With so many critics making lists for the best the last decade had to offer, I figured I’d throw my two cents in for good measure. I hereby present my picks for the best TV shows that premiered between 2000 and 2009.
1. Friday Night Lights (2006-present, NBC/DirecTV's 101 Network)
No surprise to regular readers, my beloved FNL is the epitome of great storytelling. Realistic without being maudlin, uplifting without being syrupy, and one of the few shows that really makes you root for its characters to succeed. Television simply doesn’t get any better than this.
2. Lost (2004-present, ABC)
Many have abandoned this twisty drama, about to enter its final season, complaining that its central mystery has produced too few answers even as it continues to conjure more questions. To those naysayers I say, You’re missing the point. Lost has always been about its characters first and the strange island goings-on second.
3. Arrested Development (2003-06, Fox)
I’ll never look at a loose seal the same way again. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you clearly missed out on the best comedy the decade had to offer. Overlooked by the masses for its entire run, fans should just be grateful they got to spend three seasons with the inimitable Bluth clan.
4. Survivor (2000-present, CBS)
The granddaddy of all reality shows, Survivor is still going strong (and, in fact, just finished one of its most compelling seasons yet). Many have tried to duplicate its formula, but few have come close to mirroring its success. There’s nothing like the original.
5. Dexter (2006-present, Showtime)
Haunting imagery combined with terrific storytelling dexterity (pun intended) have led to one of the finest crime dramas in a decade filled with so many over-the-top examples (I’m talking to you, CSI!). Michael C. Hall’s richly layered performance just keeps getting better as we continue to hold a place in our hearts for a character whose lot in life is to commit murder without getting caught.
6. Breaking Bad (2008-present, AMC)
More darkness here, this time in the form of a man trying to do right by his family by involving himself in the cooking and dealing of crystal meth. While the show has more than its share of shocking moments, some of the most jaw-dropping exchanges happen in between, e.g., Bryan Cranston’s Walt, a man whose good intentions have driven him to some gruesome actions, looking positively apoplectic when he finds out his pregnant wife has smoked a cigarette. Raw, complex, sinister, and painful.
7. The Amazing Race (2001-present, CBS)
A couch potato’s globetrotting dream, Race brings customs and cultures to your living room in a way you probably wouldn’t experience if you had taken the trip yourself. Both exciting and—dare I say—educational, this is reality TV you’ll never feel guilty about joining in on.
8. Rescue Me (2004-present, FX)
Denis Leary is revelatory in the role of Tommy Gavin, a firefighter haunted by 9/11 and a seemingly endless stream of personal tragedies. Perhaps more than any other show, Rescue Me is able to walk the delicate line between heartache and comedy, finding gallows humor in even the toughest of situations.
9. Boomtown (2002-03, NBC)
A great show essentially killed by its network. The innovative first season of this crime drama took a Rashomon-style tack, relating the events of an occurrence from different perspectives. We saw things from the points-of-view of the police officers, the reporter, bystanders, the criminal, with each successive glimpse peeling away another layer of motivation for all involved. NBC reduced the show to a more standard, linear format in its second season, castrating the scripts and sending Boomtown to its grave after only six more episodes.
10. Modern Family (2009-present, ABC)
USA Today critic Robert Bianco took some guff for including this comedy on his decade’s best list, but I’m inclined to agree with him. Less cynical than The Office and not as infatuated with itself as 30 Rock, Family achieves all of its laughs honestly. So what if it’s only aired a handful of episodes thus far. When there are this many laughs to go around, plus a team of actors this talented, how can it not be included on this list?
It truly was a great decade for TV, and it was difficult to fit all my favorites into just ten slots. Honorable mention goes to, in no particular order, Brothers & Sisters (a powerhouse ensemble), Eli Stone (one of the decade’s saddest cancellations), The Book of Daniel (too controversial for NBC, it may have been better off on cable), 24 (uneven on a season-by-season basis but groundbreaking in the way serialized stories are told), and So You Think You Can Dance (pure fun).
The next decade certainly has a lot to live up to…
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Men: Not Quite a New Breed
For his return to television, Ray Romano, along with his former Everybody Loves Raymond writing cohort Mike Royce, has created a dramedy that attempts to tap into male emotions that go largely unexplored elsewhere. While Men of a Certain Age (TNT, Mondays, 10pm) means well, it doesn’t quite deliver on its intentions.
