Best of the 2000s: or how I learned to stop worrying and love televison

Since we are in the final day of the decade, I figured I couldn't let it end without some recognition of the period of time that made me love the medium of television. The 2000s weren't just a year of doctors, lawyers, and cops, but a decade of imagination and creativity. Ignoring the likes of Survivor, American Idol, and the other reality shows that have blinded much of culture from acknowledging the greatness of television in the decade, the 2000s reminded us that television can be as good as the films that are being produced and as inventive as it hadn't been before. Science Fiction was no longer bravados of machismo environments. Comedy evolved to no longer needing a laugh track to inform viewers that what they were watching they should be laughing at. With the prevalence of viewing television at your own pace and at your own time, with DVRs and internet streaming, long serial dramas were able to become something that they had never been before. This is my list of the best tv shows of the decade.

10. Dexter
Early in the oughts CSI ruled the screen with plot twists and intriguing scientists like we had never seen before, but the show never seemed to pierce the surface and attain the mindset of a serial killer like "Dexter" did. Showtime presented "Dexter" as a show about a serial killer who is also a crime scene investigator. Being on Showtime, "Dexter" was able to delve deeper into a character than FCC regulations would forbid any network station. We learned about why Dexter killed and what made him kill, something CSI never came close to.

9. The Sopranos
The 90s were filled with family dramas and comedies about the typical domestic life of suburban America. "The Sopranos" did that too, but this time that suburban life included organized crime. "The Sopranos" allowed the viewer to learn about a mob boss, his family, and how they don't live much different from the rest of America. Yea at the end of the day, my father doesn't kill anybody, but Tony went to a psychiatrist.

8. West Wing
In a decade of terrorism, conservative politics, and antagonistic attitudes, "The West Wing" created a utopia of a presidential office. The perfect presidents meets the imperfect world. At times President Bartlett seemed a little too quick witted, intelligent, and well perfect, but this allowed the series to focus on the staff that dealt weekly with the same issues that the viewer saw on the news.

7. 30 Rock
I was debating between "The Office" and "30 Rock" as to which one should be on this list. I do like both a lot. "The Office" was one of the first successful at creating single-camera non-laugh track series, but it's concept wasn't original. "30 Rock" creativity and ingenuity is great. It is hilarious and brings the viewer into the not so glamorous world of television sketch comedy show writing. Also, it doesn't hurt that pretty much every week a new A-list celebrity is guest starring and doing an amazing job at it too.

6. Veronica Mars
Teen dramas need a twist. Something that separates them from "The OC"s and the "One Tree Hills"s. "Veronica Mars" separates itself from the rest of its WB friends with an excellent film noir style and its intelligent witty script. You didn't tune in every week to see whether Veronica was finally going to get back together with Duncan, but you tuned in to see whether Veronica was going to solve Lily, her best friend's murder.

5. Firefly
Space Western. What? Space Western. Science Fiction can do that and with Joss Whedon it did it well. With "Firefly", Whedon created interesting characters and an amazing universe that wasn't beyond the viewer to understand. Yes, maybe because it was advertised as a space western was the reason for its single season, but it's popularity, cult status, and even feature film signifies that it was one of the best tv shows of the decade.

4. Lost
Creativity is what has kept Lost going for so long. Character driven plots of usually made shows fail. Network science fiction shows typically fail. Long story arc plots especially on network television fail. Lost didn't. It came at a time where viewers could by DVDs of tv show seasons, watch missed episodes online, and record past episodes to view again later. Lost would not have made it in the 90s. The plot is too intricate and its universe too deep, but online streaming, DVR, and other mediums have allowed Lost to stay alive and remain an amazing and thrilling experience.

3. Arrested Development
Oh yea, single-camera non-laugh track series, "Arrested Development was the forerunner. Yea it ran for only three seasons (which was only because of it's critical acclaim and awards success and not its ratings), but its originally is what makes it the best comedy of the decade. It broke from the Seinfeld sitcom model and created a new model that "The Office" and "30 Rock" used to create their present success.

2. The Wire
Long, plot driven, character driven, subject driven, intense writing. That is how you would describe the monumental, but mostly overlooked amazing series that was "The Wire". Each season delved into a different area of Baltimore life. From the school system, to the media, "The Wire" proved that television doesn't need to adapt to their viewers, but that viewers should evolve to accept great material like "The Wire". Even though it wasn't successful like its brother shows on HBO, it is superior in its ingenuity, creativity, and brilliant writing.

