The Top 10 TV Dramas

1. Heroes
With a cast of characters experiencing a plethora of powers that would Professor X jealous, Heroes hit big when it first premiered in 2006. The show has so many cast members that it's hard to figure out exactly who the star is. It could the unbreakable cheerleader Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) because she is in every episode and the shows first tag line was "Save the cheerleader, save the world". Or it could be the adorable Japanese time jumper Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) who is also in every episode. Regardless of that, Heroes is fast paced and exciting and you hate to see every episode end.

The premise of the show is similar to X-men except these people were not born with powers, at least not that they knew of. They just seemed to wake up one day and voila, I can fly. Each hero is trying to control their powers, while keeping it secret from the world and figuring out what the next day will bring. Throw in a kind of evil adopted father, psychotic power stealer Sylar and you can't help but love this action drama.

2. The Shield
The Shield is a show that centers itself on a group of dirty cops and at first I did not know if I should watch it, thinking that every episode would just upset me when I saw the bad things that they got away with. The show is so good that after a few episodes you are rooting for the bad cops to get away with it. You hate to see anyone get in their way, be it the boss or powerful criminals.

Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) leads the small group that take care of gangs and the drugs they bring in. After the very first episode, you see them do some very horrible things but you also see the different sides of each character as they become conflicted by what they do and see. This show also has many different cast members who get their share of the screen and you have a big choice of which character is your favorite. Season 5 upped the ante when Anthony Anderson returns to play the evil drug lord Antwon Mitchell and Golden Globe winner Forest Whitaker takes on the role of much hate IAB Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh. Both actors did great jobs in roles the fans loved to hate, so much that you miss them when they are gone.

3. 24
I was only turned on to this show in season 4, when I bought the DVD's one summer day. After the first disc, I couldn't get enough and it took me less than a week to finish 3 seasons of this breath taking action packed show.

24 is a show that is usually based on terrorism. Every season someone is looking to blow up some part of the US or they already have and Jack Bauer has to do everything in his power to stop it. Even though each season seems to have the same plot, the writers and actors always make it fresh. The show gave us the first black President and his very evil wife and it never fails to shock you. Just when you think you've seen it all and you know what's coming next, you realize that you don't have a clue.

This action-drama takes place in real time and is the first show that wasn't live to do such a thing. Another surprising aspect of 24 is that you don't know who's going next. Every season you're stunned as another beloved character is killed off. No one is safe in 24. Other shows have their stars and you know that they cannot be killed off because they are the show. This is not one of them.

4. CSI: Miami

The second TV show from the CSI franchise, CSI Miami features some very cheesy lines that are at the same time delicious. The show is about a team of forensic scientists who solve crimes on a weekly basis using DNA, fingerprints and a host of electronic toys that will leave the average computer nerd drooling. This show saw the return of David Caruso to TV as Horatio Caine after his much failed movie career. Caine is the leader of the CSI's and he's always there for his team, no matter what. Early on in the show many were stunned to see the death of beloved Speedle but the show moved on and is hotter than ever with recent moles in the work place and shocking episode twists.

5. Cold Case
Detective Lilly Rush worked one cold case and after that she became hooked. She had to solve the mysteries and murders that had gone cold for so long. Every week you are introduced to a new case in which you get to see the person who dies. You usually get a shot of the dead body but you don't know who killed them or why. Now in the present, you see Lilly and her team try to find answers as they interview people from the past who knew the victim and try to figure out which one of these people committed the crime. While I love this show, it is hard to watch sometimes. Each episode is full of emotion and by the end you are almost in tears as very fitting music plays and the ghost of the victim looks on as their murderer finally gets his or her comeuppance. Bring some tissues to see this drama.

6. Desperate Housewives
It's hard to call this show a drama because it is filled with funny moments and they are usually from the Wisteria Lane klutz Susan Mayer. Centered on a small town called Wisteria Lane, you are taken into the homes of the neighbor housewives to see all the dirty secrets that are usually hidden behind closed doors. The show literally started with a bang as one desperate housewife put a gun to her head to get away from a terrible secret from her past that might soon get out. That now dead desperate housewife stayed to look down upon her old home and friends as she tells us their stories.

The reason I love a show like this and don't pay much attention to those like Lost is because they reveal things to you slowly but you don't go a few seasons wondering if they will ever tell you about the secrets that were hinted upon. Desperate Housewives is a great show with a wonderful cast and all the sinful secrets you are just dying to hear.

7. House
The title character Dr. Gregory House is most times abrasive, rude and even mean but he wants what's best for his patients even if it's against their will. With his now trademarked limp and horrible bedside manner, he solves some puzzling health mysteries while trying to stay sane and doing his best to not kill a patient. His colleagues are sometimes unsure of whether or not they should follow his lead, since he tends to do the most unorthodox procedures to save a life or limb.

8. Criminal Minds
A team of FBI agents try to find the countries worst serial killers by the means of profiling to try and stay one step ahead. Unfortunately in most cases they need a trail of bodies before they can get on the trail of the bad guy and stop him in his tracks.

Hodge leads the team that includes Gideon, an older FBI agent who has seen it all and seems to have a lot of the answers. The other team members are right with them every step of the way and in some episodes you get to see what makes each of them tick. Unlike most shows, you are not looking at everything and everyone trying to figure out who the killer is. When you first see him it's usually at the end and it's generally no one that you have seen before.

Criminal Minds has its share of shocking moments when it comes to revealing the killer, especially when you find out that the child killer was a child himself or that the person kidnapping women was female. In recent episodes we've seen new changes come to the characters and we've seen some leave as new agents take their place. It's not as action packed as some TV shows but it is exciting and makes you think, which is something not needed when viewing a lot television programming.

9. ER
For the more than 10 years ER has been on TV and it doesn't seem like its going to end anytime soon. Unlike Friends or Seinfeld that had a few people, the cast members here change frequently and the show keeps moving on. After George Clooney left, many fans and reviewers said that the show is over, but it proved them wrong. One of the things that help is that the advertisements alone get you excited to see each new episode. Something is always happening and the personal lives of the characters are at times almost as exciting as what they do in the hospital.

10. The Unit
Now in its second season, The Unit is about a special team that no one knows exists, except for their wives and The President that is. Each week they go off on life or death missions that leave you to wonder if all of them will make it back alive.

It is unique for a military show in that it also revolves around the lives of their wives. You get to see the newest member of the team and his wife as they both try to handle being in the Unit. From the moment the show started one wife was having an affair with her husband's boss and money problems were hitting another. It is another show that is full of energy, action and great acting.