End of Decade Blowout pt 6: Top 20 TV Shows, 10-1

10. Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
Network: Cartoon Network
Commentary: This show got off to a bit of a slow start, as they were trying to figure out who the characters were and what type of plots they wanted. Season 2 of Justice League was where the show started to heat up. However, Season 1 of Justice League Unlimited is really where it's at here, with tons of awesome characters and an ongoing plot that I think qualifies as really insightful. It's definitely one of the best seasons of all time, and while the rest of the series was good, it never did quite manage to live up to that one. Still, good enough to jump this into the top 10.

9. Home Movies
Network: Cartoon Network
Commentary: This was far from the most hyped show from the Adult Swim block, but in my opinion it stands out as the best. The voice work is hilarious, as is the touching relationship between Coach and Brendan. Basically, all the characters are funny, and the plots are consistently fun and inventive. One of the funniest shows of the decade, maybe the number one funniest.

8. Futurama
Network: Fox
Commentary: The show never did reach the heights of The Simpsons at its best, but it still manages to consistently bring laughs, and the characters are interesting and likable enough that the show is still interesting even when the jokes don't work. Lots of great episodes here and, honestly, I've found that they haven't held up great upon multiple re-viewings, but I'll still rep for them.

7. Phil of the Future
Network: Disney Channel
Commentary: Yet another show I've written much about on this blog. All in all, I still think it has an outstanding young cast and that the Phil/Keely relationship was well done and genuinely touching. Aly Michalka is great, Kay Panabaker is hilarious, and the show's jokes genuinely work on their own merits, very rare for a show of this type.

6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Network: FX
Commentary: This show has no depth or characters, so it relies 100% on the merits of its own jokes to succeed. Fortunately, the joke writing is spectacular, definitely the best of any show this decade, so the show consistently manages to generate laughs and entertainment. But don't take my word for it, www.itsalwayssunnyepisodes.com has all the episodes online for free!

5. How I Met Your Mother
Network: CBS
Commentary: Every time I do one of these lists, I always go in thinking It's Always Sunny is going to rank as the highest sitcom, because it's the funniest show of the decade, but I always end up coming back to this one. The reason is, it's legitimately very funny on its own merits, but it also has great plots and characters, which makes it much more consistently watchable than Sunny. Ultimately, they're both great shows, but I give the slight edge to HIMYM's depth versus Sunny's better jokes.

4. The 4400
Network: USA
Commentary: It still surprises me how much I love/loved this show, but I think it managed to be the most consistently well plotted drama of the decade. My theory is that the shorter seasons of this show versus, say Lost or Heroes force it to make stuff happen in every episode. And the show did have a breakneck pace, so even when one particular plot thread didn't work out, it was constantly moving on to another more interesting one. But all the plot threads always came together in interesting ways, and they very impressively managed to blow up the show and start all over again in each season. This is a show that just got better and better as time went on.

3. Friday Night Lights
Network: NBC
Commentary: It's hard for me to say much about this show, since it's one of the only critical consensus shows on my top 20 and I therefore don't feel a need to speak out in its defense. Much like everybody else who has seen the show, I love the characters, I find the acting amazing (particularly from Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton), and the plots are compelling. Actually, I think too much was made of the season 2 swoon, it still managed to be quality TV. Season 1 of this is probably the second best season of any TV show this decade though, and that alone makes it deserve this slot.

2. Freaks and Geeks
Network: NBC
Commentary: Yeah, yeah, it's funny and incredibly well-realized, and painfully realistic, and all those other critical cliches people love to lob at it. The geeks are great comic relief, but the freaks are really where the show is at, since their drama was usually more interesting. All in all a well-balanced show. Let's just say that I agree with everybody else and move on.

1. Joan of Arcadia
Network: CBS
Commentary: Well, if you know me at all, or if you've read this blog a bit, this will come as no surprise to you. I dedicated an entire rambling, lunatic post to this show four and a half years ago (it can be read here), and as embarrassing as it reads today, I still mean every word. There's absolutely no doubt to me that it's the best show of all time.

End of Decade Blowout pt 5: Top 20 TV Shows, 20-11

Here's the list of my 20 favorite TV shows of the decade. Some preliminary notes:

1) Shows are rated entirely based on how much pleasure they gave me to watch.
2) For the few shows on here that span the 90's and 00's, they are rated on the entirety of their body of work. I only included shows whose 2000s output alone was enough to get them on the list though (e.g. No Simpsons)
3) There are a lot of top critically acclaimed shows this decade I have never seen. A LOT. Like, all of them. So, for example why aren't Mad Men or The Sopranos or The Wire or Battlestar Galactica or pretty much any other show that would make any respectable critic's top 10 on my list? Maybe I would like them maybe I wouldn't. I often disagree with critical consensus. But it's a moot point, because I've never seen them.

Enough caveats, let's see the list.

20. Eli Stone
Network: ABC
Commentary: This is one of the few hour long dramas to make an appearance on the list, but it's an outstanding, very uplifting show that always makes me happy to watch. The characters and were generally well done, and I liked all of the actors, especially Johnny Lee Miller as Eli Stone himself. Overall a fun happy show, in a mold that's right up my alley. The plots, however, were not consistently good enough for me to be able to rate the show higher.

19. Scrubs
Network: NBC, then ABC
Commentary: For a few year stretch, this was the most consistently funny sitcom on TV. Now, it significantly fell off after that, and constant repeats have worn even those episodes a little thin, but it still made me laugh a lot and deserves a placement. This is a tough one because it has less rewatchability than most of the other shows, but it has memorable characters and good joke writing and overall executes well, even if it did all wear thin after a while.

18. Strange Days at Blake Holsey High
Network: Discovery Kids
Commentary: Interested readers are directed to an entire very long post I dedicated to this show all the way back in 2006: "Fave TV Shows of All Time, Vol 2.: Strange Days at Blake Holsey High"

17. American Idol
Network: Fox
Commentary: A lot of people seem to not like this show, but it's a classic. Its pop culture impact this decade is unrivaled by any other show, and it still remains consistently entertaining. Yes, the quality of the show fluctuates up and down depending on the quality of the contestants, but I've generally found the show does a great job of playing up the drama in an enjoyable way. Plus, the show produced Katharine McPhee and Brooke White, so there's something right there.

16. House
Network: USA
Commentary: This one is kind of hard to rank because it is very formulaic, and has had about as many bad and boring episodes as great episodes. Overall, the formula has gotten very stale, and I've mostly lost interest in watching the show, but it was/is a genuinely great formula and Hugh Laurie is, of course, brilliant and quite possibly the TV actor of the decade. This is a very boom and bust show; it's given me some of the most entertainment of any show this decade, but also probably more idle boredom than any other show on the list.

15. Unfabulous
Network: Nickelodeon
Commentary: I hate to keep doing this, but when I've already dedicated multiple posts to a show, it seems pointless to make any additional commentary.

14. Monk
Network: USA
Commentary: Tony Shalhoub does a great job with a very original and fun character. OK, the plots and mysteries are generally pretty lame, but overall the characters and the comedy still make this a great show. I was originally sad when Bitty Schram left, but Traylor Howard has been great, even though the show itself has significantly declined. But the show had about 3 legitimately great and funny seasons, and that's enough to get it here.

13. True Life
Network: MTV
Commentary: The episodes in this show have a pretty wide range in quality, but no show this decade has more effectively run the gamut between hilarious, interesting, dramatic, and informational like this one has. It generally finds the right tone for each story it tells and finds interesting characters to talk about. Some are a little boring, but rarely do they seem like a pointless waste of time.

12. Six Feet Under
Network: HBO
Commentary: Some of the most interesting characters and best acting of the decade, even if it does get a bit dreary at times (and by at times, I mean constantly). Sure, sometimes you wish they would just throw the Fishers a bone here and there, but the plots and characters manage to almost always be executed well so it's hard to complain too much.

