The Best Television Programs of the Decade: 2000 - 2009

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Pretty much just the exact same thing as all of the other "The Best..."s.

2000:
Survivor

2001:
The Amazing Race
Scrubs

2003:
That's So Raven

2004:
Lost
Desperate Housewives
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
House

2005:
Iron Chef America

2006:
Heroes
Ugly Betty

2007:
Pushing Daisies

2009:
Glee
The Middle
V

[PeterPanfan]

Is this just for shows that started in the 2000's or can it be shows that started earlier but still aired new episodes in the 2000's?

[Lazario]

2001:
Scrubs

2002:
Scrubs

2003:
Scrubs

2004:
Scrubs

2005:
Scrubs

2006:
Scrubs

2007:
Scrubs

2008:
Scrubs

2009:
Scrubs

Some of the other shows were okay.

[Cordy_Biddle]

2001:
Scrubs

2002:
Scrubs

2003:
Scrubs

2004:
Scrubs

2005:
Scrubs

2006:
Scrubs

2007:
Scrubs

2008:
Scrubs

2009:
Scrubs

Some of the other shows were okay.

I take it that you are quite fond of "Scrubs"...

My favourite shows are ones that never really made it...like "Bette", "Fat Actress", and "The Ellen Show"...

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Is this just for shows that started in the 2000's or can it be shows that started earlier but still aired new episodes in the 2000's?

Shows that started in the 2000s.

[Lazario]

2001:
Scrubs

2002:
Scrubs

2003:
Scrubs

2004:
Scrubs

2005:
Scrubs

2006:
Scrubs

2007:
Scrubs

2008:
Scrubs

2009:
Scrubs

Some of the other shows were okay.

I take it that you are quite fond of "Scrubs"...

That's the perfect way to put it! And, yes.

It's just a show that never ceases to stun me. It's really childish at times, but DAMN it's clever. And the cast is...they are never going to get another cast like this in all of television history. I don't care how hard they try. No other comedy will have this level of amazing talent! It didn't even matter if the characters were ever underwritten (even a little), because these actors just gave every last mili-second onscreen their all. And surprisingly, that accounts for a lot.

My favourite shows are ones that never really made it...like "Bette", "Fat Actress", and "The Ellen Show"...

The only one of those shows I've seen is Fat Actress. And... it is certainly a remarkable example of an actress willing to do anything to poke fun at herself. The word "mean spirited" comes to mind. At one point, John Travolta even stopped to say to Kirstie, you know - "I can't say this line." Because it was too nasty and mean. He just refused to go for extreme nastiness in that scene where he shows up at her house and trashes her when she leaves.

I was excited again and again at all the guest stars and ideas they raised for the show... but except for one single episode, "The Koi Effect," I've got to say: they did nothing with them but be nasty. I don't think any real laughs resonated. I was too uncomfortable. Then there's the episode with Christopher McDonald that I almost vomited while watching. That's just an expression- I mean it left a bad taste in my mouth...about 2 minutes in. After that, it got worse.

Thankfully though, I can only claim disappointment with the series. The DVD presentation more than made up for that in my view. The audio commentaries were more fun than the episodes were.

[Widdi]

Favourite Show first, runner-up in brackets.

2000: Survivor (CSI)
2001: The Mole (Six Feet Under)
2002: American Idol (Firefly)
2003: Arrested Development (Da Ali G Show)
2004: Lost (Drawn Together)
2005: Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (How I Met Your Mother)
2006: Dexter (Jericho)
2007: Tyler Perry's House of Pain (Mad Men)
2008: Fringe (Eli Stone)
2009: Modern Family (FlashForward)

[Goliath]

The Sopranos (1999-2006)
The West Wing (1999-2005)
Life (2007-2008)
Band of Brothers (2001)
Mad Men (2007-present)
Real Time with Bill Maher (2003-present)

Yes, I've put some shows in that started a year early, but they ran in this decade for the biggest part of the time. Sue me!

[PeterPanfan]

Yeah, I'm putting in shows that started 1997 +.

