Best feel-good sitcom: My Name is Earl, NBC
Dating back to the Andy Giffith Show and Leave it to Beaver, TV sitcoms historically were about presenting good wholesome images of Americana. Sitcoms all the way up to the 90's like Family Values, Step by Step and Full House followed up in this tradition as each episode would end with sappy music as the father would teach his kid a lesson. This genre has long since been outdated until "My Name is Earl" reinvented it in the best of ways. Set in a trailer park, Jason Lee stars as a redneck petty thief who upon losing a winning lottery ticket and magically recovering it discovers the concept of karma and sets out on a quest to right all his wrongs. The show is quirky, funny and even inspirational, and it has gotten better in recent seasons. The characters, particularly Jamie Pressley's ruthless ex-wife Joy, have developed significantly and the show has taken on more long-term continuity with multi-episode arcs of Earl in prison and in a coma.
Best cancelled sitcom: Miss Guided, ABC
Miss Guided is a show based on the premise that most high school teachers are overgrown high school students who chose their vocations because they're still carrying around that baggage. The protagonist, Becky Freely, is an eternally cheerful guidance counselor who takes a job at her old high school. Entering the first week of school, Becky has the confidence of a mature woman who has successfully grown out her awkward adolescent years and develops a passing flirtatious relationship with a an attractive Spanish teacher. That is until competition shows up in the form of a ridiculously beautiful English teacher who also happens to be the former homecoming queen from Becky's graduating class. Suddenly, it's high school all over again and that's when the fun kicks in. Judy Greer, in what might have possibly been her first starring role in anything (I'm used to seeing her play small roles, usually as a bimbo), is terrific in the role. Here's hoping it returns in some form or at least gets a good DVD release.
Best sophomore showing: Big Bang Theory, CBS
Big Bang Theory started out as little more than a gimmick. A ditzy young waitress (Kaley Cucuo) moves in next door to a pair of theoretical physicists and while uber-genius Sheldon (Jim Parsons) is oblivious to her charms, the other roommate, Leonard (Johnny Galecki), begins to harbor hopes of romance because this is the first time an attractive girl has been friendly to him. The show's hook is the hilarity that results from watching Leonard, Sheldon and their two friends in fish-out-of-the-water situations where they are forced to interact with normal people (mostly Penny) who don't share their intellect or passion for their nerdly pursuits. However, the premise didn't seem very durable. If we were to believe that Penny didn't have much in common with these guys and doesn't necessarily value their company (the humor also comes from her trying to politely react to their social awkwardness), how many times could Penny be in the guys' apartment for some excuse or another (i.e. they misplaced her mail, she needed them to move furniture, etc.) before the premise of these "unlikely" encounters got stretched too far? The show overcame this problem through the characters growing organically towards each other. Penny is now far less ditzy and develops a genuine friendship with Leonard while Sheldon has slowly morphed into one of the most memorable characters on TV.
Best cable sitcom: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, FX
The show about five guys in Philadelphia who run a dive bar in Philadelphia and whose grand ambitions to do anything else constantly gets derailed by their underlying selfishness and narcissism has grown into a comedy for the ages. The dialogue doesn't skip a beat and underneath the bickering, there really is a love of love between the lifelong friends. This season the show had some of their best episodes as the gang experimented with cannibalism, staged a musical and went back in time to the revolutionary war era.
Best writer's strike experiment: Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, The web
A collaboration between Josh Wheedon, his two brothers, and his sister-in-law, "Dr. Horrible" was a free web series that lasted for only three 15-minute episodes and left us wanting more. The web series presents us with a superhero show in which the villain is not only more likeable than the hero, he has better intentions when it comes to women. Oh yeah, and there's a great score and everyone sings. It's delightful and has great performances from Patrick Harris as the "evil" Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as the hero, and newcomer Felicia Day.
Best new sitcom: Gary Unmarried, CBS
Jay Mohr stars as a newly divorced father of two who tries to get on with his life while trying to work out issues and custody of the kids with his ex-wife. No sitcoms have come out of the gate as big hits thus far, but Gary Unmarried has a lot of potential to be funny down the road as the actors settle into their roles. Mohr and Paula Marshall are eternally underrated comic talents who bring a lot of life to these roles.
Best show overall: 30 Rock
I'd have to agree with the Emmys that 30 Rock is the best comedy on television. 30 Rock is so thorough and subtly multi-layered that the show's scripts should be used as textbooks to aspiring TV writers because Tina Fey employs every form of comedy imaginable. The key to the show is Tina's overworked head writer Liz Lemmon being the only basis for normality in this wonderful universe that's ever so slightly off-center. This year 30 Rock had great performances from the cast and allowed guest stars like Oprah Winfrey, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, and best of all, the cast of Nightcourt to come on the show and skewer their own public images.