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Top Television Shows of 00’s
By Melissa (Age 25, USA)
Television is a part of our generation. We grew up on it, learn from it, intermittently love and hate it, and often obsess over the stars, characters, and storylines. Picking the best over the decade wasn’t easy. Our list sticks to shows focused on tweens, teens, and 20 somethings. In no particular order.
One Tree Hill
The little engine that could. When One Tree Hill first aired critics decimated it as a wannabe cousin of Fox’s hit The OC. Viewership was decent but the show still suffered next to the glamourous cast of The OC. Being far from Hollywood in North Carolina (the show is filmed in Wilmington) kept many of the cast off the radar and most people still associated the town with Dawson’s Creek, forerunner of teen soaps. In fact, to this day the biggest gossip about the show was stars’ Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush’s ill-fated marriage. In all other regards, the cast has stayed safely under the radar. But while critics predicted the show’s demise in a season, two when generous, fans rallied around One Tree Hill. Its viewers slowly grew, making it one of the most watched shows on the CW network. Even the 5th season (a season known across most shows as being the one that can kill a show) increased viewers, despite jumping ahead 5 years in time. And in a rarer move, this last season saw main cast members Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton leave the show for good. Fans though, have remained loyal, showing that this is a show about more than actors, it’s a story with heart.
Why We Were Hooked: Out of the tabloids or not, the stars are gorgeous and most of us love a little drama, as long as it belongs to other people.
Why We Stayed: Because unlike the shows that are crazy drama after crazy drama, One Tree Hill is a show about people. These were relationships we became invested in.
Nathan and Haley won Portrait's Top 10 TV Ships feature three years in a row! |
Favorite Ship: Nathan & Haley Scott. Lucas & Peyton may have been the show’s starcrossed lovers but James Lafferty and Bethany Joy Galeotti portrayed a unique couple for television. Every other show seemed to have the couple that could never quite make it work and the perfect couple. But the perfect couple always messed it up. Not so with Nathan & Haley. After marrying as juniors in high school (no, she wasn’t pregnant) many people said they’d fall apart. So far the couple hasn’t been without their struggles and heartache. But they’ve never caved to temptation, rather staying true to each other. Such faithfulness is a rare thing in tv couples. It’s what makes this one a favorite.
Peyton Sawyer |
Favorite Character: Peyton Sawyer. Somehow Hilarie Burton managed to make a sterotypical punk character into a role of depth.
Best Season: 2nd. Sure most of our couples were all over the place. But the show found its strength in the second season and phenomenal acting from the cast.
Currently One Tree Hill airs on Monday Nights at 7/8 on the CW.
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Gilmore Girls
The story of a single mother and her daughter resonated within the hearts of women around the world. Truly a girl’s show, Gilmore Girls portrayed a mother/daughter relationship as real as possible. While Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and her daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) were each other’s best friends upon the series beginning, over time both grew up and into a parent/child relationship. Rory struggled with teenager issues while Lorelai became a self-sufficient adult. Fans grew attached to all the characters in the town of Stars Hollow, often echoing a desire to live in the fictional town. Thanks to Lauren Graham’s stellar acting, Gilmore Girls maintained their loyal following for seven seasons.
Why We Were Hooked: The premise of a girls show. No pretenses were made that Gilmore Girls would appeal to both genders. This was a show for girls and girls only.
Why We Stayed: Lauren Graham and the pop culture references.
Unrequited love: Rory and Jess
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Favorite Ship: Luke & Lorelai/Rory & Jess. Let’s note Rory & jess first. While fans know that Rory ultimately ends up single in the series finale (and dates several other boys after Jess), Milo Ventigmilia’s role as Jess remains the strongest fan favorite. The perfect bad boy, Jess was the guy who broke hearts and didn’t overdo the apologies. Still, as he grew up, fans hoped for reconciliation but there was none to be found.
Luke and Lorelai
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The real heart of the ships on the show belongs to Luke & Lorelai. Luke’s feelings are set up in Season 1 with hints of interest from Lorelai. Everyone around them sees how perfect they are but fans had to wait until the 4th season for even the start of a romance. The 5th season found the couple blossoming and some of Lauren Graham & Scott Patterson’s finest acting. While Luke’s surprise daughter showing up through a longterm wrench into the situation, the couple eventually made it back together in the series finale. Perhaps the most touching moment came from Lauren Graham’s performance of “I Will Always Love You” towards the end of the series. I dare you not to cry.
