Denver Reg is sleek and sinewy like a cheetah, long on common sense and short on verse. So embracing the new me in the new city, I'm dispensing with my usual long-winded explanations and pointless digressions (to a point) and giving you the truth, straight...no chaser. Here are my picks for the best in the year in American television (Sept. 2006-May 2007) which officially ends sometime next week:
1. THE SHIELD (FX) - Stars Michael Chiklis, CCH Pounder. TV's state of the art cop procedural reached a new pinnacle this season (which ends in June) by laying bare the complicated bonds between men united in amoral dysfunction and the terrible price of betrayal--both of yourself and one's fellow officers. Best acted and written show on television this year.
2. THE SOPRANOS (HBO) - Stars James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Robert Iler, Lorraine Bracco. What can I say that hasn't already been said about The Sopranos? The series finale (also coming in June) promises to be as emotionally devastating and violent as anything this brilliant show has produced.
3. THE WIRE (HBO) - Created by David Simon. See my earlier TV posts from 2006 for more detailed plaudits for this show (or read the New York Times television articles about it). A novel on TV in every way, the only reason I didn't rank it first was because this series best episodes from the just completed season aired before the actual current television season began.
4. WEEDS (Showtime) - Stars Mary Louise-Parker, Justin Kirk, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Nealon and Romany Malco. See #3 above--I guess if you can't afford or don't have the time for premium channels you're stuck with boring crime procedurals, reality shows and American Idol (and Idol ripoffs). There's a doctoral thesis in there somewhere, but Sleek Cheetah Reggie will leave that discusson to others.
5. THE OFFICE (NBC) - Stars Steve Carrell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer. Ah, finally a quality, funny show for the masses! This season revealed just how nuanced an actor Jenna Fischer (Pam) really is and revealed that office politics and soap opera could mix seamlessly with wacked-out characters and satire. Next year: 30 episodes of The Office. Please NBC, don't ruin a great thing.
6. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (Sci Fi) - Stars Edward James Olmos, Mary McConnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber. I used up too many words on Weeds and The Office, so let me just say that the best way to watch this brilliant update of the 70s series is to rent it on DVD. Season Two was better than just completed Season Three, but both are brilliantly acted, directed and gripping. Damn, that's too many words again!
7. HEROES (NBC) - Created by Tim Kring. Show fun. Must watch. X-Men meets Justice League with a modern, angsty sensibility. Very good TV. Ah, sleek again...
8. THE RICHES (FX) - Stars Eddie Izzard, Minnie Driver, Shannon Woodard. The little cable network that could keeps churning out unique, gripping television shows. This first year dramedy about a family of con artists who wind up way out of their element was one of the best. Check out Minnie Driver's work here--it's the best acting she's done since Good Will Hunting and she deserves Emmy consideration. Not that she'll get it.
9. GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC) - Stars Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh, Chandra Wilson, Katherine Heigl, Kate Walsh, T.R. Knight, Eric Dane and Isiah Washington. There was so much to hate about Season 3--the $8 million check that Izzie (Heigl) would never cash, that stupid, over-the-top three-part ferry crash arc, how Meredith Grey's entire family seemed to die, the behind-the-scenes drama over Washington's ignorant anti-gay remarks and cast jealousies--but when this show gets it right, when it manages to find that perfect combination of compelling medical cases, juicy interpersonal melodrama, witty dialogue and unabashed romanticism it can still be breathtaking to watch. And what an underrated, ethnically diverse ensemble cast! OK, that was a novel, but this show can't be dismissed in thirty words or less. Sorry...
10. UGLY BETTY (ABC) - Stars America Ferrera, Vanessa Williams, Tony Plana with Rebecca Romijn. Confession time--I started out a devoted fan of this frothy comic soap imported from Mexican television, but I got backed up on the Tivo and gave up. Still, its very well made, America Ferrera is a hoot as the title character (no, she's hardly ugly) and it did a lot to diversify the still mostly lily-white lineup of network television. (On that last count, also see Grey's Anatomy above.)
Honorable Mention -- Almost, But Not Quite Worth Watching Week After Week: 24, Lost, House, The Amazing Race, 30 Rock.
The Worst Shows I Remember Watching from Last Season: 'til Death (FOX), American Idol (FOX).
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Give 'Em Hell Jimmy
So Dubya and the old JC (that's President Carter, not Jesus) are feuding. Apparently, the 39th president told an Arkansas newspaper reporter that Bush was the worst American presdent ever and that he had done irreparable damage to our image around the world. In a huff, Bush, through his media flaks, got the word out that Carter was becoming "increasingly irrelevant". Nothing like the spectacle of two substandard presidents duking it out in the press.
Thing is, Carter is absolutely right and Bush is absolutely wrong. Rarely is there such a dichotomy in the perceptions of public figures. Of course President Chimp isn't going to agree and he's going to strike back. But I have a problem with Carter later backing down later in public statements. If there's an American political figure who currently has higher global esteem than Jimmy Carter, I don't know who it is...with his legacy of philanthropy and his body of written work since he left office, he has nothing to apologize for and in a country that still likes to convince itself that it has freedom of speech he should be able to share his educated opinion as often and as loudly as he wants.
Its a message America, which all too often apologizes for it's President as it shrugs it's collective shoulders, needs to hear.
PEACE...
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