Lists: Read 'em and Weep (Or Cheer)

In the last week, there have been two TV-related lists released that (like all lists) provide many topics for argument. First there is the Top 50 TV Comedies of All Time, from AOL. Then, the British magazine Empire took it one step further and named their Top 50 Television Shows of All Time. They both cam to the same conclusion, funnily enough. Empire's list is heavy on the sci-fi, heavily tilted toward shows premiering in the last 15 years, and has a sizable complement of British shows that aren't familiar names.

The Empire list boasts some pretty...interesting choices, most notably "Heroes" at #15. One good season and a half of a crappy season does not a top-15 TV show make. Perhaps displaying some British bias, they include the UK version of "The Office" but not the American version. The Top 10 is fairly solid, however, both "Friends" and "24" beat out "The Wire," (which comes in at #8).

What do you think? I think it's a daunting task to name the best TV shows of all time, especially if you're going to waste a Top 10 spot on a sitcom about the sex lives of vapid 30-somethings. But that's just me.

Wednesday's Top Twelve: Shows I Should Watch

There aren't enough hours in the day for all of the television I want to watch. Which is why God invented Netflix. But on a college student's budget, one-at-a-time unlimited isn't the best way to watch seven seasons of the West Wing. But someday, perhaps when I have a job that only requires a four-hour workday, I will catch up on these 12 shows:

12) The West Wing (7 seasons, 155 episodes)
11) Rome (2 seasons, 22 episodes)
10) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (7 seasons, 145 episodes) This is inexcusable, especially considering that I'm sharing a blog with the biggest Buffy fan of them all. I love Joss, and I love James Marsters, so I'm sure I'll get around to this...someday.
9) Bones (2+ seasons, ongoing) What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good unrequited love story.
8) 30 Rock (1+ seasons, ongoing) It's on right before The Office and Scrubs, so it just makes sense to watch. And I'm tired of getting mad at Alec Baldwin for taking away Steve Carell's awards without giving him a fair look.
7) Deadwood (3 seasons, 36 episodes) I only got HBO last year, so I have to play catch-up.
6) Felicity (4 seasons, 84 episodes) I can't call myself a full member of the cult of J.J. until I watch his first TV series.
5) Weeds (3 seasons, 37 episodes) The first season is actually in my Netflix queue. I'll get there eventually.
4) How I Met Your Mother (3+ seasons, ongoing) I'm tired of hearing about Robin Sparkles and not knowing who she is. Also in the Netflix queue.
3) Mad Men (1 season, 13 episodes) Yeah, as soon as AMC hurries up and actually releases it on DVD. I'm WAITING!
2) The Sopranos (6 seasons, 86 episodes) Again, I'm way behind the HBO curve. I'll get there.
1) Veronica Mars (3 seasons, 64 episodes) I really should have tuned in earlier, but at least I saved my self the heartache of the "cancelled/not cancelled/skipping ahead 5 years/switching networks/sill cancelled" game.

There we go! By my rough math, I have 45 seasons, 811 episodes, and right around 770 hours of television to watch.

Thursday Top Five: The Office is BACK, and we're celebrating

Tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC, our long national nightmare will come to an end. That's right, "The Office" is back after a long, LONG four-month hiatus. In fact, all of NBC's Thursday night comedies are new tonight, so after I suffer through an hour of American Idol results, I can cleanse my soul with "30 Rock," "The Office," and the soon-not-to-be an NBC comedy "Scrubs."

To celebrate the return of Jim and Pam (and all of our other favorite Dunder-Mifflinites), today's top five will celebrate relationships, the successful, the adorable, and the frustrating. In reverse order:

Honorable Mention: The "Most complicated but oh-so-intriguing" relationship: Starbuck & Apollo (Katee Sackhoff & Jamie Bamber, "Battlestar Galactica")

Will BSG creator Ron Moore put these two star-crossed lovers (?) together at the end of this, the final season? It's been foreshadowed all the way since "I thought you were dead," in the miniseries. These two have had to endure a dead brother & fiance, marriages to other people (one of whom is a cylon), their own emotional shortcomings, and now the fact that Starbuck is back from the dead and no one knows why. Is the "Starpollo" 'ship doomed to sink? We've only got 19 more episodes to find out, but I still believe, especially after seeing the "Unfinished Business" extended cut on the Season 3 DVD set. They're destined.

