Blog : TV Worth Watching

December 31, 2007 - 10 Best TV Series of the Year, Times Two

There have been times, compiling my annual 10 Best list of TV series, that I've had to be very generous just to fill out the roster. Not this year. For 2007, I could double that amount, and still leave some worthy shows waiting in the wings.

Think that's an exaggeration, or that I've gone soft? Just watch. Here, on the last day of the year, are my Top 10 prime-time TV series for 2007:

10 BEST:
1) "30 Rock," NBC
2) "Friday Night Lights," NBC
3) "Dexter," Showtime
4) "Lost," ABC
5) "Heroes," NBC
6) "Nip/Tuck," FX
7) "Pushing Daisies," ABC
8) "Sopranos," HBO
9) "Mad Men," AMC
10) "Damages," FX

Now here are my NEXT 10. Tell me if that doesn't seem like a damned good Top 10 list all by itself...

"Extras," HBO
"The Simpsons," Fox
"Boston Legal," ABC
"The Shield," FX
"Desperate Housewives," ABC
"Entourage," HBO
"Flight of the Conchords," HBO
"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," NBC
"Rescue Me," FX
"The Riches," FX

This doesn't even account for late-night comedy shows or programs from other dayparts - just prime time. Look at that list, and it becomes clear that, for TV, 2007 was a very strong vintage. These shows are delightfully diverse, but I can't help noticing they have one thing in common.

They're all scripted.

7 Comments

Japhy said:

Journeyman was a hit in our household. We were big fans of HBO's Rome and we were interested to see something different with Kevin McKidd. Sad thing is it appears that Journeyman has not been renewed for another season.

It's been my understanding that the quick cancellation of shows is one of the topics for discussion from the writer's strike. As a viewer, it's become my number one issue with television over the past several years. Sometimes it's a quick pull like 3lbs. and other times it's one season and done, such as Invasion, The Class, and now Journeyman. And then there are times where more than one season is given, but the storyline is left hanging like Carnivale and Deadwood. Fan support stories like Jericho are few and far between.

If the networks can't commit to a series and allow it to build an audience, than they ought to screen their choices better. They give little reason for an audience to take a chance on a new series that might be canceled at any moment or only after one season. We enjoy Pushing Daisies, but then have to sit by virtually powerless hoping it doesn't get canceled at any moment.

Would Seinfeld survived past the first few episodes?

Comment posted on December 31, 2007 10:32 AM

Marlark said:

Have to agree with Japhy. From carefully woven and compelling plotlines, gorgeous production values, pitch-perfect acting and some of the most believable, humane dialog of any recent show, Journeyman is Top Ten worthy.

How doubly sad it is the show is cancelled along with the rest of the entire season.

To Kevin Falls and his team, thanks for the Journey, man.

Comment posted on December 31, 2007 3:03 PM

Mary Ann said:

I don't have any comments on your Top 10 List, but I just wanted to wish you a very Happy, Healthy New Year!

I miss you a lot in the New York Daily News but am glad you have this website! Good luck (and goodnight??) Sound familiar?

God bless.

Comment posted on December 31, 2007 7:45 PM

Will Humes said:

A great list here, with the exception of not including Battlestar Galactica. I found it hard to narrow my picks to just 10 as well when I compiled my list.

Here's hoping the writers' strike ends early in the new year as well.

Comment posted on December 31, 2007 10:11 PM

Megan said:

No Veronica Mars? You make me sad...

Comment posted on January 3, 2008 3:48 PM

stefanie said:

Desperate Housewives. Really? I mean... really?

Comment posted on January 3, 2008 6:59 PM

Esther said:

I think "The Office" has done a lot to further the sitcom which has stagnated in these last few years with astute while casual views on the human condition. The sitcom being a medium that has become endangered since the introduction of Reality TV and CSI.

I wish I'd seen that on your list. It is a more entertaining show than "Boston Legal" and "Nip/Tuck."

Comment posted on January 4, 2008 4:13 AM

Behind David in the picture is the first TV owned by his father, Virgil Bianculli, a 1946 Raytheon. (The TV, not his father. His father was a 1923 Italian.)

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air, occasional substitute host for that show's Terry Gross, and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His most recent book is 2009's Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,' and he's at work on another.

7 Comments

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