Showing posts with label Best Television Shows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Best Television Shows. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Best Television Shows of 2008-2009


Last year’s television season felt weird because the writer’s strike took a big chunk out of that season and the ripples were still felt this year as there were no new great shows and the shows that had been gone since December 2007 returned to a resounding thud in terms of ratings. And this year is when Saturday is becoming the new Friday with networks running off episodes there after canceling them. But anyways. Here are the best television shows of the past twelve months.

1. Friday Night Lights 3.x (NBC)

2. Chuck 2.x (NBC)

3. The Big Bang Theory 2.x (CBS)

4. Pushing Daisies 2.x (ABC)

5. Tool Academy (VH1)

6. Lost 5.x (ABC)

7. Greek 2.x (ABC Family)

8. The Middleman 1.x (ABC Family)

9. Leverage 1.x (TNT)

10. Survivor: Tocantins (CBS)




A nice even split among the networks this year with cable getting a larger share of the pie this year. Below is a breakdown as well as a running tally of the shows that led in numbers of Quotes and Songs of the Week from my weekly 57 Channels and Best of the Week rundowns:

Quotes of the Week

Chuck (6)
The Big Bang Theory (5)
Lost (5)
The Middleman (5)
Pushing Daisies (3)
How I Met Your Mother (3)
Eli Stone (3)
Pardon the Interruption (3)
Friday Night Lights (2)
Greek (2)
I Love Money (2)
Gary Unmarried (2)
My Name Is Earl (1)
Leverage (1)
Survivor (1)
Ten Items or Less (1)
Cupid (1)

Songs of the Week
Chuck (12)
My Name Is Earl (6)
How I Met Your Mother (3)
The Big Bang Theory (2)
Eli Stone (2)
Tool Academy (2)
Lost (1)
Pushing Daisies (1)
Cupid (1)
Saturday Night Live (1)
Trust Me (1)
30 Rock (1)

Monday, November 10, 2008

Best New Shows of Fall 2008


In this I have to be first world we live in, there tends to be a rush to judgment. Take the first impression of The Big Bang Theory which was universally panned thanks to a sub-par pilot last year, many of the jokes that were killed by the overplaying of the promo before the show become much beloved by the end of the year. So once again I have rounded up a cabal of TV Bloggers to list their favorite new shows of the season now that they have gotten about a month of episodes under their belts. Then I put their list into my patented formula that is slightly more credible than token daily tracking poll. Here are the results. You can catch up by downloading the shows on iTunes and/or Amazon Video on Demand.

1. Privileged (The CW) iTunes - Amazon
2. Fringe (Fox) iTunes - Amazon
3. True Blood (HBO)
4. The Mentalist (CBS)
5. My Own Worst Enemy (NBC) iTunes - Amazon
6. Raising the Bar (TBS) iTunes
7. Busted (MTV) iTunes - Amazon
8. Gavin & Stacey (BBC America) iTunes
9. Kath & Kim (NBC) iTunes - Amazon
10. Gary Unmarried (CBS)

Also receiving votes: Life on Mars, 90210, Worst Week, Whatever Martha!, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Eleventh Hour, Sons of Anarchy, The Ex-List, Rita Rocks
Voters: Dan, Ducky, Matt, Rae, Sandie, Scooter McGavin, Tube Talk Girl, Vance

The closest thing to a consensus would be Privileged, then Fringe slightly behind and everything pretty much bunched up at the bottom. But considering some of the negative comments voters sent with their ballots, they are less than enthuse with the new slate of shows this fall much like I am which many are contributed to lingering effects of the writer’s strike. Honestly I was thinking of not hosting the poll this year but only did for prosperity sake so in 1000 years from now people in the future could tell just how poor this television season was. In a measure of full disclosure, here was my ballot:

1. Busted (MTV)
2. Gary Unmarried (CBS)
3. Raising the Bar (TNT)
4. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network)
5. The Ex-List (CBS)

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Best Television Shows of 2007-2008


It is weird compiling a list of the best television for the past year with so many shows disappearing in the middle of the year or being rushed to complete the sessions with a couple less episodes that were planned. It was interesting with all my bemoaning of hoe horrible the new batch of shows were last summer, freshmen shows dominated the list with four of the top five shows. Here are my picks anyways for the best of the last twelve months:

1. Friday Night Lights 2.x (NBC)
2. Pushing Daisies 1.x (ABC)
3. The Big Bang Theory 1.x (CBS)
4. Eli Stone 1.x (ABC)
5. Chuck 1.x (NBC)
6. Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites (CBS)
7. Lost 4.x (ABC)
8. Rescue Me 4.x (FX)
9. Greek 1.x (ABC Family)
10. My Name Is Earl 3.x (NBC)



A nice even split among the networks this year (not counting the unwatchable FOX or The CW) with cable getting a share of the pie this year too. Below is a breakdown as well as a running tally of the shows that led in numbers of Quotes and Songs of the Week from my weekly 57 Channels rundown:

NBC (3)
ABC (3)
CBS (2)
FX (1)
ABC Family (1)


