We're a ratty bunch us writer types. Thing is, while you probably thing our Top 50 was decided with great ease, it actually only comes to be if we're fobbed off with our own little vent about telly. We're needy, see? Fact is, if our long suffering editor didn't let us have our own moment in the the round-up spotlight, then we'd never agree on anything. I'd be arguing that some seldom heard of comedy show get the top spot and to hell with what is actually more representative of The Best TV Show Of 2008. I mean, if you've ever read Anna's stuff, you'd probably think she's pretty sweet in real life... but when it comes to the Top 50, man, we had to pin her down and sedate her before she cut off our John's ear with a switchblade. Anyway, here's my pay-off where I get to harp on about a load of stuff that I really liked this year.

Related: Our Top 50 Shows of 2008

If you've been reading TV Scoop today - and indeed during the past few weeks - you will have known all about our Top 50 shows of the year. We crowned Spooks as our favourite today, and it was richly deserved too. Series seven has to go down as the best British thriller series ever, and at its heart - as he has been for seven years - is Peter Firth's magnificent portrayal of Harry Pearce. To get his reaction to the placement and to chat about Spooks in general, I managed to have a chat with Peter earlier this week. It was a pleasure; he's a lovely man. What's more he left me on the edge of my seat with a revelation about what may happen in series eight. Read on after the jump!

To have a look at all our Top 50 run-down, go here. To read our Spooks news and reviews, go here.

Did you work it out? There were some clues, but there were also some potentially high-flying TV shows that didn't make our top 50 at all, so it may not have been entirely obvious. But yes, our top slot for 2008 goes to the wonderful, seat-edge, sweat-inducing, nail-biting and ever-twisting Spooks. I started watching this year with trepidation aforethought. After last year's relatively poor (in Spooks terms) series, it could have gone either way. I needn't have worried. Not only was Spooks back on form, it set a new bar. Series eight will have to be bloody good to better this.

For this year's full Top 50 line-up go here. To read all our Spooks news and reviews, go here.

We've been lucky this year. There has been some very good dramas, and Channel 4 has played a huge part in providing us with a number of meaty morsels. What I like about Channel 4 is that it approaches period drama in the way I like period drama to be approached - grimy, gritty, far-from-perfect and entirely sad and wracked with bad teeth and all sorts of what you imagine life to be like in those times before toothpaste and Listerine. The Devil's Whore was a very fine case in point. A four-part series, it chronicled the life and times of Angelica Fanshawe, a young woman caught up in the horrific Civil War of the 17th century.

To remind yourself of the rest of our Top 50, go here. To read all our news, reviews and interviews in Devil's Whore section, go here.

There's a lot of love going on around here. Best this, best that. It's about time we stuck a boot in. That's what we do. You have to balance the light with the shade don't you? And while there's no doubt that, on reflection at least, 2008 has been a cracking year for television, there's been some absolute trouts on the box. Naturally, there will be those of you who will expect The X Factor or I'm A Celebrity to make an appearance, but they're too easy... and besides, they have some value to those that like 'em. However, there are some shows that aren't worth much more than a soiled nappy in a deep-end.

Related: Worst Shows of 2007 | Worst Shows of 2006

American TV has been a bit hit-and-miss during the past few years. Established, global successes like The Sopranos and Sex And The City ended their hugely-successful runs, and the networks struggled to replace them. Until now. Two thousand and eight seemed to be when the new generation of US drama really took over the mantle. There was The Wire (I'm saving that for some boxset heaven at some point next year), the brilliant Mad Men and the dark Breaking Bad. But our favourite of the US imports this year was, by some margin, series two of Dexter.

To have a look at our Top 50 so far, go here. To read all our Dexter news and reviews, go here.

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Not a conventional choice maybe, but when you think about it, The Olympics really did provide some of the most memorable telly highlights of 2008. I know a lot of people moan about the number of reporters, presenters, commentators and behind-the-screens staff which the Beeb send to these types of events, but personally, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Related: The BBC Olympics Ident | TV Review: The Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

Like Will and Grace in, er, Will & Grace, the least interesting characters in Gavin & Stacey are indeed Gavin and Stacey (see also Ally McBeal, if you can remember that far back). Matthew Horne's Gavin is pleasant enough, even if he does rely on Tim from The Office's bemused face rather too much (got the same Lego Man hair too) and Stacey (Joanna Page) is a fairly typical nice-but-dim sitcom character, but the strength of this show is in the writing, the supporting characters and the wonderful cast.

As Anna expertly explained earlier, Lost In Austen was one of the feel-good television hits of the year. I saw the series' star, Jemima Rooper, in Sky1's Hex a few years ago and thought she was lovely and perky and a bit quirky (she played a gay ghost), so it was very gratifying to see her star in a primetime drama. Her character, Amanda Price, lived out every Austen fans dream - to be transported back in time to interact with the fictional characters. I caught up Jemima last week to chat Austen. Read the words that came out of her mouth over the jump.