1. Battlestar Galactica
What is one show that made science fiction a cheap thrill and corny? Well that would be the original "Battlestar Galactica", but the revision of that show is amazing. It is the perfect example of viewers evolving to understand that science fiction isn't just cheap thrills, but allegories for our lives. "Battlestar Galactica" dealt with issues from genocide and racism, to understanding the mindset of someone in positions of power. It didn't shy from making you hate your favorite character or dislike a plot line. It had a purpose and even at the end, it had a goal to make sure viewers saw something more in science fiction television.

Honorable Mentions:
Friday Night Lights, Big Love, Six Feet Under, How I Met Your Mother

...wait, Obama did too

Slate compares Obama's influence on the character of Matt Santos during the final season of The West Wing. The similarities are weirdly acurate. We can just hope that Obama doesn't offer McCain Secretary of State.

Election Day Jitters, Josh Lyman Style

Now Available for Your Viewing Pleasure: Part 2- Sports Night 10th Anniversary Edition

Yea, this show was great and was canceled. This show had great writing, great acting, critical praise, and a large cult following, but ABC decided that it wasn't fit enough to remain on air. Who stared from Sports Night? umm everyone. Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives fame, Joshua Malina aka Will Bailey from West Wing, William H Macy who is in effing everything, and that kid in Dead Poets Society who was obsessed with Chet Danberry's girlfriend. Who wrote the series? Well that would be Aaron Sorkin who created a little known series call The West Wing.

The premise of the show was about a fictional Sports Television news show and the pitfalls that would occur. I always enjoy a television series that doesn't just rely on the typical tv cliches: police procedural drama, legal drama, and medical dramas. It is as if everytime a network can't steal a television series from another country that just try to figure out another way to spin some type of procedural shit. Back to Sports Night, they pretty much made fun of sports news shows such as Sportscenter using the rapid fire speaking Aaron Sorkin is known for from West Wing.


The show was canceled after 2 seasons by ABC, but after being given offers by mutiple other stations such as HBO and Showtime, Sorkin decided to go against those offers and focus on his developing series The West Wing. Looking back on it now, I kinda want to punch him in the face, but also I love my West Wing, so I guess I can't hate too much.

"Breaks Over": Take Elite back, Barak!

Advice from President Bartlett to Barak Obama:
From New York Times Op Ed Artilce- Aaron Sorkin Conjures a Meeting of Obama and Bartlett


OBAMA: What would you do?

BARTLET: GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!

Friday brings the end of the Conventions

With that here is the Santos Convention speech from the Final Season of The West Wing...

Now this is a story...Television Opening Sequences

I have an obsession with television shows. They have everything you want from a movie: a great story that keeps on going. At the end of the show, if that show is lucky enough to get to a series finale, the viewer gets closure. The greatest part of a great television show is the in depth view into the characters portrayed on the show. In a movie, the viewer doesn't really get to understand the characters they are watching. Occasionally a film will allow the viewer to go into the depths of a single character. One might call this a character profile film, but television allows the viewer to understand multiple characters over (hopefully) a significant period of time. Television allows for an evolution of a character; a character profile plus five or six years, or seasons.

To begin my account of televisions greatest, I will start with the top (or in my opinion, as I am writing this) opening credit sequences. One might ask, what makes a great opening credit sequence? Well first: great music. Annoying music can ruin an opening sequence. The song in Firefly always gets me and after the third or fourth episode, I skipped the One Tree Hill opening song. Music pulls the viewer in and captures their attention. It connects the introductory scene to show itself. Second: It needs to tell the story of the show. The opening sequence needs to tell me what the show is about and what I am going to learn as the show continues. If I were to just see the opening sequence, it should give me an introduction to the show. Third, and finally: the music needs to connect to the story that the opening sequence is telling. I mean, it is great that The OC takes place in California and the music that goes along with the opening credits makes it obviously for about a minute of my time, but it doesn't tell me anything about what I am going to learn from the show. It is a nice montage though.

Finally, the list of the best opening sequences

10.The Drew Carey Show
Where does the show take place? Cleveland. Why? Because it rocks. The opening sequence introduces us to the exciting lives of life in and out of the office for a one Drew Carey. First the entire cast, plus the many extras that live in the wonderful town of Cleveland, run down the street. We hear over and over that Cleveland Rocks, which the many scenes of fun activities that Drew, Lewis, Oswald, Kate, and of course, Mimi do proves their stance. From Indians games to hanging out by Lake Erie to relishing in the awe and wonder at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, why wouldn't everyone want to hang out at the Warsaw Tavern. This opening sequence wasn't introduced until episode 3 of the third season, but it finally encapsulates what the show was about: a comedy, about a bunch of friends, who live in a Cleveland.



