My Top 10 TV Shows of 2006

Everybody is doing top 10 lists for 2K6, so why should I be any different? Sure I'm not famous nor do I have a mass blog following. But I love TV as much as the next guy, so why shouldn't I have an opinion, hot dammit!

10. Heroes: A cross between "The X-Men" and "X-Files" with a little "Lost" mixed in. I love that the people with powers come from all walks of life: The telepathic cop, the single mom with the deadly split personality, and the nerdy Japanese guy who can manipulate time--they all are people you could meet on the street! And Adrian Pasdar as the shady politician who can fly is actually more interesting without his powers. The downside is they are introducing so many super people it's becoming somewhat crowded in the "Heroes" world. But I do want to know what significance the indestructible cheerleader has to do with everything.

9. Ugly Betty: The best part of this show is that Betty is very charming and sympatheic without being over-the-top. She is definitely intelligent and lets people know she is. The show itself is supposed to be campy and not to be taken seriously, but there are so many interesting side stories it definitely keeps your attention. And I'm enjoying Vanessa Williams as a power grabbing imperious executive.

8. The OC: All right, sue me! I love the OC this year. It's like season 1 OC all over again. Once Marissa was killed at the end of season 3, I thought maybe they should have just cancelled the darn thing. But I was ready to reserve judgment and see if the show could recover. It recovered all right--and then some! I never realized Marissa was such a drain to all the characters. They've paired Ryan with Taylor Townsend, the gang's frenemy from last season and--who knew?--she's a great match for him! I never thought Ryan had a sense of fun or humor, but he has both. We get to see Taylor's human side as well...I do admire the OC writing, since they did the same thing with Summer by making her into a three-dimensional character. The writing is much stronger and the characters are more true to themselves. They added Mariss' sis Kaitlin, who does much better when paired with people her own age (though I don't like Luke's annoying twin brothers). However, I think they still don't know what to do with Kirsten, who hangs out at NewMatch and says, "Where's Ryan" before looking concerned. I guess I'd rather her have no storyline at all instead of the horrible one from last season with Jeri Ryan, the con-artist from rehab. It's a shame the ratings are in the toilet for this show, and it will be it's last season I bet. But hopefully we will get some closure.


7. Doctor Who: After about 15-odd years off the air, the BBC brought back my favorite cheesefest science fiction show from the grave. And it's definitely an improvement! Succinct storylines, decent special effects, and great acting all around make this show a keeper. Best story of the year was the reintroduction of the Daleks. As a kid, I never thought they were very scary. Once the doctor defeated one by putting a hat over the Dalek's eye so he couldn't shoot him! This time, one new Dalek killed a platoon of men and escaped a bunker. And there was no doubt that the Dalek was boss. Since the new series started over, the Doctor has regenerated once already and he lost his recent companion (trapped on a parallel earth) but the stories have been so good I don't mind a little change now and then.

6. 30 Rock: My friend Kelly says he can gauge if he wants to be friends with somebody based on if they think "30 Rock" is funny. I totally agree with him. Tina Fey created this show, and if she can write "Mean Girls" she can write anything funny. Tracy Morgan is hilarious as a Bobby Brown/Martin Lawrence-type movie star, Alec Baldwin as a stiff, annoying network exec, and Tina Fey is Liz Lemon, the head writer. So much funny stuff happens in each episode it's hard to describe. Sure, some of the episodes are uneven, but when they're on their game, it's awesome. My only gripe is with Jane Krakowski who is Liz' best friend. She and Liz don't have much friend chemistry, and it looks like she's trying too hard. I wish they kept Rachel Dratch, who was my favorite SNL'er next to Amy Poehler.

5. The Wire: I've never watched it, but critics everywhere say it's a phenomenal show.

4. The New Adventures of Old Christine: I started watching this because Julia Louis-Dreyfus is in it, I'm not normally into shows about mom/divorcees jumping back into the singles scene But I actually enjoy the show much more this season. They've played up Christine's neuroses, they've made her kid more lunkheaded and less cutesy, and they've added Wanda Sykes to the cast. They are hitting the right notes. Just more of the mean mommies would be nice.

3. Commander-In-Chief: Sure, this was cancelled, but prematurely! Geena Davis as the first woman president was working so well...until ABC changed EP's and the focus of the show. It was said that internal tampering finally killed it. What sold the show for me was Geena Davis came across incredibly believable, plus her staff members (esp. her Chief Of Staff) were well cast. The problems I had were: 1) the husband "I'm an adviser to my wife because I'm upset with not being involved!" then "No! I'm not anymore and that is totally ok!" instead of seeing him struggle with being the First Husband, and 2) Adding Zach from "Saved By The Bell" as a campaign manager felt so calculated it was like "Let's add a character to stir up trouble." Besides, she was barely in the White House, why would we want to watch her campaign for a second term so soon?

2. ER: Total guilty pleasure. I've been watching since season 2, and it's turned into comfort food TV. How many times can the ER be blown up, shot up, car crashes into it, Santa Claus visits, sex in the on-call room can you have in 12 years? A lot! Plus they've added John Stamos from "Full House" to add an older doctor to the mix and to sex up Neela. They've coupled up Doctor Kovac with Abby again and now they have a kid together. I openly hate Luka, but Abby is my favorite character. And any show where I can watch it every week after 12 seasons must have something going for it.

1. 24: Best. show. on. TV. Bar none. Hands down. After being presumed dead last season, Jack is brought back to the fray to help find out who killed President Palmer. Lots of casualties along the way this year, including Tony, Michelle, and Edgar. But Audrey, who was Jack's wishy-washy spineless girlfriend last season totally grew a spine and gave as well as she got. Plus, the President and his shady agenda? His insane wife? So much packed into a day's work. And Jack's intensity never goes away. He's the only character on TV who screams "I will kill you" and you totally believe him. As my friend's talking dictionary used to say, "Jack Bauer is a pimp, and we are his bitches."