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The best of 2007: television |
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Written by Robert Philpot
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Thursday, 03 January 2008 |
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In 2007, TV had three seasons: a good spring, a great summer and a mediocre, strike-affected fall. Yet there were plenty of big, mad seasons to watch. These are just 10 of them.
1. “Mad Men,” AMC
Vividly atmospheric, this drama about 1960 Madison Avenue execs and the women they harassed looked like a 1960 movie, from the clouds of smoke and rivers of liquor to the lighting techniques and acting styles. Jon Hamm, John Slattery and Vincent Kartheiser are all terrific as ad men whose primary product is themselves, and what you see isn’t always what you get. No DVD date yet.
2. “Big Love,” HBO
Bill Paxton anchors a huge cast in a show about marriage, parenthood, childhood, consumerism, standing up for yourself and the ways people adapt their faiths to their lifestyles, instead of the other way around. Think of it as just “that polygamy show” and you’ll be missing something. On DVD now.
3. “The Wire,” HBO
David Simon’s Baltimore mosaic of cops, drug dealers, politicians and teachers might just be the best TV drama ever, and yes, I’m remembering “The Sopranos.” As intricate as a Charles Dickens epic or a Robert Altman movie. Four seasons on DVD; season five begins Jan. 6.
4. “30 Rock,” NBC
Tina Fey’s cheeky comedy show about a comedy show can shift from dead-on observational humor to outrageous situations in a split second, and it has a nice way of biting the hand that feeds it, as when it mocked the hypocrisy of NBC’s environmentally themed “Green Week.” Season one available on DVD.
5. “The Sopranos,” HBO
The ambiguous finale ticked a lot of people off, but I was gratified by a show that didn’t feel compelled to wrap things up with a tidy little bow. Life is seldom that neat, as dynamite episodes featuring Christopher’s shocking death and A.J.’s suicide attempt illustrated. On DVD.
6. “Chuck,” NBC
This adventure-comedy, about a computer geek who becomes a spy after accidentally downloading thousands of government secrets into his head, is the one new fall show that had me from the beginning and hasn’t lost my interest. Funny, sweet, charmingly retro, with a winning performance by lead Zachary Levi and the best title sequence since “Six Feet Under.”
7. “Pushing Daisies,” ABC
I initially resisted this romantic fantasy about a young man who can bring folks back from the dead because of its tendency to rub your nose in its cleverness. But the writing often sings, Lee Pace has a delicate melancholy in the lead role, and Kristin Chenoweth is sassy greatness as a co-worker with a crush on him. Will continue in 2008.
8. “Lost,” ABC
It’s erratic as all-get-out, but the show about plane-crash survivors on a very weird island ended its third season in peak form with a series of stories that climaxed with the most mind-blowing TV episode since ... well, since “Lost’s” premiere a few years back. On DVD now.
9. “Torchwood,” BBC America
A “Doctor Who” spinoff about a team that hunts extraterrestrials and other weirdness in Cardiff, Wales, this rises above other freak-of-the-week dramas by pushing its characters to the emotional limit. Docked several notches for a too-soon end-of-the-world episode that made the apocalypse look like an attack by an old Dio album cover. On DVD Jan. 22; season two begins Jan. 26.
10. “Damages,” FX
Over-the-top, insane and illogical, this legal drama pitting devious shark attorney Glenn Close against unethical CEO Ted Danson didn’t give us too many people to root for, and it killed off so many characters it’s a surprise it can come back for a second season. But it managed to be positively addictive in spite of its myriad flaws. Can’t wait for that second season. On DVD Jan. 29.
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