My Top 20 Television Shows Of 2007
TV shows rarely feel as concretely tied to a particular year as a movie or an album, especially in America, where any moderately successful series will rack up at least 5-7 seasons going for syndication gusto. But for me, 2007 was a year of fleeting television pleasures, things that either won't be around next year, or might be gone by the year after that. 6 of the shows on this list were cancelled in 2007, plus one will finish its last season in 2008 and another was a mini-series that ran this year only. I'm not going to cry about that at length, or start a letter-writing campaign for any of those shows. But at this time of year, I wanted to observe the fact that I did enjoy them, even if noone else did. Also, not to throw my own colleagues under the bus or anything, but I was pretty disappointed by the City Paper's Year In Television top 10 last week, which I had no input in, and which included three Showtime series, HBO's disconcertingly joyless fuckfest "Tell Me You Love Me," and one of those reality shows about dancing. Not that I'm a snob about that kind of thing (only half of the shows on my list are scripted narratives), or I don't pay for premium cable too. But even in a year when I started to lose interest in a lot of good shows quickly moving past their peak ("House," "Entourage," "C.S.I."), there was a whole lot to watch that I was consistently entertained by, so maybe I'm too easily amused to really pick on anyone else.
1. "30 Rock" (NBC)
I had this at #2 on this list last year, and it'd probably be #2 again if the new season of "The Wire" had started yet. But a year ago, "30 Rock" was just an exceptional new show that only had 8 episodes under its belt, and in the remainder of the first season and the beginning of the second season it pretty much confirmed its spot as the funniest show on television.
2. "Pushing Daisies" (ABC)
I'll be the first to admit that a tolerance for the cutesy and quirky runs deep in my taste in TV, if not film (one of my first favorite shows was "Northern Exposure"). But after starting with one of those pilots so good that it seemed like it could only go downhill from there, "Pushing Daisies" has managed to make good on its premise, again and again, displaying a wit and sense of craft that never asks you to simply be charmed by the show's more whimsical elements in leiu of actual plots and emotion and character development.
3. "The Soup" (E!)
Sure, the whole point of Stewart-era "Daily Show" is that it eschews pop culture stupidity in favor of the grander scope of global political stupidity. But if there is a "Daily Show" equivalent that trades in reality shows and YouTube bullshit, "The Soup" is it. And Joel McHale (quickly ascending to 2nd place behind John Henson, if we're rating him among "Talk Soup" hosts) is, like Stewart, a host who ably mugs and sacrifices his dignity for a cheap laugh, but is also at turns sternly disapproving enough of the events he surveys that there's a real sense of perspective behind the show's fast paced show-a-clip-and-riff-on-it format. And since the show appears to be written primarily by the host and the producers who aren't in the WGA, they're still churning out new episodes every week as the strike slowly takes most of the comedy on TV out of commission for the time being.
4. "Planet Earth" (Discovery Channel)
I don't know if this show ever fully lived up to the visceral thrill of those promos that strung together dozens of incredibly vivid images in quick succession, but it was still by far one of the most visually incredible 'nature' programs ever made.
5. "Ace Of Cakes" (Food Network)
I don't know if I ever would've stumbled upon this show if it didn't take place in Baltimore, but I'm glad I did. It's one of the only workplace reality shows that's refreshingly devoid of drama, and just allows some normal, likeable people to do a job that happens to be fairly odd and interesting.
6. "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS)
Even if this show sometimes seems a little in love with its own catchphrases, it has a great ensemble cast, and is one of the few multi-camera sitcoms that actually works the format in its favor, especially as of late for some really great unreliable narrator gags.
7. "Andy Barker, P.I." (NBC)
Sure, it was cancelled after only 6 episodes, but you know what? Those were 6 damn funny episodes.
8. "Acceptable TV" (VH1)
Even if it was more of a sketch comedy show than a bold democratic experiment, it was actually a really good sketch comedy show, and I'm pretty bummed that it apparently didn't get picked up so that the network could run 5 more "Flavor Of Love" spinoffs.
9. "The Loop" (FOX)
Bret Harrison had already landed on his feet anchoring a promising new series, "Reaper," by the time the last episodes of this show aired, but I'm still bummed that it's cancelled. If you believe that the Philip Baker Hall episode of Seinfeld is one of the greatest moments in television history, this show is for you.