9. My So-Called Life
What makes this opening sequence great is that it tells the story of this short lived series in about one minute and 4 seconds. Angela tells about her so-called life through her actions, interactions, and reactions through a montage of scenes from the show which is nicely paired with one of the best opening sequence music. The music is soft in the right places and climactic in others. It pulls the viewer in and reminds them what the show is about and leaves them wanting more. What makes this opening sequence difference from most is that it is the first thing the viewer sees. It doesn't have an introductory scene that can lead the viewer into the opening sequence. It must pull the viewer in right away. It is a risky move that a lot of shows fail in doing, but My S0-Called Life luckily pulls it off.



8. The West Wing
Who doesn't love the epic journey of President Bartlett and his presidential staff? Well, The West Wing is considered one of the greatest shows of the last twenty years. The opening sequence proves the epic nature of the show. Waving flags amongst the activities of the presidential cabinet, it is reminiscent of pictures and film of past presidents. There are no words that follow the tale that the sequence tells the viewer, but the words would ruin what the music telling.



7. Friends
What list of the best television opening sequences could be complete without the much beloved Friends. "I'll Be There for You" echoes throughout the sequence. It tells the viewer that not only is this show about a group of friends, which the title of the show clearly reflects, but these friends embody the words spoken by the Remembrandts. Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and of course, Joey jump around in a water fountain dancing and singing in a care free attitude to the song as the sequence progresses. The later seasons replaced the fountain dancing scene with a montage of scenes having to due with each character, but it doesn't quite tell the story the fountain opening sequence did. We all want friends like the ones on Friends, and the opening sequence reinforces this.



6. The Wonder Years
A cover of the Beatles song "A Little Help From My Friends", Joe Cocker sings amongst the perceived home video footage of Kevin, his family, and his best friend Paul. It takes the Beatles song to a whole new level and acknowledges the greatest the original held. Every time I watch the opening sequence it makes me excited to see the rest of the show, no matter how many times I have watched the particular episode.



5. Freaks and Geeks
The show was about the freaks and the geeks in high school. Two groups who really don't care about their reputation with their own show (no rich high school students in California here). Well the theme song hits the nail on the head as the chorus "I don't give a damn about my reputation" blares at you through the television. Each main character comes in front of the camera for a posed "school photo"; the freaks intertwined with the geeks representing the character they are portraying. It is definitely one of the most unique opening sequences ever made for a television series.



4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Nerf Herder always gets me pumped up for some Buffy dusting vamp action. With the characters intertwined with scenes from the show, the opening sequence embodies everything of what that show is about. Joss Wheadon really knows how to make an opening sequence. Angel is also another one of my favorite sequences, but I didn't have room to give it a spot on this list. What is great about this opening sequence is that whenever you hear the music, you immediately know that Buffy is about to kick some ass in the next hour of great television viewing.



3. South Park
Ever since the first episode of South Park back in the late 90's, the theme song for the show pulls you in to the terrible animated paper doll imagery, but great television writing. The first season there was a pair of hands putting together each of the four main characters letting you know that this show was different from the others and was not going to hold anything back. The opening sequence has changed a bit since its introduction (no more hands, less paper doll-like characters), but still has the dorky song that tells you all about the great town of South Park, Colorado.



2. Veronica Mars
Not very often does the theme song and the opening sequence match-up as well as Veronica Mars' succeeded in. The show is about Veronica Mars who used to be friends with most of the main characters on the show. An outsider who is ostracized by the rest of her fellow classmates, nothing bothers Veronica. That is why these main characters "used" to be her friends. The Dandy Wharhols great song encompasses what the show is about, how Veronica feels about these characters, and what we will learn from the show. One of my favorite introductions to the opening sequence was in the third or fourth episode when Veronica is telling Wallace about the missing girl that her Dad's private detective agency is assigned to, Wallace asks how she knows so much about the girl, and Veronica responds "a long time ago, we used to be friends." It is totally ingenious by Rob Thomas and solidifies why this show has one of the best opening sequences.



1. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
No other show deserves this top spot other than Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The opening sequence is a story within the story of the show. It is the background of the main character Will told to the audience before every episode. How did Will end up in Bel-Air, well he is gonna tell you in a nice little "rap" (I still don't call what Will Smith does Rap). Most people can recite it giving it that extra push for the number one spot on this list. It is a great sequence that stayed with the show throughout most of its existence. Longevity, recognition, and great music is why The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air wins for best television opening sequence. Smell ya later!