Top 10 TV Dramas of 2010

For most of the past decade, we've heard doomsayers from within the entertainment industry and even the fans themselves claim that we're in a dark period for TV; with nothing to look forward to other than more reality shows and the inevitable "Law & Order: CSI" clone that will somehow manage to merge all of the procedural dramas into one hour long burst of mediocrity.

But the truth is that this was an exceptional year for TV. Network television may be pretty bleak, but the original series on cable are taking creative chances and giving us more variety than we've seen on the small screen in a long time. We may have lost some favorites along the way to early cancellations, but that doesn't diminish the quality that was delivered on a weekly basis.

Here then, are our top ten picks from the last year of TV dramas.

10: BURN NOTICE

"Burn Notice" makes action look so easy, it makes you wonder why none of the major networks can match it.

The fourth season found former spy Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) teaming up with the organization that burned him to take down an international terrorist network — and in the process he accidentally burned Jesse Porter (Coby Bell), another spy whom Michael would later team up with. The first half of the season steadily built up the tension of whether Jesse would discover the truth about what Michael did before exposing the secret long before we expected it to come out.

However, the series stumbled in the second half of the season before regaining its momentum with two great episodes that gave us exactly what we wanted: more Bruce Campbell, a meaningful resolution to the Michael & Jesse feud, the definitive Michael and Fiona (Gabirelle Anwar) scenes and even Michael's sudden return to the world of international espionage.

With at least two more seasons left on the USA network, "Burn Notice" can literally go in any direction next year. The one thing we know for sure is that it's not really summer unless "Burn Notice" is back on the air... and ready to kick more ass.

9: SHERLOCK

Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are apparently not content with writing one of the best sci-fi series on TV. The two "Doctor Who" veterans are also behind "Sherlock," a brilliant update on the classic detective that places him firmly within the modern day. Thus far, only three 90 minute TV movies have been made, but they were incredibly entertaining.

Benedict Cumberbatch is such an amazing jerk as Sherlock Holmes, that it's remarkable that he's still fairly likable. The show embraces the idea that Holmes' genius is its own form of madness, and Cumberbatch gives us a cold and calculating detective who cares more about the game of the investigation itself rather than if some innocent people suffer or die along the way. This Holmes is also addicted to modern technology in a way we haven't seen before, which actually makes him seem even more like a man of our times.

But the actor who is really going to breakout of this series is Martin Freeman. Two years from now when he's Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit," fans might look back to Freeman's turn as Dr. John Watson in "Sherlock" as the beginning of his ascension. This Watson not only doesn't agree with Holmes' mindset, there are times when John actively dislikes Sherlock. It's a refreshing take on the classic partnership which doesn't feel unfaithful to the original stories... unlike the recent Robert Downey Jr. "Sherlock Holmes" movie.

If "Sherlock" has a weakness, it's that there's simply too little of it. To really flourish, it needs at least six or more episodes per year, instead of just three. Also, "Sherlock' has been hamstrung in the U.S. by the mind boggling decision to air it on PBS instead of BBC America. This is a great TV series and it deserves to be on a channel that people actually watch in this country.

8: DAMAGES

"Damages" is one of those TV shows that's not always easy to explain to people who don't watch it. It's a legal drama which rarely steps inside of a courtroom. Because "Damages" is not about the case, it's about an unfolding mystery that is revealed to the audience in out of sequence pieces from the past, the present and the future.

The series also has a habit of getting great dramatic performances out of actors better known for comedy, like Martin Short, Ted Danson and Lily Tomlin. But the heart of the series is the antagonistic (and at times, almost friendly) relationship between Glenn Close's Patty Hewes — a shark of an attorney — and her former protégé, Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). Patty is the ultimate manipulator and Ellen is a quick study. Between the two of them, there have been a mountain of lies, secret suicides and even an attempted murder. And that was just in the first season!

For the third season, "Damages" dealt with a very Bernie Madoff-like scandal, as Campbell Scott's Joe Tobin attempted to hide the money that his father stole and he was gradually corrupted to the point that he even (unknowingly) arranged the death of his daughter and killed someone close to Patty and Ellen. It wasn't quite as heart-pounding as the first two seasons, but it was still among the most compelling series this year.

Although FX declined to renew the show, "Damages" will return next year on Direct TV for a fourth season. Now if only Direct TV could pick up some other recently canceled series...

