I have ranked the top 68 television shows of the '00s, and will be presenting them, one-by-one, starting with 68 and working down. The rankings are more or less based on the show's popularity, it's cult status, it's critical acclaim, and my personal liking of it, with a heavy dose of arbitrariness added in. If a show was a big enough phenomena, I'll keep it on the list - but if I don't like it, I may drop it some spots. One other caveat - these are primetime shows (I apologize if I put a cable show that wasn't, I thought they were all primetime shows - the main point of this is just that no talk shows, no Colbert and Daily show that would be on otherwise).

34: The West Wing

Even though I watched this show regularly for the first three seasons, it blows me mind to think of it as a 2000s show and realize it went on til 2006 - I always associate it with the late '90s and high school, which I graduated in 2001. Of course, it's biggest impact was certainly in those first three seasons, before Aaron Sorkin left. I've heard relatively decent things about the post-Sorkin years, particularly about the last season, where the new election seemed to capture a little bit of buzz, albeit not generating much in the way of ratings, as Jimmy Smits ran versus Alan Alda for the presidency (And poor John Spencer died right before he was to be Vice President - RIP John Spencer).

In the beginning though, the West Wing was really a sensation - both commercially and critically - in its first four years it won the Emmy for the Best Drama, with eleven different actors and actresses being nominated over the course of the series, and six of them winning at least one. The show was known for it's Aaron Sorkin patented - walk-and-talk style - witty, fast-talking conversations between staff members that happened as they moved from one oh-so-important meeting to another.

In my civics-minded, trying-to-get-into-college, days of junior and senior year of high school, I would go to model congress every Wednesday (kind of an informal debate club) and come back in time to watch the vast majority of West Wing followed by Law & Order. Watching it, for one hour goverment just seemed, well, good. You hear that expression "good government" - and I think there the implication, in my mind, anyway, is just that in the minimalist sense - the government is not corrupt, not actively cheating the taxpayer. And sure, the Bartlett administration in the West Wing had that. But the term could be used more broadly in the magical fictional world of the West Wing - it was good - the people were generally wise, the President in particular, and while they made mistakes, the mistakes were so good natured and accidentally misguided that who could blame them - these were people you saw running a government and wanted to vote them back in in perpetuity (Of course I say this as a liberal - I'm sure there are some conservative viewers who felt different, but as much as it can be, they were even good - well-meaning, above their partisan slant).

Now I don't want to sound too simply jaundiced about the modern political system - sure, I admit to being not thrilled about the way politics works sometimes, but I don't think there's anything modern about that - these problems have existed for years and years - just not as much in the West Wing. As someone who is inclined towards the cynical, maybe there was something I particularly appreciated about watching the workings of the staffers on the West Wing and seeing them do things that more often than not made you want to believe in the power of government, and particularly in American Democracy. Once in a while it's nice to be hopeful, even if it's based on something fictional.