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Desperate
Housewives: It's so rare that a
tv show comes along that totally blows conventional tv wisdom out of
the water in one fowl swoop. Before the start of the season, the
serialized drama was seen as dead. Procedural dramas such as "CSI" were
heating up the airwaves as the net execs widely accepted that viewers
were just not going to put an hour of their lives into something that
they has to watch from start to finish, week after week. Then along
came "Desparate Housewives" (and "Lost") and proved that all wrong.
Watching since episode one, I'd be hard pressed to submit a "worthless"
episode so far this season- they all have been valuable and added
something important to the series. I'd go over the plotlines here, but
you've no doubt read about they ad naseum by this point, so I'll just
talk about what I think makes the series so great. One of the best things about the show is the attention to details. Like "The Simpsons" before it, if you pay attention, you get rewarded. Bree tells a story about how she cleaned her mother's blood off the street after she got hit by a car; a few episodes later she's doing the very same thing when Mrs. Solis is hit by her own son. The day Mary Alice killed herself, Mrs. Huber was going to return a blender- the same blender that Mr. Mary Alice killed Mrs. Huber with when he found out that she had been blackmailing his wife. Yes, I know it sounds a little convoluted, but that's what makes the show so great.
Ultimately, the best thing the series has going for it is the actors, but in particular, Marcia Cross, who is giving the best performance of her career. Kimberly was the most memorable thing about Melrose Place (c'mon, besides Amanda, what other character from that show can you still name?) and Cross is bringing the same brand of acting to this series. Only this time, the writing is there to match her talents and she's finally getting recognition for being the fabulous actress that she is- the recent Golden Globe nomination goes to prove that. When any actress can effortlessly deliever lines like "Rex cries after he ejaculates" and "Come quick kids, daddy's going to fornicate for us," she deserves all of the awards she can get.
The only thing that I fear, my dear "Desperate Housewives," is that you will burn out too soon. But until then, I'm going along for the ride.
Arrested Development: So you say that sitcoms aren't funny anymore? Well, you obviously aren't watching this show. Granted, it does take a few episodes to grow a taste for it (which probably explains the dreadfully low ratings), once you get into it, you just can't get out. The entire subplot with George Sr. building houses for Sadaam Hussein was simply inspired, as was Lucille signing her son up for the army when Michael Moore asked her if she would. Lindsey and Tobias's "open" relationship has been another gutbuster, especially when she dawns her "Slut" shirt to try and attract men. Why more people don't watch this show is a mystery to me, especially when those same people complain that there's nothing funny on tv. Let's hope that the show can win another best comedy emmy next September and that Fox doesn't make the same mistake of waiting two months to show the season premiere.
"The Amazing Race"
has always been the best reality tv series, and while this edition is
turning people off because of it's very abrasive racers (hello,
Jonathan), the previous edition of the race drew in new fans because it
was just so damn good. What initially drew people to the show was
Charla, the little person, who was not as pure as she may have seen.
But her elimination turned into one of the most poignant tv moments of
the entire season. Once she was gone, the focus turned to who was left,
and who stood out was Colin and his now infamous "My ox is broken!"
rant of frustration. But what made him so enjoyable was that he was
just verbally abusive to everybody, whereas our current Jonathan
actually shoved his wife and calls her down on almost every occasion.
The winners in the end were Chip and Kim, which turned out to be the
best possible scenario for the series. They were down to earth and
likeable. Next up would have been the bowling moms, who pushed so hard,
only to lose it in the hardest challenge in franchise history, the rope
climbing. Hopefully, "TAR 7" will get back to these racers that we fell
in love with, instead of the current batch who bitch and whine their
way through the series with few exceptions. Corner Gas: Canada has never produced a great sitcom. Never. Sure, there
have been hilarious political comedy
series, but until "Corner Gas" came along, nothing this country ever
produced could come close to the American classics. Then came Corner
Gas. Set in Dog River, Saskatchewan, this series is almost like
"Arrested Development" in tone (and level of humour), but on this show
it's obvious that all of the characters love each other if they aren't
always nice to each other. While you are unilkely to see this in the
states, I really encourage you to buy the first season dvd (13
episodes, $20 US) because it is one show not be be missed for the sheer
hilarity it offers. Episode for episode, it's just as funny as
"Development" with a homier twist.
Lost: Along with "Housewives,"
this series jolted viewers back
into the serialized drama in a big way. I wasn't really into it at
first, but after seeing the first few episodes, it was too hard not to
watch. Every episode has a basic plot, but each also serves to showcase
a different character and how they came to be on the island. It's
actually amazing to me that this show is doing what it's doing in the
ratings. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it's way too unique to be
the hit that it is. I guess it goes to show that at least this season,
viewers have some taste after all. Scrubs: The third funniest show on tv (after the previous two), "Scrubs" relies
alot more on sight gags that
the previous series do, but what makes this show great is the mix of
comedy and drama that it offers week after week. Thinking back to
previous sitcoms set in hospitals like NBC's defunct "Nurses," death is
the workplace was almost never dealt with because most thought of it
as too depressing. Not this series. Death is a common feature of this
show and each character deals with it in their own way, and it's not
played up for laughs. The characters are truly effected, and at the end
of each episode, they actually learn something about themselves. Like
"AD," this show is not a hit, which is depressing in itself considering
how poignant it can be- case in point the episode where Molly Shannon
guest-starred as a paramedic who's son had died. 
Law
& Order: SVU: Not all procedural dramas are
mind-numbing, just the majority. And the fact that this show pops up
onto my top 10 is all the more amazing considering that it was at first
widely deridded as the worst "Law & Order" series. But something
miraculous happened over the last year and a half with this show- it
got good. Really good. This season has been spectacular (with one
noteable misstep- the pick-an-ending in November). The plotlines are so
intricate that you can't miss two minutes of the show, and the actors
now have their parts nailed. The best of the season was the
aforementioned pick-an-ending (up until that actual moment), a close
runner up was the Chinese immigrant murder. With the show up some 20%
on the year (and now ranking as NBC's number two rated drama despite a weak lead-in),
it seems
that viewers like what they see.Less Than Perfect: While it's not as creative nor innovative as the previous three sitcoms, "Less Than Perfect" is the perfect conventional sitcom. I've been saying that for two years now, but the critics are finally starting to take note, which is a shame, considering that it's likely going to be cancelled after a very promising finish last season.
Malcolm In The Middle: I wrote this show off a few years ago, mostly because it was trying to change really fast to keep up with the rapidly aging children. But now that Sunday is my main tv night, I've given the show another change and have been pleasantly surprized. The show has wisely taken the focus off of Malcolm as Frankie Muniz is turning into one majorly ugly adult, and wisely putting it back on Lois, Hal and Dewey, who keep the show afloat. Giving Malcolm seniority over Lois at the pharmacy was an interesting experiment, and one that worked out very well for the series. Keep up the good work, Middle, and maybe you'll get another season.
Ellen: With Oprah gobbling up all the daytime press this season (first she turned 50, then she gave away cars, and now her ratings are the highest in 8 years. Give me a break), Ellen has quitely offered the best in daytime tv this season. Witty, funny and sometimes stupidly hilarious with her guests, you get the feeling that they actually look foreward to being on her series, as opposed to Regis and Kelly, where it looks like fill-in-the-blanks. While I watch said series and "The View" just for the opening segment, I watch Ellen all the way through because I know that she's going to be hilarious.