"Best TV Show of the Decade" voting ends tomorrow

The Press-Gazette’s “Best TV Show of the Decade” contest completes its online voting tomorrow. Overall, we've received more than 1,000 votes both print and online, so there’s plenty of tallying yet to do before we reveal a winner next month.

Here's how the Top 10 plays out based on overall ballot votes:

1. “American Idol”
2. “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”
3. “House”
4. “The Office” (UK and US)
5. “Survivor”
6. “The Sopranos”
7. “The Amazing Race”
8. “24”
9. “Lost”
10. “How I Met Your Mother”

Though “Idol” earned the most votes from the online ballot, we’ll be giving weighted points to shows selected by readers as their ultimate favorite (which we asked in a separate question). So "Idol" may have won the popular vote, but don't assume it's the grand winner just yet!

Here’s a sample of voters’ favorites with reasons why:

“The West Wing”: “It made the process of the federal government accessible to everyone.”

“The Sopranos”: “It took the best of all the old great mobster movies and rolled it into a weekly series.”

“Lost”: “You can watch the show and try to figure out all the angles or you can just sit back and wait for it to happen. Either way, you feel you’ve gotten your full hour’s worth.”

“Desperate Housewives”: “It takes me away from the reality of my life but allows some reality of real life to still unfold.”

“Fringe”: “Because it is the most intelligent and witty science-fiction show out there.’’Keep your reality shows, play-it-again comedies and been-there-done-that dramas. This show is something completely fresh.”

“Scrubs”: “It had every emotion in the show. I laughed, cried, got mad, and I smile every time JD has one of his fantasies!”

“Rescue Me”: “It dealt with how people lived and did their jobs after being impacted by 9/11.”

“24”: “One never knows what Jack will come up with next, and it is really a commentary on many things actually happening.”

“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”: “Any time you can mock news but become more credible than the people reporting the real news is incredible.”

“Battlestar Galactica”: “Explored very nuanced moral and cultural issues without being preachy.’’

"SpongeBob SquarePants": "Who couldn't love someone who wants every day to be the best day EVER!"

“The Wire”: “No other show ever created has taught me so much about socio-economics while being incredibly entertaining.”

“Gilmore Girls”: “Always funny, entertaining and heartwarming.”

“Dexter”: “To create a show where you actually root for a serial killer takes the work of great writers and amazing actors.”

"The Office": "A very original show with dialogue that can make me laugh until I cry!"

“Deadwood”: “It was unlike any western ever on TV. Ian McShane was brilliant.”

"Family Guy": "Because it incorporates so much pop culture from EVERY decade, and the humor is non stop. Why is it not on the list?"

“Entourage”: “It is the ultimate guy show. Rude, brash and absolutely hilarious, I think every guy can relate to a character on the show.”

“Six Feet Under”: “It was one of the first shows to use dark humor in an entertaining way.”

"American Idol": "I love being a part of the decision and seeing people make a success out of their life. Plus, I can listen to their music on the radio so the show doesn't end after the winner is announced."

"Sex and the City": "The first show to honestly show relationships and how they work."

“Mad Men”: “There isn't a more complex cast of characters profiled more patiently anywhere on television.”

-- Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com