Best of 2005 Television


Best Comedy: Arrested Development - Hands down the smartest, quirkiest, laugh out loud funniest, television show of the year. Over the last few years, funny hasn’t necessarily equated to classy, but this television show manages to be the cream of the crop, without appealing to the lowest common denominator, all while being as fresh and original as it’s original episode.

Honorable Mention: Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, Scrubs, My Name is Earl

Best Animated Comedy: Aqua Teen Hunger Force - A large wad of meat, a super-sized fry, and a large shake, all living under the same roof in some of the strangest adventures ever to hit television. Highly quotable brilliant comedy and gut busting laughter in every episode, it’s the Master Shake guarantee.

Honorable mention: Family Guy, Venture Brothers, American Dad

Best New Comedy: My Name is Earl: By far the funniest thing to come out of the new fall season. A total white trash laugh fest.

Honorable Mention: How I Met Your Mother

Best Drama: CSI - The first investigative criminalist drama, in its sixth season it proved that it was still the best on TV. Even after screwing with the original formula. Usually the death knell of any show

Honorable Mention: NCIS, Law and Order SVU, Without a Trace, House, Supernatural

Best Serialized Drama: Lost - One episode and you’ll be hooked. The mystery goes deeper and deeper with each episode as does your respect and caring for each of the characters. The idea of mixing the mystery of the island with the back-story of each of the castaways is as brilliant as it is at times heartwarming.

Honorable mentions: Desperate Housewives, The Night Stalker, Prison Break, Rescue Me, The Shield

Best New Drama: The Night Stalker - Unfortunately a dual winner for “best tv show no one ever saw” was a remake of the classic 70’s show starring Darren McGavin. A detective drama where nothing is ever what it seems, and only Carl Kolchak can see the supernatural implications behind seemingly random acts of violence. The show was just starting to pick up steam and had some real potential before being cancelled in the middle of a two part character development arc.

Best Villain: The Island - More mysterious, confounding, and (at times) diabolical than any human villain can be, every answer is another question. And it does almost seem that the island is a living breathing beast playing cat and mouse with its captors.

Best Hero: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) in 24 - An amalgam of “the man with no name”, Charles Bronson, and John Wayne. The ultimate hero who would sacrifice his livelihood and his life for his country, without questioning or reasoning why.

Best Sidekick: Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) in How I Met Your Mother- Forget about the kid genius in Doogie Howser M.D., the Big Brother wannabe in Starship Troopers, and the crazy woman hound in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Neil Patrick Harris’s complete goof as a lady’s man character in How I Met Your Mother is.. wait for it.. legendary.

Biggest bonehead move by a television studio: The cancellation of Arrested Development - One of the most critically acclaimed television shows in years, it just couldn’t meet the expectations of the FOX network executives. After the last episodes this winter it will officially be cancelled.

Television show that solidified itself as “past it’s prime”: The Simpsons - Although this television show is probably years past it’s expiration date, this year saw some of the worst retreads of past episodes and just plain painful moments to watch.

Honorable mention: ER

This weekend at your local multiplex: (12/30/2005)
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This week on DVD: (12/26/2005)

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