Since this category's introduction in 2006, no show has provided more of a love/hate relationship for our staff than our fifth place selection, Lost. We originally voted it the fourth best show on television in 2006, lauding the first season finale and the genius of the introduction of the Desmond character at the start of season two. In 2007, Lost fell outside the top 10 in voting and I mentioned in passing that the staff found it "increasingly frustrating". A solid third season featuring Locke being thrown out a window by his father and an absolutely impeccable season finale that used flash forwards as well as flashbacks returned the show to our good graces. We named it the sixth best show of 2008, albeit with only 20 votes. Lost benefited by our house being divided on what the best programs on television were outside of the Big Three (Friday Night Lights, The Office and Battlestar Galactica). This year sees Lost finish only one spot higher, but its 50 votes are more indicative of how satisfied we were with season four. Thanks to great episodes such as The Economist, Ji Yeon, There's No Place Like Home (the two-part season finale) and The Constant – my choice for the best single episode of television of 2008 – almost all has been forgiven with Lost. Now that it has the opportunity to build toward a finish, even more should be expected of it in our voting over the next two years.

Chuck and Mad Men, two of our other new selections this year, finish in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Chuck's first season was a celebration of the everyman geek, albeit one that celebrates the spy fantasy that so many people working in boring jobs use to pass their days. Chuck is hysterically funny, features BOP fave Adam Baldwin in a role tailor-made to his skill set, and introduced us to the glorious (and occasionally 3-D) majesty of Yvonne Strahovski. There is much for us to love about it. Meanwhile, Mad Men is almost diametrically opposed to Chuck in terms of premise and tone. Set in the high powered advertising world of the 1960s, this cynical take on the mores of the business world back in that day is fabulous. Mad Men exposes a world of chauvinism, manipulation and predatory marketing while somehow managing to create engaging characters we root for almost in spite of ourselves. Believe the hype on Mad Men. It's one of the best dramas on television not just today but ever.

Rounding out the top ten this year are How I Met Your Mother, Battlestar Galactica, The Daily Show, and Top Chef. The CBS sitcom that features Dr. Horrible and Buffy's BFF, Willow, moved up a spot from 2008's ninth place finish to eighth this year. Presumably, the voting increase from 17 last year to 40 this year can be attributed to the fact that the show hits its stride with seminal moments such as Robin sleeping with Barney and the vaunted slap bet episode. Meanwhile, Battlestar Galactica fell victim to unrealistic expectations a bit in its slide from third last year to ninth this year. The first half of season four felt like filler too often for people anxiously awaiting the show's getting to the fireworks factory by revealing the final Cylon. Given the lavish praise thrown on the 2009 episodes to date, it's reasonable to expect a much stronger showing next year. The malevolent way this show works, I would not be surprised if it ended with a most literal bang. Finally, you probably notice I list eleven shows for our top ten and the rationale is that we have a tie in tenth place. Our staff was divided between our love for The Daily Show's magnificent election year coverage and our passion for our new favorite reality program, Top Chef. Both are worthy nominees, so we decided not to pick between them.

Just missing selection this year were Life, The Simpsons, Burn Notice (my personal favorite program of 2008), South Park, True Blood, Entourage, My Name Is Earl, The Colbert Report and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Dr. Horrible has proven to be a frustrating piece of content to quantify as it's not really a television show per se but it was a staff obsession for the body of 2008. We may even need to redefine the specificity of the category moving forward as more entries such as this are released. Television is evolving in a manner we would not have anticipated even just a couple of years ago and programs that debut on computers may have to be included under that umbrella as we move forward. Alternately, we may just add a new category for Best Internet Program. (David Mumpower/BOP)

Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Director
Best DVD
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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