TV Shows of the Decade!
Featured Fun Stuff TVPublished December 19, 2009 at 22:53 No Comments
Top 25 Shows of the Decade: Featuring Spies, Vampires, messed up families, Dolls, Cops, Serial killers and some badassery.
It took me a while to really get into this show, but by the time S1 had ended and the crazy plotlines began to reveal themselves I knew this was a show I could really enjoy. For me it was the supporting characters that made it watchable, I didn’t warm to Sydney for a long time but Jack, Will, Marshall, Weiss and of course Sark all captured my attention. The mythology was nuts at times, the twists insane and the cliffhangers just completely unfair. I think it ended when it should’ve, and we got a happy ending.
Favourite episode:‘The Telling
Favourite moment: Sark’s entrance onto the show…bad ass mf
Favourite quote: Sark:” Not a problem; my loyalties are flexible”
My favourite spin off series ever (until you know we get the Mohinder Monologues). Angel at times not only reached the heights of its sister show but scaled right over it, Season 2 and 5 being particularly awesome. Angel was a lot darker than Buffy and worked well because of it, it also took a several characters from the original show and made them way more intriguing and likeable, Cordelia was always great as the Bitchy Cheerleader at high school but she gained more depth after receiving visions from the Powers That Be, Wesley transformed from bumbling Watcher to a heartbroken wreck of a man who had to make some pretty tough decisions during the show five seasons. Even Angel himself became more rounded, not just the brooding vampire with a soul, but someone who cared from his son, helped his sire, tried to walk the thin line between helping people and doing whatever it takes to save the world. It also brought in a host of other great characters such as Gunn, Fred and Lila. Angel ended way too soon but its cliffhanger ending though soul destroying for fans was also kinda cool.
Favourite episode: A Hole In The World
Favourite moment: Angel gets down and dirty with Darla expecting to lose his soul….in a twist he doesn’t!
Favourite quote: Angel:” Let’s go to work” (final words of the series)
I adore the absolute insanity of this show about the dysfunctional family Bluths. Seriously it gave me faith in American comedy again, from poor old Michael trying to sort his messed up family up, to George Michael helplessly in love with his cousin and failed magician Gob every character is so damn hilarious the entire show is a laugh riot. Oh and I love Ron Howard’s hilarious narration. Really hope the planned movie goes ahead I need more of the Segway loving banana stand owning family!
Favourite episode: Justice Is Blind
Favourite moment: The entire Franklin saga, really Gob, really.
Favourite quote: Gob: “How’s that for a resume?”
Battlestar was another one of those shows that I became hooked on in a brief period of time, namely one summer day in 2006 when the World Cup was on and I was trying to avoid football I sat down and watched the mini-series, then series 1 in the space of about 2 days, then starting going through withdrawals until the S2 DVDs came out, then watched it again solidly for days. Yeah I became an addict, and really how can’t you be one of this show? I loved just how realistic and depressing it was, I loved and hated the characters, I wanted to know if they were ever going to find Earth, if Baltar really was a Cylon, who the hell Head!Six was, what Kara Thrace’s Special Fracking Destiny was really all about, I wanted answers to everything. BSG wasn’t perfect in the end, I loved the actual ending of the series but felt like at times it could drag when there seemed to be so many questions that needed answers! But for me it came through. The character I was deeply emotionally invested in Baltar whose questionable actions throughout the series made him both deplorable and somehow sympathetic (at times!) got the chance to redeem himself, his relationship with Six and how they helped almost end humanity then help save it was just perfect.
Favourite episode: Sometimes a Great Notion aka the most depressing episode ever but perfect for it
Favourite moment: End of Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II, with its jumping forward a year and the Cylons taking over New Caprica
Favourite quote: : Six: “All this has happened before, and all this will happen again”
The show may have started in the 90s but it still had a few more seasons left in it this decade. Buffy has topped the list of my favourite TV show since it began back in 1997 and despite its weaker later seasons (which I still enjoy) 2000-2001 saw my favourite Buffy season after its sophomore year, Season 5. This was the season when Buffy had to grow up, her mother died in one of the most heartbreaking pieces of TV produced (The Body) and she faced the biggest threat yet in the form of the seemingly unkillable Glory. The danger felt real and final four episodes were so intense with Tara losing her mind, the entire gang on the run, and the final sacrifice made by Buffy to save the world and her sister in The Gift.
