The Top Ten Shows of 2008

So, yeah, readers, I left that previous top ten hanging. Because I’m lazy. So, in order to combat the chance of that happening again, the entire top 10 is going to be in one, neat handy-dandy post. Huzzah! You’ll notice differences from that original one too. So yeah, here’s the top 10.

10. So You Think You Can Dance- FOX

The best of the reality talent shows, with the best host on all of television. Sure, this past season was not their best one, nor even their second best. Sure, there were phenomenal contestants this year (Mark and Will, please move to the front of the class), but this season kind of fell a little flat. I could do with less of Nigel and Mary and more of guest judges like Lil’ C. But even with all of these problems, SYTYCD still manages to clock in at number 10 on my list.

9. Chuck- NBC

Chuck can be frustratingly formulaic at times. If there is one big, gaping flaw with the show, it is that every episode seems like the one before it, but with different guest stars. But the rigidity of the formula allows more room for the lead characters (as well as those zany background credited players) to shine. Zachary Levi is an incredibly likeable lead, Adam Baldwin is always great, and Yvonne Strahovski is proving to be more than just an attractive blonde to look at. Plus, how can you not love a show with a character named “Captain Awesome?”

8. The Office- NBC

The Office has had an up and down year. There has been some absolute brilliance in this year, but there’s also been a whole lot of unpleasantness. (How uncomfortable was the most recent Christmas special?) However, The Office still proves itself to be one of the most solidly funny shows on TV, always delivering in at least some capacity. Jim and Pam are still one of the absolute best couples on TV, with real real chemistry, and the Andy-Angela-Dwight love triangle has been great. It wasn’t The Office’s best year, but it’s still been a pretty darn good one.

7. Flight of the Conchords- HBO

All it takes is a few lines to explain Conchords’ place here “Just because we’ve been playing Tonsil Hockey doesn’t mean you get to score the goal that’s in my Jockeys”, “Bret you got it goin on. Not in a gay way, just in a ‘hey mate, I wanted to say that you’re looking okay’ way”, “My rhymes are so potent that in this small segment I made all of the ladies in the area pregnant.” “So you thin maybe you’ll be a prostitute, just to pay for your lessons, your learning the flute. Ladies wouldn’t pay your very much for this, looks like you’ll never be a concert flautist.” I rest my case.

6. Doctor Who- BBC

So, I’m kind of a Film/TV Sci-Fi nerd. Well, a really big one. And there is no better sci-fi on TV than Doctor Who (Ok, well, I’m far behind on Battlestar Galactica, so that may be better, but I’m not in a place to judge). My ultimate wildest dream is being a companion to the doctor, getting to travel through time and space. This season boasted a really good companion in Donna (a previously very irritating Catherine Tate), and a run of absolutely amazing episodes leading up to a mostly satisfying finale. The Silence in the Library two-parter will be something I will re-watch for years to come, as will the Midnight episode, which is absolutely A+ suspense. And I can’t wait until Steven Moffat takes over the shows reins in 2010.

5. I Love Money- VH1

A very unconventional pick, yes, but anyone who has read the blog for a while knows my absolute love for all things VH1 Celebreality. And I don’t think VH1 will ever produce a better show than the first season of I Love Money. It was a show full of really compelling characters (and I call these people characters because no human beings actually behave in this way), which was crafted in a brilliant way so as to reward manipulation and smarts over brawn. It produced a bona-fide VH1 star in Megan, who was kind of nothing before this and now is, like her (which I mostly do) or hate her (as most others do), a powerhouse VH1 character. There was no better mindless entertainment this year than I Love Money.

4. Lost- ABC

I cannot remember a creative resurgence like the one Lost has this past season, well, ever. So, soo, sooooo good was Lost’s fourth season that I once again have complete and utter faith in this show and will blindly follow it to its end. Season 3 had a whole slew of problems (Nikki and Paulo, we thankful hardly knew ye), but season 4, with the change in the formula, the mystery of who the Oceanic 6 would be, and the knowledge that it was building to castaways leaving the island gave the show so much strength and steam this past season that even Lost haters were jumping back towards the bandwagon. Just a ridiculously impressive season these guys turned out.

