Top 10 Early Noughties TV shows

I wanted to do a fun blog post so thought I'd share my top 10 noughties TV shows! Did you watch any? What are your favourites? Now, I must admit that some of the following shows did start in the late nineties but I probably didn't start watching them then being less than ten years old. However, I do have many a fond memory of watching certain episodes with my mum or as a family. Recently, I've started re-watching old shows and I'm still in love. Some of the shows on here have episodes I've never seen as they were aired before my mum thought I was old enough to watch them so I'm having a hoot getting to see them now! I'm from the era of dodgy costume make-up and low budget CGI options so it's been a bit nostalgic for me. 

So, my top ten shows in descending order! 

10) Sabrina the Teenage Witch 

'My' Sabrina!!

You can sort of see the darker nature of this show already.

Got to start with a golden oldie of my youth! Sabrina ran from 1996-2003 so I caught a lot of this after it had aired.  Who doesn't like a powerful, yet clumsy and loveable young witch, learning to navigate her powers with the help of her hilarious aunts? Oh, and let's not forget the talking black cat: Salem! 

For me, this show was about empowering females. Don't worry, I'm not going to be banging on about this, but, the late nineties and early noughties really started to harness the 'power' of women and show them in these amazing new lights. They were normal, everyday women, that had the potential to save the day. I loved that Sabrina was looked after by her aunts - two very strong women in the show.  I was also obsessed with magic so this was a win-win for me!
 
Recently, there's been a reboot on Netflix: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I think it has caught an audience of people but I could never get into it myself. It's much darker than my Sabrina show and I missed that element of humour - that almost 'slapstick comedy' feel to the show. I might give this a go in the future, but for now, I hold onto my early memories of a badass witch and a talking black cat. 

9) Heroes 

Does anyone remember this show? Heroes ran from 2006-2010 and we used to watch this as a family. Both me and my brother were old enough for some of the more mature content, but it still offered that 'family watch' vibe. I should comment that this is the kind of show we used to enjoy as a family; we love drama, action, intrigue, government forces, espionage - that sort of thing. A new TV show about ordinary people with superhuman abilities, working to prevent, quite frankly, catastrophic 'end-of-the-world' type situations, was our jam. It had this sort of 'comic' type feel to it too in terms of its story telling and how it was produced. 

It developed quite a following with spin-offs, webisodes, graphic novels and so on. It was a brilliant premise. There were so many characters whose lives were interwoven that it would be hard to pick out the main characters. I suppose Claire Bennet has to be up there in main character focus. She was a high school student who could regenerate. Lost an arm? No problem. Deep gash on the leg? Nothing to worry about. Pretty cool, huh? Hiro Nakamura is another main character who could time travel/manipulate space time. His character arc was intense going from this lovable goofy character, to some heroic warrior. Matt Parkman was a police officer who could read minds and I absolutely loved him. This could be because he was also in another favourite show of main called Alias (see below)!  Sylar was an evil character but with such depth that you just wanted to follow him. He was definitely not sound of mind and this was portrayed wicked good on screen.

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8) Alias 

Would you believe that I first watched Alias through 'LoveFilm' I think it was called. You basically borrowed a disc or two at a time, it was sent through the post, you watched and then returned. We obviously have streaming services now but back then, this was the way to go! 

Alias ran from 2001-2006. I think I caught on late and watched this not long after it had finished airing completely. I remember watching season two with my best friend (who was equally as interested and in fact, was the one who got me into the series in the first place). We binged the whole season in one night. Yup. Pulled an all-nighter with an epic amount of junk food and sheer determination to stay up and watch it all. Ahh, those were the days! 

The series starred Jennifer Garner and was about espionage at it's finest! Believe it or not, I once thought it was about 'aliens' before realising that couldn't be further than the truth. Sydney is the main character and she's some sort of amazing spy working for a company who she thinks is legit, the CIA. Yeah, so turns out it isn't, and then the premise follows as she becomes a double agent working for the actual CIA to take down this major, worldwide criminal espionage organisation she found herself in. 

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7) Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Okay, so we're definitely in a kid show here. As a kid, I was obsessed with Suite Life and would always watch it on the Disney Channel (back when the Disney Channel was on Sky and not it's own streaming service). Suite Life ran from 2005-2008 but had a spin off (with the two main titular characters still) of Suite Life on Deck that ran from 2008-2011. The original Suite Life followed twins who lived in a hotel because their mum was singer and entertainer there. You may even recognise one of the twins because Cole Sprouse ended up playing 'Jughead' in Riverdale (Riverdale began in 2017 so doesn't count for this blog, otherwise it would be in this list in a heartbeat!). 

Suite Life was a comedy that followed their lives in this hotel. Maddie was the young girl who worked on the hotel counter and it's the same actress who played Sharpay in High School Musical (I'm really not ashamed to admit I was a fan of those movies!). London was the hotel owner's daughter who was the spoiled rich kid of the series. Basically, the twins would always get into trouble - sometimes accidentally and sometimes not - and would have to find new and hilarious ways to get out of it. 

6) Bones 

Bones ran for an epic twelve years from 2005-2017. It followed a forensic anthropologist and an FBI agent who worked together to solve horrendous murders both new and cold cases. Temperance Brennan is a brilliant scientist who struggles to see the grey areas of life, calling things like it is without a worry for emotions because she doesn't believe they hold much use. Agent Booth is on the opposite end of the spectrum and the pair work well together balancing each other out. Booth is also played by David Boreanaz who plays Angel in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and his own spin off show 'Angel'. 

I recently re-watched many of the seasons whilst on maternity leave because episodes are contained and solved - making it easy to follow - but there's normally an over arching plot through a series (or several series) that tie together. This was another show that I would sometimes watch with my parents. It had a great balance of science, action, mystery and banter/humour that led the show into greatness. 

