Check out all our lists for BuddyTV's Top 7 of '07 to relive the best and the worst of the year in television.


While 2007 will long be remembered as the year of the writers' strike, I will remember it for more personal reasons: it was the first full year I owned a DVR.  For a rabid television fanatic, the DVR is the single greatest invention ever made.  It completely changes the way you watch TV, and in fact, it ties in with the writers' strike, because the television landscape is changing.  No longer do you need to be home by 8pm to catch the latest episode of American Idol, you can watch it on your own time.

I used my DVR to watch every single show I possibly could.  I watched the best like Lost and Damages, and the worst with Hidden Palms and John from Cincinnati.  I watched major reality shows like The Amazing Race, and smaller ones like Celebrity Rap Superstar.  And best of all, I did it my way.

2007 saw the end of HBO's reign as cable king when The Sopranos came to a sudden and unpleasant close, opening the doors for Showtime and FX to battle for cable TV supremacy.  Shows like Dexter, Weeds, Damages, The Shield and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia have come into the spotlight.

The year also brought the best crop of new shows in a long time.  Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl, Chuck, Samantha Who?, Dirty Sexy Money, Journeyman, and Reaper are all welcome additions to my regular TV schedule.

And while they didn't quite make my list, I'd like to also encourage readers to check out Extras, Ricky Gervais' brilliant follow-up to The Office that ended with one of the greatest finales ever, one that works as both comedy and tragedy.  There was also ESPN's intriguing miniseries The Bronx is Burning, and even though I'm not much of a baseball guy, Oliver Platt as George Steinbrenner and John Turturro as Billy Martin gave two fantastic performances.

The fact remains that television is reaching a golden age in which there are so many shows on so many networks that there's bound to be plenty of greatness on every night.  The trick is to find it.  A lot of my favorite shows are the smaller ones, and I truly hope in 2008, more people bother to get DVRs and enjoy the future of TV watching.


JOHN'S BEST SHOWS
1. Lost
2. Damages
3. The Colbert Report
4. Friday Night Lights
5. Pushing Daisies
6. Battlestar Galactica
7. The Closer

JOHN'S WORST SHOWS
1. I Love New York 2
2. Dirt
3. On the Lot
4. 24
5. Keeping Up with the Kardashians
6. Hidden Palms
7. John from Cincinnati

JOHN'S BEST REALITY TV VILLAINS
1. Taylor, Kid Nation
2. Lacey Conner, Rock of Love
3. Andre Birleanu, America's Most Smartest Model
4. Dick and Daniele Donato, Big Brother 8
5. Tailor Made, I Love New York 2
6. Rob and Amber, The Amazing Race: All-Stars
7. Evil Stan, Who Wants to be a Superhero?

JOHN'S SADDEST DEATHS
1. Curtis Manning, 24
2. Bobby Baccalieri, The Sopranos
3. Chief Jerry Reilly, Rescue Me
4. Sheriff Don Lamb, Veronica Mars
5. Sergeant James Doakes, Dexter
6. Nathan Petrelli, Heroes
7. Sprinkles the Cat, The Office

JOHN'S BEST FINALES
1. Lost
2. Battlestar Galactica
3. My Name is Earl
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Gilmore Girls
6. The Office
7. Veronica Mars

JOHN'S BEST REALITY TV MOMENTS
1. Zach wins part one of the final HoH, Big Brother 8
2. Sanjaya makes a girl cry, American Idol
3. Ashley's meltdown, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila
4. Zach defeats Taylor in the election, Kid Nation
5. Jes dumps Bret at the reunion, Rock of Love
6. Perez Hilton's original song, Celebrity Rap Superstar
7. Marie Osmond faints, Dancing with the Stars