TOP 10 TV SHOWS OF THE DECADE
by B.Love

1. THE SOPRANOS
The Godfather may have explored life inside La Cosa Nostra first, but David Chase’s complex character study of Mafioso Tony Soprano and his family (both professional and personal) did it with remarkable depth and insight, turning traditional crime dramas on their heads in the process. James Gandolfini’s masterful performance found a thousand shades of grey in the moral ground that divides good from evil, but every actor here seemed perfectly cast for a tragicomic tale that was perfectly told.

2. ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
Assembling the greatest cast of oddball characters ever – from Will Arnett’s narcissistic Gob and Michael Cera’s awkward George Michael to Tony Hale’s Oedipal Buster and David Cross’ brilliantly fucked-up Tobias – this groundbreaking sitcom about “a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together” packed more creativity into 3 seasons than most networks achieve in a decade. If there is a God, let the long-rumored movie come soon!

3. LOST
As network TV’s most complexly layered show enters its sixth and final season, go back and take a look at the first episode: From the moment Oceanic Flight 815 crashes down on that mysterious island in the South Pacific, it’s clear the creators intended to take viewers on a wild, thought-provoking ride unlike anything they’d ever seen. With its hidden clues, intertwined storylines and surprising shifts (both time and plot), no show has ever challenged its audience’s intellect in such a bold, entertaining fashion.

4. THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART
Does the fact that a self-proclaimed “comedy monkey” earned the title of Most Trusted Newscaster in an online poll say more about the quality of The Daily Show or the pathetic state of other news sources? Regardless, Jon Stewart and his excellent correspondents (including Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Ed Helms, Rob Corddry and Lewis Black) have changed the face of news and comedy, lampooning the day’s events and making other news shows look tragically unhip in the process.

5. 30 ROCK
One of those rare shows so brilliantly subversive, you can’t believe they get away with it every week. Whether tackling corporate ass-kissing, Hollywood egos, office politics, the career/family quandary of single womanhood, small town religion or the materialism of hip-hop culture, Tina Fey’s constantly inventive sitcom skewers sacred cows like a Greek chef skewers kabobs. Its shelf full of Emmys
(14 and counting) and A-list guests like Oprah and Salma Hayek
are testaments to the show’s
consistent quality.

6. SIX FEET UNDER
Creator Alan Ball’s tragicomic look at a family that runs an independent funeral home dealing with grief in the wake of its patriarch’s untimely death was deep, dark and steeped in dysfunction. But most of all it was real, written and acted so brilliantly that to watch it was addictively voyeuristic. Whether confronting issues of life and death, loyalty and betrayal, joy and sadness or love and loss, the Fisher family’s metaphysical struggles proved endlessly compelling, right down to the final episode.

7. SURVIVOR
The show that started the reality TV craze in 2000 remains one of television’s most intriguing sociological experiments 20 seasons later by placing its culturally disparate cast members in increasingly harsh environments and forcing them to undergo grueling challenges designed to test their minds, bodies and spirits. Coming off a season in which one of the greatest players ever (uber-aggressive oil magnate Russell Hantz) lost to a milquetoast who rode his coattails, the show has never been more compelling.

8. THE OFFICE
In its two-year run on the BBC, Ricky Gervais’ hit revolutionized TV comedy, killing the laugh track and mining humor from the awkwardness of everyday interactions among a bunch of paper-pushing peons. Now in its sixth year, the American version has expanded on Gervais’s Britcom brilliance with a killer ensemble full of breakout stars (see: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Ed Helms, etc.), influencing a whole new generation of silly/smart adult comedies.

9. AMERICAN IDOL
Say what you will about this reality TV behemoth, but there’s no denying its monolithic impact on a music industry in a constant state of decline. Simon Cowell is one of TV’s greatest villains and Paula Abdul one of its most colorful crazies. But the show also produced bona-fide stars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson, who have a collective 27 million albums sold, 7 Grammys and an Oscar to show for their efforts.

10. 24
Though this dynamic thriller has had its ups and downs (don’t get me started on the logic of Palmer’s brother becoming President, or of Kim Bauer… well, doing anything), few shows have ever tapped into a nation’s zeitgeist so effectively. It’s one thing to read stories about torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay, and another thing entirely to watch Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer do it in prime time. Nine years into its run, 24 remains one of the most visceral, pulse-pounding hours on television.

Honorable Mention: Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Amazing Race, The Wire, Weeds, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men