In my effort to transfer various TV.com blogs over here, here's the first of what has become a sort of mini-tradition, my annual TV reviews. Here's the first, for the 2007-2008 TV season, and remember that there are spoilers for each show's respective season at the time.
Heroes NBC (Sep-Dec '07)I'm usually one of Heroes' biggest defenders. For example, I loved the season one finale despite all the hate it got. Unfortunately, even I can't defend season two which, for the most part, was a mess. And not even one of those "this really sucks but I just can't stop watching!" suckfests. The worst thing TV can do is bore you, which is exactly what season two did. Let's discuss the problems. Hiro's never-ending feudal Japan arc bored me to tears. Peter's Irish hoodoo was plagued with issues, including a total lack of chemistry with his love interest, and the constant shirtlessness. I don't need to see Milo Ventimiglia bare-chested every week. Seriously. Then there was Claire's turnaround from the cool, relatable teen in season one to the shrill, stupid, lovesick schoolgirl we saw this year. Then there were the irritating newbies: Maya, whose entire screentime consisted of "Alejandro - waah!"; underwhelming Monica; disappointing Elle; Superman circa Dean Cain-era West. There was a definite sense of the writers pointlessly dragging out storylines and treading water, which is exactly what a show like this doesn't need. Plus the underuse of two characters with so much potential (Nathan and Niki) was hard to understand. Ali Larter's definitely back next year but if Nathan is actually left dead, I'll seriously curse the house down. Granted, the season definitely picked up around episode eight or so, but it still didn't make up for the majority of the year blowing as much as it did.
Favorite Scene The entire beach-side exchange featuring HRG, Claire, Elle, Bob and Mohinder.
Favorite Character Niki/Jessica
Favorite Episode Cautionary Tales (2.9)
Rating C+
The L Word Showtime (Jan-Mar '08)A wildly uneven fifth season for everybody's favorite lesbian drama saw character assassinations everywhere you looked, but alongside some pretty darn fun story arcs. The good included the awesome Dawn Denbo, her robot lover Cindi, Kit with a gun and the takeover of The Planet, which was well-acted, trashy and a lot of fun. Elsewhere, I loved Tasha and the military investigation into her sexuality, as well as pretty much every scene with Jennifer Beals, who is amazingly awesome. The bad were Alice's actions throughout most of the year. Firstly was her ridiculous transphobia (a view only written in to give holier-than-thou pain-in-the-ass Max some screentime), then her outing of a closeted basketball star (which, whatever her excuse, was uncalled for), and then her wanting to pursue Melanie Lynskey despite having a loving girlfriend at home who gave up her career to be with her. Yawn. The plain ugly is reserved for whoever thought it was a good idea to cut Rachel Shelley for eight episodes. The season was framed by Jenny's adventures in movieland and the making of a film based on her book "Lez Girls". While it was fun to see the new incarnations of the characters we know and love, you have to feel bad for Mia Kirshner, who appeared to have given up adding any rationality to Jenny, as the writers seem to have made her nothing more than a crazy caricature of her former self. She was a nutjob this season, even though I did get a kick out of her wacky antics and the way she called Wallace Shawn "monsieur" every episode (seriously, it's dumb but hilarious). Her chemistry-free affair with Niki Stevens and the Single White Female-without-the-trashy-awesomeness Adele arc both bored too. Despite its many problems, The L Word is still an addictive drama, and hopefully next year's final season brings everything to a close in a believable, fan-pleasing way.
Favorite Scene Jenny's production meeting where she flips from insanely cutesy to terrifying as she attacks her assistant for giving her puppy the wrong color ear ribbons.
Favorite Character Bette Porter
Favorite Episode Lookin' at You, Kid (5.5)
Rating B-
Mad Men AMC (Jul-Oct '07)One of the most beautifully scripted series I've ever seen. With a cast of so many, it's literally amazing to see every individual character be given real depth and storylines. Just experiencing this show puts pretty much every other TV series in its place, it's that great. Don Draper is a powerful lead, completely enigmatic and cryptic, and somebody you struggle with in terms of whether you should actually root for him. His past inspires empathy, but some of his present-day choices (infidelity, distancing himself from his broken sibling) make him just plain cruel. Vincent Kartheiser convincingly played the legendary creep that was Pete Campbell. A cowardly, unethical bastard with little redeeming him, Kartheiser played him as a deeply disturbed, disturbing and all together twisted little rich boy you just want to kick the crap out of. And the rest of the Mad Men were equally great, with deeply closeted Salvatore and philandering Harry offering us insight into the type of world it was back then. Ironically, it was the women of the show that most intrigued me, in particular Don's disenchanted wife Betty. It angered me that some people considered January Jones's portrayal wooden, as she perfectly played this wound-up, intensely withdrawn woman who believes her only features of any value are her looks. And with the knowledge that they'll one day fade, she's falling apart. She has no real friends, no job, and a husband who's cheating on her. She's just a tragic mess of a character, and you just want to give her a hug already. Elsewhere we have this amazing array of females. There's Peggy, a secretary with ambition, brought down by an affair which could potentially destroy her chances in the office, gorgeous queen bee Joan (aka Saffron on Firefly), groundbreaking Jewish businesswoman Rachel Menken, as well as a variety of recurring guest stars. Mad Men was perfection. Wonderfully putting across 1960 with a cast of surreally talented actors, inspired writing and sleek directing, Mad Men was the best thing I've seen in years. It helped me survive the strike, and really showed me what television is capable of.
