Best Of 2008: Top 20 Online TV Shows On Fancast (1-5)

By Todd Gold and Tom Rose
Fancast.com

When we look back at television in 2008, we aren’t going to remember that Mad Men found an audience and awards, David Cook beat David Archuleta, Heroes and Grey’s Anatomy went off track, and Oprah announced she’s starting her own network. We will likely recall the writer’s strike that brought the industry to a halt. And we will remember it as the year the dismal ad market caused network executives to rethink their business plans and ask, as NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker recently did, “Can we afford to program seven nights a week?”

But more than anything, or rather as a result of all of the above, 2008 will be remembered as the year television migrated online. For the past 12 months, networks and studios have rushed to digitize shows and get them online. As a result, the long-talked-about multi-platform experience turned into the downright revolutionary sit-back experience - that being the ability to log onto Fancast.com, click on any one of hundreds of series ranging from prime time hits to cancelled cult favorites to classics from the past, and then sit back and watch on your computer.

Network executives are still figuring out how to make money from this, but there is already one sure winner: you, the viewer. You now have more and better choices than ever before, the best shows from today and yesterday all in one super, digital network. You no longer have to wait for a show to come on or be programmed. You can watch whenever and wherever you want, including on a tiny screen we created so you can keep up with your favorite shows at work without your boss knowing.

As for picking our favorite shows online in 2008, the many choices have redefined the idea of a Best Of list. Consider: Two And A Half Men may be the most popular comedy on TV, but online it would be blown away by Family Guy. Honestly, it would have a tough time against Arrested Development, and that sitcom was cancelled three years ago. Those are the kind of debates we’ve had while putting together our list of this year’s favorite shows available online. Can you compare 30 Rock with The Bob Newhart Show? Does Burn Notice rate against Miami Vice? We love Fringe, but this year we also discovered Twin Peaks, a damn good show in its day and still great. Which show makes the list? Feel free to make your own choices, but here is Fancast’s first annual list – and the first such list of its kind, as far as we can tell - of our Top 20 Favorite TV Shows Online in 2008.

1. Family Guy: It’s brilliant, it’s hilarious, it’s smart, it’s from Seth MacFarlane, the guy Entertainment Weekly proclaimed the smartest person in TV, and it’s by far the #1 show on Fancast. Yes, a lot of people watch it, but let’s also face the facts: the show is crack for smart people who like to laugh – and have endless time to watch.

2. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The pilot episode was shot on a digital camcorder and with only videotape as overhead, the show’s creators claim that they came in well under their original budget of 200 bucks! Now, four seasons later, fans online clamor, “I love it. Definitely worth it!”

3. South Park: The show that put Comedy Central on the map way back in 1997 is still going strong and has a contract through 2011. Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s no-holds-barred approach to sitcoms is not only controversial but an obvious crowd-pleaser, with one user declaring, “My co-workers think I’m nuts because I love this show,” and another saying it’s not just for the kids, “I’m 75 years old.”

4. House: On top of the fact this smart, gripping, and graphic show explodes all the stereotypes associated with TV Doctors concerned only with a patient’s welfare, Hugh Laurie’s portrayal of Dr. Gregory House draws a large weekly online viewership with fans agreeing on three key things: they love the show, Laurie is kind of sexy, and Olivia Wilde is scalding hot.

5. The Office: This mockumentary sitcom, aside from being the best written and acted sitcom on TV, is a true groundbreaker online. Kudos to NBC. The network debuted this season’s first episode on Fancast and other sites a week before it aired in its regular Thursday time slot on TV, and they have built a deep and rich website that includes a virtual office, character blogs, and games that add to total entertainment experience. This is the beginning of what TV will be in the future – shows with all sorts of extras that play 24/7.