The Best TV of 2009
We were all super pissed that we couldn't pick "M.A.S.H."
Randomly assembled lists of the best television had to offer in 2009? SIGN ME UP.
Alyssa Vincent:
10) Say Yes to the Dress: While this TLC show has been around since 2007, I just got into it this year. And when I say “got into it,” I mean “would sit down for four-hour long marathons of it.” It’s a simple premise—a reality show about Kleinfeld’s, a bridal boutique in New York, and their clientele. But for some reason, I find that watching other women pick out their wedding gowns is quite entertaining.
9) True Blood: Man, this vampire show got amazing in its second season. I don’t want to give anything away in case someone wants to catch up on it, but someone, vampires end up being the most normal thing in the world compared to the creatures and situations the second season deals with.
8) Bored to Death: I’ll like almost anything that gives me a chance to watch Jason Schwartzman, so I was immediately intrigued by this HBO show about a writer who becomes a private investigator with no real credentials. With Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson as supporting cast members, the show has yet to disappoint me.
7) The New Adventures of Old Christine: Yes, I’m a middle-aged housewife. I don’t know anyone else my age that watches this show, but I swear, it’s funny! It’s so nice to see someone from the "Seinfeld" cast find success on another sitcom, and since Julia Louis-Dreyfus was always my favorite, I’m glad it’s her. Sure, some of the plot lines are a little cheesy, but this is one of the more consistently entertaining shows airing right now.
6) Parks and Recreation: This show was absolutely terrible when it first premiered. I wept for Amy Poehler. Then, all of the sudden, the writing tightened up and all of the actors seemed to get a lot more humorous. If you gave up on this show, try it again—you won’t regret it.
5) Community: Let’s get a huzzah for strong and hilarious ensemble casts! While the writing for this show is pretty good, it’s the fantastic actors that bring it to life. Um, Chevy Chase making inappropriate and senile comments? Far funnier than I just made it sound.
4) Modern Family: Whoa. A half-hour sitcom on ABC that’s clever and not just mindlessly entertaining? It seems like it. Modern Family follows three different families, which are related under one patriarch—Ed O’Neill. Sounds awful already. But, it’s full of amusing nuances, well-developed characters, and shockingly un-sappy morals. Here’s hoping this will get even better with a second season.
3) Mad Men: So, this season was an exercise in patience. Sure, there were some shocking events (why hello, Sal…), but mainly it was just episode after episode of seething tension. Until the final three shows when EVERYTHING HAPPENED. The episode that dealt with Kennedy’s assassination was superb, and the finale left me speechless. If they don’t get picked up for another season, I may have to write scripts myself just so I can have some sort of faux sense of closure.
2) Glee: This show has polarized America. OK, maybe not, but it seems like you either love it, or hate it. And I love it! I live for musical numbers and Jane Lynch, so I often smile and feel like this show was made for me. I’m curious to see how they’ll keep this concept fresh, but for now, I’m just singing along and enjoying myself.
1) The Good Wife: I’m afraid not enough people watch this show, even though it’s the best drama CBS has. Juliana Margulies is stellar as Alicia Florrick—wife of Illinois State’s Attorney Peter Florrick—who goes back to work as a lawyer after her husband becomes embroiled in scandal and ends up in jail. Since Margulies left "E.R.," I almost forgot how talented she is. This writing is of the type that will only improve as the show continues, so even with as interesting as it is now, it’s only going up from here.
Max Alborn:
10.) Caprica: Okay, I am kind of cheating here. “Caprica” was not televised this year. A prequel to the events of “Battlestar Galactica”, it'll be coming on next year. HOWEVER. The pilot episode/miniseries was released earlier this year in anticipation of next year and the success of the pilot has already caused a full season pickup for next year. It's with good reason as “Caprica” is filled with plenty of material to work with both within it's “Galactica” canon and within issues from our own world, such as racism and classism. It's very different in tone when putting up with “Galactica”, but “Caprica” is going to make for strong T.V.
9.) 30 Rock: This is the little sitcom that could. I love me some Tina Fey and love Alec Baldwin even more, especially in such a comical role. Based loosely on Fey's time as showrunner of SNL, “30 Rock” continues to earn it's numerous awards with sharp writing, ample pace and pitch perfect timing (largely due to Baldwin's delivery). So close to cancellation 4 years ago, “Rock” has since earned a strong fanbase, fantastic cameos, and builds upon it's ensemble with some of the sharper writing that can be found on T.V. these days.
8.) Modern Family: Again...how sweet. Part “Arrested Development”, part “The Office”, “Modern Family” is the best sitcom to come along in 2009. Balancing three very different families (all of whom are related to one another) “Family” has all the humor of “Development” without the outrageous characters and all the timing of “The Office” without being too dry. Such a show requires a strong ensemble and everyone on the show does a fantastic job with their respective parts. Even the kids are funny and I normally do not advocate the use of children in any form of entertainment.
