Chuck - "Guys? I know kung fu."
It's a ballsy move, sticking a game-changing cliffhanger with a "To Be Continued" at the end of a show with uncertain prospects for returning. Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz practically dared NBC to incur the wrath of fans by canceling the show, a gamble that thankfully paid off. Now they've got at least 13 episodes to prove that this change was a good one - I can't wait to see what happens.
How I Met Your Mother - Barney and Robin work through their issues
The writers of HIMYM were armed and ready for the Moonlighting-invoking naysayers with this one, bringing their two commitment-phobes together in a way that satisfied the tension that's lingered between them all season without resorting to anything out of character. It helps that Neil Patrick Harris and Cobie Smulders have a) excellent chemistry and b) deft comedic timing. At this point, I could kind of care less about who Ted ends up with - I just want to see more of Barney and Robin trying to navigate their romantic minefield together.
Grey's Anatomy - 007
Every time I think I'm finally done with Grey's, Shonda Rhimes manages to pull me back in with a stroke of televisual genius. The writers managed to build the rumored departures of T.R. Knight and Katherine Heigl into an emotionally tense hour of television with a doozy of an ambiguous ending. One of my favorite feelings in television watching is when a moment causes my stomach to drop to my feet, the kind of moment that makes me say "Oh, shit" aloud, even if I'm watching alone in my living room. The moment when Meredith realizes who the John Doe is (about 1:35 in the clip) was one of those. I literally cannot stop myself from reading spoilers, so I knew something awful was going to happen to George, but I was still shocked, and that's good TV. I'm excited to see what they do with this ending - any combination of George and Izzie living or dying has potential repercussions and hours of story.
Lost - Juliet detonates the bomb
In many ways, this moment (at the very end of the clip, around 1:55) is about what's to come. There are no clues as to whether the detonation will have the intended effect of hitting the reset button and preventing the plane crash and the wait until 2010 will be excruciating. However, I had to give a spot to this moment because of the amazing job Elizabeth Mitchell does communicating Juliet's desperation. Her determination not to die for nothing rendered the final moments of Lost Season 5 both heartbreaking and breathtaking. I can't believe the crazy ride of this show is almost over, and I anxiously await the final chapter.
The Office - Jim & Pam's big news
Jim and Pam speak to the heart of the part of me that is totally a crazypants shipper about everything I watch. I love them, I love them being happy, and this moment was beautifully done. Unbelievable physical acting by John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer.
Alas, YouTube (or, rather, the CW's lawyers) won't let me embed this one. Sometimes Gossip Girl can seem like a never-ending dance of "will they or won't they," which makes a denouement like this particularly satisfying. Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester have some of the best chemistry on television, and they sell the sweet moments just as well as the combative ones. Who knows what Stephanie Savage and co. will do with this relationship next season, but it's nice to have the two of them happy, even if it doesn't last.
Friday Night Lights - Tyra gets into UT
When I found out that I got into my first-choice school, over the phone from my mother while I was at school working on the newspaper, I sank to the ground and started crying. In retrospect, it was probably pretty embarrassing, but nothing matches that specific feeling of elation, an emotion which shines through in this scene. All credit to Friday Night Lights, the writers and the actors for creating this wonderfully rendered world of authentically realized characters. The journey of Tyra from the pilot until now (including the murder and drug-addled cowboy boyfriend) has been a joy to watch. (Narrowly missing the slot, and deserving of an honorable mention: Matt taking his grandmother away from the nursing home. Zach Gilford is regularly heartbreaking on this show, and that moment made me weep.)
Fringe - Leonard f-ing Nimoy!
I watched Fringe intermittently this season - when it went into its midseason hiatus, I felt like I wasn't really following the mythology, and when it came back I wasn't sure that I cared enough to pick it back up. However, when I heard that J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman had capitalized on their Star Trek work and gotten Leonard Nimoy to play shadowy Big Bad William Bell, I knew I had to watch. I don't have much more to say about that, beyond: Leonard f-ing Nimoy! I extended the clip beyond his appearance to include the final shot of the alternate-universe Twin Towers, an indelible image that closed out the season with a bang.
ER - Life goes on
Ultimately, the ER finale spanned the entire season, bringing back old cast members in flashbacks and reunions to compose a body of work that honored the show's fifteen years and millions of fans. At the beginning of the season, I thought that the ideal final scene would be a montage of daily life snapshots of the show's departed doctors. This was just as good - an episode showing the ER continuing to work, right up until the end. If you had told me when she was recurring on the show years ago that I would be glad to see Hallee Hirsch show up in the finale, I would have laughed right in your face, but her return as Rachel Greene managed to bring the show full circle without seeming too forced. I love the final shot, when it pans out to show the exterior of County General in full for the first time, scored by the show's excellent theme song.
