4. “Sex And The City” (1998 - 2004)
It may have started in the ‘90s, but how Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) dressed shaped the first half of this decade like no other show. Carrie single-handedly brought Manolo Blahniks out of high fashion and into the average woman’s vernacular. The clothes, shoes and accessories (flowers ornaments and purses that could cost a paycheck) they wore have been copied over and over by everyday girls looking to stay on top of the trends Somehow the clothes became the fifth character on the show, all guided by the trend setting eye of costume designer Patricia Fields. Audiences clearly didn’t get enough “Sex” when the show ended in 2004. They flocked en masse to the big screen when the show became a feature film in 2008. It’s sure to have the same effect when the second film opens in May 2010.

5. “Lost” (2004 - 2010)
When “Lost” debuted in October 2004, television fans didn’t understand what hit them. And apparently, neither did the shows creators or producers. Admittedly, executive producers J.J. Abrams, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, had no idea in what direction the show was going to head. It had been hastily cast as a concept show around a group of people being stranded on an island by a studio president who was soon thereafter fired. But when it debuted to huge ratings, the story began to take shape. Along with “Desperate Housewives,” which premiered the same week, ABC had a one-two punch on their hands, which made them players again in primetime (“Grey’s Anatomy” would follow the next spring). But the mythology that arose around Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Locke (Terry O’Quinn), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), and the rest of the talented cast, was soon to become the stuff of sci-fi legend. By the end of season one, the writers had set up the plot for the back-story of the island when they discovered the first Dharma Initiative hatch. And from the opening scene of season two, the show took on an increasingly different direction. Since then, the show has only gotten better, and it will smartly wrap up its sixth and final season this coming spring. And stakes of good vs. evil, control of our characters souls, and perhaps the future of the world, couldn’t be higher! I’m getting goose bumps just typing this!

6. “Family Guy” (1999 - present)
The story of the Griffins is a sordid tale full of twists, upsets, and a straight-out-of-a-film-esque return to popularity. Starting in the beginning of 1999, “Family Guy” wasn’t considered a hit by FOX, who axed the show after two seasons. However, reruns on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim drove interest in the series skyward, which also translated to phenomenal DVD sales. Based on the cart loads of cash the first two seasons DVD box sets brought in, FOX greenlit a new season of “Family Guy” in 2004, marking the first revival of a television show based on DVD sales. Since then, “Family Guy” has been a pillar of FOX’s Sunday Night animation line-up, which now includes a spin-off of “Family Guy” — “The Cleveland Show” starring Peter’s neighbor Cleveland.

Note:
Vernacular：本地方言
Debut：首映
Hastily：倉(cāng)促地
Mythology：神話
Sci-fi(science fiction): 科幻小說(shuō)
Sordid：骯臟的，污穢的