10. Entourage - There are few shows as short as Entourage... Some pound on you with intensity, or drama, and some drift by like a breeze, so easy to watch, that it takes no further concentration than writing your name on a sheet of paper... No sooner than I've settled into my seat, with a soda or beer, and vicariously lived a week in the life of one Vincent Chase, and held onto my hat as Ari Gold rips into his assistant, the end credits are rolling.
9. Prison Break- Michael Scofield is one of the most charismatic characters ever brought to the small screen.
The character first appeared in the
series pilot as a man who stages a bank robbery in order to get sent into the prison where his older brother,
Lincoln Burrows (
Dominic Purcell), is being held until his execution. The premise of
Prison Break revolves around the two brothers and Michael's plan to help Lincoln escape his death sentence. The improbable plot twists, and vivid gritty characters kept me hanging on through the series 4 year run. It was the perfect length for the series. Another season sould have been retarded... After all, they break out of 2 different prisons.... The Season 2 cat and mouse game between Scofield and troubled FBI Agent Alex Mahone bested even the duel between Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford in The Fugitive.
8. King Of Queens The movie "Despicable Me" is out right now, but K.O.Q could've been called "Despicable Them." Even Seinfeld's characters, who went to prison for their lack of character were holier than Doug and Carrie Heffernan. Incredibly funny and yes, despicable moments ensued over the series' eight or so seasons on the air, with an amazing cast of supporting characters, and Kevin James impeccable comic timing, the show was a delight.
7. Frasier- Spun off from Cheers, Frasier actually aired longer than Cheers did, from 1993 to 2004. I believe the character of Frasier is the longest running character in TV, perhaps second only to some guy on Gunsmoke. I'm certain that that's what made the show so great. Seeing a character develop over 23 years was like growing up with someone.. I know Frasier as well as I know my actual friends.In real life, I have no opera attending, sherry sipping psychologist friends, but great writing made this erudite, pompous windbag a person I'd actually be friends with, and actually miss, when the show ended.
6. Weeds - I've never subscribed to Showtime, and was late to discover "Weeds." The show has the quirkiness of "Northern Exposure" and "Arrested Development," but all the while, viewers start to feel a paranoid edginess, as they root for the drug-dealing, absentee mother Nancy Botwin. Central to all my Top Ten picks, a great cast is the reason the show works so well...That, and FEARLESS writing. Who else puts a soccer mom in a mini-mall connected to a tunnel under the Mexican border where heroin and prostitutes are smuggled on a daily basis? The rewards of watching Kevin Nealon and Elizabeth Perkins (both former clients) self-implode are many... Smoke up!
5. House - Don't you just wanna smack Gregory House? Not if you were in his hospital, with some ridiculously obscure disease. Hugh Laurie deserves every Emmy nomination he gets for his work. Hell, just quashing his native British accent alone, and sounding so.... American is fine work, but he inhabits that character like no other.... He is a thinking man's Archie Bunker. Quick to point fingers at everyone else, and unable to figure out why he is so damn miserable. Yet, he is funny in the snarkiest of ways, and I rejoice in the torment he unleashes on his co-workers.. The medical mystery runs a distant second place to his antics....
4. E.R. - Like Frasier, I've seen Dr. John Carter for 15 years, and come to know his character well... I've never missed a single episode in the series 15 year run, and it was every bit as good in season 15 as it was at the start... No medical show has, or ever will, come close to the longevity of E.R
The sheer number of main characters on the show takes an eternity to scroll through. (Go ahead, click on the link, and watch your scrollbar on the right side of the screen turn into a tiny sliver.......) The list of major guest stars who appeared on not one episode, but stuck around for 5 or more, is incredible.... Again, it was the stories and the writing that kept everyone coming back....
3. Lost - Very little more can be said about the most innovative show to EVER air on television. When theologists and scholars are still trying to write about the themes and theories of the show, all I can do is stand back and smile. Thank you J.J. Abrams for Lost, AND "Alias."
2. 24 What will the world do without Jack Bauer? Yes, seasons 6 and 7 were iffy, but even iffy seasons of 24 blow away everything else on the TV landscape.... Pure adrenaline, pure escapism, pure punishment.
I hope the rumored film packs the wallop that the series sustained. I only regret that some of the characters they killed off could've made it into the big screen version....
1. Deadwood - Shakespeare would've been astonished by the writing of this show.... and at times, he'd be the only one who could comprehend it.... Never has a show had such eloquence mix with such potty-mouth dialogue... The dialogue that issues from this heavy drama about life in Deadwood, South Dakota circa 1871.
Many historical figures appear as characters on the show—such as
Seth Bullock,
Al Swearengen,
Wild Bill Hickok,
Sol Star,
Calamity Jane,
Wyatt Earp,
E. B. Farnum,
Charlie Utter, and
George Hearst. The plot lines involving these characters include historical truths as well as substantial fictional elements. Some of the characters are fully fictional, although they may have been based on actual persons.
Deadwood received wide critical acclaim, particularly for Milch's writing and
Ian McShane's co-lead performance.
[3] It also won eight
Emmy Awards (in 28 nominations) and one
Golden Globe.
Shame on HBO for cutting costs, and putting Milch's other project, the useless "John From Cincinnati" on in its place.... It is impossible for me to watch other westerns now, as they look absolutely stupid when compared with this, the most masterfully written show in TV history.
Honorable Mentions: Battlestar Galactica, Coupling (BBC), Jericho
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