Battlestar Galactica - Roslin at rest
When we first meet Laura Roslin in the BSG miniseries, she is learning that she has cancer. It remained as the specter haunting her through remission and recurrence, always threatening to keep her from shepherding the human race to a safe haven. There was something undeniably peaceful about the "Dying Leader," having seen her seemingly impossible mission achieved, simply slipping away. When I first watched this, I was crying so hard I was not breathing. Even now, getting the clip, I still teared up. There were some unsatisfactory things about the final season of BSG, but this was not one of them.
Honorable Mention:
30 Rock - Kenneth's cousin
Ultimately, the 30 Rock finale wasn't quite there for me - there was a lot about it that was funny (especially Liz's talk show romance advice - "Sir, have you ever kissed a gentleman?") but the season was just a bit less cohesive than its predecessors. However, I must honor my 16-year-old self and acknowledge that I was kind of thrilled to see Clay Aiken in the finale, especially with the allusion to him being Kenneth's cousin. I hope they do something more with this in the future - there's potential there.
Life on Mars - ...what?
I didn't really watch this show, but after I saw the finale of the UK version, with the classic tragic-time-traveler ending of the protagonist committing suicide, I was curious to see how the American version would end. I was rewarded with one of the most batshit crazy things I've seen in quite some time. I love insane things just about as much as I love really high-quality things, so this seemed like the place to shout out Life on Mars for some truly excellent crazy.
And looking ahead, five(-plus) fall returns to television about which I am psyched.
Michelle Forbes - True Blood
Technically, this is in two weeks, not the fall, and Forbes has been on TV recently on In Treatment. However, I had to give this one a slot for returning her to what she did so awesomely as Admiral Cain on Battlestar Galactica - crazy bitch mode. Even if True Blood and its literary source material hadn't become my new crazy-ass obsession (I'm sure I'll address this more fully in some other post, but apparently my childhood vampire phobia was keeping me from experiencing some seriously out-of-control, totally unhealthy pop-culture obsessions) I would still be psyched about getting to see her do what she does best yet again.
Thomas Calabro and Laura Leighton - Melrose Place
This is essentially what I wished for three years ago, but potentially more awesome because they're actually returning to play the same characters. I love a good primetime soap opera - hopefully, this one will embrace the true Aaron Spelling spirit and really go for broke.
Kristin Chenoweth and Victor Garber - Glee
Both cast members on post-writers' strike second season casualties on ABC (Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone), I hope with all my heart that these Broadway vets will be utilized to the full extent of their abilities in guest spots on Glee. (The clip is my personal favorite part of the Glee pilot - the introduction of Rachel Berry. Her Type-A persona seems like it could become grating, but Lea Michele absolutely sells the whole thing, from the way she smiles as she dabs at her tears, to the whole gay dads segment. Also, I love "On My Own" - it's a gorgeous, heart-rending song, especially when it's performed well.)
Busy Phillips - Cougar Town
A post that keeps floating around in my mind but never quite making it to the blog is "Actresses from Past Judd Apatow Productions Who I Wish Were Getting the Same Boost in Fame as Their Male Counterparts," and I thought I'd mention that because Busy Phillips is at the top of that list. Kim Kelly was a truly unique television character, and more than nearly any other character on Freaks and Geeks, I really wanted to know what would happen with her in the future. As far as this fall is concerned, I really hope that Cougar Town will be better (specifically, less desperate for relevance) than it seems in this preview.
Tina Majorino - The Deep End
What I said about Percy Daggs goes for Tina Majorino, too. Her work on Veronica Mars was stellar, and I'm glad to see her continuing to get work. Former child stars who keep their shit together and prove to be good actors as adults don't get nearly enough credit, or at least they get overshadowed by the ones with drug problems. Props to Tina for staying awesome.
3 comments:
every time I see the title "cougar town," I giggle. they couldn't have picked a better title for it? really? "cougar town"?
Omigod, Matt taking his grandmother to the wedding and telling her that he was going to take her home made me legit legit cry. Also, i watched the FNL pilot this week, and damn is that show excellent.
Yeah, there's a definite air of "trying too hard" about Cougar Town that is making a much bigger impact on me than the fact that I like the actors in it, which is not good.
Everything about the FNL finale made me cry. It was a tear-soaked hour. Given the general lack of good summer tv, a FNL re-watch may be in order.
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