5) The "Who in the hell kept them apart for so long?" relationship: Luke & Lorelai (Scott Patterson & Lauren Graham, "The Gilmore Girls")

I absolutely love the final episodes of Season 4, starting with "Luke Can See Her Face." It's the culmination of four seasons of romantic tension, and when they finally kiss on Lorelai's front porch, I challenge anyone not to at least cheer a little. Luke may be the only one that can handle Lorelai's neuroses, but the producers only gave us, like, one season total of the two of them being happy, before Luke inexplicably becomes an asshole in season 6 and then Lorelai inexplicably gets married to Christopher in season 7. Thankfully, she divorces Christopher and sings "I Will Always Love You" to Luke near the end of the final season, and they live happily ever after. Alas, it is in a world in which Lauren Graham does not have an Emmy and William Shatner does.

4) The "So gay it's not gay" relationship: Turk & J.D. (Donald Faison & Zach Braff, "Scrubs")

What can I say? YouTube "Guy Love Scrubs" and you will witness the hands-down best male friendship on primetime TV. College roommates who grew up to work at the same hospital, Turk and J.D. redefine man-crush into man-love. Besides "Guy Love," the best moment in their relationship is when Turk comes home from his honeymoon with Carla, only to have a joyful reunion with J.D. at the hospital.

3) The "For God's sake, just DO IT already" relationship: Mulder & Scully (David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson, "The X-Files")

Ah, the days of X-Files and years of Mulder and Scully not kissing. First there was the forehead kiss in "Momento Mori" that should have been so much more. (She had CANCER, dammit, just kiss already!) Then there was the kiss-that-wasn't in "Fight the Future." Stupid alien-vaccine bee had to go and interrupt the almost kiss. Oh, and let's not forget "Triangle," where Mulder was trapped in the Bermuda Triangle in 1942 and kissed the Scully look-alike, only to wake up on a raft and discover that it wasn't the real Scully. FINALLY, we had "Millennium," where the real Scully and the real Mulder kissed each other on the lips at the stroke of midnight. Then there was "All Things," the did-they-or-didn't-they sleep together episode. It all culminated with "Existence," when Mulder (returned from his abuction experience) and Scully kissed over their weird alien baby. And then Duchovny left the show.

2) The "Wow, married life doesn't look so bad" relationship: Coach & Tami Taylor (Kyle Chandler & Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights")

On FNL, the adult relationship between Eric & Tami is the heart of all things awesome. They bicker and they tease, but they love each other, and it is beautiful.

1) The "Oh, my God, could they BE any cuter?" relationship: Jim & Pam (John Krasinski & Jenna Fischer, "The Office")

Of course, it had to be them. And I apologize ahead of time for the cheesiness and poor production value of the video I'm about to embed, but no amount of gushing on my part can accurately describe the cuteness that is Jim & Pam. It has to be witnessed. And it's back on my TV tonight!!

Weekend Top Ten: BSG Moments

Allie and I have been insanely busy, so unfortunately we didn't make the usual Tuesday Top Ten this week. But that's OK, because now we can start preparing for a week of Battlestar Galactica coverage heading into its fourth-season premiere on Friday night. Allie and I are both huge fans, so needless to say, it has been a difficult year without Lee, Starbuck, Laura, and Tigh on our TV screens. Like I did for Lost before its long-awaited return, here are my ten favorite BSG moments of all-time. (With help from a couple of BSG-fan friends, Jeremiah and Julie) One thing we noticed is that unlike Lost, which produces tons of great "moments," BSG produces great episodes. For example, any BSG fan can tell you that '33' is one of, if not the best, episode of the series. But it doesn't have any stand-out "moments," it's just a fantastic all-around episode.

Honorable mentions: Death of Pegasus (Exodus, Pt. II), Six snaps the baby's neck on Caprica (Miniseries), "I miss you." "I miss you too." Kara & Lee have a boxing match (Unfinished Business), Lee (almost!) drops his towel (Final Cut) -- Yeah, I'm shallow, and Jamie Bamber is gorgeous. So what?

10) "As of this moment, we are at war." (Miniseries.) The culmination of everything the audience has seen from the opening shots, and the 45-minute build-up to the declaration of war builds tension slowly and carefully all the way to Adama's speech to his ship.