Quote of the Week
Friday Night Lights (9)
The Big Bang Theory (5)
Lost (4)
Pushing Daisies (3)
How I Met Your Mother (3)
My Name Is Earl (2)
Journeyman (2)
Eli Stone (2)


Song of the Week
Eli Stone (6)
Journeyman (5)
Everybody Hates Chris (3)
My Name Is Earl (3)
Smallville (2)
Friday Night Lights (2)
Chuck (2)
How I Met Your Mother (2)
Pushing Daisies (1)
South Park (1)
Lost (1)

Monday, November 12, 2007

The Best New Shows of 2007


At the beginning of the television season you were bombarded with a bunch of “Best Of” and “Must Watch” shows even though it is a little unfair to judge a show by one episode. For instance last year had you asked me at the beginning of the season, Friday Night Lights wasn’t even on my radar, yet a month later it was my favorite show of the new season. With that in thought I brought together some TV Bloggers to see what are the best new shows of the season now that we are a good month into the new season. Here is the list that I came up with after placing the votes into an algorithm that would make the dudes from The Big Bang Theory blush. You can catch up by streaming the shows, or downloading them on iTunes and/or Amazon Unbox:

1. Pushing Daisies - ABC (8) - Stream
2. Chuck - NBC (2) - Stream - iTunes - Unbox
3. Dirty Sexy Money - ABC - Stream
4. The Big Bang Theory - CBS - Stream - iTunes - Unbox
5. Gossip Girl - CW - Stream - iTunes - Unbox
6. Aliens in America - CW - Stream - iTunes
7. Samantha Who? - ABC - Stream - iTunes
8. Moonlight - CBS (1) - Stream - iTunes - Unbox
9. Reaper - CW - Stream - iTunes
10. Journeyman - NBC - Stream - iTunes - Unbox

(numbers in parentheses denote first place votes)
Also receiving votes: Life, Woman’s Murder Club, Private Practice, Bionic Woman, Cane
Voters:
Dan, Ducky, Kath, Jo, Liz, Rae, Sandie, Scooter McGavin, Tube Talk Girl, TVFan, Vance

Not surprising that Pushing Daises took the top spot as it lived up to the preseason hype, the show and Chuck were easily the top two shows on the list. On the other hand, the shows 3-10 were fairly bunched together with very little separating them. There was a good mix from all the networks this year (sans Fox who didn’t even have one of their shows get a pity vote) unlike last year (see Best New Shows of 2006) that was dominated by NBC with the top three positions, and ABC taking the next four spots. In a measure of full discloser, here was my ballot:

1. Pushing Daises
2. The Big Bang Theory
3. Chuck
4. Journeyman
5. Bionic Woman

And for all the TV fans out there, you may want to check out your local Best Buy, Target, or store of that ilk because I saw ads in this weekends newspaper for both stores selling many Warner Brothers produced TV on DVD shows like Veronica Mars, Nip/Tuck, and Smallville for around $15.00 per season. So you can get the whole West Wing series for just over $100. In most cases the most recent seasons are not on sale, but with Christmas certainly you can find a show for someone on your list or even yourself.

Scooter Update: It looks like the sale has hit the Amazon store. Below are just some of the select seasons you can get for under $20 (note: if the price is above 20, you are too late):



Sunday, June 03, 2007

Best Television Shows of 2006-2007


Much like the STA’s, to be eligible, the show must have had the bulk of the season’s episode between June 2006 and May 2007. So without further ado, here are the top ten best shows of the past year:

1. Veronica Mars 3.x (CW)
2. Friday Night Lights 1.x (NBC)
3. Rescue Me 3.x (FX)
4. My Name Is Earl 2.x (NBC)
5. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 1.x (NBC)
6. Knights of Prosperity 1.x (ABC)
7. The (White) Rapper Show (VH1)
8. Lost 3.x (ABC)
9. Heroes 1.x (NBC)
10. Survivor: Fiji (CBS)


The breakdown of the networks is below as NBC dominated quality television last year, yet sadly they have been near the bottom of the ratings for most of the year. Also I added up all the Quote of the Week and Song of the Week winners from my 57 Channels and Only This Is On posts that I started back in January of this year just for the fun of it:

NBC (4)
ABC (2)
CW (1)
FX (1)
VH1 (1)
CBS (1)


Quote of the Week
My Name Is Earl (5)
Veronica Mars (5)
Friday Night Lights (3)
Knights of Prosperity (1)
Supernatural (1)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (1)
South Park (1)
Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1)
Everybody Hates Chris (1)
Lost (1)
How I Met Your Mother (1)


Song of the Week
Knights of Prosperity (5)
Veronica Mars (4)
My Name Is Earl (2)
Friday Night Lights (2)
Everybody Hates Chris (2)
How I Met Your Mother (1)
Smallville (1)
Late Show with David Letterman (1)
Jimmy Kimmel Live (1)

Monday, November 06, 2006

The Best New Shows of Fall 2006


Recently of few television bloggers including myself put together a list of the best new shows on television the season. And here is what we came up:

