As I finally worked my way through the entirety of
Arrested Development last night, I realized my previous lists of decadal superlatives did not include TV shows. This is a pretty glaring omission, as 2000-2009, in my opinion, had the best quality television of the first four decades of my life. This was due, to a large extent, of a maturing of the medium through more cinematic styles and topics; however the stars that truly shone were able to take advantage of the episodic format to present long-format stories in episodic chunks. I credit The Sopranos for being at the vanguard of this; however it cannot make this list because it premiered in 1999.
Every single entry on this list, save two (sorta), is a non-major network show with a standard season of 13 or less episodes. I don't think this is an accident, as the 22-plus-episode shows by necessity are going to have decreased quality due to higher quantity.
House missed the cut for too many mediocre episodes aired between the brilliant ones.
One confession: I've never seen an episode of The Wire
or Deadwood. It's possible The Wire will someday be inserted into a Top 13 list, but I gotta see it first. With that in mind, here are the Top 12 TV Shows of the
Aughts:
1.
Doctor Who (BBC) (2005-Present)
2.
Firefly (2002-2003)
3.
Breaking Bad (2008-Present)
4.
The Shield (2002-2008)
5.
Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
6.
The Office (BBC) (2001-2003)
7.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-Present)
8.
Arrested Development (2003-2006)
9.
Scrubs (2001-2010)
10.
Slings and Arrows (2003-2006)
11.
Extras (BBC) (2005-2007)
12.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-Present)