Season 6 had its issues I’m not gonna deny it but it also had Dark!Willow, Buffy/Spike messed up relationship and Once More With Feeling. Season 7 was much stronger but I’m glad it ended when it did to carry on in comic form. Buffy, she saved the world a lot and helped shaped TV.
Favourite episode: The Gift
Favourite moment: The gang walking their separate ways down the corridors of Sunnydale High during Chosen
Favourite quote: Xander: “I laugh in the face of danger! Then I hide until it goes away.”
I’m not one for crime shows, if I’m going to watch something that involves detectives and murders then I need it to be something different, I guess a blood splatter analyst who kills murderers and scumbags in the sunny state of Florida counts as different right? Dexter works so well for me because of Michael C Hall’s performance as the serial killer who happens to work for the Miami police force is just so damn good. The voiceovers bring this deadpan humour, his ongoing struggle to follow the Code set by his foster father , trying to led a normal life and stay of the rader of his colleagues is wonderfully tense at time. I wonder just how many more seasons they can make without it getting ridiculous that he hasn’t been caught yet but for now Long Live Dexter and his Dark Passenger.
Favourite episode: Left Turn Ahead
Favourite moment: We find out Rudy is in fact Dexter’s brother and the Ice Truck Killer.
Favourite quote: Dexter: “Something nameless was born here, something that lives in the deepest darkest hole of the thing called Dexter.”
If you are British like myself then Doctor Who has always been there even before it came crashing back into our lives 2005. Though it was cancelled when I was fairly young I remember watching Sylvester McCoy as 7 and I remember the failed movie in 1996 with the overlooked Paul McGann as 8 but it wasn’t until the new series came back that this show grabbed hold of my heart and well stamped on it a million times over and made me come back for more angst! There has been so many touching moments in the show, and so many exciting and scary ones as well. So many shows since have tried to replicate the success of Doctor Who as a show for all the family but none of them have ever worked because there is something so comforting and familiar about seeing the TARDIS disappear and reappear, of connecting with the latest companion of seeing the anguish 9 & 10 have faced that it lures you back in every time.
Favourite episode: Tie between Turn Left & The Parting of the Way
Favourite moment: : The meaning of YANA becomes very clear as the Master reveals himself….awesome beyond belief
Favourite quote: The Doctor: “Everybody Lives, Rose! Just This Once, Everybody Lives!”
Last minute edition which will probably be cemented by the season finale next month. This was a show that started average, that raised a lot of questions about sexual exploitation, morality and why every time Echo was imprinted she ended up sounding like Faith the Vampire Slayer. But then this show is becoming an example of how you shouldn’t judge a show by its beginnings but rather by its endgame and what an ending this is turning out to be. I could go on about its unfair cancellation but enough has been said about that already and perhaps why it ultimately failed to engage audiences is that it brought up too many uncomfortable questions , it was also too Echo orientated and it started as a ‘imprint of the week’ show instead of an arc show that Whedon wanted by couldn’t persuade the network to allow. Things thankfully changed and the second half of S1 showed the potential it could have, DVD only Epitaph 1 then came and shook everything up big time. But as S2 began there was almost this horrible feeling that it was slipping back into the early average days, then by shear coincidence the episodes that aired after the cancellation was announced finally allowed the show to become what it needed to be, epic, arc orientated, character based sci-fi awesome drama with twists and turns that actually make sense and a strong sense that this show will be remembered long after its gone, not just as a study of network interference and cancellation but possibly as a series that reflects our completely unhealthy obsession with technology and sex. Of course it might just be remembered for Eliza Dushku looking hot but I hope not.
Favourite episode: The Attic…seriously holy hell
Favourite moment: Sierra and Victor sharing a pod together at the end of Belonging
Favourite quote: Topher: “Certain enough that I have serious ethical problems trying to wake him up”
Boyd: “Topher has ethical problems. Topher!”
