the real list, part 1

Here it begins. The best television this decade.

35-33. "Clone High"; "Undergraduates"; "Spy Groove"

MTV was on a fucking in the first half of the 2000s. All three of these shows were very short-lived, have seen no good dvd release, were absolutely hilarious, and almost completely forgotten. MTV Animation has a serious track record with me, beginning with "Downtown" in 1999. "Spy Groove" was the funniest of the bunch, "Undergraduates" was the most heartfelt, and "Clone High" was just the strangest, surreal bit of brilliance to grace my brain while in high school. I dream of a day when I can buy and revisit all of these fantastic comedies

32. "Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog"

While not technically a television show, this has gotten enough press and acclaim in pop culture that I feel okay including it. The incredible, and incompetently evil Neil Patrick Harris takes on the just douchebaggery of Nathan Fillion. A rivalry straight out of my dreams. The fact that it was a musical made it even better. NPH singing makes everything better. How was he not contacted to host the Oscars?

31. "Californication"

This is worth watching for David Duchovny's performance alone. The first season of the hedonistic, male wish-fulfillment series was truly perfect. It also overcame a serious and obvious a serious case of "we didn't think we'd make any more" the following year. It's third season and current season so far continues this stretch of greatness, but a loss of the incredibly hot and charismatic Madeline Zima (off to have a stint in the truly horrible "Heroes") may end up hurting it.

30. "Venture Bros."

This show is hard to pin down. It started as a Johnny Quest send up, and has become something else entirely. It's always absurd, and always funny, seemingly getting better with each new episode. And I love anything that includes Patrick Warburton.

29. "Pardon the Interruption"

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser have created the most entertaining sports show I've ever seen. They throw out strange pop culture references, make jokes at athletes' expense, and are brutally honest in the most humorous way possible.

28. "Reno:911"

What could I possibly need to say about this show. For its whole, lengthy run, it was consistently hilarious. Its shtick never got old for me. The movie sucked.

27. "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law"

This was what I fell asleep to every weekend night for about a year in highschool. At some point in the second season, Stephen Colbert's character all but took over the show, making it even more absurd and nonsensical, but "Harvey Birdman" was never about making any sort of sense anyway.

26. "Three Sheets"

A guy travels to a new location every week and engages in the local drinking customs and traditions with the locals. Simple? Yes, but I never realized I would learn so much about other cultures in learning about how and what they drink. The host, Zane Lamprey, is often hilarious (and drunk), but this show really is very insightful.

25. "Battlestar Galactica"

I haven't seen the whole series yet, but I'm no fool. With the whole first season, half of the second, and a few scattered episodes throughout the rest, I know BG is something special. I look forward to starting over and going through the whole thing.

24. "Eastbound and Down"

The saga of Kenny Powers is a sad and beautiful one. Danny McBride's brutal portrayal of the fallen star is something to behold. The six episode run of the first series played like a three hour film, and a few of the episodes were even directed by David Gordon Green. Absolutely hilarious supporting roles from Will Ferrel and Craig Robinson.

23. "The Loop"

"The Loop" was seemingly hated by everyone. Its absurd tone seemed to throw off critics and it didn't connect with audiences, but I have recently discovered that it's amazing. It's totally unrealistic and silly, but always hilarious. It's about a guy trying to balance a serious and taxing job while maintaining the healthy social life of a man his age. Running only 17 episodes over two seasons, FOX decided the show needed less social life and more Phillip Baker Hall. I can't decide if that was the right decision, but it definitely stayed great. The character Derek Tricolli might be my favorite tv show character from this decade. D-TRAIN OUT!

22. "Sealab 2021"

Taking place in the same sealab as the classic '70s cartoon "Sealab 2020", this moves us a year ahead, after the whole crew has gone insane cooped up under the sea. This has the distinction of the only Adult Swim original show to never get fucking annoying. Using footage from the old show turned out to be a hilarious restriction, never letting certain characters leave certain rooms, or furniture pieces.

21. "The Office" U.K.

I know people will kill me for liking the original series less than the U.S. version, but fuck you, I'm right. This was still hilarious though. A cold as ice, dry as sand comedy show that the British seem to do best, particularly the great Ricky Gervais. Unfortunately this show just never attempted to get all emotional with its audience, but that was probably intentional. These were terrible people.

2o. "Six Feet Under"

Wow, the first drama on the list. "Six Feet Under" was special in its ability to engage me for 5 long seasons of total depression black hole sadness. It just never fucking lets up. But the direction and writing were always impressive, and the performances always perfect. I loved watching this fucked up family grow in their abilities to fail to communicate in healthy ways with eachother.


Again, more later. I think I liked more dramas in the next section. But who knows.