11. The Mole
Network: ABC
Commentary: In my opinion, the best reality show of the decade. The concept of the show was killer, Anderson Cooper was a great host, and the challenges were well designed and fun to watch. Even the celebrity episodes were good, because of the inherent entertainment of the concept and the great execution. Of course, the guessing game of who is the mole is the most entertaining part, and they always managed to give just enough information for it to be fun.

But with all these great shows gone already, what makes the top 10? Wait and see!

Top 10 TV Shows of 2008

It is time for annual listing here at the TCR. As currently stands, I will do a top 10 TV shows and tracks list. The albums list and movies lists are not feasible because I have been so out of touch with those this year. My favorite album of the year is Bittersweet World and my favorite movie is American Teen, with Bigger, Faster, Stronger and Iron Man and Dark Knight close. Here's TV.

My annual caveat still applies. I do not watch any HBO or Showtime shows or most of the other critically acclaimed dramas. Would I like The Wire or Mad Men or Dexter or Damages if I gave them a chance? Probably. But I've never seen them and I probably never will and that's just not the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. Probably that invalidates my list, but I still do it anyways cause it's fun. Here's the list:

10. Wizards of Waverly Place - I like to leave one slot on my list for whatever is my favorite teen show du jour. In prior years this slot has been taken by Unfabulous and Phil of the Future. For now, this is the best show of its type, and while it isn't nearly up to the level of those shows it's still a very cute and entertaining show and some of its jokes do make you laugh. So the cuteness alone gets it this far.

9. Burn Notice - This is one of the most fun shows on TV, with its easy mix of action and drama and comedy. The plots are light and breezy but they are always paced well and they always set up good action. All in all it's a really fun entry to the landscape of TV.

8. American Idol - This show brought us Brooke White this season, definitely my favorite ever reality show contestant. It was a lackluster season otherwise, Chizekie's "She's a Woman" notwithstanding, but Brooke alone drives it this high.

7. House - I had a really hard time rating this show, just like last year, and for the exact same reason as last year. Season 4 was some kind of freaky creative renaissance for this show. The last half of season 4 was awesome, featuring great episodes like the one with Mira Sorvino, but the first half of season 5 has been extremely subpar. The process of getting the new team was a ton of fun, but the new team themselves is nothing too great, and it means less time for Dr. Cameron hotness. I've grown very bored of this show.

6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - I think this show is still really funny. The last season was a little spotty, but there were definitely some classic episodes and moments. The episode where Mac and Charlie fake their deaths and the episode in the 18th century were particular highlights. The spark may be ever so slightly gone here compared to early seasons, but I still love the show.

5. Greek - In all honesty, probably the drama show of the year where I was most invested in the characters. All of the characters and storylines are a ton of fun. The show moves at a really brisk pace and it never gets bogged down in boring details but generally gives the storylines some space to breathe. I dunno, it could rank higher, but the show is so incredibly lightweight and I do love the 4 shows above it. I'm very eagerly awaiting the next season, regardless.

4. Eli Stone - Such an uplifting show! This is the heir apparent to Joan of Arcadia in my mind, and while it never reaches the heights of that show, the relentless enthusiasm and optimism makes this show really enjoyable. It just makes me really happy to watch the show, and the cancellation was really sad to me.

3. How I Met Your Mother - The basic feel and quality of this show has remained totally unchanged over the last few years. It's still consistently funny and it still nails the emotional character drama moments. The mixture of emotion and comedy make this a consistently interesting show, even during the poorer episodes.

2. True Life - I watched every new episode of this show in 2008, and pretty much all of the episodes were worth watching. The shows tend to range from really funny to genuinely interesting to really sad, and they always seem to hit the right tone for whatever topic they've picked. I think this show is by far the best reality show on TV, and the way it can consistently hit all the right notes is very impressive, landing it all the way this high.

1. Friday Night Lights - The third season on DirecTV was really good, and the second season improved towards the end. This is still the best show on TV, thanks to its realistic drama, great tension, and ability to hit emotional buttons.

New to the top 10: Wizards of Waverly Place, Burn Notice, American Idol, Eli Stone, True Life- Two brand new shows that didn't exist in 2007, one show that hit a new level in its second season, one show I had been unjustly ignoring over the last couple years (True Life), and Brooke White.

Falling Out: Pushing Daisies, The 4400, Unfabulous, 30 Rock, World Series of Pop Culture- 3 of these shows aired no episodes in 2008 due to cancellation. Of the other two, 30 Rock is a show that has never really grabbed me. I watched it enough in 2007 that it snuck its way to the bottom of my top 10, but I've never been too crazy about it. Pushing Daisies, I just lost interest in for no real reason. It was off the air for a long while due to the strike, and when it came back in I just realized I had no real desire to watch it any more. Sorry.

Wizards of Waverly Place

Reviving the dead blog, to speak of Wizards of Waverly Place. Well, that's as good a reason as any. There's actually a few things I want to talk of them, we'll see how many of them actually make it to posts.

There is a new live action Disney show that I haven't really discussed on this blog, and that show is Wizards of Waverly Place (notwithstanding shows such as Cory in the House or iCarly which I also haven't talked about but which I also have nothing to say about). I have to say that I think it is now the best live action tween/teen/whatever show on TV. Which is not to say that it's on the level of Phil of the Future or Unfabulous but it is a solid second tier Disney/Nick show, much better than Naked Brothers Band and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and other such detritus.

Absolutely, Selena Gomez is the breakout star of this show, but I was and continue to be surprised that the show is as focused on the David Henrie character as it is. Justin plays just as strong a role in most episodes as Alex does, and in many episodes a stronger role. On the whole, they are probably about equal characters. That places the show in the same vein as an Even Stevens or even a Phil of the Future featuring two siblings who are roughly equal characters with separate plots in most episodes. The difference is that Alex and Justin interact a lot more in the episodes than do Ren and Louis or Pim and Phil, which makes their relationship more important and real. That's good to see because I don't think there have ever been any other Disney shows which featured a meaningful sibling relationship. This is not mentioning the Max character, who is indeed completely pointless on the show. But the Alex and Justin characters are two of the strongest and most likable characters I've ever seen on a Disney show.

Then there are the parent characters. There's a spectrum of parent characters on Disney shows and it goes as follows. The parents on Phil of the Future were funny and prominent characters who often featured in plots and jokes. The parents on Even Stevens were 100% pointless except as advice outlets and occasional plot devices. The parents on Lizzie McGuire were somewhere in between. Wizards falls close to Lizzie on this scale, though it does veer close to Even Stevens on occasion. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though I do feel that at times the characters do get excessive face time given their general pointlessness 90% of the time.

But I'm not criticizing the actors, because they do a pretty good job with what they have! In fact, all of the actors are pretty good. I particularly like Selena Gomez, who is far better than Miley Cyrus, though well below the Emma Roberts/Aly Michalka level. But she's cute and she handles the drama OK and usually delivers the jokes pretty good. David Henrie also does a very good job as the older brother character. Further, the show is packed with great and usually really cute plots and situations, and it has a good cast of suitably wacky supporting characters (though the Harper character has to be the most pointless main credits character in Diz history, even more pointless than Oliver, and that's saying something. I would be so mad if I was Jennifer Stone.). In fact I would say the cuteness of plots and amusing side characters are right up there with any other show of its type.

So if the plots and side characters are as good as Phil and Unfabulous why does it still rank well below those two? First, while Selena is v. good, she is just not up to the level of the outstanding work by Aly Michalka and Emma Roberts. Second, and there's no beating around the bush with this, the joke writing is almost undeniably terrible. Whereas those two shows, plus Even Stevens, would not uncommonly make me laugh on their own merits, I've found that the jokes on this show are at best ignorable and sometimes not even to that level. In fact, this show is even less funny than Hannah Montana, though the superior acting and supporting characters still rise it above that show in my opinion.

All in all, it can be tough sometimes to watch a show which is constantly hurling unfunny jokes at your head, but if you like cute shows I think it's well worth it anyways. I love the Alex and Justin characters, and the show is really cute, so that's enough to make me keep watching. Eventually Hannah Montana stopped improving, and the characters became annoying and the cuteness became old. I don't foresee that happening to this show because the characters are more dynamic and the actors are better than the ones on HM. But I've been wrong before so who knows.

