The Best and Worst 1999 Television

By Ken Tucker

Show of the Year

1 THE SOPRANOS (HBO) [deleted]

2 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (THE WB) and ANGEL (THE WB) [deleted]

3 FREAKS AND GEEKS (NBC) [deleted]

4 ONCE AND AGAIN (ABC)

Already pegged a loser because the soggy Judging Amy beats it in the ratings, this tale of divorced dad (Billy Campbell) and separated mom (Sela Ward) discomfits those people who've found producers Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick's previous shows thirtysomething and My So-Called Life equally squirmy--folks who don't like to admit how self-absorbed we tend to be, and how, with good intentions and hard work, self-absorption can be transmuted into (in the case of life) selfless devotion and (in the case of TV) sterling drama.

5 NOW AND AGAIN (CBS) [deleted]

6 THE WEST WING (NBC) and SPORTS NIGHT (ABC) [deleted]

7 THE X-FILES (Fox) [deleted]

8 FRIENDS (NBC) [deleted]

9 THE SIMPSONS (Fox) [deleted]

10 FELICITY (The WB) [deleted]

THE WORST

1 FAMILY GUY (Fox) [deleted]

2 ODD MAN OUT (ABC) [deleted]

3 HAPPY HOUR (USA) [deleted]

4 PASSIONS (NBC) [deleted]

5 ARLI$$ (HBO) [deleted]__Entertainment Weekly (December 24, 1999)