2009 TV Year-End Awards

So the TV Awards didn't have quite as many participants as the wrestling one -- which is expected, since I only opened it up last week. But I did find that the "Other" option appeared quite prominently in this survey, so I do implore anybody who participated that voted for the "Other" choice to sound off their suggestion in the Comments section.

Most enjoyable new show of 2009: The Vampire Diaries

Sure, this show had the momentum of True Blood's incredible second season working for it (as well as that whole Twilight phenomena), but The Vampire Diaries really was the stand out new show of the year. Not too shabby considering it resides on TV's red headed stepchild, the CW. The characters are compelling (not to mention disturbingly good looking), the heroes are flawed but easy to root for, and the antagonist is a really fun, entertaining asshole. Honestly, I didn't know Boone had this in him!

The one criticism is eerily similar to that of the first season of Heroes. When you give so much early on, is there enough material to sustain the story for several years? Lets hope that this vampire tale does a better job than our extraordinary friends.

What you said: Glee

FlashForward and Community also received votes. I'm not surprised to see Glee win, as many people I know see it. In fact, my Facebook newsfeed is usually clogged up with Glee quotes and references. The episode I've seen was pretty good, as well.

Show canceled in 2009 with the most potential: Harper's Island

To be perfectly honest, I actually didn't watch any of the shows that I offered as options. I became aware of Harper's Island after the fact, and even though it was basically just I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (almost to a tee), it seems like the type of show I would have enjoyed. Plus Katie Cassidy was on it, who I love as Ella on Melrose Place.

What you said: Other

Dollhouse also received a vote. I am curious what particular shows people referred to when they voted "Other" -- comment below!

Biggest disappointment of 2009: Heroes

I am going to vote for Heroes here, but I do want to also point out that shows like Grey's Anatomy I used to be able to watch. Now merely seeing a 30 second commercial for the show makes me cringe. And I'm not even exaggerating. Seeing a commercial honestly is borderline painful. However, I never really cared enough about the show to have an emotional attachment to it. So, in my eyes, it's merely an atrocity. It's not particularly "disappointing."

With Heroes, I see a show that has so much potential to be great. There are some good characters, some talented actors, and an interesting premise. It seems, to me, that the writers and decision makers simply aren't very good. In fact, if you go back to my reviews of the show back in its glory year, you'll notice that I pointed out a few times that the writing wasn't all that great. At the time, though, the characters were easy to care about. Now that poor writing is catching up on them. That is to say, three years of poor writing is making it difficult to care about the characters, and that was the essence and strength of the series.

Everybody -- including myself -- has talked about killing off unnecessary characters in order to "save" the show. While that would no doubt help, perhaps a better solution would be to clean house of the powers that be and pick up writers and producers with a better track record. I don't know anything about Tim Kring, but I can't help but assume that he's a big part of the problem.

What you said: Heroes

This was unanimous. Kinda telling, no?

Best series finale of 2009: Prison Break

For me, it was between ER and Prison Break. I thought ER had a fantastic, somewhat understated (and I mean that in a good way) finale. It brought us up to speed on some old favorites, while not totally ignoring the characters that have helmed the ship for the past few years. It also showed us that life will go on with these characters, and that they're going to be okay. But I ultimately had to give the nod to Prison Break because, inherently, there was more on the line for their series wrap up. They had questions to answer, issues to resolve, all while concluding their game of cat and mouse. And I have to say, they did a pretty good job.

What you said: Other

Prison Break and ER also received votes. Again, sound off below to let me know what you had in mind when you voted "Other."

Series least likely to be picked up for another season: Melrose Place

As you'll see below, the obvious choices all got votes. Out of those "obvis," I think I'm leaning towards Melrose Place. I think ABC will risk another year with FlashForward and V, hoping that all those dejected Lost viewers will hitch onto them. And Heroes, well, that show could honestly go either way. My thought process is that it's still a relatively popular show on a struggling network that doesn't have many hits. At the moment, though, Melrose Place is sticking out like a sore thumb. Other new shows like Vampire Diaries have really struck, and it's being paired with a show that is garnering much more positive reviews (90210).

What you said: Four way tie - Heroes, Melrose Place, V, FlashForward

Most enjoyable cable series of 2009: True Blood

This wasn't an easy decision for me, as it ultimately came down to True Blood and Curb Your Enthusiasm. So I was basically voting for a genre more than anything else. It's comparing apples and oranges, so I wouldn't necessarily say that I enjoyed True Blood more than Curb, but I just felt that True Blood was so superbly written and acted this past season. There was some great character development and some exciting stories. Having said that, I do believe that Curb had the stronger finale.

What you said: Four way tie - True Blood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Other


I hope everybody has a safe and happy new year!!