30. Heroes
(2006-2010, NBC)
I would probably get
crap for even putting this on the list, but the fact is this was like a comic
book come to life, and I took it about as seriously as your run-of-the-mill
comic book. Some plotlines were silly, and I barely remember most of what
happened, but I had a decent time watching it. And after all, it’s only number
30.
29. Saturday Night
Live (1975-present, NBC)
The first half of the
decade gave us Will Ferrell’s legendary Bush impression, along with all of the
post-9/11 and post-Iraq politics. In the second half, we got (in retrospect)
one of the best casts they ever had in Hader, Sudeikis, Samberg, Wiig, with
reliable players Poehler, Armisen, and Seth Meyers straddling both eras. Will
Forte churned out absurdist sketch ideas routinely and Weekend Update went back
to double-anchors, which reinvigorated the segment, especially with Tina Fey.
28. Rock Star
(2005-2006, CBS)
A singing competition
that got lost to time, it was used as a vehicle to find a new lead singer for
INXS and the newly-created Supernova. It focused mostly on rock music, had a
predetermined lineup of contestants, and was largely decided by the bands
themselves. If you like this type of music, you were pretty much guaranteed to
enjoy the show.
27. Flight of the
Conchords (2007-2009, HBO)
It didn’t last long,
but it was fun while we had it. Rhys Darby was the secret weapon.
26. Boston Legal
(2004-2009, ABC)
Terribly uneven, and
at certain points sunk under the weight of certain Flanderized characters, but
still found new ways to make you laugh or consider the law from interesting
perspectives. James Spader was always fantastic. The first two seasons in
particular are worth watching.
25. The Mole
(2001-2004, 2008, ABC)
The thinking-man’s reality
show which also allowed you to play from home. It mixed intellectual games with
pure adventure and a spy-like atmosphere to make a unique experience. If they’d
continued with a normal cast instead of the celebrity editions, this would
probably rank even higher. You can read my (spoiler-filled) thoughts on season 1 here.
24. Alias
(2001-2006, ABC)
I have a weird
history with “Alias.” I watched the first season on DVD (from Blockbuster),
then seasons two, three, and four were “completed” by me through both online
scripts and cable reruns, before coming to season five live. Thus, I have not
seen every episode, and much of the story was garbled out of sequence. And yet,
the stuff that I did see was really fun! Once SD-6 was taken down, it was a
little wobbly, but overall it was a solid early 2000s romp that seems to have
been forgotten by history. Someone please start streaming it!
23. Deadwood
(2004-2006, HBO)
“Deadwood” has many
diehard fans. It’s a bit different from many of the other big dramas of the
era, and has become quite as prolific to the masses. For one thing, it’s more
dialogue-driven than plot-driven. But the dialogue is pretty grand. It also
boasted a stellar cast, many of whom populate other corners of my favorite
shows. It was sometimes tough to understand was going on, which is why it’s
down in the 20s, but even the densest storyline could loosen up when Ian
McShane went on a fuckin’ tirade. (Be sure to watch the long-awaited movie
conclusion from 2019.)
22. Prison Break
(2005-2009, 2017, FOX)
The Fox River boys
had quite the ride. Sadly, the ride peaked early and never recovered. The first
season was addictive and exciting. The second was fun and adventurous. The
third was ho-hum, and the fourth was running on fumes as it got bogged down in
a lame conspiracy plotline. It's a shame, because it really could have been a
legendary two-season series. Seeing Michael’s intricate plan come together (and
rope in an increasing number of colorful accomplices) made FOX Mondays an
appointment you wanted to keep. (Also, we don’t talk about the 2017 revival. It
never happened, okay?)
21. Supernatural
(2005-2020, WB/CW)
I had to drop
“Supernatural” by about 2014, but its early years were a great mix of urban
legends, classic ghost stories, and Christian theology. They knew how to bend
the genre and include some hilarious twists, while also being super creepy.
They eventually spiraled out into a vast and convoluted story, but back when it
was just about two brothers driving around the country in their old car, it
could compete with the other heavy-hitters of the time.
20. The Shield
(2002-2008, FX)
Similar to “Alias,”
my journey with “The Shield” is a bit of a hodgepodge. After renting season 1
on DVD I watched 2-5 in a jumbled mess of repeats, largely out of order. Still,
that doesn’t change that this was a groundbreaking show with a lot of guts and
grit, containing some ballsy sequences and plot twists. It was a little too
police procedural-y for it to be at the very top echelon of my favorite dramas
though.
19. Friday Night
Nights (2006-2011, NBC/DirectTV)
I was a little late
to the FNL game, as I wasn’t looking for a football show. Luckily it’s much
more than that! The small-town-feel makes Dillon a cozy place to be, and Coach
and Mrs. Coach are rightly celebrated as a realistic TV couple. I actually
liked the “East Dillon” seasons more than the original – and luckily we got a
chunk of that on DirecTV before the calendar changed over to 2010. We can
pretend the Landry murder plot didn’t exist, for now.
