2000

The television writing staff at The Associated Press has listed their Top 10 TV shows of the decade. The exact criteria of the list remains uncertain, but I believe it's based on the impact of the shows on popular culture.

It's a good list. The only show on it I would question would be The Shield. In its place I would likely put Firefly or Family Guy, either of which proved that poor initial ratings do not translate into the failure of a franchise.

The Internet changed television when it came to popularity in the 1990's. The concept of a continuing storyline in a series became a necessity. Shows like Babylon 5 would not have survived the first season without it. In the 2000's, it was more of the same allowing for shows like the aforementioned to be given life after death and even restart certain franchises (Futurama).

What do you think the next decade will bring?

I was reading a story over at Entertainment Weekly about whether or not 1984 was the greatest year for movies ever (answer: no). It got me thinking: what's the best year for TV show debuts in history?

There are a lot of choices. In 1994 we saw the premiere of Friends, ER, The Game Show Network, Due South, Touched By An Angel, My So-Called Life, and Inside The Actors Studio. Or how about 2000, which saw the debuts of Survivor, Ed, CSI, and Curb Your Enthusiasm? And 2004 wasn't too shabby either, with the launches of Lost, Rescue Me, Entourage, Veronica Mars, House, and Desperate Housewives.

If you don't remember the presidential election debacle in Florida in 2000, here's a brief summary of what happened:

First, networks declared Gore the winner, then they declared Bush the winner, then they decided it was too close to call, then they decided no one was the winner, then they decided Bush and Gore were figments of our imagination, then James K. Polk was posthumously re-elected and immediately impeached within a six-minute time frame, and then after that it just got really confusing.