My best TV shows of the decade, with explanations! (For the record, there are still some shows I haven't finished watching that I think would make this list otherwise, like Six Feet Under.)
1. The Wire (2002-2008)
When I first started watching the show I probably thought it was kinda boring and slowpaced and I had trouble understanding the slang in it. But I'm sooo glad I stuck with it because once I realized how brilliant it is, I couldn't think of anything better. The Wire is just so realistic, shows many different sides of a society, and all of the many characters are strangely connected to each other even if many of them never meet. The casting is great; instead of going for famous actors they chose people, some off the street, who fit the roles perfectly. I've still got some episodes of the last season to watch, but I know they will be great just like the ones before.
2. Oz (1997-2003)
Ok ok some people say that Oz's finer moments were in the 90s, but I don't care, I liked this series as a whole. Oz is about a male prison where shit happens. I don't know why it's so entertaining to watch violent sick fucks play with each other, but it is. In Oz anybody can die at any time. I guess Oz showed a lot of things that I'd never seen on tv before (...) and in general was something completely unique. I was thoroughly entertained hohoho
3. Lost (2004-present)
Lost somehow has changed the way that I view television. There were shows earlier that made me not want to miss an episode, but not because it was essential to see them. Lost was the first show for me where you absolutely couldn't miss an episode or you would have no idea what was going on, or at least wouldn't have as much fun not knowing all the details. (Obviously I started watching The Wire later than Lost, lol) It's a show that keeps raising questions, and once in a while answers some of them. It had some low points, mostly in S2 and S3 (which is when most of those who stopped watching gave up), but once the creators got an end date for the show the writing obviously picked up, and S4 and S5 were great. Only final season is left now. The show isn't perfect, but I think if there had been no reason to do filler episodes between S1 and S4, it would be near perfect.
4. Buffy The Vampireslayer (1997- 2003)
Again a show where arguably the best moments were in the 90s, but whatever. I want to give props to Buffy because it's probably the first show that I've watched every episode of and because it's funny, smart, and has girlpower. lol The show had some of the funniest episodes of tv that I've seen, some of the saddest, and some of the most creative/random
It's definitely influenced me a lot and I really want to watch it all again one day.
5. Dexter (2006-present)
Maybe I shouldn't put Dexter here because 1) I've only seen two seasons of it so far and 2) it's quite new. But the thing about Dexter is that, at least in my experience, it doesn't have any bad episodes. It's pure quality. The premise of the show (an emotionally cold but still strangely loveable serial killer working for the cops) just got me instantly, and even after the main character has changed (now actually cares about the ones he's with), the same interest and fascination with him and his story is still there. It's just a strange but totally awesome omg show.
6. Bad Girls (UK 1999-2006)
Bad Girls is one of the shows that got obviously worse as time went by, but the moments that were good were very very good. This was a series about a women's prison in UK with realistic characters and fucked up storylines - kind of like Oz but with less butt rape. Dayum, I remember I used to be so excited at the beginning of each episode. I loved this show sooo much. It was also bizarre how one moment you could hate one character, then love her the next. I hear that HBO & Alan Ball have been planning on making a US version, and from those makers I would gladly accept it. But there seem to be no recent news, oh well :/
7. Big Brother UK (2000-present)
REALITY SHOW OMG. Well, because at its best Big Brother UK could be absolutely wonderful. The first and the best season of it that I've seen was the third one. The housemates were so real, entertaining and likeable. BBUK's strength has also been the creativity (&budget) of the staff in planning tasks that result in hilarious moments. Too bad in more recent years the casting hasn't been as good, or the show has been otherwise lacking... But at its prime, BBUK was very entertaining and gave us memorable characters (in a good way as well as bad).
8. Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)
OK this show lasted for only one season, but it was SO GOOD. Omg. Had both hilarious and heart-breaking moments. WATCH IT
9. Survivor (2000-present)
OH LAWD ANOTHER REALITY SHOW. Well, Survivor was like the father of all reality shows. I haven't watched the most recent seasons too much because I don't like the favourites that the show has recently had (like Russell? Ew, couldn't stand that for more than 2 eps). But at it's best, Survivor creates real suspense when you're not sure whose game plan is going to work out, provides funny moments and entertaining characters (who are real people omg), etc. Even if the show has been on for so long it still has surprising moments that make me go OMFGNOWAY, and that's something.
10. CSI (2000-present)
Actually I stopped watching CSI a long time ago, but I have to give it props because I did watch it for a long time and it also was something new in television when it started. The fact that the focus was on crime scene investigators (not cops) and bodies were shown not only from the outside, but inside as well was new... And CSI was probably the first of those crime shows that I started watching where each episode has a different crime. (Afterwards came Without A Trace and Criminal Minds)
11. Popular (1999-2001)
Lol this was just such a fun, part ridiculous teen high school show. I'm listing it for the lols.
12. Fringe (2008-present)
Ah this show is so so new but it has so much potential. The first season was ok-good, but the 2nd season has been great and I can't wait to see more. It's a nice mix of mystery (like in Lost) and a crime show where each ep is about a different case (even if all of them are connected to the same big mystery). And the main characters are very likeable :3
13. Skins (2007-present)
A fucked up British show about teens, but also one of the more realistic shows about teens. It's definitely not one of the greatest shows ever, but it's somehow quite different from any other show about teens that I've seen and deserves props for that.
OK I guess I should stop this list here D:
This makes me remember that I've lost the list I had of tv shows that I should watch, it had stuff like Six Feet Under and Veronica Mars and grrrr now I'll never remember. lol