Also, as I believe I've mentioned on this blog several times before, the show has an amazing theme song. Right up there with Hannah Montana even!

29th Annual Young Artist Awards

American Idol content will start only when the show really starts (i.e. when fan voting kicks in) and no earlier. In the meantime, here's the 29th Annual Young Artist Awards. Full nomination list is available on the YAA wesbsite. I could do actual research here, try to watch all the nominated shows and movies, etc. but I'm going with my extremely ill informed opinions here, lucky you.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Leading Young Actor

Alex Etel Miles Heizer Freddie Highmore Josh Hutcherson Jacob Kogan Logan Lerman Zach Mills Alex Neuberger Chris O’Neil Alejandro Polanco

"The Water Horse" "Rails & Ties" "August Rush" "Bridge to Terabithia" "Joshua" "3:10 To Yuma" "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" "Underdog" "The Last Mimzy" "Chop Shop"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Yikes, I was really not up on family films last year. I have never even heard of Joshua, Rails & Ties, or Chop Shop and, of the nominated movies, have only seen 3:10 to Yuma and Bridge to Terabithia. So I guess this is unfair, but my choice is Logan Lerman, who gave the best performance and starred in the best of the nominated films. (Logan is the reigning winner in this category.)

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Leading Young Actress

Gracie Bednarczyk Abigail Breslin Isamar Gonzales Kay Panabaker Dakota Blue Richards AnnaSophia Robb Emma Roberts Saoirse Ronan

"Grace Is Gone" "No Reservations" "Chop Shop" "Moondance Alexander" "The Golden Compass" "Bridge to Terabithia" "Nancy Drew" "Atonement"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Egad! This is a really tough category. We can quickly eliminate it down to KPB, AnnaSophia, Emma, and Saiorse, since I have seen none of the other nominated movies. Saiorse is actually nominated for the Academy Award. KPB is the patron saint of this blog (though, due to a lack of wide release I have not actually seen the film in question). AnnaSophia gave a decent performance in a decent film. Emma gave a great performance in a film I loved. Obviously, my choice here is Emma Roberts, though my guess is had I seen Moondance Alexander the choice would be much closer. As much as it hurts me to go against Kay, I can't give an award to somebody in a film I never saw, especially when there's already another great performance in the category.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Supporting Young Actor - Fantasy or Drama

Alex Ferris Dillon Freasier Soren Fulton Jordan Garrett Devon Gearhart Bailey Hughes Leon G. Thomas III

"The Invisible" "There Will Be Blood" "South of Pico" "Death Sentence" "Canvas" "Good Time Max" "August Rush"

TCR Endorsed Selection: They didn't split this category last year, and God only knows why they split it up into "Fantasy or Drama" vs. "Comedy" this year. I'd think Fantasy is a lot closer to Comedy than Drama, but whatever. I have not heard of a single one of these nominated films except There Will Be Blood, which I didn't see. N/A

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Supporting Young Actor - Comedy or Musical

Max Baldry Jimmy Bennett Zachary Gordon Dylan McLaughlin Graham Phillips Ed Sanders

"Mr. Bean’s Holiday" "Evan Almighty" "Georgia Rule" "Georgia Rule" "Evan Almighty" "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Ed Sanders. He gave an excellent performance in one of my favorite films of the year. An easy choice.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Supporting Young Actress

Jasmine Jessica Anthony Courtney Taylor Burness Hannah Lochner Taylor Momsen Jamia Simone Nash Keke Palmer Kristen Stewart

"1408" "Premonition" "Firehouse Dog" "Underdog" "August Rush" "Cleaner" "Into the Wild"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Can I just say that I don't understand these categories at all? Why is supporting young actor the only one that's split up? I don't get it... Anyways, though I once again haven't seen any of the films, in the absence of other indicators I'm going to give this to Keke Palmer, who I've liked a lot in everything I've seen her in. Unfair I suppose but that's how I roll.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Young Actor Aged 10 or Under

Nicholas Art Micah Berry Jackson Bond Bobby Coleman Nathan Gamble Samuel Garland Dakota Goyo Jeremy Karson Austin Williams

"The Nanny Diaries" "Things We Lost in the Fire" "The Invasion" "Martian Child" "The Mist" "The Reaping" "Resurrecting the Champ" "Music & Lyrics" "Michael Clayton"

TCR Endorsed Selection: In contrast to other categories, this category features three films from last year that I genuinely loved. Two made my top 10 list and the third ("Michael Clayton") would have except I forgot about it. None of the three actors had particularly memorable or important roles in their respective movies, but ultimately, Nathan Gamble gave the best performance, in my opinion.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Young Actress Aged 10 or Under

Rachel Covey Bailee Madison Megan McKinnon Madison Pettis Willow Smith Rhiannon Leigh Wryn

"Enchanted" "Bridge to Terabithia" "Project Grey" "The Game Plan" "I Am Legend" "The Last Mimzy"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Rachel Covey gives a good performance in my favorite film of the last few years. This is a no brainer.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Young Ensemble Cast
Bridge to Terabithia
Daddy Day Camp
The Last Mimzy
Nancy Drew

TCR Endorsed Selection: HMM, I really wonder. Nancy Drew. Note that Kay Panabaker and Amy Bruckner are included in the young ensemble cast for this, even though they have less than 5 minutes of screen time apiece, which means that I get to support both Emma and Kay here. Yay!

(I am skipping here various awards related to international films, short films, and TV movies/miniseries. Between the 6 categories I haven't heard of a single one of the actors or films nominated, so it's probably better to save space.)

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES/Leading Young Actor

Keir Gilchrist Noah Gray-Cabey Carter Jenkins Jamie Johnston Angus T. Jones Sean Keenan Kyle Massey Devon Werkheiser Tyler James Williams

"The Winner" "Heroes" "Viva Laughlin" "Degrassi: The Next Generation" "Two And A Half Men" "Lockie Leonard" "Corey In The House" "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" "Everybody Hates Chris"

TCR Endorsed Selection: I watch a lot more TV than movies so I'm more qualified on these categories. I've seen all the nominated shows except Viva Laughlin and Lockie Leonard (what the hell?). While I'm not crazy about any of the nominated performances, my opinion is that the best choice is Jamie Johnston. Heroes is the best nominated show, but Noah is kinda annoying. Kyle Massey is the reigning winner in this category, but his casual smugness has become kind of grating over time. The others are basically forgettable. That makes Jamie a default choice as much as anything, but he does a good job and would be a fine winner.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES/Leading Young Actress

Rhyon Nicole Brown Miranda Cosgrove Miley Cyrus Chloe Greenfield Emma Roberts Jamie Lynn Spears

"Lincoln Heights" "iCarly" "Hannah Montana" "ER" "Unfabulous" "Zoey 101"

TCR Endorsed Selection: My opinion is that the best choice would be Emma Roberts and if I really still have to explain that at this point then my blog truly has been a failure. (Miranda Cosgrove is quite good and Miley is improving, Emma is still way better. I would liked to have seen Selena Gomez nominated here.)

