BEST
1. Mad Men. The best show on TV.
2. 30 Rock. The funniest show on TV.
3. Lost. Just when I started to drift away from this show they pull off an amazing year.
4. Chuck. I really hope NBC sticks with this show. One of the more entertaining hours on television.
5. The Colbert Report. Both Colbert and Jon Stewart handled the election well this year, but Colbert did something special.
6. The Mentalist. My favorite new show and one that deserves all the ratings.
7. Burn Notice. With 30 Rock and The Office, Thursday is a great night of TV again.
8. The Late Show with David Letterman. Dave is always great, but he got involved in the election too and really shined.
9, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Sure, she may look like Palin, but that doesn't mean her impression would be automatic. Fey became a pop culture phenom this year.
10. Whatever, Martha. Really odd idea for a show, but it works.
Best News Promo:
Best Album By A Former Actor In An 80's Drug Commercial: Bright Fading Star, by Reid Maclean, from the "I Learned It By Watching You!" ad.
Best Commercial(s):
WORST
1. Bromance. This show came in at the last minute to grab the top spot.
2. The writers' strike. This is second, which tells you how bad Bromance is.
3. The Insider/ET/Access Hollywood/TMZ, etc. No explanation necessary.
4. Dr. Phil/Maury. Two television cancers.
5. Rosie Live. I'd still watch a variety show, but not like this.
6. The Emmy hosts. Uh...wow.
7. Whatever the title of that Jerry O'Connell show was. Really...what was it?
8. Last Call with Carson Daly. The case for running informercials late at night.
9. Knight Rider. Some things should stay in the 80's.
10. At The Movies (post-Ebert and Roeper). This could kill the film review TV show format.
Worst News Anchor: CNN's Rick Sanchez
Worst Commercials:
Also this ad for Extended Stay Hotels. I'm not even sure if it was on TV or just online, but it's just so bizarre that it must be mentioned:
Oh, and 98% of the political ads we had this year.
Seven greatest hand cannons in TV history
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-02-2009 @ 3:32PM
colby said...
Bob,
Best show for 2008: Friday Night Lights.
You probably didn't include it because it hasn't "officially" been broadcast on NBC until this month.
Reply
1-02-2009 @ 3:45PM
gabriel_delrio said...
surprised Heroes didnt make it to the worse list... otherwise, great recap!
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1-02-2009 @ 4:37PM
Todd said...
Actually David Letterman let his personal politics ruin his show for me this year.
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1-03-2009 @ 2:05AM
Jimmy said...
Ditto. I have watched Letterman almost every night since his move to CBS, and his pre-election shows were the worst I can remember in ... what has it been -- 16 years?
1-02-2009 @ 4:45PM
StillBash said...
Kill me now I agree with Bob. On all points...
Somebody call his house and check for the invasion of the bodysnatchers...
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1-02-2009 @ 5:38PM
Galley said...
That Panda commercial is beyond horrific.
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1-02-2009 @ 8:11PM
Midnight13 said...
I want to thank TV Squad (and Tricia Helfer) for getting me into "Burn Notice". During the first season the show wasn't even on my rader. Heard about here and there but never really sought it out. I checked out the season 2 premire and was pretty hooked. Just a shame how undersused Tricia Helfer ended up being on season 2.
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1-02-2009 @ 8:54PM
Vincent J. Murphy said...
"Whatever the title of that Jerry O'Connell show was. Really...what was it?"
I think it's called "I'm Sleeping with Rebecca Romijn, so I Think I Can Cope With Having a Series Cancelled"
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1-02-2009 @ 10:11PM
nick said...
I have tried and tried to watch 30 Rock, but I keep coming to the same conclusion. It's only mildly funny. And although I enjoyed him on SNL, on 30 Rock, Tracy Morgan is just not funny. And he can't act. His character is just one note. Don't even get me started on Jane Krakowski, who's beyond annoying. The rest of the cast is stellar though.
But the funniest show of 2008 was easily Big Bang Theory. Most people have never heard of the show or don't watch, but it is consistently funny. Even the guest stars are funny.
My second favorite comedy of the year would have to be the Office. This year wasn't as great as last year, but there were a couple of stand out episodes.
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1-03-2009 @ 12:40AM
C C said...
What I agree with in your list: Tina Fey, Letterman, and Colbert. They played critical roles in the election, using humor as a mirror to reflect and highlight what was going on to the American people in a way journalists couldn't.
What I don't agree with: Mad Men is the most overrated series in the history of tv, and I find 30 Rock aggravatingly inconsistent. I respect what Lost is doing, but I think Battlestar Galactica is the better sci-fi series. BsG's season finale was a killer. I prefer Fringe to The Mentalist (although Fringe has it's flaws).
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1-03-2009 @ 4:42AM
SJ said...
Don't watch The Shield or The Wire?
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1-03-2009 @ 6:03AM
Connor said...
Hey guys, I think you made a mistake on number 1, you misspelled "The Wire" as "Mad Men."
Thanks,
-Connor
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1-03-2009 @ 9:26AM
E1984 said...
I like 30 Rock but it's at best mildly amusing. Big Bang is great, but nothing this year filled Arrested Development's shoes. A fairly poor year for TV all round :-(
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1-03-2009 @ 10:27PM
Vincent J. Murphy said...
I vote that 2009 become the year when Arrested Development is forgotten and not brought up as either "a series cancelled before its time" or as "the pinnacle of sitcoms." Three season, couldn't find an audience, just get over it.
1-05-2009 @ 11:30AM
Jimmy said...
You left off an amazingly bad commercial: Toyota's "Saved By Zero."
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