Nice choices for the AFI Best ...
Question: Nice choices for the AFI Best 2005 TV shows. What were the criteria for that? Were comedies and reality shows not considered, or are they just not that good? Did the shows have to premiere before a certain date? I know it isn't really a concern of the major networks to create quality TV (which is perhaps why CBS has the same show on every day of the week:
CSI,
Numbers,
NCIS,
Criminal Minds,
Without a Trace, ad nauseum), but do they care that the "best" shows are, except for four, not on the major networks? Will the Emmy voters ever be presented with a ballot that reads more like this list than
CSI,
Law & Order and
The West Wing?
Answer: For those who missed the announcement, the American Film Institute list of the year's 10 best programs (for which I was privileged to sit on a jury comprised of critics, industry professionals and academics) is as follows (alphabetically):
Battlestar Galactica,
Deadwood,
Grey's Anatomy,
House,
Lost,
Rescue Me,
Sleeper Cell,
Sometimes in April (HBO movie),
24 and
Veronica Mars. A pretty solid list, gotta say, with not a single crime-drama procedural on the roster. I'm not allowed to comment on the confidential selection/balloting process, but I will say that comedies were seriously discussed, and that none (including, to my chagrin,
My Name Is Earl) made the cut in the final ballot. Reality shows are not considered. This list only deals with scripted TV programs, whether series or movies/miniseries. Sometimes breakthrough reality shows are acknowledged in what are referred to as "moments of significance," but not this year. And do I think the Emmy or Golden Globe nominations (see more on the latter below) will ever be as balanced as this list? Highly doubtful, which is why I'm so proud to be a part of this process.
