The List: #1 Buffy the Vampire Slayer

#1
Number of Seasons: 7
Years Active: 1997 - 2003
Network: The WB, UPN

Come on. Could it have been anything else? My complete adoration for the works of Joss Whedon is referenced throughout The Other Worlds, so how could any show besides his magnum opus have filled the #1 spot on this list? As I said in the last post, the quality of the two shows that are set in the "Buffyverse" are pretty much equal. I chose Buffy the Vampire Slayer to occupy the #1 spot alone because it is a more important show than its spin-off.

Buffy the series is itself spun off from a pretty awful movie (I could only watch the first 30 minutes before turning it off in disgust). The film Buffy was Whedon's first solo project, but due to a scared studio and difficult director, the movie became the exact opposite of what Whedon wanted. A few years later, Whedon was offered the option to make his failed film into a series. He agreed on the condition that he'd have full creative control, and the rest is geeky history.

Over the course of seven years, the story of the Slayer and her friends captivated critics, intellectuals, geeks and teenage girls alike. Although most mainstream audiences wrote the show off as teenage girl-power fluff (like they would later do again with Veronica Mars), the people who took the time to actually watch the show were rewarded with stories about great characters and full of incredible metaphoric lessons.

Don't get me wrong, this show is not perfect (but what is; I could probably find 5 negative things to say about each series on this list) but it is damn close. The writing and acting were consistently superb, and the serialized storytelling still allowed for excellent stand-alone elements. Buffy the Vampire Slayer struck a near-perfect balance between serial and episode, and Whedon's incredible gift for storytelling is responsible. Furthermore, big events could happen in any episode. While most series wait for episodes before big breaks (season and mid-season finales) to reveal information or kill off a character, anything can happen at any time on Buffy, and believe me, it does.

Joss Whedon once compared this show to a symphony (he was referring to the nature of the Angel series final compared to Buffy's final episode), and I can't think of a more appropriate description.

Up next: Broken chronologies...

The List: #2 Angel

#2
Number of Seasons: 5
Years Active: 1999 - 2004
Network: The WB

I actually think that this series is pretty much tied for my favorite show with the show that occupies the #1 spot on this list (it's pretty easy to figure out what it is, but for those of you who don't know, I won't ruin it), but I've separated them for certain reasons that I will address while talking about that show.

Anyway, Angel is the spin-off to the fairly successful cult classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Featuring Angel, the 250-year-old (I guess he's actually 350 years old due to the events of the end of Buffy's second season) vampire who fell in love with the Vampire Slayer, this series is about adult life. Using demons and magic as metaphors, Angel tackles issues such as getting a job, making ends meet, finding your first apartment, and eventually parenthood and finally becoming successful, even if you have to sell your soul to do so.

The show began as an anthological "supernatural detective show", but 2/3rds of the way through the first season, the writers realized that, like with Buffy, the heart of Angel was in its characters. Angel and his coworkers/friends are some of the best-written characters to grace the small screen that I've ever observed. Everyone has a complete human personality; they react to situations in ways that never waver from their established traits, have strengths and flaws, and each one has a purpose on the show. Their journeys through adulthood are believable, despite the fact that they deal with outrageous fantasy elements; its no exaggeration to say that this series, featuring vampires and demons, was one of the most human dramas ever on television (and this claim was made by many reputable publications about both this show and its predecessor).

Unfortunately, Angel was canceled while it was still in its prime. The stories were as good as they'd ever been (the addition of a certain cast member, though done by network mandate, worked better than I'm sure anyone could have possible imagined) and viewership was at an all-time high (I'm pretty sure; if not, it was approaching that lofty height). Joss Whedon claimed that The WB cancelled this show because it was the only series on the network that wasn't trying to be Buffy, and he was certainly right. Nearly every other show dealt with teenage or family issues. Angel was a very dark show about adult life (family was a part of it, but not the focus). It's too bad, because the loss of Angel robbed us of a very high-quality series.

Up next: #1...

The List: #3 LOST

#3
Number of Seasons (To Date): 4
Years Active: 2004 - Present
Network: ABC

There are two seasons left for this highly ambitious series. LOST is a show that could not go on for many seasons; at some point, there would have to be some sort of ending, since there is only so much the survivors could do on an island without the situation becoming dull. The pacing in Seasons 2 and 3 suffered a little, but ABC decided to give the writers a set end date to allow them to tell the complete story in a timely manner. And while the events that transpire in the final two seasons may move this show up or down on this list, LOST currently holds this prestigious position at #3.

