American Film Institute Awards Best TV 2010

Certain things are more plentiful this time of year. Toy commercials. Pine needles in the rug. And Top Ten lists. The first two are irritating, but the last one's actually helpful. A compilation of the year's best TV shows lets you know which gems you may have missed, so you can catch up via Netflix or On Demand.

Yesterday, we learned which TV shows will be honored at next month's venerable American Film Institute Awards ceremony. Boy, I wish this list of high-quality TV shows could arrive in my inbox at the start of the TV season. Oh, I know that's impossible, since AFI's jury of actors, academics, critics, and other industry players need to see the shows before they can point out the highest-quality ones. But it sure would save me a lot of time to know this information earlier!

The producer Steven Bochco and actress Jennifer Love Hewitt were both on the judging team for this year's TV selections. It includes a made-for-HBO movie, three network TV shows, three premium cable shows, and three shows just on AMC. (Five years ago, would anyone have guessed that this basic cable channel known for classic movies was going to emerge as the go-to network for high-quality, original scripted series?)

Here are the honorees:

The Big C (Showtime)

Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

Breaking Bad (AMC)

Glee (Fox)

Mad Men (AMC)

Modern Family (ABC)

The Pacific (HBO)

30 Rock (NBC)

The Walking Dead (AMC)

Temple Grandin (HBO)

None of the selections are a big surprise; critics have been gushing about each of these shows throughout the year. But as usual, the list barely correlates to what we're actually watching. Sure, 30 Rock and Glee and Mad Men are hits with lots of fans, and they've won their share of Emmy's. But so far in 2010, television's highest-rated shows are CBS's NCIS, ABC's Dancing With the Stars, and Sunday Night Football.  Out of AFI's favorites, only one—Modern Family—has attracted enough viewers to land in Nielsen's top 20.

All that fancy scripted stuff is all fine and good, but this is America. Give us a fox-trotting Bristol Palin, and we're good.

Do you agree with the AFI's selections? Chime in below!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/american-film-institute-awards-best-tv-2010/1-a-306132

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