2010 in TV

[orangerful]

Biggest Surprise - Raising Hope (FOX)
I had no intention of watching this show. I hadn't really heard anything about it except that the creator of My Name Is Earl was invovled and that it was on FOX. I actually tuned in that night to watch Running Wilde and this other show was just on before it. I found myself laughing out loud at the ridiculous set up for the series and immediately added it to the DVR list (I should probably mention that Running Wilde was deleted from that list pretty quickly). Over the Thanksgiving holiday, they reran a few of the early episodes and I watched them again for a second time and still really liked them, so it's safe to say this one is a keeper. No laugh track, lots of heart, and great characters. I just hope they have a plan for where they want to go because, as the Dad said a few weeks ago, television shows with babies don't last more than a season because babies are boring.

Sam Finally Got With It - Doctor Who (BBC)
Yes, after resisting for five years, I was finally sucked in. With the introduction of a new Doctor and a new companion, I figured this was the time to give the show a try. I instantly fell in love with the writing and the characters. A sense of humor but also a sense of purpose. Like Buffy, it reminded me of a show that wanted to stress the good in people. I was really impressed by the entire arc of the season, so much so that I've gone back and watched almost all of the previous seasons.

Thank Goodness They Didn't Screw It Up - Walking Dead (AMC)
I read the first few trades of The Walking Dead way back when I first got into my comic book kick, five or so years ago. I loved them but I think I caught up and then forgot to pick the series back up. I was surprised to see that it was still going strong (issue #75 was being advertised during SDCC). I was even more surprised to see a television show was in the works. The images coming out of AMC looked awesome, Kirkman was involved...but I had been bitten before. Luckily, they knew what they were doing. With only 6 episodes in the first season (and only 1 of them a dud), the show is off to an amazing start. Too bad we have to wait a year before we get any new episodes. Guess it gives me time to catch up on the comics.

Still Going Strong - Community (NBC)
I FREAKING LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!!!! What more can I say that I haven't already said? It's funny, smart, snarky, and just hilarious on a level I haven't seen on TV in awhile.

Still Crazy After All These Years - 30 Rock (NBC)
This show is on it's fifth season and it's still hilarious. I just watched Christmas Attack Zone yesterday and laughed the whole way through. Of course, it's easy to make fun of the ridiculousness of the entertainment industry, but Tina Fey & Co. manage to pull it off every week, mixing celebrity mocking with normal, everyday anxiety.

Wow, This Show Is Still On? - Chuck (NBC)
Poor Chuck - I let the shows pile up on the DVR when I thought Captain Awesome was going to bite it. But one very boring day, I marathoned almost an entire season while playing Civ5 and found that the show had managed to balance a sense of humor and fun with the spy stories. Yeah, Chuck isn't breaking new ground, but it's just such a fun show to watch, with a bit of action and adventure and romance. They actually made the relationship between Sarah and Chuck work.

Sometimes I Watch When It's On - Amazing Race 17 (CBS)
bittertwee and I have made a tradition of logging online at 8pm on Sundays to chat while watching Amazing Race (which is a HUGE pain this time of year with football throwing off the schedule...stupid football). I had stopped watching AR for a few years, but I'm so glad I came back. This season was great - almost everyone was a decent human being! Tonight is the finale and all 3 teams deserve to win...but I think I'm rooting for the lady doctors. :)

Goodbye, We Hardly Knew You - Dollhouse (FOX) & Legend of the Seeker (Syndicated)
I think we all knew pretty quickly that Dollhouse wasn't going to make it beyond it's second season. FOX only renewed it because they figured fans would burn down the studio if they cancelled another Whedon show after only 13 episodes. The second season was just as unstable as the first, but since they knew it was the end, we got an ending that tied everything up as neatly as any Whedon show could be. I need to rewatch them now, especially since andy_wolverton just discovered the series and seems to be enjoying it. We'll have to discuss the deeper meaning behind the actives, Echo, and Alpha.

I was in denial for a good chunk of the second season of Legend of the Seeker. I was hoping that, like Hercules and Xena before it, it would be renewed no matter what because how do you judge rating for a syndicated show in this day and age? Sadly, it was cancelled and the show wasn't ready. Instead of a satisfying ending, the final episode felt rushed and knowing I wouldn't see these characters on the screen again was very upsetting. I will miss Richard, Kahlan, and Zedd - they were a great team and I know that the book versions will probably not interest me as much. Season 2 had a few missteps, but overall it was a great action/adventure/fantasy that deserved better respect than it got.

Honorable Mention - Stay Up Late or Just DVR It - Craig Ferguson (CBS)
I watched this pretty regularly on the DVR most of this year. Craig is my favorite late night personality. He's a big ol' goofball. And a would-be leader of a robot skeleton army (but right now he just has Geoff).