The TV Week Summer TV critics poll

Sopranos No. 1; 24 winds up number 2 on the worst list!

There's another TV critics poll out there this week, this time it's coming from the people who invented it: TV Week.

The trade magazine put out its 46th TV critics poll the same time Broadcasting & Cable released theirs.

The Sopranos ranked Number one in the poll, despite the fact that critics split on the controversial ending (Sopranos also ranked No. 1 in the B&C poll.)

Lost rebounded with critics, finishing second, while Friday Night Lights finished third. The Office and Ugly Betty rounded out fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Not all the critics' choices were smart ones. Grey's Anatomy finished ninth in the poll, with one critic ridiculously praising the three-story arc after the ferryboat accident as "the best thing on TV this season." (And this guy is a TV critic? Find another profession, pal.)

Then, there was American Idol, which ranked fourteenth in the best poll. Critics still seem to be fascinated with this program, despite its obnoxious cast of characters.

For the worst, there is a major difference in who topped the chart on B&C's and TV Week's poll.

While National Bingo Night topped B&C clunker poll, October Road tops TV Week's. But the biggest surprise was 24 finishing second in the worst category. According to the critics, 24 jumped the shark more notably than Grey's Anatomy did.

Despite their popularity with the public, The Pussycat Dolls and Tyler Perry are not so with TV critics. Their new TV shows ranked fifth and sixth, respectively. (To be fair, movie critics hate Tyler Perry's movies, too.)

And critics hate Nancy Grace as well: her nightly cable show ranked seventh.

In the Movies, Miniseries, and Specials category, Discovery Channel's/BBC Planet Earth ranked first among the best, while HBO's Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee was voted the worst.

Ranking second in the worst category (and bravo to them for pointing this out) was the Anna Nicole coverage on Entertainment Tonight (though that should apply to every program that covered it, especially the cable "news" channels), and the American Idol special Idol Gives Back (but they ranked Idol fourteenth in the best show category. Sheesh!)

Notable absences in the worst show category included The Game, The War At Home, According to Jim, and WWE Raw, programs yours truly would have ranked high on that list.

Rant: A short thought here, but ranking 24 as the second worst show on television was not called for. Yes, 24 had a bad season. But it didn't deserve to be the second worst show on TV. There are many programs, including the four I just mentioned above, that deserve the honor even more.

And never mind what Ken Tucker says. He's nothing but a worthless critic who writes for a worthless magazine.

The critics didn't seem to have a problem with the Grey's ferryboat arc, with one lunkhead even praising it.

You guys put out a good list of best shows, but with 24, and your failure to bash Grey's for the ferryboat arc (or Vince McMahon's "death" stunt), you guys are risking your credibility.

You can access the list on the sidebar of this blog (as well as the B&C Critics' Poll) just below the Must Click Archive Posts.