What makes something "The Best"

My copy of TV Guide arrived in the mail yesterday and on the cover, in bold letters was the headline touting the show "The Sopranos as the "best show on TV" (TV Guide).

Now there are a couple of minor issues I have to highlight here. To start with, the Sopranos is NOT a TV show. Sorry, but it aired on Showtime, one of the three or four original premium channels that have you have to pay extra for and that the FCC (who is also in the news today) ignores in terms of content. This does not disqualify the Sopranos as a "good show" but to say it is the best on TV means truly stretching the definition of what the TV stations are anymore. If it has to be censored to run on A&E, then Showtime is NOT a TV station.

The second problem is that I never saw it. I do not know anyone that did see it. That sort of puts a crimp on the definition of best. The best is a show that will be remembered and in reruns 20 years after it was put to bed (M*A*S*H anyone?), but to say a show is the best as it is ending its run is a bit of a stretch. I suppose you could point to the number of Emmies it won (and it did win some) but then so did a half a dozen other shows that were equally as good or better.

I realize TV Guide is out to sell magazines and that putting the cast on the cover is a way to increase sales. I will not be cancelling my subscription, but maybe, just maybe, we need to have a longer discussion about what is good TV, because frankly, at the moment, I do not think anyone has a clue.