Let's get personal!

Hello, my lovely Freaks. This Friday, I thought I would do something a little different, and offer up a glimpse into my own personal TV fanaticism. I always find that annoying personal questions asking someone to rank their favorite things in numerical format are a great way to get to know them. And to weed out people who can't deal with my conversational anal-retentiveness.


My Top Ten Favorite TV Shows of All Time


You will notice that I said favorite above; this is on purpose. I do not claim that these shows are the best of television, though some of them are, but they are the shows I love the most. The shows I've watched and re-watched over and again, my TV comfort food. (Actual comfort food: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese) I love these shows like old friends, I can quote them mercilessly, and occasionally they make me realize things about my life and the world that I didn't know before. Or if not, then they make me smile after a bad day.

Which is good enough for me.


1. Friends

I'm honestly just not even sure where to begin about Friends. The show ran from when I was 12 until I was 22, which makes it pretty important as my favorite show during some formative years. I think it's also the show I have re-watched the most on this list, because it is the ultimate in comfort TV for me. I even watched episodes with French subtitles while alone abroad because I only had two "Best of" DVDs, and you gotta break that up somehow. The show, at its best, was hilariously funny, and even at its worst, still felt full of people I cared about.

I've seen this cast photo 100 times, and just realized that Aniston is wearing a sheet. Why? 

2. Will and Grace

This show was original, smart, and ballsy as hell. I spent the first four seasons of this show looking forward to it as the best part of my week, and I have spent many years laughing at it since then. Yes, it fell apart somewhat with the arrival of the baby plot and the (evil) Leo. But it became such a part of me and my friendships (Hi, CS!) that it feels like a reference for my life. Plus, it always has the perfect bitchy retort or witty comeback when I need it. 

3. The West Wing

What Will and Grace is to my college friendship, The West Wing is to the one with my Dad. It's a bonding experience, a point of reference for how we see the world and what we believe in. We believe in smart TV that is written by people who don't insult our intelligence, we believe in characters that struggle with big issues and life questions that sometimes don't have answers, and we believe that even the people doing the most important jobs in the world need to know how to laugh at themselves. West Wing was smart and funny, thoughtful and powerful, and dared to ask serious questions. Well, at least until Aaron Sorkin got kicked off for trying to take shrooms onto a plane. What was that I said about smart people?

Just be glad I did not use the fan-made collage of the cast as Star Wars characters.
Alison Janney was Chewbacca.

4. Sports Night

Aaron Sorkin also wrote the brilliant but cancelled Sports Night, a behind the scenes at a Sports Center type show. If you have not watched this show, do yourself a favor and Netflix it right now. Starring the later-to-be-famous Peter Krause, Josh Charles, and Felicity Huffman, this show is so smart and so funny I can't help but to break it out and re-watch every couple of years. I find something new to love about it every time I do.

I miss you, show. You were so much better than Studio 60.

5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Yesterday was the 14th anniversary of the airing if Buffy, which feels weird to me because I just managed to watch it last year. I became an instant fanatic. No, really. It was kind of a problem. It's just a super addictive show, with big twists and smart writing. Plus, sexy vampires. I also love it because it is one of those shows that everyone who has watched it in its entirety is willing to debate fervently, which I adore, and proceeded to do lots of after having watched it. For the record, I didn't hate Riley but I think Spike is hot; I loved Tara but I always missed Oz; and while "Hush" scared the crap out of me, I think "The Body" is one of the single best episodes of television ever.

Oh, god. We will not discuss the fan-made art found on this one.

6. Charmed

Before I delved into the Buffy world, I watched this campy knock-off version a million times. I love Charmed for being an unabashed guilty pleasure, for being light and silly and fun where Buffy was serious. There were crazy clothes, and time traveling escapades, and demons in Armani suits. Addictive guilty TV at its very best.

Seriously, what are you wearing, Milano?

7. Psych

While Monk really put USA on the map as a cable network with original programming, Psych was the one that really hooked me in. I adored Dule Hill on The West Wing, so I gave this show a shot on its premiere, and found a fun, sweet show with lots of pop culture references and self-referential humor. I love the chemistry between Hill's Gus and James Roday's Shaun, and I appreciate the show's willingness to embrace its own silliness to make me laugh. (For more on USA network's shows, check out my previous post here.)

8. How I Met Your Mother

HIMYM is full of more characters who feel like my friends, and it never fails to make me laugh. It's got genuine heart to it as well, with an eye to how real friendships work, and as I'm about the same age as the characters, can have moments of real poignancy in my life. I love the catchphrases and the crazy stories, and the fact that they sit at the same table every night, and that no matter what happens the characters support each other. I honestly don't really care how Ted meets the Mother, I just want to keep watching him having fun with his friends.

Whatever, Dad, tell us more about Barney and Robin!

9. LOST

LOST was not without its problems, and I still don't know how I feel about the finale, but it was one of the most audacious TV shows ever. It aimed high, and while it didn't always hit its mark, it left me with complicated characters dealing with difficult demons and a sense of mystery that it still maintains. I imagine it will still be a while before I can watch again, (I'll have to be ready to do some Juliet-related crying) but I will always think this show is the best idea of what TV can be.

I cried more here than I did watching Titanic, and I was a 14 year old girl when that movie came out.

10. Bones

Bones is not your average procedural due mostly to the chemistry between leads Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz. I adore the banter and the tension, and while I'd be perfectly happy for our will-they-won't-they couple to just go ahead, I know part of what has made the show so dear to me is the way it has toyed with my heart. I appreciate Bones for its humor, and while I have a list of complaints a mile long of the recent season, I still love every episode. I can always turn it on and enjoy it.

Which, I guess, is really all I'm looking for.

Yep. That's all I'm looking for.

Note from Meg: Apparently, in my scatterbrained rush to post, I completely forgot a vital addition to this list: Alias.

How in the hell did I forget this hotness? I am ashamed.

I apologize to my lovely Lady A, and assure all of my fellow Freaks that I love JJ's second TV outing with as much fervor as one can love a show (that's an uncomfortable amount for me) and that I have watched it many, many times over. Particularly the green shirt episode. Alias-lovers, you know which one I mean. Hotness.