7: STARGATE UNIVERSE

Speaking of a canceled series that need to come back, "Stargate Universe" met its extremely untimely demise earlier this month when Syfy pulled the plug without even waiting to air the final ten episodes of the second season.

"Stargate Universe" stepped away from the relatively lighter tone of the "Stargate" TV series that proceeded it and gave audiences a show that more closely resembled "Battlestar Galactica" than "Stargate SG-1" or "Stargate Atlantis." Unlike most sci-fi shows, "SGU" actually forced its characters to constantly look for supplies and food just to stay alive rather than constantly engaging in laser fights with aliens. And the majority of the time, the crew's greatest enemies were each other.

The second season of "SGU" also pushed the series in some unexpected philosophical directions when Robert Carlyle's Dr. Rush discovered evidence that may lead to the creator or creators of the universe; Other interesting stories this year included Colonel Young's (Louis Ferreira) descent into alcoholism, T.J.'s (Alaina Huffman) delusions after the loss of her baby and Chloe's (Elyse Levesque) metamorphosis into a half-alien hybrid.

This was a show that could have become one of the greatest sci-fi TV series... So of course Syfy had to cancel it to make way for the "blue skies sci-fi" revolution, embodied by "Eureka" and the incredibly bad "Haven." But, what do you expect from the network that canceled "Farscape"? After this, it may be a long time before we see another starship based TV series on the airwaves.

6: LOST

Talk to any "Lost" fan about the series finale and you'll either find people that liked how it wrapped up... or people who hated it with a passion. And I mean really, really hated it.

I have to admit, I didn't really care for the revelation that the alternate reality was actually just a way station purgatory to reunite all of the characters in the afterlife.

But I haven't forgotten how much I enjoyed the ride. "Lost" wasn't just about the destination, it was about the journey of the characters that we'd come to care about like Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Sayid (Naveen Andrews) and so many others. The resolution to the island storyline felt right and the confrontation between Jack and the Man in Black was appropriately epic. And how perfect was it for Hurley (Jorge Garcia) to become the ultimate protector of the island?

Sure, not every mystery was solved (and I suspect that more than a few had no answers behind them), but "Lost" was a water cooler show in the best of ways. It constantly gave us clues to decipher and events to debate with enough resolution to keep the fans from going entirely "Battlestar Galactica" apesh** on the show's finale.

Newer series like "The Event" and "FlashForward" have tried to replicate "Lost," but they've never figured out why the series worked in the first place. In the end, audiences care more about the characters than the mystery. And it may be a while before anyone successfully pulls off another show like this.

5: THE WALKING DEAD

Staggering up next is the series that may actually be the next "Lost," AMC's "The Walking Dead."

Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's zombie epic came to TV in six episodes under the guidance of "The Shawshank Redemption" director, Frank Darabont. It was also the breakout cable hit of the last year, with blockbuster ratings that actually went up as the series progressed.

The reason the "Walking Dead' comic works so well is that it focuses on strong characters as opposed to "Night of The Living Dead" stereotypes. The TV adaptation also follows this route and featured a terrific cast, especially Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes, who perfectly embodies his character. Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Steven Yeun and Jeffrey DeMunn are the other standouts among the regular cast members, along with some great guest appearances by Lennie James, Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker.

It also has to be said that the zombie effects on this series are top notch and it's an extremely well produced and directed show. Thus far, nearly every episode has seemed to have a feature film-like quality.

"The Walking Dead" could have jumped even higher on this list if it hadn't stumbled so badly in the last two episodes of the short season with an ultimately pointless side story. With more episodes and a tighter focus, "The Walking Dead' may rise even further when the second season kicks off next year.

4: DOCTOR WHO

Among this list, there are several shows that offer more serious drama than "Doctor Who." But there are few series that offer more fun than watching the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions leap into their next great adventure.

"Sherlock" mastermind Steven Moffat took over "Doctor Who" this year as the new showrunner and delivered several instant classic episodes, a fantastic new Doctor in Smith and compelling companions in Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill). 

Although there were at least three episodes that weren't as good as the rest, the vast majority of the shows made this one of the strongest seasons of "Doctor Who" to date. Even the Christmas special that aired last weekend was incredibly entertaining, which bodes well for the season ahead.

