A couple of times a year, TV Week asks TV critics from print and online media to fill out a survey with their lists of the best and worst TV shows of the season. The summer list this year doesn't hold too many surprises in the "best" category, though I think the "worst" has a few (worst lists are always more fun to read anyway, right?). First, the ten best:
1. The Sopranos (HBO)
2. Lost (ABC)
3. Friday Night Lights (NBC)
4. The Office (NBC)
5. Ugly Betty (ABC)
6. Heroes (NBC)
7. 30 Rock (NBC)
8. The Shield (FX)
9. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
10. The Tudors (Showtime)
And here are the ten worst:
1. October Road (ABC)
2. 24 (FOX)
3. The Real Wedding Crashers (NBC)
4. The Black Donnellys (NBC)
5. The Pussycat Dolls Present (The CW)
6. Tyler Perry's House of Payne (TBS)
7. Nancy Grace (CNN Headline News)
8. Sons of Hollywood (A&E)
9. On The Lot (FOX)
10. The Wedding Bells (FOX)
Notes: I didn't watch 24 or October Road, but were they both worse than The Real Wedding Crashers and Nancy Grace? Really? Interesting how the two shows that replaced Studio 60 (The Black Donnellys and The Real Wedding Crashers) are both on the worst list (though Studio 60 doesn't show up on either list, highlighting a really big indifference by the critics). I wonder if The Sopranos was really the best show or it got votes just because it was the last season and had a lot of controversy. CBS doesn't have a single show in the top ten of either list, and NBC has a lot of shows in the best category. Now if they can just translate those votes into ratings...
Here's the full list for TV series, and here's the full list for movies, miniseries, or specials.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-12-2007 @ 9:33AM
Gordy said...
No way 24 was in the worst group. Mediocre in 24-land far exceeds most shows on television. Other than that--maybe ditch the overrated Grey's Anatomy and take The Sopranos down 7--I agree with the lists.
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7-12-2007 @ 10:04AM
Zach said...
I wonder if they put 24 on there just to create a stir. While this season of 24 was not as good as last years, it by far was not one of the worst shows.
What about all the shows that were canceled? Kidnapped... Daybreak.... the list goes on.
Zach
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7-12-2007 @ 9:38AM
dl said...
I hate it when they forget Dexter...damnit.
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7-12-2007 @ 9:50AM
Nova said...
black donnelly's was a good show. it just couldn't get a big fan base because if you missed the first episode or didn't pay attention you were just completely lost the rest of the way.
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7-12-2007 @ 9:57AM
Bash said...
24 was on the decline for years - but on a really really high level. I didn't like the last season, but still it was full of late-on reveals an conspiracy. This year everything was dealt with immediately - no real secrets. The fall was really really high.
And October Road - I don't know, I liked That 70s Show and honestly Laura Prepon plays Donna 10 years later with a kid. The role is perfect for her. And I think it is just as "bad" as Ugly Betty which I totally could not stand watching for more than 20 minutes because here in germany we had that show as a daily soap for over two and a half years and it already got finished - and I didn't care for it at all.
Anyway - I also am a bit irritated that "Dexter" isn't in the lineup. Loved that show. Oh and I kind of miss "Rescue Me" because I like it at the moment.
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7-12-2007 @ 10:05AM
Guido said...
24 should be on the "Most Disappointing" list rather than worst list
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7-12-2007 @ 10:05AM
Jen said...
No Dexter or BSG. :(
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7-12-2007 @ 10:06AM
Guido said...
oh . .and I guess Lost has officially been accepted back into the good graces of the media.
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7-12-2007 @ 10:54AM
David said...
What no Studio 60 for worst show?!
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7-12-2007 @ 10:19AM
Roger Rees said...
I'm absolutely amazed that Friday Night Lights is getting the credit it deserves!
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7-12-2007 @ 10:21AM
Michael said...
There's no way 24 should be on the list. Yes, it had a bad season. But lumping it in with Pussycat Dolls, Nancy Grace and Tyler Perry is simply insulting. Seems to me like the TV Critics are a bunch of fair-weather TV watchers.
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7-12-2007 @ 4:07PM
Ben said...
Entourage is missing...
So is BSG....
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7-12-2007 @ 10:36AM
Blackgem said...
What about The Wire? Possibly the best show on TV at the moment (though I am generally hard-pressed to think of any show, old or current, that it is better), especially given it's superb 4th season
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7-12-2007 @ 1:25PM
chris said...
Odd that Nancy Grace is listed; it's one of a dozen similar cable news talking head shows, certainly not as stupid as Hardball or Countdown or Greta. With Nancy and 24 listed, and the tedious Bill Moyers special on the best-of-specials list, I'd say there's a partisan slant seeping into the survey. But it's print journalism critics, so that's expected.
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7-12-2007 @ 10:48AM
h8rain said...
Dexter is a great show. Although I thought it was wierd that all the bad shows are ....shows. Then there is Nancy Grace. I have only seen it once, but I would call it a ...program and not a "show".
I guess that is what the critics make the big bucks :)
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7-12-2007 @ 11:16AM
Jeff said...
In my opinion the 10 worst should include nothing but so-called "reality" shows. I know they pull a number, but that doesn't make them "good".
I'm not surprised "The Wire" isn't listed, but there's no doubt it's the number 1 show on TV. Although it gets critical praise from some, most critics seem to look at it as "another cop show" and don't get it because they try to watch just one episode. Same goes for viewers, if you watch one episode you'll likely be bored, but if you dedicate some time to watch several shows in a row you'll start to see how everything is connected. There's no instant gratification here, but if you like to think and enjoy a more realistic show, The Wire is for you.
Others contenders for my best list...
Dexter, Big Love, Rescue Me and Entourage
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7-12-2007 @ 11:25AM
1iPete said...
The Tudors at 10?!? It was only the 4th best show on Showtime last year trailing Dexter, Weeds & Brotherhood.
Count me as another who thinks The Wire was #1 by a wide margin.
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7-12-2007 @ 11:28AM
ac said...
I didn't watch Sopranos yet (hurry up HBO with the dvd!) but people were saying that it wasn't the best. Maybe it should be 2nd or 3rd on the list. I'm still in shock from the Lost finale so that should be #1. Ugly Betty and Grey Anatomy are on the wrong list. 24 is also not the 2nd worst show on TV. The season was bad for 24 but I can name worse.
And for the person who said Daybreak and Kidnapped should be on the worst list.... did you even watch those shows? Just because something gets cancelled means its bad. In fact this year a lot good shows were cancelled and a lot of crap remained.
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7-13-2007 @ 4:15AM
jim said...
yep, Dexter is conspicuous by its absence. Im glad FNL is up there (now about those ratings..)
Greys for me shouldve plummeted waay down given the past season.
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7-12-2007 @ 11:57AM
Nick said...
Lost as #2 surprises me. It's like nobody remembers the beginning of the season before it went on hiatus when everyone was complaining and the show was losing viewers left and right. Sure, it had a GREAT season finale, but the quality of this year's show overall was certainly not up to Season 1's standard, possibly even Season 2's.
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