Best Television Series, Drama or Comedy

       The Emmys no longer give a "best program" award, because it made the best drama and best comedy statues seem meaningless. But let's do it anyway. No series gave more people more pleasure than Friends, and no show was as flawlessly acted as Once and Again. But my pick for the year's top series goes to 24 for daring to wager that it could make an audience follow its complicated story for 24 hours, and that it could fend off cancellation or interruption by Fox. The bet paid off, for all of us.