Romano stars as Joe, divorced father of two and owner of a party supply store. Joe is not too far removed in tone from Ray Barone (neither one would seem likely to actually want to attend a party, let alone proffer the necessary accoutrements), though since Joe is a few years older than Ray was he spends a lot of time complaining about his worsening eyesight, how he looks naked, his distaste for rap music, and how many ointments he has to apply each day. Along the way he makes attempts to connect with his kids, some of which work, some don’t.
As good a sell as Romano is—and it’s great to see him in a role that doesn’t always require him to crack a joke, though he does plenty of that, too—he’s not even the best reason to watch. That honor goes to the great Andre Braugher, here playing Owen, a car salesman struggling to make ends meet at home while he battles his father, the dealership’s owner, for more respect. We’re used to seeing Braugher in roles that allow him to chew the scenery (think Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street). In Men, though, he takes it easy, displaying a likable, Everyman quality he doesn’t get to show often enough.
And let’s not forget about Scott Bakula, no slouch himself as Terry, an out-of-work actor who has managed to avoid growing up but now finds himself wondering what he might be missing out on, though not enough to keep him from pursuing the young barista who’s nearly half his age. Bakula’s character might be the least developed of the three leads; still, he brings his all to the role, committing in a way that might suggest a bit of "been there, lived through that" for Bakula himself.
There’s nothing too big going on in Men of a Certain Age. These three guys, friends since college, don’t have their worlds shaken each week. Terry auditions for a Lifetime movie, Owen gets his dealer car downsized, Joe deals with his son’s anxiety, and they all make time to meet for lunch at Norm’s on a regular basis. All told, it’s a decent effort, so why can’t I shake this feeling that something’s missing?
It’s as if the writers think they’re going deeper into the male mind that anyone ever has, exposing great truths that have never been revealed. If only the result were as lofty as its purpose. Last week’s episode, the show’s third, did work out some of its cutesy, “look at me” mannerisms—it would do well to stop trying to see how many times TNT lets them get away with saying “dick” and “shit” in an hour—and started to move toward its goal: showing that there’s more to midlife than planning for retirement. Like Cougar Town, another age-centric new show that has gotten progressively better since its admirable start, this one may just need a little time to mature.
Romano stars as Joe, divorced father of two and owner of a party supply store. Joe is not too far removed in tone from Ray Barone (neither one would seem likely to actually want to attend a party, let alone proffer the necessary accoutrements), though since Joe is a few years older than Ray was he spends a lot of time complaining about his worsening eyesight, how he looks naked, his distaste for rap music, and how many ointments he has to apply each day. Along the way he makes attempts to connect with his kids, some of which work, some don’t.
As good a sell as Romano is—and it’s great to see him in a role that doesn’t always require him to crack a joke, though he does plenty of that, too—he’s not even the best reason to watch. That honor goes to the great Andre Braugher, here playing Owen, a car salesman struggling to make ends meet at home while he battles his father, the dealership’s owner, for more respect. We’re used to seeing Braugher in roles that allow him to chew the scenery (think Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street). In Men, though, he takes it easy, displaying a likable, Everyman quality he doesn’t get to show often enough.
And let’s not forget about Scott Bakula, no slouch himself as Terry, an out-of-work actor who has managed to avoid growing up but now finds himself wondering what he might be missing out on, though not enough to keep him from pursuing the young barista who’s nearly half his age. Bakula’s character might be the least developed of the three leads; still, he brings his all to the role, committing in a way that might suggest a bit of "been there, lived through that" for Bakula himself.
There’s nothing too big going on in Men of a Certain Age. These three guys, friends since college, don’t have their worlds shaken each week. Terry auditions for a Lifetime movie, Owen gets his dealer car downsized, Joe deals with his son’s anxiety, and they all make time to meet for lunch at Norm’s on a regular basis. All told, it’s a decent effort, so why can’t I shake this feeling that something’s missing?