To this day, it surprises me how successful this show has been. Remember when I was talking about the runaway success of Heroes? That is nothing compared to that of LOST; here is a genre show (that effectively hid many of its genre elements for most of the first season) that has great production values, incredible writing and impeccable acting. The plot twists take us by surprise, and we are endeared to the phenomenal, but very flawed characters.

After a trans-Pacific flight crashed onto an uncharted tropical island, the survivors attempt to make their lives on the island as comfortable as possible while they await rescue. But this is no ordinary island, and this fact frightens many of the survivors. There is some sort of "monster" that haunts the jungle, various other crashed vessels, some of which deposited survivors who still roam the island, mysterious antiquated scientific outposts and a creepy group of "natives". Then again, there are a few survivors who embrace their situation, believing that the island is where the are destined to be.

LOST mixes excellent character drama with mind-bending mystery. Viewers tune in every week both to see what happens to their favorite characters as well as to get answers to the bizarre goings-on that occur on the show (though, for the first few seasons, these answers were few and far between). This is certainly one of the most intriguing shows in production; close, attentive viewing is rewarded due to the extremely deep mythology of the series. Hopefully, in two years, we'll have a good sense of closure.

Up next: #2...

The List: #4 24

#4
Number of Seasons (To Date): 6
Years Active: 2001 - Present
Network: FOX

It wasn't too long ago that 24 would have been at the top of this list. The series is exciting, has some great plot twists (sadly, there are a few not so great ones as well, but the good outweighs the bad) and amazing action. This was one of the first serialized dramas I started watching, and pretty much set the stage for my changing taste in TV. So why is this no longer #1? We'll get to it.

24 is presented in (almost) real-time; each hour (42.5 minute) long episode represented one hour of time in a day in the life of Jack Bauer. Each season is comprised of 24 episodes, and covers one full day. Bauer works for the Los Angeles division of the CIA's Counter Terrorist Unit, and every year (day), he has to diffuse a threatening situation. Over the course of the days, Bauer has to deal with double agents, "ticking clock" threats (great for drama, but not very realistic, no matter what Justice Scalia says) and saving his daughter from some outrageous situations (cougar attack!).

This series has plenty of strengths; most of the actors, especially Kiefer Sutherland (Bauer), are in top form. The terrorist plots are challenging to the protagonists, and there are plenty of times when the villains score major victories over Bauer and CTU. There is plenty of good drama that is derived not only from the CTU vs. terrorists stories, but also the internal politics in CTU AND the terrorist circles. Unfortunately, in later seasons, the writers tried to create some non-work-related drama (example: Chloe's pregnancy) that didn't really work well. I don't know if it was because a pregnancy doesn't really compare to a threat of a nuclear bomb going off in LA or if the dialogue relating to said plots just isn't written well, but these storylines just don't work as well.

24 is a cultural icon; the audience has grown by large amounts every year, and it has garnered significant critical acclaim. But in its position as such a prevalent aspect of society, it has become a lightning rod for controversy due to some of its subject matter. This is a subject that would work better in a post series devoted to the show, but let's just say that there is no shortage of debate over the morality of this show. I guess the only thing that I will say about it right now has to do with whether or not 24 endorses torture. There is plenty of it on the show, and it often leads to the heroes getting the required information just in time. However, it is clear that years of torture have taken their toll on Bauer, who slowly becomes more and more withdrawn over the course of the series.

Up next: #3...

The List: #5 Firefly

#5
Number of Seasons: 1
Years Active: 2002
Network: FOX

Of course this show had to make the list; after all, this was the very first topic to appear on The Other Worlds. Of Joss Whedon's three shows (that have aired as of now), this is the one that I am most upset about cancellation. Buffy wrapped up perfectly, and while Angel deserved at least one more year, it got five great seasons. Firefly, though, never got a chance to truly shine.

A hybrid of science fiction and westerns, Firefly is a show about life on the edge of society. A few years after an interplanetary civil war, Malcolm Reynolds leads a hard life. He fought against bringing the rule of law of a central government to every colonized planet and lost. Disillusioned by the overall benevolent but ineffective government, Reynolds resolved to defy the law in an effort to assert his freedom and independence. Commanding a Firefly-class starship, he and his crew pull heists across various planets to make their living. It's a tough life, but they seem to get by and have formed a kind of family.

When two fugitives board Serenity (the ship), Reynolds is forced to determine just how far he is willing to go in sticking it to the government. The right thing to do would be to help them, since they are victims of a corrupt branch of the government, but he isn't known for always making the right decision. The episodes that were filmed revolve around the reason the manhunt is so intense, and it is pretty much the only storyline that ever gets resolved on film (albeit, in the film continuation Serenity).

