While they may not have been the year’s most critically acclaimed (WEEDS), or the country’s most popular (TERMINATOR THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES), the following shows made this TV Addict’s Top 10 of 2008 for the simple reason that week in and week out they left us wanting more. More laughter (30 ROCK, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER), more emotion (MAD MEN, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) and of course, more questions (LOST).
1. LOST
With a fourth season comprised of jaw-dropping twists, top-notch acting and addictive storytelling that, let’s face it, are now par for the course island, LOST has not only cemented itself among the pantheon of great television dramas, but raised the bar for serialized drama forever — essentially making the Lindeloff and Cuse masterpiece the television equivalent of Christopher Nolan’s DARK KNIGHT. (Either way, HEROES is kind of screwed!)
2. 30 ROCK
It’s a rare thing indeed when a television show lives up to the hype. Yet following what seemed like months of build up, nearly daily press releases about the latest A-lister to sign on for a cameo and the gift that kept on giving — Sarah Palin — Tina Fey and company returned to the airwaves and did just that, providing for the best mix of hijinx and hilarity since WILL & GRACE went off the air.
3. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
Thanks to one of television’s most likable casts, two of television’s sharpest showrunners (Carter Bays and Craig Thomas) and an endless supply of Barneyisms (“There are only two reasons to date a girl you’ve already dated: breast implants”), 2008 will be fondly remembered as the year audiences finally fell in love with our favorite MOTHER.
4. TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
It so easily could have been a disaster of Judgment Day proportions. Instead, showrunner Josh Friedman deftly avoided the dreaded Terminator-of-the-week problem that plagued SMALLVILLE’s krypto-heavy first season by infusing Sarah’s chronicles with the perfect balance of adventure, mythology and Summer Glau. We can only hope that enough people tune in next year to ensure that you, know… she’ll be back.
5. WEEDS
To the critics who’ve been quick to proclaim WEEDS’ best seasons behind them, we’ve got one thing to say: What are you smoking? Jenji Kohan’s decision to move the Botwin clan to the fictional bordertown of Ren Mar was a masterstroke. Aside from THE SIMPSONS, no show on television deals with such serious issues as race, immigration, drugs and relationships in so consistently hilarious and poignant a manner. That, and you would not believe how many people stumble across theTVaddict.com by typing in the words… “Mary Louise Parker Nude.”