Friday January 12, 2007 SGN.org |
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Volume 35 Issue 02 |
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Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008
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Best of Television 2006: Entourage, The Office, Weeds among the standouts |
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| Best of Television 2006: Entourage, The Office, Weeds among the standouts | ||
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by Albert Rodriguez -
SGN A&E Writer Besides all the music I listen to, I'm a TV addict. Good, bad, or downright ugly, I'll watch it. In a year in which the big networks delivered one disappointing new series after another, and in which McDreamy faced McSteamy in a Battle o' the Studs, here's what I chose for 2006's best. BEST TELEVISION PROGRAMMING OF 2006 (In Order) > 1. Entourage First of all, Adrian Grenier is one of television's hottest commodities. Second, Jeremy Piven's performance as the merciless, bastardly Ari Gold was the most earned Emmy Award by anyone in 2006. Then there's Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), the troublemaker you gotta love for setting up some of the show's funniest scenes. Finally, this season's episode with Johnny "Drama" (Kevin Dillon) giving off wrong signals to his male masseur was must-see-TV. 2. The Office The nerdy, hysterical group of pencil pushers at "The Office" is reason enough to stay home on Thursday nights. The holiday episode, "A Benihana Christmas", is an all-out riot featuring rival staff parties and an intoxicated Michael (Steve Carell) giving his bike away to a waitress who quickly discovers he's a bore. Besides that, John Krasinki is the cutest geek in primetime. 3. Big Love Polygamists lead interesting lives. So, rather than criticize the lifestyle from society's point of view, HBO cleverly picks at it from the inside. Bill Paxton and Chloe Sevigny (Boys Don't Cry) star in this wacky-but-true drama set in the outskirts of Salt Lake City. Did you think people only skied in Utah? 4. My Super Sweet 16 The surreal world of spoiled, fabulous, filthy rich, and oh-so-bitchy teenage girls is exposed in full bloom in this MTV tween reality series. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is too expensive for these snobby princesses. Helicopter arrivals, dress shopping in Europe, lavish bashes with top-notch entertainment, and real-life daddies fawning over their daughters, and their daughters' friends, is a weekly guilty pleasure. 5. Weeds Everything Mary-Louise Parker touches turns green, including HBO's munchies-loving comedy about two pot-growing moms raising families in a fictional California suburb. The Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe-winning Parker, along with Elizabeth Perkins and Justin Kirk (Angels in America), give cable television a bold, fresh scent. 6. Project Runway Heidi Klum's successful reality series, featuring people with actual talent, is like Nascar racing for Gay men. The clothes, the models, the judging panel's oohing and booing, the catfights, and the egg thrown at Michael's dress in Paris were simply too irresistible to pull away from last season. Not to mention Jeffrey's controversial, yet celebratory win. 7. Heroes Average human beings with super powers? Absolutely. NBC's new drama is a rare standout amongst 2006's freshman class. Masi Oka, a Hollywood unknown, deservedly received a Golden Globe nomination for his good-boy role, as Hiro. And, the show has finally given Ali Larter a star vehicle to ride in. 8. The Colbert Report / The Daily Show Nobody sticks it to the right wing and the Bush administration quite like Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. The political giants are crumbled to pieces by these two smart, wisecracking talk show hosts. Colbert's push for Gay marriage, even in stereotypical fashion, demonstrates how off-base conservatives truly are. 9. Dirty Jobs Hats off to The Discovery Channel's Mike Rowe, who seems to find the least impressive and most unique jobs around. Avian vomitoligist? Casino food recycler? Parade float dismantler? Sausage maker? Having been known to jump directly into a smelly swamp of poo, Rowe gives us a realistic and comical look at occupations far beyond the "help wanted" ads. 10. My Name is Earl Trashy people are funny. Really, they are. And this NBC trailer park sitcom, starring SAG Award nominees Jason Lee and Jamie Pressly, is so wrong in a great, great way. Honorable mention, in random order: Ugly Betty; Lost; The Sopranos; Mrs. Harris; Deadwood; Grey's Anatomy; The OC; The Amazing Race; Bleak House; Austin City Limits |
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