18. Oz (1997-2003,
HBO)
Again, I am not
counting seasons 1-3, which were quite strong, but S4 was probably the show’s peak.
It declined after that, with some outright silly plotlines and some new blood
that didn’t quite measure up to the established favorites who were inevitably
killed off in this time. But fundamentally, “Oz” was more or less the same show
throughout its run, and if you were looking for a massive cast of characters
with grudges, vendettas, alliances, and betrayals, they served it up for you
every week.
17. Curb Your
Enthusiasm (2000-present, HBO)
Similar to “Oz,” CYE
is the same thing every week, and only Larry David could get away with all of
this petty nonsense for years on end. He’s often wrong, but the thing that
keeps him from being a completely annoying douchebag is that…sometimes he’s
actually right? Well, wrong or right, it’s always a riot.
16. The West Wing
(1999-2006, NBC)
A politics show for
people who don’t really like politics. But also for people who really like
(liberal) politics. It made executive government seem glamorous and funny,
which in itself should earn them a Nobel Prize. Full of interesting characters
and weird little quirks of both speech and plot, it may have fishtailed once
Aaron Sorkin left, but it regained composure with the 2006 election story which
turned the spotlight on some new characters. It’s not “The Wire for Government”
but David Simon might be working on that one as we speak.
15. Scrubs (2001-2010,
NBC/ABC)
“Scrubs” had
occasional emotional moments (“My Lunch” comes to mind) but for the most part
this was just pure silliness. Arguably it got a little TOO silly as it aged,
but it was always good for a pick-me-up. (Also, don’t tell anyone, but I didn’t
really hate the med school season either.)
14. Big Brother
(2000-present, CBS)
Never achieved the
kind of widespread appeal that “Survivor” did, but “Big Brother” had just as
much to offer those interested in social dynamics and psychology. Or if you
just wanted to see smart people duke it out in a game show. Watching those
early seasons now, it feels like you are watching some 1990s documentary – and
by 2009 the show had started to veer into the wacky costume-loving explosion of
sounds and colors that have made the modern era an inferior product. Luckily we
got to see the likes of Dr. Will and Marcellas and Janelle before all that
nonsense, when production was content to just let interesting people be
interesting.
13. 30 Rock
(2006-2013, NBC)
Look, there’s not
much depth to this show. It’s almost pure comedy, with one of the biggest
joke-per-minute ratios ever. The farcical nature of the show means you probably
don’t think much about it when it’s not on. And that’s fine. When it’s on, it
gets the job done.
12. Carnivale
(2003-2005, HBO)
Don’t get turned off
by the fact that it only lasted for two of the planned six seasons. It still
has a semi-conclusion, and is still absolutely worth your time. In addition to
a rich and creative plot that also takes wild turns, it is one of the
best-looking dramas I’ve seen, and has a deep bench of cast members that open
up the story. Clancy Brown gives a stellar performance as the manipulative Brother
Justin. Had it been allowed to live out its full life, this would almost
certainly rank higher.
11. Mad Men
(2007-2015, AMC)
If seasons 4-7 were
eligible, this would be about five spots higher. But 1-3 are still great enough
to vault it to this point, despite being a little more buttoned-down and stuffy
than the later hippy-er seasons. This was when Don was at his most suave, when
Betty appeared regularly and with actual story arcs, when Peggy was still a bit
of a wallflower, and when Salvatore…well…existed. One of the best combinations
of acting and writing of the decade. Even within some season 2 bumps, “Mad Men”
elevated the game.
10. The Sopranos
(1990-2007, HBO)
As with many of the
top shows on this list, I did not watch “The Sopranos” in its heyday, but
rather watched it intermittently in the four years after its conclusion. Maybe
it would be higher if I had been there from the beginning, but hey, this decade
was fantastic and Top 10 ain’t bad. If there’s one thing keeping it below the
other dramas on this list it’s the fact that the majority of characters are
criminals, or, at the very least, assholes, and not necessarily people you want
to spend so much time with. While the characterization runs deep, there doesn’t
tend to be a lot of growth. But James Gandolfini gives one of the biggest, most
tightly-realized performances in history, making Tony feel like an actual
person. The show was capable of incredible violence, impeccable comedy, and
tragic humanity, sometimes all in the same episode.
9. Six Feet Under
(2001-2005, HBO)
If you want to feel
good about yourself, and the world, maybe don’t watch this. If you want to see
characters struggle and question their lives, and marvel at some funny deaths,
give this a shot. This is just a solid family drama that doesn’t outstay its
welcome but also flicks between subplots at a decent clip that you won’t get
too bored of one before that character veers in another direction. That offbeat
Alan Ball humor breathes enough life into the death industry that the overall
sense of the fragility of human existence does not overwhelm. And that ending –
hoo boy! Breathe me, indeed.
8.
Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009, Syfy)
A
secretly post-9/11 epic, as a civilization is blindsided by an attack, the
survivors flee into space under constant
threat of annihilation, while also worrying about who among them is actually
the enemy under deep-cover. It’s a space opera for people who don’t even really
like space stuff. While some of the mythology felt tacked-on, the twists and
turns made it unpredictable, and it produced some of the best imagery of its
time. And I’m a fan of the ending – there, I said it!