Kirk
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Favorite Character: Kirk. Can anyone really forget Kirk tearing through the streets, naked, yelling about his night terrors? While he may have been a supporting cast member, Kirk is one of the most beloved quirks about Stars Hollow.
Best Season: 5 The season of Luke and Lorelai also brought some of the best storylines and acting on the series.
Ended in 2006 after 7 seasons. Fans and its creator still hope for a movie to properly wrap up the series.
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Friday Night Lights:
The show about football in Texas knows only two groups of people. Those who have never watched Friday Night Lights and those who love it. Haters don’t exist for the show. Friday Night Lights (off the book and movie) follows Coach Eric Taylor and the town of Dillon. Fans gravitated towards the story and the cast. Its hard to describe the appeal of Friday Night Lights. You know and love it or you don’t. Regardless, Friday Night Lights is one of the best written shows on television today.
Why We Were Hooked: It was a football show. There’s always the hope that a sports show will be about more than just sports and be heartfelt at the same time.
Why We Stayed: Because this football show was everything fans hoped for and more.
Eric and Tami
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Favorite Ship: Eric & Tami Taylor. Coach Taylor and his wife Tami are hardly the young couple of the show. But its their strength and devotion to each other and the teens they work with that cause fans to fall in love with them. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton do a phenomenal job with the parts.
Tim Riggins
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Favorite Character: Tim Riggins. It was hard to pick a true favorite character but as polarizing as Tim may be in the show, Taylor Kitsch has made him the boy/man fans root for.
Best Season: Season 2. The second season was everything a show should be without the ridiculous McCoys.
Currently airing the 4th season on a directv channel. The show will air on NBC this spring.
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Glee
Glee is the feel good hit of the year. The show may be ending the decade for us but so far it promises to be the hit show of the next decade. Part musical, part comedy, part complete cheese, Glee has something for everyone. Its songs always fit the flow of the episode as well. Lea Michele and Cory Monteith are magnificent in their roles as leads of the Glee Club, Jane Lynch is evil perfection, while Matt Morrison & Jayma Mays give us the grounding the show needs. From its pilot cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” to the mid season showstopper “Somebody to Love” and ending on Streisand’s “Don’t Rain On My Parade”, Glee is the show to fall in love with.
Why We Were Hooked: You can deny it all you want, we all love a good musical. That and it aired the pilot after American Idol, when nothing else is on.
Why We Stayed: Because this wasn’t High School Musical. With a stellar cast of Broadway stars, singers, and amateurs, Glee captured the heart of a nation. It still manages to blend comedy and drama while seamlessly adding song.
Rachel and Finn
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Favorite Ship: Rachel & Finn. Technically they aren’t even a couple yet but one just wants to cheer for the couple that could.
Sue
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Favorite Character: Sue Sylvester. As captain of the Cheerios, Sue Sylvester is brutal but hysterical. Viewers got a touching moment of Sue with her sister once but the true brilliance is how well Jane Lynch flirts with the line between intense and truly evil.
Best Season: Only 1 has aired but its working so far.
Glee aired the fall finale on December 9th and the second half of the season won’t pick up until April 13th. Pick up the dvd on December 29th to maintain your fix until the show picks back up on Wednesday nights on Fox.
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Supernatural
In these days of vampire, werewolves, and ghosts it seems another mythical creature is around every turn. Supernatural though, focuses on the paranormal. Demons, changelings, and the like. A horror/drama, Supernatural has never crossed into sci-fi territory, making it a unique show among its competitors. The show was nearly 10 years in the making as creator Eric Kripke learned more about the stories of the paranormal. In fact, the show started as a very different concept. It was supposed to be all about the monsters, a sort of mini horror movie with the actors being there to simply move the story along. But upon casting Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles in the roles of Sam and Dean Winchester, the writers realized they has something more powerful on their hands. Instead the series became about the brothers with appropriate monsters showing up to further the storylines. Said Kripke about his show, “It’s always been a show about family, much more than it is about anything else. The mythology is only an engine to raise issues about family. A big brother watching out for a little brother, wondering if you have to kill the person you love most, family loyalty versus the greater good, family obligation versus personal happiness.”
Why We Were Hooked: Anyone who loved the paranormal had high hopes that this show would provide a regular horror fix.