3. The Middleman- ABC Family

I cannot think of a better freshman season than the one The Middleman had. Nearly (I say nearly, because the Cursed Tuba one was kind of weak) every episode was nothing but fantastic, boasting some of the most interesting characters who I genuinely would love to spend time with. The Middleman was so witty, clever, geeky, cool, fun, and a bunch of other adjectives that are good things. Natalie Morales and Matt Keeslar had absolutely fantastic chemistry, and I truly hope that we get to see more Middleman-Dub Dub banter. Unfortunately, we most likely never will since neither ABC (we’ll get to that in a quick sec), nor ABC Family seems to recognize true genius when they have it, opting not to renew in order to give us more episodes of, say, “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” or “According to Jim.” Sorry, I’m bitter.

2 & 1. It’s A Tie!

30 Rock- NBC

Oh, Tina Fey, why do you make me love you so? Between your dead-on Palin and 30 Rock, I fell even more for you this year. The thing that I love about 30 Rock is that every single character is funny, and yet it doesn’t seem like anyone is trying to out-funny their peers. Fey’s Liz Lemon seems to be an equal amount of buffoon as the rest of the show’s characters, and accomplishing a successful comedy without a straight man deserves props. I can only hope it continues to get even better.

Pushing Daisies- ABC

Why, ABC? Why? Why must you rob me of the sweetest, cutest, most heart-warming show on all of TV? Daisies achieved the perfect balance of sweet and tart, with adorable, surreal, fairy-tale awesomeness, undercut by biting humor and wit. There is not a single, single thing I would change about Pushing Daisies if I could, which is a feat no other show, including those on this list, can claim. The entire cast is absolutely fantastic and will hopefully continue to do amazing this. So I say again, Why ABC? And I swear, if you don’t air the remaining three episodes (as it seems like you may be planning on doing), there’s a decent chance I’ll never tune into ABC again.

So there you have it folks. My top 10 of 2008. As a disclaimer, there are a bunch of really acclaimed shows that I never finished, or got caught up on, so things like Mad Men, Damages, and The Shield, just to name a few, never stood a shot of making it onto the list. But of the TV I watch, which is, trust me, a LOT, these were the 10 shows that I dubbed the best. But enough about me, what do you folks think?

Slight Delay, But Other Stuff Instead

So, I said that my top ten lists would be up today. Turns out, that's not gonna happen. I had intended to write them during a car ride this afternoon, but an intense discussion unfolded, so no top ten lists. But they will be up tomorrow, no ifs ands or buts about it. In the meantime, in honor of tonight's Golden Globes, I'm going to post my picks for should win and will win, and if you so choose, you can mock my failures at picking or marvel at how right I ended up being in the comments. Italics means should win, bold means will win. Let the picking commence!

TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
"Dexter"
"House"
"In Treatment"
"Mad Men"
"True Blood"

TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
"30 Rock"
"Californication"
"Entourage"
"The Office"
"Weeds"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne - "In Treatment
Michael C. Hall - "Dexter
Jon Hamm - "Mad Men
Hugh Laurie - "House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers - "The Tudors

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Sally Field - "Brothers And Sisters"
Mariska Hargitay - "Law And Order: Special Victims Unit"
January Jones - "Mad Men"
Anna Paquin - "True Blood"
Kyra Sedgwick - "The Closer"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate - "Samantha Who?"
America Ferrera - "Ugly Betty"
Tina Fey - "30 Rock"
Debra Messing - "The Starter Wife"
Mary-Louise Parker - "Weeds"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"
Steve Carell - "The Office"
Kevin Connelly - "Entourage"
David Duchovny - "Californication"
Tony Shalhoub - "Monk"

MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
"A Raisin in the Sun"
"Bernard and Doris"
"Cranford"
"John Adams"
"Recount"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ralph Fiennes - "Bernard and Doris"
Paul Giamatti - "John Adams"
Kevin Spacey - " Recount"
Kiefer Sutherland - "24: Redemption"
Tom Wilkinson - "Recount"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Judi Dench - "Cranford"
Catherine Keener - "An American Crime"
Laura Linney - "John Adams"
Shirley Maclaine - "Coco Chanel"
Susan Sarandon - "Bernard And Doris"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins - "Cranford"
Laura Dern - "Recount"
Melissa George - "In Treatment"
Rachel Griffiths - "Brothers And Sisters"
Dianne Wiest - "In Treatment"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother"
Denis Leary - "Recount"
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage"
Blair Underwood - "In Treatment"
Tom Wilkinson - "John Adams"

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to call me a putz in the comments.