As I said, the cancellation of this show was painful. There were numerous plotlines that were hinted at throughout the course of the series (and there were a few that were so subtle that they passed over viewers' heads until the creators referenced them in the DVD commentaries). Fortunately, Dark Horse Comics is churning out some Firefly/Serenity comics that will reveal a few of the unanswered questions (the upcoming A Shepard's Tale will shed some light on Shepard Book's past). Still, I would have at least liked to have seen a few of Joss Whedon's planned seven seasons make it to air.

Up next: #4...

The List: #6 Battlestar Galactica

#6
Number of Seasons (To Date): 4
Years Active: 2003 - Present
Network: Sci-Fi

A lot of articles about this show talk about how it was one of the best new series (that's certainly true) of 2004, but I listed its start in 2003, since that is the year the miniseries pilot aired. Unfortunately, many people who would love this series don't give it the time of day (metaphorically speaking) due to the fact that it's a science fiction show and bears the name Battlestar Galactica. The original 1979 series was a cheesy Star Wars rip-off (I've seen about 5 minutes of it and couldn't stand it) with clear-cut heroes and villains. This new version is anything but.

It's incredible that the original series could be so lighthearted, seeing as how it's a story of genocide. The updated version is considerably darker in tone, and makes for great drama. The human race is reduced from a population of about 10 billion to less than 50,000 after being attacked by their own creations. The cylons, a race of robots created to do manual labor for humanity, rebelled against the humans, "evolved" to appear human, and infiltrated man's defenses in order to wipe them off the face of the 12 planets they lived on. Unfortunately, the cylons didn't plan on one antiquated battlestar without networked computers; the plan relied on spreading a computer virus throughout the military's computer system to disable any resistance, but since the Galactica could not upload the virus, it survived to fight another day. Galactica rounded up the surviving human ships and vowed to lead them to a new home.

The loss of nearly everyone else has led to some pretty crushed spirits in the fleet. The remaining 50,000 humans are in for a few years of discomfort and heartache, which would be true even without dealing with the flaws of the various characters. But seeing as how they are human, there are plenty of flaws to be found, and they are responsible for some of the show's best dramatic moments. An alcoholic has to put up with a limited supply of liquor (and the fact that he's a high-ranking military officer), an apolitical woman is thrusted in to a position of power, and a man in love has to deal with a terrible secret about the woman he loves.

This is one of the most human dramas on television; there is nary an alien to be found. The show is about how humanity deals with tragedy; we see man at its best and worst, often in the same episode. Despite Galactica being a genre show (or perhaps because of it?), it tells a universal story.

Up next: #5...

The List: #7 Arrested Development

#7
Number of Seasons: 3
Years Active: 2003 - 2006
Network: FOX

FOX made a huge mistake when they canceled this show. Shot as a documentary with narration by Ron Howard, Arrested Development tells the story of the fucked up Bluth family. Patriarch George Bluth, Sr. turned a tiny banana stand into a successful development company that has provided his family with obscene wealth. But everything is taken away from them when the SEC discovers that he's engaged in some creative accounting. Good son Michael is the only one prepared to deal with this turn of events, since he is the MOST normal (he does have his share of problems) member of the family, and is the only one aside from George, Sr. with any real job experience.

Michael had planned on leaving with his son in order to escape the selfishness and schemes of his family, but when his father is taken to jail for his crimes, Michael decides to stay in California to help keep the family together. Hilarity ensues. The rest of the Bluths can't seem to prevent themselves from inadvertently screwing things up or causing problems for Michael.

The family conflict is only part of the humor. Like the previous show on this list, Arrested Development is extremely clever. This show requires the viewer to pay very close attention to both the plot of the show, the events surrounding production of the show, and real life news and current events. There are numerous references in the show to both previous and upcoming episodes, which makes repeat viewing mandatory. There are numerous jokes that are funny out of context, but once certain events happen later in the serious, they become genius. Furthermore, there are other references that, once again, are funny enough to the layperson, but take on extra meaning if the viewer is aware of what was happening with production. For example, when FOX cut the episode order of Season 2 from 22 to 18 episodes, the Bluth Company was moved from the 22nd floor to the 18th floor of their building. And then there's the wonderful episode "S.O.B.s", which takes shots at nearly every gimmick shows uses to garner ratings.

Arrested Development is TV for professional television viewers. It requires a big commitment, but it pays off in laughs over 100 fold.

Up next: #6...

The List: #8 Veronica Mars

#8
Number of Seasons: 3
Years Active: 2004 - 2007
Networks: UPN, The CW

Veronica Mars, girl detective. It sounds stupid, I know. I know this because when I first heard the premise of Veronica Mars, I thought that it sounded like a terrible idea. But then I kept hearing good things about the series. In fact, the reviews claimed that this is the type of show that would seem like a guilty pleasure, but it is so good that it is just a pleasure, hardly a guilty one. And that is a correct statement; plainly stated, Veronica Mars was a pleasure to watch.