Welcome to the crackiest greatest most emotional show with puppet aliens ever! I only bring up the puppets because I’m convinced this is why Farscape never made it big, people didn’t take it seriously when really they should’ve. Yeah human lost in strange alien space isn’t a new concept in sci-fi but the inventive ways the show dealt with this fish out of water scenario were always entertaining, often insane, messed up and heartbreaking. I haven’t watched the show in its entirety for quite some time so I definitely want to rewatch it soon but Crichton’s fight for survival with a bunch of fugitives on a spaceship as whole host of bad guys chase them, join their side, betray them, kill them, plant chips in Crichton’s head that causes Head!versions of my favourite villain Scorpius to appear dressed as a bunny, all of these reasons are why I love the show.
Favourite episode: Die Me, Dichotomy
Favourite moment: Aeryn and Crichton finally reunite and everything is like omg yay till they get zapped into a million pieces and like the show gets cancelled! Thank god for the mini-series
Favourite quote: Crichton:“Bill Gates can’t guarantee Windows. How can you guarantee my safety?”
It was too short, its cancellation stung, it symbolised a troubling trend of networks killing off shows before their time but also it was a damn good show. I don’t think we will ever know if the Western Sci-fi would ever reach the heights of Joss Whedo’ns other shows but these 14 episodes and the film that followed certainly showed a great set of characters in a interesting world. Whether it was the mystery behind what had happened to River, the undeniable likeability of Capitan Mal, the sweet will they won’t they relationship of Simon and Kaylee, the badassery of Zoe , the adorkably of Wash, the allure of Inara and the sheer stupidity of Jayne, the characters are what made it for me.
Favourite episode: Ariel
Favourite moment: The funeral scene in The Message always tugs at the heartstrings
Favourite quote: Wash: “Ah! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! Ha ha ha! Mine is an evil laugh! Now DIE!”
You will notice the dates I put for Heroes, well that is because I refuse to acknowledge the show after Season 2. I was somewhat reluctant placing this show here, you know what we me now hating it but I would be pretty stupid to deny that for 2 years this show controlled my TV life because it did and they were a giddy 2 season. In my pre downloading everything days I waited for Heroes to hit British TV in early 2007, so I avoided any spoilers and most of the hype and just watched it…oh until I got to like Unexpected and decided if I didn’t download and watch the rest of the series immediately I would die or something. So yeah 8 hours later I was hooked. Its hard now to remember why I became addicted to this show, but thinking about it, it wasn’t the cool powers, or the twists and turns or the epic cliffhangers, it was the characters and their journey, it was geeky Office Worker Hiro wanting more in life, it was naive dreamer Peter needing to be a hero, it was spurned son Mohinder determined to finish his fathers work, it was HRG defending his family no matter what. It was the people not the shock tactics of killing characters, not how many women Sylar can be a sleaze too and certainly not ridiculous plotlines and retcon. But Heroes gave me many things, great actors whose work I will follow long after this show is cancelled, great friends who I met because of the show and a more critical eye when watching shows these days.
Favourite episode: Five Years Gone
Favourite moment: Mohinder fires the gun – Sylar stops the bullet.
Favourite quote: Sylar: “You and I have trust issues, doctor. Give it to her, first. Let me see you save her. Then if it works… I’ll let you save me”
Really this show is about the characters, the disease of the week storylines can be exciting sometimes but more than often unless its a great guest-star they are easily forgettable. House and his colleagues aren’t. Bitter, sarcastic genius House is brilliant I especially love how the end of season 5 put him through the wringer and he is come out still as awesome as ever. Then there is long suffering best friend Wilson who I absolutely adore and HBIC Cuddy. I miss Kutner though he was my favourite team member.