Pilot Review: Lie To Me

Lie To Me
FOX. Wednesdays at 9.
Cast: Tim Roth, Kelli Williams, Monica Raymund, and Brendan Hines

So, I kind of really wanted to dig Lie To Me. Going into watching the pilot, I was kind of excited. I had previewed it with the first few minutes, which were all fun. I thought the premise was interesting. I really liked at least half the actors involved. So I really wanted to like Lie to Me. I really did. Unfortunately, after having watched the pilot, I really don’t.

There are, sadly, a bunch of problems with this pilot. Surprisingly, pacing and exposition are not one of them. Lie to Me manages to avoid the two biggest problems a pilot can face really well, actually, making it seem like we know the characters and not seeming to drag in trying to fit all that exposition in. Which is why Lie To Me’s lackluster-ness (shut up, I know that’s not a word) is all the more disappointing, because it falls onto all the things above that had jazzed me for the pilot.

Don’t get me wrong, those first few minutes are fun. They introduce Tim Roth’s character, Cal Lightman, who is basically a human lie detector, really well and make him an interesting and dynamic figure. And then, for the rest of the hour, they proceed to rob him of everything that makes him interesting. What I mean by this is that they lay out everything, so, SO blatantly with close-ups, that it makes what he can do seem way less cool. On Psych, which is also a show about a guy with a really unique talent using it to solve crimes, they do the same thing, but in a way that still allows the viewer to play along. On Lie To Me, it’s all so laid out it robs the show of the fun. I mean, there were two big mysteries to the pilot, and yet I managed to solve both of them, plus a sub-mystery, a while before the characters did, simply because they provided all the information WAY too early.

What also robs the show of fun, sadly, is the actors. Tim Roth is, as usual, pretty fantastic. He does his best to make this really weird character an interesting guy. However, the cast of characters around him really kill the buzz. Kelli Williams, who plays Cal’s number two, seems to REALLY think she’s popping and has chemistry with Cal, which she REALLY doesn’t. Monica Raymund seems to have been brought to play the hard-edged Latina woman simply because Michelle Rodriguez has had one too many DUIs, since what she does essentially seems like a Michelle Rodriguez impression. And now we get to Brendan Hines, which is where I get really sad. See, I like this guy a lot as an actor. Tyler Ford, who he played on the far superior “The Middleman” will stand out as one of the best TV boyfriends I have ever seen. Here, he is something close to a disaster. I’m more inclined to blame this one on the character, since the show seems to have no idea of his purpose except to be weird, but all I know is that the character left a really bad impression.

So yeah, I really wanted to like Lie to Me. But I couldn’t. I tried, but unfortunately, I’m gonna have to give it:

Rating: Not Worth Your Time/Only If Nothing Else Is On

Soooooooo………….

Yeah, I suck. I say I’m going to keep writing and then I never do. So I do suck. But this time, I kind of have an excuse.

I spent the last four months out of the country, and thus away from a television set.

This past fall, for the first semester of my junior year, I was studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. It was, in a word, amazing. Prague is a city I would highly recommend traveling to. It is such a beautiful place, you can be walking down the street and pass by a building that looks recent right next to a building that looks like it hasn’t been touched since 1700. If you ever have the chance, visit it. I swear.

But that’s only kind of an excuse, because I was still able to keep up on a bunch of shows. Which is why I will be able to post some best of 2008 lists tomorrow. Assuming I don’t flake out on it, which, I swear, I’m really going to try not to do. I know I’ve said that before, but I’m gonna make a really conscious effort to keep the blog going this spring, even if in a very limited, like once a week rundown of thoughts, capacity.

Also, I realize I kind of left that top ten countdown hanging. I would tell you the rest of the results, but since I’m gonna do the big list tomorrow, I’ll just hold off and do that one.

So, readers, if there are any of you left, I apologize. I suck. But I’m gonna try.

