Two Tivos To Paradise 12.25.09: The Year In Review, Part One - The Best Shows of 2009

Posted by Al Norton on 12.25.2009

Two Tivos To Paradise presents its picks for the best shows of 2009: Can Mad Men and 30 Rock win top honors again? Will Battlestar Galactica go out on top? Where does Glee rank on the list? Just how good is The Late Late Show? How many series can HBO put on the lists? Al Norton gives you the top 30 series of the year broken down into three categories.

Hello Friends and Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating. Welcome to the first of our two 2009-in-review columns. This week we will go over the 10 Best Comedies, Dramas, and Other Programming of the year, and next week we'll have the TV Entertainers of the Year.

For the second year in a row Boston got a huge snowstorm the weekend before Christmas and I spent three hours shoveling last Sunday. The good news was that I was able to do it without gasping for air, a sign that my recent "get in shape" plan is working.

I'll have a blue Christmas without news.

Top 10 Other Programming of 2009
A new category this year where I've grouped together all series that would fall under the "Non-Fiction" heading, including reality, talk, and competition programming.

10) The Deadliest Catch (Discovery)
Aside from being highly entertaining, TDC makes the list for two reasons; first, because it features a group of people who are rarely seen on television in any way, shape or form – blue collar folks who do physical work for a living. If TV is really supposed to be at all reflective of those who watch it than we need more shows like this. Secondly, it teaches you about a profession – and the lifestyle that goes with it – that the average viewer wouldn't know anything about otherwise.

9) Ghost Hunters (Syfy)
The granddaddy of them all. Seriously, can you flip through the cable networks without seeing a series that features people looking for spirits in the material world? Hell, GH even has two spinoffs of its own (Ghost Hunters International and the new Ghost Hunters Academy, with a third on the way). What makes GH stand out is their commitment to the truth; they are not out to find ghosts, they are out to find answers, and they never let hyperbole and self-importance stand in their way.

8) American Idol (Fox)
Mock if you will but at its core this is a show about people pursuing their dreams, risking humiliation in front of a national audience of tens of millions in the hopes of making it big. I have asked it before and I will ask it again; how many of you would have the guts to get up on stage and try what you do best, knowing that the world was watching? Yes, there is plenty of manipulation, and the producers like to send some seriously crazy people to see the judges during the audition process, but there is a reason why this is the number one show in America eight years running, and that reason is heart.

7) Top Chef (Bravo)
This past cycle may have had the widest divide between the haves (the brothers, Kevin, and Jennifer) and the have-nots (everyone else) but that was only because those four were as strong a group as the show has ever had. For the first time in several years it wasn't about stupid in fighting, it was about the food, and the audience was richer for it.

6) Flipping Out (Bravo)
It was during season two when Jenni and her husband split up out of nowhere when Flipping Out became one of the realist reality shows out there, and this past season was more of the same as it documented the crumbling of Jeff and Ryan's relationship, with the success of the show being a key ingredient in that recipe. Some shows are painful to watch because they are so bad and so embarrassing to the participants; Flipping Out was painful at times this season because you knew you weren't seeing something created in the editing room, you were seeing real people deal with real anxiety and real hurt feelings. Jeff Lewis remains one of the genre's all time best finds and the reality TV star I'd most like to have dinner with.

5) Man v Food (Travel)
Adam Richman is the break out food show star of the year, an everyman who can talk the talk in the kitchen and walk the walk at the table. I would have never guessed I'd be a huge fan of a show about a guy who tries to eat more than anyone ever should each week but its thanks to his winning personality and sheer love of food that I season passed MvF after week one and haven't missed an episode yet.

4) Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Some may be turned off by Bill Maher's politics but I've got to respect someone who puts his viewpoint out there as clearly and articulately as he does and then invite people to disagree with him (for the record, I think we are in step maybe 50% of the time). And to make the show laugh-out-loud funny at the same time is a pretty monumental achievement.

3) Spectacle: Elvis Costello with… (Sundance)
The single best music show of my lifetime, and that includes Storytellers, Unplugged, and even Behind The Music. Host Elvis Costello gets to show off his near encyclopedic knowledge of music history while putting his guests at total ease, which lends itself to rather intelligent discourse on what goes in to making good music. Oh, and the music is amazing.

2) The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)
How good is The Late Late Show? So good that I have a hard time watching other late night talk shows now because Craig's monologues put them all to shame, his puppets are wonderfully wacky, and his interaction with guests is never, ever forced. This is the first time I have ever TiVo'd a talk show, the highest praise I can offer.

