My Favorite TV of the Last 10 Years, Part 3

#10 - 30 Rock (2006-Present)
I was with this show from the beginning. Then I left. Then I came back and found that they had moved from an ensemble show to focus on Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, which I'll take any day. The absurdist levels of plot development are right up my alley, the apex of which are Tracy Morgan's unique non-sequitirs. There is little plot development, but this show makes me laugh more often than any other show right now.



#9 - Friday Night Lights (2006-Present)
This is the show most likely to make me cry. Yes, it's "about football." But it's about so much more. It's about how you deal when something so totally consumes your life, personally and professionally. It's about the death of dreams. It's about broken families, and the families you make for yourself. It's about the homefront. It's about aging, expectations, personal responsibility, love, life, moving on, growing up. It's about time you started watching this show.

#8 - Battlestar Galactica (2005-2009)
I don't have the Sci-Fi Channel, so I came to this series this year on DVD. I've got a pretty sweet set-up where I get together with friends once or twice a week to watch the shows, and we get to talk about them afterward. And what we have to talk about. Short of OVER THERE, this is about as close as we've come to a weekly allegory about The War. Whether we're talking about torture, or the perception of inhumanity we place on our enemies, or the lengths we'll go to to achieve our goals, and what we'll sacrifice, both physically and personally, it's all here. We're into the third season now, and it's really getting good.

#7 - Sons of Anarchy (2008-Present)
Regular readers have heard me championing this series as a cross between the Godfather, The Wild One, and Hamlet. We have a main character caught at the crossroads of two American dreams: the freedom to be what you want to be without recrimination, and the freedom to make as much money as you can, any way you can. His father's dead, and his mother married his best friend. Oh, did I mention they were bikers?



#6 - Doctor Who (2005-Present)
I've been a fan of Doctor Who for, oh, let's call it 27 years now, ever since I saw "Earthshock" late one Saturday night on WXXI. When Adric (27-year-old spoilers ahead) died at the end of the episode, and they went back to "Robot" the following week, I was devastated. I wanted to know more and more about the show, and watched and taped the show faithfully. What's great about this new version of the show, is that it turns the concept on its ear. The first two series are as much about Rose, the companion, as they are the Doctor. How does her decision affect the life and family she left behind? What exactly is the relationship between the Doctor and his companions? What happens when it's time to leave? It's funny, exciting, touching, and it's a tentpole now on British television. David Tennant only has three specials left, so enjoy him while you can.