Most notably and highly frakking sad in my opinion, is the continued disregard for Battlestar Galactica. I guess not enough people watch the show. I can only assume if it was on FOX, enough people would have seen it and voted it into this group.

Honestly…Grey’s Anatomy over BSG? Really?

On a happier note, I’m LOVING that Flight of the Conchords made the Top 10…that’s just outstanding. Good for them.

Can’t say much bad about the dramas (aside from Grey’s). Dexter from the four episodes I’ve seen so far is awesome, I heard amazing things about The Wire, and it’s cool to see Friday Night Lights get some more love. Not sure I still get the love for Boston Legal, but I don’t watch it, so who am I to judge?

I’m going to slap little asterisks next to my predictions for the five series who make it to the finals. There just MIGHT be a bit of wishful thinking in there, but I don’t care!

Comedy Series:

• Curb Your Enthusiasm*
• Entourage
• Family Guy
• Flight of the Conchords* (sleeper pick!)
  
• The Office*
• Pushing Daisies* (super sleeper!)
  
• 30 Rock*
• Two and a Half Men
• Ugly Betty
• Weeds

Drama Series:

• Boston Legal
• Damages*
• Dexter*
• Friday Night Lights
• Grey’s Anatomy
• House
• Lost*
• Mad Men* (sleeper?)
  
• The Tudors
• The Wire*

With the entire 2007-2008 season now under our belts, it’s time to look back and rank my favorite shows because I’m absolutely in love with ranking stuff.

What I’m going to do here is not rank shows solely based on quality. Sure, that of course goes into the equation, but a big part of this is just how much I enjoyed watching them. Was it a fun year? Was it a down year? Was a newer show just a heck of a lot more enjoyable?

So here goes (and you know Journeyman is going to get some love).

Mike’s Top 10 TV shows from 2007-2008

10. Friday Night Lights

Some of the shows I liked are almost hard to remember because it’s been forever since they were actually ON TV. This is still a good show and it rediscovered its magic as the season wore on. The good news is that it was renewed and we’ll be seeing the Dillon Panthers at least one more season.

9. Reaper

One of the lesser known shows on last year, this little cult hit deals with a guy named Sam who had his soul sold to the Devil before he was born, and now has to hunt and return escaped spirits from Hell back to where they belong. He has some friends that help him and a girlfriend he loves. And of course there is the Devil himself played by Ray Wise. Wise is a riot and brilliantly evil as Satan.

It’s a fun little show and the last two episodes of the season really changed the scope of the series and what we know about Sam.

8. The Office

The Office was a bit underwhelming this year, but still one of the best things on TV. Not sure what it was about it, but I just found it losing some steam. The finale was awesome though and hopefully next year picks right up where it left off.

My only hope is that the 30-episode order from NBC doesn’t dilute the comedy.

7. Breaking Bad

A weird little show on Bravo that was dark, funny and twisted. I love those kind of series, which is why Rescue Me is another of my favorites (when it is actually ON). Bryan Cranston really brought to life the story of a married teacher named Walt who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and sort of loses it.

6. The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I wasn’t sure about this series from the beginning. It started out a bit slow, I didn’t really dig the overall plot about taking down Skynet, but then David Silver from 90210 showed up and things changed. The show got much, much better and gave us some great moments, a few of them good enough to make your eyes water.

A fun show, lucky enough it got renewed for another season.

5. The Soup

Yeah, yeah, this show is on all the time, there really is no season for The Soup, but it was on during the writer’s strike and it gets points for that. Joel McHale is hilarious and the look-back each week at what happened in the world of television and entertainment never ceases to make me laugh non-stop.

Heck, the new quote at the top right of this page is from The Soup. I could probably use something Joel says every week for that spot.

4. Journeyman

I almost was hesitant to put this on the list for fear of bringing back the pain to those of us who loved this show with a passion, but here it is anyways. I totally loved Journeyman and the uniqueness they kept in every episode. I so very wanted to know why it was happening and where it was going to lead, but the show was canceled like all the other good series out there and we’ll never know.

We’ll miss you Dan Vasser and hopefully you are still out there rectifying the wronged pasts of good people.

