Best of Television - Cable

This list contains television shows from both basic cable channels as well as premium cable channels. Now, before I start receiving angry emails about certain shows that didn't make my list (I know the Battlestar Galactica and Sopranos fans are going to spit bile), I want to stress that I made this list from shows I have actually watched and/or liked.




#10 Invader Zim (2001-03, Nickelodeon)

Nickelodeon didn't have a clue what to do with this offbeat cartoon when it was delivered back in 2001. But it found its footing and has become a popular cult hit. Too bad there isn't any plans to resurrect the franchise in the future.



#9. Grim & Evil / The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (2001-07, Cartoon Network)

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy started out as a packaged series splitting time with Evil Con Carne before it spun off into its own series. It was hard not to feel sorry for Grim as he had to put up with the dimwitted Billy and purely evil Mandy. I have to say that the Little Miss Scurvy episode has one of the best surprise endings ever.




#8. Rome (2005-07, HBO)

Historical accuracy be damned. Rome us gave a look into ancient Roman practices and politics that was both beautiful and brutal. Too bad production costs caused the fall of this Roman empire all too soon.




#7. Nip/Tuck Seasons 2 & 3 (2004-05, FX)

I caught this sexually and violently graphic show at the end of the first season and liked it well enough but the second season took things to a new level. The mystery of The Carver and the sexual assault of one of the main characters in the second season's finale made for a long wait for season three. And that season delivered...until the final episode. Nip/Tuck always played on the absurdity of plastic surgery but the last fifteen minutes of the season three finale pushed the limits of how far the audience is willing to suspend reality.




#6.Robot Chicken (2005-present, Cartoon Network)

Seth Green took his love of toys and made it into one of the best television shows on the air. The Star Wars episodes alone are worth the time spent watching this gem but just the way Green and company skewer pop culture is brilliant.




#5. Entourage (2004-present, HBO)

I want to be Vinnie Chase when I grow up. Hell, I'll take being Johnny Drama. This series about Hollywood and an up and coming actor with an asshole agent. Jeremy Piven was born to play the outrageously offensive Ari Gold. This is a do not miss for me.




#4. Greek (2007-present, ABC Family)

Anyone think that a show about the Greek system on a fictitious college campus should air on ABC Family? Me either but somehow it works. Scott Michael Foster should be a big star and Spencer Grammer may be the best thing her father Kelsey has ever created. More comedy than drama and more beer drinking than any "family" show should ever have.




#3. Californication (2007-present, Showtime)

I take back what I said earlier, I want to be Hank Moody when I grow up. On the surface this is just a vehicle for David Duchuvny to drink and screw his way through to an Emmy. But once you get below the surface and inspect the relationship between Hank and his daughter Becca, a real sense of Hank's mid-life crisis and inability to grow up shines through. And there's more T&A in this show than a strip club. Love it!




#2. True Blood (2008-present, HBO)

This is a very unique new take on the vampire mythos. Set in a fictitious Louisiana town and dealing with all kinds of supernatural oddities True Blood delivers some real drama and intriguing characters. Other than Anna Paquin's bad southern accent this series is as close to perfect as it gets. And I want to live in that intro.




#1. Weeds (2005-present, Showtime)

What do you do when you're a widowed mother of three and can't afford to pay for the lifestyle you've become accustomed to? Sell drugs, obviously. Nancy Botwin can't seem to catch a break in life and very time she escapes another near miss with catastrophe she finds herself in yet another messed up situation. Good stuff.