Every time I check my fantasy basketball team, I beam like a
proud father at Luol Deng’s stat line.
Deng, a third-year forward for the Chicago Bulls, is currently
one of my most productive players. As a ninth-round pick,
he’s paying insane dividends.
Why did I pick Deng? Simply because for an NBA player, the third
season of his career essentially makes or breaks him. As
ESPN’s Bill Simmons noted, a player’s third season is
either when he makes “the leap” (to stardom) or when he
starts to question whether he’s a bust.
This can be applied to television ““ often, a third season
is when a show either hits its stride or runs into a creative wall.
Here are some examples of what happened when some of my favorite
shows reached season three, with comparisons to third-year players
on my fantasy team to boot.
“LOST”: In a way,
“Lost” is my Josh Smith (of the Atlanta Hawks) in that
it’s underachieving in a breakout year, with Smith’s
surprising propensity for blocked shots akin to the show’s
pleasantly random moment when Sawyer won a fish biscuit. It’s
too early to say whether it will hit a wall, but it’s thrown
a wrench into its leap season by starting slowly and hitting the
disabled list (a nice metaphor for its ill-timed hiatus).
“24”: An example of a show hitting
a wall and recovering. A less-compelling plot, weakly-structured
narrative and the Denise Richards-as-a-nuclear-scientist twist of
Kim Bauer working in CTU (no cougars, sadly) combined to make a
weak third season. Since then, it’s rebounded like J.R. Smith
of the Denver Nuggets ““ unwanted and unloved for two years,
then skyrocketing. Just replace basketball with the terrorism
storyline.
“BATTLESTAR GALACTICA”: Some were
put off by the show’s occupation story line. I, however,
found it to be a multifaceted (though not subtle) critique of the
war in Iraq, with humans playing the role of insurgents. Moreover,
the occupation gave way to strained relationships, notably between
Apollo and Starbuck, Tigh and Adama, and Baltar and everybody else.
With the fleet reunited, the show is proceeding as it had before,
asking tough questions. The latest: Is genocide ever okay? You
won’t see that on “Stargate: SG-1.” Like the
Atlanta Hawks’ Zaza Pachulia (a fourth-year, I cheated):
continually solid while languishing in relative obscurity.
“VERONICA MARS”: My imaginary
girlfriend had to deal with a tough transition to college. This can
kill a show, and the early going was rough. One charming aspect of
the show was its high school setting and the way Veronica
interacted with those around her, students and faculty alike. Early
this season, situations felt less organic and new characters like
Piz and Parker seemed thrown in. Plus it seemed like everyone
Veronica knew ended up at Hearst College with her. Thankfully, the
recent resolution of the serial rapist mystery played out
marvelously, with the strong connection between Veronica and Logan
(who continues to be one of the best-written characters on TV)
returning to the forefront. Plus, the integration of
Veronica’s high school friends and the aforementioned new
characters finally seems to be working. Though I could have done
without that poorly-acted Patty Hearst cameo.
“Veronica” is like Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic:
shockingly solid early on, but facing stiff competition (fellow
point guard Carlos Arroyo) equals cancellation by the CW.
“THE OFFICE”: Here’s a show
that unequivocally made the leap. While “The Office”
had a strong second season, this third season hit the ground
running and hasn’t missed a beat. The premiere, “Gay
Witch Hunt,” in which Michael inadvertently outs Oscar, was
one of the series’ best episodes to date. From there, the
laughs have been nonstop, from Dwight’s plot to take over the
office (with an appointment with a dentist named Crentist as an
alibi), to the addition of Ed Helms of “The Daily Show”
to the cast and the new employees the office gained when it merged
with the Stamford branch. Plus, the Jim and Pam drama has taken a
wild turn with Jim now dating his co-worker, the (way hot) Karen
Fillipelli. Clearly my Luol Deng.
Now if only it could cure my team’s turnover woes too.
Tune in next week when Humphrey chides you for not watching
“The Wire” in his “Best of 2006″ column.
E-mail him at mhumphrey@media.ucla.edu.