Time for a list. I’m not doing enough of them. One thing I learned in journalism but never put into practice often enough: People love lists. They do. Even bad lists.

So, you judge the merit, but here comes a list …

Of the American TV shows we currently look forward to most avidly. Counting down backwards, of course. (And, no, we don’t miss Letterman.) I may have written something like this not all that long ago, but I’m doing it again. Cuz I just watched two hours of American TV here in Abu Dhabi.

10. Saturday Night Live. Love the concept. So many good memories. Two really good cast members at the moment, in Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen. But for every one good show this year, they’re spinning out two duds, and 70 or so minutes of DOA material is a big chunk of a night. Last week’s show, with Guest Host I’ve Already Forgotten … oh, yeah, it was Scarlett Johansson, and how can you screw that show up? But they did. They wasted Scarlett Johansson. Not five minutes of actual comedy. But still I watch, just in case.

9. The Mentalist. (And by the way, I have decided I am The Compartmentalist. Unless I’m feeling blue. Then I’m the Sentimentalist.) A weird, shlocky, low-budget show with one compelling figure (Simon Baker as Patrick Jane). But there we are, watching it week after week, wondering where they find all those people with speaking parts whom we have never seen before and trying to ID where in California, exactly, that episode was filmed. (“Saugus? I think it could be Lancaster.”) I expect my Highland house to be in a scene some day. Oh, and this show is getting darker by the minute. “Red John!”

8. Survivor. Way more me than Leah.  Still watching. Haven’t missed five episodes in,  what, 10 years? Even this old-vs-young year that was a really lame idea, I’m with you, Jeff Probst! I just love the interpersonal dynamics, and seeing who gets the game and who doesn’t and who might starve before the show ends. And have you guys considered,”Survivor: UAE”?

7. Castle. Way more Leah than me; it’s a Nathan Fillion thing. OK, he is ruggedly handsome. The lady cop, Beckett, is a little stiff, but her character is stiff, too. The Frick and Frack shtick of Those Other Two Guys is kind of fun. Seriously formulaic (Castle and Beckett accuse at least two people of murder,  in great detail, in the first 40 minutes, and are horribly wrong … and the last unaccused, unaccounted for character in the episode is the murderer. Always. Apparently this show skews really old. I’m helping.

6. The Middle. A weird little show that seems to take a lot of weeks off. But I love the little kid, Brick. (Whisper: Brick!) Everything just works in this show. It’s not particularly funny, but it’s sweet (I can’t believe I said I watch a show for its sweetness), and the family works despite not really working (if you know what I mean). Patricia Heaton knows the sitcom drill, and the dorky middle daughter is spot on, and the gangly dad is good. The older brother doesn’t work because this is another of those TV shows that insists on casting 5-foot-6 guys as 18YOs because it makes them look young. Didn’t anyone notice they cast a 6-foot-4 guy as the dad? That guy would not have a 5-foot-6 son. It bugs me. But then the little kid does something great, and if you watch carefully you can see the little actor limp (he has a congenital condition), and I love that guy. When he dressed up as a World War I Scottish hero for Halloween … that slayed me.

5. Mad Men. Might be ranked higher, but they film only about 13 episodes a season. Long waits between material. Don Draper is the coolest guy ever, and it’s a great ensemble cast and a Time Machine of what that early 1960s were like. I’m also a Roger Sterling fan.

4. Rules of Engagement. I have an in-law who hates David Spade and Patrick “Puddy” Warburton and will never watch this show. I happen to love both guys. “Russell, you didn’t!” Spade: I kiiinda did!”

3. Modern Family. I thought I would hate this as a steady diet of political correctness, but it’s undeniably funny, brilliantly written, has Sofia Vergara in it, and the best new show of the past two years. Another ensemble cast in which everyone works. Actually, this probably now ranks ahead of the show I’m about to name, but I feel protective of …

2. The Big Bang Theory. We’re getting into a pattern here. Tightly scripted, ensemble casts, a laugh-out-loud moment every 30 seconds. Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper will be one of the most memorable characters of the decade. And the episode a few years back in which Christine Baranski was introduced as Leonard’s mother … one of the best 22 minutes of comedy in the past five years.

1. 30 Rock. I’m throwing around “brilliant” and “ensemble” a lot, but this has it, too. Funny all the time. Every time. Five years in and they don’t miss. Tina Fey is outstanding and Alec Baldwin is even better. And Fey found a role in which the marginally talented Tracy Morgan is perfect. 30 Rock is smart, quirky, topical, political but in a surprisingly even-handed way. I never miss an episode. The highlight of the TV-viewing week over here.