Top 10 Of The Year: #6- Survivor Micronesia: Fans Vs. Favorites

Previously:
The Honorable Mentions
#10- Gossip Girl
#9- South Park
#8- Chuck
#7- How I Met Your Mother

Yup, folks, it's a Top 10 double feature, because I've currently got nothing to do at work!
Listen, I’m as surprised as anyone that Survivor made my top 10. The reality mainstay stopped being good after like season 2. I kept watching, though, since I require incredible amounts of television in my bloodstream at all times. And I’m very glad I did. And I’m glad I did because Survivor Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites was the best season they’ve ever had. Don’t get me wrong, I love season one, but, despite the insanity of parts, it was relatively tame. It was just so shocking and great because no one knew the formula, it was brand new. Whereas, with Micronesia, everyone knew what Survivor was, and it still managed to knock people’s socks off.

The credit for this season really rests in the hands of the players. The fans vs. favorites dynamic was interesting, but this season didn’t pick up until after the merge. Which is when all the fun started. See, there were five (Count ‘em FIVE) amazing tribal councils in a row. First, Eliza played the fake immunity idol. Then they blindsided Ozzy. Then they blindsided Jason in the exact same way they blindsided Ozzy. Then Amanda successfully used a hidden immunity idol,

And then, the piece de resistance, they convinced Erik, having just seen the past FOUR tribal council game twists, to GIVE UP his individual immunity. The poor, dumb kid.

But, as if FIVE straight weeks of Tribal Council awesomeness weren’t good enough, you also had TWO medical evacuations and player voluntarily quitting the game. This season was just so good.

Now, I know that this was only half of the primetime season for Survivor. But I don’t care. I’m making the rules, I can break ‘em. This season of Survivor was so good, it absolutely earned it’s spot here. So congrats, Survivor, for the awesome come back. You earned your #6.

Just In Case You Are A Bad Person and Didn't Watch Pushing Daisies...

So, I got a message on "The Facebook" recently cluing me into this, a video cut together by ABC in order to recap you on the entire first season of Pushing Daisies, in case you missed it...



I've written about my love of Pushing Daisies before, and this is just another post, begging and imploring you, if you did not watch Season 1, please watch season 2. It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Which is big. Don't you wanna feel warm and fuzzy too?

PS: I asked the person if they had one for The Middleman, which you should also totally be watching. She said she'd see. But, in the meantime, WATCH THE MIDDLEMAN. It needs your help. They're fighting evil so you don't have to. But if it gets cancelled, you're totally gonna have to fight evil yourself.

Top 10 Of The Year: #7- How I Met Your Mother

Previously:
The Honorable Mentions
#10- Gossip Girl
#9- South Park
#8- Chuck

So, it’s been a while, I know. Other things, like my laziness, came up. But I vow to continue and complete this top 10 list before the end of the month, in case anyone cares. But, back to the matter at hand.


How I Met Your Mother has a laugh track. Stay with me here folks. How I Met Your Mother has a laugh track and it completely doesn’t need one. Because it’s seriously, seriously funny. I know what you’re thinking: Isn’t one of the rules of television the fact that a laugh track means less funny. Well, that’s what I thought. But How I Met Your Mother breaks that rule.

I will admit, this season was not as good as last season was. There were a bunch of filler episodes. But the show still managed to make my top 10. That’s saying something. But, even if this season had filler episodes, it also had a bunch of amazing ones. “Sandcastles In The Sand” stands out to me, since I love the Robin Sparkles storyline (One of the main characters was a teenage one hit wonder in Canada under the name Robin Sparkles. For more information, go HERE). The episode where Barney puts all the women he’s wronged into a NCAA bracket is amazing. Slapsgiving, the continuation of the Slap Bet joke, was also filled to the brim with funny. Also, the two minute date that the main character engineers (From the Britney Spears episode), is an amazing bit of writing.

I don’t really know how to say it in another way: The show is just really, really funny.

I tried introducing a co-worker to it earlier this summer, and he wasn’t blown away. Maybe it’s a show that you have to follow to love. But, knowing the characters (every single one of whom is funny, a rare feat for a sitcom), I always laugh a few times an episode. Maybe it’s not for everyone, but, between the awesome running jokes, my ever-growing man-crush on Neil Patrick Harris, and the loads of funny that the show has, I feel confident placing How I Met Your Mother in the seven spot on the countdown.