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,

Lost Sets An End Date

i really appreciate it when a show can end the way it is supposed to, the way the creators intended for it to end. Lost is going to get one such ending.

it has been announced that the producers of the show and abc have signed a deal that will keep the show on the air for three more 16-episode seasons. everyone seems happy with the deal and it means they can conclude the series the way they always intended which i am very happy to see, since it doesn't always end up that way (shows get canceled, initial creators leave a show, etc). the producers have said that from the beginning they saw the show as about a 90-100 hour series, and with the upcoming 48 hours they will end up with a total of 119.

yes, 16 episodes is a short season compared to the 20-24 that usually make up a network show, however, they will be presented in full blocks without repeats and/or season breaks. So, in 2010 all will finally be revealed.

Wanna Go For A Drive?

last night fox premiered the show Drive. the show, about an illegal cross-country road race has been in the works and re-works for over a year now and has finally made it to air. so what do we get for all that waiting and fixing and such? we get a corny, stereotypical, poorly written, fun and kind of exciting show - think of it as the movie Rat Race meets the tv show Fastlane with a Prsion Break mystery of unknown forces thrown in.

so ya, i kind of liked it, but in a guilty pleasure sort of way. some of the dialogue made me groan and the characters all felt like cookie cutter 'screen writing for dummies' creations, but i wanted to see what would happen next.

Now, i try not to judge a show based on the pilot episode because usually they get to wrapped up in giving us information and introducing characters and their characteristics and the episode tends to feel a little forced. as it is now though, i think it is, like i said, an medium range show that i will follow. However, if the poor ratings for last nights premier are any indication, it might be a short lived guilty pleasure. we shall see.

the premise is original at least (meaning it isn't about cops and doesn't take place in a hospital or law firm) and they did set up plenty of mystery and unknowns that will be revealed as the race goes along. all that being said, Drive doesn't yet appear to be more then that. they didn't take this actually could-be-exciting premise and turn it into something smart and really interesting like Lost (i am a little surprised given that one of the show's creators is tim minear, who was one of the guys behind the short lived, but excellent, show Wonderfalls that was on fox a few years back).

instead they created a guilty pleasure and didn't really go beyond that. is that a bad thing? not necessarily. it is what it is, and while it isn't as good as Prison Break or 24 (the two other monday night adrenaline rushes) so far it is a fun enough ride that has intrigued me enough to make me keep watching for now.

p.s. one of my biggest pet peeves in movies and tv is during driving scenes when the character driving is talking to the passenger and spends more time looking at the other person then actually watching the road. given that Drive spends most of its time in cars, that is something they really have to watch out for, cause there have been a few times where it was laughable.

grade: B-

Lost Is Really Good

Lost - The Complete First Season

Lost - The Complete Second Season

i have read a bunch of articles over the last few months about the decline in the ratings for Lost, and about how fans are not as interested/or happy with the show this season, and to be honest, i don't get it. i have been following the show from episode one and i think this season has been really good.

the back stories have been intriguing, and the on-the-island action has been interesting and slowly piecing together the mystery (although i will admit i still have lots of questions). however, what i really like about the show is that while they are always giving you pieces of information and moving the story along, they are also constantly keeping you intrigued by new developments and questions that come up - unlike Desperate Housewives that basically solved the whole initial mystery at the end of the first season and then went way downhill with an anti-climactic season 2 (season 3 has been better).

the Lost producers said recently that they know exactly where the story is going and they plan on setting an end date to the show. as long as the writing stays strong i am completely interested and willing to go along and see where it all ends up.

if there are any Lost fans out there who are part of that disappointed-in-season-3 crowd leave a comment and let me know where the show lost you (pun intended).

grade: A