1) Mad Men          
The year's most evocative drama — '60s glamour swathed in cigarette smoke — is also its most provocative. AMC's absorbing period piece introduces us to admen who sell a version of the American Dream belied by the emptiness of their own personal lives. Anchored by Jon Hamm's instant-star turn as ad exec Don Draper, living with a false identity to escape a painful past, Mad Men filters its nostalgia through the cruel realities of workplace and suburban sexism.

2) Planet Earth
A high-water mark for nature programming, Discovery Channel's luscious panorama of rarely seen wonders provides a great incentive for armchair travelers to invest in high-definition TV. The eyes boggle and the mind marvels as camera crews go from pole to pole, traversing mountaintops and subterranean depths, while Sigourney Weaver's crisp narration brings everything back down to earth.

3) 30 Rock
The funniest show too few are watching, and easily the most inspired comedy airing anywhere on TV, NBC's gloriously wacky and sharply written satire goes behind the scenes of a dysfunctional comedy series where corporate lunacy reigns. Tina Fey is terrific as the frazzled and forlorn showrunner/den mother, and there's true genius in Alec Baldwin's career-high craftiness as her hilariously inscrutable boss.

4) The War
History gets personal in the latest masterpiece for PBS from Ken Burns (with partners Lynn Novick and Geoffrey C. Ward). Even familiar WWII stories resonate with new power, as Burns enlists an unforgettable group of narrators (including soldiers and those who endured back home) to share their memories. This heartbreaking, ennobling epic documentary will stand the test of time.

5) Pushing Daisies
ABC took quite a risk with this candy-colored fable of a man who brings the dead to life, albeit with silly strings attached. An enchanting confection, if not for all tastes, Daisies has pleasantly surprised those who worried it could never top its dazzling pilot. Every episode is a charming, inventive delight, a bright spot in a mostly dim fall.

6) Lost
We'd be lost without this ABC show, which remains the most emotionally compelling and surprisingly suspenseful of TV's fantasy-adventures. Introducing one fascinating Other (the enigmatic Juliet) while dispatching two unloved interlopers (Nikki and Paulo) in an inspired Twilight Zone-like detour, Lost blew our minds with its flash-forward finale, revealing that Jack and Kate got off the island. What's next? Can't wait.

7) The Sopranos
Will we ever stop debating the polarizing nonending of HBO's landmark drama? Probably not, which could be why David Chase chose to end his tragicomic tale of a criminal family so abruptly. (It was Journey, not the fat lady, who sang.) Ultimately, it's up to us to determine the fate of Tony, Carmela and the other characters who vividly haunted pop culture for years. The final season gave us so many memorable moments: the boozy brawl over Monopoly, the operatic Godfather-style whacking of Bobby, Tony's more quietly poignant snuffing of Christopher's life, Dr. Melfi firing her most notorious client. So ends a remarkable chapter of TV history.

8) The Shield
FX's signature crime thriller, heading into its twilight with boldness unabated, keeps us riveted and wondering to what brutal extremes Vic Mackey will go to protect his corrupt Strike Team and enforce his twisted code of justice. The tension between Vic and Shane (responsible for the death of fallen colleague Lem) is the year's scariest cat-and-mouse game.

9) Friday Night Lights 
Here's an underdog to cherish, with characters who strike a deep chord of empathy. NBC's lovingly, thoughtfully observed drama of small-town Texas life uses football as a prism to explore issues of race, class, religion and (more melodramatically) redemption. As a bonus, there is no sexier or more believable TV couple than (coach) Eric and Tami Taylor. I'll champion this series to the final touchdown.

10) Showtime
Show by show, Showtime delivers the goods, with a diverse and irresistible array of daring entertainment. They run the gamut from macabre (the grisly, gripping Dexter) to madcap (the subversively ribald Weeds), embracing genres as disparate as the costume epic (the lusty Tudors) and the Hollywood sex farce (the graphic Californication). In Brotherhood, Showtime lays claim to the year's most underappreciated drama, an authentically gritty saga of politics and crime dividing a family's loyalties. Showtime's originals are worth the price of admission.