Ah TV. The babysitter. The idiot box. You get what we mean. While TV went through a massive overhaul in the oughts (that whole DTV switchover … remember that mess?) its basic function remained the same … quality entertainment delivered right to your home.
For the most part, television in the oughts got better.
Sitcoms got edgier, animated families got crasser and dramas actually got dramatic. This was a great decade for television.
So
whittling the list of television shows down to a manageable level was
quite the task, but we did it. OK, all of the shows that should have
been included probably aren’t on there, but that doesn’t mean they
weren’t good.
Here’s the list of the best of television, with the best of the decade and the rest in no particular order.
Best of the Decade
Lost (ABC 2004-present): Possibly one of the best shows ever made, ABC’s ‘Lost’ is a world of its own. Not only is the show in some alternative reality, numerous Web sites, online shows and blogs have been created by ‘Lost’ staffers (including Lost University) to enhance the ‘Lost’ experience. ‘Lost’ will return for its final season on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
The Rest
♦ Dead Like Me (Showtime
2003-05): Grim reapers are real, at least in this show where a mopey
young woman, George (played by Ellen Muth), dies after being hit by
some space debris (a toilet seat from the Mir Space Station) and
unwittingly joins a team of edgy reapers lead by Rube, played by Mandy
Patinkin. Lasting only 2 seasons on Showtime (and replaced by the
horrible ‘Fat Actress’ — see The Hub’s Worst of the Oughts list) ,
‘Dead Like Me’ still has a good following. In 2009, most of the cast
reunited for the movie, ‘Dead Like Me: Life After Death.’ The show and
the movie are must rentals.
♦ Southland (NBC, now TNT
2009-present): This gritty midseason replacement was renewed for the
2009 season after airing just 8 episodes, but do you see in on TV right
now? No, because after they started filming the second season, NBC
canceled the show in favor of keeping Jay Leno. Thankfully, ‘Southland’
(which follows cops in Los Angeles as they deal with the cream of the
crop and the scum of the earth) was immediately picked up by TNT.
Hopefully they’ll air it in the 9 p.m. Central timeslot against The Jay
Leno Show, and hopefully it will kick Leno’s butt because Leno sucks
(see The Hub’s Worst of the Oughts list).
♦ American Idol (Fox
2002-present): Say what you will about ‘American Idol’ but it’s good
TV. Sure, sometimes the American Idol doesn’t quite work out in the
music biz (cough cough Taylor Hicks), but the contest leading up to the
finale is always interesting and the show does deserve some credit for
the musicians that have worked out (Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks,
Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, etc.)
American Idol will return Jan. 12.
♦ Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO
2000-present): Larry David (the character) is a lovable jerk. He’s mean
spirited, narcissistic, self-centered bastard, but on HBO’s ‘Curb Your
Enthusiasm,’ you just can’t stop watching Larry David playing himself
and meandering from one unpleasant situation to the next. The last
season, David (the co-creator of ‘Seinfeld’ in real life) brought the
cast of the ‘90s sitcom together for a reunion show in order to get his
TV wife (Cheryl Hines) back. The season was an epic triumph, with David
and the ‘Seinfeld’ cast on their top form. It was also an interesting
look at how they write, rehearse, and film a sitcom. Most ‘Curb Your
Enthusiasm’ seasons are available on DVD, and worth watching every
awkward moment.
♦ The Office/30 Rock (NBC 2005- and
2006-present): Why mention both of these shows at the same time?
Thursday nights wouldn’t be the same without both of them. Sure you can
watch Tina Fey’s hilarious hijinks or Steve Carell’s side-splittingly
over-the-top performances by themselves, but even on Hulu.com, you
ultimately will end up watching the two together. Like peanut butter
and chocolate they are.
♦ King of the Hill (Fox 1997-2009):
The animated Hill family was one of the best things on TV. Thought they
always brought in decent number (when you knew when the show was going
to be on) Fox ultimately took the show for granted, frequently changing
the schedule, pre-empting it for baseball games, airing episodes
(including the series finale) with little notice, and so on. But the
show’s strength was in it’s writing. The family comedy was almost
reborn with ‘King of the Hill’ because it returned to the roots of the
genre — realistic characters. A major feat for an animated show. ‘King
of the Hill’ currently airs in syndication.
♦ Arrested
Development (Fox 2003-06): On the other hand of the family comedy is
this completely unrealistic gem. ‘Arrested Development’ focused on the
lives of probably the most dysfunctional family ever create — The
Bluths. And while this family was mean, dangerously strange, and
completely unbelievable, there was something charming and refreshing
about this show. An ‘Arrested Development’ movie is currently in
development for release in 2011, according to IMDb.com.
♦
Futurama (Fox, Comedy Central 1999-2003, 2010-???): ‘The Simpsons’
would be on this list, but after 20 years on the air, the oughts
weren’t as favorable to the show as the ‘90s were. But ‘Simpsons’
creator Matt Groening’s ‘Futurama’ is well deserving of this spot. In
this futuristic show, 1999 pizza delivery guy Phillip J. Fry (voiced by
Billy West) is mistakenly cryogenically frozen for 1,000 years and
wakes up in 2099 where he befriends a one-eyed humanoid, a
smart-talking robot, his great, great, great nephew (who is
significantly older) and more misfits. One of the best Sci-Fi shows of
all time, but it after being canceled in 2003, the show was brought
back to life after strong DVD sales. Creators followed with four
‘Futurama’ movies released between 2007-09, and are currently working
on new episodes for Comedy Central, to air in 2010.
Source: OSH 24 Seven