top tv of 2008

I always think that doing a top ten tv is a tough at the end of the year because the tv season is still rolling into midseason shows, but here’s what critics and folks have got so far for 2008. 

  • Architecture School – JP
  • Battlestar Gallactica – JP, TG
  • Big Bang Theory – MR
  • Boston Legal – DB, PGA
  • Breaking Bad – AFI, JP, TG
  • Brotherhood – SA
  • Californication – GG
  • The Colbert Report – SA
  • Chuck – JP
  • Cranford – PE, SA*
  • Curb Your Enthusiasm – PGA
  • Daily Show with Jon Stewart – DB
  • Damages – PGA
  • Dancing With the Stars – NYT
  • Dexter – GG, DB, MR, PGA, SA*, TG
  • Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog – DB, JP, PE
  • Entourage – GG, PGA
  • Friday Night Lights – DB, MR
  • Fringe – NYT, PE
  • Generation Kill – MR, TG
  • Gossip Girl – NYT
  • House – GG
  • In Treatment – AFI, GG, NYT, PE, SA
  • It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – SA
  • John Adams – AFI, MR, SA
  • The Last Enemy – SA
  • Life – AFI
  • Life on Mars – SA
  • Lost – AFI, JP, MR, PE, PGA, TG
  • Mad Men – AFI, DB, GG, JP, MR*, NYT, PGA, SA, TG*
  • Masterpiece – MR
  • Morning Joe – NYT
  • NCIS – NYT
  • The Office – AFI, GG, PGA
  • Olympics – MR
  • Primeval – SA
  • Pushing Daisies – DB, SA
  • Real Housewives of NYC – PE
  • Recount – AFI, NYT
  • Saturday Night Live – MR, PE
  • The Shield – AFI, DB, JP*, MR, PE, TG
  • 60 Minutes – DB
  • Skins – SA
  • Sons of Anarchy – TG
  • State of the Union – SA*
  • Swingtown – PE
  • 30 Rock – DB, GG, MR, NYT, PGA, SA, TG
  • True Blood – GG
  • Weeds – GG, PE, PGA
  • The Wire – AFI, JP, MR, NYT, TG

AFI – American Film Institute, DB – David Bianculli/NPR, GG – Golden Globes, JP – James Poniewozik/Time, MR – Matt Roush/TVGuide, PE – People Magazine, PGA – Producer’s Guild of America, SA – Satellite Awards, NYT – New York Times, TG – Tim Goodman at SF Chron

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best books of 2008

2666.jpgI got a little lax this year and wasn’t bothered by some publications that couldn’t narrow their list down to a top ten, it’s always surprising how little agreement there is on top reads to start with. As usual I can’t chime in as I’m always too behind and too opposed to hardcover that I haven’t read any of these… (oh and these are fiction).

