My Top 10 of 2008

‘Tis the season for TV writers to compile their Best and Worst of the Year Lists for all to read and debate.

I’ll have my Best and Worst for you next week.

So to tide you over, I’m giving you my Top 10 of 2008, the 10 shows I thought were the best I saw all year.

Feel free to tell me whether I’m right or wrong…

First, here are the shows that almost made the list in no particular order:

“Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style”
“Shatner’s Raw Nerve”
“Leverage”
“Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List”

And now to the big winners…

#10 “How I Met Your Mother”
Yes, I know the jokes can sometimes go on for too long. And yes, sometimes I know they make Barney a tad cartoonish. And yes, I wanted Stella to be the mother to. But darn it all if this show doesn’t just keep getting better by the week. And then there’s the guy I’m starting to think I would watch read the phonebook—the MEGA talented Neil Patrick Harris…

#9 “NCIS”
To call this the little show that could would be the understatement of the year. Its last new episode racked up a series record 19 million viewers—an unheard of surge for a show in its sixth season. Let’s face it. People are looking for something worth watching and they’ve found it in this procedural that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It just proves that good writing and a great cast will get you places. Now let’s see what it can do to “American Idol”…

#8 “Football Night In America”
I know what you’re going to say. You can’t put a football pre-game show on your Top 10 list. But if I were making a list of my favorite shows, “FNIA” would be right near the top. Why else would I tape it and watch it the next day when I already know what happened? Plus, HUGE bonus points to the producers for sending Tiki Barber and Jerome Bettis out to game sites during the last part of the season. Not only did they manage to contribute meaningful interviews to the show, their absence from the studio allowed a real camaraderie to form between Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann. And you know anytime my guy Cris gets to talk more, I’m happy…

#7 “Lost”
I never meant to become a Lostie. Really I didn’t. But then something happened to me last season. I got all caught up in the identity of the Oceanic Six. I started visiting websites to look at screen caps from episodes. I religiously read Doc Jensen’s recaps at EW.com and got all caught up in his theories. And now, I’m eagerly awaiting the season premiere next month. Stupid

producers and their great idea to set an end date for the show…

#6 “Tabatha’s Salon Takeover”
I’ve never been a fan of “Shear Genius,” so I didn’t expect to like this one. But Tabatha Coffey was awesome as she put clueless salon owners and hairstylists in their place. But probably the biggest highlight of the season for me was when she made two young women whose dad had bought the salon for them put a For Sale sign in the window. The thought of having to sell the business devastated them so much that they got their act together and started being more in charge…

#5 “Project Runway” (Season 4)
The fact that this season was so good just makes season five all the more painful. Granted, there weren’t any real villains this season but with such great talent, villains weren’t necessary. There was plenty of humor, though, thanks to adorable oddball Chris March. But the real star of the season was winner Christian Siriano. Although he talked a very big game, it was obvious that was all for show and he really was just a loveable guy with extraordinary talent…

#4 “Boston Legal” (Season 5)
I had pretty much given up on “BL” after the whole Craig Bierko disaster. Not to mention Denny sleeping with the dwarf who could have been his daughter. But since this was the last season, I had to give it another chance; and I couldn’t be happier that I did. These final 13 episodes were a beautiful way to end the series. And that Thanksgiving episode was a true holiday classic that will not be soon forgotten…

#3 “Flipping Out”
What’s the key to a good reality show? Reality. And I don’t know that I’ve ever seen more reality than on the second season of this show. When Jeff Lewis installed a nanny cam in his office to catch his House Manager Chris not doing his job, he got way more than he bargained for when his dismissal of Chris led to Chris leaving his wife, Jenni, Jeff’s assistant. But the show was able to balance the intense drama with Jeff’s wonderfully wacky sense of humor and his hilarious relationship with his housekeeper Zoila. Next season, Jeff will be helping plan his brother’s wedding and you just know that’s going to be awesome…

#2 “Top Chef”
I didn’t think that “Top Chef: Miami” could possibly be beat. But then along came “Top Chef: Chicago” to prove me wrong and introduce me to one of my favorite reality contestants of all time (Richard Blais, if you’ve forgotten). And now, “Top Chef: New York” is off to a great start—even if the contestants aren’t…

And my number one show of 2008?...

#1 “The Big Bang Theory”
I was going back and forth between this one and “Top Chef” for weeks, but after that hilarious Christmas episode when Sheldon freaks out over Penny’s gift to him (She got Leonard Nimoy to sign a napkin for him.), I had no choice. This is the absolute funniest show on television—hands down. And yes, the humor is sometimes a little geeky, but then I’m a big geek. Case in point, one of my very favorite TV lines of the whole season was when Sheldon responded to Leonard watching the TV show “Clone Wars” before watching the movie “Clone Wars”: “I prefer to let George Lucas disappoint me in the order he intended.” I’m sorry, but that’s funny. And Jim Parsons (Sheldon) is a comic genius…

So what about you guys? What shows would make your top 10? Feel free to share your thoughts by posting a comment or sending an e-mail to hdstaytuned@hotmail.com...

Photo Credits: Sonja Flemming/CBS, Art Streiber/CBS, NBC Sports, Art Streiber & Bob D'Amico/ABC, Mitch Haaseth/Bravo, Bravo, Craig Sjodin/ABC, Kelsey McNeal/Bravo, Bravo, Cliff Lipson/CBS