Well ABC seemed to be out in the lead for having the most shows we were thankful for in 2009 with 4 of their new shows making our list. In second place was the USA channel with 2, while Syfy, Fox, HBO and NBC all had 1 on the list as well. I was surprised that CBS didn’t make our list but with so many already good shows previous to 2009 they didn’t have to add a lot to their programming schedule. Glee got our top spot while Flashforward barely made the list.

1. Glee

Couldn’t think of any other show to go here than this one. A complete surprise this musical dramedy series from of all people, Ryan Murphy, the guy who brought us Nip/Tuck. This series is a massive 180 from his repetoire but thats okay because we love it. Everything from the weekly musical selections, to the talented group of young actors lending their voices and dance skills to new age pop songs and classic show tunes. How can we forget the humorous musings from Sue either. This show has something that everyone will enjoy from baby mama drama, teen pregnancy, school drama, geeks versus jocks, cheerios, etc. Glee is undeniably original and the best show of 2009. Naturally we are thankful for it. Thanks! Glee for making us smile and sing every week. Catch it 9/8c on Fox. Songs to heat them sing are: Don’t Stop Believing, No Air, Defying Gravity, Gold Digger, Hate On Me, Sweet Caroline, Maybe this Time and much more!

2. Bored To Death

Created by Jonathan Ames this HBO comedy series stars, Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Funny People) who plays Jonathan, a Brooklyn writer who deals with a bad breakup by acting out his Raymond Chandler-esque private-eye fantasy — trenchcoat and all. His casework delights a magazine-editor friend (Ted Danson) and dismays his best buddy (The Hangover’s Zach Galifianakis). Oh yeah, he’s a drinker too. Almost a parody of noir with copious amounts dramedy this series dips into the realm of Maltese Falcon with edgy humor and it revels on the idea that sometimes adults do not grow up and they use “artistic” means to justify all the bad whiny things in their life.

3. Community

Now I do not know if this new NBC comedy deserves number 3 but I can’t help but love its mindless humor and quirky characters. Not to mention Ken Jeong is freakin awesome! Chevy Chase’s presence helps and hurts the show as his character Pierce is borderline retarded and annoying when not funny. Its main character, Jeff Winger, played by joel McHale is worth watching as he has his wit from the Soup built into his character that stirs the show forward. The series revolves around a group of students at a community college in Denver, Colorado called Greendale Community College.

4. Stargate Universe

I couldn’t help put this on the list as we were highly anticipating its arrival after years of Atlantis and SG-1, this new venture within the franchise from MGM, has been a fresh change of pace to the original shows. A great and diverse cast this new venture into the Gateworld bodes as a nice middleground to predecessor shows like Battlestar Gallactica and Firefly. Syfy’s new hit revolved around a group of military space explorers, scientists and civilians that are forced through a Stargate in order to survive an attack only to find themselves in an unknown universe on a decaying million year old ship built by an ancient race. In the wrong place the survivors must find a way to band together to find a way back home. Edgy and dark, the cast that standout in this series are Brian J. Smith, David Blue and Jamil Walker Smith all owning their characters really well. Robert Carlyle is great to watch as the Machiavellian defacto leader of the survivors.

5. V

A remake of the classic 80’s sci-fi mini-series this new retelling from the 4400 creator Scott Peters gives us the same story but with some up to date storytelling and themes. Some say its anti-Obama and anti-universal health care, we say its open to interpretation, which is the neat thing about the show. A great cast of noticables from other shows within the genre. Lost’s Elizabeth Mitchell plays FBI agent, Erica Evans, who stumbles on the Visitors real agenda early and must form a secret resistance while protecting her son from being caught up in the propaganda of the alien “friendlies”. Like Lost, this show revives another Party of Five actor, Scott Wolf, who plays an ambitious reporter named Chad Decker. Perhaps the most visible character in the series is hottie, Morena Baccarin, who is good at playing creepy alien baddies (Stargate SG-1), the mother of Lisa (Laura Vandervoort) and High Commander of the V High Council. This show is promising as a nice genre friendly show for ABC, looking for a soon to be Lost replacement.

6. Modern Family

Another ABC series, this new comedy explores the progressive nature of some families in this era to some extreme featuring an older man (Ed O’Neill) with a younger hispanic wife. He happens to be a divorcee’ with a crazy Ex-Wife (Shelley Long). His daughter has the traditional family with a husband and 3 kids, Her brother, who is gay, lives with his partner and have recently adopted a baby. This series takes the multigenerational family to a whole new level and it makes for so much dysfunction you just love to laugh at. Perhaps some the best moments are yet to come but from what we have seen so far we are hooked. Not to mention the  Lion King score used in the pilot was hilarious.

7. Royal Pains

USA brings us to another perfect show for their brand of “Characters Welcome” with this delightful change of pace to the typical medical drama with your superhero medical main character. Don’t get us wrong our main character Hank Larson (Mark Feurstein) is the MacGyver of medicine but thats why we love him. The Hamptons as a backdrop serves as a nice character itself for the series. The comedy is dry sometimes probably from the hit or miss timing from brother, Evan Larson (Paulo Constanzo). Perhaps the attractiveness to the series is that Hank is likeable and very easy to root for. As ER doctor he is fired from his New York hospital after saving a kid over a benefactor. Needing a pick-up he and his brother escape to the Hamptons where they find the benefit of Hank becoming an on-call in house call doctor to the super rich. HankMed is formed and with that hit new cable series that fits right there with Burn Notice.

8. White Collar

Another USA series this one hit us by surprise. A nice hip Catch Me If You Can type series that has a little funk like AMC’s Hustle, this show definitely fits the mantra of “Characters Welcome” with a new cool guy to follow every week. Chuck’s Bryce Larkin or rather his real name, Matt Bomer, plays Neal Caffery – a con-artist who teams up with the FBI agent who put him in prison in order to stay a free man. Lovable, laughable and mostly predictable this series is just fun to watch so what more could you ask for. Oh yeah Kelly Kapowski is in the show too, yes that is right! Tiffany Theissen is a nice fresh supporting character in the series.

9. Defying Gravity

Not really sure of its fate this show went right under the radar on ABC. Not hyped nor was it promoted heavily this sci-fi series dubbed “Grey’s Anatomy in Space” is more like Space Camp meets Grey’s Anatomy by way of Lost. Just enough mystery to keep you interested this series has lots of character development and great narrative storytelling about a group of astronauts in the distant future. Set in the year 2052, the series follows eight astronauts -four women and four men-from five countries on a six-year space mission through the Solar System, during which they are monitored from earth via a real-time communication system. The cast has TV regulars you may have seen before but standout is Ron Livingston who plays Maddox Donner, a chief engineer who has endeared much hardships from previous missions. He and the rest of the crew seem to be destined for this mysterious mission that has a lot more at stake than just exploring and that we mean is the mysterious BETA mentioned in the pilot episode. Hopefully we will see more from this series but time will tell on that one.

10. Flashforward

Last but not least, another ABC show, this little ditty from writers David Goyer and Brannon Braga, made the list only because we were wearing thin on choices. The show seemed to have major promise giving us a Lost type event to look forward too, even having a couple of cast members (Dominic Monahan, Sonja Walger) from the popular series in it. At times the show seems mysteriously enticing but at other times it all seems silly, ridiculous and almost pointless in its direction. Time is a weird thing and often to difficult to write about especially on when the series relies completely on the future. Maybe that is where the curiosity in the series lies. Can the future be changed? What theory of time travel is our writing team working with? These questions an more make it one of the most interesting new shows in from 2009.