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES/Supporting Young Actor

Dean Collins Jason Dolley Alexander Gould Mitch Holleman Mark Indelicato Nathan Kress Daniel Magder Vincent Martella Aidan Mitchell Slade Pearce

"The War at Home" "Corey in the House" "Weeds" "Reba" "Ugly Betty" "iCarly" "Life With Derek" "Everybody Hates Chris" "The Riches" "October Road"

TCR Endorsed Selection: For a category with such a bloated number of nominees, there's not much to get excited over here. Jason Dolley is a Read It and Weep alum, which normally would get him a ton of bonus points, but he stars on a show that's one of the worst on TV. Daniel Magder is a part of a cast I've previously professed to like a lot, but he's the weak link among the kids. The best choice here is Nathan Kress, who does a fine job on iCarly, a mediocre show.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES/Supporting Young Actress

Taylor Atelian Malese Jow Tinashe Kachingwe Jennette McCurdy Mary Matilyn Mouser Adair Tishler

"According to Jim" "Unfabulous" "Out of Jimmy's Head" "iCarly" "Life Is Wild" "Heroes"

TCR Endorsed Selection: This is one of the weakest categories yet. Malese Jow is a weird nomination, her bad performance is one of the few things that I hate about Unfabulous. Jennette McCurdy is, similarly, the weak link in a pretty good cast. Fortunately, Adair Tishler is here and she's a cutie and gives a great performance as Molly Walker. She's the biggest winner yet in any category.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES/Young Actor Age 10 or Younger

Lorenzo Brino Nikolas Brino Joseph Castanon Field Cate Khamani Griffin Trevor Gagnon Dylan Minnette Conner Rayburn

"7th Heaven" "7th Heaven" "I Hate My 30's" "Pushing Daisies" "All of Us" "New Adventures of Old Christine" "Saving Grace" "According to Jim"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Oh my god the Brinos are nominated! I'm reasonably certain that the Brinos are, in fact, the worst young actors age 10 or younger on TV and how the hell would you distinguish between them anyways? Can I go with an N/A here? I hate the young Ned scenes on Pushing Daisies, the Brino twins are horrible and I haven't seen any of the other nominated shows. (I saw one episode of I Hate My 30's, apparently Joseph Castanon did not feature in that episode.)

No award for young actress aged 10 or under! Sexual discrimination alert!

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES/Guest Starring Young Actor

Cameron Bright Chandler Canterbury Nicholas Elia Dylan Everett Colin Ford Soren Fulton Dominic Scott Kay Quinn Lord Justin Martin Dylan Patton Colby Paul Cole Petersen Remy Thorne

"The 4400" (ep:'Wrath of Graham') "Criminal Minds" (ep:'In Birth and Death') "Supernatural" (ep:'The Kids Are Alright') "The Dresden Files" (ep:'Birds of a Feather') "Journeyman" (ep:'Blowback') "Bones" (ep:'The Priest in the Churchyard') "Navy NCIS" (ep:'Lost & Found') "Smallville" (ep:'Bizarro') "Cold Case" (ep:'It Takes a Village') "Cold Cas"e (ep:'Blackout') "Pushing Daisies" (ep:'Corpsicle') "CSI: Miami" (ep:'Stand Your Ground') "Criminal Minds" (ep:'Revelations')

TCR Endorsed Selection: Cameron Bright was good in his guest role on The 4400, in one of the best episodes of the season, and he definitely deserves the trophy.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES/Guest Starring Young Actress

Jasmine Jessica Anthony Jenna Boyd Darcy Rose Byrnes Conchita Campbell Bailee Madison Ashlyn Sanchez Bella Thorne

"Ugly Betty" (ep:'Something Wicked This Way Comes') "Ghost Whisperer" (ep:'Children of Ghosts') "Cold Case" (ep:'A Dollar, A Dream') "Supernatural" (ep:'Playthings') "House" (ep:'Act Your Age') "Without a Trace" (ep:'Desert Springs') "The O.C." (ep:'The Case of the Franks')

TCR Endorsed Selection: The only one of these I specifically recognize is that actress from House, and I see nothing about her performance that is award worthy. I'm giving this to Conchita Campbell in general principle, even though I've never seen and barely even heard of Supernatural.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES/Recurring Young Actor

Jake Cherry Marc Donato Caden Michael Gray Mick Hazen Dominic Janes Ty Panitz Connor Price K'Sun Ray Will Shadley Cainan Wiebe Calum Worthy

"Desperate Housewives" "Degrassi: The Next Generation" "Out of Jimmy's Head" "As the World Turns" "ER" "Bones" "The Dead Zone" "Smith" "Dirty Sexy Money" "Sanctuary" "Psych"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Hard to say. The young Psych scenes are much more entertaining than the young Pushing Daisies scenes, and it only seems fair to give some of that credit to Calum Worthy. Yeah, he's my pick.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES/Recurring Young Actress

Kristen Alderson Rachel G. Fox Danielle Hanratty Sammi Hanratty Chloe Grace Moretz Ryan Newman Christina Robinson Darcy Rose Byrnes Erin Sanders Christian Serratos Alyson Stoner Kylie & Keaton Tyndall

"One Life to Live" "Desperate Housewives" "The Unit" "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" "Dirty Sexy Money" "Hannah Montana" "Dexter" "The Young and the Restless" "Zoey 101" "Neds Declassified School Survival Guide" "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" "Big Love"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Ryan Newman plays young Miley on Hannah Montana, in a few episodes. Her performance is completely forgettable, but she's a real cutie-pie, so I can't really argue with giving her the award here in an apparently really weak category.

BEST YOUNG ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES
Hannah Montana
The Naked Brothers Band
Out of Jimmy's Head
Unfabulous
The Wizards of Waverly Place
Zoey 101

TCR Endorsed Selection: OK, this is a really hard category, and it's complicated by the fact that two of the strongest nominees (NBB and Wizards) received no individual nominations, while all 3 main actors for iCarly were nominated and it was shut out here. Zoey 101 (the two time reigning champ in this category) and Out of Jimmy's Head are instant eliminees, because I really dislike Zoey and have never seen OOJH. After that it's really close. Similar to last year, I'm eliminating Unfabulous because the supporting cast isn't good enough. I'll eliminate NBB because it's just not quite good enough. Hannah just has too many annoying cast members (ugh, Rico and Oliver) to qualify here. My opinion is that the newcomer Wizards of Waverly Place is the best choice here. Bad joke writing brings down the overall quality of the show, but I'm a big fan of the young cast, and the show does have some potential.

(Skipping two categories for voice overs that I have no idea about.)

BEST FAMILY TELEVISION MOVIE or SPECIAL

"High School Musical" "The Last Day of Summer" "Naked Brothers Band: The Movie" "You've Got A Friend"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Um, perhaps they mean High School Musical 2? It deserves to win regardless.

BEST FAMILY TELEVISION SERIES

"Hannah Montana" "Life Is Wild" "The Naked Brothers Band" "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" "Out of Jimmy's Head" "The Winner" "Zoey 101"

TCR Endorsed Selection: No surprise here that my choice in this category is Hannah Montana. Unfabulous still shoulda been nominated. (Last year this category was split into comedy and drama, this year all the nominees are comedies.)

BEST FAMILY TELEVISION REALITY SHOW, GAME SHOW or DOCUMENTARY

"Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" "Endurance" "Kid Nation" "My Life as a Child" "Who Cares About Girls?"

TCR Endorsed Selection: This is a new category this year, and it's a weird one. I've never heard of My Life as a Child or Who Cares About Girls?, but the best choice here among the shows I know is Endurance, and I like it enough that I suspect it would be the choice regardless.

(skip categories on short and international films)

BEST FAMILY FEATURE FILM (Animation)

"Bee Movie" "Meet the Robinsons" "Ratatouille" "Surf's Up"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Ratatouille is the best movie and it will win.

BEST FAMILY FEATURE FILM (Fantasy or Musical)

"Alvin and the Chipmunks" "Bridge to Terabithia" "The Golden Compass" "Underdog" "The Water Horse"

TCR Endorsed Selection: I saw only one of these films (Bridge to Terabithia), and it wasn't good enough for me to say it deserves an award. So, N/A.

BEST FAMILY FEATURE FILM (Comedy or Drama)

"August Rush" "Evan Almighty" "Firehouse Dog" "Hairspray" "The Last Mimzy" "Martian Child" "Nancy Drew"

TCR Endorsed Selection: It's so obvious that I'm gonna pick Nancy Drew here that I'm going to bitch about the categories instead of justifying it. WHY IS BEST SUPPORING YOUNG ACTOR SPLIT INTO FANTASY OR DRAMA AND COMEDY OR MUSICAL AND BEST PICTURE SPLIT INTO FANTASY OR MUSICAL AND COMEDY OR DRAMA? WHY GOD WHY?

