"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" -- The Top 25 Programs of 2017, No. 25

The headline above isn’t exactly self-explanatory.  The 25-part series that begins with this column isn’t exclusively comprised of the 25 best shows of the year.  If it were it might include FX’s Legion, HBO’s The Deuce, AMC’s Better Call Saul, Netflix’s Master of None and The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.  Instead, think of this one as a list of the 25 shows I found the most engaging, or have the most to say about, or both.  Lists honoring the finest programs of the last twelve months will be found everywhere during December, each of them largely heralding the same properties -- and for reasons that continue to elude me many of them will be limited to ten shows only, just like they were 50 years ago when national television consisted of three broadcast networks and PBS.  There are over 1000 shows available today on broadcast, cable and streaming outlets … not to mention apps.  Most of them are designed to appeal to one demographic or another, and dozens of them are extraordinary for one or more reasons.  Frankly, not even 25 is enough … at least not where I’m concerned.