With last week’s “Glee” season capper, we’ve come to the end of the TV year (more or less), and I’m ready for my State of Television Address. Usually it’s a three-parter, but I’ll skip the section on canceled shows, because I took individual looks at the four big ones last month.
I’ll start with my list of the best shows on TV that will be coming back next fall. That will be followed by a blog post featuring the best-looking new shows of the fall.
For my returning shows rankings, I’ve been juggling five shows in my No. 1 spot for the last few months. Usually my No. 1 is whichever of the five I watched most recently. But a five-way tie would be weak sauce, as my friend Seth says, so here are my rankings:
1. “Life Unexpected” (The CW) — At first I just saw this midseason entry as a chance to see Shiri Appleby, whom I loved on “Roswell,” on TV again. But I ended up also loving Baze and Ryan (Cate’s potential love interests) and Lux (her daughter). I even like how “Life Unexpected” looks and feels, as the characters move between drizzly Portland, Ore., settings like Baze’s bar, the radio station and Lux’s attic bedroom.
2. “Parenthood” (NBC) — I try not to use the word “realism” when talking about TV shows, because if a window into people’s lives was really, actually real, we’d be bored out of our skulls. So let me say that while “Parenthood” has chosen quite the dramatic multigenerational bunch with the Bravermans, it is real within that context. I’m thinking of that scene where Hattie and Amber are yelling and crying in the school hallway about Amber sleeping with Hattie’s ex-boyfriend and the parents are trying to follow the story even as they get emotional about their daughters’ emotions. This show has mastered the art of six people yelling at the same time.
3. “Friday Night Lights” (DirecTV and, currently, 7 p.m. Central Fridays on NBC) — As always — but even more so this year — “FNL” is at its best off the field rather than on it. The episode where Matt learns that his dad was killed in the Middle East war calls to mind the “Buffy” episode “The Body” in the way it isn’t afraid to show Matt’s raw, awkward, ugly, sad, and very human reactions. Plus, it has a creepy sequence where he gets drunk with his friends and demands to see the body, only to discover his dad doesn’t have a face anymore, so he can’t say the things to his dad’s face that he wanted to say. It’s impossible not to get a lump in your throat when watching this episode.
4. “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (Cartoon Network) — Season 2 marked the “Rise of the Bounty Hunters,” and while I wish the episodes had been a little more focused on that theme with more connected stories, “Clone Wars” rarely served up a weak episode this year. The highlight was the introduction of Boba Fett and some early details on how he learns to be a badass bounty hunter. More to come in Season 3, I’m sure, and I can’t wait.
5. “Fringe” (Fox) — The season finale where our heroes visited the alternate dimension was so wild that I almost couldn’t follow it all. It ended with the revelation that Our Olivia was in a cell in the AlternaWorld while AlternaOlivia had stolen her identity and infiltrated our team. It shouldn’t take long for Peter and Walter to figure out the deception. When they do, it’ll make for more good TV.
Other shows on my viewing schedule that had strong seasons include Fox’s “The Simpsons,” highlighted by that great Olympic episode where Homer and Marge join the U.S. mixed curling team and Lisa becomes addicted to mascot pins, and “Glee,” which was pretty darn fun to watch, even if it was far from perfect.
NBC’s “The Office” is still pretty decent, although the silliness of a documentary crew still filming these guys is starting to become apparent. Season highlights included the Andy-Erin romance (which, unfortunately, the writers have gotten away from) and the scene where Pam accidentally nurses the wrong baby and Jim sneakily returns it to its crib.
For summer viewing, in addition to “Friday Night Lights,” ABC’s serial-killer mystery “Happy Town” (9 p.m. Wednesdays) is still going, and it’s still holding my attention, just barely. For those with HBO, “True Blood” (8 p.m. Sundays) is in its third season (I am working my way through the second season on DVD).
But the big summer news for me (and anyone who likes intelligent comedy) is that new episodes of “Futurama” start at 9 p.m. Central on June 24 on Comedy Central.
Comments
What, nothing about Being Erica’s renewal? I’m surprised — I would have thought you’d be into that one.# Posted By Twunked | 6/16/10 9:38 PM
I should give that show another chance. It has gotten great reviews and the actress who plays Erica is also on Life Unexpected. Consider it added to my summer viewing schedule.# Posted By John Hansen | 6/16/10 10:06 PM