The Top TV of A Decade: A List

The Top TV of the Decade: A List

While 1990s television programs like The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Homicide: Life on the Street proved that the medium could compete with the film industry at a comedic and dramatic level, it would take until the 2000s, and the widespread use of DVD Players and Tivo, for television to be widely regarded as a legitimate art form. While television still did not have the budgets of studio films, creative TV producers realized that they did have something that film studios do not- a lengthy amount of time to produce a story. And with the power of the new technology, people could record or purchase entire seasons of a television series and treat them as though they were a film. Some series, as a consequence, stopped being episodically contained. Shows such as Lost and The Sopranos demanded a working history of the narrative out of their audience, and were more rewarding to the patient discerning viewer as character development and intricate story lines took place of immediate satisfaction and catch phrases. With that in mind, I present the five best comedies and the five best dramas of the last ten years.

Top Five Comedies:

5. “South Park”- With the thrill of little kids using bad language dulled, many viewers were curious if South Park could take its place as heir apparent to the Simpsons or if it would rely merely on shock value to sell cheaply made goods at malls across America. In reality, it pulled off both. South Park somehow got to the root of many of the century’s controversies, from the moral ambiguity of euthanasia to the smugness of the environmentally aware, without losing any of the Monty Python-esque absurdity that helped define it in its infancy.

4. “Curb Your Enthusiasm”- The inability of Larry David to let things be is the anchor of this mockumentary, a program dealing with the fictitious ins-and-outs of a high strung neurotic guy; who just happens to be a multi-millionaire famous for co-creating one of the most beloved television shows of all time (Seinfeld). Whether it be his profanity-laden yelling matches with Suzy, his manager’s wife, or his reluctance to give a best friend a kidney, the show excels because it humorously answers this question: what would you do if you had all the money in the world yet were unhappy? That answer: act like an inconsiderate jerk.

3. “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”- Accurately described as Seinfeld but far less self-aware and way more absurd, “Sunny” is a statement about the apathy and subsequent substance abuse that seems to plague many of the younger members of Generation X. But what makes it hilarious is the show’s characters: the mean-spirited but boyish Mac, the arrogant yet fragile Dennis, and of course, the learning-disabled, alcoholic, hopelessly-in-love, impoverished “cesspool,” Charlie. Unlike other modern comedies, “Sunny” never takes itself too seriously and as a consequence makes the characters, who are usually doing thoughtless, if not awful, things, strangely likeable and relatable. You must know your show is good if Danny DeVito decides to sign-on as a gun-obsessed divorcee with schemes so elaborate and frankly ridiculous even MacGyver would shake his head.

2. “Arrested Development”- The story of a once-entitled and now-shamed family has been a cult hit since Ron Howard’s baritone finished off the narration of the first episode. The show, a multi-character collage of what happens when idiocy and privilege meet, excels by mixing its endlessly self-referential humor with a genuine message about the meaning of family in these confusing times. But trying to write a concise two sentence statement about why the show is terrific is as misguided as trying to describe James Joyce with a Cliff-Notes, so I’ll just list a few of the more amusing things from the series: Tobias as Miss Featherbottom, Buster’s “loose seal,” Michael’s transparent self-righteousness, Lucille’s biting sense of humor, and, of course, the magician Gob. If you have no idea what those things mean, finding out is a worthwhile treat.

1. “The Office” (UK Version)- It only took Ricky Gervais twelve episodes and a two-part Christmas Special to create the funniest program of the last ten years. The show, a mix between the dryness of “Spinal Tap” and the absurdity of “The Simpsons,” is a statement about the crushing banality of office work very much in the same vein as Mike Judge’s “Office Space.” Gervais, however, treats his characters with a respect rarely seen in satires this sharp. Take Tim, the drop-out college student with a pension for pranks and an eye for the receptionist- instead of Gervais insisting that the guy is a loser or some sort of soulless drone, Gervais gives the character space to breath, and consequently there are few characters in television’s history as relatable. But the real star is Gervais’ David Brent, the oblivious, overeager boss who insists on referring to himself as “a friend first, entertainer second, boss third” in between participating in “dance offs for charity” and bar trivia questions about Russian authors. While the American version is funny, and does a good job of not trying to merely copy the humor of the British version, it falls short to the original because a lot of it feels like filler. To put it succinctly- “The Office” is the best comedic program of the last decade because it does what David Brent claims to hope to do- “put a smile on the face on all that [it] met.”

