LIST: Best Television Shows (currently on the air)

i always enjoy a good list, and with the tv season coming to an end i thought it would be an opportune time for a list of the best shows on television. i know a top 10 list is standard, but for this topic i went with a top 15.

with such a grand topic i did set a few rules for myself:

- the show has to currently be on the air, or have just finished it's season or be already renewed for another season (if The knights Of Prosperity really does come back then it has a great chance of making next seasons list).

- i had to have seen at least one full season of the show (this made the Tudors and The Riches ineligible, although they are already on my mind for next seasons list)

- i also had to have seen more then just the first season if the show is already in it's third or fourth season (that eliminated Nip/Tuck. i enjoyed season one but haven't got to the next ones yet. that also took Deadwood off the list)

- finally, i obviously had to have watched the show, and as i am only human with only so much time in the day, even with a dvr i can't watch everything. so here is a quick listing of shows that i just haven't watched yet, but from what i have heard they could have been contenders for the list: The Wire, Dirt, Entourage, Heroes, Big Love, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

i have written fuller reviews of some of these shows and i will link to those reviews for those series. now, let's let the listing begin...

1-Boston Legal
2-Rescue Me
3-Sopranos
4-The Shield
5-Scrubs
6-Battlestar Galactica
7-24
8-Lost
9-The Office
10-Friday Night Lights
11-My Name Is Earl
12-30 Rock
13-Rome
14-ER
15-Dexter

just missed the cut: The Simpsons, Weeds, Survivor,

The Two Funniest Hours On Television Ever

it is a bold statement, but i stated in a few podcasts and in a post a few days ago that nbc's current thursday night two-hour comedy block is the funniest 2 hour block of tv ever. there have been other very funny shows on television past and present but never on one night one after the other like My Name Is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock and Scrubs.

all four shows are original single camera shows (not filmed in front of an audience) that are consistently smart, sometimes touching and always funny. there are always multiple laugh-out-loud moments in each show every week. the humor on all four shows goes all over the place and varies from high-brow wit to fart jokes and even slapstick.

the acting is also great and it doesn't stop at just the stars of the shows. sure jason lee, steve carell, tina fey, zach braff and the other lead actors are great, but so is the actress that plays the latina maid on My name Is Earl, the todd on Scrubs and so many others.

nbc has had some great comedies on thursday nights before (Cheers, Seinfeld, Frasier, the Cosby Show, Friends, Will & Grace, etc), but they have always had to throw mediocre filler shows in between the good ones (Four Kings, Veronicas Closet, Coupling, Suddenly Susan, Jesse, etc). now there is no filler, just two-hours of high-quality comedy television.

i talked, a few days ago, about how scrubs might not get renewed for next season. i really hope it does, because it just wouldn't be right to break up such a beautiful thing just yet, especially since nbc announced plans to bring 30 Rock back strong next season.

Grades:
- My Name Is Earl: A
- The Office: A+
- 30 Rock: A
- Scrubs: A+

Is Scrubs Done?

i just came across this article at the variety web site about Scrubs. supposedly the shows fate is up in the air and it may not be renewed for next season. this would be a huge disappointment given that it is a brilliant show and part of nbc's thursday night 2-hour comedy block (with My Name Is Earl, 30 Rock and The Office) which just might be the best 2-hour block of comedy ever on tv. let's keep our fingers crossed that nbc let's Scrubs scrub in next season (that was bad, i know). if they don't abc has expressed some interest. in the end i guess i don't care what network it ends up on, just as long as it is still on television and able to do its thing.

Drive Gets Canceled

well i didn't know it at the time, but i was dead on when i called the show Drive a guilty pleasure, but commented that "if the poor ratings for last nights premier are any indication, it might be a short lived guilty pleasure", because Drive has been canned. after airing only three times fox has said 'enough' and ended it.

look, i'm not going to claim that Drive was a great show, i mean i gave it a B-, but this constant canceling of shows after only a couple airings is really starting to piss me off. i will be ok without knowing how drive ends, but there have been some really good shows that have suffered the same fate this season and those i am not ok with: Daybreak, The Knights Of Prosperity, The Nine and The Black Donnelly's to name a few.

why can't a show, especially a quality one (and the networks know which ones are quality and which ones aren't) get a chance to build an audience. Seinfeld, Cheers and Friends weren't huge hits when they premiered, but look what they turned into (huge hits and huge moneymakers for the networks).

yes, i understand that in a 1000 channel world the audience has so many options that the networks feel they need to grab an audience fast if they want the advertisers to stick around and they also want certain demographics and such and all television shows are really (at least on free tv), are things to kill time between commercials. i get all that, but that doesn't make it right, and a lot of the time that is a network just being really nearsighted.

look at Criminal Minds as a very modern example. that show took a little while to get going, but it did, and this year is actually beat Lost in the ratings a few times when they were on at the same time. also, the ratings for The Office have improved over its first season, so it can happen and it isn't a crazy notion either.

that's why i appreciate what nbc is doing with 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights, assuming they renew the latter like it looks as if they are leaning towards doing. these are two high-quality shows that deserve a chance at building an audience.

sure sometimes it just doesn't happen, look at Arrested Development. they got a couple extra seasons more then their ratings would have suggested, but it just never caught on (too bad cause it was a great show), but at least it had a shot. canceling a show after 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 episodes just isn't fair to the show or the audience that is getting into it or that might have gotten into it had they given them a chance.

back to Drive: fox hasn't said what they will do with the remaining episodes they have in the can, but putting them online seems to be the thing to do these days so i wouldn;t be surprised if that is what they do.

30 Rock Gets The Greenlight

while i am still pissed at nbc for canceling The Black Donnelly's i am very happy that they have given the greenlight to 30 Rock on a second season. while the ratings haven't been great, they are hoping that the show can build like The Office did going into its second season. nbc thursday night is not only the funniest night on tv currently, but is one of the funniest blocks on tv ever, with: My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock (come on people, that is some great comedy action right there).

also, Friday Night Lights hasn't got the greenlight yet, but here's hoping.