Best Of 2008: Top 20 Online TV Shows On Fancast (11-15)

11. Star Trek: Although produced in the Vietnam Era, the message of this classic still reverberates throughout American culture and influences television to this day. By foreseeing many of the modern marvels that have become technological realities (especially a universal communications system) and advocating a dream for future society, this show may just be the most fitting entry on the list.

12. Friends: The seminal series of the ‘90s has inspired worldwide devotion and been available online, albeit illegally, for years. However, this fall, the WB and Fancast began streaming episodes legally for the first time. As a result, we now refer to this long-awaited online comedy as “the one with all the clicks.”

13. Beverly Hills 90210: Even if you don’t remember when the geniuses at Coke tried to reformulate the soda, you know they ended up returning to the classic. And even if you watch the CW’s updated 90210, you know it’s not the original. Though a tad dated, this show is a time warp that has been among the most welcomed, and watched, of any classic put online this year. Dylan’s still hot.

14. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: Since debuting in 1999, Jon Stewart and his crew of clever writers and correspondents have exploited the increasing gulf between American voters and politicians, with many viewers claiming it’s their sole source for news. This election year was certainly the time to watch. Stewart has never been sharper – or funnier. We stream the nightly show within 12 hours of broadcast, which means we don’t have to clutter our DVR or remember to watch the repeats. For that reason alone, the show makes our list.

15. CSI: Only in Sin City can a stripper dream to one day become a Crime Scene Investigator, the focus of this sensational series’ early buzz. But brilliant forensic deduction and magnetic personalities have turned the show into a spin-off machine, disproving the motto “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” A side benefit for society has been the surge in suddenly cool science courses being offered by pop-up “Online Universities.”