The Best Of lists are always tough primarily because I’ll be the first to say that while there’s a lot of good TV out there, there is just as much (if not more) bad TV. That said, there is plenty to be proud of this past year in the world of television so here’s my 2009 list. Check back on Monday for my Worst Of list for the year. (And feel free to leave comments on my picks here or email me at jim@jimhalterman.com)

Best Surprise:  Ray Romano in Men Of A Certain Age(TNT). Romano probably never had to step in front of a camera again after the huge success of long-running Everybody Loves Raymond but Romano took a challenge (and risk) by playing a sad-sack of a man about to turn 50, still in love with his ex-wife and trying to get a handle on an online gambling addiction. Funny stuff, huh? The key to this drama working is that Romano may physically appear as if he hasn’t changed a bit from his Raymond days but the somber tone of the show grounds the actor and shows that he is just as adept at showing true sadness without speaking a word. With fellow highly credible cast members Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher to work off of, Romano is in a whole new, unexpected class.   

Best Reality Competition: The Amazing Race (CBS). Even without villains like Russell (Survivor), the Phil Keoghan-hosted around-the-world race is the most consistent, entertaining and nail biting. While I’ll be the first to admit this wasn’t the best cast ever, it’s the format and challenges (and Phil!) that are the true stars of the show. Hard to believe that Project Runway took this spot last year. This year? Nowhere to be seen on this list (see next week’s list, though!). 

• Runner Up:  Top Chef (Bravo): It was business as usual this year with battling brothers and a good (not great) cast of competing chefs along with regulars Padma, Tom, Gail and Toby. I’m still not sure what frequent judge Toby Young brings to the mix but he’s wisely not around enough to really make a difference.  Like The Amazing Race, Top Chef knows the formula they’re using right now works and they aren’t shaking things up anytime soon.

Best Guilty Pleasure: The Real Housewives of Atlanta(Bravo):  You can keep your New York, New Jersey and OC housewives.  The Atlanta ladies have it all with hair pulling, finger waving and self-promoting independence parties.  And, what really keeps this show above the rest is a dose of real drama with new housewife Kandi, the most down-to-earth housewife who suffered real life tragedy that was addressed in the reunion show.  While so much of this show is laughable and popcorn entertainment, Kandi always came off as real.

• Runner Up:  Gossip Girl (CW): While the prime time soap may be struggling with new versions of 90210 and Melrose Place, GG continues to make us care a group of spoiled, ruthless teens. While it will never win Emmys, there’s always a little squeal of glee when Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) turns up or Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) says, well, anything in his whispered voice.

Best Night-Cap:  Chelsea Lately (E!): As ratings climbed and the caliber of guests reached the A-list, Handler and her round-table comedians never missed a beat, never got full of themselves and always remembered the main goal – to be funny.  One suggestion – bring us another shirtless roundtable and make sure Josh Wolf is invited!

• Runner Up:  Late Show With David Letterman (CBS): With all the shake-ups in late night this year, you could always count on Dave to keep bringing sharp comedy, great interviews and the always fun Top 10 List. Even a scandal like his ‘feud’ with Sarah Palin never showed Dave in a bad light and news of an extortion followed by Dave’s public admission of infidelities with staff members didn’t taint his image. Agree with him or not, what Letterman has going for him that isn’t found with many of his competitors is that we care about Dave and he’s never been afraid to show that he’s human.

Best New Sitcom: Modern Family (ABC) A no-brainer. The show not only has top-notch writing, acting and stories, but the show also has heart and knows just when to pull back enough.  There also isn’t a bad note in the cast including gay Dads Mitchell and Cameron (Jesse Tyler Ferguson & Eric Stonestreet) striking the right chord of being gay men raising a child and their seamless part in this modern family. This is only the first half of the show’s first season so let’s hope the success doesn’t taint the quality of the show but, for now, everyone is watching and for good reason.

• Runner Up:  Glee (Fox) While Glee may not be the most solid series in terms of storytelling (one week Rachel is in love with Finn, the next Mr. Schuester, the next back to Finn), the musical comedy/drama still feels like something we haven’t seen on television before. Like Modern Family, striking a chord right out of the gate can make expectations even higher but, for now, Fox is taking advantage of the show’s success with two compilation CDs and the release next week of the DVD of the first half of the season.  Let’s pray that overkill doesn’t take over, Sue Sylvester continues to stir trouble (and show glimmers of humanity) and that the always-terrific Kristin Chenoweth returns for another guest spot soon.
• Honorable Mention: The Middle (ABC) It’s Malcolm In The Middle without the cynicism and shows what raising a family (in Indiana! Go Hoosiers!) is like in the modern age.  No gimmicks, no over-the-top stories. Just real life and real laughs with Patricia Heaton shining with one of the best supporting ensembles on television including terrific child actor Atticus Sheffer as Brick.

