2. Ally McBeal (1997-2002)
Ally McBeal and Billy Thomas were going steady throughout their childhoods. Ally even followed Billy to Harvard law school despite having no interest in law, but when Billy chose to pursue a career in law away from Ally, their relationship came to an end. In the present, an old classmate of Ally's named Richard Fish gives Ally a job at his law firm, where Billy and his new wife are also working. This puts Ally in a predicament, since she still has feelings for Billy, which she's labouring to get over. At the office, Ally puts up with a nosy, gossiping secretary named Elaine, and an oddball lawyer named John Cage who never seems to lose a case. At home, Ally's friend and house-mate Renée regularly advises her on her love life. Another show I simply needed growing up. It didn't matter that Ally was pretty and (too) thin and successful. None of that mattered. She was a total nut case, yet functional, which even today when I watch I find very comforting. Even though I don't have hallucinations, I know what it feels like to think you are different, that you will never find true love, and all that nonsense that made this show brilliant in its theory and practice. It was also very visually appealing, and once Lucy Liu and Portia De Rosi joined, it got even better. And when Robert Downey Jr was added for one glorious season? It was amazing. Those two fit like a glove, and he is just so damn sexy that I almost don't care that he is one of the best actors around. But he is, damnit. The show is still great today, just a little outdated. No one wears those shoes anymore, thank god.