1) The Soup Franchise (E!, Versus, G4, and Style)
The Soup, The Dish, Sports Soup, and Web Soup; two hours of must-see TV each week that provide as good a look at current pop culture as you will find. This year The Soup in particular stepped it up a major notch, with its condemnation of entertainment news shows like Extra and The Insider rising to levels of commentary usually reserved for the likes of The Daily Show. As in previous years, what makes the hosts (and by result, the shows themselves) so good is that you feel like they'd be watching all of this stuff even if it weren't their job, that they are not above the audience they are talking to. Chris Hardwick is the host of the newest addition to the menu and he may be the laugh-out-loud funniest of the group; Things You Can't Unsee is a bloody brilliant name for a segment.

Top 10 Comedies of 2009

10) Bored To Death (HBO)
The first of a whopping six shows that made the top 10 in their first season, Bored To Death gives dry a good name. Jason Schwartzman may be an acquired taste to some but each week the chemistry between him, Ted Danson, and Zach Galifianakis got stronger and stronger. The comedy comes from all three's ability to stay gloriously in character despite some pretty odd situations.

9) Community (NBC)
I have praised Community for its ability to both mock the traditional sitcom format while at the same time adhering to it and that combined with a very sharp ensemble cast is what earns it a spot on this list. By mid-season the characters were well defined enough to start working in a group of recurring players who equaled the level of comedy excellence of their co-stars. As much as I love Joel McHale I had no idea how he would take to acting but these first few months have me wondering what took the networks so long to cast him in something.

8) How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
2009 was not How I Met Your Mother's strongest year (a recurring feeling about some of the shows on this list) but the five main players are so good in their roles that it feels real; if a storyline doesn't work that well you still buy it because it seems like the kind of bad decision people make in real life. How Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Radnor, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smoulders, and Jason Segel have yet to win a single acting award between them is one of TV biggest mysteries.

7) Hung (HBO)
While you could call Hung a show about a guy with a big dick who turns into a whore, you would be missing the point entirely. It's a show about finding yourself, about the struggle we all go through to provide for those who depend on us, and about the thoughts that creep into our heads sometimes, in particular the one where we wonder, "has the whole world just gone nuts?" Both Thomas Jane and Jane Adams were totally deserved of their Golden Globe nominations earlier this month as these are the rich characters that actors dream of. I wasn't surprised with how good Hung us as the show's creators are the same team behind my beloved The Riches.

6) 30 Rock (NBC)
The straight truth is that any show on TV that featured Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, and Tracy Morgan in the cast would make this list, which is why 30 Rock is here despite a just so-so fall. To be fair, I am not sure if the fall seems like mid-level stuff because last spring was so damn funny, with Jon Hamm and Selma Hayek's guest spots being particularly praise worthy, as was the We Are The World-esque video to get a kidney for Jack's biological Father, a plot line that led to Alan Alda delivering one of the best TV in-jokes of all time. This season may not be that quality so far but this crew of actors and writers are so good they make treading water look like Gold medal caliber synchronized swimming.

5) Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
This was an up and down season for Curb, with the Seinfeld reunion being just about the high point for any sitcom this season and the urine splash hitting the picture of Jesus being among the lower moments (I was not offended, it simply was not funny, it was not fun). Larry David's getting the old gang back together led to some amazing moments and that's why Curb makes the final five. That and the black swan episode.

4) Party Down (Starz)
Welcome to the annual award we here at TTTP like to call, "The Best Show You Are Not Watching." Party Down is a very, very funny series on Starz that features an amazing cast including Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, Adam Scott, Ryan Hanson, and the always hysterical Jane Lynch doing some heavy improv as members of a catering crew in LA (which means most of them are struggling actors). The guest star list was well crafted, which is what you'd expect from a show whose executive producers include Rob Thomas and Paul Rudd. It doesn't hurt that the show has a very strong Veronica Mars blood line, with VM creator Thomas, VM writer John Enbomb as showrunner, and too many cast members to list. Even Veronica herself Kristin Bell showed up in a killer part, one she will reprise in the show's second season. Get on the bandwagon now, my friends!

3) The Office (NBC)
It may not have been the strongest year for our friends at Dunder Mifflin but if you add up the fantastic season finale featuring an all-too-brief reunion of the Holly-Michael team, a classic wedding episode, the fire drill in the season premiere, and Dwight's spot-on impressions of his co-workers and you've still got one of the best comedies on TV. I really liked the Michael Scott Paper Company storyline as it gave us more Michael Scott in action as a salesman, which reminds us how he got to where he is now, a perfect example of the Peter Principal at work.

