Random List: 10 Best TV Shows of 2008

Okay, here they are , my long-awaited Top 10 list of the best shows in '08:

1. The Wire -- Goodnight, sweet television drama. What more can I say about this show that hasn't already been said? If you watched it, you already know how good it is, and don't need to listen to me. If you didn't watch it, then you're a moron. But a lucky moron -- you still have the chance to see each and every show for the very first time. I advise strongly for you to do so.

2. 30 Rock -- The funniest show of TV got funnier in '08. It features everybody's favorite Emmy winner Tina Fey, and added flashy guest stars just about every week, but it was the regular supporting characters which usually stole the show. Limited to small rules, Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Krakowski are all still among the best comedic performers anywhere on TV.

3. Dexter -- Already a great show, Dexter ramped up it's quality even further in '08. It started with a careless Dexter killing an honest man, ands with him cleaning up the streets from a monster he made. The Addition of Jimmy Smits as Dexter's partner in crime was a master-stroke, and allowed the show to stretch its limits. Dexter found himself playing good cop for once, showing us he does know the difference between the bad guys, and the really bad guys.

4. Breaking Bad -- The best new show on TV in '08. It starts with an almost unbelievable premise -- a husband, father, and high school science teacher becomes a meth cooker -- and explains how believable, and real it can really be. It's also cool, and dramatic, and very, very funny. Also: well-acted -- Bryan Cranston already won an Emmy for lead actor.

5. Mad Men -- The first season showed us it was one of the best shows on TV. The second season showed us it has a chance to be one of the best shows ever. It took until the second season for creator Matthew Weiner to really show that meandering, mysterious storytelling that made his alma mater, The Sopranos', such a masterpiece. I can't wait for season three.

6. The Shield -- For most of the show, it was a sleazy good time, a fun ride through the bad part of town, punctuated by tense, surreal moments of high drama. In its final season, it was all tension. By the end, there wasn't a drop of fun to be had for miles. But that was how it had to be. Laughing and joking while breaking laws and making enemies, as Vic Mackey did, can't last forever. The show opened with Vic enjoying a friendly barbecue with his team before ganging up with one to kill another. We knew then he was bad, but he charmed us -- and everybody else -- for a good while. In the end, there was no more fooling, but Vic, the ultimate survivor, was still around.

7. The Closer -- The best procedural on TV. All others above on this list have to entertain, but are not forced to play by the restrictive rules of having to be framed by a crime -- it starts with a murder, and ends with an arrest almost without fail. But all the characters are so real and entertaining -- especially Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson -- and the dialogue is so well-written, it never feels like a cookie-cutter, as so many others do.

8. House -- The show got back to regular business -- set cast, no more "competition" -- and never missed a beat. The subplot with House's best friend Wilson giving up on their friendship was a welcome change from Wilson usual uber-patience with him. The supporting characters have all taken a back seat as most of the personal storylines revolve around House, but that's probably for the best.

9. Lost -- Every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in. There's simply been too much time, energy and attention devoted to this show for me to not care about what happens. I've been doubting they will ever come up with an over-arching story which will explain away everything that's happened so far, but I'm still enjoying the ride.

10. Friday Night Lights -- This season's best episode may have been the first of 2009 -- and there's still next week's season finale to go -- but the groundwork was laid in '08 when the show's third season found the same groove they had in the first. In was major bounce-back year for the show, which went of the tracks in season two by trying to sex up the show too much in an attempt to raise mediocre ratings. In doing so, they lost their positive word-of-mouth from fans and critics, and were essentially cancelled by NBC. But DirecTV swept in to save the day, airing the show on their Channel 101. The season was such a success, NBC wants them back -- they'll be airing all of season three starting in two weeks.

Random List: Top 10 Shows On TV

This is not a year-end list, judging shows on only the most recent season. This is a list of the very best shows currently on TV. That means shows like ‘The Wire’, which could’ve (and should’ve) won an Emmy for their final season in 2008, it is not currently on the air so it’s ineligible. It also means shows get some credit for work done in the past -– if they’ve elicited enough interest in their narratives over previous seasons to make up for any weaknesses in their current episodes.

