Best TV Seasons

I have watched many many tv shows in my time.  Most, especially long-running classics, have peaks and valleys in their overall quality; this is only natural.  Specific seasons of some of my favorite shows, where the story is compelling from start to finish, stand out as classics in my mind.  Here are just a few...

24 (Season 5): I still have nightmares about the plot of this season, in which terrorists release canisters of toxic nerve gas throughout L.A.  Chemical weapons, after all, are one of my biggest fears (don't ask).  When the gas was released into the ventilation system of CTU and characters were forced to seal themselves inside a conference room, I was on the edge of my seat.  Even before this point in the season, the show had already shockingly killed off multiple major players in the preceding episodes, two of them just in the opening minutes of the season premiere.  Add to this the fascinating reign of the evil, unhinged President Logan (Gregory Itzin) and his wife Martha (Jean Smart), and it's no wonder that this season won the Emmy for Outstanding TV Drama. 

The Simpsons (Season 4): It's hard to imagine now that the animated sitcom, the longest-running scripted primetime series in tv history, now in its 30th (!) season, was once the most groundbreaking and funniest show on tv.  It started off a little rough, but by season 4 the show had definitely found its rhythm and was at its creative peak, mostly due to amazing writers like future late night tv host Conan O'Brien.  The season started with classic episode "Kamp Krusty" and ended with celebrity voice-packed "Krusty Gets Kancelled", but every episode in between was memorable, particularly my very favorite episode "Marge vs. the Monorail".

Dexter (Season 4): I was hooked almost from the beginning of this show about a police blood spatter expert/secret serial killer, but this season stands out as by far the best, mostly due to the memorable turn of John Lithgow as Dexter's nemesis the "Trinity Killer".  The entire season was a fascinating game of cat and mouse between the two men, culminating in the shocking murder of (SPOILER ALERT) Dexter's wife Rita in the season finale, which completely changed the dynamics of the show afterwards.  It's a shame that the show ended with one of the worst final seasons and most disappointing series finales in tv history, but none of that takes away from the truly incredible season 4.       

Lost (Season 1): Starting with the incredible pilot episode (the most expensive in tv history up until that point), in which a group of plane crash survivors are introduced to their new mysterious island home, Lost was a bona fide cultural phenomenon in its first season.  Like any great suspense film or tv show, the show was strongest when viewers still didn't quite know what was going on, and before its sci-fi elements became too-far "out-there" in the next couple of seasons.  The flashback format of the show introduced in this season, in which every episode focused on the backstory of a different character, enriched the viewers' understanding of the characters and became an often-copied plot device used by other shows.  While the show's ending after 6 weird seasons is often criticized, I would argue that it worked just fine.  After all, there was really no single satisfying way to conclude such a wild and crazy show.  Still, viewers seemed to most enjoy the fresh mystery and suspense of the island in the amazing first season.