Favourite episode: House’s Head/Wilson’s Heart
Favourite moment: House losing it at the end of S5
Favourite quote: Patient’s Mother: “You’re talking about brain surgery”
Dr. House: “I’m talking about really cool brain surgery”
Once upon a time, Sam Tyler a modern day cop got hit by a car and woke up in 1973 in a world where everyone was a ponce, beating up suspects was normal and one Gene Genie Hunt ruled the roost. And thus begins the best British TV show of the decade. Life on Mars was a cop show without being one of those procedural crime shows I (and Dean Winchester) hate. The case of the week were compelling and the fantasy/sci-fi/wtf elements of the show blended in nicely. Sometimes you really doubted whether Sam was just in a coma world or not, and then the ending oh the ending, really how many times are you rooting for the main character of a TV show to actually jump of a roof? But and here is the thing that intrigues me the most is that because of its spin-off show Ashes to Ashes, the full mystery of who or what Gene Hunt is, whether that land that both Sam and Alex found themselves in is real or not has fully not been answered yet. The shocking ending of the second series of Ashes to Ashes and the promise of a final one next year still means the mysteries of Life on Mars have yet to solved. And I think that when Ashes end we will re-examine its parent show and realise what we thought we knew was right isn’t.
Favourite episode: Final episode
Favourite moment: The ending of the series, the way Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World plays over Sam deciding the only way he would be happy would to be to kill himself, making the ending one of the most uplifting ones to any series of this decade by essentially advocating suicide. Yep insane but true.
Favourite quote: Gene: “It’s 1973. Almost dinner time. I’m ‘avin’ ‘oops”
I feel like I can’t make a final judgement until the show wraps up next May and the ending is revealed and everything (well almost everything) makes some kind of sense. But for now I will say Lost is a great example of modern TV, how to capture audiences, how a show can lose its way, but also how a series can redeem itself, find a structure and build towards a conclusive ending. Lost is also a prime example of creating obsessive fans. You can’t be a casual viewer of Lost, if you are you won’t get half of what is going on. The thing that annoys me the most when the subject of Lost is brought up among people who don’t watch the show is how they say iits too confusing’ ‘I don’t get it’ , yeah they really don’t get it at all, for me watching Lost is like unravelling a murder mystery, its being a detective and figuring out where the clues led, which ones are red herrings, which ones will bring you closer to the truth. Lost is made for fandom obsession and that is what I love about it so much, that and the great characters, twists, wtf moments and intrigue that has had me hooked for nearly 6 years.
Favourite episode: The Constant
Favourite moment: Through the Looking Glass -the ending of Season 3, what I believe to be the show’s best twist and plot point, by making some of the characters actually be off the Island it changed the entire show and allowed seasons 4 & 5 to consistently bring it.
Favourite quote: Rose: “If you say ‘Live together, die alone,’ to me, Jack, I’m going to punch you in the face”
Truly the most overlooked show of the decade, if ever a series was to be labelled cult then Middleman would get the title. It was it seems practically watched by no one even the kind of people who watch other geeky sci-fi shows managed to avoid this one and everyone who hasn’t seen it totally missed out on 12 episode of TV magic. A blend of obscure cultural references, agents fighting evil so we don’t have to and a extremely likeable characters, it managed to get the perfect balance between slightly silly, fun and heartfelt.
Favourite episode: The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation
Favourite moment: Middleman reciting all the previous code 47’s he has recorded for Wendy in case he died on one of their missions
Favourite quote: The Middleman:” Dubbie, did he just turn into a bat puppet?”
Wendy: “Man, I don’t even have an opinion”
I try not to compare the two versions of the show because for different reasons I love them both. I think the Ricky Gervais original is much more poignant and heartbreaking at times, when Brent is begging for his job, and when Tim & Dawn finally get together are moments that made a nation weep. A much more complex breed of comedy and tragedy. Whereas the US version has always been more about the funny, though of course we had the Jim/Pam story as well. Both show the sheer boredom of working in an office, of dealing with a slightly idiot wholly annoying boss, of work colleagues driving you mad, of stupid talks the powers that be make you have. Only it is much better because well I rather work with a Jim or a Oscar or a Tim or Dawn than some of the idiots I’ve worked with in my career hah!