Why We Stayed: The story. Just as producers hoped, the show became about far more than a monster of the week.
Sam and Dean
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Favorite Ship: Dean & Sam Winchester. Romances don’t really work for Supernatural though that doesn’t matter. The brothers sybling chemisty is the heart and soul of the show.
Castiel
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Favorite Character: Castiel. Misha Collins plays the angel Castiel who was brought on by the writers to add Christian mythology to the series. The character was originally only supposed to last for 6 episodes but ended up being a regular role for the last 2 seasons in large part due to strong fan support.
Best Season: 4th. After struggling in the second season, the show began to pick up steam in the third season. The 4th season though, really found its strongest viewership and fan devotion.
Supernatural is in its final season (according to any and all sources). It airs on the CW on Thursday Nights.
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Veronica Mars
The girl detective in the likes of Nancy Drew and other sleuths reigned for a mere 3 years on UPN. To the dismay of critics and fans the show was cut off early despite growth in ratings and viewership. Kristen Bell starred as title character Veronica Mars, a high school teen who often solved mysteries. Each episode involves a smaller mystery to be solved while a larger mystery slowly unfolds. The first season focused on the revealing of Veronica’s best friend, Lilly Kane’s murderer. The second season split up the major mysteries but the third season returned to the solving of a serial rapist on Veronica’s college campus. The show dealt seriously with darker issues but still managed to keep a humor to it with Veronica’s quick wit, and Kristen Bell’s excellent portrayal. It was a show that ended far too early.
Why We Were Hooked: Detective shows always draw viewers in.
Why We Stayed: Kristen Bell made Veronica Mars a detective to care about. It didn’t hurt that writers gave us juicy details about Lilly Kane’s murder right away. The noir style filming was just icing on the cake.
Logan and Veronica - Perfect LoVe
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Favorite Ship: LoVe. Perhaps the best nickname for any tv couple, Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars were the couple no one expected but everyone loved. Writers said later that Logan & Veronica, while not without their ups and downs would always have ended up together.
The wonderfully sassy Veronica
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Favorite Character: Veronica Mars. Without Kristen Bell and her genius portrayal of Veronica, the show quite simply does not exist.
Best Season: Season 1. It truly hooked fans from the very beginning.
Veronica Mars ended after only 3 seasons to the dismay of both fans and critics.
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Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana took the idea of creating a brand that Lizzie McGuire started and capitalized on it. Miley Cyrus played the role of Miley Stewart, a normal girl who lived a double life as popstar Hannah Montana. The show skyrocketed Miley Cyrus into fame as an actress and singer. Even now, she remains one of the most recognizable celebrities in the business today. Hannah Montana the show may not have the highest number of viewers but everyone knows about Hannah Montana.
Why We Were Hooked: Most weren’t outside of Disney Channel viewers but the excitement of a show about a pop star made this one highly anticipated in tween households.
Lilly and Oliver
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Why We Stayed: Miley Cyrus. Love her or hate her, there’s no denying that Miley Cyrus is the heart and soul of the show.
Favorite Ship: Oliver Oaken & Lilly Truscott. Played by Mitchell Musso and Emily Osment, Oliver and Lily are a rare recurring character couple, a concept not often seen on Disney Channel shows. Plus Ollipop and Lillipop really are adorable.
Jackson Stewart!
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Favorite Character: Jackson Stewart. Jason Earles is one of the strongest actors on the show and has great comedic timing.
Best Season: Season 3. As Miley Cyrus settled into her fame, so did the cast into their roles and it shows in the quality of the episodes.
Hannah Montana is in its 4th and final season on The Disney Channel.
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Smallville
Smallville gave us the story of Clark Kent’s early years, before he became Superman. The first half of the series focused on high school while the second half moved Clark Kent into his career at the Daily Planet. The rule of “no tights, no flights” was established early on and to this day Superman does not fly in Smallville. He has floated a couple time but even in dreams, remains firmly grounded. Despite various restrictions at times within Superman canon or Warner Bros movies productions, Smallville has managed to last 9 seasons and is highly anticipated to return for a 10th season. That is rumored to be the final season as Clark Kent is growing fast into the adult Superman of the canon. It is the stellar cast and commitment to detail that has given this show its staying power.
Why We Were Hooked: Superman. He’s one of the most beloved superheroes.
Why We Stayed: Because unlike other attempts to tell the stories of Superman, this was a good show with a well-rounded cast.
