Merry Ludachristmas: The 5 Best Shows of 2007

Over the next couple of weeks everything from the New York Times to the Billings Outpost will trot out their annual top ten lists for music, movies and television. And in addition to the number ten, these lists will all have two things in common. First, they'll be filled with look-how-smart-I-am prose, including at least one mention of the term "economical," the critical buzzword of 2007. (Example: "Dexter features not only the most exquisitely sharp dialogue in the television landscape, but a perfectly economical way with its storytelling.")

And second, they'll all contain at least two off-the-reservation picks that scream "I am way cooler than you." (I predict that Tell Me You Love Me will be at the top of more than a few of the year end lists--a show that will allow writers to fill both of the aforementioned quotas.)

Here at 42 Inch Television however, I'll have none of that. (Well, except for the look-how-smart-I-am prose, because come on, that's what makes you want to read this, right?) Nope, in lieu of a dusty old top-ten list, I'm flipping the script! That's right, no top-ten lists here. Because let's face it: top ten lists are sooooooooooo 2006. Five is the new ten. And with that in mind, as part of my moderately successful 42 Inch Tele awards, I'm presenting to you (sfx: drum roll) 42 Inch Television's Top Five List.

5. Chuck, created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak

Why I chose it: Of all the shows on this list, nothing brought a smile to my face more than Chuck did over the past few months. There's a joy running through the veins of everything on screen that is positively contagious. This is easily the most likable show of the year. Surprised? Me too. After the pilot, I thought Chuck would not only be canceled, but be off-my-radar by 2008. Now? I can't wait until the writers strike ends so I can see more.

The moment it landed on my top-five list: The end of the 10th episode featured a montage of the love triangle between Chuck, Bryce and Sarah set to Band of Horses' epically small ode to past relationships "No One's Gonna Love You." (sample lyric: Anything to make you smile/You are the ever-living ghost of what once was/I never want to hear you say/That you'd be better off/Or you liked it that way.) There's a good chance I watched this scene twenty times. For what it was, it was absolutely perfect. And now that Jim and Pam are together where else am I supposed to get my weekly allowance of unrequited love?

4. The Sopranos, created by David Chase

Why I chose it: The final nine episodes of The Sopranos are akin to Brett Favre's 2007 season. For the past decade, Brett Favre has always been considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, even when he really wasn't (cough, 29 interceptions in 2005, cough). This year though, in what could be his final season, he's put together a run that not even the most ardent Packer fan probably thought he was still capable of. He's the crafty veteran reminding everyone why he was considered so iconic in the first place. That's the final season of The Sopranos. It was always "good," but the final nine episodes reminded everyone just how truly special it was.

The moment it landed on my top-five list: It would be easy to pick any of the nine episodes, but of all of them, Chasin' It stands out most in my mind. Written by Matthew Weiner (what a surprise), Chasin' It included some of single best lines of the season. My personal favorite? When Tony screams at Carmella for not letting him bet on the New York Jets using the money she got from selling her spec house: "we could've taken your bulls$#t and turned it into a million dollars! Did you ever think for a minute I might actually know what the f#$k I'm doing!?" It's the perfect encapsulation of both Tony Soprano and the show he inhabited: hilarious, horrifying, violent and completely unforgettable.

3. Mad Men, created by Matthew Weiner

Why I chose it: Of all the new shows on television, nothing captured my imagination the way Mad Men did. Taking equal parts of The Sopranos and The Apartment, former Sopranos producer and writer Matthew Weiner (remember him?) managed to out do even David Chase when it came to introspective musings on machismo. He's also helped by impeccable set design and costuming, brilliant writing and what could be the best cast on television. Jon Hamm deservedly gets a lot of the credit and plaudits for his portrayal as "war hero" Don Draper, but everyone on the show is pitch-perfect. The actors are all in such synchronicity with each other that it's really hard to imagine the show working as well as it does without even one of them.

The moment it landed on my top-five list: Mad Men was going to be on my year end list no matter what. But this moment from the season finale put it over the top. Watch it. Live it. Love it.

2. 30 Rock, created by Tina Fey

Why I chose it: After a mediocre first episode to start season two (Hello Jerry Seinfeld!), I was extremely concerned that 30 Rock might slip into the dreaded sophomore slump that always seems to befall television phenomenons and critical smashes. And then the second episode completely set me at ease. (Hello Will Arnett!) Enough cannot be written about the job Tina Fey has done with this show. Not only has she proven that, despite what Jerry Lewis might think, women can actually be funny, she's also managed to keep 30 Rock on the cutting edge of the popular culture grid. You can't have a Lemon party without old Dick, and you can't have 30 Rock without Tina Fey. We're looking at "the funniest show of the year" for as long as it's on the air. And hopefully that'll be for a while.

The moment(s) it landed on my top-five list: The Rural Juror. Dr. Spaceman. Prince Gerhardt. Grizz. Dot Com. The Source Awards. "She's a Murphy. Bunch of mud farmers and sheep rapists." Mentor and manatee. Donaghy Estates. Cleveland. Elaine Stritch. Will Arnett. The Japanese porn star diet. "I have, like, twelve grand in checking."/"Are you an immigrant?" Greenzo. Tiger Orgasm. "People are going to show up expecting all this great stuff and they're going to be disappointed and angry."/"Just like Colonial Williamsburg." Sonny Crocket. Harlem Globetrotter. Capulet's and Romulan's. Raheem. If you see something, say something. "For men, it's called a Hardy Boy." A Dog Took My Face and Gave Me a Better Face to Change the World: The C.C. Cunningham Story. Scheinhardt Wigs. Photo Shredder. Ludachristmas.

1. L O S T, created by J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof

Why I chose it: Every show on this list was more consistent than LOST. And none of them went through the storytelling rut that ABC's science-fiction hybrid did. Yet, when the dust settled on the third season, what was left behind was the single best television watching experience of 2007. Sure there were stinkers (the back story about Jack's tattoos should have remained a mystery), but by and large, episode after episode was pure joy and perfection. LOST is the most ambitious show on television, an intense character study of misfit toys and wounded souls wrapped in the trappings of an extended Twilight Zone episode. It's a balancing act that would make members of Cirque de Soleil green with envy. And that's the key to LOST's success. You come for the mythology, which peels back, layer after layer, like an onion, but you stay for the character moments: Charlie's greatest hits list, Sawyer's Han Solo wise cracks and simmering sadness, Kate's feminine vulnerability and masculine attitude, and Jack's utter hubris. In 2007 no show featured the economical storytelling (ha!), across-the-board superlative acting and moments of genuine shock and awe like LOST did. I laughed. I cried. I was amazed.

The moment it landed on my top-five list: There were plenty of scenes that left me mouth agape, but none were more powerful than the look on Sawyer's face (Josh Holloway, underrated in his gruff brilliance) after he killed Anthony Cooper, better known as the "original Sawyer." It was the look of a man who waited his entire life to do something, only to realize that he really didn't want to do it at all. That all the waiting and wanting, in the end, wasn't even worth it. That look epitomized the puzzle that is LOST. There is always something else going on just below the surface. When LOST was good, it was the best show of the year. Thankfully that happened more often than not. Like Jack said in the last moments of the finale, "we have to go back!" He's right. We do. January 31st, 2008 cannot get here fast enough.