Favorite 2008 TV

I planned on making a top 10 list, but I just can’t seem to pick just 10 shows. There were some shows that I have picked on my best of lists before that didn’t make it this time, including CSI and Scrubs. There were only a few Scrubs episodes on in 2008 and they weren’t the best ones I have seen so I decided they didn’t make the list. What I have seen in 2009 on ABC is good though so it is probably going on the list at the end of this year. I have loved CSI in the past, but we didn’t watch the shows as quickly as we have in the past.

That is basically how I came up with my list. The shows that sit around on the TiVo forever don’t make the list. The ones that I can’t find an episode on the TiVo because Jer and I watch them as soon as they are new are obviously ones that we can’t wait to watch. These were all ones that either we both watched immediately or I watched immediately because he couldn’t stand them.  🙂

#1

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Breaking Bad
Channel: AMC
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, RJ Mitte, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt

Walter was a high school chemistry teacher that found out his has inoperable cancer, but didn’t want his family to worry and stare at him with that “Oh you are dying” stare, so he didn’t tell them about his disease. He decided he needed to make some money to leave them when he did die so he decided to make pure crystal meth since it is just basic chemistry and works with a former student in order to sell it with his druggie connections. I thought the show would just be like Weeds, but it wasn’t. It was completely messed up and hilarious. Walter gets himself into jams so many times and parts of it are really scary with the people he is dealing with in the drug world, but the story goes in surprising ways all the time. I cannot wait for it to come back for a second season this year and Bryan Cranston was totally deserving of winning the Emmy for the series last year.

#2

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Mad Men
Channel: AMC
Starring: Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss, Michael Gladis, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, Bryan Batt

I love this show! It is not for everyone. It is slow moving and takes episode to slowly build up a storyline that comes to a climax, but not always an explosive one. I still find it satisfying. This season was all about the women where they got some pretty meaty storylines instead of mostly being eye candy that they were in the first season. My favorite part of the show is still how much they drink at work and just take off in the middle of the day when they feel like it. It is such an awesome fantasy, even though the sexism is maddening, it is still interesting to watch the time capsule of the attitude and awesome clothes of the ’60s.

#3

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Supernatural
Channel: CW
Starring: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles

I have always loved the show for mixing the spookiness of the X-Files with the awesome brotherly chemistry between the two lead actors. It was a great mix of scary and funny. Last season had the overall arch where Dean was going to be sent to hell at the end of the season was a good mix of watching someone wanting to live up life since he was going to die soon to freaking out about actually dying and not being able to do anything about it. It was surprising when he was actually sent to hell at the end of last season and I had no idea how they were going to deal with it this season, but so far the battle between ultimate good and evil is interesting. It reminds me of the storylines that were on Buffy and Angel. It seems to have all the best characteristics of some of my favorite shows with the added benefit of super sexy Jensen Ackles. It makes it a win in my book!

#4

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Dexter
Channel: SHO
Starring: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jimmy Smits, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, Harry Morgan, C.S. Lee

This season, Dexter got a friend! Can a serial killer have a friend? This show is impressive because when you think it might just be the same thing over and over again with him killing people, it keeps going in different directions and digs deeper into making you identify with a serial killer, which is messed up! I love how screwed up it is to root for the bad guy and hope he gets away with all his bad doings.

#5

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Lost
Channel: ABC
Starring: Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Terry O’Quinn, Naveen Andrews, Yunjim Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Elizabeth Mitchell, Michael Emerson, Jorge Garcia, Henry Ian Cusick

The show got back to its awesomeness of the first season with the flash forwards and non-stop questions and action. Now the people that got off the island want to go back, but the island has disappeared right when they left so how will they get back? The show is total insanity and I love it.

#6

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30 Rock
Channel: NBC
Starring: Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Jack McBrayer, Jane Krakowski, Judah Friedlander, Tracy Morgan, Keith Powell, Katrina Bowden, Scott Adsit

Hardly anyone on the show has any redeeming qualities, but that’s what makes it the funniest show on television. It is a show that has to be watched with TiVo or a DVR since there are so many laughs one after another, that you need to rewind to catch it all.

#7

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Doctor Who
Channel: BBC
Starring: David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Freema Agyeman, Noel Clarke, John Barrowman, Billie Piper, Camille Coduri

It was the last full season with David Tennant as the Doctor and Catherine Tate played out her run as his companion. There was the usual fabulous stand alone episodes along with the season-building dread of the entire world coming to an end with Rose Tyler trying to communicate with the Doctor to stop it. The show does a good job mixing the fantastical with overall dread and ends up working out in the end, but not always in nice, neat ways.

#8

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How I Met Your Mother
Channel: CBS
Starring: Josh Radnor, Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel, Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders

I decided this summer that I finally had to give the show a chance after not watching it ever. I watched all the back episodes and fell in love with it. It is funny and sweet at the same time, even with awful Barney who is the best part of the show. Barney actually realized he had real feelings for Robin, but that doesn’t stop his usual ways while not admitting to her his feelings. It’s all excellent.

#9

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True Blood
Channel: HBO
Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis, Chris Bauer, Carrie Preston

It took me a while to get into it, but I had faith in Alan Ball since I loved Six Feet Under even with all of its faults. This one has its faults, but I love the vampires. The show really won me over when it started getting weirder and weirder and now I can’t wait for next season.

#10

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Torchwood
Channel: BBC America
Starring: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori, Gareth David-Lloyd, James Marsters

The last season went beyond the sexed up alien-fighting show into bigger, badder things to fight off and very sad endings. I have no idea what direction the next season will take the show with the team cut down so much, but I can’t wait to see it.

#11

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Psych
Channel: USA
Starring: James Roday, Dule Hill, Maggie Lawson, Tim Omundson, Corbin Bernsen, Kirsten Nelson

It was more of the same as it has been since it started, but I haven’t minded. It is light-hearted fun and I love watching Shawn and Gus goof off while on cases.

#12

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Amazing Race
Channel: CBS
Starring: Phil Keoghan

I thought the beginning of the season was a bit slower than usual, but it did pick up halfway through it. It is still my favorite reality show since I love seeing the locales, love the challenges they do, and the wacky couples they get on the show.

#13

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Top Chef
Channel: Bravo
Starring: Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons

I love watching the people cook the fancy dishes and the weird challenges they make them do. The show makes me hungry every time I watch it and I’ve learned more things about fancy food terms that I never would have known if I hadn’t started watching it.

Do you agree or disagree with this list? What favorite show did I leave off of it? Share!

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