Ok, so Veronica is a teenager with detective skills, but Nancy Drew she ain't. Her father is the ex-sheriff of Neptune, CA and is currently an expert PI, and he has taught her a few tricks of the trade. But her desire to learn said tricks wasn't to indulge her cute fantasies or some such. She chose to learn from him in order to give herself tools to handle herself in life. She had a tough sophomore year of high school, wherein she changed from wide-eyed naive socialite to hardened, cynical counterculture outsider. After a series of horrible events, with the death of her best friend at the focal point, she lost her innocence (along with a few other things) and resolved to never be a victim again.

The series begins in her junior year, where she uses her newfound skills to help her classmates for a price as well as help herself stay ahead of the pack through bribery and blackmail. She tends to associate with the lower class of Neptune (there is no middle class, which leads to some strained relations between the haves and the have-nots), because of her prejudices towards the rich. Granted, a lot of them are not unfounded; like the town on Twin Peaks, there are few innocents in Neptune. Of course, this extends to the people in the lower class as well.

The first two seasons have a season-long mystery (due to network mandates, this format was changed for the final year) that guide the course of the story. Individual episodes tend to have a mystery of the week that takes up most of the plot each week, with a few clues and revelations about the big mystery popping up every now and then. But, like most of the series on this list, the character growth is as important, or perhaps moreso, than the plots, and this is something that is present in ever episode. The characters react to the situations that occur, and they change their behavior accordingly (the only character who is slightly resistant to this growth is Wallace, who never got the respect he deserved from the writers).

Like many shows that are a little too clever, Veronica Mars was canceled before its time. The bright side of this is that the show got three great seasons as opposed to one. In an effort to keep the show going, though, the creators changed the formula up for the third season, and even tried to move up their timetables for a fourth season that wasn't to be (basically, they were willing to jump ahead in time 4 or 5 years to do a story that was originally going to be for around Season 7). But as I said, we got three great years, so at least that's something.

Up next: #7...

The List: #9 The Simpsons

#9
Number of Seasons (To Date): 19
Years Active: 1989 - Present
Network: FOX

The Simpsons is probably the most quotable show ever, and to prove it, I will put a quote at the end of every sentence. "You gave both dogs away?! You know how I feel about giving!" The show has been on for 20 years, and while it has declined in the last 7 years or so, it was near perfection for the first 10 years or so. "Poke the monster with a stick! Tuppens a jab! Come on, queue up lads!" Some of the greatest comedic stories of the last quarter century have happened in Matt Groening's Springfield, USA. "Don't call me Mr. Scorpion, Homer. My name is Mr. Scorpio. But don't call me that either."

The Simpson family, led by the moronic Homer, is partially based on creator Groening's own family. "You've been rubbing it in my nose since I got here! Your family is better than my family, your beer comes from farther away than my beer, you and your son like each other, your wife's butt is higher than my wife's butt! You make me sick!" I don't know what that was like for him as a child, but his family became a gold mine in his adult years. "Excuse me, Mr. Hutz. Are you a shyster?" Homer the simple-minded, Marge the frustrated homemaker, Bart the troublemaker, Lisa the misunderstood genius and Maggie the baby seem to be wacky adventure prone; every week, something bizarre tends to happen. "Hello, Jerry? Homer Simpson. Remember last month when I paid back that loan? Well now I need YOU to do a favor for ME." They have been on every continent except for Antarctica, been targets of a homicidal maniac, saved the career of Krusty the Klown multiple times, and have been at the center of a murder investigation. "What? How dare you! If I ever find out who this is, I'll staple a flag to your butt and mail you to Iran!"

The series satirizes American life and morals. "Bart, you're the closest thing to a man in my life...and that's so depressing, I think I'm gonna cry." With maybe one or two exceptions (like Ned Flanders), the entire city of Springfield is morally bankrupt. "Oh, and you must find the jade monkey before the next full moon." Most characters are based on archetypes, such as the teacher who is jaded with the system, corrupt politicians, the town drunk and the evil businessman. "But sir, we found the jade monkey. It was in your glove compartment." But the characters are far from one-dimensional; these archetypes are used as a launching point for characterization, but characters are fleshed out far beyond their initial joke. "And the ice scrapers and the road maps?"

The Simpsons is a cornerstone of American pop culture. "They were there too, sir." Few other shows have gained as huge a following for the right reasons as this series. "Excellent. Everything is falling into place." For about 10 years, The Simpsons presented us with some of the most intelligent and biting satire on TV. "The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor and its time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!"