Top Five Dramas:

5. “Dexter”- This show not only put Showtime on the map, but also shot Michael C. Hall into stardom as the most convincing serial killer in recent television history. Hall is scary good as the titular character, a man compelled to kill by his horrific history yet feels a deep obligation both to the police force for which he works and the idea of family his father instilled in him. When the show is flowing smoothly, it plays like a well-structured mix between a cop drama and Dante’s Inferno - action packed, but never straying away from larger, more abstract questions. While the occasional lack of strong supporting characters makes the show drag at times, Hall’s Dexter is a performance for the ages.

4. “Breaking Bad”- The most recent entry on either list, “Breaking Bad” has wowed many who have seen it with its ability to weave the mundane with the extreme in a poignant way. The series revolves around a high school chemist who, in response to being diagnosed with cancer, decides to start manufacturing crystal meth to supply for his family. Cranston (who plays the main character) amazes as a man who is so confused at the brink of death that he feels the only thing to do is to fight in any manifestation possible. While “Breaking” is still in its relative genesis (about twenty episodes so far), it has the “wow” factor- whether it be from a car chase or a demented drug lord’s eating habits- that only comes from shows of the highest quality. I fully expect this to be in my “Best of 2010s” list.

3. “The Sopranos”- If it were not for this program, surely none of these other dramas would have existed. The killing yet loving, womanizing yet protective, understanding yet completely psychopathic Tony Soprano demonstrated first hand to television executives that the protagonists in a program need not be virtuous, but they do need to be likeable (or at least compelling). But while Tony is clearly the focal point of the show, “The Sopranos” is universally loved because of the relationships that the characters establish throughout the course of the program’s narrative. Whether it be Tony’s incredibly tumultuous relationship with all the women in his life, his wife Carmela’s guilt of living a life of ill-gotten excess, or his cousin Christopher’s desire to be a Hollywood big-shot while fighting a heroin addiction, the show’s creators created a living, breathing world unlike any that has been seen before or since in television. While there are some sections that lagged- specifically in the earlier parts of the last season- the show as a whole has maintained a quality most art only dreams of approaching.

2. “The Wire”- Whereas “The Sopranos” succeeded in creating a narrative world, David Simon’s “The Wire” excelled because of its ability to create a city from its lowliest addict to its most prominent political players. It accomplished this by setting the story up much like a novel, with every season being a chapter in the show’s unflinching look at urban decay. From the damaged yet noble Bubbles, to the damaging and unflinching Marlow Stanfield, the show did such an excellent job documenting the systematic flaws of urban life that Harvard plans to offer a course in it by next year. While the show is renown for its scope, it all starts with the dialogue, which is as authentic to Baltimore-speak as it is humorous and dazzling. “The Wire” is one of those rare pieces of entertainment where nothing could have been cut. While I have heard many complain that the longshoremen and journalism angles weren’t as strong as the show’s take on inner-city issues- an opinion I completely disagree with- it just goes to prove the point that “The Wire” was intended as a multi-perspective love letter and eulogy to Baltimore. Every breathless complement and every lauding article is right- “The Wire” transcends its medium quickly and justly sits by all major artistic endeavors of the last century.

1. “The Shield”- If “The Wire” is an almost-academic look at the multitude of issues that plague our cities, “The Shield” is its opinionated, snarling, pissed off cousin. Created in the wake of the Rampart Police scandal that rocked the city of Los Angeles, “The Shield” examines the “why’s” and “how’s” of police corruption. Also much like “The Wire,” “The Shield” examines this plight at many levels- from the arrested criminals to the substantially underpaid cops who are so susceptible to corruption, to the politicians who line their ballot boxes by exploiting the masses. But “The Shield” knows it focus, which is police corruption, whereas “The Wire” never seemed satisfied (or interested for that matter) in investigating just one part of the puzzle. As a result, “The Shield” does not have the quite kaleidoscopic feel that “The Wire” does, but this heightened focus on the police allows for considerably more character development and involvement than Simon’s show does.

Another substantial difference between the two shows is how they approach their subjects. “The Wire” makes a point of dignifying those who are society may deem wretched (such as drug dealers) but makes a point of dirtying those who our culture typically respect. “The Shield,” on the other hand, with its constantly moving camera, is unafraid of calling certain people (on both sides of the law) evil. To be frank, it’s a liberal’s view of city decay versus a cynic’s view.

In the end, “The Shield” is my #1 because it mixes the issue of family in with all the crime issues. Seeing Vic Mackey, as much of a bastard as he truly is, playing with his autistic kids, or in the crushing final episodes seeing the misguided Shane trying to comfort his family as they await their certain doom give “The Shield” an extra layer that “The Wire” rarely acknowledges- the personal. After recently watching the series’ finale again, it became apparent why I like “The Shield” more- it is because “The Shield” is about the fall of human nature whereas “The Wire” is about the fall of a city.