Favourite episode: Christmas Special (UK) // Business School (US)
Favourite moment: Dawn opens her Secret Santa present….yep I wept (UK) // There’s a bat in the office…..PANIC! (US)
Favourite quote: David Brent: “When people say to me: would you rather be thought of as a funny man or a great boss? My answer’s always the same, to me, they’re not mutually exclusive.” (UK)
Dwight: “I am not a hero. I am a mere defender of the office. You know who’s a real hero? Hiro, from Heroes. That’s a hero… Also Bono” (US)
Take one gloriously happy show with amazing Technicolor sets, adorable main couple with a twist that they couldn’t touch and a great supporting cast oh and a creator named Bryan Fueller and what you get is a near perfect show that was cut dead too early mainly due to the writers strike. This is probably the most delightful of Fueller’s creations. Every character was likeable, it was quirky, Olive occasionally burst into song, the case of the week were completely out of the box every week. The cancellation of the show really stung because it was really truly a happy show to watch every week and it’s so rare to find that.
Favourite episode: Bad Habits
Favourite moment: Ned meets his half-brothers, aww
Favourite quote: Olive: “Musing on the idea of setting someone on fire doesn’t mean you really want to set them on fire, it’s just the thought of it that makes you happy, but only for a second and then you feel bad, but that second can be a lot of fun!”
This is still one of the strongest dramas produced this decade and probably beyond, it deals with family, the notion of grief and death so well and the acting is superb. The tale of a funeral directors family dealing with his passing managed drama, a deeply dark sense of humour and surrealism in every episode. Also I think the relationship between David and Keith is still one the best portrayals of a gay couple on screen. And then there is the ending, a moving look at how all the characters end up.
Favourite episode: Everyone’s Waiting
Favourite moment: The final sequence of the final episode
Favourite quote: Claire Fisher: “Well, isn’t it comforting to know that being miserable is still better than being an idiot?”
A TV show about geeks made by actual geeks and not networks who think by throwing in a few Trek references they have a fully formed ‘geeky’ character when they don’t. Spaced was so full of pop cultural references even now after several repeated viewing new in-jokes and gags make themselves known. What I love about Spaced is it really portrayed that post-university don’t know what you wanna do with your life feeling most people who don’t have some fancy career planned out get. Tim and Daisy should be settling down with super srs jobs but instead they play pretend zombie shoot-outs and have surreal daydreams. Its a shame that the show only had 2 series but then Simon Pegg and Nick Frost formed a classic duo for <1>Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and forthcoming geek-fest Paul so I guess I can live with it.
Favourite episode: Leaves
Favourite moment: Tim’s entire reaction to The Phantom Menace, some say OTT, I say justified.
Favourite quote: Bilbo Bagshot: “What about the Ewoks eh? They were rubbish. You don’t complain about them”
Tim: “Yeah but Jar Jar Binks makes the Ewoks look like… fuckin’… Shaft”
Much like Six Feet Under I find it hard to really express my views on this show, I always enjoyed it, like The Wire it took its time in building up storylines that would often explode when you were least expecting it. It is also strange that whilst I never felt sympathy for main character Tony, I always enjoyed his presence on screen, his hang-ups, the issues with his mother and uncle who kept trying to kill him, the fact that Tony is essentially not a nice man, I mean he is a Mafia boss for Christ sake and yet throughout the show I never wanted him to get caught and brought down by the feds, I still wanted Tony to somehow survive rival gangs attempts to bring the Family down and kill all those who betrayed him. Strange really.
Favourite episode: Pine Barrens
Favourite moment: Every Paulie and Chris scene in Pine Barrens. Comedy gold.
Favourite quote: Carmela: “You know, Tony, it’s a multiple choice thing with you. ‘Cause I can’t tell if you’re old-fashioned, you’re paranoid, or just a fucking asshole.”
Something British TV has always done well is great drama, this mini-series featuring a cast of superb actors is a great argument for paying for the TV License. The different aspects of the story, the politicians, the newspaper, the police all slowly became connected as John Simm’s character Cal begins to realise his old friend politician Stephen Collins may be more involved in the death of a intern than first suspected. It is a great thriller with surprising comedy moments and standout performances from John, David Morrissey to name just two!
Favourite episode: Final episode
Favourite moment: When the journalists are trying to get info out of Dominic Foy in the hotel room.
