communication breakdown

Take note: the label of "Best Show on TV" is firmly up-for-grabs after this lackluster season of my favorite show. You know there are issues when the producers themselves acknowledge that the season wasn't very good because it was too much rehash of previous seasons. No good characters (except Jack), no good villains, very few good storylines... unless the creators take hold of the reins and make some drastic changes, this show is going to risk falling into the same mire of mediocrity where most shows spend their entire existence. It should be noticed that it was still an enjoyable season of TV, but this show has set an impossibly high standard for itself. With regard to all the criticism this season will likely get, all I can say is that they brought this upon themselves by offering up so many consistent years of phenomenal television prior to this season.

Many wondered where a show called "Prison Break" could go after the show's premise (readers who guessed "breaking out of prison" can pat themselves on the back now) was completed in Season 1. I admit this critique seemed fair, which is all the more reason that the naysayers should give credit where credit is due. Season 2 might not have been as tight, focused and all-around excellent as the first season (when does that ever happen anyways?), but it stands on its own as a very good season of TV. The writers took lots of risk with the story, which they practically had to do since the show no longer took place in prison. Instead they chose to focus primarily on the conspiracy that was the secondary story of Season 1, with excellent results. They've positioned themselves to a place where they have plenty of content to continue this show for the foreseeable future, and there's no reason to think the quality is going to drop anytime soon. The finale deserves extra kudos, for being as confusing and intriguing as an episode of "Lost".

It kills me to say this, but "The Shield" lost a step this year. Not a huge one, but a step nonetheless. Coming off the best season yet, Season 6 simply couldn't stand up to last year's tour-de-force 11-episode whirlwind. You could make a case for this season needing to be more mellow, so as not to resolve too many plotlines before next year's final season, but the fact remains that while still exciting and groundbreaking, it was probably the weakest season thus far. Mostly I blame this on some seemingly useless storylines (for secondary characters) that seemed to go nowhere; consequently this meant less storyline for the main Vic-Shane showdown, which should have bore the brunt of this season's time. Though I do feel a bit let down and hate having to wait a whole year for Season 7, I have no doubt that the creators will send this show off with a bang (or, perhaps, multiple shotgun blasts).

Despite its slow start, Lost really stepped it up a notch in the second-half of the season, and answered all its critics with tons of answers and plenty of new questions too. While it might be initially frustrating to get one answer for every two questions, the one thing that is clear to me is that the writers know exactly what they're doing, and have a plan for how the story will resolve itself. Because of this, I'm willing to let them mystify me for as long as it takes, knowing that at one point, even if not till the very end, there will be resolution. Lost is without a doubt the king of office water-cooler TV talk, and this season only served to reinforce that. Criticize it if you will, but no show is as fun to watch and to discuss as Lost.

ER is practically dead, and probably should have been ended 3 or 4 years ago; at this point I'm simply watching because, hey, I had watched 12, so why not 13? I expect it to end soon (please God, next year!) so I'm willing to put up with a little sub-par programming just to see how everything ends and get a sense of completion from the whole thing. There were a couple decent episodes here and there, but for the most part this is uninspired TV. Similar to where "24" is starting to head, ER is characterized by uninteresting characters and recycled stories; the magic is clearly gone. I must give credit for one thing though: "ER" knows how to do finales. Clearly the best episode of the season, there was a real shocker there that almost made the season worth watching.

As you can tell, I've been less than impressed with most of my favorite shows lately, and Scrubs is no exception. While it hasn't suffered from the loss of great characters like "24" and "ER", it still feels played out in this, its sixth season. There's only so far you can take this quirky comedy before it all feels recycled. It didn't help that this seemed like the last season (and was being set up as so), only to have NBC renew it for at least one more year. Let's hope that next season will see some new interesting stories and a new take on this quirky comedic style that used to be so fresh.

Like "ER", I watched the last couple seasons of this show simply to see it through to completion. As one might expect, this was the weakest season yet, and doesn't bear much comment, except to note that the show is now over. The finale, to its credit, was a phenomenal episode; while it did suffer from some of the crappy writing that plagued the rest of the season, for the most part it was fun, thoughtful, and poignant. I doubt the final moments of the show could have been written any better. "The O.C." was probably the oddest entry in my TV schedule; it was not at all like anything else I watched, and thus it provided some interesting contrast. It started great and ended pretty good, with some decent times in-between, so I can't really complain.

With the fading of "Scrubs" and cancellation of "Arrested Development", "The Office" has stepped up and taken its place as the best comedy on TV (with the possible exception of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"). Michael and his crew are still as funny as ever; the writing is still funny and fresh, and the creators have also succeeded in making characters that aren't just funny, but are likable, too; which opens a whole new set of storylines regarding character development, such as the Jim-Pam crowd pleaser. "The Office" is up there with Lost in terms of water-cooler conversation, as the jokes are just as funny the next morning as they were in the show. Let's hope this show continues to be funny and daring next season.

Oh boy. We might have seen the best days of "Hustle" go by long ago. This season was a textbook example of what usually happens to a show that loses its lead actor (in this case, Adrian Lester). In short, it wasn't very good; the "new" leader isn't suited in the role, and the replacement team member is practically useless, and isn't a very good actor either. On top of all this, the plots were a bit too contrived, even for a show like this which demands much suspension of disbelief. I hate to say it, but if Adrian Lester doesn't return, this show will be dead in the water - which would be a shame.