Another TV season has come and gone, and in recent weeks, we’ve seen various shows close out their seasons. Some of these shows delivered stellar seasons of entertainment for us. Others, not so much. One stalwart show stumbled badly, while another returned to prominence. And a duo of comedies emerged this year to provide the best one-two punch of laughs since Jerry Seinfeld left the airwaves. Without further ado, here’s a look at how some of my favorite shows fared this season.
“24” ““ Season six started out on a promising note, with some impressive new cast members (Peter MacNicol, Powers Boothe, Regina King), and its fourth episode ended with a literal bang (not to mention a mushroom cloud). From there, though, to say that the wheels fell off is a massive understatement. “24” has always been a show that has relied on the ridiculous, not to mention suspension-of-disbelief, but this season it lapsed into complete self-parody. Among its missteps included focusing far too much on a boring White House plotline, relegating Jack Bauer to essentially making cameos in his own show (fact: In one episode, Jack didn’t show up until 30 minutes had elapsed), writing itself into corners with outrageous plotlines, recycling plot twists from previous seasons left and right, and most of all, introducing Jack Bauer’s evil family and completely wasting James Cromwell. Supposedly, huge changes are planned for next year, and this show needs them. Sure, it was exciting when the show was killing off every single character, but this has left us with no one to care about besides Jack. Hopefully the show can bounce back, because in just one season, “24” went from TV’s most exciting show to the most dull. GRADE: D-
“Heroes” ““ For most of the season, I wasn’t sure why I was watching “Heroes.” Here was a show, after all, which was poorly written, had pretty bad acting, cribbed from numerous comic book sources and really seemed to treat viewers like they were morons (Seriously, do we have to be reminded every time the scene changes who it is we’re watching and where the scene is taking place?). I didn’t care for most of the year though, because something about it kept bringing me back. Episodes like “Company Man,” the cool sepia-toned origin episode of Claire’s sometimes-evil-but-not-really dad Noah, made the show appointment viewing. “Heroes,” unfortunately, was unable to overcome its flaws as the season drew to a close, trying to wrap things up as quickly as possible in a really slapdash way (the final Peter-Sylar fight was laughably bad). Plus, the last part of the season ripped heavily from established comic stories like Alan Moore’s “Watchmen” (Linderman’s evil plan was almost word-for-word identical to Ozymandias’) and X-Men’s “Days of Future Past.” The funny thing is that the show is called “the anti-“˜Lost'” because it actually gives answers to questions. But is it really worth it when the questions and answers end up being so dumb? GRADE: C
“30 Rock” ““ Who would’ve thought this would not only outlast the similarly themed “Studio 60,” but end up being so mind-blowingly superior (not to mention hilarious)? You can point to Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Kenneth the Page or the simply unbelievable Alec Baldwin, but “30 Rock” succeeds for one simple reason: It presents an utterly wild atmosphere which isn’t entirely dependent on its premise to pull huge laughs. Whereas “Studio 60″ was obsessed with the fact that it was a behind-the-scenes look at a sketch comedy show and treated itself as the most important show on TV, “30 Rock” presents a bunch of wacky characters and situations that could exist completely outside of the sketch comedy show setting. Case in point: the showdown between Baldwin and guest star Will Arnett, during which Arnett tells Baldwin that he’s going down. Baldwin’s response: “No,” with a long pause, followed by “I don’t do that.” And that’s without mentioning hysterical plotlines like Tracy’s “Jefferson” movie, Liz Lemon’s latent “racism,” and pretty much anything Kenneth the Page does. Trust me, just watch this one ““ it’s almost better than “The Office.” Almost. GRADE: B+
“The Office” ““ This show has handled a “will-they-or-won’t-they” love story better than any show in recent memory. The back-and-forth Pam-Jim-Karen drama was executed pretty masterfully this year, wonderfully portraying a love triangle in a natural way (with so much passive-aggression it’ll make your head explode). And that’s not even mentioning all the other insanity going on in the Dunder-Mifflin offices. This season included some hilariously awkward moments like the “Gay Witch Hunt” episode, in which Michael Scott inadvertently outed a gay employee and “A Benihana Christmas,” in which Michael tried to get over being dumped by hitting on two Asian women that he can’t tell apart. The show is moving into the coveted Thursday at 9 p.m. time slot that has heretofore been reserved for shows like “Seinfeld” and “Cheers.” If there’s any sitcom worthy of filling those big shoes, it’s certainly “The Office.” GRADE: A-
“Lost” ““ Man, has this one made a triumphant comeback. When the season began, “Lost” was in a serious funk, opening with a six-episode “mini-season” in the fall, then disappearing for three months. The problem was that these first six episodes were the show’s lowest point, with too much focus on the Others and some severely disjointed storytelling that completely ignored some characters. I actually forgot Sayid was still on the show for a while. When the show returned, it reached rock bottom with the lousy “OMG, what do Jack’s tattoos mean?” episode. I almost gave up on the show at this point, as it didn’t seem to be going anywhere. And then it began. Starting with “Tricia Tanaka is Dead,” a Hurley-centric episode, the show found its legs again and built toward a thrilling climax. Along the way, questions about Sun’s pregnancy, the true purpose of Juliet’s position with the Others, and what really happened with the DHARMA Initiative were answered, with plenty of compelling new questions raised (“You remember birthdays, don’t you, Richard?”). Then came the season finale, which was billed as a “cataclysmic game-changer.” And oh man, was it ever. I’d be willing to say that this season’s finale was one of the best season finales I have ever seen. Period. I won’t say what happens, because it’s just that mind-boggling, and it makes any meandering plotting that took place over three seasons unquestionably worth it. “Lost” wandered in the desert for about a season and a half, but now it’s back with a vengeance. January can’t get here soon enough. GRADE: A
For a season that began with a number of fascinating new shows and ideas (including a run on serialized dramas), the 2006-2007 season ended up closing appropriately, with “Lost,” the best serialized show on TV, slapping everyone else upside the head (“Heroes” especially) and reminding them how to deliver a satisfying payoff to a television audience.
Well, everyone except for “The Wire,” anyway.
Humphrey hopes Express Mart will give him a job after he graduates. E-mail him at mhumphrey@media.ucla.edu.