TIM'S TV LIST
Dramatic list for family viewing
Those who partake of the sin of lists will soon be burdened by confusion, scorn, relentless e-mails and even gentle ridicule.

That's in somebody's bible, no doubt.

But our "List Week'' hootenanny rambles onward and, in a shockingly encouraging way, has spawned enormous amounts of positive reinforcement and gleeful agreement. For the dissenters, two things: One, when you say, "You forgot 'Show X' from your list," the correct answer is almost always, um, no, we didn't. And secondly, it's keen to remember that lists don't kill people -- people kill lists.

Mostly though, the feedback has been incredibly informed, gleefully snarky and stunningly positive. Which can only mean one thing -- you people are watching too much TV.

But in all honestly, if something is unfairly passed over, remember that we're pulling these things out of our backside as fast as possible. Let there be slack.

Having covered the best family sitcoms and duly noted how hard it is to make one of those palatable to anyone with discerning taste, we find that the creative level rises a tad more with family dramas. There's just more emotional room to roam.

The problem here seems to be in making clear what we're talking about (now there's a stunner). For example, some readers were apoplectic that "Reno 911!" wasn't in our list of best sitcoms. Reason -- it's not a sitcom. Which would be a great excuse, except for the fact that we labeled the list "best comedies." It's definitely a comedy and we love it dearly. Sorry about the oversight.

Now that we've established a certain level of haphazard confusion, what about family dramas? Must they be narrowed down, as family comedies were, to series focused on actual families? Or should it be about shows an entire family can watch together?

Solution: A separate list! Brilliant.

In both categories, we tried to avoid too much violence and too much sex. "The Sopranos" is about two families -- and yet, not on the list. Go figure. But that's the rules as we make them.


EIGHT BEST FAMILY DRAMAS
1. "Gilmore Girls." WB. Yes, oddly enough it did pop up on our previous "falling from grace" drama list. And if it is in the midst of a down year, that doesn't diminish the fact that "GG" has, in the past, been far and away the smartest, most assured, funny and moving family drama on television.

Lauren Graham plays the mom as lovingly confused as to the road map of child rearing -- which should make all parents feel better. Her daughter turned out great but the thorny issues with her own parents remain. Modern and complicated, mature and hip, it pulls off the near impossible -- making all three generations interesting.

2. "Joan of Arcadia." CBS. The trick that "Joan" manages so well is luring a young audience to a network (and, by association, a show) that screams, "My parents watch that." But the dynamics here are sound. Two parents with their own issues to sort out, three kids with varying degrees of pressing age-appropriate problems (not to mention that one talks to God regularly). All told, something for everyone, the point of this list.

3. "American Dreams." NBC. Maybe too obviously PC for some people as it tracks the hot-button issues of one seemingly close-knit but internally fractious family through turbulent decades. But the history lessons here are as entertaining as the more straightforward family-familiar plotlines. Nobody said using a family as a metaphor for post-Kennedy America was going to be easy. It's a big task and despite low ratings, fans are passionate for this series.

4. "Everwood." WB. OK, so the dead mom conceit is overused, but Treat Williams as a formerly too-busy-for-his-family neurosurgeon is great, as is Gregory Smith as his moody son -- typical of the WB's ability to mesh adults and teens successfully. The series can at times fall into a bag of saccharine, but it's a hit among the youth demographic while still remaining compelling for adults. A lot of readers have said this series has launched discussions in their homes; given the closed-mouth nature of most teens, that's really saying something.

5. "Smallville." WB. It's the Superman saga updated and given the WB sheen, but it's also a home run with the target audience. Like any series based on a superhero, there are dramatic flights of fancy that you just have to go with -- this ain't gritty reality. But more often than not the storytelling is solid and the outcome entertaining. Part of the parental responsibility, of course, is actually sitting down and doing the watching. You could do a whole lot worse than this, no question.

6. "Judging Amy." CBS. It's been around awhile, it's no longer fresh, possibly never hip and is often lost among each season's new crop. But this is still a fine family show, and Tyne Daly is about as real as you can get when it comes to characterization. Plus, it's Amy Brenneman, for God's sake. Wait, is it wrong to lovingly gaze at another TV wife/mom? This is so confusing. Anyway, maybe not your first choice but a solid show.

7. "The O.C." Fox. Granted, not for the really young. You'd hate to have to constantly explain the sexual urges, or more dangerously, the bitchiness and money lust. But still, this season's surprise hit pairs teen interest with parental interest. The acting is solid on both levels (Peter Gallagher and Adam Brody in particular) and there's enough soapy theatrics to keep everyone glued for their own specific reason. Hey, not every family show has to be "7th Heaven."

8. "7th Heaven." WB. Have you noticed a trend here? Yes, congratulations to the WB for landing four of eight shows on this list. "7th Heaven" was essentially the one that woke up the WB to an interesting fact -- while young teen girls were always the target and hipness was always the hook, staid,

faintly religious "7th Heaven" became the real hit. Family shows, it turned out, weren't such a bad idea. You could still get the youth by going through the parents. Lots of practice is probably why there are so many series here --

deservedly. It must be said, however, that "7th Heaven" has pretty much covered every family storyline imaginable and is getting long in the tooth.

