You're the Devil's Fishbowl, Honey -- My Favorite TV Shows in 2006

The best of 2006 music talk will have to wait a few more days. For now I’m going to share my favorite TV shows from the past year.

30 Days – The first season of this show was uneven. There were some first-rate episodes that provided real insight into the human condition. The best of times provided an uncommon understanding of the topic at hand. Then there were times when you felt this was no better than any other reality show on TV. The second season, which aired this summer, was top notch. I don’t recall a bad episode. The topics covered are not groundbreaking; in fact you can find a 100 different ways that these issues are covered on TV everyday, but where 30 Days sets itself apart is the emotional connection. If you are unaware, the idea is to follow someone around for 30 days as they put themselves in a situation completely different from their own. A militant anti-immigration man lived with a family of illegal aliens for a month. An atheist lived with a Christian family for a month. These are substantial issues, but perhaps the lesser issues carried the most weight this season. In one episode a man who lost his IT job because of outsourcing moved to India for a month to live with a family who directly benefited from American jobs being outsourced. I learned more about outsourcing and its effects from the interactions between the American man and his host family then from the countless evening news stories I’ve seen dealing with the issue. This is a great TV show and further proof that the best shows are now on basic cable.

30 Rock – The non-traditional sitcoms on TV now outnumber the traditional ones so these labels are no longer appropriate. I’ll now start referring to shows like 30 Rock, which employ a single camera and no laugh track, as new wave sitcoms because it makes me laugh to think of sitcoms in the same vein as XTC and The Pretenders. Moving on. Of all the new wave sitcoms 30 Rock has the best joke writing. Shows like The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm rely on the space between lines of dialogue to get laughs. For me, these uncomfortable situations can get a bit too uncomfortable to actually laugh sometimes. 30 Rock has come along to bring back jokes to prime time. Thank you, Tina Fey.

Alton Brown – Okay, Alton Brown isn’t technically a TV show. He’s a television personality. He’s on 3 or 4 shows on the Food Network. I enjoy each one. I could do with a little less Mo Rocca on Iron Chef America though.

Big Love – Oh, HBO. Sex and the City is gone. The Sopranos is ending this year. Six Feet Under has gone the way of its title. Deadwood has proved too expensive to produce. Curb Your Enthusiasm is losing steam. Entourage only has its moments. And, HBO, you should, at the very least, be slapped on the wrists for allowing Dane Cook’s Tourgasm to see the light of day. It’s not exactly your glory days anymore, HBO. At least you got Big Love. It’s not TV, it’s Polygamist Family Drama.

Boston Legal – A few years ago I gave up all legal dramas and police procedurals. I still watch Boston Legal though because it’s hilarious. It’s theatre of the absurd starring James Spader and William Shatner. They still try to do serious stuff from time to time but it’s the silliness that keeps me watching.

Cheap Seats – Sadly, Cheap Seats is no longer. That’s a shame because it was the only evidence that ESPN had a sense of humor. Granted it aired on ESPN Classics but it was still technically ESPN. As our popular culture gets more and more snarky and abstract, I can’t believe there’s not a place for a show like Cheap Seats or Mystery Science Theatre 3000. I guess people making fun of bad movies and sporting events can no longer happen on TV unless it’s snappily edited, has an ironic green-screened background, and lets Hal Sparks blather on about it on VH1.

Countdown w/Keith Olbermann – I must admit I’ve only seen a full episode of this show two or three times, but I thoroughly enjoy the segments posted on crooksandliars.com. Olbermann’s special commentaries deserve a higher profile. His ratings are increasing so I hope he gets more and more opportunities to rail against the Bush administration in his somber, holier-than-thou manner.

The Daily Show / The Colbert Report – A nightly dose of social and political catharsis in a time of non-stop lying, cheating, and sniping. (That is officially the most pretentious sentence I’ve written so far this year.)

Deadwood – I likes my historic fiction with lots of F-words. (I was trying to balance out the TDS/TCR sentence.)

Heroes – I really enjoy this show and hope you do too, but if you do enjoy it and want to talk about it, just keep your crazy theories to your self and let me enjoy the show. This pretty much goes for any movie or TV show.

How I Met Your Mother / The Class – Both of these shows annoy me more than I actually enjoy them but I compulsively watch them nonetheless.

Lost – I watched every episode of this show in about a month and a half. I got caught up just in time for it to go on its mid-season hiatus. I am looking forward to it starting up again in February.

The Office – Steve Carrell is great and all, but the supporting characters make this show great. My favorite is Toby. There is so much pain and regret in his face.

Project Runway – I think Tim Gunn should have been in the Iraq Study Group. He could have walked around and looked over everybody’s shoulder giving them constructive criticism. Who knows, maybe he was involved. If we start to hear W saying things like, “We’re gonna carry on...We gotta make it work,” then we’ll know he was there.

When the Levees Broke – Even though I love Spike Lee and think he is incredibly talented, I must admit I thought his shooting a documentary about Hurricane Katrina so soon after the actual storm might turn out to be a mistake. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It is expertly done and I can’t imagine there ever being a more definitive piece of work dealing with this American tragedy.