Our top 10 television shows of 2007

Posted by: Paul Little  •  January 26, 2008 @ 7:44am

Filed under: SBM Awards

Three sitcoms from the same comedy block; two medical dramas quite different from each other; a couple hour-long comedies looking at opposite ends of the social spectrum; some mysterious people with super powers; a critically-acclaimed but ratings-starved drama; and of course, a serial killer who's actually kind of endearing. Are these the best shows of 2007?

Defining top television shows for a calendar year can be tough, especially by a collective. Shows air anywhere from 6 to 30 episodes in a season; they're often available only on pay TV or cable channels that aren't accessible to everyone; and they often stop and start at strange times throughout the year. And unlike movies, which you see in full, complete form whether they survive long in theatres or not, quality television programs can often end up cancelled before they can realize their visions due to lower-than-expected ratings or a lack of faith from the network. Those same ratings, of course, can end up being dominated by artistically-challenged shows and reality TV, often hardly worthy of Top 10 lists anywhere outside of the Neilsens. (So it's kind of fitting, if not oddly coincidental, that 6 of our top 10 shows air on NBC, the lowest-rated of the "big four" networks.)

Yet through it all, everyone has their favourites. Whether it's the quality show scratching to find an audience, or a guilty pleasure shared by 20-million viewers every week, people do love their TV. So now that we're covering more than just movies, for the first time ever ShowbizMonkeys.com is bringing you our personal list of the best shows on television as decided by our staff. We may not have the stature of other frequent listmakers like AFI -- or even lesser 3-letter acronyms, for that matter (I'm looking at you, VH1!) -- but hopefully our list can stand up to those other ones as a good collection of popular shows and critical darlings.

Of course, feel free to leave your own list in the comments section below. If we're missing something you love, or you see a show lower down on our "honourable mentions" list that should have made our top 10, let us know!

1. House (FOX)

2. Heroes (NBC)

3. Dexter (Showtime)

4. 30 Rock (NBC)

5. Chuck (NBC)

6. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

7. Scrubs (NBC)

8. Friday Night Lights (NBC)

9. Entourage (HBO)

10. The Office (NBC)

Honourable Mentions

• Boston Legal (ABC)
  
• Lost (ABC)
  
• The Amazing Race (CBS)
  
• Californication (HBO)
  
• Top Gear (BBC)
  
• Ugly Betty (ABC)
  
• Psych (USA)
  
• Samantha Who? (ABC)
  
• Battlestar Galactica (SciFi)
  
• Damages (FX)
  
• Cold Case (CBS)
  
• Pushing Daisies (ABC)
  
• Journeyman (NBC)
  
• Daily Planet (Discovery Canada)
  
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
  
• Life (NBC)
  
• Prison Break (FOX)
  
• Desperate Housewives (ABC)
  
• Smallville (CW)
  
• The Closer (TNT)
  
• Holmes on Homes (HGTV/Discovery Home)
  
• King of the Hill (FOX)
  
• 24 (FOX)
  
• The Unit (CBS)
  
• Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
  
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show
• Mythbusters (Discovery)
  
• Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
  
• Veronica Mars (CW)
  
• Jericho (CBS)
  
• Mad Men (AMC)
  
• The Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
  
• Corner Gas (CTV/WGN)
  
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
  

Tags: top 10, lists, House, Heroes, Dexter, 30 Rock, Chuck, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, awards

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Paul Little is the founder and Managing Editor of ShowbizMonkeys.com. When not interviewing his favourite musicians and comedians, he can also be found putting on and promoting music and comedy events with The Purple Room in Winnipeg, or co-producing the live comedy game shows Pants on Fire and The Great Patio Showdown. (@comedygeek)

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