Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Top 10 Television Drama Seasons (That I've watched)

Following Dallas' defeat of the Miami heat we entered the doldrums of the year with regards to sports.  With the exception of the NBA draft, for the next few months Sportscenter will be dominated by MLB highlights from relatively meaningless games, NFL/NBA lockout discussion, and in all likelihood a unrelenting dissection of why LeBron's fingers are still conspicuously lacking of any jewelery.  As I find any one of these topics as boring as the next, I figure it is time for my third non-sports related post (which is quickly becoming an annual summer tradition).  In a nice twist of irony my breakdown of the LOST finale last summer remains the most viewed entry in this website's history.  While LOST may be over, another show has captivated an hour of my time on a weekly basis.  Indeed, LeBron's title hopes were not the only source of drama over the past few Sundays.  HBO's new series Game of Thrones just wrapped up an excellent first season this past Sunday night.  Consequently, I decided ranking the best single TV seasons would make for a fun break from sports posting.

Before I begin with the rankings, let me announce a few stipulations.

Firstly, I am only ranking television seasons that I have watched, so while I don't mind people sharing their feedback on their favorite seasons, don't rip me for not including a season of Mad Men, The Sopranos or Breaking Bad.  I'm sure those are excellent shows and ones that I would love to watch had I infinite time, but at the moment I do not and thus they are not included in the list.

Secondly, I have limited this list to only include television drama, because I feel including drama and comedy shows in the same category is comparing apples and oranges.

Lastly, because the write ups for the seasons on the list are SPOILER heavy, I have split them onto separate pages which you can access by clicking on the title of each season on the list below.  I know this may be slightly obnoxious, but it was the only way to ensure avoiding accidentally spoiling great seasons of televisions for readers of this post.  Having said that, if you want to avoid having a show spoiled for you, don't click on that particular link in the countdown.  With that said let's begin!

Honorable Mention: Heroes, Season 1

10) House Season 1

9) 24 Season 1

8) LOST Season 4

7) Dexter Season 1 - Guest Written by Daniel Tobben

6) Game of Thrones Season 1 

5) The Wire Season 1 

4) 24 Season 5

3) Band of Brothers (Mini Series) - Guest Written by Michael Tobben

2) The Wire Season 4

1) LOST Season 1