It’s as if the writers think they’re going deeper into the male mind that anyone ever has, exposing great truths that have never been revealed. If only the result were as lofty as its purpose. Last week’s episode, the show’s third, did work out some of its cutesy, “look at me” mannerisms—it would do well to stop trying to see how many times TNT lets them get away with saying “dick” and “shit” in an hour—and started to move toward its goal: showing that there’s more to midlife than planning for retirement. Like Cougar Town, another age-centric new show that has gotten progressively better since its admirable start, this one may just need a little time to mature.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Winning by Default
A little humility can go a long way on Survivor, a lesson Russell H. learned the hard way in last night's season finale as his arrogance and cocksure attitude cost him the million-dollar prize. That's not to say his bravado was unwarranted. He did find two hidden immunity idols without a single clue and a third with only a picture of a moss-covered rock. He controlled nearly every tribal council vote from the outset. And he strategized harder than any other player out there (for which the viewers voted him the Sprint Player of the Season, netting a cool $100,000 to add to his already generous oil company earnings).
It cannot be denied that Russell deserved to be in the final three, but a win was not to be. Convinced that Brett would poll the most votes—so many of his former Galu tribemates were on the jury—Russell got rid of him in favor of keeping the "feckless" (Shambo's word, and it certainly fits) Mick and coattail rider Natalie, the season's winner. Notice how I've just now gotten around to saying Natalie won? That says something about just how deserving I think she is. Sure, she was sweet and cute and let other people make the tough decisions so that she could keep sitting pretty. In this game, winning that million dollars should take more than that. It's easy to give the prize to the nice person, which, in addition to winning three immunity challenges in a row, is what made Brett such a threat. Natalie admitted that she saw strong women being taken out one by one, and so sat back and took a less aggressive approach; essentially, doing nothing is what won her the game. Russell offered her $100,000 just to have her allow Jeff Probst to say the words "Russell, you are the sole Survivor." She politely declined. Something tells me we'll be seeing more of Russell on the show's 10th anniversary edition, Heroes vs. Villains, premiering February 11. He may get that title yet.
It cannot be denied that Russell deserved to be in the final three, but a win was not to be. Convinced that Brett would poll the most votes—so many of his former Galu tribemates were on the jury—Russell got rid of him in favor of keeping the "feckless" (Shambo's word, and it certainly fits) Mick and coattail rider Natalie, the season's winner. Notice how I've just now gotten around to saying Natalie won? That says something about just how deserving I think she is. Sure, she was sweet and cute and let other people make the tough decisions so that she could keep sitting pretty. In this game, winning that million dollars should take more than that. It's easy to give the prize to the nice person, which, in addition to winning three immunity challenges in a row, is what made Brett such a threat. Natalie admitted that she saw strong women being taken out one by one, and so sat back and took a less aggressive approach; essentially, doing nothing is what won her the game. Russell offered her $100,000 just to have her allow Jeff Probst to say the words "Russell, you are the sole Survivor." She politely declined. Something tells me we'll be seeing more of Russell on the show's 10th anniversary edition, Heroes vs. Villains, premiering February 11. He may get that title yet.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
A Solid Landing
Having been raised on such holiday chestnuts as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and scores of other treasures from the unmatched Rankin-Bass factory, I’m always a little skeptical when a new special tries to worm its way into the canon (Shrek the Halls? Ugh.) Disney Prep & Landing, however, is a truly worthy addition to the holiday specials of ole, and if you missed it when it first aired last week, you have another chance when ABC encores it tonight at 8pm (and again on Christmas Eve; it's also available on abc.com).
Prep & Landing introduces us to Lanny, an elf assigned to get houses ready for Santa’s arrival, a task that involves extinguishing fires in the fireplace, making sure the cookies don’t contain nuts, and transporting would-be attack dogs into a magical slumber. Passed over for a promotion in Naughty List Intelligence, Lanny is grousingly paired with a new trainee, Wayne, a dimbulb who doesn’t even know how to open a door but who you just know is going to help save the day in the end. In this case, Lanny and Wayne have to help Santa land at a house in the middle of a blizzard lest the young boy who lives there gets passed on by. It's a charming tale told with a degree of sophistication and humor that doesn't stray into cynical and/or ironic territory, the M.O. of so much family entertainment these days.
The computer animation in Prep & Landing, Walt Disney Animation Studios' first-ever special produced specifically for ABC, isn’t quite up to Pixar levels, but it has more sensory realism to it than Dreamworks’ more cartoonish CG films do. Is it fair to compare a TV special to a feature film? Here it most definitely is, as the creators have gone out of their way to ensure that the voice talent, including Dave Foley (NewsRadio) as Lanny and Derek Richardson (Men in Trees) is in top form, and the score by Michael Giacchino has an ambitious cinematic flair not usually heard in a Christmas special. Do yourself a favor and take thirty minutes out of your busy holiday schedule to settle in with these delightful Christmas elves. You wouldn't want to end up with a lump of coal in your stocking, would you?
