With just a month away from the end of this decade, it’s time to get nostalgic. In some ways, television seemingly hit its peak and downfall in the past ten years. Broadcast shows have been tossed aside more and more for basic cable. Premium cable networks such as HBO and Showtime have started to flex their muscles. It’s a confusing time for producers, actors, network execs, advertising execs and viewers. But in the past ten years, there have been several shows that showed, during however long they were airing, they shouldn’t be forgotten.

With that in mind, I will spend the next few weeks counting down my picks for the Top 25 television series of 2000-2009. There needs to be a preface at this point. I am not saying that my opinion is the end all, be all. Lest you look at the first list and see that I haven’t seen quite a few well regarded series of this past decade, and you’ll realize that. I tried to be as objective as I could with this list. I didn’t just rank my favorite shows of the decade. I tried to keep in mind, the shows that took the nation by storm and left an imprint on pop culture. I also realize that as with a lot of lists like this, the nuts and bolts of the rankings could change depending on mood. This list was trying to best gauge the average spot I would choose the series in relation to the rest.

So all that aside, here we go…

Stuff that might have made my list, but I haven’t watched it: Angel, The Big Bang Theory, Boston Legal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Burn Notice, The Closer, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Damages, Deadwood, Dexter, Firefly, Flight of the Conchords, Heroes, In Treatment, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Monk, My Name is Earl, The Office (UK), Oz, The Practice, Pushing Daisies, Rescue Me, The Riches, The Shield, Six Feet Under, True Blood, Will & Grace

Honorable Honorable Mention (#45-36) — These are the shows that I’ll watch from time to time, and were memorable for various reasons this past decade, but don’t stick out as much as others (in alphabetical order).

- Cheap Seats (without Ron Parker)
(ESPN Classic: February 4, 2004-November 19, 2006; 77 episodes)
The Sklar brothers bring their own variaton of the MST3K format to forgotten or over the top sporting related events, including the National Spelling Bee and 1970s professional wrestling.

- Corner Gas
(CTV: January 22, 2004-April 13, 2009; 107 episodes)
“There’s not a lot going on” in Dog River, Saskatchewan but the quirky residents made this show a critical and fan favorite in the Great White North.

- Entourage
(HBO: July 18, 2004-present; 78 episodes)
A show all about Young Hollywood, Entourage taught us that there is plenty to love about show business. It also brought us Jeremy Piven on a consistent basis.

- Everybody Loves Raymond
(CBS: September 13, 1996-May 16, 2005; 210 episodes)
Although some have pointed out its repeated episode format, the series was a ratings hit as it finished no lower than twelfth from season three onward. It also won 2 Emmy’s for Best Comedy.

- Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit
(NBC: September 20, 1999-present; 233 episodes)
The second in the popular L&O franchise, the series focuses primarily on sexual crimes and cases. In recent years, it has passed its predecessor in ratings.

- Nip/Tuck
(FX: July 22, 2003-present; 89 episodes)
Capitalizing on the craze of plastic surgery, FX found a huge basic cable hit. As with many similar series, the heart and soul of the show is relying on strong guest performances.

- NYPD Blue
(ABC: September 21, 1993-March 1, 2005; 261 episodes)
Although the show had to overcome the loss of enormously popular Jimmy Smits during the 1998-99 season. However, they reloaded with Rick Schroder and later Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Dennis Franz, from the first day, remained at the center of the series until the end. I guarantee this show would be a top 10 pick for the Best of the 90s list.

- The OC
(Fox: August 5, 2003-February 22, 2007; 92 episodes)
More than any other show, The OC can be pointed to as the renaissance of the teen drama series. Although the series never regained its first season popularity, its place in popular culture should not be ignored.

- Prison Break
(Fox: August 29, 2005-May 15, 2009; 81 episodes)
Sometimes, shows can become too complex for their own good. Sometimes, they become tedious. There were times when Prison Break was both of these things. But at its best, it was an extremely well crafted serialized drama series with an all-star cast.

- Smallville
(The WB/The CW: October 16, 2001-present; 183 episodes)
Batman may be the contemporary DC Comics superhero of choice, but Superman remains a popular force. Smallville focuses on a variation of Superman’s origin story and has to best represent the DC Comics label on television, featuring other popular characters.