I'm stealing AperioContra's format.
Sitcom
Arrested Development
How can this not be everyone's favorite sitcom? I've seen the entire 50ish episode series multiple times and I am still finding jokes that I missed. This show is a concentrated ball of comedy with jokes packed into every frame. Unfortunately, the network's inability to keep a consistent schedule doomed this show to an early cancellation, but the three seasons we did get are pure gold.
Runner up: The Drew Carey Show
I don't care for many sitcoms, but this show will always be one of my favorites. It got worse as time went on, specifically in the season Drew stops working for Winfrod-Lauder and gets a job at some hipster company, but the early seasons are great.
Animated Comedies
The Venture Bros.
What started as a pretty funny spoof of the old adventure cartoons like Johny Quest, quickly came into its own and developed into an amazing cast of characters and an overarching storyline. Each new season adds depth and backstory to the characters and interconnects everyone into the main plot. The show manages to take it's depressing theme of failure and twist it into a clever comedy with sharp wit and sarcasm. If you haven't seen it, I can't recommend this enough.
Runner-up: Futurama
I'm pretty sure everyone has seen this so you don't need me to explain why it is so good. If you've never seen Futurama, you are wasting television service.
House
House.
Yes, this gets its own category. Definitely my favorite currently airing television show. I got into this show after so many people kept comparing me to this House character I knew nothing about. At the time, I was coming off of a knee injury so I briefly walked with cane. That, combined with my reputation as, "that guy who knows stuff," and, "that atheist guy," invited the comparison. After watching few episodes, I learned that House is based on Sherlock Holmes which I had an interest in ever since watching Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century as I was growing up. Every once in a while it will get kind of ridiculous, but overall it is a very entertaining show.
Anime
Neon Genesis Evangelion
I didn't see this until Adult Swim aired it on Saturday nights. I then promptly bought the complete series. First of all, anyone who claims this series is over hyped, over rated, or otherwise not worth all the attention it gets is wrong. I know opinions are opinions, but in this case their opinion is wrong. I have never seen an anime with this level of complexity. Literally none of the character's thoughts and feelings are expressed through their actions. Their motivation is expressed through body language alone which is a remarkable feat to pull off using animation. Almost all of the characters have a hidden agenda which is never explicitly stated, but enough clues are hidden in the dialog that you can figure it out with repeated viewings. The plot itself is a rubix cube of hidden information, secret agenda's, and complex dialog that somehow fits together and makes sense if you are willing to invest the time to figure out how. Even on the most basic level, it is still an enjoyable action series with interesting characters and cool imagery. The only thing that keeps this series from perfection is its ending, which even if you take End of Evangelion to be the true ending of the series, still leaves much to be desired.
Runner up: Monster
This massive 74 episode series plays more like a western drama than a traditional anime. Its been a few years since I've seen it so I don't remember much of the details off hand, but I do remember being amazed by how well it was written. As far as story goes, I would rank it even higher than Evangelion. The thing that really stops it from being perfect is its length. It tends to drag at times, but it truly is a fantastic series.
Runner-up again: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
This show is everything I want in an anime. Fast paced, smart dialog, and an interesting story. The show takes the themes of the movie and uses its length to expand and give them greater depth. I also liked the slick animation and the non-intrusive CGI. My only complaint is that it lacked a proper end. The final scene of the second series just led you to believe that they would continue to kick ass until they either died or retired. I would have liked to have seen a proper ending like in the movie, but this is still an amazing series.
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