E!'s Best TV shows of the past 20 years - agree/disagree?

This video is hilarious; a great recap of the top show, according to this list:



The E! network is celebrating their 20th year on television, and Kristin Dos Santos, E! Online's resident television correspondent, compiled a list of the 20 greatest TV shows of the last 20 years. The list goes as follows:

1. Lost
2. Friends
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Alias
5. Felicity
6. Dexter
7. Arrested Development
8. Veronica Mars
9. Seinfeld
10. The Office
11. Modern Family
12. The Daily Show
13. Sex and the City
14. 24
15. Six Feet Under
16. True Blood
17. Friday Night Lights
18. The Sopranos
19. Grey's Anatomy
20. Survivor

Now, whenever anyone makes fairly subjective lists such as this, there's bound to be plenty of debate and discussion about the choices, and this list is no exception.

For me, the absolute biggest and most glaring omission is that of the Wire. Now, I know E! is a "Hollywood" network, in the sense that the network and its website are devoted to covering major stars, which is something that the Wire lacked, so it didn't get much (if any) coverage by the network during its run. However, just because it wasn't the most-buzzworthy show doesn't mean that it should have been brushed aside by Dos Santos and any E! representative who would agree with her list. Personally, no show has left me as emotionally attached to its characters and engaged in the complicated (but extraordinary) plots as David Simon's series. (Similarly, I'm a bit angry that Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years list only included Omar Little from the show, leaving out other spectacularly admirable and flawed characters such as Jimmy McNulty and Bubbles.)

Also, where is 30 Rock? I love(d) the Office, but I think that every season of "30 Rock" has been superior in quality to the Office minus that show's second season, which, rightfully, won the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy in 2006. While I agree with "the Daily Show" being included, I would have also included the Colbert Report, due to Stephen Colbert's amazing blowhard character, and the writing staff's ability to come up with brilliant segments such as the Wørd. I've never watched the show, but I'm very surprised that the Shield isn't on this list either, it was so critically acclaimed during its run.

What should be bumped to make room for these shows? I'm really surprised by her inclusion of Alias and Felicity in the top 5. While Alias was beloved by fans, it seemed to have lost a lot of steam towards the end of the series. And, while I was only in elementary school when Felicity aired, I really do not remember it getting the critical raves or massive popularity to warrant such a high spot on this list. I can't help but feel like any show who lost so much popularity when its star cut her hair wasn't really that beloved to begin with. Well, judging by 3 JJ Abrams shows being in the top 5, maybe it was rigged!

I'm a big Veronica Mars fan, but even I wonder about its inclusion. Its first season combined a fantastic, Twin Peaks-style season-long mystery with the mysteries of the week a la X Files (hey, where is that on this list?), and its second season was entertaining enough. However, most die-hard VM fans refuse to acknowledge the existence of its third and final season, after the CW network meddled with it. This wasn't just a "weak" season, it was truly bad and boring. I haven't watched it in 2 years, but I continually rewatch the first two seasons.

Is Modern Family too new to be included (people keep yelling at me to watch this; I saw the first two episodes and wasn't a fan, I think I'm going to catch up over the summer)? Also, am I the only person who remembered how many people thought True Blood was really stupid in its first season? I remember people being either neutral about it or downright annoyed with it in 2008. Then, all of a sudden, last year, it was the greatest thing since a bloody piece of raw steak. I don't watch it, but was the second season really that good that it warranted a spot on this list? Again, I don't watch. I'd love to hear what fans of the show think.

I wonder about Grey's Anatomy as well. I think it does its "very special episodes" well (the post-Super Bowl 2006 bomb in the hospital episodes were quite engrossing, and this season's finale was as well), but I had to stop watching because week after week, it just seemed too mundane. It's not a bad show overall, I just don't know if it's one of the best (especially when ER and House were excluded, although both had weak points as well).



Am I completely off-base, is Kristin? Are we both right or wrong? I love hearing why pepople like and dislike shows, so please comment with your thoughts!

Dead in the water: shows that jumped the shark

It’s a common crisis for all writers: the creative slump. It’s the moment in which you have to reach for the extreme in order to fulfill your writing obligations, and the results are often unbearable. In television, this creative failure is known as “Jumping the Shark” (originating from the “Happy Days” episode in which Fonzie, literally, jumps over a shark, thus beginning the show’s demise). It’s happened to many shows in the past, and it will surely happen to many in the future. These are some of the shows that suffered some of the biggest creative slumps in recent years.

“Big Love:” This was a unique look at a polygamist family living in secrecy, trying to balance public life and complicated family lives (Bill Paxton and Chloe Sevigny’s characters lived on a polygamist compound for some time, and that compound is a major plot point). Now it’s a show that crams too many pointless and unnecessary plotlines into short seasons. The relationship between sister wives Sevigny, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ginnifer Goodwin are is only remaining strength of the show.

