10. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
9. 30 Rock
8. Desperate Housewives
7. ER
6. Arrested Development
5. Friday Night Lights
4. Brothers & Sisters
3. 24
2. The Office
1. Grey's Anatomy
I had thought about doing a list of best quotes but I'd never be able to make up my mind on what to include, and there's no way to top Entertainment Weekly's list anyway
Not much else to say about this year in TV except that it was a good one. Expect a post later tonight or sometime tommorow about my newest find, My Boys. Besides that, I hope everyone has a Safe and Happy New Years and I'm looking forward to blogging the shows when they come back. First up: Friday Night Lights in its new Wednesday time slot at 8:00 p.m. est.
The title is kind of self explanatory. I tried to consider the year as a whole but I've admittedly watched a lot of TV so I’m sure there’ll be some oversights. As with my list of characters, these are only from shows that I watch and don’t even cover all the shows that I do. 2 part episodes count as 1 and no show has more than 3 episodes; otherwise this list could have easily consisted of 20 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, The Office and 24.
20. "The Christmas Show" (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)
The best episode of the series to date. It gives me some sort of hope that the show can rebound in the new year.
19. "With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept" (One Tree Hill)
OTH is undoubtedly my "guilty pleasure" show but this episode was a very realistic approach to the sensitive topic of school shootings. Dan shooting Keith at the end left me speechless.
18. "Crossing the Line" (Friday Night Lights)
My heart broke for Jason, Lyla and Tim during the final scene where Jason confronted his girlfriend and best friend over their betrayal.
17. "Some You Give Away" (One Tree Hill)
I was happy to see Nathan do the right thing and not throw the championship game even though in the end it looked like it almost cost him everything.
16. "S.O.B.s" (Arrested Development)
A classic episode for a show that ended way too soon. "Yeah, the HBOs aren't going to want us. What are we gonna do now?" "Well I think its Showtime"...'nuff said
15. "Family Portrait" (Brothers & Sisters)
I absolutely love this show. The relationship between Sarah and Kitty is one of my favorite amongst the siblings and it was nice to see it explored here and the chapel scene between Nora and Kitty was one of my favorite of the series so far.
14. "Graduation Day" (ER)
Maura Tierney, Goran Visnjic and Sally Field shined here as we watched Abby and Luka cope as Baby Joe fought for his life.
13. "Branch Closing" (The Office)
NBC really needs to lengthen The Office to a 1 hour show. The deleted scenes that air on nbc.com each week are gold and offer insight to the hilarious supporting cast. The producer's cut of this episode was a fine example of the comedy goldmine that this show is.
12. "Day 5: 7:00 A.M.-8:00 A.M." (24)
So I knew the major plot points that would happen before I saw this episode but I'm still reeling over the first 10 minutes of this episode. I understand that Palmer and Michelle had to die for Jack to come out of hiding and while I don't like it (especially with Michelle), this was probably the best season premiere the show has had.
11. "What I Am" (Grey's Anatomy)
My favorite episode of season 3 so far. Meredith high on morphine was hilarious, she realized that Derek was the "one" and the closing with Denny's voicemail message was extremely well-done.
10. "Who's Your Daddy" (Friday Night Lights)
Matt proved why he's the best new character on television (see previously entry) in this episode. I love the developing relationship between him and Coach Taylor.
9. "A Benihana Christmas, Parts 1 and 2" (The Office)
Pam and Karen teaming up for their own party provided some great scenes for the entire office. Steve Carell really shined here as Michael dealt with his breakup. I love Michael and Jim together and the couch scene was the best between the two in the entire series (I've waited all season to hear Jim admit that he still loves Pam)
8. "Bloodline" (ER)
One of the best premieres of any show this season. Abby asking Luka if "one was enough" was absolutely heartbreaking, as was watching the two go through the entire ordeal. I won't be surprised if Maura Tierney doesn't get an Emmy nomination this year but she certainly deserves one.
7. "It's the End of the World"/"(As We Know It)" (Grey's Anatomy)
The post-Super Bowl episode and its conclusion made Grey's the ratings hit that it is today. Chandra Wilson absolutely shined as Bailey (and gave us the phrase "Va-jay-jay").
6. "Bang" (Desperate Housewives)
After a somewhat lackluster start to the season (although an overall improvement over Season 2), Housewives's best episode proved it still deserves attention. Felicity Huffman, Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Doug Savant and Laurie Metcalf all turned out fantastic performances.
