Best TV Shows of 2005

Life On Mars 74
ABC, Thursday

Kath & Kim 36
NBC, Thursday

Eleventh Hour 55
CBS, Thursday

Testees 38
FX, Thursday

Easy Money 67
CW, Sunday

Valentine 47
CW, Sunday

The Ex List 62
CBS, Friday

Star Wars: The Clone Wars 64
Cartoon Network, Friday

Sanctuary 56
Sci-Fi, Friday

The IT Crowd 67
IFC, Tuesday

Life Season Two 72
NBC, Monday, Friday

Dexter Season Three 78
Showtime, Sunday

Metacritic's complete Best of 2005 TV Coverage: Critic Top Ten Lists | Awards & Nominations

Unnumbered lists are sorted alphabetically by title.

Boston Globe (Matthew Gilbert)
1.	Lost (ABC)
2.	My Name Is Earl (NBC)
3.	The Comeback (HBO)
4.	Rome (HBO)
5.	Nip/Tuck (FX) and Rescue Me (FX)
6.	Six Feet Under (HBO) [series finale]
7.	House (Fox)
8.	Prison Break (Fox) and 24 (Fox) and Sleeper Cell (Showtime)
9.	The Closer (TNT)
10.	The West Wing (NBC)

Chicago Tribune (Maureen Ryan & Sid Smith)
	Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi)
	Deadwood (HBO)
	Everybody Hates Chris (UPN)
	Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
	House (Fox)
	Lost (ABC)
	My Name Is Earl (NBC)
	Rome (HBO)
	The Shield (FX)
	Veronica Mars (UPN)

Entertainment Weekly (Gillian Flynn)
1.	Arrested Development (Fox)
2.	Bodies (BBC America)
3.	Lost (ABC)
4.	The Staircase (Sundance)
5.	Entourage (HBO)
6.	Veronica Mars (UPN)
7.	(tie) Stella (Comedy Central) (tie) Wonder Showzen (MTV2)
8.	Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
9.	Everwood (WB)
10.	Prison Break (Fox)

Entertainment Weekly (Mark Harris)
1.	The West Wing (NBC)
2.	The Shield (FX)
3.	Rome (HBO)
4.	The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
5.	(tie) Unforgivable Blackness (PBS) (tie) No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (PBS)
6.	Entourage (HBO)
7.	Project Greenlight (Bravo)
8.	The Office (NBC)
9.	The Comeback (HBO)
10.	TV news' Hurricane Katrina coverage (various)

Kansas City Star / TVBarn.com (Aaron Barnhart)
1.	The Staircase (Sundance)
2.	Off To War (Discovery Times)
	30 Days (FX)
	The Boondocks (Cartoon Network)
	The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
	Entourage (HBO)
	Foreign Exchange (PBS)
	The Girl In The Cafe (HBO)
	I’m Alan Partridge (BBC America)
	Intervention (A&E)
	Kitchen Confidential (Fox)
	The Shield (FX)

New York Daily News (David Bianculli)
	Arrested Development (Fox)
	Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
	The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) and Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO)
	Deadwood (HBO)
	Desperate Housewives (ABC)
	Lost (ABC)
	My Name Is Earl (NBC)
	No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (PBS)
	Over There (FX)
	Scrubs (NBC)

The New York Times (Alessandra Stanley)
1.	The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
2.	Sleeper Cell (Showtime)
3.	Weeds (Showtime)
4.	House (Fox)
5.	TV news' Hurricane Katrina coverage (various)
6.	Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
7.	Commander In Chief (ABC)
8.	Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC)
9.	The Closer (TNT)
10.	Martha (syndicated)

People Weekly (Tom Gliatto)
1.	Lost (ABC)
2.	The Comeback (HBO)
3.	Prison Break (Fox)
4.	Everybody Hates Chris (UPN)
5.	Supernatural (WB)
6.	The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
7.	Veronica Mars (UPN)
8.	Desperate Housewives (ABC)
9.	Dancing With The Stars (ABC)
10.	No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (PBS)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Rob Owen)
1.	Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi)
2.	Lost (ABC)
3.	Sleeper Cell (Showtime)
4.	Entourage (HBO)
5.	Arrested Development (Fox)
6.	The West Wing (NBC)
7.	The Office (NBC)
8.	My Name Is Earl (NBC)
9.	Veronica Mars (UPN)
10.	Over There (FX)

Pop Matters
1.	Arrested Development (Fox)
2.	Lost (ABC)
3.	House (Fox)
4.	The Simpsons (Fox)
5.	Veronica Mars (UPN)
6.	Nip/Tuck (FX)
7.	South Park (Comedy Central)
8.	The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
9.	24 (Fox)
10.	The Shield (FX)

San Francisco Chronicle (Tim Goodman)
1.	Arrested Development (Fox)
2.	My Name Is Earl (NBC)
3.	Rescue Me (FX)
4.	Rome (HBO)
5.	Entourage (HBO)
6.	Lost (ABC)
7.	Extras (HBO)
8.	Everybody Hates Chris (UPN)
9.	Family Guy (Fox)
10.	Over There (FX)

San Jose Mercury-News (Charlie McCollum)
1.	Lost (ABC)
2.	Various programs (FX)
3.	Deadwood (HBO)
4.	The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) and The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
5.	Veronica Mars (UPN)
6.	No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (PBS)
7.	Nightline (ABC)
8.	Various programs (BBC America)
9.	Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
10.	Arrested Development (Fox)

Time - Best New Shows (James Poniewozik)
1.	Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi)
2.	The Office (NBC)
3.	Weeds (Showtime)
4.	Sometimes In April (HBO)
5.	Project Runway (Bravo)
6.	Wonder Showzen (MTV2)
7.	The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
8.	How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
9.	Prison Break (Fox)
10.	Everybody Hates Chris (UPN)

Time - Best Returning Shows (James Poniewozik)
1.	Lost (ABC)
2.	Deadwood (HBO)
3.	Arrested Development (Fox)
4.	Veronica Mars (UPN)
5.	Entourage (HBO)
6.	American Idol (Fox)
7.	Six Feet Under (HBO)
8.	Rescue Me (FX)
9.	The Shield (FX)
10.	South Park (Comedy Central)