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Check out Paste's top 10 television shows of 2008...
10. Lost [Created by J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber and Damon Lindelof, ABC]
For a series known for posing more questions than answers, season four was especially gratifying. Lost
introduced the freighter enemies, revealed the identities of the
Oceanic Six and reached a creative pinnacle with Locke’s ‘moving’ of
the island and the heart-wrenching Desmond/Penny-centered episode “The
Constant.”
9. Project Runway [Eli Holzman, Bravo]
The premise is simple: Contestants
are given fashion-design challenges and are progressively eliminated by
a panel of judges, including host Heidi Klum. But the show that
popularized the phrase “make it work” provides strangely addictive and
guilt-free reality TV for fashionistas and frumps alike.
8. Doctor Who [Sydney Newman, BBC America/Sci-Fi]
This reinvigorated
version of the long-running British series considers itself with the
minimum amount of seriousness required to make the plotlines
nail-biting—it’s much more concerned with having a rollicking good time.
7. Pushing Daisies [Bryan Fuller, ABC]
Romantic whimsy, candy-colored sets
and Tim Burton-esque characters flourish in this razor-smart dramedy
from the creator of Wonderfalls. The cutesy storyline—about a couple in
love but unable to touch—is pure sugar, while the murder mystery plots
keep the toothache at bay.
6. The Daily Show [Madeleine Smithberg and Lizz Winstead, Comedy Central]
Jon Stewart and his brilliant gang of Emmy-winning writers shine
brightest when the stakes are highest—namely, in the midst of the
rapid-fire absurdities of election-year politics. Under Stewart’s wing,
co-stars John Oliver and Rob Riggle ably carry the torches of past
correspondents like Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell, delivering big
laughs and even bigger truths with their current-events comedy.
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Did you roll your 12 sided die to chose Battlestar over Heros and Zena?
Life should definitely been on this list. I am so addicted to that show. Heroes is also great, but could be better this season. Lost should have been higher. Project runway couldn't interest me less. Pushing Daisies is way over-rated.
The Wire??
"Did you roll your 12 sided die to chose Battlestar over Heros and Zena?"
They rolled a D20, bitch, and without a doubt Battlestar is the smartest, deepest, most impressive show on television.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia should consider a title change... perhaps "It's Always Ignored By Critics" or maybe "It's Always Lacking the Cheesy Predicability of 30 Rock." The fact that this show didn't even show up on peoples' radar until last year (season 3) proves that people--critics--weren't giving it a fair shake.
Oh yeah, why in the world is Dexter off this list? Insanely good. Insanely. Good.
I totally agree with Micah about It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. It's the smartest/funniest show on television. The way they put depth into characters that are so shallow is amazing. Easily the funniest show on TV right now. If you haven't seen it, find a way to watch it. It's only on in the fall for like a couple of months, but it's gold.