9) Pegasus appears on the dradis. (Pegasus) Another battlestar! More colonials! Before we found out that Cain was a murdering bitch, the sight of another surviving ship lifted everyone's spirits.

8) Opening the Tomb of Athena. (Home, Pt. II) The moment when Kara realizes that they're all standing on Earth, surrounded by what we know as the Zodiac symbols, made everyone -- including Admiral Adama -- believe that they might actually get to earth one day.

7) The Cylons find New Caprica. (Lay Down Your Burdens, Pt. II) This is a season finale to beat all other season finales. But the sight of the centurions marching through rows of colonialists remains my lasting image of the episode. "Fight 'em 'til we can't," says Kara. So say we all.

6) The Blackbird is named Laura. (Flight of the Phoenix) As my (very manly) friend Jeremiah said, this was the moment that even men would cry at.

5) "I'll see you on the other side." (Maelstrom) Kara says good-bye to Lee. And the entire audience says "NOOOOOO!"

4) "All Along the Watchtower." (Crossroads, Pt. II)

3) Boomer shoots Adama. (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Pt. II) We all knew Boomer's programming would kick in eventually, but did it have to right after the successful destruction of the Cylon basestar? I mean, sending us off into the long wait between seasons one and two was very, very cruel when we knew that approximately half of Commander Adama's blood had already been spilt on the table in CIC. Thank the gods the Old Man recovered before Tigh ran the fleet into the ground.

2) "I've been to earth. I know where it is. And I'm going to take us there." (Crossroads, Pt. II) From a personal standpoint, the shrieking started with the reveal of the four cylons, increased when Starbuck appeared, and then crested with the spiral pull-back to our Earth.

1) Galactica jumps into New Caprica's atmosphere. (Exodus, Pt. II) Could it be anything else? Someone on televisionwithoutpity.com called it Adama's "Psychotic Act of Badassery." I think that sums it up perfectly. It also won the BSG team a visual-effects team an Emmy for this episode.

Only six days to go! And The Office is back a week later! I'm so glad my shows are coming back.

The Slacker's Top 5

So, it's about two hours past Top 10 Tuesday and I'm lagging way behind Jenn with my half of this week's Top 10. It's been a crazy day. So crazy that there was no time for TV, which is extremely sad. Also sad is my puny Top 5 list, but without further whining, here are my top 5 reality contenstants:

5) Caridee English, American's Next Top Model, Season 7
4) Harold Dieterle, Top Chef, Season 1
3) Kara Saun, Project Runway, Season 1
2) Kelly Clarkson, American Idol, Season 1
1) Christian Siriano, Project Runway, Season 4 (I know I gave him a tough time on this blog, but I have come to love him)

Tuesday Top Ten: Reality Contestants

With the massive amounts of reality TV coverage coming to TCB over the next few weeks, we thought we should embrace it and celebrate it with a Top 10 list of our favorite reality contestants. Admittedly, the lists are pretty limited, because Allie and I don't watch too many reality competitions, but here's my half of the list.

5) Danny Tidwell (So You Think You Can Dance, Season 3) I loved almost all of the men of season 3 (Jesus, Hok, Cedric, Dom, Pasha, Neil), but in terms of sheer breathtaking talent, Danny leaped above the rest (literally). Incredibly, he landed in the bottom three couples several times, but he always saved himself with his solos, and made it all the way to the finals, where his solo to "We Are the Champions" was my favorite solo dance ever.

4) Clay Aiken (American Idol, Season 2) If this list had been complied, say, four years ago, Clay would have been #1. I was as big a Claymate as there was - his finale performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" gave me chills for years after. I maintain to this day that something went wrong with the phone lines and/or Fox fixed the outcome, and he's the true winner of Season 2.

3) Benji Schwimmer (So You Think You Can Dance, Season 2) During his run to the Season 2 crown, Benji took adorkable-ness to a new level. He was a geek and was seriously proud of it. He had a magnetic personality and I looked forward to watching him dance every week.

2) Elliott Yamin (American Idol, Season 5) While Taylor Hicks was twitching and stomping his way to the S5 crown, Elliott was tearing it up week after week, starting in the early semifinal rounds. His performance of "Trouble" during Top 4 week was my favorite of many great performances that year. When Hicks and the talent-less Katherine McPhee made it past him into the finals, I lost all faith in American Idol, and gave it up for good.