7.) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: I'm going to miss you “Terminator” (never thought I would put that in print). In all honesty, the only “Terminator” film I ever really liked was “T2: Judgment Day”. It had the right balance of heart and action that James Cameron is capable of. I found this balance very much at the core of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, the first season being cut short due to the Writer's Strike (in my opinion, doing great damage to the show's ability to retain an audience for it's 2nd season). Despite being cut short, the 2nd season of “Connor Chronicles” does not sacrifice it's core characters for action (the action being impressive for a T.V. show) and is perhaps the best thing to happen for the franchise's “quality” factor in quite some time. Like I said, you will be missed.
6.) The United States of Tara: Fresh of her win for Best Original Screenplay for “Juno”, Diablo Cody set her eyes on T.V. Starring Toni Collette (in an Emmy winning role for Best Actress), “Tara” focuses on a suburban housewife who has been living with dissociative identity disorder for most of her life. With two kids and a supportive husband, Tara must balance her role as a mother and wife with her various identities (referred to as “alters”) and their effects on her relationships both within and outside her family. Funny, sincere and with just a touch of heartbreak, “Tara” takes the voices we all hear in our heads (but rarely admit to) and put them on screen to great effect. Watch it.
5.) Damages: Oooooh...that's gotta hurt. If you thought Patty Hewes (played by the two time Emmy winner Glen Close) was ruthless in the 1st season, you clearly have not seen the 2nd season. Maintaining an arc heavy story that goes the entire 2nd season, “Damages” continues to be one of the best thriller shows to come along in quite some time. To me, the success of the show is large in part because of Close and her absolutely phenomenal portrayal of the most prolific and reviled prosecutor in the U.S. Bolstered by Rose Byrne as her former protege, hell bent on revenge, and joined by Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt, season 2 takes the characters of season 1 and goes deeper to levels best left alone. As season 2 shows, to go to these levels is not only difficult...it's lethal.
4.) The Closer: 5 years later and still going very strong. I remember the first advertisements for “The Closer” and thinking...”eh...could go either way”. Needless to say, it went the right way in the best sense. Normally, I don't go for cop shows, but Kyra Sedgwick has created one of the best female leads I've ever seen on a T.V. program as she heads up one of the best ensembles on T.V. and answers to J.K. Simmons; a television rockstar in my book (see “Oz” and then watch “Juno”. You'll see why Simmons rocks as an actor). It has a healthy dose of humor, interesting cases that rarely feel formulaic and never compromises it's core characters, even 5 years later.
3.) Glee: I will probably be mocked publicly for this but I do not care...I am a “Gleek”. Make no mistake, I love dark films, TV and games. However, even I need a break from the depressing storylines and Ryan Murphy (creator of the ever dark and crazy “Nip/Tuck”) helped pull me out of it with his new hit “Glee”. From it's premiere episode (airing months before the fall debut) and the exceptional cast rendition of “Don't Stop Believing”, “Glee” put it's best foot forward and hasn't let up since. With a FANTASTIC ensemble (including the Emmy worthy Jane Lynch) sharp humor and slick productions numbers, I cannot remember the last time a T.V. show has lived up to it's name in such a way.
2.) Battlestar Galactica: Oh...I could go on and on about this show. Really. I could. But I will spare you the time and space. Suffice to say, this was one of the best televised dramas I've ever seen. With a superior cast (not a single character misused) sharp as nails teleplays and arc heavy storytelling,”Battlestar” was a revisioning that all but erased the 70s source material (for which it is based) from memory. It's that good. With this being it's final year on the air, it sure as hell went out with a bang, dividing fans but giving a final season that effectively represented what the series had evolved into since it's initial run as a three hour miniseries.
1.) True Blood: Oh...it hurts so very good...I know that vampires are everywhere and that it can get a little old (damn YOU, “Twilight”) but I have such a love for the first season of “True Blood”. Walking into the 2nd season, like any loyal viewer, I was worried about a sophomore slump in creativity (I'm looking at you, “Heroes”). Thankfully, no such fate fell to “True Blood” taking it's Southern vampires and taking them to an entire new level (not to mention location). With even MORE blood, sex, humor and creatures to discover, “True Blood” had a fantastic follow up season, laying the groundwork for years of bloodsucking goodness. Sign me up.
Ryan Peters:
10. Community: I’ve always thought that Joel McHale was hilarious on “The Soup,” but I was skeptical about whether he could anchor a sitcom. Well, I was wrong. McHale has been fantastic on “Community,” and has shown that he is able to pull off many kinds of humor outside the smarmy sarcasm of “The Soup.” Still, smarmy sarcasm is the bread and butter of “Community,” and they lay it on thick. Some people say too thick, but I think that any show featuring Chevy Chase being a total asshole (that is, himself) is the kind of show I want to watch.
