worst than ever AND has no idea that it’s not a serious drama.

NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THIS LIST BUT WORTH MENTIONING

Flight of the Conchords: I know the first season aired on HBO in 2007, but I just discovered this show late last year and it’s fantastic. Of course, the first season is basically loose storylines built around Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement’s songs, but the inclusion of Rhys Darby as the sweetest, most inept band manager and Kristen Schaal as an obsessed fan turn this into gold.

Friday Night Lights: Ok, this one’s kind of eligible for the list, but I just never got around to watching season 3 last year because I don’t have DirectTV. Hopefully, I’ll be able to include this show on my favorite TV of ’09 list next February.

Scrubs: I’m writing this here, because I don’t see this show making it to my best of ’09 list. I LOVE “Scrubs” and I’ve seen every episode (most of them many, many times), but it’s really time to end the show at the end of its current run.

The new season on ABC got off to a promising start this year, but the show literally has nothing new to offer anymore. ABC’s been showing episodes out of order thinking I won’t notice, and for the first time in the show’s run important characters like Turk, Carla and Elliott are missing from entire episodes. I’m also not interested in the show’s not-so-subtle efforts to introduce “Scrubs: The New Class.” The show is like Dr. Kelso hanging around in the cafeteria —it had a good, long-run, and now it’s just lingering there with nothing better to do, repeating the same (muffin) joke and nowhere else to go. Just end it already, and end it strong!

THE TOP 10

10. House: I liked the reality competition aspect of season 4 and I like the newbies House eventually chose. However, complaints that the show gets too 13-centric at times at the expense of other, more interesting characters definitely have their merits. Also, the fact that Chase and Cameron are now glorified extras is just wrong.

9. Desperate Housewives: It sneaks onto this list because of the strong finish to season 4 (Dana Delaney really DID help save this show) and for the inspired five-year leap into the future, which gave the show a jolt in the first half of season 5. If I were including episodes from this year, it wouldn’t be in the top 10.

8. American Idol: Yes, the audition episodes are still incredibly tedious, but season 7 of the show captured the country’s attention like no other TV show. Whether you were one the Cougars for Cook or an Arch Angel, or you loved or loathed the musical stylings of Jason Castro, you were watching.

7. Weeds: Moving away from suburbia could’ve been a disaster or “Weeds”, but instead the show’s fourth season kicked things up a notch for Nancy Botwin (going from weed to hard drugs and human trafficking) and for the show creatively.

6. 30 Rock: Still good for some of the best laugh-out-loud moments on TV, but has taken to relying on too many guest stars with varying results and moving away from being a comedy show about a comedy show. Alec Baldwin is still absolutely terrific and able to carry the show on his own, while Tina Fey continues to improve as an actress. Unfortunately, both of those things (and the guest stars) are coming at the expense of the show’s funny supporting players.

5. The Wire: I realize some people were down on the final, newspaper-centric season of this masterpiece, but I loved it (and not just because I work in a newspaper and find that stuff fascinating). The show checked in with each of its wonderful characters before saying goodbye in its typical thoughtful, uncompromising and satisfying way.

4. The Office: I know I’m relatively young, and a bit biased because this my favorite show on TV, but I’ve never EVER seen better dramatic acting on a sitcom. Ever. The cast makes me care about these people because, despite what they say, they care about each other. The wonderful addition of Amy Ryan as the love of Michael Scott’s life needs to also be mentioned.

3. Lost: It was natural to assume the show’s happy ending would come when everyone got rescued. However, season 4 was a sort of “be careful what you ask for” as it pertained to wanting to leave the Island. The show still explored its usual themes of redemption, fate and other big ideas. It also succeeded (for the first time?) in seamlessly introducing new characters (the freighter folk) into the fold while mostly leaving enough for our regular castaways to do.

2. Mad Men: I absolutely devoured a marathon of the first season, and the show’s second season became an obsession. As soon as an episode ended Sunday night I was totally bummed that I had to wait another week. Not bad for an often gloomy show that stubbornly refuses to let its characters have “big moments” and deals with isolation and changing gender roles in the 1960’s. It helps that it’s one of the best acted shows on TV and certainly the most stylish.

1. The Shield: For a second I thought I was giving it the number one spot because it ended its wonderful and frighteningly consistent seven-season run this past year and I’d never get a chance to put it on this list again. Then I realized that wasn’t such a bad thing. In fact, in delivering a satisfying, uncompromising ending “The Shield” probably gave us its best season since it first exploded on the scene earlier this decade. Then I thought about it some more and realized that the excellent acting (Michael Chiklis, Walton Goggins, CCH Pounder, Michele Hicks), writing and directing were all good enough to land this show on the top of the list on their own merits.