Apple iTunes1. Heroes - NBC (3)
2. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - NBC (1)
3. Friday Night Lights - NBC (1)
4. The Nine - ABC (1)
5. Ugly Betty - ABC

numbers in parentheses denote first place votes
Also recieving votes: Brothers and Sisters; Men in Trees; Ice-T’s Rap School; Dexter; Justice; Jericho; Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team
Voters:
Ducky, Raelee, Scooter McGavin, Sheila, Tube Talk Girl, TV Fan

First off I guess I should mention that none of the voters are on the NBC payroll. But looking at the list, it looks like it’s a down year for new shows at least compared to recent years. Last year saw the return of the sitcom with My Name Is Earl and Everyone Hates Chris. The year before there was the debut of the two best shows this decade in Veronica Mars and Lost. And even the summer before those two aired was when Rescue Me started its run. Now keep in mind the list above does not reflect my personal tastes because I see enough ugly people in my everyday life that I have absolutely desire to see ugly people on my television, so in a measure of full disclosure here’s my ballot:

Apple iTunes1. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC)
2. Friday Night Lights (NBC)
3. Ice-T’s Rap School (VH1)
4. Dexter (Showtime)
5. Heroes (NBC)


As evident of the four different number one votes on the above poll, our television tastes vary a little, but if there is something that all of the voters can agree on is that you should be watching Veronica Mars if you are not already. And as I am writing this Amazon has both season of the show for for half price which is under thirty dollars (see bottom of post for ads). If you do the math, that’s just over a dollar per episode which is less than you can purchase an episode of a show on iTunes so here is your chance to get into the show at a low price or if you already watch the show, it would make a great Christmas present for someone who doesn’t (or for yourself if you haven’t picked them up yet). And to show you how great the show is, here is my personal favorite scene in the show’s history courtesy of :





One last television note, Linda Blair will be appearing on this week's installment of Supernatural and I have some exclusice pictures of the upcoming episode courtesy of The CW. So maybe this Thursday at 9:00 you can catch quality programming instead of a General Hospital in primetime ripoff, whatever city CSI is in this year, or the dude from Little Monsters saying "Deal or no deal" for an entire hour:

Linda Blair on Supernatural 1

Linda Blair on Supernatural 2


Sunday, May 28, 2006

Best Shows of the 2005-2006 Season


Much like the STA’s, to be eligible, the show must have had the bulk of the season’s episode between June 2005 and May 2006. So without further ado, here are the top ten best shows of the past year:

1. Veronica Mars 2.x (UPN)
2. My Name Is Earl 1.x (NBC)
3. Rescue Me 2.x (FX)
4. Lost 2.x (ABC)
5. Arrested Development 3.x (FOX)
6. Everwood 4.x (WB)
7. Everybody Hates Chris 1.x (UPN)
8. Smallville 5.x (WB)
9. How I Met Your Mother 1.x (CBS)
10. Survivor: Exile Island (CBS)


Monday, November 14, 2005

Best New Shows of Fall 2005


Now that we are a couple weeks into the new Fall TV Season and each new show has gotten a sweeps episode under their belt, it is time for me to unveil the top new shows of 2005. And if there are any TV execs reading this, you have my permission to use this list in promotions for you show. Now without further ado:

Who would have thought this redneck would be the most entertaining guy on TV?1. My Name Is Earl - Tuesday 9:00 NBC (See my first impressions)

2. Everybody Hates Chris - Thursday 8:00 UPN (See my first impressions)

3. Reunion - Thursday 9:00 Fox (See my first impressions)

4. How I Met Your Mother - Monday 8:30 CBS (See my first impression)

5. Supernatural - Tuesday 9:00 WB (See my first impressions)

The biggest surprise is that there is not one, not two, but three sitcoms in the top five. I haven’t watched a sitcom religiously since ABC started screwing with The Drew Carey Show’s scheduling and it has been over a decade since I watched three sitcoms in the same year. Apparently having a narrator is the key to comedy these days as each show utilizes one.

Even though Everybody Hates Chris was my preseason favorite, My Name Is Earl is this season’s breakout show and Jason Lee’s mustache being the season breakout star. With Earl’s insane list, there are limitless opportunities for Earl to get back on karma’s good side as seen in the episodes that have been shown so far. Stealing the golfer’s beer is the best wrong that Earl has had to right so far, by faking his death to get out of a relationship comes a close second. As for the coming in second on my list, Chris has some great laugh out loud moments, but sometimes the show get bogged down with too many Wonder Years moments.

Another big surprise would be with all the X-Files rip-offs (Surface, Invasion, Threshold) getting all the early buzz, which all turned out to be unwarranted a different sci-fi show and a show with an original concept were the two dramas that made the list. The concept behind Reunion, each episode is dedicated to a different year, even makes up to some poor acting and foreseeable plot twist, although they did through me for a loop with the last episode where they made me believe that I was right by saying it was the actress was the one who would bit the dust only to reveal that the chick from Angel’s interview was via a videotape from the night she died.

Bringing up the rear is another solid drama, Supernatural. In my original assessment of the show, I mention that I would most likely catch it when it came out on DVD because I’d be watching My Name Is Earl. But I figured I still tape the show until there was a episode I didn’t like but that day has yet to come.