10. "Dirty Jobs" (Discovery Channel)
A great show about all the things the average cable viewer should thank their lucky stars every day they don't have to do for a living, hosted by a Baltimore dude named Mike Rowe who's photogenic enough for TV, but enough of a rough around the edges guy's guy that he doesn't mind getting down in the dirt.
11. "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (CBS)
I still like this show a lot, but it's been so long since they ran any new episodes that I can't really think of anything to say about. I'm glad they got some mid-season replacement episodes done for '08 before the strike started.
12. "Veronica Mars" (CW)
Sure, it never quite matched its early episodes with the second and third seasons, and the "trailer" (above) that the creators made in a failed pitch to the network for a 4th season hints at how it might've gone further downhill, but damn if I wouldn't have loved to see them take that chance on a chronological leap forward and a whole new environment for the title character. At least Kristen Bell automatically landed two more TV roles and a mess of movies as soon as they cancelled it, though (I have high hopes for Dumped aka Forgetting Sarah Marshall).
13. "Scrubs" (NBC)
For the most part I'm rating these shows solely based on new episodes aired in the past year. But with Scrubs, I'm still catching up a little, since I basically assumed I'd hate this show for years and years. But when Comedy Central started airing constant reruns, I finally gave in and realized that at least half the time this show is pretty hysterical, even if the other half is corny monologues with a bad indie soundtrack.
14. "Meerkat Manor" (Animal Planet)
This season was sad, half of the most memorable 'characters' died. I don't wanna talk about it.
15. "The Class" (CBS)
What started as an awkwardly overpopulated ensemble comedy where the two halves of the cast seemed to exist in entirely different shows eventually gelled into something actually pretty watchable in the second half of the 2006-2007 season, even if only one half of the cast was really any good. But by then it was too little too late and cancellation was inevitable.
16. "MythBusters" (Discovery Channel)
Learning, explosions, mustaches. Now that's television!
17. "The Riches" (FX)
I'm still bummed that this show started with such a good premise and cast and a few strong early episodes, and then quickly went downhill with increasingly arbitrary plot twists. Hopefully they can pull it together for season 2.
18. "Puppy Bowl III" (Animal Planet)
The most brilliant counter-programming move on the biggest TV ratings day of the year. Makes the "Bud Bowl" seem lame by comparison.
19. "America's Most Smartest Model" (VH1)
A satire of the dozen other fashion-related reality show contests on TV, which only really means that it's ridiculous and arbitrary on purpose.
20. "Raines" (NBC)
Oh goofy Jeff Goldblum vehicle where he solves crimes by talking to his hallucinations of the dead victims, I think I'll miss you most of all.
1. "30 Rock" (NBC)
I had this at #2 on this list last year, and it'd probably be #2 again if the new season of "The Wire" had started yet. But a year ago, "30 Rock" was just an exceptional new show that only had 8 episodes under its belt, and in the remainder of the first season and the beginning of the second season it pretty much confirmed its spot as the funniest show on television.
2. "Pushing Daisies" (ABC)
I'll be the first to admit that a tolerance for the cutesy and quirky runs deep in my taste in TV, if not film (one of my first favorite shows was "Northern Exposure"). But after starting with one of those pilots so good that it seemed like it could only go downhill from there, "Pushing Daisies" has managed to make good on its premise, again and again, displaying a wit and sense of craft that never asks you to simply be charmed by the show's more whimsical elements in leiu of actual plots and emotion and character development.
3. "The Soup" (E!)
Sure, the whole point of Stewart-era "Daily Show" is that it eschews pop culture stupidity in favor of the grander scope of global political stupidity. But if there is a "Daily Show" equivalent that trades in reality shows and YouTube bullshit, "The Soup" is it. And Joel McHale (quickly ascending to 2nd place behind John Henson, if we're rating him among "Talk Soup" hosts) is, like Stewart, a host who ably mugs and sacrifices his dignity for a cheap laugh, but is also at turns sternly disapproving enough of the events he surveys that there's a real sense of perspective behind the show's fast paced show-a-clip-and-riff-on-it format. And since the show appears to be written primarily by the host and the producers who aren't in the WGA, they're still churning out new episodes every week as the strike slowly takes most of the comedy on TV out of commission for the time being.