What's interesting to network observers is that the WB's biggest competitor in targeting the family -- ABC -- has essentially opted out of this genre in favor of grittier, more adult fare like "NYPD Blue," "Alias," "Karen Sisco" and "The Matrix."

Too bad, really. While there are restrictions on where you can ultimately go with the content of these shows, there's something to be said about the shared experience of watching TV together.

Without the constraints of actually having to have a parental unit and the obligatory 2.5 snappers in the cast, we can branch out. Here, then, the eight dramas the whole family can watch -- meaning they don't necessarily have an overabundance of bullets 'n' porn moments.

Of course, that's subjective. One family may think "24" is acceptable, while another might find "Malcolm in the Middle" too much of a harrowing documentary to let into the home. This makes the weeding-out process particularly difficult because it virtually erases every crime-and-punishment series on TV, and if you've been paying attention, you know there are a lot of those. We have also slipped on the "good taste" filter so, sorry, "Dateline" and "The Bachelor" are not eligible.

Also, we are excluding stuff like the Animal Planet channel and Nickelodeon and all the other good and/or safe stuff mentioned in past lists because, well, the fine print did say "dramas." Pay attention.

As always, remember that when things get dicey ("Who knew there was a nude scene in "Miss Match?"), the remote does have that little button that makes Mr. TV go to sleepy.

1. "Monk." USA. It's everybody's favorite quirky cop show. And, technically, yes, there are dead bodies here. But it's never gruesome -- it's more of the "Murder, She Wrote" variety. A whodunit is always fun for families, and Tony Shalhoub is wonderful in the title role.

2. "Alias." ABC. Might be a bit too violent for some families but -- and this is in no way an excuse -- it seems pretty obvious that it's mostly cartoonish and not realistic. Decide among yourselves. On the plus side, it's a thriller that doesn't take itself too seriously, and there are positive female role models here (from the Girls Rule school of beatdowns). And there's eye candy galore. Now, to be fair, although there are many good-looking men on this series, it's Jennifer Garner who pumps the blood here.

She is, in fact, about 90 percent of the reason to watch, though some husbands and partners might spin that differently if they are at all savvy.

3. "Miss Match." NBC. Aw. Ain't that cute. Matchmaking. True love, or the pursuit of it. Kind of light, more than a little sweet and, if you don't get a cavity in the process, not too damaging to your health. Alicia Silverstone: She's like the Valerie Cuteasabuttonelli of the modern age.

And, watching this, maybe your kids will learn something about relationships outside of one of those parentally frightening MTV spring-break specials or hot-tub moments from "The Real World."

Just a pause here to say, you know, this is harder than it looks.

OK, onward.

4. "The Wonderful World of Disney." ABC. A staple, sure. And boy, is there a lot of cheese in that Matterhorn of corporate mythmaking, but overall it's pretty safe. You're wondering: Is Disney still killing off one or both of the parents in everything it makes? Well, yes, but not in this franchise. They generally save that for big movies.

5. "The West Wing." NBC. Well, lookee here. Our new favorite whipping boy,

making a "best" list. Why not? It has no sex and almost no violence. It's just politics and governmental relationships. There's worse stuff to watch than wonkmanship. Of course, your young one might blurt out, "Mom, I think John Wells has really killed this thing."

6. "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race." CBS. True, just the other day we said, "Ties are stupid." But reality shows are prevalent, most of them are horrible and offensive, and we will not have "Fear Factor" going on our list, no matter how many parents say they watch it with their kids. This is the same logic that says preteen girls shouldn't have slogans like "Juicy" on their butts -- but we digress. No "Big Brother" on our watch. Or dating shows, either. Listen, both of these reality series are eminently watchable and don't provide much reason to raise red flags. A lot can be taught about sportsmanship, camaraderie, trust (or lack thereof), hard work and never quitting. Yes, there's also something in there about backstabbing and running around the globe like an ugly American, but you can wave that off as "just TV."

7. "Ed." NBC. Flippant and fun if not entirely satisfying of late. There's a little bit of sex play at times, but mostly this is just a series full of whimsy and simple entertainment. "Ed" may not have delivered on its promise, but it's still a fine alternative for family fare.

8. "Jake 2.0." UPN. Oh ... my ... Lord. Yes, a positive mention of a UPN series! Well, you could also throw in "Enterprise," unless you were obligated to retell the entire back story, which may not ultimately seem worth it. "Jake" has teen appeal and enough goofy action and comedy to make it tolerable.

Also, it has those elements of sci-fi that seem to suck everyone in. Whoops, couldn't go a whole mention of a UPN series without the word "suck" appearing. Sorry.

Now, granted, there will be others that could have made this list. But with our sex-and-violence filters on, probably not much in the way of drama slipped past. And if all of this seems too doughy for your adult needs, there are still 10 p.m. shows.

And pay cable.