To keep up to date on who was voted where in our Top 50, go here. To read all our news and reviews on Lost In Austen, go here.

Well, we've been counting down our favourite shows of 2008 these last two weeks, and already we've reached the heady heights of number six. And would you look at this - the position is filled by a hip, innovative prime-time drama from ITV! Wonders never cease, eh?

Related: Our Lost In Austen section | Our Top 50 so far

The Restaurant has, again, been brilliant this year. In fact it's one of the few shows that was placed very highly in last year's Top 50 and still managed to hold it's own in this year's chart. Why? Well, it speaks very highly of the show and those that took part. I've had the pleasure of talking to series judge Sarah Willingham throughout the series, and, I must say, she has been terrific to chat to. I thought I'd grab a few words with her to get her reaction on another great year for The Restaurant, and it turned out that she was more than accommodating. She was just coming back from filming a brand new show, so she was pushed for time. Read what she had to say after the cut.

To catch up on our Top 50 run-down so far, go here. To have a look at all our Restaurant coverage (including our weekly interviews with Sarah), go here.

Where to even start? Once again, The Restaurant (BBC Two) proved to be one of the highlights of the TV year, exuding class, sophistication... as well as all those crude things we like, like tension, drama, hissy-fits and a big fat prize. After the first series, I thought that this was a series that couldn't get any better... but how wrong I was. A tweak here and a tweak there saw the show as scintillating as ever and Raymond Blanc showed further why absolutely every single human in the world adores him.

Related: The Restaurant Section on TV Scoop | Top 50 2008

If there's anyone who has been on the box this year who can claim to be my hero, then Bruce Parry is top of the pile. In Amazon with Bruce Parry (BBC Two) he was all-action and mucking in... yet, more than just another Bear Grylls, he was also quite the anthropologist... and somewhere, in all that, was probably the nicest bloke I've seen all year.

Related: Our reviews of Amazon with Bruce Parry | Our Top 50 of 2008

As you read a bit earlier, we voted Britain's Missing Top Model in at number nine on our Top 50. I (and others) really enjoyed the show (well, it goes without saying... it was voted into our Top Ten after all), so I was keen to get back in touch with the winner of the talent contest, Kelly Knox. As ever, she was very honest and candid, so have a look at what she had to say after the jump...

To read all our Top 50 stuff, and have a look at the run-down so far, go here. To read all our Britain's Missing Top Model coverage, go here.

Well, this was a bit unexpected. I'm not a fan of that bitchy America's Top Model oevre. To me those kind of shows feature a load of spoilt brats, squabbling over which one is the prettiest, how best they will make a name for themselves at the showbiz parties they will no doubt be photographed at and what they're going to do to maximise their 15 minutes of fame. So when I saw that BBC Three of all channels was going to do something similar, but with disabled women, I shuddered. Was this going to be television sinking to a new low and exploiting disabled people for a TV talent show? Thankfully, no. It turned out to be one of the most unexpected and enjoyable series of the year.

To catch up with this year's Top 50, go here. To read all our news and reviews of Britain's Missing Top Model, go here.

The Fixer (ITV1) was one of the biggest surprises of the year for me. Firstly, it featured a lad who I was mates with at school in the lead role (Andrew Buchan) and secondly, it was a show that I really, really loved which was on ITV1. For some time, ITV1 has been a farce of a channel, churning out copycat shows (Tycoon, Prancing on Iceskates) or lowest common denominator guff. Then, out of the blue, The Fixer came along and riddled me with bullets of high tension, drumskin tight scripts and story and some seriously good acting.

Related: More on The Fixer

Almost there now. All week we've been counting down from 50 and next week it'll be time for the grand unveiling of our Top 10 favourite TV shows of 2008. Until then we listed the 20-11 TV shows, and befitting a list that is within touching distance of the Top 10, the programmes listed today are all really, really good. But what did you make of them? Did you enjoy Mad Men and Extreme Pilgrim as much as us? Did anyone other than myself watch and almost wet themselves over Best Of Youth? And what about Supersizers Go... how much fun was that? It's time for you to tell us. Poll over the jump. Next week it's the Top 10!

For all our Top 50 2008 stuff go here.

So the countdown continues and we're almost... almost into the Top Ten. But not quite. For that pleasure, you'll have to wait until next week. I know! We do it deliberately. Like sitting down at the Christmas dinner table and knowing you're not allowed to pull your cracker until Uncle Albert has pulled his. Console yourselves by following me over the jump to find out which goodies we've selected for the slots from 20 up to 11.

Top 50 2008: 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21
A reminder of last year's Top 50