The nation's (and some of Canada's) television critics agree that "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" were the best TV had to offer this year. They just can't seem to decide which is better.

The ABC series finished 1-2 in critics' polls published Monday (July 11) by two trade publications, Television Week and Broadcasting & Cable. In the TV Week survey, "Lost" came out on top, while a larger sample of critics picked "Desperate Housewives" in the B&C poll. (Zap2it.com staff members took part in both polls.)

The poll results were released just a few days before Thursday's (July 14) announcement of the Primetime Emmy Award nominations, which often don't match up with what critics -- or the audience, for that matter -- think.

"Lost" ranked No. 1 among critics for the second time in TV Week's semiannual survey, which asked 62 critics to list their 10 favorite and five least favorite shows. It also finished first in the magazine's January poll, both times beating out "Desperate Housewives."

The repeat performance for "Lost" is a little bit of a surprise, considering ballots were due about two weeks after its season finale, which polarized professional TV watchers just as it did the wider audience.

Rounding out the TV Week top five, which was limited to shows aired between Jan. 3 and June 15, were HBO's "Deadwood," FOX's "Arrested Development" and FX's "The Shield." The remainder of the top 10 was FOX's "House" and "24," Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," The WB's "Gilmore Girls" and UPN's "Veronica Mars."

The survey's bottom five were "Britney and Kevin: Chaotic" (UPN), "Stacked" (FOX), "The Simple Life: Interns" (FOX), "The Bachelor" (ABC) and "Fear Factor" (NBC).

In the B&C poll, 103 critics were asked to name the best show overall and their favorite comedy, drama and reality series, along with their least favorite show and the best new show for 2005-06. "Desperate Housewives" won the best show title over "Lost," "Deadwood," "The Daily Show" and "Gilmore Girls." "Lost" and "Arrested Development" topped the drama and comedy lists, while "The Amazing Race" was an easy winner for best reality show (as it was in the TV Week survey).

"Fear Factor" was named worst show in the B&C, edging "The Simple Life" and "Britney and Kevin." UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris" got the most votes among the crop new of shows.

The TV Critics Association hands out its own awards on July 23.