1) Apolo Anton Ohno (Dancing With the Stars, Season 4) Partially due to the cuteness of his pairing with Julianne Hough, but Apolo (who I already loved from the Olympics) won me over by being funny, charming, and a great dancer.

Tuesday Top 10: The Wire Edition

In honor of the series finale "-30-," I'm doing three lists this week. (Because ten times three is thirty, get it?) These are lists that constantly change, and will probably change again after the finale. This is what I do when I'm bored in class.

Top 10 Favorite Characters:

Honorable mentions: Chris, Gus, Rhonda, Sydnor
10) Norman
9) Brother Mouzone
8) Bunk
7) Michael
6) Bodie
5) Lester
4) Daniels
3) Carver
2) Stringer
1) Omar

Top 10 Least Favorite Characters:

Dis-honorable mentions: Brianna Barksdale, Rawls, Namond, Royce
10) Officers Walker and Colicchio: The one-two punch of awful.
9) Avon
8) Herc
7) Delonda Brice
6) Johnny
5) Ziggy
4) Templeton, Klebanow, Whiting: Season 5's cartoonishly bad villains belong together.
3) Kenard
2) Clay Davis
1) Levy

10 moments I'll remember:

"Where's Wallace, String?"

Bodie and McNulty's final scene in the park. "I feel old."

Stringer and Avon on the balcony. "We don't need to dream no more."

Omar takes the stand against Bird.

The aftermath of Kima getting shot.

Dukie and Michael saying good-bye to Bug.

Carver and Randy at the hospital. "You gonna help, huh? You gonna look out for me?"

Bunk tries to burn his clothes.

Chris beats Bug's father to death.

"Lex is in here."

Ten for Tuesday

Today's top 10 is a list of my favorite TV characters of all time. Again, these things are freakin' hard. When I made my initial list, I had over 30 names. Narrowing it down to the 13 that appear here was (in some cases) heart-wrenching. And obviously, these lists are limited to the shows that I've watched. Because I know Al Swearengen is quite the character, but I've never seen "Deadwood." In making the final decisions, I looked for a scene or two that really pulled me to the character.

Those who just missed out/honorable mentions: Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff, "Battlestar Galactica"), Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford, "Friday Night Lights"), Gob Bluth (Will Arnett. "Arrested Development")

10) Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman, "Heroes") I always think of that scene from "Company Man," on the bridge with Claire right before the Haitian wipes his memory. That was a beautiful moment in (my opinion) the best episode of "Heroes" ever.

9) James Ford/"Sawyer" (Josh Holloway, "Lost") I think Sawyer's usually at his best tossing around snide remarks and new nicknames, but his most emotional moments wer in last season's episode "The Brig," when he finally confronted the real Sawyer and read him the letter he wrote as a young boy...and then killed him.

8) Major Richard Winters (Damian Lewis, "Band of Brothers") The only real-life figure on this list, Winters is too good and too noble not to be included. I think my favorite scene of his from the miniseries is in the final episode, "Points," when his former commanding officer, the uber-pain-in-the-ass Capt. Sobel has to salute the now-higher-ranking Winters.

7) Dr. Addison Montgomey (Kate Walsh, "Grey's Anatomy"/"Private Practice") Really, she was supposed to be the one we all rooted against. She was the one keeping Meredith and Derek apart. But as Meredith became increasingly whiny and intolerable during the second season, Addison just kept getting more awesome. And when she (and her amazing red hair) left Seattle Grace, I packed up and left Grey's, too.

6) President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell, "Battlestar Galactica) While I may not always agree with her, she's led humanity with an iron will and a lot of class through the apocalypse and to the search for Earth. The two scenes that stand out to me are her first confrontation with Sharon/Athena, when she tried to have her airlocked, and on the witness stand in the Season 3 finale, admitting that her cancer has come back. They're the two sides of Roslin: she can be tough and emotionless one second, and vulnerable and open the next.

5) Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven, "Entourage") I can't even pick a favorite Ari moment, because there are just too many, but any with his assistant, Lloyd, have to be near the top. Ari is (by far) the greatest thing about Entourage, and most of the time, he's the only reason I'm watching.