Best New Drama: Nurse Jackie (Showtime) While the Edie Falco-starrer isn’t fully a drama, it doesn’t feel like a sitcom either, right? But no other new show started out in such pitch-perfect form and stayed that way through the whole season. Whether balancing comedic or dramatic stories, Falco held it all together as the not-perfect Jackie, who when she wasn’t doing the right thing was cheating on her husband, snorting pills and piling lie upon lie.  The flawed character has been a staple with male leads (Tony Soprano, for example) but the women are slowly taking over at Showtime with Jackie, Weeds and The United States of Tara.  Brava!

• Runner Up:  The Good Wife (CBS) Thankfully, Julianna Margulies finally found the right vehicle for her return to television. The cases are interesting enough but Margulies and her surrounding cast (including Chris Noth, Christine Baranski and Gilmore Girl alum Matt Czuchry) are all at the top of their game and make this legal series one worth watching. The most appealing thing about the show is that it isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel but give us a traditional one-hour drama and it excels with ease and brilliance. Looking forward to many years to come from the CBS hit.

Best Sitcom: 30 Rock (NBC): For the second year in a row, the Tina Fey-created series about life behind the scenes of a network variety show continued to showcase not only one of the best ensembles in sitcom history but, after a misstep of using too many guest stars last season, has realized that the show is best when it’s regulars are front and center.  30 Rock continues to be the kind of show that you have to watch due to the lightning quick pop references (only Family Guy does it better), zany stories and, last but not least, Alec Baldwin, who hopefully is only blowing smoke with his promise to quit acting once his contract is up.

• Runner Up:  The Big Bang Theory (CBS) As I predicted last year, this nerd sitcom just keeps getting better and better and who knew that moving it to a post-Two and a Half Men spot would finally bring it the recognition that it deserves.  While Jim Parsons has gotten more press this year (and Emmy finally noticed and nominated him for his portrayal of prissy geek Sheldon) the show has only gotten sharper with the entire ensemble. Thankfully, the inevitable pairing of Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kelly Cuoco) hasn’t hurt the show at all and has only brought the cast together closer than ever.
• Honorable Mention: Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO): The Seinfeld reunion could have been a disaster but leave it to Larry David (and Jerry Seinfeld) to hit the right note with everything from firing an assistant, Larry’s manipulating everyone to get ex Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) to be cast on the show and, of course, the priceless guest spot by Catherine O’Hara as Funkhauser’s loony sister Bam Bam.  Hopefully, there will be at least one more season of Curb - the show (and Larry David) have surely not worn out its welcome.

Best Drama:  Breaking Bad (AMC) While Mad Men had a great season and earned more ink across the board, that ‘other AMC drama’ about everyman Walter White falling deeper and deeper into the world of cooking and dealing crystal meth was always at the top of its game. The story threads through season two took more twists and turns without ever losing its way as Walter’s secret professional life and his personal life continued to dangerously cross and audiences could only sit back and watch in horror and glee. Kudos to cast members Bryan Cranston (who has now won two-Emmys for his role) and Aaron Paul for never playing the same note in their portrayals of Walter and put-through-the-wringer Jesse and, of course, to show creator Vince Gilligan who steered this ship to greatness.

• Runner Up:  True Blood (HBO) No other show created more talk around the water cooler and took the craziest, out-of-this-world stories and miraculously made them work.  In its second season, the Alan Ball-created show is much more than just a vampire show and, instead, created characters to care about (Lafayette’s torture), cheer for (go Sookie & Eric!) and loathe in a good way (MaryAnn) as well as be that show that knows how to tell a story engagingly and effectively. Oh, and could there be a better looking group of men in one place? Nelsan Ellis, Alexander Skarsgard, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammel, Stephen Moyer and (hubba hubba) Mehcad Brooks. One mistake that could be rectified in this anything-goes world – killing off Godric (Allan Hyde), whose death was so surprisingly emotional and effective that it’s a shame we won’t see more of him…or will we?

Don’t agree with my picks?  Wondering where Fringe is?  Or The Mentalist? The Closer, Cougar Town, or any others I didn’t include here?  Well, there’s still time to speak up right here or email me directly at jim@jimhalterman.com.

Until next time…keep watching

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 11:01 pm and is filed under PROGRESSIVE TELEVISION by Jim Halterman. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.