14. Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles(Virgin1, season 1)
The Pilot was surprisingly good fun, but this spin-off to James Cameron's Terminator movies took awhile to hit its stride. The mid-season introduction of Brian Austin Green as future-soldier Derek helped give the series focus and injected the machismo sorely lacking in Lena Headey's gutless version of Sarah Connor. Predictably, Summer Glau's saucer-eyed peculiarity and lithe physicality helped maintain interest.
13. Prison Break(Sky1, season 3)
For a show never seriously intended to run longer than two seasons, the decision to throw the escaped prisoners into a foreign jail for season 3 was actually a rock-solid, logical idea. This season failed to capitalize on a gritty opening, but the reinvention worked rather well overall. It was one of the few TV shows to actually benefit from the writers' strike, too, with a neat half-dozen episodes ensuring the season didn't strain to justify itself. Perhaps the real marvel is that the show managed to reinvent itself again for a fourth year...
12. Merlin(BBC1, season 1)
Robin Hood wasn't the critical or ratings success the BBC expected, so Merlin stole its autumn timeslot in 2008. It carries the same vibe as Hood, but better casting choices and the obvious fantasy trappings helped endear it to a wider audience. But it wasn't without its own, unique failings: a frustrating tendency to introduce Arthurian icons and dispose of them after one episode (Lancelot, Mordred, Excalibur), underused female characters (Morgana, Gwen), and plots that were often far too simplistic. But, a solid foundation to build on in year two...
11. Peep Show(Channel 4, season 5)
How many sitcoms do you know that are still funny after five seasons? Particularly British ones, that generally struggle after three. Amazingly, Peep Show has yet to slip up, although this season definitely missed a trick in not making the fallout to Mark's failed marriage more central. Indeed, this year didn't have a strong hook week-to-week, but thankfully ended on a cliffhanger that will ensure season 6 fares much better.
10. Ashes To Ashes(BBC1, season 1)
A totally unnecessary sequel/spin-off to Life On Mars, essentially working as a loose remake, too -- set in 1981 with a female "time-traveller". While nowhere near as interesting and layered as its illustrious forbearer, Ashes To Ashes was still good fun for nostalgia freaks and Gene Hunt fans. The twist that Keeley Hawes' character is as clued-up about the situation as the viewers at home was a neat touch, but they couldn't fix an overriding problem: the lack of ambiguity over the scenario left a massive hole where a compelling sci-fi mystery should have been.
9. Torchwood(BBC2/Three, season 2)
The first season was a messy spectacle of grit, swearing and sex, fused to rather unremarkable sci-fi scripts of various styles, tones and quality. This second season was in much better shape thanks to Chris Chibnall taking hold of the reigns, although still not really the adult sci-fi it was intended to be. Episodes were generally of higher storytelling quality, the cast felt more at ease in their roles, and the introduction of a few recurring plot-strands helped tie the season together much better.
8. Pushing Daisies(ITV1, season 1)
Undoubtedly one of the most unique-looking shows on TV, Bryan Fuller's vibrant slice of whimsy was a potent mix of comedy, drama, mystery and surrealism. Lee Pace plays Ned, a pie maker who can bring dead things back to life by touching them, at the expense of something else that's alive nearby. After reviving his childhood crush (whom he can't touch again, lest he condemn her to eternal death), they help a private investigator solve various murders, usually with a side-order of strangeness. Slightly too saccharine for some, but otherwise a very imaginative hit.
7. Doctor Who(BBC1, season 4)
I enjoyed season 3 at the time, but with the benefit of hindsight it was undoubtedly the worst nu-Who year. Season 4 wasn't perfect either, but the controversial decision to cast Catherine Tate as companion Donna Noble went some way to ensuring this was the best year since season 2. Toning down the brashness that had grated so badly in her Christmas debut, Donna was both funny and heartbreaking. Season 4 gave us an overloaded three-part finale (featuring the Daleks, their creator Davros, and every character from Who's spin-offs), but the excessive nature was balanced by a wonderful two-parter from Steven Moffatt set in planet-sized library.