4) Seth Cohen (Adam Brody, "The O.C.") I know, it's terribly cliche of me to pick Seth, but if not for him, we don't have Henry on Ugly Betty or Chuck. He made being a geek cool and something to be proud of. AND, he gave the world Chrismukkah. I still think early-season 1-Seth is my favorite, because the stammering and nervousness were adorable every time.

3) Omar Little (Michael Williams, "The Wire") Omar. What else needs to be said about the man who robs drug dealers for a living? I think my favorite scene of his was when he took the stand against Bird in early Season 2, without a care in the world. But what makes Omar such an indelible character is how everyone reacts to him. The lookout whistles, the bustle to get out of his way, the time when he went out for some "honey nut" unarmed and ended up with a stash just by walking through the neighborhood...Let him live, Simon. Let him live.

2) Sylar (Zachary Quinto, "Heroes") If I ever make a list of best villians, Sylar will be at the top of that one. As it is, almost no other character makes me squeal in glee just by showing up on my television screen. If you want my opinion for why Heroes went downhill this year, it's because they deprived Sylar of his powers and let him become a wuss for so long. This guy is such a great villian -- there's almost no redeemable quality to him, he's pure evil -- that it just seems dumb to keep him out of the spotlight. I have three favorite Sylar moments, and they're just that -- moments. One was the "Boom" from last year, before the finale, the second was the roll of the eyes and the neck before he killed Maya this year -- the annoyance on his face perfectly reflected my feelings. And third was his final moment from this year, "I'm back." I can't wait to see what havoc he wreaks next season.

1) Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion, "Firefly") Captain Tightpants himself. Firefly was cancelled too quickly, but Mal and his fierce devotion to his ship will live on -- and actually did live on in Serenity the movie. He was the perfect anti-hero, and I'll forever be sad that more of his backstory will never be explored. My favorite Mal moment is the one that Joss Whedon himself calls Mal's "hero moment." His "I aim to misbehave" speech in Serenity was Captain Reynolds coming fully into his own, and taking a real stand for the first time since the war stripped him of his faith.

My half of the Tuesday Top Ten

These top 10 lists are hard. I needed to get Allie’s input to make my final cut. Here’s my top 5, in order:

5) Sex and the City Season 6, Pt. II (Series Finale) “An American Girl in Paris, Part Deux”
I still bawl with happiness every time I watch this episode. Carrie (finally) realizes that Alek and Paris are all wrong for her, and she leaves him...just in time for Big to come into the hotel and sweep her back to New York. Sam tells Smith that he means more to her than any man she's ever known, Magda tells Miranda what we already know: that she truly loves Steve, and Charlotte and Harry get their baby. Oh, and Big's name is John. The finale's joy hasn't dulled in four years, and now we can look forward to the "extra" finale in four months' time when the movie comes out.

4) The Office, Season 2 “Casino Night”
We're a bit too young to remember 'Cheers' and Sam and Diane, so when our generation wants an unrequited love story that pulls at our heartstrings, we turn to Jim and Pam. For two seasons, we watched Jim pine over the engaged-to-an-asshole Pam; and Pam, for her part, spent quite a bit of time flirting back. It all came to a head in the second season finale, when Jim confessed his love to Pam, only to have her say "I'm sorry you misinterpreted things..." But just a few minutes later, as she talks to her mom on the phone, Jim comes in and kisses her -- and she returns the kiss. It was a perfect moment...at least until the third season, when the writers spent an entire season keeping them apart.

3) Battlestar Galactica, Season 2 “Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II”
Really, all three BSG finales could have made my list, but this one does because of the sheer balls-out audacity of Ron Moore to skip his show ahead an entire year near the end of this episode. But before that mindfrak, we had Roslin trying to rig the election, but she gets caught by Adama and we welcome in President Baltar. The first thing the new leader does is have sex with Gina, who then goes and blows up herself and the Cloud 9. Then we flash forward a year, and most of the fleet has settled on the surface of New Caprica, Lee is fat, he and Starbuck aren't speaking, Starbuck is married(!) to an ailing Anders, Adama has a mustache and the Galatica is empty. And then the Cylons show up. President Baltar offers up the surrender of mankind and the centurions move in. Holy crap. How did this come in third?