3. 30 Rock

Another brilliant, hilarious season of 30 Rock. Tina Fey is probably my favorite actress on the planet right now and she can do no wrong with this show. The writing is quick-paced, witty and always, always fresh. Alec Baldwin never stops being funny and the rest of the cast rounds out one of the best comedies on TV.

Yes, it’s better than The Office. I said it!

2. Battlestar Galactica

I’m writing this before I’ve seen the episode this coming Friday, which could blow my socks off, but regardless, it’s still the second best show on TV. Which isn’t a bad thing, because it’s hard to beat Lost.

This season has perhaps not been as great as the past three, but a few episodes sprinkled here and there have been as good as any of the series. The bigger draw right now is seeing these characters change and how the whole thing is going to end. We’ll not see Galactica again until 2009 (besides some webisodes and perhaps a movie or two) and the break will be agonizing, but sometimes good things come to those who wait.

1. Lost

No question here what my favorite show on television is these days: Lost.

The season that just ended was brilliant and full of answers, questions, mysteries and dead people. Week to week, there isn’t a show that I anticipate as much as this one. The acting, the characters, the writing…the production…all top notch. It’s hard to remember seeing such quality in a TV show before Lost came around.

Case in point: Season 3′s finale was used in this past season’s finale to bring the series full-circle. That was remarkable and took major planning and foresight. You just don’t see that too often.

What about you guys?

You don’t have to list ten TV shows, but give us an idea of what your favorite shows were this year and why. Do you agree with any of mine? Are you surprised Gossip Girl didn’t make the list? *grin*

Honorable mentions go to Jericho, Pushing Daisies and Gossip Girl of course.

The CBS sitcoms “The New Adventures of Old Christine” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and “How I Met Your Mother” can each breath a sigh of relief this morning now that CBS has officially renewed them for another season. Both shows were considered to be “on the bubble” despite the fact that I personally think they’re two of the funnier shows on TV not called “The Office” or “30 Rock.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won an Emmy for her role in “Christine” which undoubtedly helped that show get another chance. What’s not helping the show is the network’s decision to constantly keep moving it around the schedule so that no one who wants to watch it can ever find it. It’s a funny show that will probably never get a real chance in the long run.

“How I Met Your Mother” was probably, ironically, saved by a couple of guest appearances by Britney Spears. The episodes featuring Spears were no where near the funniest of the season, but they got big numbers which not only prompted the renewal, but also talks of more Britney in future episodes.

Also getting renewed for next season was “Rules Of Engagement” another Monday night comedy and “The Unit,” one of CBS’s best dramas. CBS had already announced the renewals for “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men.”

Not so lucky were “Moonlight” and “Shark” both of which got cut from the line-up.

CBS has also picked up six new shows. According to the industry trade papers, CBS will formally announce today that it has ordered two new comedies — “Project Gary” and “Worst Week” — plus four new dramas — “The Mentalist,” “Harper’s Island,” “The Ex List” and “Eleventh Hour” for the fall season

Project Gary

The multicamera project from ABC Studios centers on an easygoing, recently divorced dad (Jay Mohr) who tries to navigate new waters with his ex-wife, to whom he was married for 15 years, his kids and his new girlfriend.

Worst Week

Show revolves around a young couple, played Kyle Bornheimer and Erinn Hayes, in pre-wedding mode navigating the idiosyncracies of their soon-to-be in laws. “That ’70s Show’s” Kurtwood Smith and “New Adventures of Old Christine’s” Nancy Lenehan star as the bride-to-be’s mom and dad.

The Mentalist

Features Simon Baker, starring in his third CBS drama, as a former “celebrity psychic� who admits the psychic claim was a fraud but now uses his observational skills to work as a contractor with law enforcement.

Harper’s Island

A horror story that unfolds during the course of a season as a group of friends meet on an island off the Seattle coast for a destination wedding and are terrorized by a killer. Directed by Jon Turteltaub

The Ex List

Based on an Israeli series about a woman who’s told by a tarot card reader that she needs to get married by year’s end. The twist is that the man of her dreams is supposedly someone she’s already known in her life. So, of course, the woman must journey through her past to find him.