Top 10 TV Shows of 2007

Based only on their televised output during the calendar year 2007.

Top 10 TV Shows of 2007

1. Friday Night Lights (NBC)
2. Pushing Daisies (ABC)
3. How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
4. The 4400 (USA)
5. House (Fox)
6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
7. Unfabulous (Nickelodeon)
8. Greek (ABC Family)
9. 30 Rock (NBC)
10. The World Series of Pop Culture (VH1)

Comments: I do not get Showtime or HBO and have not seen any of their shows except Entourage, which everybody including me agrees has gone way downhill. I don't like Lost, although I've seen every episode of the show. It has some weird grip on me. My relationship to that show is complicated and I'm not getting into it here. Suffice to say it was not close to making the list. Heroes WAS close to making the list, but its fate was sealed by a mediocre first season finale and a mediocre start to season 2. It's been a weak stretch for reality shows. This has been a pretty boring season of The Real World, excepting Isaac, and have Made or True Life even made any new episodes? I don't buy that American Idol is losing its spark, I still like it but it just didn't quite make the cut. How Do I Look, on the other hand, has totally lost its spark. Hannah Montana just not quite good enough to make the cut, I've been a little disappointed by it lately, though it is cute. I enjoy all of the original series on USA. Burn Notice was the closest to making the list, with its slick and easy charm. Call it number 11 or number 12. Psych is a funny show with no substance that has managed to leave absolutely no lasting impact on me. I like the show more than what Monk has become anyways, though I'm still loving Traylor Howard and looking forward to seeing what she does after she leaves the sinking ship.

Now, as to what did make the list: I agree that FNL has gone a slight bit downhill this season, but it had a big perch to fall from, and the amazing second half of season 1 plus a still good first half of season 2 are good enough to push it to the top. Pushing Daisies is my favorite new show in a while and it only isn't #1 because it's had half as many episodes as FNL. If it can hold it up it will climb to the top. As of right now, I'm completely and totally enamored of almost every aspect of the show. A similar reaction as the one I had to Joan of Arcadia, though obviously of a much smaller magnitude. How I Met Your Mother might have topped this list had "Slap Bet" been released during 2007. Alas, it's December 2006. Still, though, the second half of season 2 and first half of season 3 have been amazing, far better than season 1 was.

The 4400 topped this list last year and fell 3 slots. Actually, I thought this was the best season yet, ending on an awesome cliffhanger (if it gets canceled I'll cut somebody), probably the best episode of any show during 2007. Unless the FNL finale was better. Hmm. It was simply passed up by a show I had never seen at year end 2006, a show that didn't exist yet at year end 2006, and a show that has leaped to the next level since year end 2006. No shame in that. House followed up a mediocre/bad third season with a fourth season that has been a huge step up. Probably my favorite show right now, but those terrible third season episodes were during this year too. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia continues to be the funniest show on TV, but this season was spottier than the previous 2 and it's possible the formula is starting to wear a bit thin.

The last season of Unfabulous did the show proud. It went out on a bang and I'm very happy for that. Greek was a really awesome trashy summer show. It's one of the most entertaining shows on TV, with truly likable characters and fun plots. Nothing could make me happier than seeing it gain an audience. 30 Rock is a very funny show that I rarely take the effort to watch for some reason. I always like it when I watch it but it has failed to have a lasting impact. Still, I like what I've seen enough to rank it here. The World Series of Pop Culture is an immensely entertaining game show, even if they did leave team Cheaper By The Cousin in the cold.

Day after day, it's Unfabulous

Unfabulous has returned and, apparently, nobody cares about this except for me.

It used to really bother me that nobody except for me appears to like this show. In fact, for all I know, I'm the biggest fan aged 20 or over of this show in the entire world. It's not like it's my favorite show in the world or anything, but it's probably my 3rd favorite comedy show on TV, behind How I Met Your Mother and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and along with Even Stevens and Phil of the Future and a few others, it's one of the few shows of this type that legitimately makes me laugh on its own merits. It's not just cute, it's actually really funny.

So what do I think of the new season? I think it's just as good as it's ever been, maybe a little better. The Addie and Jake relationship is great, much better than the Addie/Randy relationship, which was akin to an anchor. Their relationship is really sweet and funny. I shouldn't be so hard on Randy, he guest starred on the last episode "The Two Timer", which was the best episode of the season yet, and maybe the best episode of the show yet. Unless the best episode of the season was the one with Rob Hottie. Or the one with the girl who got expelled from Catholic School. Or, etc., etc. It's been a remarkably consistent season, and I'm loving it.

The main problem I have with the show is that the supporting cast is pretty weak. Emma Roberts apparently bugs a lot of people, but I think she's outstanding. She's right up there with Kay Panabaker right now for my favorite. Her timing is great, and I love her trademark eye rolls! She's not a great singer, no, but I think it works for the show. But apart from her, Malesa Jow, Jordan Calloway, and Tadhg Kelly are merely ways of passing the time while Emma's not on the screen. Of those, Jordan Calloway most frequently has good moments, and he has been pretty funny this season, but there isn't generally too much for his character to do.

Fortunately, it's a one person show. As long as it keeps its extremely clever plots, good dialogue, and Emma Roberts, it's gonna be a great show no matter what. It's just sometimes I wish other people agreed with me.

I don't even know why it bothers me that other people don't like the show. When it comes to pop music I can often have idiosyncratic tastes, but there's such a strong pop music community on the internet I forget how unusual they are "in real life". Like, I just get to thinking that of course Britney is a classic and the Paris Hilton album was under-rated and Hilary Duff rules and etc., etc. It would be great if there was a similar community related to my taste in TV and movies, and maybe there is, but I know nothing about it. (In the meantime, if you really need an even-handed, objective review of a pre-teen TV show or a romantic comedy, or a high school/college movie there's always here.)

Thus, The TCR recommends you check out Unfabulous which airs Sunday nights on Nickelodeon at 8:30, on the nights when it isn't preempted.

(Speaking of Emma Roberts, I promised a review of Nancy Drew, but actually I wrote that movie up in my mid-year wrap up and my opinions on it have not really changed since then. Still a B+/A- type movie, and still one of the 4 or 5 best films I've seen this year.)

28th Annual Young Artist Awards

Before I get into the 28th annual Young Artist Award nominations, let me take a second to revise my previous post. I said that I didn't know why I loved Antonella Barba, but actually it's pretty clear. She is (by far) the most attractive female finalist, she's got a really great soulful tone to her voice, she's confident without being cocky, and she comes off as genuinely likeable. It still seems like AI wanted me to hate her, but I think she's an almost lock for the top 12 (I'd say her, Gina, Melinda, and Jordin seem very likely to make the final 12 at this point). Doing a bit of research at lunch today I noted there is a strong correlation between Antonella fans and McPhee fans, which makes me feel better.

OK, the main thrust. The nominations for the 28th annual Young Artist Awards have been released, and here I will go through them, blow by blow, giving the offical TCR endorsed winner in each category. There's a shitload of categories, so strap in. Fun.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Leading Young Actor
Thomas Sangster - "Nanny McPhee"
Logan Lerman - "Hoot"
Connor Donovan - "Twelve and Holding"
Alex Neuberger - "Running Scared"
Cameron Bright - "Running Scared"
Josh Hutcherson - "RV"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Logan Lerman. He stars in the only of these movies I've seen, though he wasn't anything special. I've never even heard of 2 of em.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Leading Young Actress
Sara Paxton - "Aquamarine"
Dakota Fanning - "Charlotte's Web"
Brie Larson - "Hoot"
Keke Palmer - "Akeelah and the Bee"
Emily Rios - "Quinceanera"
Keisha Castle-Hughes - "Nativity Story"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Keke Palmer. My love for Sara Paxton and Brie Larson are well known by now but they aren't very good in these respective roles. Sorry Sara, take a walk. Keke, on the other hand, was great (and was good in Jump In too). Do they give speeches at these awards? If so, I'd lean towards supporting Brie just to hear her acceptance speech. For now I'll stick with Keke. Dakota is the reigning winner in this category (Dreamer).

