TV's Top 10 of 2008

Without too much thought put into it, here's my Top 10 list of TV shows from 2008.

AMERICAN IDOL - Love it. Not as good as in years past, but improvements are coming in 2009.

LOST - Now that the producers know when the series will end, the filler episodes are gone and this show is flying at warp speed.

BREAKING BAD - Love Bryan Cranston. Love him. He is a fearless actor - just look at the risks he took during the run of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE. Aaron Paul's performance as Jesse is equal to Cranston's - which is saying something.

MAD MEN - Love the languid, yet taught pace, the attention to detail. This year it became clear that the nuclear family the advertising geniuses are pushing on the public is even more foreign to them than it is to us. You know you're a hot property when THE SIMPSONS send up your show intro.


PUSHING DAISIES - The abbreviated first season was far superior to the second. Brilliant art direction and a self-contained universe free of modern technology made this an instant favorite. As the show progressed, that self-contained universe began to fray a bit at the edges and the second season saw a darker, less whimsical texture but this one will be missed. Three episodes remain unaired, then it's done.

HOUSE - Same story week in and week out - but I don't care.

LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON - His monologues are a different creature from anything else on TV. Craig isn't afraid to talk about his demons or his pride in being a naturalized American citizen. His show that followed the passing of his mother was heart-breaking, personal and brave. He will no doubt benefit from the 2009 late night re-rack over at NBC.

SUPERNATURAL - You can tell a lot of X-FILES veterans are involved in this show (Kim Manners rocks!). It has the same gritty, creepy flavor that helped every episode of THE X-FILES look like a mini-movie. The Winchester brothers have never been better.

SMALLVILLE - What? Really? Smallville? Yep. This show is so much better than it was three years ago. As someone who someday hopes to create a TV series it pains me to say that this show has vastly improved with the departure of its original show runners. Maybe it's luck, but their departure, along with the loss of Lex Luthor and Lana Lang and Clark's relocation to metropolis have all combined to make this show more grown up, much more palatable and better written.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE - This is THE dance competition to watch. Great summer programming, filled with folks who have danced all their lives. It's amazing stuff.

What's on your list? (There are very few wrong answers.) Show you list, defend your choices!

How Big Is IDOL?

There are TWO HOURS of original programming going up against IDOL tonight.

TWO. The finale of LOST.

NBC, CBS and even the CW are airing reruns all night long.

Duck and cover, baby. Duck and cover.

Random Thoughts 050807

There may be SPOILERS ahead. Proceed with caution if you're not completely caught on your good TV watchin'.

May sweeps is upon us, but for myself, not nearly like it used to be.

GILMORE GIRLS is calling it a wrap in two weeks. Hope they go off into the sunset properly. This season seemed like so much filler, delaying the happy ending fans want by an entire calendar year for no other purpose than to waste TiVo space.

I'm enjoying THE RICHES. It's such a unique setting and I believe I would watch Eddie Izzard in just about anything (except for MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND - cue Meatloaf "I can't do that!")

If I haven't mentioned it before, I recommend By Ken Levine - he wrote for M*A*S*H, CHEERS and FRASIER among others. He posts more regularly than I do - and he's a lot funnier. Every now and then he'll discuss some behind the scenes stuff from FRASIER or CHEERS - and sometimes he just vents about AMERICAN IDOL - just like 50% of all bloggers known to mankind.

I was stunned by what happened on tonight's 24. It sucked the life out of the last 15 minutes of the episode - literally. I was hoping to a lot more of Milo down the road.

I think maybe THE SIMPSONS is getting better lately. I caught Mrs. Kimosabe chuckling Sunday.

The producers of LOST have managed to convince Disney it's best to have a planned ending to the series, rather than go one season too long. Remember the final season of THE X-FILES? Not gonna happen to LOST. Three more semi-seasons, consisting of 16 episodes each. Expect LOST to return in Feb '08 and run without repeats through May.

Gotta admit - I got a bit excited seeing the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE promo Sunday night. Made me miss Gretel a bit. Wave, Gretel!

Holy cow - I COMPLETELY forgot to go see SPIDER-MAN 3 this week. Apparently, I was responsible for the single unsold seat in America this weekend. $151 million. And it's still in the $100 million in red.

All I need is maybe $10,000 to shoot my movie. You know, if everyone who reads this blog contributed just $1, I'd only have to come up with $9,995 on my own....