Up next: #8...

The List: #10 30 Rock

#10
Number of Seasons (To Date): 2
Years Active: 2006 - Present
Network: NBC

30 Rock is probably the funniest show in production. Starring, created and produced by Tina Fey, the show is a semi-autobiographical portrayal of her time as head writer of Saturday Night Live. The "semi" part of that sentence is very important because of all the surreal humor and characters present in the series (or at least, I hope that these characters and situations are fictionalized).

Tina Fey is always funny; though she is usually the straight (wo)man of the series, but there have been a fair share of situations wherein she is just as crazy as those around her. But even at her craziest, the employees at 30 Rockefeller Center still make her look sane. The most outwardly crazy is newcomer Tracy Jordan (played by Tracy Morgan), a former movie star who is known for extremely erratic behavior (he ran down the freeway in tightie whities yelling, "I am a jedi!") and dropping "truth bombs".

The entire cast is hilarious in their insanity, whether it be Jenna Maroney's prima donna aspiring star or Jack Donaghy's (played incredibly by Alec Baldwin) controlling nature. Of course, funny actors aren't enough if the plots are crap, and they certainly aren't on 30 Rock. Combining traditional sitcom elements with the show's off-beat nature, the characters have to put up with a lot of insanely funny situations, ranging from Tracy designing a porn video game to Jack's cruel mother trying to undermine the loving nature of Liz Lemon's family.

Up next: #9...

The List: #11 South Park

#11
Number of Seasons (To Date): 12
Years Active: 1997 - Present
Network: Comedy Central

What makes this show great? It blends crude animation, crass humor, intelligent humor and smart messages. South Park follows four young boys in living in South Park, Colorado, a town that's had more than its fair share of bizarre events occur. However, part of the reason for all of these events is the sheer stupidity of the adult population of the town.

South Park began as a way to tell stories about kids who act and speak like children, meaning that they curse without abandon and behave without logic (in some situations). And yet, it seems that the kids are more collected and logical than their parents, who tend to believe everything they hear on the news (child abductions! aghh!) and try to shield their kids from scary subjects in the some of the most fucked up ways imaginable (the sex talk Cartman got from his mom was pretty messed up).

As the series evolved, the creators started working topical issues into the stories; due to the method of animation, Trey Parker and Matt Stone can churn out episodes in less than a week. This allows for Parker and Stone to comment on current events in ways no other series can. In addition to current events, various social issues are also satirized, and it seems like the pair can take nearly any social norm or issue and find a way to point out the absurdities involved.

Over the years, South Park has taken a lot of abuse from various moralists (many of whom later get parodied on the show) for its scatological humor. It's true that there are plenty of "childish" jokes, but they are used to contrast the intelligent humor; nearly every kid I went to middle school with (except me) watched this show because of the bathroom humor and were treated to intelligence without realizing it.

Up next: #10...

The List: #12 Freaks and Geeks

#12
Number of Seasons: 1
Years Active: 1999 - 2000
Network: NBC

The truth hurts, which is exactly why Freaks and Geeks is such an incredible show. Taking place in 1980, the series follows the lives of two social groups in a Michigan high school. And the high school life presented isn't watered down with melodrama, superhot kids and implausibly happy endings. There are certainly some happy times for the freaks and the geeks, but for most people, high school was a time of awkwardness. Said awkwardness is responsible for some of the show's biggest laughs and biggest heartbreaks.

The very first scene sets up the theme of the entire series: we see a pretty-boy football player sweet-talking a hot cheerleader with a sappy song playing in the background. But before anything can happen between them, the camera pans below the bleachers and we are introduced to the freaks; they are a group of rock-and-roll loving (the music changes to a guitar riff) burnouts who care very little about schoolwork. After that, the music changes to Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright" from Caddyshack and we meet the geeks. The geeks are a trio of freshmen guys who are obsessed with SNL, movies and science fiction. Despite their better efforts, they cannot seem to talk to girls or make any friends outside of their little circle (though this is pretty much true for all the cliques we meet, at least in the early episodes).

The focal point of the series is the Weir family. Lindsay Weir is a young genius who used to be a model student, until a traumatic event in her life changed her world view. She lost her idealism and started hanging out with the freaks. Sam Weir, Lindsay's little brother, is a freshman geek who pines after a pretty cheerleader. Unfortunately, he is a tiny little guy who is waiting to fill out.

Freaks and Geeks is heavily character-driven. The trials and tribulations of the various characters is what makes the F&G universe tick. Outside events occur that influence the characters' lives, but it is ultimately the choices of the characters that make us laugh and cry. And believe me, there are plenty of laughs (and tears) to be had.