“Glee:” I was attracted to “Glee” because I used to be a big fan of creator Ryan Murphy’s other show, “Nip/Tuck” (we’ll get to them in a moment) and it was set in nearby Lima, Ohio (I expected more Ohio-related jokes than the show has delivered). I’m not a musical fan, but I watched the pilot that aired in May, and loved it. I was eagerly anticipating the show’s fall 2009 premiere, but it did not live up to its hype. Jane Lynch is fantastic, but for me, even her character isn’t enough to keep me sitting through ridiculous plot lines that often go nowhere. I know it’s supposed to be a cheesy, fun show, but some of the musical numbers (“Gold Digger,” mainly) are just cringe-worthy.

“Weeds:” The show started off quite well, with hilarious characters and engrossing plot lines. You rooted for Mary-Louise Parker’s pot-dealing widow to succeed, and her relationships with her suppliers and fellow suburbanites were fun to watch. After a while, the shtick got old, characters came and went, and it became difficult to root for Parker’s character after a while, since she always manages to get away from danger every single time (usually by using sex to get herself out of these situations), and acts completely selfishly.

“Two and a Half Men:” It is the epitome of everything that is wrong with television today (bland, repetitive humor that uses an excessive amount of crudeness and insults the intelligence of the viewer. I’m not a prude, but if you’re going to be “raunchy,” be funny as well.), and it angers me to see that it is the number one comedy on television. Plus, it stars Charlie Sheen, whom I despise, and Jon Cryer stole Jack McBrayer’s Emmy last year. I’ve hated it since the beginning of its run, but I think I have a reason to say that it “became” stupid. The other day, I was having a conversation with my grandmother, who is in the prime audience demographic for this show, and she said she could no longer stomach the show’s repetitive and crude humor. She made a wise decision and quit watching, and I hope more people emulate her.

“Entourage:” Like “Weeds,” this show’s plots are incredibly repetitive, and go nowhere. Vince is in a new movie. This means his clingy friends will score with women way out of their league for the umpteenth time this season, fantastic. Wow, there’s another party at a rich guest star’s mansion, I haven’t seen that yet, at least I haven’t seen it in this episode! All of the show’s seasons began to run together in my mind, and while Jeremy Piven’s Ari Gold is an amusing character, there can be too much of a good thing, and even he became unbearable.

“Nip/Tuck:” Like the month we are in, this show came in like a lion, and out like a lamb. Controversial, ridiculous and sexually graphic, “Nip/Tuck” managed to turn the unrealistic trials and tribulations of two Miami (later Los Angeles-based) plastic surgeons in the bedroom and operating room into addictive television. Once the show introduced the ridiculous “Carver” arc of season three, this show crossed the line from being enjoyably trashy and campy into an eye-roll inducing wreck. The show just ended Wednesday night, and I have no desire to see how it ended. For my money, I’ll stick with Ryan Murphy’s “Popular” instead of this or “Glee.”

“Veronica Mars:” This is one of my favorite shows. The first season of the show, which focuses on Kristen Bell’s titular heroine looking to solve the murder of her best friend, was one of the best televisions seasons of the last decade. Season two wasn’t as strong as season one, but it’s the show’s final season that lost me. “Dawson’s Creek” lost a lot of creative gusto when it moved the characters to college, and “Veronica Mars” made the same mistake in season three. The “mysteries of the week” Veronica solved weren’t as captivating, and the half-season long arcs weren’t compelling either. Granted, I will place blame on the CW network, which clearly made creator Rob Thomas change the show to fit a broader, newer audience when the CW formed (it aired on UPN until the UPN-WB merger). However, it’s still a creative mess, no matter who gets the blame.

“South Park:” I miss episodes like the one I am currently watching, “the Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka.” Referencing Mark Twain, having Jesus Christ battle redneck hunters in the quest for television show ratings? That’s the randomness of the show that I love. I feel the show has become nearly unbearable with the incessant need to be completely topical. The earlier seasons, with the cruder humor, are much more enjoyable and effectively balance silliness and satire.

“The Osbournes:” I’m not a big reality television fan, but the first season of this show yielded some fantastically hilarious moments. Who can forget Ozzy Osbourne throwing the ham into their loud neighbors’ yard? It was outrageous, yet it felt absolutely real. However, once the show became a hit and returned for subsequent seasons, the bar had t be raised. In later seasons, the family was clearly acted in staged or scripted situations, and minus Jack Osbourne’s ecstatic “Ooh, McRib is back!” proclamation, anything past season one is terrible.

“The Office:” It breaks my heart to say this. One of my favorite television shows of all time, I have been obsessed with the show for years. It managed to carve out an identity separate from its British predecessor, and seasons two and three were brilliant. However, in subsequent seasons, it became clear that both the writers were trying to dumb down the show to appeal to a broader audience, and they were hitting creative slumps. These days, Dwight Schrute has gone from ridiculous but realistic to just being ridiculous, unrealistic and just outright annoying. Good for Pam for finding love and gaining confidence, but did she have to become so self-righteous in the process? I see why Ricky Gervais ended the British version so early, it’s better to go out on top than to break the hearts of fans week after week.

Do you agree with my choices, or do you want to defend the show’s I’ve mentioned? Have any other shows that I omitted (I watch a lot of television, but I don’t watch every show, so I may have missed some shows.) that you wish to vent about? Leave a comment!