CBC.ca has posted what they consider to be the 10 most important shows of the 2000′s, and rather than completely plagiarize their list, which you can find here, I figure I can come up with some witty things to say about each of their choices and whether they pass the smell test with me.
The Office (UK Version): By no means the re-inventor of the mockumentary, but Ricky Gervais is the man who made the style seem as normal as a sitcom without a laugh track. I can’t say that I’m the biggest fan of the American version, and I’m even less of a fan of Parks & Recreation, but as homes for some seriously talented comedic actors, their existence has meaning and can be entirely credited back to Gervais’ creation. Verdict: Absolutely.
Mad Men: Having not yet laid eyes on this show, I don’t have much to say. I’ve heard anecdotally that beyond being a meticulously crafted period piece, there’s not much to report as far as anything people haven’t already seen before. My impression is that this show gets so many awards because it reminds members of the academy of the “simpler time” in their own careers and plays a lot on the kind of insider stuff they’d already know about… essentially, it’s pure novelty. Verdict: Jury’s still out until I see it with my own eyes, I guess.
Lost: Not only being a great show in its own right, it changed the way people relate to serial drama. Its “more questions than answers” approach was almost too much for people to take (which is why I think that FlashForward isn’t sustainable) but fortunately they realised their mistake before it was too late. I guess this also makes them a great example of a show that listened to its fanbase – a lesson that Heroes really should have learned a few seasons ago. Verdict: Definitely worthy.
Survivor: I guess I can see the appeal of this show, and it’s no doubt at the heart of why so many other reality shows sprung up around it, but I don’t think that’s something we should be celebrating. At its best Survivor showed cinema verité’s power to create compelling entertainment, at its worst – and it was often in that territory – it forced us to look at what “lowest common denominator” really means. Casting a mirror up to society, Survivor and other reality shows like it fed off of racial and sexual stereotypes and thrived on people behaving their worst. It was all the reasons housewives liked watching their “stories”, only now they were being broadcast in primetime. Verdict: Sadly, this show was what the decade of TV was really all about.
The CSI Franchise: Franchise could not be a better way to describe this group of shows. I can’t deny my love for the watchability of the original CSI, and that there are plenty of pretty colours in the Miami CSI and that Gary Sinise has been known to deliver a decent performance every now and then, but this show set the benchmark for lazy writing – although I guess I should talk to some bonafide TV writers about that to be sure… but scripting a 3 minute musical montage of someone lifting fingerprints off a tampon applicator tells me that someone is drawing benefits from the WGA without turning in a full day’s work. Verdict: Keeps a fairly reliable finger on the pulse of the decade, for better or worse.
Degrassi - The Next Generation: I’m sure regular readers are well aware of my feelings towards the rejigged version of this show, and I kind of get the feeling that CBC decided to include it on the list out of some loyalty to our home and native land, but the only time this show belonged on this list was back in its original incarnation. Verdict: Afraid not.
Sex and the City: Let’s not make this about how familiar or unfamiliar I am with this show – although I think that despite my aversion for shows “like this” the fact that even I’ve watched more than a few episodes should indicate this show’s pervasive presence. As a unifying force, this show brought together women in droves larger and more devoted than Desperate Housewives ever could dream of. All movie spin-offs aside, Sex and the City did so many things first, and the things that it did second, it did better than anybody else. I’m also willing to lay down money that you either taken a “Which Sex and the City girl are you?” quiz, or know someone who has – that’s what you get when the characters are handled by a writer with a clear understanding of the concept of archetypes. Verdict: Indubitably.
The Daily Show: This is the show that made fake news more important than the real thing. I know this because I wanted to watch Stewart’s election night coverage over anybody else’s. No matter the guest, Daily Show is always interesting – Stewart’s abilities as a host has actually made it harder for me to see him as a plain old comedian. This is the same guy from Half Baked? “Red team go! Red team go!” Verdict: There couldn’t be a list without it.
The Wire: This was the entry on the list that gave the whole thing some credibility. Definitely the smartest crime drama ever made, it boasted an array of fascinating characters, all of them developed in a slow methodical process, and approached all topics in an even handed fashion, allowing you to examine issues from all sides and manage to root for everyone without feeling guilty dividing your loyalties. Verdict: If these were actually in some kind of numeric order, this would rank at the top of the list.
The Sopranos: The Godfather of HBO’s breakthrough into the mainstream, The Sopranos either did it first or best when it came to long format drama laced with profanity, nudity and plenty of good ol’ fashioned violence. It managed to fold in everyone’s favourite gangster references, and actors too (all that was missing was a guest spot with Al Pacino). I watched so much of it in such rapid sequence that I recall entire seasons as if they were single episodes. Despite that whole “Tony’s comatose adventure” thing, not a wrong step made the entire series, especially when considering Tony’s ample opportunities to do the right thing and his realistically inexplicable decisions to refuse to do so. Verdict: Absotively-posilutely.
Who’s missing?
Intelligence: If there’s a Canadian show the CBC should have crammed into this list, it should have been this one. Maybe they’re sheepish for having run the show into the ground with their lousy scheduling and total bungling of publicity.
Space Ghost – Coast to Coast: Never heard of this show, you ask? Well, while it might not have been my favourite cartoon of the decade, it lead the charge for the rise of post-modernism in cartoons, including shows like Harvey Birdman, Sealab 2010 and The Venture Bros. (my personal fave).
24: How could they possibly leave 24 off this list? It created a genre all to itself and renewed the hopes of film actors with flagging careers that there could be life on the small screen.
CBC News – Television – Essential viewing.