1997

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
Ally McBeal (1997-2002)

1998

Dawson's Creek (1998-2003)
Sex and the City (1998-2004)
Felicity (1998-2002)
Charmed (1998-2006)

1999

The West Wing (1999-2006)
Angel (1999-2004)

2000

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

2001

Alias (2001-2006)
Smallville (2001-present)

2002

Firefly (2002)

2003

One Tree Hill (2003-present)
Joan of Arcadia (2003-2005)
Arrested Development (2003-2006)
Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009)

2004

Veronica Mars (2004-2007)
Boston Legal (2004-2008)

2005

Grey's Anatomy (2005-present)
Weeds (2005-present)
Supernatural (2005-present)
Bones (2005-present)
How I Met Your Mother (2005-present)
The Comeback (2005)
Lost (2005-present)

2006

Big Love (2006-present)


2007

Skins (2007-present)
Mad Men (2007-present)
Gossip Girl (2007-present)
Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)

2008

Fringe (2008-present)

2009

Dollhouse (2009-present)
Glee (2009-present)

[Lazario]

2000
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cordy_Biddle]

Y'know, I do find this series funny, but a lot of the humour is quite subversive--almost on a par with John Waters--and yeah I know that's a stretch, but the comparison is definitely there in a 'HollyWeird' kind of way. There's a morbid fascination in seeing the likes of Melissa Gilbert, Lea Remini, Mayim Bialik and John Travolta playing alternate versions of themselves And I love Kelly Preston being brave enough to actually eat tissues during one scene!

My favourites actually include "The Koi Effect" (lots of fun scenes to be enjoyed), and the Christopher McDonald episode ("Crack for Good") which also stars Connie Stevens as Kirstie's mother.

[zackisthewalrus]

Wow, PanFan, you're a rebel...

Anyway, I haven't really watched much TV this decade that I thought was exceptional. Some things I'll include are

Fairly OddParents
How I Met Your Mother
Criminal Minds
The Big Band Theory
and Glee

[Escapay]

I watch too much television, so I'm gonna narrow what was like, a 50-show list to 6:

"Coupling" (BBC, 2000-2004)

"Jack & Bobby" (WB, 2004-2005)

"Veronica Mars" (UPN/CW, 2004-2007)

"Doctor Who" revival (BBC, 2005-present)

"How I Met Your Mother" (CBS, 2005-present)

"Merlin" (BBC, 2008-present)

albert

[Lazario]

Wow, PanFan, you're a rebel...

Read my mind.

[Mooky]

In alphabetical order:

- 30 Rock - I've heard people say they don't get it. That's because you have to watch it from the beginning to fully grasp the persona of each character and the show's type of humor. Believe me, once you get into it, you're in for a real comedic treat.

- Alias - My first reaction upon seeing previews was "meh". It wasn't until the reruns of the first two seasons that it had me hooked. Great story, fascinating twists and fantastic use of cliffhangers.

- Aliens in America - genuinely funny show. Too bad it was never renewed for a second season.

- CSI - the only CSI show I REALLY like. "Miami" sucks (thank you, David Caruso and Emily Procter) and I'm simply not interested in "New York".

- Desperate Housewives - despite the varying quality of each season (seasons 1 and 3 reign supreme for me), this is still one of the funnest shows on TV.

- Extras - terrific Britcom!

- Justice League/Justice League Unlimited - DC Animated Universe. 'Nuff said.

- Lost - I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to this show, but for three years it had me on the edge of my seat.

- Mad Men - quite possibly the best thing on TV right now.

- Nip/Tuck - edgy, sexy, and intriguing.

- O Clone - the only soap on my list. It was shown twice over here and I watched it both times. An astonishing mix of drama, romance and comedy, with marvelous storylines and great music, brought to life by fantastic cast. If you're indifferent toward soaps or dislike them, this show will change your mind.

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - a compelling re-telling (remake? reboot? re-imagining?) of the TMNT mythos.

- The Class - another prematurely canceled sitcom, and it happened just when the show started to get off the ground.