2) Lost, Season 3 “Through the Looking Glass”
I've said enough about Lost this week, but just to recap: this finale re-invigorated the show after a semi-lackluster season. It introduced an exciting new element in the flash-forward, and of course, a whole bunch of new questions. In addition, we bid a tearful farewell to Charlie, Hurley and his magic bus saved the day, Sayid killed a man with his feet, Sawyer shot Tom, and oh, yeah: they contacted the rescue team. Who may or may not be an actual rescue team.

1) Battlestar Galactica, Season 3 “Crossroads, Pt. II”
I couldn't pick just one BSG finale, so Season 3 made the cut, too. Even though it's been an entire year since Sci Fi actually PUT THE SHOW ON THE AIR, the twists and turns of this episode have stayed with me. First and foremost: the identity of four of the final five cylons are revealed (to the tune of "All Along the Watchtower"), and they're people that we know. I mean, Tigh's a cylon?!? Seriously? Meanwhile, Gaius is acquitted, Dee leaves Lee (thank the gods!), Roslin's cancer is back, and in the middle of all of the chaos, the Cylon fleet attacks. Lee sheds his lawyerly suit and gets back up in the air, only to witness the return of Starbuck to the land of the living (is she a cylon? only in Lee's head?). As if her resurrection wasn't enough, she tells Lee that she's been to Earth, she knows where it is, and she's going to take the fleet there. And then we spiral out and we see our Earth. God, I miss this show. I want it back, yesterday.

Top 5 Season Finales

For this week’s Top 10, Jenn and I are each recounting our top 5 season finales. These are mine, and check back soon for Jenn’s list.

1) The Gift, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Season 5
I still bawl every time I watch this episode – and I must have seen it 50 times. “Buffy” finales are always apocalyptic (literally), but this one particularly hit home for the Scooby gang and its fans. Facing imminent world annihilation at the hands of hell God Glory, Buffy sacrifices herself to save her sister, Dawn. Buffy was told earlier in the season that death was her gift. In this episode, she realizes what this means and ultimately uses her “gift” to protect Dawn. She leaves Dawn and us with these words: “The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live... for me." And then I sob uncontrollably. Sure, the Scoobies bring Buffy back from the dead in the season six opener, but that doesn’t make this episode any less heartbreaking and poignant.

2) Two Cathedrals, “The West Wing,” Season 2
In this stunning season finale, President Bartlett must disclose that he has MS, which he had been hiding from his staff and his constituents for eight years. While weathering this political storm, Bartlett and his staff face an actual tropical storm and the aftermath of beloved secretary Mrs. Ladingham’s shocking death. The question of everyone’s mind: Will Bartlett seek a second term? The answer lies in an almost imperceptible body gesture in the final minute of the episode, which still gives me chills.

3) Leave it to Beaver, “Veronica Mars,” Season 1
After an hour of twists and turns, this episode finally wraps up the many mysteries of season 1. We find out Lilly’s murderer in a killer twist that leaves Veronica in life-threatening danger. This episode also reveals Veronica’s paternity – Keith is her father (thank god) and Veronica and Duncan are not siblings (yay because that would have been icky). The episode leaves us hanging on which suitor – Logan or Duncan – Veronica will choose. I’m left screaming, “Let it be Logan!” as the credits roll.


4) State, “Friday Night Lights,” Season 1
Panthers win State! I’ve never been so excited about the outcome of a football game in my life. We became so attached to this team and these characters throughout the amazing first season that witnessing their success was truly heart-warming – as was the news of Tami’s surprise pregnancy. The look on Coach Taylor’s face when Tami tells him about the baby… well that just proves the Emmy’s complete stupidity for depriving Kyle Chandler of a statue. Actually, that scene makes them doubly dim-witted for not honoring Connie Britton as well.

5) Becoming, Part 2, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Season 2
Up against another apocalypse, Buffy sacrifices her true love, Angel, to save the world. Not quite as devastating as when she sacrifices herself – Angel was always too mopey for my tastes anyway – but still a very sad blow to Buffy and her fans. Sarah Michelle Gellar really stepped up in this episode, displaying both Buffy’s toughness and her vulnerability in a single look.

Tuesday is Top 10 Day: LOST Edition

In honor of this week's Season 4 Lost premiere, my top ten is my ten favorite Lost moments of all time. I had to cheat it a bit and add honorable mentions, because it is REALLY HARD to narrow down the ten greatest moments in the history of the show. I could make a list comprised solely of moments from last year's finale. Without further ado, (and SPOILERS up through last year's finale)...