I haven’t seen Mad Men, The Wire, Degrassi, The Sopranos, Lost or even CSI. However, here’s my list of the ten most important shows of the decade (according to what I’ve seen):
1. Terminal City: While dealing with our society’s ongoing questioning about death, this TV series casts a sharp observation on the TV industry. As a matter of fact, the script points out in a nuanced way through the characters that for a TV exec, there’s a fine line between the necessity to make money and also to develop a good relation between him/her and the star of a successful show.
2. Six Feet Under: So far, I’ve just seen the first season. Nonetheless, I think that this TV series is shows the power of cable television to take trivial subjects (a family running a funeral home) and deliver an addictive show. Such a thing is beautifully done with the smart combo of drama and humour.
3. Royal Canadian Air Farce: Some of the jokes were not always fun. However, let’s face the fact that the performers found a good way to laugh at politicians.
4. Band of Brothers: I personally think that the war film that comes close to this one is definitely Flags of Our Fathers. Other than that, Band of Brothers is interesting because it strives to show how soldiers psychologically go through war.
5. 24: As you pointed it out, 24 created a genre of itself. I’d also add that the show can be entertaining without being downright mindless (except for season six).
6. Durham County: The show is so well acted. Besides, without attempting to be extremely entertaining (with music and everything) while showing a scene in a crime lab or a crime scene, Durham County finds another way to be interesting. In fact, we can think about how the main character (a cop played by Hugh Dillon) will try to catch the killer (which can easily be identified by the audience).
7. Minuit, le soir: This TV series is a proof that Quebec – which has the bad habit of mass-producing soap operas – can make TV series that are on-par with English Canadian and American TV series. It’s well shot, written and acted.
8. Intelligence: I’m with you for this one. It’s a TV series that doesn’t depict the Canadian government and the American government in a very complacent way.
9. Dexter: Some will argue that this is not the best show in the list, but I like it, nonetheless. In fact, it plays quite well with the American’s government biggest contradiction, which is its tolerance of death penalty and its attempt to arrest murderers (even vigilantes).
10. Dragons’ Den: An interesting show that tries to make business interesting.
Some great Canadian content in your comment, and since we’re measuring it up against a list compiled by the CBC, that’s really saying something.
I’ve never watched Terminal City, and as someone who’s worked in a newsroom for almost the last 10 years, that’s pretty sad. I’ll add it to the list.
It’s hard for me to believe that Six Feet Under came out this past decade, it seems so much longer ago… maybe time isn’t flying as fast as I thought – I was still in my 20s when I was watching that show.
Band of Brothers was a freakin’ masterpiece, and as a mini-series, it advanced an entire genre, but I don’t know if it really affected TV in general, except perhaps in raising the bar for shows like Angels in America.
No matter how I feel about Royal Canadian Air Farce (I don’t like anything about it), I did grow up listening to it on the radio with my Dad – nestled in there with Quirks and Quarks – so I understand its role in Canadian culture. However, I don’t think it really advanced sketch comedy in any particular sense, and definitely didn’t advance the cause of political satire in the way that The Daily Show or The Colbert Report did.
I loved the first season of Durham County, I was always fascinated with power lines as a metaphor for so many different things, the poison at the heart of his family, the tether that kept them tied to Toronto… I still have the second season waiting to be watched on my PS3, I’m looking forward to it. I’m not sure I’m as excited about the show paving the way for Dillon to go on Flashpoint… but it can’t be blamed for that, can it?
Minuit, Le Soir? Not much penetration of French TV drama here in BC… I’ll look into it.
Dexter, you’ll get no arguments from me that it’s a great show – incredible in fact. Michael C. Hall has done very well for himself this decade – it’s too bad that his venture into features was Gamer and that’s how the masses have to know him. He’ll break through into the big wide world soon enough.
Dragon’s Den is kind of a big deal for the CBC – being that they were able to shop it out to the states as Shark Tank. I thought it was interesting that it basically made use of the interesting half of that American Inventor show: the pitch. The pitch is where you get the crazy ideas and the raw emotion of the people with their hands out.
I implore you to watch The Wire, it truly is one of the best shows ever written for television – if you enjoyed Intelligence you’ll love it.
That’s a pretty solid list. “Degrassi – The Next Generation” sticks out like a sore thumb, but every other entry couldn’t have existed at any other time but now.
Way to go, CBC! Now, bring back “Street Cents”.
I guess that Degrassi was supposed to stand for using semi-pro actors who are the age they’re actually playing, rather than the 90210 approach is what made this show so important to the business. What CTV has done to it is analogous to what they’ve done to the Canadian TV landscape as a whole, and for that I can feel a certain sense of shame whenever I cash my paychecque.
A pretty solid list I would agree, except for Degrassi of course, and although I love Mad Men but I would bump it in favor of “Deadwood”–an amazing show brilliantly written and an incendiary performance from Ian Mcshane! Also I would consider “Curb Your Enthusiasm” a solid comedy that actually outdid Seinfeld in many ways and went much further into the taboo subjects–not for the squeamish! The Wire- definitely at the top of the list.
I also like your added inclusion of Space Ghost—definitely ground breaking and still funny–I keep remembering when Space ghost asked Jay Leno what he has done to save the universe or when he asked Ashley Judd to run out and bring him tacos!
What I think is great about this list is that there is so much more out there that people don’t even know about. I complain, and other complain, all the time about how there’s “57 channels and nothing on”, but there really a lot of good stuff happening these days if you just go and dig for it. The cable networks post up some great stuff, like Sons of Anarchy, Dexter, Rescue me… and the UK is a bottomless resource for great shows like Sherlock, Luther, Misfits, Life on Mars… Great call on Deadwood, BTW. Making my way through it for a second time now – the impact is a little less this time, but it is still so great – and McShane can also share the spotlight with Timothy Olyphant who has never seemed more at home.