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Supporting Young Actor
Cameron Bright - "X-Men: The Last Stand"
Tristan Lake Leabu - "Superman Returns"
Rory Culkin - "The Night Listener"
Connor Paolo - "World Trade Center"
Chase Ellison - "End of the Spear"
Troy Gentile - "Nacho Libre"
Josh Flitter - "Big Momma's House 2"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Cameron Bright. I only saw two of these movies, and I hated the little kid in Superman Returns. Leech is the choice here, despite his rather unchallenging role. At least he didn't screw anything up.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Supporting Young Actress
Zoe Weizenbaum - "Twelve and Holding"
Emma Roberts - "Aquamarine"
Joanna "Jojo" Levesque - "Aquamarine"
Hallie Kate Eisenberg - "How to Eat Fried Worms"
Hannah Marks - "Accepted"
Lucy Boynton - "Miss Potter"
Allison Stoner - "Step Up"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Emma Roberts. The movie sucked, and it wasn't her best performance, but she was still very good.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Young Actor Age Ten or Younger
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick - "Omen"
Jimmy Bennett - "Firewall"
Noah Gray-Cabey - "Lady in the Water"
Jake Johnson - "Talladega Nights"
Nathan Gamble - "Babel"
Dylan Blue - "Deck the Halls"
Jake Cherry - "Night at the Museum"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Jake Cherry. Didn't see a single one of these films and haven't heard of a single one of these actors. Just picked at random. From now on I'll skip a category if I have no idea or no favorite.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Young Actress Age Ten or Younger
Tatum McCann - "Click"
Ryan Newman - "Zoom"
Chloe Grace Moretz - "Big Momma's House 2"
Elle Fanning - "Babel"
Sage Kermes - "Sweetland"
Abigail Breslin - "Little Miss Sunshine"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Abigail Breslin is the obvious choice here. Probably a slam dunk, as she is nominated for an Oscar (won't win, but still...).

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE FILM/Young Ensemble Cast
"Nanny McPhee"
"How to Eat Fried Worms"
"Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause"
"Unaccompanied Minors"

TCR Endorsed Selection: "Unaccompanied Minors". An entertaining film.

[Skipping various international and short film categories, for hopefully obvious reasons.]

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV MOVIE, MINISERIES or SPECIAL (Comedy or Drama)/Leading Young Actor
Zac Efron - "High School Musical"
Jason Dolley - "Read It and Weep"
Matthew Knight - "Candles on Bay Street"
Micah Williams - "The Ron Clarke Story"
Brandon Smith - "The Ron Clarke Story"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Zac Efron. He was truly great as Troy Bolton, kid's got some real talent.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV MOVIE, MINISERIES or SPECIAL (Comedy or Drama)/Leading Young Actress
Vanessa Anne Hudgens - "High School Musical"
Sammi Hannatty - "Hello Sister, Goodbye Life"
Kay Panabaker - "Read It and Weep"
Maya Ritter - "Molly: American Girl on the Homefront"
Hannah Hodson - "The Ron Clarke Story"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Kay Panabaker. Hopefully by now this won't surprise anybody. As explained in an old post here, Sammi Hanratty's nomination is a big joke.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV MOVIE, MINISERIES or SPECIAL (Comedy or Drama)/Supporting Young Actor
Corbin Bleu - "High School Musical"
Beans El-Balaui - "Half Light"
Jake Smith - "For the Love of a Child"
Jonah Meyerson - "Griffin and Phoenix"
Andrew Chalmers - "Molly: American Girl on the Homefront"
Benjamin Petry - "The Lost Room"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Anybody but Corbin Bleu. Too hammy in that role, for my taste (he was good in Jump In). Lucas Grabeel was robbed (too old?).

[Skipping best supporting actress as I know nothing of any of the nominated films. Nobody from HSM was nominated. Presumably, Ashley Tisdale was already too old.]

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES (Comedy or Drama)/Leading Young Actor
Cole Sprouse - "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
Tyler Williams - "Everybody Hates Chris"
Michael Seater - "Life With Derek"
Dylan Sprouse - "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
Devon Werkheiser - "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide"
Kyle Massey - "That's So Raven"
Jamie Johnston - "Degrassi: The Next Generation"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Michael Seater. He was great on Strange Days at Blake Holsey High and is great on this show too, despite the fact that it's not that good. Kyle and Jamie would be fine choices as well. The Sprouses were nominated together last year, but separately this year. If they win, there is no God.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES (Comedy or Drama)/Leading Young Actress
Ashley Leggat - "Life With Derek"
Emma Roberts - "Unfabulous"
Jamie Lynn Spears - "Zoey 101"
Mikey Cyrus - "Hannah Montana"
Christa B. Allen - "Cake"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Emma Roberts. Once again, by now this will not surprise any reader of my blog. I think Emma's superb. Jamie Lynn and Miley being nominated is another hilarious joke. Ashley Leggat does very fine work on her show (and is a personal favorite). She wouldn't be a bad choice except that Emma totally outclasses her.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES (Comedy or Drama)Supporting Young Actor
Daniel Magder - "Life With Derek"
Andrew Chalmers - "Darcy's Wild Life"
Dan Curtiss Lee - "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide"
Paul Butcher - "Zoey 101"
Dean Collins - "The War at Home"
Alexander Gould - "Weeds"
Jesse Plemons - "Friday Night Lights"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Andrew Chalmers. I don't think I've talked about Darcy's much here, but I'm a big fan of the show. Sara Paxton's a big part of that, but the supporting cast is very talented as well.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES (Comedy or Drama)Supporting Young Actress
Miranda Cosgrove - "Drake and Josh"
Victoria Justice - "Zoey 101"
Emily Osment - "Hannah Montana"
Allie Grant - "Weeds"
Mackenzie Rosman - "7th Heaven"
Aimee Teegarden - "Friday Night Lights"
Hayden Panettiere - "Heroes"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Mackenzie Rosman. The best actor on the show, which I admittedly haven't seen in a couple years. Hayden's really improved over the course of the season, but not good enough. Emily Osment wouldn't be a bad choice either, I suppose, but she's a bit manic and shouty for my taste. And Hannah Montana winning an acting award would be so very wrong.

[Skipping Best Age 10 or under actor as the only ones I recognize are the Brino twins from Seventh Heaven and CJ Sanders from Heroes and I hate em both.]

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES (Comedy or Drama)/Young Actress Age Ten or Younger
Ariel Gade - "Invasion"
Ariel Waller - "Life With Derek"
Maria Lark - "Medium"
Billi Bruno - "According to Jim"
Conchita Campbell - "The 4400"
Emily Everhard - "Cake"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Oh, Conchita Campbell by a mile, she's really great. All due respect to the v. good Ariel Walker, but this is the biggest walk in any category yet.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES (Comedy or Drama)/Guest Starring Young Actress
Alyson Stoner - "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
Emily Hirst - "Smallville"
Sammi Hanratty - "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
Tay Blessey - "Cold Case"
Monet Monico - "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
Chloe Grace Monetz - "Desparate Housewives"
Rachel Rogers - "Monk"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Was gonna skip this, but Chloe Grace Monetz deserves to win, she's a cutie pie. Had no idea (two time YAA nominated!) Sammi Hanratty was in Suite Life. Love Monk but Rachel had about 2 lines in this role.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SERIES (Comedy or Drama) Recurring Young Actor
Louis T. Noyle - "My Name Is Earl"
Noah Crawford - "My Name is Earl"
Masam Holden - "ER"
Daniel Goldman - "Dexter"
Jacob Kraemer - "Naturally Sadie"
Tyler Patrick Jones - "The Ghost Whisperer"
Cody Linley - "Hannah Montana"
Charley Stewart - "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
Adam Langley - "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide"
Marc Donato - "Degrassi: The Next Generation"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Cody Linley. He's the best part of the show, when he's on. Way too many nominees in this category.

