2008-2009 the year tv wanted to come back and it fell short.

This year tv wanted to gain back momentum after the dreadful 2008 writers' strike. And well, it didn't work. Of the 2nd season shows that came back this year after being cut with the strike all but one (Chuck) got canceled; quality went down the crapper; shows that had peak performance last year stumbled, and only a few stood out as great.

Here's my top 10 of the 2008-09 season... (to note: Season 7 of 24, Season 1 of True Blood and Season 2 of Damages will be reviewed later on in the Summer, so they were not taken into account for this list)

1. Battlestar Galactica
going out with a big bang, this past season delivered some of the best and most shocking drama that's ever been on screen.

2. Big Bang Theory
leaps and bounds ahead of the competition, this show proves there is room out there for great traditional sitcoms.

3. Dexter
a stellar 3rd year, where we saw Dexter in a whole different way, and still managed to bring shock and awe with new characters and new developments.

4. The Office
what a comeback, this was the year the office brought back the funny, including the awesomest post-super bowl show in a long time.

5. Gossip Girl
last year it wasn't eligible because I didn't see it, but when I did, wow. this truly stands out as the best teen drama out there, and their 2nd year was no exception.

6. How I Met Your Mother
getting us closer to finding out who the title mother is has given this show a fun edge and brought it into the big leagues after a "special mention" last year.

7. LOST
not as great as season 4, but not as bad as season 3. this year gave us mind twisting time-travelling that made no sense all season, but still kept you hooked.

8. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
first time on this list. always forgot it because of the nature of this show, but it really deserves the praise. funny all around, with one of the best episodes of the series in this past season when they try to sell gasoline door-to-door.

9. Top Chef
this wasn't it's best season, but as far as reality competition goes, this one was the one that kept me hooked the most.

10. The Colbert Report
first timer in the list too. Stephen Colbert really knows how to make a satire of the news, especially with this past election period in the US.

special mentions for this past season go to: Chuck (for surviving to live another year), 30 Rock (quality really fell this year, 2 words: No Salma), Mad Men (not as good as season 1), Entourage (better than last season, but it's already peaked), and Fringe (though I'm only in episode 4, it's good, and it's the only good new show of this past season)

And now the bad news. The 5 shows that went south really bad this past year:

1. Heroes
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Ugly Betty
4. Weeds
5. Eli Stone

the fall of 2009

Network tv for fall 2009 is beginning to look quite interesting. With the bad economy, weakening ad sales, the aftermath of the writers' strike, lower ratings due to tivo, the internet and life in general, the big 5 are looking to shake things around a lot next season.

This is upfront week, and it's been very unusual, the networks are doing all in advance, not all of them have announced their full scheds but they have all announced which shows are here to stay, which are gone, and which ones are debuting.

Let me start off with the big shockers.

Over on NBC, Chuck was renewed! though for only a 13-episode run in midseason, taking over Heroes's slot. Medium and My Name is Earl were cancelled, but surprisingly Parks and Recreation got a pickup. And their biggest gamble was the 10 o'clock hour, where I'm secretly hoping that Jay Leno's prime-time show tanks.

CBS cancelled long-running Without a Trace!, though that's the only big shocker there. This network just keeps going by with its same ol' same ol'.

FOX kept it cool. Their biggest wtf moments were that they surprisingly renewed super-low-rated Dollhouse and cancelled Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

The CW did what was expected bringing Melrose Place back to life after their somewhat success with 90210, but the big shocker was that after making a half-backdoor pilot for the Gossip Girl spinoff, they didn't even order the series.

But the biggest WTFs came from ABC. They're launching all new shows on wednesdays (again), they moved Ugly Betty to fridays!, they cancelled Samantha Who?!, but they did probably the dumbest move with renewing Scrubs after the stellar season/series finale they gave that show, there is no way they can bring it back with half the cast or a different one and have it succeed.

So we'll see how it all turns out. As this season is coming to a close, with good/bad season finales (especially bad were the ABC shows, LOST, Brothers and Sisters, Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy all ended like they were going to commercial, not into summer break!), I really look forward to some down time to gear up again for the September juggernaut that will be the 2009-10 television season.

I'll be back soon with my full-season recap, top 10's and hopeful Emmy nominees.