  • The Outlander by Gil Adamson – WA
  • The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga – BG, ST
  • Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan – EW, MC
  • The Book of Dahlia by Elisa Albert – EW
  • The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam – AC, BG
  • When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson – BG, T
  • The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery – MC, WA
  • The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry – BG
  • Peace by Richard Bausch – ST
  • 2666 by Roberto Bolaño – Am, NYT, T
  • The China Lover by Ian Buruma – ST
  • The Rain Before it Falls by Jonathan Coe – BG
  • Lost in Uttar Pradesh by Evan S. Connell – AC
  • Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas – KGB
  • So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger – Am
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – T
  • Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh – BG
  • I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass – KGB
  • Fall of Frost by Brain Hall – BG
  • The Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif – BG
  • The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon – Am
  • The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher – Am
  • The Expeditions by Karl Iagnemma – ST
  • The Night Following by Morag Joss – BG
  • When We Were Romans by Matthew Kneale – BG
  • Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kishner – ST
  • World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler – AC
  • Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri – KGB, MC, NYT
  • Lavinia by Ursula K LeGuin – AC
  • Disquiet by Julia Leigh – EW
  • The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon – BG
  • The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey – EW
  • Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri – T
  • Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen – AC
  • The End of the World by Alistair McCartney – ST
  • Dangerous Laughter by Steven Millhauser – NYT, ST
  • A Mercy by Toni Morrison – NYT, WA
  • What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn – BG
  • Netherland by Joseph O’Neill – Am, MC, NYT
  • Personal Days by Ed Park – T
  • Cleaver by Tim Parks – ST
  • To Siberia by Per Petterson – BG
  • Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock – Am
  • Lush Life by Richard Price – Am, EW, T
  • Serena by Ron Rash – Am
  • What Happened to Anna K by Irina Reyn – EW
  • Home by Marilynne Robinson – Am
  • Cost by Roxana Robinson – WA
  • Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong – AC
  • Indignation by Philip Roth – MC
  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows – T
  • Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw – EW 
  • The Size of the World by Joan Silber – ST
  • American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld – EW, KGB, T
  • Anathem by Neal Stephenson – T
  • Olive Kittenridge by Elizabeth Strout – EW
  • The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike – T
  • Lucky Billy by John Vernon – ST
  • The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski – Am, EW

AC – Alan Cheuse/NPR, AM – Amazon, BG – Boston Globe, EW – Entertainment Weekly, KGB – Karen Grigsby Bates/NPR, MC – Maureen Corrigan/NPR, NYT – New York Times, ST – Seattle Times, T – Time, WA – Washington Post

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next week 12/29

New and notable in the week ahead…

Monday

  • Greatest Holiday Moments (NBC, 8pm) – Think funniest home videos holiday style. 
  • Bromance/The City (MTV, 9/10pm) Series Premiere(s)– A couple kids from The Hills spin off their own gigs, first Brody Jenner looks for a new beaux Paris Hilton style and then Whitney Port leaves the west coast to make it in the big apple.

Tuesday

  • Burn Notice (USA, 6am-4pm) – This fun campy no-longer-a-spy spy show set in Miami gives a little marathon to catch you up.
  • Kennedy Center Honors (CBS, 9pm) – Caroline Kennedy host the honoring of Morgan Freeman, George Jones, Barbra Streisand, Twyla Tharp, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltry.

Wednesday

  • Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest (ABC, 10pm) Ryan and Dick bring along Fergie and Kellie Pickler to help correspond with all the activity.
  • New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly (NBC, 10pm) – Will this be more or less rockin’ than Dick and Ryan’s?
  • New Year’s Eve Live (Fox, 11pm) – Spike Feresten and Mark Thompson don’t even get their names in the title.

Thursday

  • Tournament of Roses Parade – Check your local listings for the various showings of this flower filled parade.

Friday

  • If you’re desperate Lipstick Jungle is new, I’m not that desperate…

Saturday

  • Game Show in My Head (CBS, 8/8:30pm) Series Premiere – Folks are foolish in public by following instructions via earpiece.

Sunday

  • Rock of Love Charm School (VH1, 7pm) – It’s the reunion show which might be good for some hair pulling.
  • Confessions of a Teen Idol (VH1, 8pm) Series Premiere – 80s and 90s teen idols give us a little insight, or something.
  • Rock of Love (VH1, 9pm) Season Premiere – Still no love for Bret, so this season the ladies are going on tour with him… will he find ‘the one’, or are we just casting for another Charm School?
  • Superstars of Dance (NBC, 9pm) Series Premiere – Folks from all over the world compete.
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must-see movies of 2008

dark_knight.jpgLooking for something to see at the movies? We’re wrapping up the year and the critics and awards are happening so here’s what folks are saying is worth seeing. Winners or number ones are noted with an*. I’ll make some updates as new lists/awards are received. I shoot to do my own top ten list some time next year once I’ve actually seen some of these (movies seen to date are bolded).

