TV's year of 'Lost' and finds like 'Glee'

There was definitely a transitional feel to the year in television, understandable given that 2010 was either the end of a memorable decade on TV or the beginning of a new one.

2010, in fact, was pretty much both.

"24" launched not long after Sept. 11, 2001, and wrapped in May, or "Day 8" at exactly 4 p.m. A state-of-the-art revenge fantasy had finally exhausted a seemingly inexhaustible supply of bad guys and semi-plausible plot lines.

"Lost," too, emerged from a self-imposed shadow world of riddles, clues, red herrings, smoke monsters and polar bears. (Everyone lived! Then died. Just like in real life.) TV's great mind-meld experiment with obsessed fans - a successful one - had finally run its course as well.

Meanwhile, the lights went out on "Law & Order," too. "L&O" began in 1990, the Triassic in TV terms, but adapted, thrived and replicated while its progeny endures to this day.

Then, there was late-night chaos. In 2009, NBC and a (very) few misguided pundits declared Jay Leno's 10 p.m. show the "Future of Television." By early 2010 that future was dragged back to the past after a mass revolt by NBC stations who saw their 11 p.m. newscasts shrivel in the immediate wake of "The Jay Leno Show." Canceled, the host found himself without a show, but not for long. NBC wanted Jay back at 11:30, and Conan O'Brien was told to move "Tonight" to midnight (where, even if not semantically, it would have become "Tomorrow Morning"). Instead, he moved to TBS. The architects of the debacle were later forced out by NBC Universal's new owner, Comcast.

But what of the beginning? Well . . . take a deep breath . . . there was "Hawaii Five-0," "The Defenders," "Raising Hope," "Better With You," "Mike and Molly," "Blue Bloods" and "$#*! My Dad Says," which are all working reasonably well but not - inexplicably - as well as "Jersey Shore" which set viewing records in its 2010 sophomore season, or as well as "The Walking Dead," which was the most watched AMC show ever (take that, "Mad Men") and earned a Golden Globe nod in the bargain.

Snooki, Situation, JWoww and zombies as 2010's breakout stars? There's a punch line here. Somewhere.

I can hardly wait for 2011.

The best shows of 2010

1. "THE PACIFIC" (HBO)

Though not always in the habit of repeating myself, nevertheless, here's a line from the May review and I see no reason to change the assessment: "An honest and often magnificent tribute to the 1st Marine Division." 2001's "Band of Brothers" was arguably a more satisfying film - and more engrossing story - but this was more visually spectacular. The year's crowning achievement.

2. "BREAKING BAD" (AMC)

Not enough viewers are paying enough attention to TV's best series, while all the buzz - and love - seems to cling to "Mad Men." That's OK (see No. 5), but networks have a way of dismissing series that most viewers have dismissed. "BB's" third season was even better than its second, and the May episode "Fly" was the best 44 minutes of TV I saw all year.

3. "BOARDWALK EMPIRE" (HBO)

Like also-worthy freshman "Treme," "Boardwalk" got some mixed viewer reactions - too slow, ponderous, or Steve Buscemi (Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, the softhearted, cold-blooded boss of the Atlantic City Prohibition-era rackets) just doesn't seem like a goodfella, for cryin' out loud. I beg to differ: Buscemi is wonderful here, and the supporting cast as well: Dabney Coleman as the corrupt has-been Commodore Louis Kaestner, Michael Pitt as Jimmy Darmody, Michael K. Williams as Chalky White and, especially, Michael Shannon as holy roller federal Prohibition agent Nelson Van Alden. The season finale - with that beautiful closing scene as the camera panned over the boardwalk and then out to the rising sun - especially promised great things to come.

4. "MODERN FAMILY" (ABC) and "GLEE" (Fox)

Linking both shows carries some risk because as matters stand, "Modern Family" is the superior show - sharper, funnier, more assured and self-assured than in even its first dazzling season. Success, meanwhile, seems to have gone to "Glee's" head in its sophomore year. There's been some fine material this year, but "Glee" feels more uneven and less focused. Fact is, the second half of "Glee's" freshman year, which wrapped in May, was a wonder, and Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester was TV's standout character of the year - although Betty White sure gave her a run, didn't she?

5. "MAD MEN" (AMC)

I'm not sure which episode I swooned over more, but it would probably have to be Sept. 5's "The Suitcase," in which Don (Jon Hamm) goes on an all-night bender in the office while a stupefied Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) looks on helplessly. Don awakes from his drunken stupor to see . . . a ghost. A great episode in another extraordinary season.

6. "LOST" (ABC)

The finale was a bit disappointing - no need to get into that now - but the episodes leading up to the End were flat-out glorious: Widmore and his sub; Sawyer as a cop; the secret of Alpert's immortality; Jack and Locke in L.A.; Jacob; the Man in Black; their mom. This classic gave so much joy and pleasure over six seasons - and the final one delivered as well.

7. "THE OFFICE" and "30 ROCK" (NBC)

Twin works of comic glory. My love and admiration for both remains boundless - and undiminished.

8. "MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE" (TNT)

Terrific new series with a great cast that explores midlife drift with humor and a certain amount of poignancy. The tone lightened the second season, which makes it even more entertaining.

9. "THE WALKING DEAD" (AMC)

Ah, zombies. Ah, the living humans who have to kill them before they get transformed into zombies themselves. What a surprise this turned out to be - the Halloween launch was good, but the show built in intensity and intrigue and managed to cap it all with one of the best finales of any series all year. This excellent new horror series arrived just as '09's horror standout - "True Blood" - curdled. How lucky.

10. "MACBETH" (PBS)

A fine, harrowing and, of course, bloody adaptation by Rupert Goold - whose stage production of same also had a brief run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2008. Starring the glorious Patrick Stewart and equally glorious Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth. "Great Performances," in fact, had an absolutely stellar year - and I'd be criminally remiss not to mention David Tennant's starring role in "Hamlet," which also featured Stewart as Claudius and his ghost.