PUSHING DAISIES
(ABC)
A series that tosses together murder, romance, resurrection and even musical comedy—sounds like the salad from hell, doesn't it? But it's ambrosia, thanks to Lee Pace and Anna Friel as his restored-to-life sweetheart.

THE SOPRANOS
(HBO)
In its final season, the mob drama built to a jaw-dropping anticlimax: Tony sat down to eat ... and the audience was left with 10 seconds of dead air. You can argue we were the ones who got whacked, but who'll ever forget it?

DAMAGES
(FX)
The year's best drama, this ingenious legal thriller was booby-trapped with accelerating double-crosses—most of them orchestrated by ruthless attorney Glenn Close. It had the best performance too: Ted Danson played a cruel, sociopathic zillionaire with subtle, casual comedy.

GOSSIP GIRL
(CW)
A new teen drama from The O.C.'s creator, Girl is more mindless but more fun. Set on the Upper East Side, it's class-conscious and youthfully chic: Edith Wharton for the H&M age.

THE WAR
(PBS)
Ken Burns' 15-hour documentary about Americans in World War II plowed on and on, slow and determined like General Patton on a Segway, but the aging eyewitnesses were moving as they seized one last chance to tell their part of the story.

EL TIGRE
(Nickelodeon)
Terrific little cartoon—beautifully drawn and zippy as a gnat—about a superhero kid and his superhero father, a rather courtly man who wears a Mexican wrestler's mask.

ARMY WIVES
(Lifetime)
Starring Kim Delaney, this old-fashioned drama about families and relationships on an Army base gets a salute for its honest heart and wise avoidance of Wisteria Lane camp.

SAMANTHA WHO?
(ABC)
The year's best new sitcom stars Christina Applegate as a tough career woman who wakes up from a coma kinder, giddy and ready for adventure. (Carrie Bradshaw, meet Oliver Sacks.) It's all very charming.

THIS AMERICAN LIFE
(Showtime)
News magazine, ironic yet compassionate, about unordinary currents in seemingly ordinary lives. What other show would interview a suburban kid who's decided to renounce love?

PLANET EARTH
(Discovery)
Watching this nature series, shot in gorgeous HD and covering an awesome range of landscapes and species, you felt the urge to turn off your television, go outside and hug an oak, pet a centipede—anything to acknowledge our glorious ecosystem.

THE MOST MEMORABLE VIRAL VIDEOS OF THE YEAR

Obama Girl: The gal with "a crush on Obama" kicked off a political trend.

Chris Crocker: For his unforgettable plea to "Leave Britney alone!"

Chocolate Rain: The deep-voiced crooner sang his way to Letterman.

Hand-holding Otters: Synchronized swimming at its heartwarming best.

The "Thriller" Prisoners: Who knew Philippine inmates could bust a move?

YouTube Democratic Debate Snowman: A bipartisan sensation.

Pearl: For her spot-on Method work in Will Ferrell's "landlord" skits.

Nora the Piano Playing Cat: A virtuoso at feline "Chopsticks."