Monday, January 01, 2007

2006 - The (TV) Year That Was - My Favorite Shows

















What a year it was in television, eh? Hits, misses, a lot of somewhere in betweens...

I've been pondering my favorites and, if I had to list them in some sort of order, the Number 1 television show experience for me would be Heroes. I've become addicted to the show from the character of Hiro to the tagline "Save the cheerleader; save the world." I've been a lifelong comics fan of sorts (falling in and out of the medium at times) and I find this show exciting and mesmerizing. Like a graphic novel unfolding before us, I can't wait to see the latest chapter. Kudos to Heroes! I'm not sure where the story is going, but I'll be joining it for the ride.

My Number 2 choice is more for the entertainment value than the storyline... American Idol. Call me shallow, I don't care. I never miss an episode of the show from auditions through the finals. I'll admit I've never bought a record by any of the chosen Idols, but that's beside the point. I have my secret crush on Simon Cowell (shhh!) and love to watch his reactions throughout the show. 2006's finalists were a great mix of talents and not-so-talented, perhaps more talented than myself, but does Covais ring a bell? Crooners, rockers, country and western - AI has it all. I'll be watching the new season to see if they can top last season's entertainment value rating with me.

The Amazing Race 9 (spring 2006) rolls in at the Number 3 slot in my rankings. With the exception of the Family Edition (8), this show has long been a favorite of mine. In 9, the winners were the ones I loved to watch all season long, unlike the latest season. In the latest season (10), I was ambivalent about who won in the end, so that keeps the season from ranking high on my favorites. I still liked the show, mind you. But I like it better when the winners are ones I cheered on throughout the season. BJ and Tyler of season 9 absolutely rock!

Those would be my Top Three shows, but many more made the ranks of my Top Ten. (Okay, seven more.) I'm not sure how I'd rank them. The latest season of Survivor has been one of my all-time favorites - I hope they keep such a diverse cast on the shows without separating the tribes by race. I'm still hooked on C.S.I. and the Law and Order shows. I'm still hooked on Lost although I'm leery of their actual plots and whether they're going to tie up loose ends and plot holes.

Although "all stars" versions of reality shows aren't tops with me, I thoroughly enjoyed Big Brother 7: All Stars except for Mike Boogie winning it all. I didn't like him in his season and he wouldn't have even made the show if not for Will Kirby. However, if that was the price to pay for watching another season of the Evil Dr. Will on the feeds and on the show, it was a price well justified. After all, I was entertained.

I'm iffy on Jericho, so my personal jury is still out with that one. I've recently discovered the joys of Ugly Betty and Criminal Minds, but so recently that I can't place them on a list of favorites.

If I had to name a favorite sitcom of the year, I'd say How I Met Your Mother is... wait for it... legendary! I definitely like it best when Marshall and Lily are a couple, but I fear this show would lose its bite without Neil Patrick Harris as Barney. He makes the show or, more accurately, the character of Barney makes the show. Suit up and sit down to watch it if you're not already a fan!

My favorite animal show (yeah, I have those) is Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet. The ongoing intro by Sean Astin is a bit much show after show, but the meerkats are intriguing and addicting to watch. The show is realistic in that the life and death of the meerkats is only documented and they don't interfere with the course of nature. Nature, of course, can be cruel at times. I find it sad when they actually give the various meerkats names and then they're carried off by hawks or killed by rival meerkat gangs, but that's life. This show is still a hit with me.

What were your favorites in 2006?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let's see.......first of all...HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!!! Hope 2007 is a great one for us all!!

I'd have to say that TAR had to be my "can't stand to miss it" favorite,that was,until the Chos were Philiminated,and then it didn't really matter,but still love the concept and the wonderful places they go and the things they must do. Not sure how good the "All Star" one will be...but I'll be there!

Then I'd say "Grey's Anatomy", "ER","Project Runway" "Boston Legal" and ...yes,I must say it,cause I keep hanging in there.........."Lost"!! "Survivor" finally hooked me after a very slow beginning and could there be any other "guilty pleasure" better than "Big Brother"??? I can't wait for the new house to open and a whole new bunch of hamsters to move in!! The drama,the divas,the plotting and all of us chiming in with our pithy comments!! Oh,I just can't wait!!

Jackie......I'll say it again and keep on saying it.....YOU ROCK!!!!

Anonymous said...

Two and a Half Men is on my "can't miss" list. Most of the others - I don't mind missing one, even (sadly) ER which has long been my favorite show. I think ER has just about run its course and will be leaving us either this season or next. Boston Legal continues to entertain me although the story lines are getting really far out.

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year Jackie, and once again, thanks so much for all your wonderful comments, time and committment to us and your blog..I personally have ben a fan for three years and think you are great! I'm a little curious about a FEW of my favorite shows... Monk, Boston Legal,Shark and the Closer. Any comments?
Pam

Jackie S. said...

Pam - Of the shows you list, I've caught Monk a few times. I've tried Shark and Boston Legal and they didn't quite snag me. I know I have to try The Closer.

Anonymous said...

Fav Shows: Survivor, Amazing Race, American Idol, Biggest Loser, Deal Or No Deal, I watched BB, but this past year it just annoyed me.

ER should have died years ago. Ho-hum, who cares after the original cast left. I liked all the CSI and Criminal Intent shows until they all started to out gross each other. Too depressing to continually watch shows about murdered people with their guts hanging out.

I don't watch sitcoms, but liked Everybody Loves Raymond. All the other shows bore me. Anyone miss NYPD Blue or West Wing?

Dawn

Anonymous said...

HI Jackie -- writing in a little late on this one, but I have just recently caught up on several eps of Ugly Betty and am asking myself HOW I possibly missed this show from the start. I'm just so glad it's on and a hit... it's got a lot of the fun that I miss from Sex and the City and of course is still all about New York. And though I am in the fashion/celeb biz and have been there and done that in the way that I can't enjoy entourage because that was my life, somehow I love watching this. They take the hideousness behind the world of fashion and laugh at it while giving it all some heart. Great perfromances by the entire cast -- besides America Ferarra's award winning naturalness, Vanessa Williams and her bug eyed assistant are perfect in their roles, and look like they are having a hoot while they do it!