The Eleventh Hour Elemental

Based on the limited British sci-fi series, centers on Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell), a special science adviser to the government who, with his female bodyguard Rachel, saves people from the worst abuses of science. Compared to “The X-Files.”

UPDATE
According to Wired, “The Eleventh Hour” has been renamed “Elemental.”

UPDATE TO MY UPDATE
The official CBS press release calls “The Eleventh Hour” simply “Eleventh Hour” and not “Elemental” as was reported on the Wired site. Right now we’re going with “Eleventh Hour” as the actual title.

I’m just saying.

Scrubs and 30 Rock both had their season finales last night, and I’m sad to report that the big Scrubs‘ Princess Bride (My Princess was the official title) episode directed by Zach Braff was sort of a dud.

Perhaps a lot of the disappointment came from the 5 minutes it took to figure out why Dr. Kelso was back in charge and Elliot’s ex-boyfriend suddenly in the picture again.

Obviously the episode was filmed very early on and meant to be shown awhile ago, but I guess they figured “save the best for last.”

Although in this case, it just wasn’t that great…at least for me. The homage to The Princess Bride really felt more like just a regular fantasy than the cult classic.

30 Rock on the other hand was absolutely brilliant once more. The political humor in this episode with Jack Donaghy going to Homeland Security and meeting his co-worker (played by Matthew Broderick) was priceless. Nothing works, they have no pens, there are no leaks and everything is just fine.

Tina Fey got pregnant and then wasn’t pregnant, because the Mexican cheese curls she was eating had a special ingredient…

I think 30 Rock is also so good because I really love the soundtrack they have for the background music. It’s so different from other shows and really helps keep the show moving fluidly.

Over on The Office, Jim Halpert has been motivated after being put on probation by Ryan last week, so he’s out trying to make a sale on the golf course.

Why he would bring Andy and Kevin is beyond me:

While Michael, Pam, Daryl and Oscar are out at a high school job fair, the rest of the crew contemplates why they are still at the office.

This clip below gives us my favorite line of the week (from Creed as usual) and shows Dwight’s current position of authority in the company.

I really enjoyed the episode last week when everything happened AT THE OFFICE, instead of these very popular field trips lately. It was only a tiny break though as we visit a golf course and a high school last night.

Don’t get me wrong, those things are still funny, but I just really, REALLY love the ones that are simply stories around the office.

What did you think of Scrubs, 30 Rock or The Office last night? Favorite lines?

It just happens. I can’t deny it.

Regardless, The Office and 30 Rock were plenty of comedy for me last night. The cold opening this week on The Office was one of their best ever. You have pretty much everything involved in it:

• Michael Scott with a horrible idea
• Jim making fun of him
• Kelly talking about entertainment
• Pam interpreting
• Kevin and Dwight running outside after Michael like two kids
• A Michael talking head with cement in his hair. Classic.

The clip is below, you can watch it over again if you want. I’ve done it three times and it never gets less funny.

I love the Angela ad-libs…TOO FRAKKING funny…all plain words…tall, nice, Mr. Smith, good, cat food. Are you kidding me?

Okay, and Pam forgetting contact solution and having to wear glasses was hoot. Michael took no prisoners.

“My God Pam, those make you look so ugly. Pam, in order to get hotter, you take the glasses off, you’re moving in the wrong direction.”

“I can’t even hear you, it’s just noise coming out of an ugly scientist.”

But the big event of the episode was Stanley going off on Michael. Michael keeps bugging him about an urban rap outgoing message, and finally he loses it and yells “DID I STUTTER?”

Hence the name of the episode.

We’ve never seen Stanley like this before. He and Michael talk later, and Stanley makes it openly known that he has no respect for him.

And that’s where Michael…actually displays some respectable actions. He tells Stanley that he can’t do anything about that fact, but he can’t disrespect him in front of his employees.

“Fair enough.”

I think that was actually something Stanley will respect him for.

So much other stuff happened. The Organization Chart, Dwight flipping Andy’s car and of course, Daryl’s telling Michael about being in gangs and tickling enemies.