Honorable mentions: "Not Penny's Boat" (Season 3, Episode 22 "Through the Looking Glass"), Jacob appears to Locke and Ben (S3, Ep20 "The Man Behind the Curtain"), Sawyer shoots Tom; "That's for taking the kid off the raft" (S3, Ep22 "Through the Looking Glass), The hatch lights up for Locke (S1, Ep 19 "Deus Ex Machina), "Henry Gale" is the leader of the Others (S2, Ep 23 "Live Together, Die Alone")

10) The Numbers are on the hatch. (S1, Ep 18 "Numbers")

9) Sayid kills an Other. With his feet. (S3, Ep22 "Through the Looking Glass") I know this didn't advance the plot in away way, shape, or form, but...he KILLED a man. With his FEET. The best 'Hell Yeah!' moment in Lost history.

8) Locke's dad shows up on the island (S3, Ep10 "The Man From Tallahassee") and James Ford kills the real Sawyer. (S3, Ep19 "The Brig") The scene in "The Brig," especially, was so emotionally intense -- when Sawyer slowly puts together the peices and Mr. Cooper just rips up the letter -- I think I held my breath through the whole scene.

7) The first polar bear attack. (S1, Ep2 "Pilot, Pt. II") When we really knew that this was not your typical tropical island. (In case the monster sounds hadn't already done it.)

6) Ethan hangs Charlie and leaves him to die. (S1, Ep 11 "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues") Again, what an emotional wallop. The image of Charlie hanging in the tree just stuck with me. Plus, we knew the Others were bad, but now we knew they were murderous.

5) Locke was in a wheelchair. (S1, Ep4 "Walkabout") Even though this was long ago, the moment he rolls out from the table is still one of the best jaw-dropping moments in Lost history.

4) Michael kills Ana-Lucia and Libby. (S2, Ep20 "Two for the Road") No one liked Ana-Lucia anyway. But he just had to go and kill Libby, and right after she kissed Hurley, too.

3) The crash aftermath. (S1, Ep 1 "Pilot, Part I") With the opening of Jack's eye, we were off. What an opening 15 minutes.

2) The Others take Walt. (S1, Ep 24 "Exodus, Part II) "The thing is...we're going to have to take the boy" still gives me chills. The emotions in that scene, from hope to terror, and then Sawyer gets shot and the raft blows up, and Michael is just so distraught...this scene came very, very close to being #1. It would have, but for...

1) The flash-forward. (S3, Ep 22 "Through the Looking Glass") I mean, the whole finale was the greatest thing on TV since...ever. But when Jack (with grizzly-man beard) starts telling Kate that they "have to go back" I think I just about fell off of my couch. Literally, I fell off my couch. The realization of "holy crap, this is the future" changed the show and set up the final three seasons brilliantly. I love you, Cuse, Lindelof, and Abrams.

ONLY 2 DAYS TO GO!

Photos are stills, and belong to ABC/Touchstone television

My life as a TV geek

Welcome to The Cable Box. I’m Allie Baker, one of the TV addicts behind this blog. I split my time and obsessive tendencies evenly between TV and journalism. I am a senior magazine journalism major at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University (a.k.a the perpetually gray snow tundra). When I’m not writing, interviewing, or freaking out about the prospect of graduating and getting a real life, I can be found glued to my television.

My love affair with TV began with “Buffy” and intensified to frightening levels when I wrote my college application essay about how the slayer has impacted my education. I know; I’m a dork. Since college, I’ve come to own my TV geekiness. In a crowning moment, I announced tearfully to a jam-packed college bar that I forgot to DVR “Battlestar Galactica.”

I think you can tell a lot about a person by the TV shows they watch. And while it may not be nice, fair, or sane, I judge new people by what their DVR is set for. So instead of continuing to blabber on about myself, here’s a list of my 10 favorite shows (the old, the new, and the unjustly canceled). Feel free to judge me now.

1) Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2) Veronica Mars
3) The West Wing (the Sorkin years)
4) The Wire
5) Friday Night Lights
6) Queer as Folk
7) Battlestar Galactica
8) Gilmore Girls
9) Firefly
10) Sex and the City

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.