Favourite quote: Cal: “You’ve got about three minutes before the cops get here”
Stephen: “I thought you said you didn’t call them”
Cal: “I lied”
This is the show I never wanted to get into, when it started I didn’t watch it and dismissed it as a Buffy with boys, thankfully a good friend onvinced me it was actually good and I binged on the S1 DVD and realised that whilst it started out with too many storylines stolen from other shows and bad horror movies it became so much more. Every season manages to up the tension, the acting and the overall arch of bad shit going down. Personally I think having Angels turn up was the wisest move they made, not only did it bring in a whole new mythology it added Castiel into the mix and well yes I can’t help but love that Angel oh and it added his douchebag but oh so fun brothers such as Uriel and Zachariah to the show and god I love those bastards as well. Its gonna be interesting to see how this show ends.
Favourite episode: All Hell Breaks Lose
Favourite moment: Castiel revealing himself to Dean at the end of Lazarus Rising…ANGELS!
Favourite quote: Dean: “You built a ghost proof panic room?”
Bobby: “I had a weekend off”
Dean: “Bobby?”
Bobby: “What?”
Dean: “You’re awesome”
This show started off quite badly, it wanted to be the sexier edgier version of Doctor Who but all the sex and swearing just got in the way of the story. Then as S1 progressed and we had episodes such as Captain Jack Harkness I think it started to find its feet. S2 was a revelation for me, I had detested Owen during S1 yet by the end of this I was devastated at his death and routing for his doomed relationship with Tosh. The mini-series Children of the Earth really ramped up the tension but it actually left me wondering whether I could continued watching the show now that the 3 characters that kept me emotionally invested were go and Gwen who I think is a poor example of a leading lady is still around. Oh and Capitan Jack is a complete git. Oh well S2 was awesome at least. Maybe someone can save the show?
Favourite episode: A Day in the Death
Favourite moment: The heartbreaking goodbye between Owen & Tosh
Favourite quote: Owen: “Why? Give me good bloody reason why I should, one good reason why I shouldn’t keep screaming!”
Tosh: “Because you’re breaking my heart”
Ahh the joys of watching five seasons over the course of a few months. I happen to think it is the only way to watch what some critics have declared the show of the 00s. Again I’m not a lover of crime shows but then again this isn’t just about the police, it’s about every aspect of Baltimore’s deprived city. Over the seasons we get to know and sympathise with the drug pushers and kids on the streets and in the towers, we fell in love with detectives trying to bring down Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale, then we got to see the dockers and their struggle to keep working, the school system and how hard it is for those kids to do anything other than full into the drug scene, the local politicians with their backstabbing and dirty deals and the reporters who would make up serial killers to get the appreciation and accolade they so desire. Yeah we saw a lot of fantastic characters come and go throughout the show, but what I love most about The Wire is that its not afraid to take things slow, to build up storylines and characterisations that play out over the entire run of the show.
Favourite episode: Final Grades
Favourite moment: Every time Lester was being a awesome Detective as he sat making furniture for dollhouses, seriously Lester is the greatest.
Favourite quote: Omar: “I got the shotgun, you got the brief case … all in the game though”
Another show and another cancellation but whilst the premature ending of this series that seemed to be watched by no-one (even today I don’t see any fandom for it despite its clear quirky brilliance) was disappointing, unlike most shows that got the chop before their time I felt like Wonderfalls almost worked perfectly as one series. The show about a graduate twenty-something shop worker definitely going through a bad case of ‘what the hell to do with my life post-college depression/apathy’ starts hearing voices from inanimate objects telling her (in often vague ways) to help out strangers with their problems. Of course our heroine Jaye thinks she is going mad, on top of fighting an attraction with the recently married but completely screwed over by his new wife cutie Eric, dealing with her family and best friend, oh and those really annoying tourists wanting to buy Niagara Falls tack. Wonderfalls was the right blend of quirky/crack, funny and emotional with a main character I could relate to (you know apart from me not hearing talking Lion ornaments). But it also managed to wrap up its storylines and give the characters closure in the space of 13 episodes. Not bad Mr Bryan Fuller not bad at all.
Favourite episode: Cocktail Bunny
Favourite moment: Eric and Jaye’s first kiss….aww yay
Favourite quote: Jaye: “I make good life choices. Mostly because they’re forced on me, but I make them. And I find myself in unpleasant situations all the time. You know why? Because even if you have a choice it can and will be taken away from you. We’re all fate’s bitch. You might as well go ahead and bend over for destiny now”
