After reviewing the pilot for the new Fox series "Fringe" yesterday, I decided to continue with the TV theme and provide a list of my ten favorite television shows (and I even provided a few honorable mentions). But before we get into the list, I need to lay out three things to please keep in mind when reading this list:
1) the series has to be currently airing. So, while I still like stuff like "Veronica Mars" and "Arrested Development" more than other shows on the list, they are ineligible.
2) the series needs to still be generating new episodes; syndicated television doesn't count.
3) this is a "favorite" list, not a "best" list. There are a number of shows that, from what I've heard, could easily be better than what's on my list, but for various reasons I just haven't gotten a chance to really check them out yet (examples of series on my To-Watch-List include "Friday Night Lights," "The L Word" and "Pushing Daisies").
Okay, that being said, enjoy the list of my ten favorite currently airing television series:
- “Lost” - Choosing between “Lost” and “Battlestar Galactica” was incredibly hard, but I had to give the edge to “Lost” because, while BG is an excellent drama, “Lost” is a much more innovative one. It was one of the first modern series to attempt telling a deep, labyrinthine story instead of episode-by-episode stories. The creators of "Lost" aren’t afraid to shoot for the fences and try different things, and even when they don’t work the results are still interesting. I also love how philosophical “Lost” is; it’s not a coincidence that many of the characters are named after famous philosophers (Locke, Rousseau, Hume). What makes the series great, however, is the real emotional depth each member of the large cast of characters have been given. It also helps that ever since ABC allowed the writers to set a definitive end date for "Lost," the series has rocked with a focus and intensity that hasn't been seen since season one. The success of "Lost" has changed television as we know it, and that's why it takes the number one spot on my list.
- “Battlestar Galactica” - We’re living in a new golden age of science-fiction, and nothing proves it more than this dark and realistic re-imagining of an ultra-cheesy '70s series. Forget the title and any premature judgements it might give you; this new version is a pitch-perfect and powerfully moving drama that just happens to take place in space. You’d better catch up on it right now; the second half of the final season begins in January.
- “Heroes” - Sure, some people argued that the second season was a huge disappointment. I’m not having it; for me this series has successfully continued to take the idea of the “super-hero” and explore every aspect of what that identity means in this day and age. And it’s always entertaining.
- “Doctor Who” - This modern-day continuation of the longest running science-fiction series in history is chock full of imagination, wit and whimsy. The special effects are truly “special,” used to create entire new worlds like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Although the most recent season got off to a shaky start (mainly due to the addition of Donna Noble, the Doctor’s extremely annoying and whiny companion this go-around), it concluded with what may be the best two episodes in the history of the series (and all the Rose Tyler fans finally got some much-needed closure).
- “Flight of the Conchords” - Hey hello to our generation’s Spinal Tap. Instead of being a world-famous British metal band, however, these guys are a struggling novelty-folk band from New Zealand. This is the funniest show on television.
- “The Office” - Like “Arrested Development,” this series has mastered the art of mining humor out of extremely awkward situations. Unlike AD, people actually watch this show. While Steve Carell is always brilliant (“Evan Almighty” notwithstanding), the series may be most notable for giving us two of the greatest television relationships in history: Jim + Pam, and Jim + Dwight.
- “Bones” - I’m generally not a fan of procedural dramas, whether they’re about cops (“Law & Order”), doctors ("E.R."), forensics (“C.S.I.") or anything else (“N.C.I.S.,” “J.A.G.,” etc). But “Bones” won me over because it focuses more on the relationships between the characters. Dr. Temperance Brennan, aka “Bones,” and her partner, F.B.I. special agent Seely Booth, have an excellent chemistry that drives the show (the other characters are all interesting too). While the series also follows some pretty nasty cases (the most recent episode involved identifying remains found in an outhouse), I enjoy watching Brennan attempting to deal with the outside world; she’s often described as being better with dead people than with the living.
- “Fringe” - Yeah, I know this series has only had one episode so far, but holy sh** was that episode entertaining! Seriously, how many network television series have you seen that show a man’s jaw falling off as he turns into goo within the opening moments of the first episode? The “X-Files”-inspired concept delves into some seriously strange areas of “science,” but you shouldn’t need a PhD to follow the plot (in fact, my guess is the less you know about real science the better).
- “Ninja Warrior/Women of Ninja Warrior” - You want to know where new American reality shows like “Wipeout” and “Hole in the Wall” came from? Tune into G4 and check out this series. This Japanese import involves contestants competing through four stages of the craziest, most off-the-wall physical challenges in existence. It’s got everything you’d want in a reality show: crazy contestants, true talent, and risk of serious physical injury. Who could ask for anything more?
- “Torchwood” - This spin-off of “Doctor Who” revolves around the titular organization, a group of people who investigate possible alien activity on Earth. The series is marked by much more adult content than DW (like aliens and people getting it on), but shares the same wit and strong writing and acting. And it’s nice to have more of Captain Jack Harkness, one of the the most entertaining supporting characters in DW history.
Here are a couple other shows that just missed the cut:
- “America’s Next Top Model” - While I’ve been an unabashed fan of this long-running reality series for quite a while, the last couple seasons have been somewhat lackluster. That said, the series is still incredibly addictive, and the addition of a pre-op transgender contestant has already made this season much more interesting (specifically watching how some of the other contestants react when she does a better job than them).
- “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” - Classic case of “great idea for a series, less than stellar execution.” For a series that you’d expect to be chock-full of action, way too much time is spent watching people standing around talking. Hopefully the second season will pick up on the action and explore John Connor’s relationship with hot-chick/Terminator Cameron more; that’s the most interesting part of the series. But casting Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson as a liquid-metal cyborg this season is a very interesting idea (although showing us this by having her disguised as a urinal was more than a bit strange).
- “Mad Men” - This series about Manhattan ad executives in the 1960s is relentlessly intriguing. But the very, VERY slow pace sometimes causes it to drag, and it can often feel like not a whole lot is really going on. While this is a good show, I really think it's been overpraised by a lot of people. If you want to check this series out, take my advice and start from the very beginning; otherwise you'll have no idea about what's going on.
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