It's that annual time to reflect on what worked on TV over the past year… and what didn't. Here is my personal list.

BEST

"Mad Men"
This intricately woven tale of 1960s ad men's work and home lives captured the imagination of an obsessively loyal fanbase. It's also one of the few things Emmy got right, awarding the show its outstanding drama trophy. And creator Matthew Weiner has become one of our favorite people this year. See our Q&A here.

DirecTV's deal for "Friday Night Lights"
A shared window plan between the satellite provider and NBC bought the critical darling another season. Those lucky few who subscribe to DirecTV have had the privilege of enjoying a season that approaches the greatness of the show's epic first season.

"Big Bang Theory"
This comedy about socially awkward geniuses has emerged as a surprise hit this fall after garnering fair ratings in the strike shortened 07-08 season. Creatively the show's never been better, with the razor sharp ensemble now firing on all cylinders and auds propelling it to season high numbers week after week. See our Q&A with star Jim Parsons here.

"Desperate Housewives"
Fast forwarding the ladies' lives five years added a much needed jolt to the flagging drama. See our Q&A with creator Marc Cherry here.

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin
Priceless

"Privileged"
A sweet dramedy that's too smart for the CW's core audience. More people ought to be watching.

"Worst Week"
Consistently laugh-out-loud funny.

"Dexter"
Jimmy Smits proved a suitable friend, then foil, to our favorite sociopathic hero. See our Q&A with exec producer Clyde Phillips here.

“The Office”
Anyone who works in an office has got to appreciate this painfully accurate laffer.

“The Biggest Loser”
As reluctant as I am to include a reality show in any best of list, I have to admit, this one hits on every emotion.

"The Capture of The Green River Killer"
This Lifetime mini was an engrossing and emotional account of the 20+ years search for a serial killer with stellar performances from Tom Cavanaugh and Amy Davidson. It's too bad the broadcast nets have given up on movies and minis.

WORST

The Emmy Awards
An embarrassment to the television community. Everyone involved should be ashamed. If you've blocked out how truly awful it was, read my review from that night here.

"Do Not Disturb"
Auds mercifully checked out early from this dreadful Fox comedy.

"Grey's Anatomy"
This show has lost whatever charm it once had and now just feels desperate.

"Knight Rider"
A bad idea, executed horribly.

"Crusoe"
Unwatchable.

"ER's" final season
I've been a fan for most of this hospital drama's 15 seasons but this last gasp has been a slow painful death.

"Boston Legal"
Someone needs to explain to me how this ever attracted an audience. I've never been so happy to see a show end its run.

Those are mine. What are yours?

For more best of lists, visit TVGuide.com's list of best shows and best TV moments. TV.com weighs in here. Our pal Mo Ryan of the Chicago Tribune has her say here.

Did you see other lists that resonated with you?

— Kathy Lyford

Posted by Kathy Lyford

Being a “Mad Men” obsessive, I've read a lot of interviews of the show’s creator Matthew Weiner over the last couple of years. So when I sat down to breakfast with him last week to go over readers’ questions, I expected someone a little uptight, single-minded, perhaps a control freak. This is what many of the profiles had led me to believe of the man. What I discovered was, as you would expect if you watch the show, a man who is incredibly intelligent, passionate about 1960s America and fascinated with human behavior. He also has many traits you might not expect: he’s very funny, extremely sweet and surprisingly soft spoken. He’s somebody I’d love to hang out with more. I found him endlessly fascinating and entertaining. And, although the interview was all about him, he spent a lot of time asking about me, my background and my family and my parents’ experiences growing up. I suspect he does this with everyone he meets and I’m sure the information he learns informs his writing.

If you’ve been paying attention, you already know that Weiner wrote the “Mad Men” pilot eight years ago, before his stint as a writer-producer on David Chase’s HBO masterpiece “The Sopranos.” Earlier in his career he was also a writer on the Ted Danson comedy “Becker.” As “The Sopranos” was coming to a close, Weiner shopped the “Mad Men” pilot around town, was famously turned down by HBO, and eventually sold it to AMC, which was just wading into the original series waters. What a way for the network to start!

