The best of 2006: Television

If I could watch only one TV show, it would be the "Late Show With David Letterman."

But that would be cheating, because that would be my choice in part because Dave is on five hours a week.

What with the end of another year comes pressure to follow in Letterman's footsteps and come up with a Top 10 List. And here (in no particular order) are the Top 5 Reasons I hate doing this:

1. There are too many good shows to narrow it down to just 10.

2. I think it's kind of stupid to compare soaps and dramas and comedies and talk shows and animation and sports, and so on and so on.

3. The end of the year is the middle of the TV season.

4. My obsessive-compulsive tendencies kick in and I agonize over what's No. 8 and what's No. 9.

5. I'm afraid I'll forget something.

What, exactly, is the criteria for all these year-end lists? Are we looking for the most prestigious, high-falootin' programs or are we looking for the most entertaining? Sometimes those are one and the same; sometimes those are mutually exclusive.

My criteria for this list is simple. These are shows I really look forward to watching every time they're on, shows that I record, shows that I watch with my family and friends, shows that we talk about after they air. (And I'm going to cheat on the whole Top 10 thing by tossing in a tie. That and already mentioning "The Late Show," freeing up a space for something else.)

If you toss in the honorable mentions (see Reason No. 1), some are shows that I wish I had time to watch more often than I do. Others are old favorites past their prime, but I'm still watching.

Here goes:

1. Heroes: It's been a while since there was a show that I just couldn't wait until the next episode aired. This is one of those shows — and I'm loving it more with every hour that airs.

2. Grey's Anatomy: Without the medical drama, this would be the best soap opera on television. Making the characters doctors raises the level of drama and makes this can't-look-away TV.

3. 24: The fact that I've been dying to see January's sixth-season premiere from the moment the fifth season concluded last May should tell you something. This is the ultimate video roller-coaster ride — the kind that leaves you talking back to the TV and pondering what they can possibly come up with to top what has gone before.