I actually remember the pilot season of 2004 -- that alone is saying something. When you write about TV, you're constantly bombarded by previews and they tend to run together. After all, half the time they star the same actors year after year (Matthew Perry, Amy Brenneman, etc.) and they often come in matched pairs with the same plot ('30 Rock' and 'Studio 60,' 'Ghost Whisperer' and 'Medium,' etc.). But 2004 stands out as a year when the pilots were unusually good, and the casts full of fresh faces. At least it all seemed fresh then. Not to be cruel, but it's starting to look a little haggard now.
A lot of shows that began in 2004 are still lingering on the air -- 'Desperate Housewives,' 'House,' and 'The Apprentice' are probably the biggest -- but even those that aren't running anymore still exercise a big influence over our thoughts about TV. 'Lost' changed how networks and viewers think about supernatural dramas on TV, and while the results have been mixed, thanks to 'Lost', we viewers have seen some bizarre stuff make it into series over the last while. 'Veronica Mars,' though it didn't last, was another 2004 show that tested the waters of what you could do in certain genres on TV. The normative violence of rape and sexual assault that girls face in high school and college had never been shown that way before -- and no tougher, smarter, cooler heroine had faced it.