30 Rock was just as funny as ever. It was sandwich day, which resulted in a great cameo by Brian Dennehy.

Liz Lemon’s ex-boyfriend, Floyd, was back and this resulted in one of my favorite clips from the episode below. Lemon tries to look like she’s got it all together, but needs a few props to do it:

“You’ll have to be more specific.” – Stop it Liz Lemon, you’re killing me here.

And then Jack Donaghy…trying to get his old job back from a comatose man. I absolutely died laughing when he walks out onto his new location in the building – Floor 12. It was like a cemetery down there.

At the end of the episode, Jack has suddenly been named by President Bush as the new Homeland Security Director for Crisis and Weather Management.

The plot thickens!

There are too many good lines in 30 Rock every week to mention them all. The whole “fear of Liz Lemon and getting between her and her food” was awesome.

“I’ll move to Cleveland when they get that Ikea. NEVER!”

What were your favorite moments from last night? Quotes?

But I did of course get to watch a stellar Office and 30 Rock, the latter of which made me laugh a heck of a lot more.

On The Office, I love how Ryan has basically transfered the annoyance people had on him as a temp, right to him as their boss at corporate. He’s such a little rat it seems, right down to that ugly beard.

The entire meltdown of the new Dunder-Mifflin Infinity 2.0 website was a riot. Social networks, predators (Creed) and downtime. So great to see Ryan’s big idea totally caving in around him.

The pressure appears to be so much that he’s doing drugs, which was find out as Michael and Dwight go “clubbing” on a Friday night where Ryan frequents. Some awesome moments there, especially Dwight and the little “hobbit” and Dwight turning town good-looking basketball chicks with a roll of his eyes.

“I’m not gonna call her.”

Fraking hilarious!

Meanwhile, Jim has a bright idea for everyone to get their extra work done Friday night so that they can have Saturday morning off.

You ever notice how Jim is really awesome, right up until he takes charge of something? Then he’s a miserable failure.

The good idea turns into a bust as they get locked in by the security guards who didn’t get notified by Jim that they were working late. Great stuff there, some awesome Stanley moments in this one.

Loved the “Who thinks Angela and Andy are a better couple?” and all the hands go up. Stop it, you’re killing me!

The best, most creepy moment of the night goes to Toby of course, that poor, poor soul who has never gotten over his silent love for Pam.

Do you think he’s really moving to Costa Rica?

30 Rock was a flippin’ riot. I cannot even remember all the good lines, but so much awesome happened in this episode that it’s almost too much to talk about.

Jack is trying to get the head honcho job at NBC, and has been fighting Will Arnett over it. Let me just say, Arnett has been flat-out awesome as a gay guy pretending not to be gay so he can marry the bosses’ daughter and get the job.

Two great stories stood out in this episode. One was Liz Lemon “going corporate”, while Tracy Jordan decides to leave his kids a legacy by making a “porn video game.”

The scenes with Liz all “business drunk” and rubbing elbows with the board members and Tracy in his frenzied state of “genius” writing out how to make the porn video game work were fantastic.

You really have to pay attention while you watch 30 Rock, because every line is funny for the most part. The colorful and unique ways the show is written is top-notch.

“Suck it monkeys!” – that’s gold.

Here’s the clip of my favorite part from 30 Rock last night.

So let’s hear your favorite moments from last night!

How about Toby leaping that fence like a gazelle?

I think it’s just because the show is so flippin’ awesome, it’s almost like a little holiday or festival around these parts.

And not only that, but we have Scrubs, The Office and 30 Rock on as well, so tonight is jammed packed with TV goodness. On a slightly lesser note, tonight’s Smallville also looks pretty awesome.

Now, remember (without groaning) that Lost is on at 10/9C from now on, meaning it’s an hour later than before. That’s good for those that want to watch the three NBC comedies above, and then get to watch Lost right after.

Of course, DVRers would rather it be on at 9/8c so we could then skip the commercials and get to bed at a decent hour.

No matter what, I’ll be the one up the latest most likely, as I slave over the recap just for your benefit.

Tonight’s episode, The Shape of Things to Come looks pretty thrilling and action-packed. Things explode, there is yelling and probably flashbacks/flash forwards.

Can’t wait.