6. Breaking Bad(FX, season 1)
X-Files scribe Vince Gilligan came down to earth for this family drugs drama, about a high school chemistry teacher who discovers he has terminal cancer, but decides to "break bad" and use his chemistry skills to become a crystal meth dealer. Bryan Cranston won an Emmy for his work as lead character Walter White -- and deservedly so. Every episode is a tight, clever, involving, realistic package with top-quality acting and memorable, exciting moments. This year's WGA strike had a detrimental effect (condensing the season down to a mere seven episodes), but it's a concentrated hit that will make junkies of anyone who watches.
5. Battlestar Galactica(Sky1, season 4)
Impenetrable to newcomers, but fans of this sci-fi space opera approached this fourth (and final) season with giddy relish. Sadly, only half the season aired in '08, with the Sci-Fi Channel deciding to hold the second half back until Janaury '09. This season contained a major shift, as four regular characters were revealed as secret-Cylons, and had to grapple with their new identities as the Colonial fleet inched its way closer to Earth. Season 3 was bogged down with trivial standalone episodes, in an attempt to stretch to a 20+ season, but season 4 returned to the more serialised style that suits it better.
4. Mad Men(BBC Four, season 1)
Awards-laden and critically-adored, Mad Men was one of the best new shows on television last year. Brilliantly written by Matthew Weiner (The Sopranos), this was an enjoyable and realistic look into an unexplored corner of modern history: New York-based advertising of the 1960s. Jon Hamm played the roguish ad exec Don Draper, a complex man hiding a terrible war-time secret and keeping an affair secret from his wife. Stylish, relaxed but involving, attentive to its characters, Mad Men is a really class act.
3. Damages (BBC1, season 1)
The best show on TV that nobody talks about, Damages was tucked away on late-night BBC1 last year, so I had to get the box-set to enjoy the deviousness of Glenn Close's legal eagle Patty Hewes. A season-long legal trial might not sound fun, but we only ever spent a few minutes inside a stuffy courtroom. No, Damages avoided the usual pitfalls of its genre and crafted an intense, gripping, conspiratorial story about a billionaire Art Frobisher (Ted Danson) being sued by his ex-employees when his business folds. This kick-starts a battle of wits and wills between Frobisher and lawyer Hewes, with prodigious new attorney Ellen Parsons caught in the maelstrom. Intelligent, exciting and superbly acted entertainment. Season 2 debuts on BBC1 very soon, but you must catch-up here.
2. Dexter(FX, season 2)
After the startlingly brilliant first season, expectations were sky-high for Dexter's sophomore season. And we were rewarded with a year that, arguably, improved on the first. It was simple, really: the hunter becomes then hunted, as serial-killer Dexter Morgan's stash of underwater bodies are discovered, triggering an FBI-assisted manhunt for "The Bay Harbor Butcher". We were also treated to the unusual Lila (Jaime Murray), a sly British sculptor who might accept Dex for who he really is, and Sgt. Doakes' private investigation into the "darkness" he senses in Dex gathers pace. Gripping, exhilarating, tense, ghoulish fun. The only downside is that the series seems to have exhausted its two best plots in the first two seasons.
1. Lost(Sky1, season 4)
I've kept faith with Lost; never understanding why people ditched it when it expanded its mythology in season 2, and ploughed through the terrible first quarter of season 3, to be rewarded with the genius that lay beyond. Season 4 was an unexpected return to season 1-style greatness, aided by the clever use of flashforwards. The present-day island-based stories were now held in place by past and future storylines, that made the series seem much more revelatory. And, of course, the crowd-pleasing mind-fucks were back in action: from Ben summoning the smoke-monster(?), to the island itself disappearing with the turn of a subterranean donkey wheel. For me, Lost is like reading the most insanely exciting pulp sci-fi novel, and I'm continually awed by how well the writers keep the whole thing on-track. Yes, we tend to get more questions than answers, but the answers do come... and, really, the fun of Lost comes from how the show teases you into a frenzy over its mysteries.