  • Alexandra – MD
  • Appaloosa – PE
  • Ballast – ISA
  • The Bank Job – SK
  • Burn After Reading – EO, GG, NBR, OG
  • Cadillac Records – AOS, DE
  • Changeling – AL, CCA, NBR
  • Choke – SA
  • A Christmas Tale – SH
  • The Class – DE, OG
  • Cloverfield – EO
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – AFI, CCA, GG, NBR, PE, RC
  • The Dark Knight – AFI, CCA, EO*, LS, MD, NBR, OG, PE, RS, SK*
  • Death Race – SK
  • Defiance – NBR 
  • Doubt – CCA, DE, RS
  • The Edge of Heaven – AL, AOS, OG, SH
  • Encounters of the End of the World – MD, RC
  • Flight of the Red Balloon – MD
  • Forgetting Sarah Marshall – EO
  • 4 months, 3 weeks, & 2 days – AL, RC, SH
  • Frost/Nixon – AFI, CCA, GG, NBR, RS, SA
  • Frozen River – AFI, ISA, SA, SH
  • Funny Games – SK
  • Gomorra – LS
  • Gran Torino – AFI, NBR, PE
  • Happy Go Lucky – AOS, DE, GG, LS, MD, PE, SA*, SH
  • In Bruges – GG, SA
  • Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – EO
  • Iron Man – AFI, AL, EO, RC
  • I’ve Loved You So Long – AL
  • Kit Kittredge: American Girl – DE
  • Lakeview Terrace – SK
  • The Last Mistress – SH
  • Mamma Mia – GG, OG
  • Man on Wire – AOS, LS, RS
  • Milk – AFI, AOS, CCA, LS, NBR, NYFC*, OG, PE, RC, RS*, SA, SH
  • My Winnipeg – RC
  • Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist – SA
  • The Orphanage – AL
  • Paranoid Park – MD
  • Quantum of Solace – AL
  • Rachel Getting Married – AOS, DE*, ISA, OG, RS
  • The Reader – CCA, GG, SA
  • Redbelt – SK
  • Revolutionary Road – GG, RS, SA
  • The Ruins – SK
  • The Secret of the Grain – AOS
  • Sex and the City – EO
  • Shotgun Stories – DE
  • Silent Light – AOS, MD
  • Slumdog Millionaire – BFC*, CCA, DC*, GG, NBR*, PE, RC, RS, SA*, SK
  • Speed Racer – RC
  • Still Life – MD
  • Synecdoche, New York – MD, RC
  • Taxi to the Dark Side – DE
  • Tell No One – OG, SH
  • Tropic Thunder – EO, LS, SA, SK
  • Trouble the Water – DE, LS
  • Vicky Christina Barcelona – EO, GG, PE, SA
  • The Visitor – PE, RS, SH
  • Wall-e – AFI, AL, AOS, BFC*, CCA, DE, EO, LS*, NBR, OG, PE, RC*, RS, SH, SK
  • Waltz With Bashir – DE, LS, NSFC*
  • Wendy and Lucy – AFI, AOS, ISA, LS, MD
  • We Own the Night – AL
  • The Wrestler – AFI, AL, CCA, ISA, NBR, OG*

AFI – American Film Institute, AL – Anthony Lane/New Yorker, AOS – AO Scott/NYT, BFC – Boston Society of Film Critics, CCA – Critic’s Choice Awards, DC – DC Area Film Critics, DE – David Edelstein/NPR, EO – eonline, GG – Golden Globes, ISA – Independent Spirit Awards, LS – Lisa Schwarzbaum/EW, MD – Manohla Dargis/NYT, NBR – National Board of Review, NSFC – National Society of Film Critics, NYFC – New York Film Critics Circle, OG – Owen Gleiberman/EW, PE – People Magazine, RC – Richard Corliss/Time, RS – Rolling Stone, SA – Satellite Awards, SH – Stephen Holden/NYT, SK – Stephen King/EW

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next week 12/22

New and notable in the week ahead…

Monday

  • Today Looks Back (NBC, 8pm) – The Today Show stays up to prime time to give us a look back.

