A TV Guidepost

With the season finale of Heroes on Monday, I completed my television watching schedule for the 2006-07 season. It was a good year for TV in general and a very good year for my shows in specific. As such, I feel the need to revel in a year-in-review sort of thing while the afterglow is still there. And quickly, before I become bitter with the whole 4 months of reruns thing.

Monday

The Class (CBC) - Y'all, I loved this show, and now it's cancelled. I really wish it had been given more of a chance, but network TV is very anti-sitcoms lately, which is too bad. The show started off really rocky, but by the time they had jettisoned the excess cast and toned down some of the melodrama, it was great. It was one of those shows that I couldn't adequately contain my laughter around, which led to truly ugly bouts of braying laughs that no one should ever be subjected to. Really, it was wildly unfortunate. But the show was solid, the cast was excellent (Jason Ritter, call me! Or Lizzy Caplan, I love you too!), it just suffered from that slow start and lack of network support. Too bad.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - Now that it comes down to it, I'm almost bashful to talk this show up. It feels almost unseemly at this point, all of my gushing. So I'll keep it light, with three simple points:

• The 'Robin Sparkles' episode is now my single favorite episode of TV ever, displacing Arrested Development's 'Pier Pressure' and Buffy the Vampire Slayer's 'Becoming'.
• Neil Patrick Harris and Cobie Smulders both deserve Emmys for their work this year. NPH for his pitch-perfect character acting throughout the entire season (for serious) and Cobie for her vastly underrated comedic timing, which consistently gets at least two huge laughs in every episode (often just from her facial reactions).
• I was practically sick to my stomach for the three days leading up to the network upfronts because of rumors that the show was cancelled (Note: It was picked up for a full third season, beating out the much less funny New Adventures of Old Christine, which is something of a Christmas miracle in May). I have never been this involved with a show, and it's a horrible, horrible feeling. But shows that it's really good, right? Or maybe just that I'm insane. Either way.

Heroes (NBC) - Easily the most consistent show all season long. Never really hit a bad note, constantly put you on the edge of your seat for the next episode, and made you really care about all the characters. Also, it didn't hurt that basically every actor in the cast was hotter than your average supermodel. I was a bit disappointed with the finale, but it would have been hard to live up to the rest of the season as is, so I'll give them a pass. I anxiously look forward to the next season, for reals.

Tuesday

Friday Night Lights (NBC) - I refuse to even comment on this one, because everyone makes fun of me for watching it.... Except, whatever, you don't know me! The best acted thing on TV in ages. It is so note perfect that it makes you want to cry. And then when you watch the show, you do cry. Constantly. The fact that it was renewed puts a nice little fire, right in my heart.

Wednesday

America's Next Top Model (CW) - Please don't judge me. There has never been a better definition of a guilty pleasure show in the history of time. And this season *ahem* cycle was horrifying TV at its finest. From the non-mail-order Russian bride, to the crazy girl with the clown weave and short term memory loss (due to being hit by a car!) who couldn't stop cursing, to the eventual winner (who I give excellent odds of actually being a man), there was no end to the joy that this show brought me.

Thursday

Ugly Betty (ABC) - Soap opera-y to a degree that seems impossible, and yet completely charming throughout. Benefits from a great cast more than any other show, possibly ever, but rides that goodwill to excellent results. Another one that I can't wait to follow up on next season.

Grey's Anatomy (ABC) - Went from Great (season one), to Pretty Good (season two), to Oh My God Why Am I Still Watching (season three) without a pause. Melodrama is all fine and good (see: Ugly Betty) but only up to a point. And that point is a lot closer in a drama than Grey's thinks it is. I still enjoy it enough not to give up entirely on the show, but I expect improvements and quick.

The Office (NBC) - Such a good show. I'm glad that NBC has decided to pick it up and run with it, despite the unamazing ratings. The show stalled out late in the season, but ended on a four-episode-long high note that was amazingly funny. I may hate the arc they took with the Jan character, but it was at least somewhat telegraphed over the course of the season, and that's my only real gripe with the show. We won't even get into the whole Jim/Pam thing, lest my squees of joy drown out the internet. Again, greatly looking forward to next season.

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So I was able to pare down my TV watching to right at 6.5 hours this year, thanks to lame seasons by:

• Lost (goodbye forever, show that never answered any questions!),
• Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (proof that Sports Night truly was a one-time perfect thing)
• The Amazing Race (when they said "All-Stars" there was a reason they used those sarcastic quotation marks),
• Jericho (who would have guessed that the end of the world would be so lame),
• and Survivor (uh, just regular old lame, actually).

I feel very proud of this fact, despite knowing that 6.5 hours is still a ridiculously large amount of TV. Oh well, I'll take my victories where I can.

Once I get a chance to go through it, I'll make up my preliminary fall schedule to see how many new shows I'm willing to take on in addition to the returning 8(!) shows I'm keeping on the schedule. I've heard there's a new show about a vampire detective, and this time it doesn't star David Boreanez! Talk about great times to be alive!