Favorite Scene Betty breaks down in tears as she opens up to her neighbor's young son, telling him that she's "so sad". Flawless acting from both January Jones and Marten Holden Weiner.
Favorite Character Betty Draper
Favorite Episode The Wheel (1.13)
Rating A+
Nip/Tuck FX (Oct '07-Feb '08)It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Jumping from complete genius to embarrassing train wreck every episode, Nip/Tuck season five ended up being a little underwhelming, especially with so much promise in the move to L.A. To every great storyline, there was always an underlying air of suckiness. Take Julia's vacation in Lesbianville: a promising new development with a great guest actress in Portia de Rossi, ruined by Julia's affair with Christian. Then there are Kate's self-image problems, undermined by the ill-conceived suicide humor and the pooping in a hot tub. Pretty much every arc took this formula, a great idea ruined by insanity. The two bad girls of the year were also terrible. Eden was a shamelessly tragic idea, with some insanely awful dialogue, ridiculous outfits and a complete lack of anything resembling humanity. We could all root for Ava or James despite their evilness, but Eden was just tacky. Same with Sharon Gless's crazy non-agent Colleen. Now, don't get me wrong, Gless threw her heart and soul into the role and was great, but the character was just ridiculous, especially her build-a-bear murder which was just way too crazy for Nip/Tuck. The lack of Kimber and the extreme insanity of everything (teeth lady, cannibals, incest, horny old people) mostly overshadowed what season five did well: namely, all the Hearts 'n Scalpels scenes, Bradley Cooper, Mistress Dark Pain, Lauren Hutton, Bliss, the '80s soap reunion and the wonder that is Jennifer Coolidge. While I still love this show with every dark inch of my heart, it's now clear that it's never going to return to the true greatness of seasons one and two.
Favorite Scene The day-to-day events of Kimber's crumbling life are played out in a montage scene accompanied by Jenny Lewis's Rabbit Fur Coat.
Favorite Character Kimber Henry
Favorite Episode Dr Joshua Lee (5.7)
Rating B
Pushing Daisies ABC (Oct-Dec '07)The only new show this fall that lived up to its buzz, Pushing Daisies (at its best) is a work of genius. Hilarious, kooky dialogue - check! Breathtaking visuals - check! Appealing cast - check! I love the cases they work, from the daisy-car to the phantom jockey to the scratch-and-sniff explosion, everything's part of this hyper-reality that makes Coeur de Coeur even more attractive. Seriously, when murders are that imaginative and strange, I'd happily risk my life and live there. Chi McBride and Kristin Chenoweth work wonders with dialogue, and literally become these characters that you can't help but love. Emerson's little quirks (knitting, pop-up books) are awesome, and Olive's friendship with the Aunts and her hopeless fixation on Ned make her so cute and endearing. The only problem I have with the show (and it's a biggie) is that I just can't stand Ned and Chuck together. Apart they're only a little annoying, but when they're together they drive me crazy. While I'm sure they're great in other things, Lee Pace and Anna Friel just can't do the frantic dialogue. It comes off cloying and lame, and just brings down the whole show. I also don't buy their relationship and I find that whenever whole scenes are dedicated to them, the show suffers as a result. Thankfully Emerson can't stand them either, which is great. But if a scene is Emerson-less, I feel like putting a bullet through my head. Despite my disliking for those two, Pushing Daisies in general is so sweet and nice that you can't help but love the show. It's refreshing to see a show that takes you out of reality in a positive way, and only aims to sweep you up and captivate you. It's not depressing, it's not violent, it's just charming. Best new show of the 2007-2008 season... by far.
Favorite Scene I love Kristin Chenoweth, so Olive breaking into a rendition of "Hopelessly Devoted to You" in the middle of The Pie Hole is by far my favorite moment. Complete with Digby's little contribution too.
Favorite Character Emerson Cod
Favorite Episode Bitches (1.6)
Rating A-
Smallville CW (Sep '07-May '08)This past season of Smallville was strange to say the least. The start of the season was almost entirely filled with filler junk like Fierce, Hero, Action and Wrath, and most people would assume the show had officially reached eternal suckage. That was all until around mid-season, when seemingly the writers realized that almost all the most important cast members were leaving, and next season was probably the show's last. This sudden realization made the writers rush through everything, making Lex completely evil, killing Lionel, writing out Lana, Lois getting set up as Clark's "true love" and a whole bunch of other hooey. So instead of several seasons of carefully planned, realistic 'growth', we had six episodes of cliffnotes. Smallville is one of those shows you literally can't believe has been on so long. In seven years, the total lack of character development equals zero. And considering it's one of the few shows ever to have a clear ending that everybody knows, it's remarkably lazy writing. While the show did pick itself up toward the end, we suffered through too much Lana, too much Kara, the presence of Jimmy, too much ISIS foundation hoodoo and an extremely unsatisfying final curtain for Lionel. It's pretty sad to see a show doomed to failure, but a (rumored) 13 episode final season without Lex or the original showrunners is not only going to be a dismal, rushed closer to the characters so many people have been dedicated to for so long, but chances are we'll all realize the writers had no clear vision in the first place.
Favorite Scene The only scene that really sticks out for me is Jimmy and Chloe's shimmy dance in Sleeper, mainly because it was one of the lamest, most cringeworthy moments in TV history.
Favorite Character Lionel Luthor
Favorite Episode Apocalypse (7.18)
Rating C
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