Tuesday

  • A Home for the Holidays (CBS, 8pm) – Faith Hill and the gang raise adoption awareness.
  • Rediscovered (ABC, 9pm) – Donny and Marie give some folks who put their hats in the ring as child stars another shot.
  • The List (ABC, 10pm) – Entertainment lists galore.

Wednesday

  • It’s a Wonderful Life (NBC, 8pm) – Jimmy Stewart does it again.
  • The Flight Before Christmas/Story of Santa Clause (CW, 8/9pm) – A reindeer does some test flights with flying squirrels before we learn how Nick got his start.

Thursday

  • Yule Log – Check your local listings.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday

  • Not a lot new or holiday related going on after the 25th so get some dvds ready.
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lost loves

prison-break.jpgEvery year I drop at least one show. A show I loved or liked and find that I no longer watch or enjoy usually because I find it has somehow lost its way. Things that are soapy like BH 90210 (the original) definitely lose their luster over time, but that’s not the only category I lose.

This year the casualty was Heroes, but I was thinking of the others… Not counting shows that didn’t make it a season here are some that lost their sheen:

  • Cold Case – The procedural wasn’t a bad show, but as I was trying to cut back this wasn’t a keeper.
  • Criminal Minds – I still catch this brutal-killer-of-the-week procedural with special-fbi-behavioral-unit in reruns, but it doesn’t make the main lineup.
  • Desperate Housewives – The first year this soapy drama entertained me but with the sophomore slump it lost me.
  • Heroes – I finally gave this up, as the characters and situations became more ridiculous it actually pained me to watch.
  • King of the Hill – I still find this show amusing but as the years drag on it just stopped hitting the tivo.
  • Prison Break – I did love the first season, but the delight collapsed once they escaped from prison and though I stuck through the entire second season I was mostly yelling at the tv about how stupid it had become before I gave it up.
  • Without a Trace – Another procedural that isn’t bad but just didn’t keep me keeping it.
  • The Simpsons – Also amusing but after a decade I’m more than happy to catch the occasional rerun.
  • Smallville – I loved the complexity of Lex Luthor and Clark Kent’s early relationship, but the freak of the week lost me.
  • Survivor – This had a good dynamic but easy enough to drop with a new season of folks each year.

And an almost dishonorable mention to American Idol and Law & Order, both of which have been dropped and picked up again and dropped and picked up…

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next week 12/15

Monday

  • Chuck/Heroes/My Own Worst Enemy (NBC, 8/9/10pm) Season Finales – Heroes is noted as fall finale and Enemy is leaving for good.
  • Terminator (Fox, 8pm) Season Finale – Will anyone be terminated?
  • I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (ABC, 8pm) – Lucy and Linus’ brother ReRun kicks it up a notch for the holidays.
  • Drama High (ABC, 9pm) – The making of high school musical, sorry that’s not the high school musical, it’s some high school putting on the Wiz.
  • Intervention (A&E, 9pm) Season Premiere – This series kicks off following a 50 year old woman who suffers seizures if she tries to stop drinking.

Tuesday

  • The Biggest Loser (NBC, 8pm) Season Finale – It’s always heartwarming to see how far they’ve come, if you like that sort of thing.
  • Momma’s Boys (NBC, 10pm) Series Finale – 32 women, 3 bachelors, and yes 3 moms who help out the selection.

Wednesday

  • A Muppets Christmas (NBC, 8pm) – Will the muppets get the letters to Santa?
  • Life (NBC, 9pm) Season Finale – Zen principals might not be enough to solve crime, save your friends, and get justice in corrupt conspiracies?

Thursday

  • Million Dollar Password (CBS, 8pm) Season Premiere – Can Aisha Tyler kick William Shatner out of the spotlight.

