The Inaugural Post: My top 5 in TV

So, I figured I would have my first musing be my top 5 television shows (thought it'd be best to ease into this and not start preaching just yet). For those who don't know, I'm quite the TV junkie and would like to share with you my favorite shows of 2008, saving the best for last.

5. 30 Rock, NBC

I'm hard-pressed to believe that there's a show quite as funny in recent history, perhaps for Arrested Development, to grace the small-screen week after week. After what I thought to be a mediocre second season (or maybe it's just that season one was just so damn funny), I'm glad to see the show hit its stride again. I mean, can anything that Tina Fey develops not be hilarious?

4. Friday Night Lights, NBC / Directv

I have to admit that I just started watching this show a few days ago and I've blown through about 10 episodes. I'm almost through season one and can't wait to see how many of the issues that this show so artfully tackles---religion, disease, war, high school, the list goes on---are resolved. The show has lagged in the ratings and Directv saved it when they picked it up for an abbreviated season three. I hope when the season airs on NBC starting next month (watch!), more people will give this show a chance. While the show centers around the small town's football team, there's so much more there. Give it a shot.

3. Damages, FX

I don't know if there's anything I could possibly say about this show that hasn't been said. It's absolutely stunning, from the writing to the cinematography to the all-star cast. The new season starts in a little over a week and I know I can't wait. The writer's strike has claimed a bunch of sophomore shows that survived their abridged first seasons, like Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, the Riches and my number 2 show on the list, Eli Stone. Let's hope that with the addition of some big-name stars like Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt, this show will continue pull in decent ratings.

2. Eli Stone, ABC

For those of you who took a leap of faith with this show (no pun intended---that is, if you know the plot), I'm sure you haven't been disappointed. The premise is outlandish and the show itself is probably oriented for too small an audience. But there's no show that tackles the possibility of a constant divine presence in daily life period, let alone as well as this show does. Jonny Lee Miller (aka Angelina's first husband), whose career will probably get an up-tick after this performance, plays the title character so sympathetically and at times painfully. I hope that he'll get some award recognition his way (though just last week the SAG and Golden Globes passed over him). The supporting cast, led by Loretta Devine and Victor Garber, is also superb. I can only hope they end the show on a good note (again, no pun intended).

1. Boston Legal, ABC

My favorite show hands-down. After ABC conditioned a fifth season pick-up on David E. Kelly giving up the rights to Life on Mars, the show has surged creatively. While Kelly is known for law-centric dramas, this show balances the humor and the drama just perfectly, with law as a back-drop. With the only cast on television that isn't skewed for a younger generation, led by TV veterans William Shattner, Candice Bergen, John Larroquette, and James Spader, with guest appearances by Betty White, the show never gave in to standard network demands. It's always been an Emmy favorite, but I sure as hell hope that the Academy will recognize this show's swan song with a round of nominations across the board.