TELEVISION: THE BEST TELEVISION OF 1996

1 EZ STREETS (CBS) Ken Olin's thirtysomething days are long gone. Here he's a desperate detective--the central figure in one of the more profound crime dramas ever to hit a television screen. Lyrically bleak in tone, EZ Streets is a haunting meditation on moral ambiguity, on city politics and--most effectively--on fate. Alas, the dismally rated series was abruptly canceled after two airings. Alone, perhaps, we anxiously await its scheduled return next year.

2 Seinfeld (NBC) The granddaddy of modern urban sitcoms is still hipper, still wittier than its offspring. Now in its eighth season, the show has maintained its brilliant comic...