Odds are, if you're reading this, you've read FIRST AVAILABLE - but just in case you're an agent looking to hire a brilliant new writer - but are willing to settle for me, here's a link to the script.

Gotta run - Hollywood calling now! Nope, just a telemarketer. Stupid caller ID. It never tells me when Hollywood calls...they are going to call - right?

Hello?

Hello?

FOX Juggernauts Return

It's got to be tough to be a suit at NBC, ABC or CBS this time of year. They all have to know they have but one more week of normalcy to enjoy before their world turns upside down. Again.

(Cue the theme to JAWS)

Yep, it's January and that means it's time for "24" and "AMERICAN IDOL" to return.

The Jack Bauer Power Hour is back following what I felt was one of its most disjointed, yet accessible seasons. Day 5 saw the show tweak its formula a bit, killing off several key characters and devising more payoffs within the 24 episode storyline.

These changes allowed new viewers to better understand the goings on. Complicated backstories were dispatched along with their associated characters. The multiple resolutions within the overall arc also allowed new viewers better access. Ultimately, I believe it was this new-found accessibility that allowed Emmy voters to award the show with its Best Drama trophy.

Day 6 promises Jack's return from Chinese custody and an outbreak of domestic terrorism that has claimed over 1,000 lives. You can see an extended promo for Day 6 here.

And then there's that other beastie, lurking in the distance - "AMERICAN IDOL."

Last year, I had my doubts about the continued growth of the franchise, but was ultimately proven wrong. This year, I'm expecting even higher numbers due to ABC's moving "LOST" out of the way. ABC's sacrificing of "THE KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY" and "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" stands as a spineless move by a network that has strayed from a very promising path.

Tons of promotional stuff, including downloads of previous contestants' new releases are available at americanidol.com.

How high is up for FOX? This may be the year we find out.

Rantings of a TV Junkie

In no organized fashion other than the order things pop into my head... my impressions of TV as we wrap up 2006....

1. THE O.C. is back! This show is en fuego! Killing off Marissa Cooper has given the show new life - and it's a happy life. Gone are the endlessly morose, angst-driven storylines about how unhappy Marissa was. It's all been replaced by the perky, funny, pop-cult aware, snarkiness that fans fell for in Season 1. It's not too late to rediscover the fun!

2. LOST is taking its fans on a remarkable journey. I'm not trying to figure it all out. I'm not in the camp that's insisting on answers. Place me solidly in the 'I can't wait to see what happens next" camp. This may be the best series on TV right now.

3. HOUSE endures. How in the world the writers manage to make the same story work week after week is a mystery to me, but they do. Love it!

4. HEROES, the origin! Without a doubt, my favorite new show of the year. I hope the writers are able to take their time and advance the story at their own pace. No need to rush through the prime rib to get to the dessert.

5. There's too much NFL on TV. Yep, I said it. The addition of Thursday and Saturday games is too much. It's diluting the special-ness of Sunday afternoon.

6. IDOL and 24 are a comin'! I just have to figure out how to clear my Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays to make room for them....

7. STANDOFF deserves to come back. A great little show starring one of my favorite actors. I just hope FOX gives it another shot.

8. DRIVE takes off in March. A new series from Tim Minear (FIREFLY), starring Nathon Fallion (also FIREFLY) about an illegal race across the country in which the participants don't know their opponents. Hope it's as fun as Minear's other work!

Questions for '07...

Will the FCC allow more concentration of TV ownership? If so, it's over folks. Allowing fewer and fewer companies to own more and more of the TV we see is far from a good thing.

How high is up for IDOL? With the competitive landscape changed (i.e. LOST moves out of the way) will IDOL reach even higher number in '07?

Where is the next great 3 camera sitcom? It's out there. The suits will find it, it's just a matter of time. Blind pigs come to mind.

Will My Network abandon the telenovela? I think so. The truth is, 20th TV was already shopping those 65 episodes mini-series in syndication before parent company FOX TV (the stations not the network) found themselves losing their UPN affiliation. It was the only thing they had on the shelf to distribute to their stations as an ad hoc net. Look for Ultimate Fighting to follow. Maybe even some sort of poker. But no matter what, it's going to make the syndicated product of the early '80s look good.

I'm sure there's more, but that's al my poor little brain can spit out this afternoon...

Happy New Year to all!