At least until Lost, the only show I will actually have physical reactions to negative commentary on, returns, Fringe is where its at. For those detractors, the show has always been extremely well filmed, and a lot of fun, but the end of last season (and the beginning of the second) have deepened the character relationships and mythology, making this must see TV.

If I had written this before the first two episodes of the second season, P&R wouldn’t be even close to be on this list, but something funny happened over the Summer: they figured out how to make the show work. P&R is now funnier than The Office. There, I said it.

SHUT UP IT’S A GREAT SHOW.

This season’s Vegas theme is lame (“Because we’re in Vegas, cook this dish with sand and make a casino out of it”), but the contestants are not. Probably the strongest cooks in the show’s history, and that makes for good television. We watch Top Chef for the chef-ing, not the drama (I’m looking at you, Hosea and Leah).

See Parks and Recreation, above. The last few episodes of season one, the season premiere, and especially the unaired Epitaph One really took this show to the level we expect from Joss Whedon. Or at least close enough that this show is now must watch viewing.

NBC finally has a solid comedy line-up: The Office is still solid, though not what it once was; Community had a solidly funny second episode after bungling the pilot; and 30 Rock comes back soon, always a good bet. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is always hilarious (well, 50% of the time). Bored To Death’s first episode was pretty darn great, even though I don’t have HBO, so I can’t really keep up with it. Supernatural better get over the moping damn fast, though the season-long Apocalypse storyline is appropriately epic. FlashForward had a fun, well-filmed opener – but it’s a movie idea, not a television idea. And I don’t care what anyone says*: Glee sucks.