[Skipping recurring young actress as I have no feelings one way or another on any of the nominated ones. I've heard of a few of them, but none make an impression.]

BEST YOUNG ENSEMBLE PERFROMANCE IN A TV SERIES (Comedy or Drama)
"Unfabulous"
"Life With Derek"
"Darcy's Wild Life"
"Zoey 101"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Life With Derek. A very strong category, any of the choices would make me happy except Zoey 101 (actually the reigning winner). I was nearly tempted to pick Unfabulous, entirely based on Emma, but Derek has the much deeper cast overall. And it feels more like an ensemble, than Unfabulous, which is a one person show. Just because the writing sucks isn't their fault. Darcy's Wild Life, like Unfabulous, is too dependent on the excellent performance of its lead to deserve an award like this.

BEST FAMILY TELEVISION MOVIE or SPECIAL
"The Ron Clark Story"
"High School Musical"
"Hello Sister, Goodbye Life"
"Candles on Baystreet"
"Molly: An American Girl on the Homefront"
"For the Love of a Child"

TCR Endorsed Selection: High School Musical. Hello Sister, Goodbye Life being nominated over Read It and Weep is awful, but HSM would deserve to win anyways. Presumably it will win.

BEST FAMILY TELEVISION SERIES (Drama)
"Invasion"
"Saved"
"Flight 29 Down"
"7th Heaven"
"Brothers and Sisters"
"Ghost Whisperer"
"Friday Night Lights"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Flight 29 Down, though none of these shows are really any good. Ghost Whisperer stole Joan of Arcadia from me, and I will always hate it for that.

BEST FAMILY TELEVISION SERIES (Comedy)
"The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
"Darcy's Wild Life"
"Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide"
"Unfabulous"
"Zoey 101"
"My Name is Earl"

TCR Endorsed Selection: Unfabulous. Interesting to me that Life With Derek wasn't nominated after all those cast nominations, but the writing is just so bad. Anyways Unfabulous an easy choice to me, though Darcy's Wild Life is good too. But just say no (justfanoe) to Zoey 101.

[The last four categories are all awards for best feature films in various ways, and since I saw so few movies I'm skipping them all. I do, however, support Akeelah and the Bee for best drama.]

Mariah Carey - MTV Unplugged

Sorry for the lack of substantive content lately, I just haven't felt inspired. This post will have the same flaw. Don't forget, Disney watchers, that Jump In! starring Corbin Bleu and Keke Palmer and featuring many mediocre songs which cloud the Disney airwaves debuts this weekend. New show Cory In The House will premier as well, and I plan to watch both, even if I don't expect much from either.

OK, now on to the post. Early period Mariah Carey is one of my all-time favorite teen pop (any kind of pop really) stars of all time. This post will document, via the magic of Youtube, her MTV Unplugged special, which was surely some kind of high moment in pop history. The special originally aired in 1992, right after the release of her 2nd album, and features great live versions of some of her best songs. [Apparently a DVD of this is available, but I've never seen it. I'm taking the tracklisting from the EP of the performance that was released.] Let's see, shall we:

1. First of all Mariah's dress and image are pure class here. And her hair looks so good long and curly! I tend to prefer this image to her current one, but whatever. The set opens with her doing a performance of one of her most recent hits at the time, "Emotions", which is one of my very favorite Mariah Carey songs. Right up there with "All I Want For Christmas Is You", and probably one of my 25-50ish favorite singles of the 1990s. The performance starts out with background singers, piano, and Mariah singing the words to the chorus of the song in a completely different melody. With plenty of melisma and gymnastics of course. On record this song absolutely pops, it's a totally joyful testament to new love. For the most part, the MTV Unplugged version is basically the same as the recorded version, except slightly worse. She still nails those high notes, and they still absolutely convey the joy she is trying to convey with them. Mariah is the best singer I can think of at using the super high notes and melisma and whatnot to great effect in a song. Great song, but not substantially different from the recorded version.

2. Mariah then goes into "If It's Over", which is one of the non-singles off her Emotions album. Although, this live version was released as a single in some international markets. I've never actually heard the recorded version of this song, just this MTV Unplugged version, and I have to say that I enjoy it a lot. Featuring a rather jazzy instrumental backing of strings, bass, and horns and interesting background vocals, this is a ballad that's really catchy and that is, of course, sung extremely well by Mariah. She utilizes her underused lower register for this song, and it's very pretty. Once again, many will criticize Mariah for her vocal gymnastics, but when she's so goddamn good at them, I see no grounds for complaint. The lyrics describe a dead relationship sputtering along. Mariah strongly suspects based on physical cues that her boyfriend wants to break up with her, and is begging him to just sack up and break up with her already if that's what he wants to do. Very simple story and lyrics, but they are effective.

3. We then get treated to "Someday", one of the 4 #1 hits off of her first album, and another of my personal favorite Mariah songs. Very catchy melody and f'n awesome, TRUE RAWK, lyrics. Somebody should do a rock cover of this song, because it could totally scorch if done right. Anyways, the story behind the song is that Mariah's boyfriend has just broken up with her. And she's telling him "You know what, you've made a huge mistake. One day you're gonna want me back and YOU CAN'T HAVE ME." Totally empowered, turning the tables on her pain. They do a relatively subdued version of this song, more of a slow burn, with liberal usage of the background vocalists. Substantially better than the rather cheesily produced studio version. Ass kicking.

4. Mariah's huge breakout hit, "Vision of Love" comes next -- her chart topper that put her on the map in the US and internationally. A lot of times a singer's big breakout hit is one of their better songs, since in order for it to become a hit for an artist who was unknown at the time, it must have an unusually high quality. Unfortunately, this ballad is a real snooze. The lyrics are rather cheesy and generic love song lyrics that really add nothing to the song. It's pretty and Mariah's still a good singer, but the whole thing is just kind of there, and nothing particularly stands out about it. Her voice is building to an explosion gradually throughout the song, but even when it comes it's nothing special. For all of Mariah's strengths, consistency is not one of them, and this falls squarely in the bland AC section of her repertoire.

5. After "Vision of Love" comes "Make It Happen" [not on Youtube wtf, well here's a different live version anyways], which was the third single off her album Emotions. To be honest, I have no idea if this was released as a single before or after this special, but whatever. Anyways, it's the worst single off of Emotions but still OK. Like emotions, the live unplugged version adds nothing to the song. The lyrics to this sound like the lyrics to a Hannah Montana song, about the personal power to bring yourself through hard times ("If you believe in yourself enough/And know what you want/You're gonna make it happen/(Make it happen)", "I know where I stand I know who I am I ain't gonna run away when life gets bad"). This song has never grabbed me like her best songs do, though it's plenty catchy. Inessential, but not BAD, per se.

6. This goes into her version of "I'll Be There", which is one of the most famous moments ever on MTV Unplugged. As far as I know, this is the only song from that show to ever hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. I'm sure you've seen it before, Mariah sitting nervously on the chair, then standing up, just belting the damn thing out with all her might. Nothing fancy to this one. And, well, it's a GOOD cover, but there's nothing particularly great about it. The original never really grabbed me, which is probably why the cover doesn't either. That being said, it IS a great moment in TV, even if not in pop music. Don't really know why this is THE famous moment from this special, since it's hardly the best part of it from a musical standpoint, but I do like this version at least as much as the original.

7. The set ends with her acoustic version of "Can't Let Go", which I presume was her current single at the time. And not only is this one of my very favorite Mariah Carey songs, not only is it one of the greatest R&B ballads of all time, but this is a (rare, for pop music in my experience) example of a song that is actually superior in the live version to the recorded version. God DAMN does Mariah absolutely bring it on this song, one of her greatest vocal performances of all time. In this song, the relationship is over, but Mariah just cannot let it go and move on. She really wants to, but the relationship just meant so much to her that she can't just do away with it like that. Starts with a cute and heartfelt thanks, acknowledging that this is hard for her since she didn't at the time perform live very much (supposedly due to stage fright). If "I'll Be There" is a great moment in TV history, this is one of the very great moments in pop history. 10/10, and yeah, whatever, Mariah has 3 of my 50 or so favorite singles of the 90s but she's just made a lot of great music. Of course, she's made a lot of crappy music too.

