Top 10 Television Shows of 2008

2008 can be said to be a year plagued by tragedy, disappointment and shame. Just like at the movies, the small screen in general didn’t exactly shine this year. Very few movies could even be considered watchable and many shows with an established following, like the hit NBC show Heroes, saw nearly a 50% drop in viewership. So those who managed to make their way to the Top 10 fought through the muck and deserve to be on this list. Number 1 is considered the best show of 2008 in my books.

10. Lost – Lost was considered by many viewers the best show of 2008 but since this position was assumed around May I can officially say now that it is a bogus prize. Lost, while struggling to find its roots between creepy and just too much going on at once, is in concept a very good show. J. J. Abrams is just what everyone thinks he is, a genius.  The man could wrap a warm turd in tinfoil, present it to studios, and receive money for it. Lost, while not completely a turd, can frequently smell like one. The show’s biggest miss is in moving the show too much; supposedly, the island is movable. Locke is dead, Jack is obsessed with going back even though he has the beautiful Evangeline Lily to mack on, and then there’s that scary out-of-nowhere cabin. Lost’s high point is easily the acting which, in my opinion, can be seen as top notch. Matthew Fox did a fine job as Jack in the previous season playing through the drunk and stubborn phase. During the course of more than one episode I found myself becoming teary-eyed or near bawling, like when he was on the edge of suicide. Lost gets the Number 10 spot because it gives fans questions and answers some of them – which in the eyes of some can be a problem, but keeps some die-hard fans coming back for more.

9. Avatar: The Last Airbender – Call me childish, call me immature, call me anything that will make you sleep at night but not many cartoon are so epic that I actually find myself saying, “Wow” over and over and over. The final four-episode arc “Sozin’s Comet” is probably one of the most powerful endings to a series I’ve ever seen. Aang unleashes the full power of his Avatar abilities to fight the Fire Lord which creates massive destruction across the Fire Nation. Aang literally becomes so powerful that he wipes out all the Fire Lord’s powers and leaves him powerless for the Nations to take pity on him. The act of completely rendering the Fire Lord useless isn’t just heroic; it symbolizes his determination to not fall into the category of murderer, as he had the option of completely obliterating the Fire Lord. The ending, while chaotic, as 3 major action scenes were happening at once, was very satisfying.

8. Battlestar Galactica – Ever have something you waited so long for that was so big that you just couldn’t stand to wait any longer? Then after all those long moments of waiting you get it and it turns out to be something you didn’t picture? Well, welcome to the season finale of Battlestar Galactica. The build up and the let down were so huge that I physically and mentally couldn’t believe it. I shook in horror as the ‘hope’ that Starbuck built up for the Colonial Fleet, that this safe haven or Earth, turns out to be just a planet shattered by a nuclear war. They found their safe haven but it doesn’t have the trees or the beautiful animals they were looking for. Some of the highlight moments from last season were the Colonial Fleet finally destroying the Resurrection Hub, the infamous fight between Tigh and Adama, and, well, any scene that incorporated Tricia Helfer, Katee Sackhoff or Grace Park.

7. 30 Rock – Ever since some of the staple comedians from Saturday Night Live left, I’ve never been interested in the show. It was mostly filled with bizzare and unintelligent humor that usually involved physical humor that never made a lick of sense to me. Never once did it seem like anybody ever sat down and thought of a truly funny joke to say. However, a woman by the name of Tina Fey has saved that show and figured if she can save a show from falling apart, she can create a show. 30 Rock is brilliant, I mean flat-out brilliant and ‘08 has confirmed this. Fey went as far out as bringing in big names like Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Martin. Not only does the writing get better but the acting seems to get better and better. Alec Baldwin is brilliant as Jack Donaghy, an egotistical moron, and in the episodes “Cooter” and “Sandwhich Day” show off his sarcastic and fluid humor. Episodes “MILF Island” and “Episode 210” are some of the show’s best episodes.

6. Burn Notice – It’s not often that a show leaves me demanding a  comeback by simply screaming at the TV. The second season of Burn Notice can simply be summarized in one simple word, Amazing. Jeffrey Donovan is in every way the spy version of Jack Bauer. Donovan pulls off some of the best narration work and acting in 2008 that should be considered highly (and I stress highly) deserving of an Emmy. Not only is the acting more stellar than in its previous season, but the writing is way more fluid. Action sequences roll together and blend very well with the narration and wry humor presented by the trio of Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar and Bruce Campbell. Their chemistry is flawless in every way. The addition of Tricia Helfer as the sexy and mysterious Carla creates a new obstacle for Donovan’s Michael which can adding new suspense to an already thrilling plot.