7. Dexter
(2006-2013, Showtime)
As this only contains
seasons 1-4, it is a bit higher than the show would be overall. 1, 2 and
(especially) 4 are certified “golden age” television – the 3rd not
so much, but it’s still fine. Michael C. Hall makes the character work, and the
Miami locale gives the series a weirdly relaxing atmosphere for a storyline
that is otherwise quite dark. It’s a shame that later seasons received heaps of
criticism (though I am very partial to the 7th) and that as a result
the show isn’t mentioned as much with the rest of the premium heavy-hitters. We
should not forget how great the show could be when it was firing on all
cylinders; and in the 2000s it was a genuine fan favorite.
6. Survivor
(2000-present, CBS)
With the 2000s glut
of reality shows, you could argue there was no more single influential and
important series in this decade than “Survivor.” But while other competitions
burned hot and evaporated, or never took off to begin with, “Survivor” is still
going strong into 2020, and that’s a testament to both the format and the kinds
of people they have cast over the years. With the evolution of gameplay in the
2010s, some of these early seasons may seem a little quaint or even boring, but
a good cast will keep a season strong regardless. The early years have an
innocent charm to them that simply cannot be replicated these days, and even
the latter-decade installments (like Exile Island, Fiji, China, Micronesia)
feel like a golden age that has long since passed. Some people might forget
that it’s even still on, but in 2000 and 2001, if you weren’t watching
“Survivor,” you were missing out on the pulse of America.
5. Arrested
Development (2003-2006, 2013, 2018-2019, FOX/Netflix)
Luckily the Netflix
era isn’t included, or else it would slip down a few spots (especially after
the utterly forgettable season 5B). The original run, however, is one of the
great masterpieces of comedy. A nice mix of clever jokes, callbacks, background
easter eggs, and downright silly nonsense, you always notice something new on
each viewing. Although these are either bad or incompetent people, there is
always a joy while watching, thanks to a bubbly score and Ron Howard’s
legendary narration.
4. The Wire
(2002-2008, HBO)
This is my list of
“favorite” shows, but if I was ranking the list of “best” shows, “The Wire”
would be at the top. It is a rich and complex story that fans out over multiple
interconnecting storylines, which not only entertains but makes a statement
about the modern American city. It takes a while to get into the groove, but
then never lets go. Season four, in particular, is a work of heartbreaking beauty.
Among the enduring characters it gave us were Omar Little, Stringer Bell, Bunk
Moreland, Tommy Carcetti, Lester Freamon, and the four boys at the center of
the school storyline. The McNulty story of season five was, and still is,
maligned for being out-of-character and outlandish, but I enjoyed it and think
it may age pretty well as actual news stories about people in power continue to
get more and more crazy. “The Wire” is not for television newbies, but it
should be on everyone’s bucket list.
3. The Office
(U.S.) (2005-2013, NBC)
The little comedy
show that began with shrugs and turned into one of the most popular ever –
maybe even more popular once it was on Netflix and Comedy Central all the time.
Its trademark brand of awkward work humor made it a friend to the many office drones
who watched. Some enjoyed the Jim and Pam romance, others loved Jim’s
self-aware humor and pranks, while still others couldn’t help but admire
Michael’s desperate plea for acceptance. While he occasionally wandered into
jackass territory, the core of his character was still an innocent dweeb trying
to liven the spirits of his coworkers. The character traits started to get
pretty overbearing as the years went on – though the cutoff for this list is
mid-season 6 so the brunt of that evolution is not factored in here. Once the
show hit its groove with “Christmas Party” almost every episode was worthwhile.
2. 24 (2001-2010,
2014, FOX)
The 24-hour structure
of the show forced the writing team to invent some creative stories. While a
few never really worked (David Palmer in season 3, much of Kim Bauer in season
2), the need to create new obstacles and to have subplots to cut to while
characters were travelling made “24” an action-filled drama that blew up its
premise every several episodes to move onto bigger bad guys and crazier plots.
Realistic, it is not. Fun, it most certainly is. Because of the rapid storyline
turnover, if you’re not enjoying whatever is onscreen, you can bet on it taking
a new direction at any moment. Seasons 1, 2, and 5 in particular are standouts.
1. Lost
(2004-2010, ABC)
“Lost” is the reason
I got really into television in the first place. The characters are diverse and
well-developed (thanks to flashbacks), the mysteries are tantalizing, and the
overarching theme of redemption allows for a myriad of stories. Not every
thread led to something amazing, but that’s part of the fun too. The way they
played with time was groundbreaking, and few shows were as unpredictable or as
gutsy. They changed the game with multimedia material and fan interaction. I
cannot claim that “Lost” was the most well-made, well-written, or well-acted
drama ever, but it’s easily the most excited I’ve been as a fan, and it is
unlikely to be supplanted as my number one. You can see my thoughts on every episode in my (spoiler-filled) Lost Revisited project.
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