Best of T.V. 2005

Todays end-of-the-year list is my top-ten T.V. shows of 2005.

1. LOST (ABC) - I'm a late comer to the Lost crazy and man, am I pissed that I missed out from the beginning. I got the DVD from my friend Dave of Season one and I'm currently 12 or so episodes in (Boone just died). Melissa and I watched the Pilot and we couldn't get into it because the whole "monster in the jungle" aspect seemed too crazy. I'm glad I gave this show a second-chance, to realize that the "monster" isn't a big focal point, only something that is sort of an undercurrent, running throughout. I absolutely love the mystery, the character development and the twists and turns along the way. There have been a lot that I could see coming (or I knew were coming because I'm late to the prom, like Hurley's Lottery win and the numbers. There have also been some things that I could have never seen coming. It's such a freaking fantastic show. It's just too bad that I'm playing catch up. Hopefully I'll be all the way through season-2 before season three starts.

2. How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - I think this is the best Sitcom on TV right now. It has incredible smart writing and a unique premise and setup, which is what you need to survive as a sitcom these days. The cast is perfect.

3. My Name is Earl (NBC) - The only other solid sitcom on television. Jason Lee makes this show work. He is a perfect actor for the role. This again is a well-written show with a unique premise.

4. Survivor: Guatemala (CBS) - Not the strongest season of the show, but it was a pretty darn good one. I'm still bitter about the ending and I will be for a long time, but regardless, this is still the best reality show on T.V.

5. CBS Crime Dramas (CBS) - There are four shows on CBS that all come in collectively at #5. On Thursday nights we get CSI and Without a Trace. I love CSI because they are sticking to the crime drama aspect each week and focusing the "human drama" involved in the case. For a while I was worried they were heading to soapy territory, but they continue to only involve the lives of the characters in small doses. Without a Trace has a heavier level of the personal side of the characters, but they do it in a good way. Usually the dealings of the characters lives are in direct relation to the crime/disappearances at hand and they are interwoven in a strong way.

On Friday nights we get Close to Home and Numbers. Close to Home is a good mix of a crime/courtroom drama and it involves a little more suds than Without a Trace, but that's the premise of the show and again, it works here. And my new "Bono" is star Jennifer Finnigan (right). Numbers involves a heavy dose of Irish Spring, specifically between the brothers (and dad and love interests occasionally), but for this show, it is what you need. With CSI, all of the different ways of solving crimes in the lab keep things dramatic and interesting on thier own. On Numbers, the "math" in and of itself is interesting, but can get extremely boring standing alone.

6. The Amazing Race - Family Edition (CBS) - While not nearly as good as the regular pairs style of this show, it is still one of the best reality shows on TV and it does the best job of showing the interpersonal drama. Where Survivor is entertaining because all of the stars are characters and the drama, games, voting, are sort of cartoonish (in it's own good way), Amazing Race shows a more "realistic" version of reality in that these are families that have to work/play/fight together to get through to the end of the season.

7. The Simpsons (Fox) - Probably only as low as it is because I've only actually seen a handful of episodes this season. It's on at the same time as #9 on the list and while I TiVo it upstairs, it rarely gets watched. Since this is the only show that I'm collecting each season of on DVD, I've slacked off on watching only because I know I'll own them all eventually anyway.

8. Saturday Night Live (NBC) - Not nearly the show it was five years ago, but the cast continues to evolve and get better. The setup of having a new host and musical guest every week keeps it extremely watchable, becuase you always want to see how so-and-so will do. Also, weekend update continues to be appointment TV.

9. Extreme Makeover - Home Edition (ABC) - Love this show. Love to get my weekly cry in from 8-9 (sometimes 7-9) on Sunday nights. What I don't like are the silly little "acting" routines that the designers do for entertainment sake. They come off as very staged and the detract from what makes the show good: helping people and showing radical new homes.

10. Gilmore Girls (WB) - My televised guilty pleasure. My weekly estro-fix. I have grown to love this show. I only started watching it because Melissa does, but now I'm as hooked as she is. The writing for this show is some of the quickest, smartest dialogue on TV.

10.5 The Ellen Degeneres Show (Syndication) - Ellen is the funniest woman on earth. What makes her talk show great are all the silly little segments (Madonna, is that you?) and quirky things that make it fun to watch (the smiley faced chip, send-in-your-bad-drivers-licsence photo). It's a lot more "real" than the silly sketches and characters that Jay, Dave and Conan use.