Sadly, this series was underpromoted and placed in a death slot (pretty sure it was put on Saturdays). Since the series favored realism over escapism, it stands to reason that many people would be put off by it. Sadly, the fact that people missed out then has led to us who may have been too young to appreciate it while it aired missing out now. I guess all we can do is enjoy the episodes we got.

Up next: #11...

The List: #13 Dexter

#13
Number of Seasons (To Date): 2
Years Active: 2006 - Present
Network: Showtime

I think that this show was the one that proved to me that I should start paying attention to series on premium cable. Yes, I'd seen Entourage and Weeds before this, but they were almost like an escape from the normal. They were opportunities to push the envelope on certain issues farther than was possible on networks where (to paraphrase a friend) adults are unable to speak or act the way adults truly do in real life. Weeds began to show me what could be achieved by shows without boundaries, but it was Dexter that showed me just how powerful and high-quality these shows that I was practically ignoring actually were (since watching Dexter, I've since started watching Six Feet Under, which can be found on this list, Deadwood, and The L Word, which I started after beginning this list, but I can assure you are worth checking out).

Dexter asks us to take a huge leap of faith; it asks us to root for a serial killer. Granted, Dexter Morgan hunts and kills only people who have themselves killed innocents, but I think it's safe to say that Dexter's form of "justice" isn't exactly moral (especially since he does it not for moral reasons but for compulsory ones). By day, Dexter is a mild-mannered blood spatter analyst for the Miami police.

The series examines what it means to be human; Dexter believes himself to be an incomplete person, one who lacks a soul. He claims he has little to no interest in the affairs of others, but he engages in relationships in order to "pass" as human. And yet, he seems to fit in a little too well for someone so convinced that he is a misanthrope (one of my favorite lines has to do with him wondering how his relationship with one of the detectives progressed into "friendship").

Dexter combines elements of mystery, drama, and procedural shows (shudder) and the result is nothing short of fantastic.

Up next: #12...

The List: #14 Scrubs

#14
Number of Seasons (To Date): 7
Years Active: 2001 - Present
Network: NBC

Possibly one of the most underappreciated shows on television, Scrubs follows the daily goings-on at a hospital. But unlike most medical shows on TV, the preceding statement is pretty accurate. There isn't a medical crisis every week; instead, the series looks at the lifestyle of a hospital as well as what it's like treating patients who aren't constantly at death's door.

Scrubs has its fair share of fantasy to go along with the major dose of reality it presents; lead character J.D. is a daydreamer, and we are treated to onscreen views of his bizarre fantasies. It doesn't take much to send him off into the twisted world of his head (just mentioning the name Alice made him wander into The Brady Bunch), which is a good thing for us, since nearly 100% of these sequences are laugh-out-loud hilarious.

The entire cast is hilarious, and they appear to have wonderful chemistry. Some features on the DVD sets give us evidence that improvisation is allowed on the set (alternate line readings are featured, and they are often as good as what made it into the show), and good improv would not be possible without a cast that didn't get along.

Sadly, this show has barely gotten by these past seven years; the audience seems to have been just big enough to sustain the series for another year. The most recent season wasn't as good as the ones that have come before it, but it was still very enjoyable. However, it was supposed to be the final year, until the writers' strike occurred, and though NBC kept their promise that it would be the final year on NBC, ABC has picked up the series to do a proper send-off.

Up next: #13...

The List: #15 Seinfeld

#15
Number of Seasons: 9
Years Active: 1989 - 1998
Network: NBC

Who would have thought that nothing could last for nine years and be funny to boot. Conceived by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, Seinfeld followed the lives of four self-involved friends in New York who are obsessed with the little things in life. Actually, "little things" doesn't even begin to describe how meaningless the issues dealt with are. One of the first, and the very last, conversations on the show deals with the location of a button on a shirt. Another episode took place entirely at a Chinese restaurant, and showed us what happens when it takes forever to get a table.

According to Seinfeld, the primary rule for the show was "no hugging, no learning"; unlike a lot of the shows of the late 80's/early 90's, where episodes ended with the characters learning a lesson and hugging it out, Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer never learned from their mistakes and always kept themselves at arm's length. This doesn't mean that there aren't story arcs; most episodes are stand-alone, but there are long-running stories. The two most memorable are Jerry and George's attempts to get a pilot picked up by NBC (Jerry, the show-within-a-show, bears many similarities to Seinfeld), and George's long running relationship with Susan Ross, and NBC executive they met while pitching the pilot. The fact that arcs coexist with a lack of learning makes for an interesting dynamic; mistakes are often made more than once, and the characters can't seem to understand why they can never seem to make things work.