Monday, December 14, 2009
Like Father, Like Son?
Rita may have been a nagging wife but does that mean she needed to die? Not that that was the reason for her demise at the hands of the Trinity Killer—his last victim before being offed by Dexter—but you have to wonder if the writers saw this as a way to both end the season with gusto and get rid of what has become a troublesome character at the same time. (While she had ample reason to be suspicious of Dexter's activities, all Rita ever did was gripe at the poor guy. No offense to Julie Benz, who did what she could with a more or less thankless role.)
It was a thrilling end to Dexter’s fourth year, a season that grew increasingly schizoid as it went along, with Dex intent on taking tips from Trinity rather than killing him when he had several chances to do so, in turn putting himself at risk, never more so than when Trinity casually walked into the police station to formally meet the man who went from being a volunteer builder to a major thorn in his side. John Lithgow is a lock for an Emmy nod for his portrayal of Arthur Mitchell, quiet at the right moments, full of rage when necessary, a chilling and layered performance from an actor best known to this generation as the loud and zany Dick Solomon from 3rd Rock from the Sun.
And what of the episode’s final moments, wherein Dexter finds baby Harrison sitting in a pool of Rita’s blood as Rita herself lies lifeless in the bathtub? The moment was nothing short of Dexter’s worst nightmare come true, the realization that everything he touches is destined to be damaged and that fate has brought these events to bear. Given the show's timeline, it’s unfortunate that, without some kind of Desperate Housewives-esque leap ahead, we won’t get to see if this tragedy has the same effect on Harrison as it had on Dexter when he was young. Looking ahead to next season, though, it’ll certainly be interesting to watch Dexter juggle his own Dark Passenger while he wonders if one might also be growing inside his son.
It was a thrilling end to Dexter’s fourth year, a season that grew increasingly schizoid as it went along, with Dex intent on taking tips from Trinity rather than killing him when he had several chances to do so, in turn putting himself at risk, never more so than when Trinity casually walked into the police station to formally meet the man who went from being a volunteer builder to a major thorn in his side. John Lithgow is a lock for an Emmy nod for his portrayal of Arthur Mitchell, quiet at the right moments, full of rage when necessary, a chilling and layered performance from an actor best known to this generation as the loud and zany Dick Solomon from 3rd Rock from the Sun.
And what of the episode’s final moments, wherein Dexter finds baby Harrison sitting in a pool of Rita’s blood as Rita herself lies lifeless in the bathtub? The moment was nothing short of Dexter’s worst nightmare come true, the realization that everything he touches is destined to be damaged and that fate has brought these events to bear. Given the show's timeline, it’s unfortunate that, without some kind of Desperate Housewives-esque leap ahead, we won’t get to see if this tragedy has the same effect on Harrison as it had on Dexter when he was young. Looking ahead to next season, though, it’ll certainly be interesting to watch Dexter juggle his own Dark Passenger while he wonders if one might also be growing inside his son.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
House and Wilson: BFF; Gossip Girl, WTF?
House is almost always at its best when it strays from its formula, and while it didn’t entirely do that last night, at the very least it put that formula into someone else’s hands, namely Robert Sean Leonard’s underused and always appreciated Wilson. In charge of treating Tucker, an old friend and cancer survivor played by the equally welcome Joshua Malina (The West Wing), Wilson goes through many of the show’s usual diagnostic paces, thinking it’s one thing, treating for another, then finally settling on what’s really wrong and going at it full bore.
In this case, the best way for Wilson to treat an unresponsive cancer is to double down on the chemotherapy, an act that ends up destroying Tucker’s liver. Unable to find a matching donor and ever the pragmatist, Wilson donates part of his own liver, only to find that the friend he thought would reconnect with his broken family is instead returning to the arms of his trophy girlfriend. Would Wilson have made such a valiant gesture if he’d known going in that Tucker would do an about face? Knowing Wilson, he probably would have.
