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2008 was a pretty good year for comedy shows, but for me there were three standouts. Two of these aired on cable and will probably be available in DVD soon if you're not a subscriber. This is my list of top comedy shows of 2008, in order.

#3 Top Comedy Show of 2008: Entourage

This was the fifth season for HBO's top comedy show about a rising (and sometimes falling) movie star and his entourage' of good buddies who have followed him from Queens, New York to Hollywood. The show is produced by Mark Wahlberg and was inspired by his experiences as a young star. Entourage portrays an insider's view of the Hollywood star-making machine.

This show is a true ensemble success, with Vince and his three friends sharing the storylines. But the spotlight is always on Ari Gold, the quintessential successful Hollywood agent. As portrayed by Jeremy Piven, Ari is a dynamo, incredibly aggressive and somehow still lovable. Piven won his third Emmy award in 2008 for his portrayal of Ari Gold.

This season, Entourage focused on leading man Vince Chase's fight to regain his reputation as a megastar following release of the box office bomb Medellin. Highlights of this season included Ari irritating a studio head so much during a cutthroat golf game that the man dropped dead of a heart attack. Ari was then offered the position of studio chief. At first he was tempted, but decided he needed the freedom that he had as an agent.

In the final show of the season, the boys returned to Queens, feeling somewhat defeated, only to have Martin Scorsese offer Vince the important role of Nick Carraway in his remake of The Great Gatsby. I'm always sorry to see the seasons finale of Entourage, and look forward to next year's season.

#2 Top Comedy Show of 2008: 30 Rock

Tina Fey as Liz Lemon continues to keep top comedy show 30 Rock interesting through a combination of pathos, silliness and outrageousness. This top comedy show won Emmy awards as best Comedy Series in 2007 and 2008. The 2008 30 Rock season featured guest appearances by several big-name stars, including Jennifer Anniston, Steve Martin, Carrie Fisher and Oprah. The plot which revolved around each of these guests were hilarious, especially Liz Lemon's hallucination that a little girl in the next seat on a plane is Oprah (Liz took too many of Jack Donaghy's prescription pills and was hallucinating).

This is another top comedy show with a great ensemble cast. The plotline usually involves some crisis in several of their lives, but there is always

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