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5) How I Met Your Mother

Pretty sure most people have heard about this show? Please tell me I'm correct? How I met your mother ran for nine seasons from 2005-2014. It followed Ted Mosby as he recalls how he met his children's mother (so future Ted narrates present day Ted's life). Younger Ted and his friends are the focus of the show. Robin is someone he first tried to date but who later became a good friend and main character. Barney is a serial womaniser and provides quite a lot of comedic content. Lily and Marshall are a couple who Ted lives with. Lily is actually played by Alyson Hannigan who played Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer!   

Honestly, I'd struggle to pinpoint plots as it's a comedy that revolves around Ted trying to find the right woman (AKA his children's mother) and the others as they navigate life in New York. It's class. It's hilarious. It's a must watch. 

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4) Friends 

Obviously, I can't have a list without Friends being on there! Be honest, you thought I'd forgotten about the holy grail that is Friends didn't you!? Well, Friends ran from 1994-2004 which means I didn't watch it when it first aired but my mum was an avid fan and therefore, I followed along too with some episodes. Re-plays were how I really got into it and then Netflix even had the entire ten seasons on at one point!

​Friends is timeless, I don't think I've watched an episode and gone, 'ugh, not again'. Granted, some jokes have aged and are now seen as not appropriate as they were once perceived but for the most part, the show did a good job of showing a group of twenty somethings living in New York. 

3) Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

Can't believe I found an image of my old bag!

The top three, I really struggled to order. I'm currently re-watching Buffy so wanted to put it quite high but I had to think about how I perceived the show when I first became a fan. In the end, it had to go in third place. Buffy was insanely popular in its 1997-2003 run. Its spin off 'Angel' also ran for several seasons and both are firm favourites with a large, still going, fan base. Present company included! 

As it started in 1997, I didn't begin my love for Buffy then, but I was watching it in the early noughties with my mum. I even had a Buffy, one shouldered, velour back-pack. I was the epitome of cool. 

Buffy was a sixteen-year-old girl, chosen to become the slayer. Her friends Xander and Willow help her in her destiny along with Giles, her watcher and guide. Spike is a vampire who eventually becomes a full-time cast member. For me, the show had an epic amount of banter and witty one-liners. Sure, some of it is now cringe but it's that good sort of cringe that I love. Willow dabbles in witchcraft, there's some rather awesome special forces men at one point and well, who doesn't love a kick-ass, strong lead woman?! I think it was this that I liked as young, impressionable girl. 

2) Charmed

Original Charmed cast with Prue

Original Charmed cast with Paige

New Charmed

I'm talking original charmed here! God, I loved this show! Set in San Francisco, the show ran for ten years from 1998-2006. It follows three sisters (Prue, Piper and Phoebe) who learn of their magic when their grandmother dies. Later, a forth sister, Paige, is added when Prue dies. Leo, the girls' white-lighter, is an angel who helps guide them. The power of three are a force to be reckoned with as they fight to stop demons from causing chaos and destruction. Prue can move things with her mind, Piper can freeze time (she was my favourite), Phoebe gets premonitions, and Paige was half white-lighter so could transport herself places and call objects to her. 

The show was major in its time and both me and my mum were fans. In fact, when my dad went to San Francisco for work, I begged him to find the Charmed sisters . . . turns out, they don't film in San Francisco. My younger self was so disappointed. 

Season ten brought in a new character (who later played Penny in 'The Big Bang Theory'). I did like her, but felt the series should probably have come to an end at the end of season nine. The very first episode of Charmed was called 'Something Wicca this ways comes' and the last episode of season nine was titled 'Something Wicca this way goes'. This is just one of the many reasons I sort of wished they had stopped there. 

Charmed is about three females bossing it. Empowering. That's what I felt as a teenager watching this. Fast forward a few years and it has been rebooted but completely differently. As with Sabrina, I tried to watch the reboot but couldn't. I do hear it is doing well but I just wished they hadn't used the name 'charmed' for it. I loved the old series and just couldn't get on board with the new one. 

1) Supernatural

Finally, at number one: Supernatural. If you know me, this is not a surprise in the least. If I did a top ten TV shows of all time list, this would probably still be number one. Impressively, Supernatural has run for 15 seasons from 2005-2020.  Sam and Dean Winchester are hunter brothers who find and kill all manner of evil creatures from ghosts, to vampires, to demons, monsters - anything supernatural! I couldn't even count how many times they've been to Hell and back! Sam is the studious younger brother who is reluctantly drawn back into demon-hunting by his brother. Dean is the sarcastic funny one, often hilarious without meaning to be (enter a 15 year long crush on Dean Winchester) Demon-hunting is his blood and he will literally do anything for Sam, like, going to Hell and back for him. I love my brother but not sure I fancy doing that. 

The first three seasons centre on finding their Dad, then there's plot about Sam becoming hooked on demon blood, finding the 'colt' a gun that kills demons, stopping Lilith . . . honestly, there's so many plots! Castiel is an angel that becomes an integral part of the brothers' lives from season four. I'm also a fan of Crowley, a demon, who has been a long running antagonist of the show and sometimes even an 'anti-hero' (I think that's the phrase anyway). He definitely provides some comedy with his very dry humour. 

I am behind on Supernatural because of what channel it was aired on so I am waiting to catch up on the last couple of seasons all at once (I'm a very good binger of TV series - it's a skill I excel at). Without a doubt, I will cry when there is no more Sam and Dean. Sigh. Now, go watch Supernatural. It's lasted 15 years so It's got to have done something right! 

*None of the images used are mine, found them all courtesy of a google search. 

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