2) Modern Family (ABC)
Quite simply the best written, best acted sitcom of the year, and maybe in several years. Not that 30 Rock and The Office aren't good but Modern Family is set in reality, at least a reality just about everyone can recognize. I was nervous about the show because there had been so much hype about how great it was and despite the bar being set so high they still cleared it like Sergey Bubka in his prime. Modern Family is proof that smart and funny can also be accessible to the masses.

1) Glee (Fox)

I recently went back and looked at my review of the first episode of Glee and decided I wouldn't be able to say it much better than I had then…

There is very little joy on the current TV line up. With almost 75% of scripted TV dramas being crime shows, what passes for happy endings on those programs is a criminal being caught. On medical shows the Dr's are lucky if they bat .500 with their patients (on House when a patient is cured it's usually a feeling of relief since the team more than likely botched the diagnosis and made the person sicker for the first 48 minutes). Even the comedies on TV now have a much harsher tone than in years past, with much of the humor derived from the misery of the other characters. Don't get me wrong; I like a lot of these shows, and regular readers know how much I appreciate darkness in my drama, but at some point there needs to be some light.

In our ever more cynical world, what once was considered emotional honesty and earnestness is now simply labeled as cheesy, and that's a shame because a TV show making you smile and feel good should be applauded, not mocked.

The closing segment of Glee, which featured the group of high school students singing Journey's Don't Stop Believing (ITunes most downloaded song for several days after the episode aired) while their coach/teacher made the decision not to quit his job, was a major TV rarity; a group of people doing what they loved. Unabashedly, unashamedly, and without fear. Seriously, when do you see that? It was pure joy, both for the characters to realize they actually had the ability to do what they loved well and for the audience to go along for the ride.

It's a half season later and my feelings are even stronger than they were before. Glee has reminded me of the power that TV has to uplift the human spirit. Don't Stop Believin', indeed.

Top 10 Dramas of 2009

10) Lost (ABC)
Every season I wonder how they will keep things going and every season they come up with something I could never have imagined that gives me a whole new set of questions to ponder. Josh Holloway really got the chance to shine this season, proving once and for all that he is a true leading man, and Elizabeth Mitchell matched him every step of the way. The finale was truly remarkable and left me drooling with anticipation at the upcoming – and final - season.

9) Friday Night Lights (Direct TV, NBC)
A TV miracle. Seriously, when was the last time a show this good, with an audience this small, got the chance to run for five seasons (they are currently in their 4th with a guaranteed 5th - and final - as part of the deal with Direct TV and NBC)?!?! It is a huge testament to the cast and writing staff that I feel like I really know these characters as people and not just creations from someone's imagination. It works as a sports show, sure, but it works even more so as a family drama, one that really explores how the expectations put on you by others play such a large role in shaping who you are and how breaking free from those expectations is just about the most important thing you can do in your life.

8) Torchwood (BBC America)
The most bone chilling five episodes of TV this year, Torchwood: Children of the Earth was a creative and artistic success of the highest caliber. I won't dare ruin the plot for those of you who haven't seen it – you don't have to have watched the first two Torchwood seasons to understand what is going on – but to give you an idea of how good this is I'll ask you how many shows you watch where you could simultaneously be horrified by the actions of some of the characters and at the same time want to see more of them.

7) The Closer (TNT)
Every year I write the same thing about The Closer and every year it becomes just a little bit truer; The Closer is not just far and away the best police drama on TV right now, it's also one of the best overall series on TV and features an ensemble cast that can hold its own with any other. Maybe more so than any other show I watch, I believe these folks really do what they do – in this case, work in law enforcement - and very good at their jobs, frequently to the detriment of their personal lives.

6) Battlestar Galactica (Syfy)
The best overall show on TV while I have been writing TTTP signed off this past spring with a two hour finale that I thought set the mark for going out on your own terms; it may not have pleased everyone (talk to Ricky Nelson for the likelihood of that happening) but it was clear that what we saw was the show's creators true artistic vision. Even better may have been the two part episode earlier on in the year where the fleet dealt with a mutiny. It is truly baffling to me that no one from the cast every received even a single action nomination from the Emmys or Golden Globes but I think history will be much kinder to BSG, remembering it as one of the top shows of its era. So say we all.

