Best TV Shows of 2010

Although 2010 is only halfway over, there have been some great TV so far. And with shows like Mad Men just coming back, the second half of 2010 looks very bright. Here is my list of the greatest shows of the year.

A quick disclaimer before we begin, a TV show must fulfill the following qualifications in order to make the list
- The show must have aired at least one episode, or is officially slated to air at least one episode in 2010
- The show will be judged based upon where the series stands at this point in time, not what the series have done in the past
- This list consists of only shows I watch. And while I watch a lot of TV, there's just no way in hell I can watch every single TV series. So I'm sure I have left off one of your favorite shows.
- I have never seen Lost. So any GOI fans who want to comment on how I left off Lost, your cries will fall on deaf ears. I'm not gonna rank a show I haven't seen.

Honorable Mentions: Last Comic Standing, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Monday Night CBS Comedy Block (How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory)

15) Heroes (NBC)

For those loyal fans who stuck with the show after the writer's strike decimated Season 2 and thus most Heroes followers, who were pleasantly surprised with how Season 4 turned out, up until the very very very end. R.I.P. Heroes.

14) Burn Notice (USA)

The first of a handful of USA shows- which currently produces very fun and enjoyable programming. Burn Notice is just fun and shit blowing up. Plus Bruce Campbell is just awesome.

13) Psych (USA)

Again, another USA shows that's just enjoyable. It's just fun and I laugh every time the main character Shawn Spencer says anything.

12) The Office (NBC)

Like the rest of America, I too have loved The Office from the very beginning, and it's still funny and will make me laugh. Plus what sucked everybody into the show, Dwight being weird, Michael being awkward, and the Jam and Pam will-they-won't-they, is just old and dated. As much I enjoy this show and watching these characters, I'm glad to see Steve Carrel leave the show. All these reasons is why The Office gets bumped out of my top 10

11) Persons Unknown (NBC)

A mini-series currently being run that caught my attention because the previews of the show made it look like a really good movie called The Cube (props to DME for showing that movie to me). The show is about a group of strangers that are kidnapped and stuck in this town and you don't know why, but each episodes peals a layer off of the onion to help you answer the question of "Why are they here"

10) Archer (FX)

The pilot episode was one of the funniest things I've seen on TV in a long while and the show has it's moments throughout it's first series. The show had a handful of bad episodes along the way but just some great gems that friends and I can not spot quoting. From the creator of great cult shows such as Frisky Dingo and Sealab 2021, Adam Reed brings us a cartoon about a bafoon 007-type agent voiced by the great H. Jon Benjamin. And despite the stupid fart jokes are some really smart jokes. For example, in the pilot, Archer picks up his shirt from an Indian dry cleaner, sniffs it, and says "smells like Indira Ghandi's thong" Probably should have paid attention in history class to get that one. However, Season 2 will decide if I will continue watching this series or not.

9) Entourage (HBO)

Despite Entourage only having four episodes in 2010, they have turned a complete 180 since the awful Season 6. Entourage is my favorite show of all time so it will always hold a special place in my heart. The best episodes were always the ones in which Ari's or Vince's career were in trouble. But with Season 6, both Ari and Vince had great lives so the show decided to check in on the love lives of Turtle and E. But Season 7 creates conflicts that you actually care about- as opposed to any "problems" in Season 6.

8) South Park (COM)

The last three episodes (The Towlie intervention and the two-parter every-single-inside-joke episodes) were pretty bad so the show ended with a sour taste in everyone's mouth, but the first four (The Tiger Woods, Scrootie McBoogerBalls, Facebook, and KFC/Medical Marijuana) were just absolutely hilarious

7) Parks and Recreation (NBC)

Despite the fact that Season 1 of the show was a huge rip off of The Office (which made sense because the good writers of The Office wrote for Parks and Rec), the show has gotten much better. I've since become a huge Aziz Ansari fan and I enjoy Aubrey Plaza's sarcasm as well. The show still is trying to contrive plot lines which made The Office great (i.e. the Ann/April/Andy love triangle a la Jim and Pam [fun facts: Rashida Jones involved in both love lines]) but still very funny once it found it's own voice.

6) Modern Family (ABC)

Another show slightly hurt because it had too many episodes which opened the door for some really bad shows, but overall very funny and a very original take on the traditional family sitcom. Plus, one of the characters on the show was an offensive lineman for University of Illinois (and wore a Juice Williams jersey in one episode) w=and I get a chubby every time someone mentions "Illinois" on TV.

5) Community (NBC)

I don't even know what to say about the show except that it's just really really funny. And anyone who was a hater of Joel McMale (cough cough DME cough cough) needs to watch this show because it will change your mind on him.

4) White Collar (USA)

Currently the best of the new flock of USA shows and the lead character, master thief Neil Caffrey, is one of the best characters currently on television. USA may not be original or groundbreaking, but they're just enjoyable and fun.

3) Justified (FX)

Deadwood's Timonthy Olyphant plays Kentucky Marshall Raylan Givens who kills a man within the first scene of the show. Givens is a bona fide bad ass and has spent the entire season drinking, fucking, and kicking ass. I would have preferred the show to have a unified bad guy to Raylan Givens and they sort of did that with Boyd Crowder (and did do it to an extent towards the end of the series), but overall this show is a teenage boy's wet dream.

2) 30 Rock (NBC)

Unfortunately Office fans turn off the TV after the show's over, which is a shame because they're missing the funnier show. 30 Rock is by far and away the best comedy, not only of 2010, but since it's creation in 2006.

1) Mad Men (AMC)

Sure Man Men has only had one episode in 2010, and that was it's Season 4 premiere two days ago, but it's the best show in television at the moment. The last half of Season 3 was just great (after the boring first half which laid the groundwork for the second half) and Season 4 takes off just where Season 3 ended. I don't even want to give away anything about the show. Not only out of respect for DME and TBO who (I don't believe) are caught up yet, but so "The Wire Effect"* doesn't happen to anyone else. Needless to say the show is just awesome and shame on you if you haven't watched an episode before.

*The Wire Effect is where everybody hypes up a show and gives parts of it away as to raise your expectations, but when you watch the TV show your expectations aren't met because they were unfairly raised to begin with (aka The Superbad Effect)