It may be 249 days before we officially toast the end of 2009, but it's not too early to raise a glass to the past decade of superb television.

We now pause for your moment of disbelief.

Done? Good. To fully appreciate this tribute, you must set aside memories of mind-numbing reality series, cookie-cutter crime procedurals and the runaway success of Charlie Sheen. Instead, accentuate the positive: How auteurs like Aaron Sorkin and David Chase utilized the medium for expressive, experimental theater; how movie stars set aside their egos and settled into the grunt work of episodic TV; how cable graduated from the fringes to the forefront.

Selecting the best of the best is always a hand-wringing chore -- in this case, one assigned to critics nationwide by the entertainment-industry magazine Variety for an upcoming special issue -- but I've managed to come up with a list of my very favorites.

In lieu of acceptance speeches, I've taken the liberty of reprinting some choice words from my past reviews. You are, of course, encouraged to disagree -- unless your submission contains the words "Real Housewives." If so, consider yourself banned from the party.

BEST DRAMA Nominees: "Rescue Me," "Rome," "The Sopranos," "The West Wing," "The Wire."

Winner: "The Wire."

No television show has provided so much insight on politics and all the foibles, frustrations and sick sense of humor that come with it. To the casual observer, the series appears to be just another cops 'n' robbers affair. Instead, it's been about paperwork. It's been about backroom negotiations. It's been about wadded-up memos, overtime cancellations, martini lunches and ego trips. It's been about bureaucracy. That word may suggest that the series is akin to an accountants' seminar. Trust me. It's as compelling as TV gets. (Sept. 7, 2006)

BEST COMEDY Nominees: "Arrested Development," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Office" (BBC version), "Undeclared."

Winner: "The Office"

The English can be forgiven for their cuisine and the Spice Girls, as long as they keep producing smashing comedies like this, one of the funniest sitcoms you'll see on any continent. It was a major BBC hit in 2001, and here's hoping it creates a buzz here in the States. Ricky Gervais, who co-created the series, plays a middle manager at a paper-supply company who is desperate to win over his staff. Unfortunately, he's a sexist, racist, cowardly, stupid little creature. No one can stand him, and by the manner in which he constantly tugs at his tie and looks around in silent prayer that someone is laughing at his corny jokes, you suspect he can't stand himself, either. Better than a year's run of "Dilbert." (Jan. 3, 2003)

BEST ACTRESS/COMEDY Nominees: Jennifer Aniston ("Friends"), Patricia Heaton ("Everybody Loves Raymond"), Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("Old Christine"), Mary Louise Parker ("Weeds"), Debra Messing ("Will & Grace").

Winner: Louis-Dreyfus.

"Old Christine" is a fresh reminder that at 45, Louis-Dreyfus is still one of the most gifted physical comics to ever step into Lucille Ball's shadow, a fact that the industry has undervalued time and time again. Unlike Elaine, Christine doesn't greet men with a mighty shove and has yet to break into a dry-heave dance, but she does appear to go through life like it's one long Buster Keaton routine. She can't manage to do the simplest thing, whether it's taking off her jacket, walking down the sidewalk or chewing on a bagel, without it turning into slapstick theater. (March 19, 2006)

BEST ACTRESS/DRAMA Nominees: Glenn Close ("Damages"), Minnie Driver ("The Riches"), Edie Falco ("The Sopranos"), Lauren Graham ("Gilmore Girls"), Sonja Sohn ("The Wire")

Winner: Close

Her character, Patty Hewes, may be the most morally ambiguous, intimidating lawyer the small screen has ever offered. By the second episode, she has manipulated the career of a young associate and ordered the killing of a key witness' dog. It gets much worse. Fantastic for cable, fantastic for middle-aged actresses, fantastic for viewers. (Aug. 5, 2007)

BEST ACTOR/COMEDY Nominees: Larry David ("Curb Your Enthusiasm"), Ricky Gervais ("The Office," "Extras"), Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier"), Ray Romano ("Everybody Loves Raymond"), Homer Simpson ("The Simpsons").

Winner: Gervais

For a guy who claims he doesn't want to be famous, Ricky Gervais made a colossal mistake. If he truly wanted a one-way ticket to obscurity, he should have chalked up his landmark creation, "The Office," as a fluke, waved goodbye to Hollywood and spent the rest of his life serving pints in a London pub. Instead, he went ahead and created "Extras," another BBC series that's almost as cringe-worthy and sidesplitting as its predecessor. Together, "The Office" and "Extras" might be the best one-two sucker punch in TV history, one that confirms the star/creator's status as a living legend -- whether he likes it or not. (Dec. 16, 2007)

BEST ACTOR/DRAMA Nominees: Michael Chiklis ("The Shield"), Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), Martin Sheen ("The West Wing").

Winner: Gandolfini.

As played by James Gandolfini, one of those actors you've seen a million times but just can't remember where, Tony Soprano is a leading thug whom you can't help but love -- a slightly overweight bruiser who likes to barbecue, play computer games with his son and avoid gunplay at all costs. But, gosh darn it, he's married to the mob. He's the perfect hero in this post-Coppola setting, in which the characters mimic James Cagney ("Is this the end of little Rico?") and Al Pacino ("Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in"), just because it makes them feel cool. His coming to terms with the changing winds is a journey that's more compelling than anything else on TV today. (Jan. 5, 1999)

njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431