9. House: If you asked me a few weeks ago, I would have told you that “House” had made a full-fledged return to form in its sixth season after a very mediocre fifth season. The season opened up focusing on House’s flaws (as in, his drug-fueled hallucinations of a sex romp with his boss), and proceeded to seemingly get rid of the “new” team of doctors that had been added in favor of the original team over the past two years. I could not have been happier. I’ve hated the new team from the start, and had a little celebration when the Kutner character committed suicide. Then, the old team of doctors came back on board and, suddenly, the dramatic juice was flowing again. Then the writers decided to get rid of Dr. Cameron completely, and bring back two of the “new” doctors that appeared to be gone at the start of the season. What exactly was the point of removing them from the show for 5-6 episodes? Were they trying to remind viewers of better times and greener pastures? That’s like sleeping with your ex-wife for a few weeks just remind yourself that your sex life used to be pretty hot.
…That was kind of an odd metaphor. Or a shitty one. Either way, my point is that the show is reverting back to storylines that interested no one in the first place.
Still, even with the “new” doctors making a return, I think the writing has been sharper this season, and the acting has been stellar as usual. Plus, watching House try to balance his desire to be a different person and his natural inclination to be a misanthropic dick has been a treat.
8. The Office: I still hate the whole Jim-is-a-boss storyline, but the writing has been pretty funny this season. Need proof? Check out the episode where Michael falls into a koi pond. Classic stuff.
7. Modern Family: The best new sitcom of the season. The show works on a lot of levels; the absurdist stereotyping (“am I driving him to work, or is he riding his burro?”) is great, but it’s the more subtle humor that works the best, as in when self-proclaimed ‘cool dad’ Phil Dunphy explains to the camera that WTF means “What’s that face?”
6. Jersey Shore: I thought that I was a happy, confident person with a fulfilling daily routine, but I didn’t realize all that was missing from my life until I saw a marathon of “Jersey Shore” on MTV. The show is exactly like “The Real World,” only trashier in every way possible. Instead of Cancun, they live in a house on the Jersey beach shore. Instead of working at a radio station or for a promotions company, the cast works at a t-shirt store. Instead of gonherrea, they get crabs. I’ve never seen a male cast member wear a shirt with sleeves, I’ve never seen a female cast member cover up more than 12% of their boobs, and one girl – “Snookie”—got cold-cocked in the face when she was talking trash to some dude in a bar. Should you ever hit a woman? Absolutely not. But I’m not even sure if the cast members qualify as human beings. I do know, however, that they qualify as entertaining as hell.
5. Damages: HOLY GOD. Did anyone else see the second season of “Damages”? Because outside of my mom, I don’t know anyone else that watches this show. Which is a shame, because it’s a seething cauldron of dramatic tension. Kind of like my pants. What?
4. Mad Men: Speaking of dramatic tension, “Mad Men” managed to painstaking build a sense of dread and unease throughout most of a slow-moving season, only to have everything explode into utter chaos in the last three episodes. I loved every minute.
3. South Park: This has been one of the better seasons for a show that seems to get better every season. But even if it weren’t—even if it were an awful season—it would have to be in the top three on this list if only for the episode in which scientists from the government test a myriad of drugs to see which can sedate a reces monkey to the point that it doesn’t freak out when someone pees in its face.
2. 30 Rock: I have always been a bigger fan of its lead-in, “The Office,” but maybe that’s because I never gave “30 Rock” enough of a chance. Well, I took a week in July to watch the entire series on Hulu, and watched each episode this season, and can say with a lot of certainty that this is probably the most quick-witted, best-written comedy on television. And finally, FINALLY, someone found a way to utilize Tracy Morgan’s comedic brilliance.
1. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The gang from Paddy’s Pub and their show are the exact opposite of quick-witted or well-written. The show is all about offensive, absurdist situations and is half-improvised from loose scene sketches. Oh, and it’s absolutely hilarious. The best thing about the 5th season is that the show has embraced its own strengths, focusing less on creating coherent plots and more of straw-men situations that allow the characters to say random shit. Plus there has been more of Danny DeVito’s Frank, which as I have said for some time now, is the best character on the show. Highlight of the season? When Mac asked if Frank had slept with Dennis and Dee’s annoying cousin, and DeVito responds, “No, we drank a bunch of those energy drinks and dry humped all night. It was awful.”
Amy Dittmeier:
Glee
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
True Blood
Late Night With Conan O'Brien
Community
Sons of Anarchy
The Office
Bored to Death
How I Met Your Mother
Castle
Posted by Ryan Peters, Ryan Peters on Dec 22, 2009 @ 12:00 am