4. "Planet Earth" (Discovery Channel)
I don't know if this show ever fully lived up to the visceral thrill of those promos that strung together dozens of incredibly vivid images in quick succession, but it was still by far one of the most visually incredible 'nature' programs ever made.
5. "Ace Of Cakes" (Food Network)
I don't know if I ever would've stumbled upon this show if it didn't take place in Baltimore, but I'm glad I did. It's one of the only workplace reality shows that's refreshingly devoid of drama, and just allows some normal, likeable people to do a job that happens to be fairly odd and interesting.
6. "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS)
Even if this show sometimes seems a little in love with its own catchphrases, it has a great ensemble cast, and is one of the few multi-camera sitcoms that actually works the format in its favor, especially as of late for some really great unreliable narrator gags.
7. "Andy Barker, P.I." (NBC)
Sure, it was cancelled after only 6 episodes, but you know what? Those were 6 damn funny episodes.
8. "Acceptable TV" (VH1)
Even if it was more of a sketch comedy show than a bold democratic experiment, it was actually a really good sketch comedy show, and I'm pretty bummed that it apparently didn't get picked up so that the network could run 5 more "Flavor Of Love" spinoffs.
9. "The Loop" (FOX)
Bret Harrison had already landed on his feet anchoring a promising new series, "Reaper," by the time the last episodes of this show aired, but I'm still bummed that it's cancelled. If you believe that the Philip Baker Hall episode of Seinfeld is one of the greatest moments in television history, this show is for you.
10. "Dirty Jobs" (Discovery Channel)
A great show about all the things the average cable viewer should thank their lucky stars every day they don't have to do for a living, hosted by a Baltimore dude named Mike Rowe who's photogenic enough for TV, but enough of a rough around the edges guy's guy that he doesn't mind getting down in the dirt.
11. "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (CBS)
I still like this show a lot, but it's been so long since they ran any new episodes that I can't really think of anything to say about. I'm glad they got some mid-season replacement episodes done for '08 before the strike started.
12. "Veronica Mars" (CW)
Sure, it never quite matched its early episodes with the second and third seasons, and the "trailer" (above) that the creators made in a failed pitch to the network for a 4th season hints at how it might've gone further downhill, but damn if I wouldn't have loved to see them take that chance on a chronological leap forward and a whole new environment for the title character. At least Kristen Bell automatically landed two more TV roles and a mess of movies as soon as they cancelled it, though (I have high hopes for Dumped aka Forgetting Sarah Marshall).
13. "Scrubs" (NBC)
For the most part I'm rating these shows solely based on new episodes aired in the past year. But with Scrubs, I'm still catching up a little, since I basically assumed I'd hate this show for years and years. But when Comedy Central started airing constant reruns, I finally gave in and realized that at least half the time this show is pretty hysterical, even if the other half is corny monologues with a bad indie soundtrack.
14. "Meerkat Manor" (Animal Planet)
This season was sad, half of the most memorable 'characters' died. I don't wanna talk about it.
15. "The Class" (CBS)
What started as an awkwardly overpopulated ensemble comedy where the two halves of the cast seemed to exist in entirely different shows eventually gelled into something actually pretty watchable in the second half of the 2006-2007 season, even if only one half of the cast was really any good. But by then it was too little too late and cancellation was inevitable.
16. "MythBusters" (Discovery Channel)
Learning, explosions, mustaches. Now that's television!
17. "The Riches" (FX)
I'm still bummed that this show started with such a good premise and cast and a few strong early episodes, and then quickly went downhill with increasingly arbitrary plot twists. Hopefully they can pull it together for season 2.
18. "Puppy Bowl III" (Animal Planet)
The most brilliant counter-programming move on the biggest TV ratings day of the year. Makes the "Bud Bowl" seem lame by comparison.
19. "America's Most Smartest Model" (VH1)
A satire of the dozen other fashion-related reality show contests on TV, which only really means that it's ridiculous and arbitrary on purpose.
20. "Raines" (NBC)
Oh goofy Jeff Goldblum vehicle where he solves crimes by talking to his hallucinations of the dead victims, I think I'll miss you most of all.
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on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 6:07 PM.
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