The next season of "Doctor Who" will be split between the spring and the fall, which may hurt its presentation. But at least it's only a few months away.

3: FRINGE

"Doctor Who" and "The Walking Dead" may get more press, but "Fringe' was the best sci-fi show on television this year.

After taking almost a season and a half to find itself, "Fringe" started to come together in the latter half of the second season, which brought the parallel universe storyline to the forefront and led the alternate Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) to crossover to our world to bring back his son, Peter (Joshua Jackson). But the biggest shocker came when Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) followed them (with the real Walter) only to be captured and stranded in their universe while the alternate Olivia took her place in our world.

The third season finally helped "Fringe" achieve greatness by finding a way to tell stand-alone stories set in each universe which still managed to move the overall story forward a little bit each week. So many shows don't even bother to maintain a consistent narrative, but "Fringe" pulled it off and became a "can't miss" series for the first time.

Unfortunately, it's a sci-fi series on a major network; which means that it doesn't have a big audience and it's just been sent to Friday nights... where most shows go to die. I've seen a lot of great shows get canceled this year, but if "Fringe" ends up going too it will be the biggest tragedy of the bunch. Now that's it's found its legs, "Fringe" is a series that could go for years and years.

Hopefully, it will have a chance to continue.

2: BOARDWALK EMPIRE

Imagine a big budget HBO series set in the prohibition era from one of the writers of "The Sopranos," with Martin Scorsese attached to executive produce and direct the pilot episode. "Boardwalk Empire" was built up with some extraordinarily high expectations... and it delivered.

Screenwriter Terence Winter vividly brought the era to life with a stunning recreation of Atlantic City in the '20s and Steve Buscemi in the starring role as "Nucky" Thompson; a complex criminal figure who could actually give Tony Soprano a run for his money. The series also features Kelly Macdonald in a star making turn as Margaret Schroeder, Nucky's mistress who reluctantly becomes entangled in his world.

Appropriately enough, the antagonist for the series is actually a lawman named Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon), a man who is so over-zealously religious that he actually drowns his own partner during a baptism. And his obsession with Margaret and Nucky was appropriately creepy, which can only raise the stakes when "Boardwalk Empire" returns.

"Boardwalk Empire" is the kind of epic storytelling that HBO used to be famous for, but hasn't really attempted since "Rome" and "Deadwood" went off the air. Fortunately, this series is poised for a long run after receiving great ratings and an early second season pickup. 

1: TERRIERS

There's something sad about the fact that the best show on TV this year was barely watched by anyone. But that was the case with "Terriers."

The first few episodes weren't spectacular. To all appearances, "Terriers" was just a standard private investigator show, with an ex-alcoholic former cop, Hank Dolworth (Donal Logue) and his partner, a former thief named Britt Pollack (Michael Raymond-James).

But the fourth episode was the first sign that "Terriers" was something special. After framing a millionaire in the first episode for killing one of Hank's friends (which they honestly believed he had done), Hank and Britt were hired by the millionaire's wife to steal some hidden funds and return them to the couple in exchange for a substantial share of the money. Hank and Britt took the case and ultimately got the millionaire killed when they uncovered an even larger conspiracy against their small town of Ocean Beach. And rather than come clean with the police or take on the villains themselves, Britt and Hank actually faked a traffic accident to escape the blame for the millionaire's death and walk away from it all.

That sort of grey morality is rare on TV and it wasn't the only occasion that Britt and Hank crossed the line. By the time they were drawn back into the conspiracy, Hank and Britt had compromised themselves and betrayed their partnership. The final episodes even ratcheted up the tension and left both men either facing jail or framed for murder.

I've been over the way that FX's marketing department failed this show at length, and to be sure, this was one of the more painful cancellations of the year. But I find that I can't get too upset about it because "Terriers" ended so well. Nearly every plot point introduced in the series was wrapped up by the 13th episode in a satisfactory way that reaffirmed Hank and Britt's partnership while leaving them at a crossroads.

And that's why "Terriers" was the best show on TV this year. It had a great overarching story, excellent acting from every cast member and high production values... but most of all, Hank and Britt were two of the most compelling characters to come along in some time.

There will always be great TV series that are canceled too soon, but at the very least, people will be able to discover "Terriers" on DVD, Blu Ray and any other future format for years and years to come.