He speaks quickly and in a stream-of-consciousness kind of way, which I’ve tried to capture in transcribing his answers. I hope that will give you an essence of what it’s like to have a conversation with him. You’ll find that he not only answered the questions completely but he went above and beyond, often exploring tangents that were not part of the original question. You’ll get a lot of bang for your buck in this Q&A, I promise. (Although there is one question that gets a one word answer!)

As I write this, AMC has exercised its option for a third season of “Mad Men,” the show that has captured the imagination of the country. Weiner and Lionsgate, which owns and produces the show, are still negotiating his deal. So, our show will return. Let’s just hope it still has its genius at the helm.

And with just one show left to air this season – Sunday’s season 2 finale – here is what Weiner had to say:

Q. How much of the Don Draper story did you have in mind when you wrote that spec script? And do you know now how the series ends? — Cynthia
A. I sort of know how the series ends. I don’t know if I have a very good ending to it yet but I sort of know how it ends. In terms of Don’s backstory, I had all of it. Here’s the interesting thing: I had written a movie about this character. I’d gotten to page 80 and I’d only covered a fraction of his life. It was called “The Horseshoe.” Actually the hobo story was in there, and the thing with him bringing his own body home (from the war) and a lot of his childhood and things that you’re still going to see (in the last two episodes of season 2) were in there, things you’ll find out about. And there’s way more to be mined. And on some level it was a story that imitated writers that I love - Sinclair Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Irving.

And I had all of that. And when I wrote “Mad Men,” and AMC said “Where does the series go?” I went home and looked for my notes about “Mad Men” and I came across the script (for “The Horseshoe”) and started leafing through it. Now this was a script I wrote – “Mad Men” is eight years ago – this is a script I wrote eight years before that. I wrote it before I had my first job. After I got married this is what I worked on for a year. And I got to the last page of the script and it said “Ossining, 1960” and I said “Oh my God. That’s who he is.” I loved John Cheever and those writers and that’s why I picked Ossining.

I told Jon (Hamm, pictured with Weiner above) the whole story before last year started. He was the only one I told, except for the producers, of course. And I told Jon about the brother and how the genealogy works and what kind of childhood it was and where he was from. There were a lot of these people. It’s an American story. You know mountain (folks), or whatever it is, coming to New York and shedding the whole thing. That’s the American dream on some level. Even though I didn’t finish the movie I did know where it was going. And I feel lucky to have that consistency and the audience can see that it’s not just being spun as it goes along.

Hidden amid the embarrassment of the modified Golden Globes was the fact that the Hollywood Foreign Press actually made some great choices in the TV categories.

That roar you heard Sunday night was Season Pass cheering the wins for AMC’s rookie drama “Mad Men” and its charismatic star Jon Hamm. Also very deserving were Glenn Close for her role as the cutthroat attorney in FX’s uneven drama “Damages” and Tina Fey for her role in Season Pass fave “30 Rock.” Kudos also to the HFPA for choosing the least obvious choice for its top comedy series with HBO’s “Extras.”

Too bad these folks didn’t get their moment in the sun. Oh well, most of them have the chance to repeat as champs at next year’s back-to-the-glitz Globes ceremony.

— Kathy Lyford

Spoiler warning: If you haven't watched Thursday's "Mad Men," read no further.

We may have witnessed the first truly brilliant moment of the 2007-08 television season with the pitch-perfect end to Thursday's "Mad Men." There's been no shortage of greatness on the new AMC series, but this really was one to cherish.

In the final scene, Betty Draper (January Jones), having been allowed a brief escape from her housewife prison before events beyond her control shoved her back behind lock-and-key, walks out into her backyard in a robe wispy enough to fit her personality, cigarette dangling from her mouth  ... and BB gun in hand. Coldly fuming, she takes aim at the domesticated pigeons of her neighbor (who earlier in the episode had scared her children by threatening their dog) and fires. And fires. And fires.

Has there been a better expression on TV in recent times of giving life the finger? What's more, the simmering rebellion echoed storylines involving Betty's husband, Don (Jon Hamm) and Don's assistant, Peggy (Elisabeth Moss).

"The Sopranos" and David Chase had their ducks. Now "Mad Men," created by "Sopranos" writer Matthew Weiner (who co-wrote this episode) has its pigeons. The coda capped another tour-de-force offering from "Mad Men," which somehow needs to be remembered at the 2008 Emmys -- even though the bulk of it is airing before this weekend's 2007 awards.

— Jon Weisman