Friday

  • Greatest Holiday Moments (NBC, 8pm) – A countdown of tv and film moments.

Saturday

  • WWE Tribute to the Troops (NBC, 9pm) – Wrestlers can bring up anyone’s spirits.

Sunday

  • The Shift (Inves, 10pm) Series Premiere – A docuseries that follows homicide detectives.
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’tis the season

dexter.jpgNot the holiday season, the award season, and it kicks off with Golden Globe nominations. Remember these are the ones that cover tv and film and separate categories for comedy/musical and dramas. Most of these movies aren’t even out yet so as usual I’ll have some catching up to do. I also haven’t caught all the cable selections for tv so I guess I’ll update my netflix queue.

BEST TV DRAMA
Dexter
House
In Treatment
Mad Men
True Blood

BEST TV COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock
Californication
Entourage
The Office
Weeds

BEST MOTION PICTURE / DRAMA
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST MOTION PICTURE / MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

For a full list of nominations check the Hollywood Foreign Press Association site.

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‘new paradigm’

jay_leno.jpgLeno will sign off as the host of the Tonight Show in May 2009 and Conan will be taking over. But what will Jay do? Apparently he’ll be on NBC five nights a week for a show of similar format every night at 10.

Ten you say? Well what about the regular ten shows? What regular shows? I can only assume that they can move Law & Order to 9. The way people watch television is shifting with cable and dvd and dvrs. No one’s watching and it’s pretty expensive to keep making bad shows.

This just raises a lot of questions. Will the ratings of Jay average out to better ratings than what they have now? Will all of the current Tonight Show viewers tune in to this in addition to watching Conan on the Tonight Show? Instead of Conan? If ratings are a less across the board and cost less is that ok too?

And will the other networks follow suit? CW and Fox have never tried to program the 10 hour. And I don’t know that ABC has anything left (Life on Mars hasn’t been canceled yet). Can CBS stand strong with CSI x 3, Without a Trace and Numb3rs? The NBC guy called their plan a new paradigm. I guess we’ll see. Personally I don’t watch Jay now, I don’t really watch any late night talkers, and I probably won’t in the future no matter the time.

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next week 12/8

New and notable in the week ahead… procrastinator picks are underlined.

Monday

  • Charlie Brown Christmas (ABC, 8pm) – The gang puts on a holiday pageant.
  • Boston Legal (ABC, 9pm) Series Finale – I never got into this Practice spinoff but it’s had a good run.

Tuesday

  • Olive the Other Reindeer/Santa’s Funniest Moments (MNT, 9/10pm) – Reindeer games and outtakes.
  • Manhunters (A&E, 10pm) Series Premiere – Follow the US Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force hunt down the ‘worst of the worst’.
  • A Shot at Love (MTV, 10pm) Season Premiere – Tila Tequila has been replaced by bisexual twins being courted by both men and women.

Wednesday

  • Little Spirit: Christmas in NY (NBC, 8pm) – This animated holiday special tells a tale of magical spirits in NY.

Thursday

  • Sarah Silverman Program (Com, 10:30pm) Season Finale – What will Sarah get up to now?

Friday

  • Greatest Holiday Moments (NBC, 8pm) – Songs of the season countdown.
  • Frosty the Snowman/Frosty Returns/The Flight Before Christmas (CBS, 8/8:30/9pm) – More Frosty! and a reindeer.
  • The Family Entertainment Awards (CW, 9pm) – Formerly known as the Family Television Awards, it now touches on family friendly entertainment in tv, movies, and video games.

Saturday

  • MADtv’s Best of Christmas Sketches (Fox, 11pm) – If you like a holiday sketch here you go.

Sunday

  • Survivor (CBS, 8/10pm) Season Finale – The reunion special kicks in at 10.
  • Dexter/Califronication (Show, 9/10pm) Season Finales – And another season down, does this mean I need to wait a whole year for another Dexter?
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