2005's Best Television

Everyone else is doing top ten lists... why can't I?

The Ten Best Television Shows of 2005

1--LOST.
By far one of my all time favorite shows, ever. Are you watching this show? If you aren't, don't even try it now. Rent the first season dvd, take a half day and watch about six episodes... it will suck you in and keep you revving for more. One thing seemingly so insignificant in one episode will turn up to be a major part of another episode, seven episodes later... it makes you go back and rewatch things to see what you missed... keep an eye on the background at all times, but don't lose sight of whats happening to Jack, Claire, Kate, Charlie, Locke, Sawyer, Hurley, Sun, Jin, Walt, Michael, Sayid, Boone and Shannon on the fateful flight of Oceanic Airlines 815.

2--MY NAME IS EARL.
This show is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen... Jason Lee (Vanilla Sky, Kevin Smith's movies, the voice of Syndrome in The Incredibles) is flawless as trailer trash Earl Hickey, trying to improve his karma by going back and fixing all that has gone wrong in his life.

3--SURVIVOR.
Eleven seasons in, and its still the granddaddy of all reality shows... well, perhaps thats The Real World, but Survivor is a front runner. If you have never seen it, season 12 will be popping up in February, where the show goes to Panama for its new Exile Island, a concept yet unseen in Survivordom. My personal favorite season ever was Season 2 in Australia, if only because the hottest thing to ever walk a Survivor aisle was in that season, speaking of Elisabeth Filarski (now she's Elisabeth Hasselback, and you can see her on The View in the mornings). And to top it off, she's a Republican AND a Christian!!

4--DIRTY JOBS.
This one comes on the Discovery Channel at various times... have you ever wondered what it was like cleansing a sewage tank? Perhaps cleaning a grease pit at a Mexican restaurant? Or going on a trash run through San Francisco's Chinatown district? Probably not... but this guy, Mike Rowe, does all this stuff. He spends time with people, doing the dirtiest jobs in America (stirring cheese??), all the stuff we take for granted. Of course, the show is only made better by his quick wit and great expressions when something comes up even he can't handle.

5--COLD CASE.
First of all, I love Kathryn Morris. I would watch her read a science book and enjoy it completely. (She was the grieving mom/wife of Tom Cruise in the movie Minority Report) However, this show is not only underrated, but brilliant... the premise is, Lily Rush (Morris) leads a police team that investigates unsolved crimes, using old evidence and new techniques to figure it out... some crimes are from a few years ago, some are decades old. Just a great show all around.

6--CITY CONFIDENTIAL.
This one is here because I'm a total nerd. I love forensic shows, and stuff on A&E and the like and this one is the best of them all. Simply a tale told of a small town, usually a town that you wouldn't mind living in... except there is always a catch. Usually its murder. It used to be narrated by the wonderful Paul Winfield, but since his death in 2004, Keith David took over. Still a great storyteller, though.

7--COLD CASE FILES.
Like the show of the similar name, old cases are solved... however, this one is real. Bill Kurtis is the narrator, and its like he's a grandfather telling you a tale, except this tale is full of homicides and serial killers. This stuff fascinates me, I can't help it. It recently celebrated its 100th episode with a story about the Green River Killer. Fantastic episode.

8--CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION.
Let me be clear... I have only seen one or two episodes of this show this season. Usually, Stephanie and I rent the DVDs of the previous season during the summer, hence we saw all of Season Four last summer and will see Season Five next summer. (Currently on tv is Season Six). But I would have to put this show down as one of my favorite shows, because it just rocks. Warrick Brown is a mack daddy, and the only reason I didnt rank this higher is because I haven't seen all the episodes.

9--SCRUBS.
Unfortunately, my old employer, NBC, likes to move this show around alot, and doesn't give it the fair shake it deserves. This is one of the most clever, funniest, sharpest shows on television. It will return to the line up I think in January, so I would say check it out. I have the first two seasons on DVD and I love it!

10--DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES.
Yes, yes, this show is not the cleanest show in the world. And yes, Season One was better. But still... it rocks. Simply a modern day soap opera for men & women, featuring four neighbors who consider themselves best friends, yet don't know much about each other in the least. Like Lost, it would be hard just to jump aboard and start watching. In fact, I don't know that I recommend it...

Shows I Watch Even Though I Don't Like To Admit It
Clean Sweep on TLC
Pimp My Ride
E!'s True Hollywood Story

Shows I Haven't Seen, or Have Quit Watching, but They Were Excellent and I Wish I Hadn't Stopped:
Veronica Mars
Prison Break

Dave's All Time Top Favorite Shows Ever on Television:
1. The Wonder Years (I grew up with Kevin Arnold. We were like brothers)
2. Doogie Howser MD (Doogie was the original blogger, before anyone knew what blogs were)
3. The A-Team (Now its a silly show... then it was the coolest thing ever)
4. Lost* (i would rank it here... has the potential to climb or drop, depending on the future)
5. Home Improvement (bar none, one of the top two or three funniest shows ever on TV)
6. Scarecrow & Mrs. King (comedy drama from back in the 80s. I used to watch this with my parents)
7. Scrubs* (see note for Lost)
8. The Dukes of Hazzard (at the time, it was fantastic. now its a little hokey, i'll admit)
9. Friends (we became friends my freshman year in college... ten years of my life were spent with ross, rachel, monica, phoebe, chandler and joey)
10. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* (will definately move up my the time its all over)
Honorable Mention: Judging Amy, Knight Rider, You Can't Do That on Television, Hey Dude!, The Cosby Show

How About You?