Leonard played Wilson’s decision with the perfect balance of the character's need to do this for his friend and his need to do it for himself. And Tucker wasn’t the only friend Wilson helped last night. In a move that is sure to bite him in the ass, he defended House’s honor—an oxymoron if ever there was one—by intentionally outbidding Cuddy on a condo, rationalizing it by saying, “She hurt my friend.” Whether this is a matter of misplaced anger or Wilson's attempt to grow a pair, something tells me this isn’t the last time a friend will be hurt this season on House.
There were more friendship troubles over on Gossip Girl, a show that I haven’t watched in well over a year but thought I would check out again as they offered up a belated Thanksgiving episode. One thing was immediately apparent: these spoiled kids may be another year older, but they most certainly have not gotten another year wiser. Still up to their bed-hopping, backstabbing ways, why these teenagers continue to commingle despite the fact that their feelings for each other are lukewarm at best is beyond me. (I’d say the ratio is about ¼ love, ¼ indifference, and ½ hatred, a perfectly healthy relationship recipe, don’thca think?)
I can’t really comment on everything that happened last night because I’m out of the loop on so much of it, but here are the basics: Serena’s having an affair with a way-too-young-looking Congressman, Dan’s in love with Vanessa, Lily’s been hiding an important letter from Serena, and maid Dorota is preggers. If any of that sounds interesting to you, you’re a stronger viewer than I am, because after seeing the preview for next week’s episode, I don’t think there’s a chance in hell I’ll be tuning back in again anytime soon.
The CW—not to mention the hundreds of magazine covers these admittedly attractive actors have appeared on—would have you believe that Gossip Girl is a huge hit. The cold reality is that the show barely attracts over two million viewers on a good week (closer to three mil once DVR playback is factored in, but still a flop by any measure, though it did win its time slot last night among its young female target demo). There is a way to make a soap opera without having nearly every character be unsympathetic and mean, dull and toothless, or some combination thereof; the original 90210 did it for a decade. Maybe if the writers veered even slightly in that direction, more people would be willing to spend their time enjoying a little Gossip.
In this case, the best way for Wilson to treat an unresponsive cancer is to double down on the chemotherapy, an act that ends up destroying Tucker’s liver. Unable to find a matching donor and ever the pragmatist, Wilson donates part of his own liver, only to find that the friend he thought would reconnect with his broken family is instead returning to the arms of his trophy girlfriend. Would Wilson have made such a valiant gesture if he’d known going in that Tucker would do an about face? Knowing Wilson, he probably would have.
Leonard played Wilson’s decision with the perfect balance of the character's need to do this for his friend and his need to do it for himself. And Tucker wasn’t the only friend Wilson helped last night. In a move that is sure to bite him in the ass, he defended House’s honor—an oxymoron if ever there was one—by intentionally outbidding Cuddy on a condo, rationalizing it by saying, “She hurt my friend.” Whether this is a matter of misplaced anger or Wilson's attempt to grow a pair, something tells me this isn’t the last time a friend will be hurt this season on House.
There were more friendship troubles over on Gossip Girl, a show that I haven’t watched in well over a year but thought I would check out again as they offered up a belated Thanksgiving episode. One thing was immediately apparent: these spoiled kids may be another year older, but they most certainly have not gotten another year wiser. Still up to their bed-hopping, backstabbing ways, why these teenagers continue to commingle despite the fact that their feelings for each other are lukewarm at best is beyond me. (I’d say the ratio is about ¼ love, ¼ indifference, and ½ hatred, a perfectly healthy relationship recipe, don’thca think?)
I can’t really comment on everything that happened last night because I’m out of the loop on so much of it, but here are the basics: Serena’s having an affair with a way-too-young-looking Congressman, Dan’s in love with Vanessa, Lily’s been hiding an important letter from Serena, and maid Dorota is preggers. If any of that sounds interesting to you, you’re a stronger viewer than I am, because after seeing the preview for next week’s episode, I don’t think there’s a chance in hell I’ll be tuning back in again anytime soon.
The CW—not to mention the hundreds of magazine covers these admittedly attractive actors have appeared on—would have you believe that Gossip Girl is a huge hit. The cold reality is that the show barely attracts over two million viewers on a good week (closer to three mil once DVR playback is factored in, but still a flop by any measure, though it did win its time slot last night among its young female target demo). There is a way to make a soap opera without having nearly every character be unsympathetic and mean, dull and toothless, or some combination thereof; the original 90210 did it for a decade. Maybe if the writers veered even slightly in that direction, more people would be willing to spend their time enjoying a little Gossip.
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