After three seasons with an audience that barely got the show renewed (if Seinfeld were to premiere today, it wouldn't have lasted a season), the series took off in its fourth season. I cannot begin to think of how many phrases and words in today's lexicon came directly from or were popularized by Seinfeld, but the list includes "yadda yadda yadda", "spongeworthy" and shrinkage.

Up next: #14...

The List: #16 Futurama

#16
Number of Seasons: 4
Years Active: 1999 - 2003; 2007 - Present
Network: FOX; Cartoon Network

Matt Groening's second series never got as much credit from the network or viewers as his juggernaut The Simpsons, which is truly sad, since Futurama is every bit as clever as its predecessor. The show begins at the conclusion of 1999; Philip J. Fry is upset with his unsatisfactory life and is pessimistic that the new millennium will bring any changes. However, things change when he delivers a pizza to a prank location (is it really a prank?) and falls into a cryogenic tube, only to be frozen for 1000 years.

Fry wakes up to find a world that looks different, but has all of the same problems as the world of today. Space travel is mundane, robots are cynical citizens and aliens try to conquer Earth every now and then, but there is still a lower class, political corruption runs rampant (due to a technicality, Richard Nixon's preserved head becomes president again) and global warming remains an issue. Fry goes to work as an interplanetary delivery boy, where his boss is his 100+ year-old great-great-great...great-nephew, a senile wannabe mad scientist. The series follows the exploits of Fry, his nephew Prof. Farnsworth, one-eyed alien (?) Leela, alcoholic robot Bender, hilariously inept Dr. Zoidberg, valley girl intern Amy and bureaucrat (that's his official title) Hermes.

Futurama mixes low-brow comedy with high-brow themes and concepts (there are more math jokes than you can shake a stick at). This allows for the show to appeal to nearly everyone; people who watch the show for the slapstick will get just as much enjoyment as people who watch it for the undertones.

Up next: #15...

The List: #17 The Venture Bros.

#17
Number of Seasons (To Date): 3
Years Active: 2004 - Present
Network: Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)

Did you ever watch Johnny Quest growing up? Did you read comic book? Scooby-Doo? These are just a few of the many things parodied in The Venture Bros. Make no mistake, this isn't a straight parody series, in the vein of those fucking awful "Movie" movies (Scary Movie, Superhero Movie). Instead, the series uses the boy adventurer motif of Quest to present a show about the worst team of boy adventurers ever. Hank and Dean Venture travel the world with their washed up father and half-crazed bodyguard looking for... new ways to get funding. Dr. Thaddeus Venture, their father, is the son of a great super-scientist, but has failed at every turn in order to follow in his dad's footsteps. To keep a steady flow of income, Venture resorts to shady dealings. Hank and Dean, meanwhile, believe that everything they do is "neat-o" and "supercool". Many of the characters in the series are anachronistic caricatures of stereotypes from different decades. Hank and Dean are reminiscent of 50's straight-edge boys, while Brock Samson, the nearly invincible bodyguard, is full of 70's cliches.

While the Venture family is a laugh riot, my favorite character is The Monarch, a kooky guy who dresses up in a butterfly costume and believes himself to be Venture's arch-nemesis. The butterfly motif has to do with him being "raised" by monarch butterflies after his parents died, while his hatred of Venture has no good reason. His over-the-top mannerisms are matched only by his and his henchmen's ineptitude. He is part of an organization called The Guild of Calamitous Intent, which serves as a sort of supervillain bureaucracy. The Guild represents numerous other hilarious villains, such as Baron Underbheit (a Dr. Doom parody), The Phantom Limb (his limbs are invisible) and Sgt. Hatred.

The ever-growing cast includes numerous absolutely hilarious characters who are all connected by one thing: failure. Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, the creators and writers, have created a show about the "beauty of failure". Even the successful people, like Phantom Limb, and people who are competent, like Brock, still fail in certain important aspects of their lives.

The plots wonderfully satirize Saturday morning cartoon shows and comic books (in addition to music and old movies), and is always a joy to watch.

Up next: #16...

The List: #18 Cowboy Bebop

#18
Number of Seasons: 1
Years Active: 1998 - 1999
Network: Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) (?)

This remains the only anime that I've ever watched and enjoyed (I tried to watch a movie that came highly recommended, but the English dub was awful). Cowboy Bebop follows the lives of three bounty hunters, a hacker and their dog. Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed and Ein live on a starship and travel the solar system tracking down bounties in order to make their living. Often barely scraping by, they live in a world where the middle class has been nearly eradicated. It is 2071, and the rich have gotten richer, while the poor barely survive.

