"Lost" and "Doctor Who" Were Standouts in 2007

Before I name the five shows that did not make my Top 10 but would have occupied positions 11-15 on a longer list, let me correct an error from yesterday's column. Keen-eyed readers may have noticed that I included 26 shows in my list of the 25 that deserved honorable mention during this extraordinary year. It was my intent to include the FX thriller Damages among the five runners up in today's column, but I somehow managed to add it to yesterday's group instead.

 

So, let me begin this list with Damages, the television series that boasts more nominations in this year's Golden Globe Awards than any other. No series since Lost has done more to experiment with and challenge the basic structure of prime time television drama. Executive producers Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman dared to assume that viewers were intelligent enough to pay careful attention not only to their deeply mysterious story but also to the way it was being told, which enriched the narrative and added to the escalating tension week after week. Framed by award-worthy performances by Glenn Close and Ted Danson as twisted, high-powered monsters out for each other's blood, Damages kept surprising viewers right up until the final moments of the season, when it revealed the biggest shocker of all. I'm glad I lost count yesterday, because it gave me reason to rave about Damages in two columns.

 

Next up are two deeply intertwined shows that can rightly occupy one position on this list: The current revival of the Sixties cult classic Doctor Who (the first three seasons of which were telecast on Sci Fi Channel) and its sexy and sizzling spin-off, Torchwood (now the highest rated series in the history of BBC America). These two series do more to stoke the imagination than any others on television, and what makes them doubly great is that even though they exist in essentially the same universe (give or take a few centuries from time to time), and even though characters move back and forth between the two (especially dashing time traveler Captain Jack Harkness), and even though fearsome aliens wreak havoc on both shows, Doctor Who and Torchwood are very different programs. Doctor Who is a modern day version of those exciting science fiction movies of yesteryear with a bit of the wit and wisdom of Star Trek tossed in. Torchwood is similarly wise and witty, but its dramatic moments are intensely emotional, and its sexual content might be a little too grown up for the kids. I can think of only two other spin-offs that were so completely different in tone from the shows that generated them: Lou Grant, the newsroom drama centered on a character from the sparkling sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Trapper John, M.D., a medical drama featuring a character from the genre-busting comedy M*A*S*H. But Lou and Mary, like Trapper and M*A*S*H, existed in different time frames, and characters on Lou and Trapper rarely acknowledged their mother shows. Conversely, Doctor Who and Torchwood often feed off of and compliment each other, even though both stand strong on their own.

 

Remaining in fantasy mode, ABC's Lost also belongs on a list of 2007's near best. This is quite a surprise, considering that the first six episodes of its third season, which ran in the fall of 2006, were dreadful misfires on many levels and killed the show's hard-earned momentum. But the remaining episodes of season three quickly restored fans' faith in executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. There were several 2007 episodes, in fact, that can be counted as some of the best ever on this series (Paulo and Nikki! Juliet before the island! Hugo the Van Man!). The startling season finale, with its dramatic flash-forward, was the best of all. We'll get the first eight episodes of season four starting in late January. Expectations are through the roof.

 

Also worth special recognition is TNT's The Closer, which in its third season became the most entertaining detective series on television. Kyra Sedgwick may never win an Emmy for her heartfelt portrayal of quietly complicated and conflicted LAPD Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson -- not when her competitors include Glenn Close in Damages, Sally Field in Brothers and Sisters, Holly Hunter in Saving Grace and Minnie Driver in The Riches -- but the surging fan base for this show will undoubtedly continue to grow next year.

 

The last runner up on the list is ABC's Dancing with the Stars, which just ended its best season yet. This live competition show was the most exciting series on television during a fall season that was decidedly less than lively overall. As much fun as it is to watch celebrities in play, I find that after five editions I tune in as much to watch the professional dancers who are the partners and teachers to the stars. (Julianne Hough, partner to spring winner Apolo Anton Ohno and fall champ Helio Castroneves, is now a celebrity in her own right, and her talented brother Derek is on a rapid rise.) I also enjoy host Tom Bergeron (the best in the business) and the commentary by and chemistry between judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli. Their criticism of the dancers is always fresh, specific and highly instructive. It really means something -- unlike the repetitive non-commentary by Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell on American Idol.

On that note, readers of various Jack Myers publications may recall that American Idol not only made my Top 10 lists every year from 2002-06, it frequently came in at No. 1 as the Program of the Year. How did it fare this time around? The answer lies within my Top 10 of 2007. You might be surprised!

Post a Comment

---

1. Name or nickname:
   
2. Email:
   
3. Comment:
   

• "Camp Rock" Takes Kids' Music to New Heights
• Advertising Depression: It's Here and It's Sustained. Down 2.4% for 2008; -6.7% for 2009; and -2.3% for 2010
• "Attack of the Show," "Supernatural," "Doctor Who," "Weeds" and More: The Top Ten List You Won’t See Anywhere Else
• NBC and Jay Leno Put Broadcast Television in Play
• "Big Brother 9" Ignores the Obvious ... Again

• "Skins" and "Friday Night Lights" Top the Ten Best of 2008
• "Attack of the Show," "Supernatural," "Doctor Who," "Weeds" and More: The Top Ten List You Won’t See Anywhere Else
• NBC and Jay Leno Put Broadcast Television in Play
• Oprah Hits 2-0-0: Media Say "Oh, No, No!"
• "Boston Legal" Broadcast Blast: David E. Kelley vs. the Networks

The Best Scripted Cable Series of the Summer Was:

The Closer (TNT)

Saving Grace (TNT)

Burn Notice (USA)

In Plain Sight (USA)

Eureka (Sci Fi Channel)

General Hospital: Night Shift (SOAPnet)

Mad Men (AMC)

Weeds (Showtime)

view results