Lois and Clark
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Favorite Ship: Lois & Clark. Fans of Superman always knew that Lois and Clark would end up together. Luckily writers brought Erica Durance in early on in the series to build on the future relationship. It certainly helped that Erica was more than capable to take on the role of Lois Lane.
The first true kiss between the couple in season 9 is a defining moment in the series.
The brilliant Chloe
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Favorite Character: Chloe Sullivan. While not a member of original Superman canon (as in the character of Chloe does not appear in comic books or any other show/movie), Allison Mack has made Chloe a beloved character. Chloe’s appeal is so great that DC comics even strategized for some time on ways to add the character into comic book canon. So far nothing has come of it but fans still hold out hope.
Best Season: Season 8. Doomsday finally brought us a quality villian, side characters had stronger roles, the Justice League popped up more often, Chloe finally got some serious romance action, and mythology was rampant throughout the show.
Smallville airs on Friday nights on the CW.
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Gossip Girl:
Gossip Girl is based on books by socialite Cecily Von Zieglar about teens on the upper East Side in Manhattan. While the show significantly departs from the books (in good ways), it still maintains that drama, gossip, and scandal are its focal points. Season 3 has proved that this is its greatest appeal as while the character growth has been impressive, the scandal has gone down and so have the viewers. Writers promised to return to the days of beloved gossip and drama. Fans can only hope that is the case. The beauty of Gossip Girl is when it embraces its own soapy nature and doesn’t aspire to be a quality drama. That’s when fans love it best.
Why We Were Hooked: Sex, Money, Fashion. It was the glitzy high life of the upper East Side.
Why We Stayed: Because Gossip Girl did glitzy in all the right ways.
Chuck and Blair
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Favorite Ship: Chuck & Blair. Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester are excellent actors and know how to give strength to their characters as a couple. Chuck and Blair are equally fascinating apart but its together that they are most delightful.
Eric
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Favorite Character: Eric VanderWoodsen. Serena’s younger brother may not be on the show much but when he is, Gossip Girl just gets better.
Best Season: Season 2. The season developed characters and relationships while still maintaining the gossip and cattiness we know and love.
Gossip Girl airs on Monday nights on the CW.
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7th Heaven:
The premise of 7th Heaven was very basic. It told the story of Pastor Eric Camden and his wife Annie and their seven children: Matt, Mary, Lucy, Simon, Ruthie, David, & Sam. The show quickly gained fans and is credited as both the longest running show from the WB and the longest running family drama in television history.
Why We Were Hooked: A pastor and his wife with a large, attractive family. There had to be more to it right?
Why We Stayed: It was the family you wanted to have and welcomed into your home. Fans fell in love.
Favorite Ship: Matt Camden & Sarah Glass. It wasn’t an easy love but it was one that both characters strived for and one of the longest recurring relationships on the show.
Favorite Character: Really, picking just one favorite is impossible. The family was far too intertwined to pull out a favorite.
Best Season: Season 4. While fans found it hard to pick just one, most polls show season 4 as a favorite. Perhaps because this was the last good season with Mary before Jessica Biel was written off the show in season 5.
After 11 seasons, 7th Heaven took its final bow in 2007.
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Honorable Mentions:
Lizzie McGuire: The beginning the brand that is a Disney Star. Lizzie McGuire as a show may not have been the most original. A show about an outcast girl in middle school who had a cartoon narrator. Lizzie disappeared from minds quickly. Hilary Duff though has continued to remain. She commanded the hearts and allowances of tween girls around the world creating a brand in herself and starting the domination of Disney.
The OC: While it started out fantastically, the show’s crazy storylines soon sent it downhill. By the time the series ended in the 4th season, fans were nearly nonexistent. For teen soaps, there are stronger shows. Summer & Seth love aside. Still it did start help to restart the teen soap and sexy cast obsession started with Dawson’s Creek.
Greek: The viewers may not be as high as other shows, but like One Tree Hill, Greek has been steadily growing its fanbase. The episodes get better as time goes on too.
What I Like About You: One of the best but underrated comedies of the WB. Amanda Bynes comedic timing is unmatched by her peers.
Even Stevens: Ask anyone their favorite Disney Channel show and most will say Even Stevens. While it didn’t make the brand domination of other Disney shows, it had some of the most devoted fans. The star, Shia LaBeouf, has made a decent career for himself too.
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