5. Life - Another show that seriously can say it gets better as time goes on. Damian Lewis continues in his second season as the awkward yet charming detective, Charlie Crews. Life shows in its second season that even though its viewership is down, the show is not going to lay down and die. 2008’s biggest episodes, “Find Your Happy Place”, “Trapdoor” and “Black Friday” all show great writing and a great display of character development in both Reese and Crews. The addition of the relationship between Reese and Captain Tidwell (the greasy yet funny Donal Logue who makes his debut this season) helps. This relationship, while being awkward, adds even more funny (nothing like a police captain being denied a bank loan). Crews’s best friend Ted is now in jail and while this subplot seemed to be downright unneeded it has actually turned humorous. Crews’s inmate friends help him by protecting Ted, which adds an added comedic angle when people try to take down Ted. Life, in my opinion, has some wiggle room where it can easily move into that Number 2 or 3 spot but we need to see some more interesting villains before we make that judgment.

4. Leverage – Rarely does a show come on the air that I just cannot stop watching. One that has this season is Leverage. A cute and quirky comedy of the best thieves in the business turning from the dark side to the light side to help everyday victims of unfairness. The closest comparison is probably the Ocean’s trilogy and while it does dance around the thieves’ arena it is nothing like Ocean’s. This might catch you off guard, but Leverage is actually much better than the Ocean’s movies. Timothy Hutton plays that George Clooney role of the planner and let’s just say he does it with better style and acting. The show isn’t just thieving and laughing. It also has some gadgets, some action and mystery-solving. Here you can watch a show for 40 minutes and find out what happened exactly in the last two and be completely shocked. Leverage does that and with a cast of nobodies (excepting Timothy Hutton). Easily, the life of the show is Hardison, the computer whiz who drops a good joke with superb delivery every time he is on the screen. I see big things coming from this show and I can easily see this show taking home some big Emmys down the road.

3. Psych - The most underrated television show on the planet. It’s easy to overlook a comedy that thrives on  pop culture references and jokes that play comically immature characters against one another – and that is a mistake. Psych is a prime example of an ensemble of actors with the perfect chemistry working together. It has a completely fresh premise and every episode is executed with an energy that pulls the viewer along. Unfortunately, Psych now faces competition from a plagiarist, The Mentalist. The Mentalist is just a more viewed version of Psych that CBS has put up. It’s the same thing but with weaker chemistry and mechanics. Psych, with every episode, will bring something great – Gus and Shawn pointing fingers at each other or Shawn  making up new pet names for Gus, or the members of the Santa Monica P.D. Psych just does it better for me than The Mentalist.

2. Bones – A show I always seem to watch when I’m eating and I always think to myself that’s a bad idea.  It’s all gory and its all great. People who stopped watching Bones because of the whole Ross and Rachel theme between Agent Seely Booth (the wonderful David Boreneaz) and Dr. Constance Brennan (the sexy and well-picked Emily Deschanel) will be happy to know that every episode they move closer to that point where the fan shakes their head and says the magical words, “They’re going to have sex!”. Bones is easily one of the most enjoyable television shows of the year. The chemistry is beyond steaming between Booth (who adds the heroic yet cocky and sarcastic elements) and Bones (who adds the strict, by the book and robotic feeling to the show). The best part of Bones is knowing that every episode, someone has died (unpleasantly!), and yet the crime will be solved expertly and with humor. Probably the best addition to the new season is John Francis Daley who portrays psychologist Dr. Lance Sweets who brings a childish angle to the humor of the show. Bones does what its competitor CSI does but better, adding scientific detachment to ensemble chemistry and dry humor to entertain a mass audience. Bones simply delivers.

1. Chuck – Probably the best show since the series finale of the legendary NBC show Friends. Chuck isn’t just the best show for one reason, not two reasons or three reasons but because of all reasons. It’s the funniest show on television, with its quick little references (such as the infamous DMC DeLorean, Lost’s Flight 815 and Call of Duty 4); hot chemistry, as Sarah and Chuck constantly smolder on-screen together – and, last but not least, the action – quick gunplay with great comedy. Chuck appeals because it delivers to everyone, it has something anybody and everybody will like. It’s predictable enough so you know where it’s going but unpredictable enough that it keeps you guessing as to how it will get there. Last season brought some of the best episodes I’ve ever seen on a television show. “Chuck Versus Santa Claus” was a massive twist that was very well written and directed. My all-time favorite is “Chuck Versus The DeLorean” which showed how amazingly crappy the now-infamous DMC DeLoreans are. I’m especially fond of Chuck because of the beautiful and highly talented Yvonne Stravhoski, who plays out the perfect American accent and adds that essential eye candy to the role. This is fine because she can act very well. Probably one of the best casting picks is Adam Baldwin as Agent John Casey who is just downright sarcastic and freaking cool. They make him seem so tough that he hates Chuck and yet trying to kill him almost causes him a nervous breakdown. I’m sure Josh Schwartz and McG both will turn their heads to each other in ten years and say, “Boy, we created one of the best television shows in TV history,” and in ten years I’ll be nodding my head with them.