- The New Adventures of Old Christine - it may not be in the same league as some high-brow sitcoms, but it's a truly delightful show.

- The Office (US) - one of the best sitcoms in years. It's simply brilliant.

- Ugly Betty - fantastic! The show got better once it escaped the influence of "The Devil Wears Prada" on the first few episodes and became its own thing.

[2099net]

Humm, I don't know the years but...

* Doctor Who
* The Sarah Jane Adventures
* Torchwood

Now that the inevitable are out of the way...

* The League of Gentlemen (British Black Comedy)

* Extras (especially the concluding Xmas Special)

* We Need Answers (A slower Shooting Stars for the middle-aged)

* Outnumbered (British semi-improvised family comedy - with no hugs!)

* Dinnerladies (Superb BBC sit-com from the superb Victoria Wood)

* That Mitchell and Webb Look (British sketch show. The best sketch show currently on TV)

* Peep Show (British sit-com. I hated the first year... still do. But since then it has bloomed year after year)

* The Thick of It (BBC sweary political sit-com. Sadly a drop in quality this year. Hopefully the 2010 election should inspire a better 2010 series)

* South Pacific (BBC natural history documentary series)

* Big Train (BBC sketch comedy specialising in the surreal)

* Jam and Jerusalem (BBC dramady - the best thing Jennifer Saunders has ever done)

* Joan of Arcadia (Probably, the best TV show ever made - but it did go off the rails slightly for the final few episodes)

* Battlestar Galactica (Reimagining) (True allegorial sci-fi, asking questions about our society today)

* Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (what's not to like? It plays with the Hanna Barbera sandbox and has adult humour!)

* Futurama (that did start this decade? Right?)

I'm sure I've forgotten loads more.

[PixarFan2006]

The Big Bang Theory (2007-)
Futurama (1999-2003)
Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006)
The Office (2005-)
Robot Chicken (2005-)

[Disney-Fan]

Easy for me:
Lost (2004-2010) - Revolutionary concept, that after 5 years still manages to stay fresh and inventive. We won't be able to judge fully until May of '10, but for now it's certainly prooving to be a pioneer in the way stories on TV are told.

Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009) - For a show with heavy sci-fi roots, it take an awful lot of time in exploring the flaws of mankind and not the robot enemy. That's the exact thing that makes this show superior to any other sci-fi attempt before it.

The O.C. (2003-2007) - At least for the first 2 seasons, this show was relevant not only to teens and tweens, but to a wide audience. Relatable characters, well written storylines and some great drama were staples of this show.

Grey's Anatomy (2004-Present) - Unlike medical dramas before it (which I loathe), this show always remembers that what the audience cares about is the human story behind the patient's disease and not the miraculous save at the last minute. This show is blessed with a strong cast, strong writing staff and some mind-blowing guest appearances. Too bad some behind-the-scenes drama prevent from fully enjoying the experience that is Grey's.

[dvdjunkie]

Don't know how to look these up to see which year they started but I am pretty sure all of these are in the time frame asked:

The Adventures of Phineas and Ferb
Veronica Mars
Smallville
Guy's Big Bite
The Next Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America
Diner's Drive-ins and Dives
Throwdown with Bobby Flay
Challenge
Chopped
Guy Fieri's Tailgate Party
Desperate Housewives
Army Wives
White Collar
Dark Blue
Burn Notice
24
Royal Pains
Scrubs (best show on television, IMO)
Lie To Me (second best show on television, IMO)
House
NCIS
NCIS Los Angeles
CSI
CSI: Miami
Firefly (most underrated television show ever, canceled before its time)
Fringe
Doll House
Castle (my favorite new show on ABC)
Life on Mars (short-lived, but it was a total hoot!!)


That's just the short list..............watch some other shows, but those are the ones that get DVR'd on a regular basis.

[PeterPanfan]

Wow, PanFan, you're a rebel...

Read my mind.

Is this supposed to be sarcastic? Because I'm sorry that I included an extra three years of TV. Sue me.