Wow, you would question the Shield?? The Shield changed how free cable stations were viewed and what they were allowed to broadcast. It put FX on the map. Not to mention it was a high quality show, with great characters and had one of the greatest pilot episodes of all time.

I also agree that 24 needs to be mentioned here. It's real time concept and anti-terrorism theme in the wake of 9/11 were groundbreaking and the character of Jack Bauer is one of the iconic characters of the decade.

http://tvnewsandnotes.blogspot.com/

This is not a "best of the decade" list. It's more of a "zeitgeist" list, that is, programs that influenced pop culture and established new trends on television. That's why "The Wire", which many consider the best series this decade, is not on here.

CC, OZ put HBO on the map, not The Sopranos.... and any list without "The Wire" for best show of the 2000s is an incomplete list.

But, when doing these lists, comedies, dramas, etc should be separated, not lumped together because there were plenty of good sitcoms out there.

24 is the series of the 00's. Most people just don't realize it yet....

Outside of that, I'm OK with this list (Mad Men's not on it! Yay!). I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of The Sopranos, but it did put HBO on the map, leading to the development of other quality shows (Big Love, Six Feet Under, Rome, In Treatment), and it forced Showtime to enter the original series game. Daily Show? American Idol? No question. I'm not sure The Shield deserves to be on here. Yes, it was one of the first dramas on basic cable, but you could make an argument for Monk boosting the USA Network's profile as being more influential.

I think 24 deserves mention.
It's kind of become a joke now, but it seemed so unique and original when it first aired. And I feel like it paved the way for alot of the serial stuff on network TV that came later.

I agree with all those who say without The Wire on this list it is a joke, though I would use stronger language normally to voice my objection.

Happy to see that I am not the only one that fails to see the Firefly be anything more than a slightly better than average series...

Sorry, but a list like this without The Wire isn't really a list at all. It's a joke.

You've got to be kidding. You would leave the Osbournes and High School Musical (which is really a tv-film not a show) while removing the Shield for Firefly (and how did it over come low ratings? By having a poorly viewed movie?) or the idiotic Family Guy. And you actually get paid for this gig?

I'm sorry, but Joss Whedon fanatics have taken 14, FOURTEEN, episodes of Firefly and overblown its significance way beyond reason.

There must be at least three seasons of The Shield that simply obliterates it in terms of plot/acting/significant events.

The Wire is a better paced and better-executed version of the Shield, so I can understand there being some overlap.