1. The Shield -- The whole reason behind this list. The show is almost over, and criminally underrated, so I wanted to have this last chance to sing its praises. The ballad of Vic Mackey may be reaching its conclusion, but it’s certainly not slowing down any. Instead, it’s doing just what it’s always has -– careening toward disaster, like a car with no brakes. Will Michael Chiklis’s Vic get arrested? Killed? If so, by who? (There are too many good candidates to name them all.) Whatever happens, it will be captivating, pulse-pounding, and unpredictable -– on ’The Shield’, it always is.

2. 30 Rock -- When it comes to lists, I normally rate dramas higher than comedies. I don’t know why, maybe it’s because I get more into the stories dramas offer up. Comedies are so based on contrived situations, the characters never really changing or growing in any way. ‘30 Rock’ is really no different -– well, except for the fact that it’s really, really good. The fantastic Tina Fey makes the show (both writing and acting), but the stellar supporting cast (Alex Baldwin, Tracey Morgan, Jack McBrayer) often steals the show.

3. The Closer -- The best procedural on TV barely edges out the best serialized dramas based on both it’s great ensemble cast centered around Kyra Sedgwick’s Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson and her quirky genius, and its commendable consistency. Not only do they stage a mysterious crime filled with interesting characters each week, but they also manage to move along personal plotlines with aplomb –- and without the usual sticking-out-like-a-sore-thumb transitions.

4. Breaking Bad -- The best new show on TV in 2008 made it all the way into the top 5 (and ahead of fellow AMC serial, ’Mad Men’) on its breathtaking premise –- a high school chemistry teacher who finds out he’s got cancer becomes a meth cooker to pay those extra bills. The show’s already been recognized with Emmy nominations -– including a win for lead actor Bryan Cranston –- and I think it’s got a strong future in store with creator Mike Gilligan (a former X-Files’ writer) at the helm.

5. Mad Men -- The best new show of 2007 started the ball rolling at AMC, which is beginning to look like HBO did almost a decade ago. With two of the best shows on TV on their slate, AMC may become the place to go for off-beat writers who tell idiosyncratic stories. That describes creator Matthew Weiner (a former ’Sopranos’ scribe) who HBO let slip away, as well as Gilligan -- many of Weiner’s storylines in ’Mad Men’ echo the anything-can-happen tone and feel of ’The Sopranos’. With characters this interesting, and an era so ripe for commentary, I have a feeling ’Mad Men’ is just getting started.

6. The Office -- Still going strong, ’The Office’, has fallen into a rhythm like many good sports teams do: They know they’re good, so they may coast for awhile, but they’re still better than everyone else, and they can turn it on whenever they need to.

7. Dexter -- This could easily be higher on the list based on its current season, when writers made the wise decision to give Dexter a partner in crime (played by Jimmy Smits). Seeing Dexter play his murderous feelings off of someone else’s is reinvigorating for the show, and reminds of the end of the first season, when he battled his brother.

8. House -- Like ’The Office’, this show has found it’s groove, and never produces a bad episode. They also manage to keep both the medical case and the personal lives of its characters fresh. House’s antics never get old, and Hugh Laurie’s performance is never anything short of note-perfect.

9. Lost -- I’ve lost a lot of interest in the show since the first couple of seasons, but as it nears the end, I’m still interested in finding out what answers the show can deliver. It’s currently not as good as a few shows on the “Honorable mention” list, maybe even all of them, but like a mystery novel I’m almost done with, I’ve put in too much time to give up now.

10. Curb Your Enthusiasm – This deserves to be higher, but I’m penalizing it for taking the better part of two years off. Still, I haven’t forgotten the show’s unique blend of both dry and broad humor, or the eminently watchable Larry David.

Honorable mention: Sons of Anarchy, Life, Damages, Friday Night Lights, CSI.