5. "Mistakes Were Made, Parts 1 and 2" (Brother & Sisters)
My favorite new show of the season it new highs with these two episodes. Calista Flockhart had me crying during the flashbacks to 9/11 and Justin's impending return to service gave Sally Field even more scenes for her Emmy reel (particularly the one with her and Calista in the kitchen) while the road trip provided the right balance of humor and answered several big questions along the way.
4. "Development Arrested" (Arrested Development)
If the show had to end, it couldn't have gone out with a better episode. "No, I don't see it as a series. Maybe a movie?"--We can only hope.
3. "Day 5: 6:00-7:00 P.M." (24)
The most heartbreaking ending to any episode of television the entire year. It'd probably be #1 on this list if not for Kim and Barry.
2. "Casino Night" (The Office)
The best episode of the series, period. The episode was pure hilarity from the coat rack prank to "I hate so much about the things that you choose to be" to Jim's confession and of course, the kiss.
1. "Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response/Losing My Religion" (Grey's Anatomy)
The two most intense hours of television of the entire year. There wasn't a single season finale that I looked forward to as much as this one and I was on the edge of my seat the entire night.
So there's my list. I'm sure you'll agree with some and disagree with others but I welcome any and all feedback. I'm off to watch some 24 (my copies of seasons 2, 3 and 4 came today with season 5 on the way--I love gift cards). I'll be back tommorow with the my top 10 shows of the year.
When I first came up with this list, it was one list of ten characters but decided to split it into old and new shows because there was less material with which to judge characters on the new fall shows. As with all the top 10 lists I'll be posting within the next week these are only based on the shows I watch so I'm sure there will be a lot missing. So without further ado...
Top 5 News Faces:
5. Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
Alec Baldwin is one of my favorite SNL hosts ever and he is perfect as Liz Lemon's outrageously hilarious boss.
4. Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
Kyle Chandler has really impressed me as everyon's favorite high school football coach. His relationships with his players (Matt, Jason and Riggins) are almost as compelling to watch as those with his wife, Tami and daughter, Julie.
3. The Walker Family (Brothers & Sisters)
Ok, I know I'm cheating a bit but I don't care. I absolutely love B&S and the show would not be what is if not for each sibling and the bonds that they share with each other and their mother, Nora (the wonderful Sally Field)
2. Matt Albie (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)
The one consistent bright spot about this show for me has been having Matthew Perry back on television.
1. Matt Saracen (Friday Night Lights)
Matt may just be the sweetest teenage guy ever. The scenes with his grandmother are heartbreaking beautiful and I love his blossoming relationship with Julie. It's been a real pleasure to watch him deal with the pressures of being the starting quaterback on top of his home responsibilities, and being able to always do the right thing in the end.
Top 5 Old Faves:
5. Izzie Stevens (Grey's Anatomy)
I was never a big fan of her and Denny until the second season finale but she broke my heart in the aftermath of his death. Katherine Heigl has done an amazing job portraying Izzie's grief.
4. Abby Lockhart (ER)
Abby has been my favorite character for a long time but I completely credit Maura Tierney for my acceptance and even happiness at the revival of the Luka/Abby relationship (being the huge Carter/Abby fan that I am). It's been fun seeing Abby tackle motherhood after seeing her fight so hard to have Joe in the first two episodes of the new sesaon (her scenes in both episodes had me near tears, especially with Sally Field in "Graduation Day").
3. George O'Malley (Grey's Anatomy)
George has come a long way as a character since the beginning of the show. As horrifying as the Meredith/George sex was, it was necessary to allow the character to move on and become his own person. I didn't like Callie at first but their relationship as grown on me and T.R. Knight has wowed me in the scenes revolving around George's Dad's illness.
2. Chloe O'Brian (24)
Who doesn't love Chloe? Everyone's favorite hero would be nowhere without her. Mary Lynn Rajskub has done wonders with the character and I was especially moved by her performance after Edgar's heartbreaking death.
1. Pam Beesly (The Office)
Most of the lists I've read have had Jim as their best Office character this year and I admit I was tempted to go that route too. After thinking about it though, I decided on Ms. Beesly for several reasons. I was so happy to see that she didn't go through with the wedding to Roy and began taking art classes. Michael would be lost without Pam and the office would fall apart as a result. I loved how she kept up the pranks in Jim's abscence (her Million Dollar Baby story during "Grief Counseling", making Dwight believe the CIA wanted him, etc.) but also keeps the group together (making sure Toby got a robe during "A Benihana Christmas", reaching out to Karen and also to Angela about the parties).
Those are my picks. Agree? Disagree? I'd love to read your thoughts. Check back tommorow for my Top 20 Episodes of the year.
