And so it begins...

Allie and I are journalism students at Syracuse University, and we love TV so much that we decided to start writing about it. To go along with the biographical information we'll give you today, we'll both give you our top 10 favorite TV shows of all-time, so you know what our tastes are and where we're coming from. Coming your way soon will be recaps, more lists, interviews, and nostalgic looks back at some of our favorite shows that were gone too soon.

My name is Jenn, and I have lived in this frozen tundra called Syracuse my entire life. I couldn’t get enough of the sleet, ice, and negative wind chills, so I stayed another four years to get a degree in magazine journalism and political science. I started watching primetime television about 5 years ago; I think the first show I watched week-to-week was Dark Angel. For those who don’t remember (and who could blame you?), DA was James Cameron’s short-lived foray into television, back in the days when only its weekly audience of 5 million viewers knew what a terrible actress Jessica Alba was.

It was only when I got to college and actively started looking for ways to put off homework that I became the TV addict that I am today. Grey’s Anatomy, The Office, The O.C., Lost…I picked them all up in my first two years of school. Since then, I’ve picked up more TV shows than I really have time to watch, much less recap, and/or countdown to their season premieres (LOST starts in ONE WEEK, people!!). But somehow, I’ll mange to put off more history reading and article writing, because I love TV, quite possibly more than anything else in the whole world (SU basketball not withstanding).

Here's my top ten list. Obviously, these lists (which will be regular features on the blog) will be heavily biased toward recent shows, because that’s all that I’ve seen. I could also make a “worst of” list, but I think it’s better to celebrate the best then to remember the not-so-good. (I only escaped the whirlpool of hell that is American Idol last year…it’s been a long, hard road of recovery, but I’m doing my best). So, without further ado:

1) The Wire (HBO) This has got to be the greatest show in the history of television. A bold claim, seeing as I’ve already admitted to having limited TV experience, but this show changed the way I look at the world. Poverty, the drug trade, politics...this show handles it all in a way that’s made me re-examine my beliefs, and all while being consistently enthralling and entertaining. What else could you want from a TV show?

2) Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi) Dear NBC Universal, way to put out the Season three DVDS a full year after the season ended. XOXO, Jenn

3) Lost (ABC) SEVEN DAYS! SEVEN!

4) Band of Brothers (HBO) I know this isn’t technically a show, it’s a miniseries, but it’s beautiful, and I’ve seen it ten or eleven times.

5) Alias (ABC) If this was based on only the first two seasons of a show, Alias would be a lot closer to #2. But as it is, once that ridiculous Super Bowl episode happened and they married Vaughn to stupid Lauren in Season 3, this show went to the dogs.

6) The Office (NBC) The American version. Because John Krasinski is my future husband, Jenna Fischer is my future BFF, and I just can’t get enough of the wacky hijinks of Dunder Mifflin.

7) Arrested Development (FOX) Before Superbad and Juno, Michael Cera was on AD, doing the same geekily endearing shtick…all while crushing on his first cousin. It was awkward perfection.

8) The X-Files (FOX) Thanks to Netflix, I’ve been able to catch all of the good seasons – the ones before Mulder was abducted. This was the show that made me into the sci-fi geek I am today.

9) Firefly (FOX) Oh, Firefly. I still sob over your passing. I had never watched Buffy or Angel, so this was the show that recruited me to the cult of Joss. I don’t know if I can ever forgive FOX’s bungling of this beautiful sci-fi western.

10) Friday Night Lights (NBC) Loved the first season. LOVED it. Cried like a baby at what I thought was the best episode of television last year (pre-Lost finale), “State.” NBC thankfully renewed it, only to see the moronic “Landry kills Tyra’s attacker” plot introduced. My interest has waned slightly this season, but here’s hoping that the brilliant Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton get another season to get back the awesomeness of season one.