5) Rescue Me (FX)
A two year writer's strike induced absence led to the best season in the show's history and award worthy performances by stars Denis Leary and Callie Thorne. Revisiting 9/11 was an opportunity to see how far these guys had come emotionally since the tragedy, and the answer for most was sadly not far. Tommy bartending for his dead family was an incredible 10 minute segment, and the finale included a chilling turn by Lenny Clarke, which may be the ultimate statement on the show's quality; if you can get a fantastic dramatic acting job out of Lenny Clarke, you are clearly doing something right.

4) Big Love (HBO)
There is a recurring theme among shows on my list and that is that some dismiss them on throwaway plot descriptions (it's a sci-fi show, it's about a biker gang, it's a show about a drug dealer, it's about football) when in reality they are all shows about identity and our quest to find out own. Big Love is no different; while some may think the show is anti-religion the truth is there are no characters on TV who believe in God as deeply as the Henricksons do. And try finding a show with three more interesting and dynamic female characters as the sister wives. Perhaps the biggest achievement is that thanks to Big Love, no one will ever confuse Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman again!

3) Sons of Anarchy (FX)
Of all the shows I feel like I was ahead of the curve on it's Sons of Anarchy of which I am most proud, partially based on ego (who doesn't like being first on such things) but mostly because I am so enamored with the long term, complex story telling that goes on in Charming. A fantastic supporting cast is used to their fullest but it's Katey Sagal who steals the show here.

2) Breaking Bad (AMC)
Hello darkness, my old friend. The second season of AMC's drama was even darker than the first, which meant the brilliant cast got even more to sink their teeth into. Bryan Cranston deserves every single bit of the back-to-back Emmys he has won, and he was joined with award caliber performances by Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, and Raymond Cruz. Rarely has someone getting the news that they beat cancer produced such a set of conflicting emotions. In truth my anticipation for where the show goes now may be greater than my desire to see how Lost ends – that's how good Breaking Bad is.

1) Mad Men (AMC)
Rarely am I surprised as a TV viewer. I can be impressed, disappointed, made joyful, and have tears brought to my eyes, but it's hard to catch me off guard, which is why Betty finding out about Don's past and then confronting him with it was so damn impressive. The show could have gone its entire run without that ever happening but by doing so we saw two characters in roles we were not familiar with - Don at a loss for words and then open and honest for the first time in his marriage and Betty standing up for herself and following through with it – and as such both were made much more human and relatable to the audience.

Other characters going through journeys of self-realization include Roger, Peggy, and Joan, all with mixed results so far but all steps closer to finding their inner contentment.

Enough cannot be said about the brilliance of the finale, which essentially re-set the show while reuniting some of the show's key pairings, in particular Don & Roger and Roger & Joan. Season four can't get here fast enough.

And there you have it, essentially the top 30 shows on TV broken down into three groups. Please feel free to have at it in the comments section below, taking me to task for my lists as well as posting your own top 10. Be polite, of course, but feel free to disagree – there is nothing I enjoy more than hearing from people who are passionate about the shows they love.

Two Tivos To Paradise
30 Rock, The Academy, Accidentally on Purpose, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Better Off Ted, Big Love, Bones, Bored To Death, Breaking Bad, Brothers & Sisters, Burn Notice, Celebrity Apprentice, Cake Boss, Chopped, The Chris Isaak Hour, Chuck, The Closer, Community, Cougar Town, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Daddy's Girls, Damages, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Flipping Out, Food Network Challenge, Gary Unmarried, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters Academy, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, Glee, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Hung, Iron Chef America, Launch My Line, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Mad Men, Make Me A Supermodel, Man v. Food, Medium, Men of a Certain Age, The Middle, Models of the Runway, Modern Family, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Next Iron Chef, The Office, One Tree Hill, Paranormal State, Party Down, Private Practice, Project Runway, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Rescue Me, Royal Pains, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Sanctuary, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, Shark Tank, Shear Genius, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…, Sports Soup, Supernatural, Table For 12, Top Chef, Top Chef: Masters, Top Design, Torchwood, True Blood, Ugly Betty, V, The Vampire Diaries, Warehouse 13, Web Soup, Will Work for Food

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. We'll be back next on January 1st with our 2009 TV Entertainers of the Year as well as a list of the TV things I am more looking forward to in 2010. Please feel free to use the comments section below to give me your thoughts on my lists as well as your own favorite shows from 2009. See you next year!

Feedback is encouraged at [e-mail] as well via the comments section below.