Merry Christmas

From my blog to yours, I wish all my faithful readers, friends, and family a very Merry Christmas. Thanks for your support and love!

My gift to you during this wonderful time of the year is my Top Four TV Shows of 2007:

1. Mad Men

Th year's most evocative drama - '60s glamour swathed in cigarette smoke - is also its most provocative. AMC's absorbing period piece introduced me to ad men, selling a version of the American Dream belied by the emptiness of their own personal lives. Anchored by Jon Hamm's instant-star turned ad exec Don Draper, living with a false identity to escape a painful past, Mad Men filters its nostalgia through the cruel realities of workplace and suburban sexism.

2. Pushing Daisies

ABC took quite a risk with this candy-colored fable of a man who brings the dead to life, albeit with silly string attached. An enchanting confection, if not for all tastes, Daisies has pleasantly surprised me thinking it could never top its dazzling pilot. Every episode is a charming, inventive delight, a bright spot in a mostly dim fall.

3. Lost

I'd be lost with this ABC show, which remains the most emotionally compelling and surprisingly suspenseful of TV's fantasy-adventures. Introducing one fascinating Other (the enigmatic Juliet) while dispatching two unloved interlopers (Nikki and Paulo) in an inspired Twilight Zone - like detour, Lost blew my mind with its flash-forward finale, revealing that Jack and Kate got off the island. What's next? Can't wait.

4. Friday Night Lights

Here's an underdog to cherish, with characters who strike a deep chord of empathy. NBC's lovingly, thoughtfully observed drama of a small-town Texas life uses football as a prism to explore issues of race, class, religion and (more melodramatically) redemption. As a bonus, there is no sexier or more believable TV couple than (coach) Eric and Tami Taylor. I'll champion this series to the final touchdown.

Seasons Greetings.

Pam & Earnhardt