The show is a clever mix of episodic and serialized storytelling; most episodes are fairly stand-alone, with the main plot focusing on the bounty head of the week. But underneath the surface run long plotlines about the various characters' origins. No one on the Bebop is who they say they are, and slowly, over the course of the series, the truth behind each of them is revealed.

Cowboy Bebop features excellent stories, but that is not all it has going for it. Music plays a large role in the show (many fight scenes are choreographed to music), and the animation is top-notch. Also, I can't make any judgments on this myself, since this is the only anime I've ever truly watched, but from what I'm told, this is one of the few (if not only) animes with a good English dub. I've never listened to the Japanese track, and it's probably really good, but the English track is really good.

Up next: #17...

The List: #19 The Daily Show & The Colbert Report

#19
Number of Seasons (To Date): N/A
Years Active: 1996 (Craig Kilbourn), 1999 (Jon Stewart) - Present; 2005 - Present
Network: Comedy Central

Why are two comedic news shows worthy of a place on my Best Of list? The Daily Show and its spin-off The Colbert Report may be comedic, but they are not "fake news shows". In fact, I rely on these shows to get my news, and they keep me pretty well informed.

The Daily Show exists to point out the absurdity in politics, business and other cultural institutions. It uses real news and points out bizarre aspects of the stories. Usually, these absurdities aren't obvious, but so far, Stewart and his news team (which has included Steve Carell and Ed Helms) have been pretty fortunate (career-wise, at least) with the current political situation. It seems that a week cannot go by without some new story from the administration that seems to bend laws or buck tradition.

The Colbert Report, on the other hand, is a parody of conservative talk shows, like The O'Reilly Factor and Rush Limbaugh's program. Stephen Colbert, a former Daily Show correspondent, plays an over-the-top right-wing pundit who blindly listens to authority and yells at anyone who disagrees with him. Real news is also used on this show, but Colbert attempts to spin it into a conservative light, but does so in a way that skewers the right-wing viewpoint. The Report is a much more biased show than Daily (overall, Stewart tends to lean to the left more than the right, but he does mercilessly make fun of left-wing bullshit when the left has it coming). I think that Daily is a better show (it is more informative), but Colbert is more laugh-out-loud funny.

Up next: #18...

The List: #20 Six Feet Under

#20
Number of Seasons: 5
Years Active: 2001 - 2005
Network: HBO

I haven't seen the entire series yet (I just started Season 4 today), but so far, this is an incredible series. Created by Alan Ball (writer of the absolutely incredible American Beauty), Six Feet Under follows the Fisher family, who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles. The series begins with oldest (prodigal) son Nate returning home for Christmas, only to learn that he is in for an extended stay when his father dies and leaves him a 50% share in the home. Over the next five years, Nate, his siblings David and Claire, mother Ruth, employee Federico, and family friends (sort of) Brenda and Keith deal with the hardships of life. The life lessons are often learned because of their constant exposure to death. Sometimes, the families of the dead people brought to the Fisher & Sons funeral home offer their own unique philosophies on living, and other times the Fishers learn about life due to the nature of the deaths.

On a pay cable network like HBO, where nearly anything goes, it is interesting to note that the Fishers are an extremely repressed family. Ruth and David strive for "normality", while Claire and Nate reject it, but are unsure how to live, since they have always been accustomed to shutting away their feelings. This has led Nate to leave and Claire has turned to drugs. Meanwhile, Ruth and David aren't the saints they try to pass themselves off as. While Rico is completely comfortable working with dead bodies, a rather abnormal trait, his home life is pretty strict, and though he is generally a fairly nice guy, an uglier side of his personality emerges when confronted with things he is uncomfortable with (such as homosexuality). And Brenda throws Nate for a loop with her approach to life. Her family is the exact opposite of the Fishers; these people grew up expressing their feelings, even when it was inappropriate.

The series follows the various relationships of the characters, whether they be romantic, familial or platonic. We see them at their best and at their worst, and we are given solid proof that this is a great show when we begin to feel with the characters. When David and Keith are down and out, we wish them to make up. When Claire, who seems to be drawn to guys in need of saving, starts to fall for a lost cause, we worry. And when Rico has to deal with a situation he doesn't understand, like his wife's depression, we feel worried with him. Six Feet Under lets the relationships evolve naturally (for the most part; there were one or two times when I thought that things didn't seem to fit), and we almost always feel like we understand why people are doing what they are doing. And when we are confused about a character's actions, like Brenda's in Season 2, eventually, the motives are revealed.

I thought that this was going to be a dark show about death, but the funeral home is almost a backdrop. Death defines life (sounds like someone has been reading The Sandman), and this show is about the intricacies of life.

Up next: #19...