That means Scrubs will move to the earlier 8:30 start time. This really isn’t surprising since 30 Rock is coming back next season for NBC, but this is Scrubs last run on the network.

As Variety says, NBC is also trying to capitalize on the pre-hype surrounding Tina Fey’s Baby Mama, which she stars in and is releasing soon.

Now that 30 Rock is on AFTER The Office, hopefully more people stick around to watch it. I’m not sure how much it affects those of us with DVRs, as we watch what we want, when we want, but I think a few of you out there should give this show a chance!

But at least we got to watch The Office last night, which was as hilarious as ever, with a bunch of crazy moments.

Michael is depressed over having broken up with Jan, and is desperate to find a woman so he can have kids before he’s old. But he’s such a pompous, clueless idiot, that Pam’s really nice landlady somehow eludes his tastes.

Yet I think Michael was more distraught over a girl in the office supply catalog that was sitting in a chair he was looking at. He fell in love with her, only to lose her in a matter of hours when Dwight informs him that she’s dead.

He hardly knew her.

Then there is the parking lot situation with a construction company taking up all the spots, thus forcing the employees to walk a half-mile every morning. This is bad for people that sweat, like Kevin, but also an issue if you have penny loafers with loose pennies.

Andy left his phone in the car and had to go all the way back to get it, prompting Phyllis to say “Call us when you get there so we know you’re okay.” Classic.

And to top everything off, we find out suddenly creepy Jim bought an engagement ring for Pam ONE WEEK after they started dating. Is that a bit weird?

But the fakeout at the end was perfect. Jim tells Pam that he’ll be proposing sometime, and when he does, it will kick her ass. So as the episode ends on their walk to the car, he gets down on one knee, looks up at Pam and says, “Hey Pam….will you wait for me one second while I tie my shoe?”

I have to say, he totally fooled me too! And I got fooled again when Michael and Dwight visit the graveyard. I don’t know why, you can call me an idiot (and Jina missed it too) but I didn’t connect the dead chairlady with the graveyard. I was thinking somehow Jan died between episodes which would have been insane!

Anyone else but me think the hopping from gravestone to gravestone by Dwight was hilarious?

Two moments killed me tonight though. The first was when Michael was set up with “Wendy” and called a Wendy’s…I was dying.

And finally, Creed wins the night with the greatest line that makes no sense:

“When Pam gets MIchael’s old chair, I get Pam’s old chair…then I’ll have two chairs. Only one to go.”

Here’s the clip:

What the frak is he going to do with those chairs???

So what was your favorite part of the episode? Favorite quotes?

Well, NBC is back. I know I don’t watch My Name is Earl, but others do and find it funny, so the fact that they have four popular comedies on in a row is pretty amazing.

The Office was hilarious as always, but almost a bit more awkward than funny at times this week. I still love the dysfunction that exists between Michael and Jan. They seem so in love, they call each other babe, they have a camera set up over their bed, yet Michael has to sleep at the foot of it on a couch and can’t have his beer sign up.

I loved the song written by Hunter, and JIm stealing it at the end. I was hoping the song would at some point say…”and her name was Jan….” so we knew it was written about her, but that never happened.

Good stuff, here’s one of my favorite clips from last night I liked. You can watch the entire episode over on Hulu.com (30 Rock and Scrubs too).

30 Rock…I know not as many people watch this as do The Office, but it’s just as funny sometimes, if not more so, and written just as well. Last night’s episode had a mysterious quote in the paper said by one of the NBC employees, who were all busy watching the hit reality series, MILF Island, which just cracks me up.

The way Alec Baldwin is so in love with MILF Island is hilarious. Anyways, here is a clip below. Liz Lemon is the one who said the horrible quote, and who also can’t stand MILF Island, so you’ll see how she in fact acts just like one of the MILFs.

“Listen to me little Abner, keep your fried baloney hole shut!”

Hilarious!

I didn’t get to finish watching Scrubs, but I enjoyed what I saw so far. Turk speaking Spanish now, and getting his wife to make him “brinner” and ignoring sex is classic Scrubs.

And the little high-five moment between J.D. and Turk…when J.D. adds the “down low”…hilarious!

All in all, a good return for NBC’s comedy night…looking forward to next week as usual.