Thus ends one of my favorite TV specials of all time. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I will be back this weekend/early next week with a new song analysis (I'm thinking "Stumble" by Natasha Bedingfield, though I reserve the right to change my mind), and I guess I'll have to put something down about my thoughts on Jump In!/Cory in the House.

Top 14 Shows on TV

As part 2 of my year-end content, I'm going to cover my 14 favorite current shows on TV (again considering all shows, not just those relevant to my blog). All that remains is my top 10 albums list, which will be coming soon. No movies list because I don't watch movies. I didn't even see 10 movies this year, if you don't count TV movies, which makes it rather difficult to make a top 10.

So here are my top 14 shows on TV. Counting mainly the "current" quality of the show (meaning the recent episodes and how good I expect the future episodes to be), with historical quality being used as a tiebreaker. And of course only shows currently airing new episodes are eligible for this list. Presented in convenient countdown format, as always, with some commentary.

(14, because I was having trouble narrowing it down to 10 and there was a big dropoff after 14. Didn't count because I don't know if they are gonna air new episodes: Beauty and the Geek and Darcy's Wild Life.)

14. Heroes (NBC)
NBC's new hit show has promise but moves a bit too slowly for my tastes. It's starting to show signs that it's all gonna pay off, and not totally fizzle out (like, say, Lost), but I have my doubts that it's all gonna end satisfactorily. Nevertheless, it's been a fun setup and I'm enjoying the show a lot as is. I won't feel comfortable ranking it higher until I see how the storylines start to ravel up. The last episode before the new year was a great start in that regard. This could move way up in short fashion.

13. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
I think this is the best of ABC's trifecta of hit dramas (this show, Grey's Anatomy, and Lost), because unlike those shows this show has compelling plots and likeable characters. And this last season has been the best one yet, even better than the first season. Extremely entertaining and watchable; just because it does not engage one intellectually doesn't mean it's bad. There's a place for brainless fun on television, and this does it better than most.

12. True Life/Made/The Real World (MTV)
This is cheating, but this slot represents the entirety of the MTV reality show catalogue. None of MTV's other reality shows engage me. Laguna Beach would have made it last year, but the last season sucked ass. But I do so love these 3 shows. The Real World has been down lately, but the Denver season looks to be the best one since San Diego, after a long string of mediocre seasons. True Life and Made are always entertaining looks into the real world. The problem with Made is that a lot of the kids are annoying and unlikeable, but when the kid on the show is likeable (as in, say, the "Girly Girl" or "Beauty Pageant" episode, or the one with the fat kid who wanted to be skinny and then struck out with his crush) it's one of the most entertaining shows on television. Similarly, True Life has many boring episodes, but it also has produced a lot of extremely compelling TV (like the "Friends With Benefits" episode or the one about dieting). A very underrated network. Inconsistency prevents it from climbing higher on the list

11. Entourage (HBO)
Entourage had a great first two seasons. The last season, season 3, was rather weak but I still hold high hope that this can find its voice again. Jeremy Piven is, of course, excellent and the rest of the cast is quite good as well. A funny show, and it can really crackle when the plots are working and pushing forward, as in season 1 and 2, but when the show is running in traction with Vince acting like a whiny baby all the time and Ari not given much to do but yell a lot it gets tedious, the show can really drag. One that would have ranked much higher a year ago, and that hopefully will rank much higher again.

10. Hannah Montana (Disney Channel)
As I've said several times before, its still a show I see great promise in. Yeah, it's got the same problems it's always had. The acting is poor, the plots and jokes are ridiculous, the physical comedy is over the top, the characters and drama are not handeld well. But it's also still incredibly cute and eminently watchable, the music is great, and the kids have great chemistry. Not exactly a classic, and Phil of the Future is still way better, but this is still wholly entertaining.

9. American Idol (Fox)
Speaking of shallow, eminently watchable, slightly guilty pleasures...Well, once again, I love this show. I guess that shouldn't surprise any of the readers here. But this show, among all reality shows, does a great job of getting people to root for their favorites and hate their least favorites. And they don't even develop personalities or anything! I can't explain it, but I find it totally engrossing. Maybe the talent's not the greatest, but that hardly even matters. And the show is still capable of producing great musical moments like Kelly C's "Stuff Like That There".

8. Shark (CBS)
The best of the new class of shows, in my opinion, this show seems on the surface to be a rote copying of the procedural crime/lawyer shows that currently permeate the air. And in a lot of ways it is. But James Woods is appropriately over-the-top as the main character, Jeri Ryan is great as always, and even the assistant DA's are all a lot of fun to watch. Maybe the crimes/mysteries aren't super engrossing, but the character interactions are always fun to watch. And, yeah, Danielle Panabaker as Shark's daugher certainly doesn't hurt. She does a really great job, and is starting to be pretty attractive. I would expect no less of a member of the Panabaker clan.

7. How Do I Look? (Style)
This show is a fashion makeover show, which makes it one of a hundred on TV. But I really love how every episode of this show tells a completed story. Everybody starts out confident in their style, gets torn down through meanness and sadness, and then is built back up from scratch, as a confident woman! Yay! Finola Hughes is great as the host, and the scene where all the family members tear into the main subject for their bad fashion is oddly compelling. Maybe it's one of a large type, but it's the best of that type by far.

6. House (Fox)
I still love this show, even though the format is getting a little stale. Hugh Laurie's performance, though great, is untested as he is always given the exact same things to do episode after episode. House's assistants are all growing to be a bit too one note as well. The episodes are too formulaic, and most of their attempts to break from the formula (e.g. the season finale for season 2 and season premiere for season 3) have gone really poorly (although "Three Stories" was, of course, a classic). The multi-episode arcs (Vogler, Stacy, Tritter) have all been disasters. That being said, all the actors have their characters nailed by now, and the formula IS extremely entertaining. This last season hasn't been too great, but it's still got those great actors and that great formula going for it. And Dr. Cameron is a hottie.

5. Unfabulous (Nickelodon)
Still the best teen/tween show on TV. Executed perfectly. Emma Roberts is great. For all this and more, see this post I already wrote, extolling the virtues of the show. Genuinely funny, and I love how they begin every episode with an out-of-context clip from later on in that same episode.

4. Monk (USA)
Although this show HAS become a bit weaker over time, it's still firing on most of its cylinders. I actually prefer Natalie to Sharona (or at least I like them equally), because even though Traylor Howard may not be Bitty Schram's equal, I love Natalie's cute and sweet relationship with "Mr. Monk" (I also like how she calls him "Mr. Monk") . And I like Julie a hell of a lot more than I ever liked Benji. The problem is that the plots to the episodes have become progressively more and more gimmicky and progressively less and less about any of the characters other than Monk. Not that I don't like Monk, and Tony Shalhoub is brilliant of course, but I love the supporting characters too! The actors and characters still make this show extremely entertaining.

3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
The funniest show on TV, yet sadly it seems to be little known. There's no depth to the show, and no real characters or relationships, but that's hardly what a show like this is about. As much as I normally strongly prefer "clean" and simple humor to the more "adult" kind, and as much as I normally dislike humor based mostly around shattering taboos, every single episode of this show has several big laughs. But all this talk of "adult" humor or "simple" humor or "shattering taboos" is silly and lazy, because most of the humor of this show IS of the classic variety, based around hilarious dialogue and irony. To me, as always, humor based on hilarious dialogue is way funnier than humor based on characters being put in funny situations or acting self-consciously wacky or stupid. (Which is, by the way, why I still can't stand Meet the Parents, Will Ferrell movies, and the majority of modern comedies.) But the humor on that show rarely reaches this level.

2. How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
The best show on network TV today singlehandedly proves that the seemingly stale old sitcom formula still has plenty of life in it. I am a big fan of that old formula, and this show IS the modern day Friends, which I loved (although is it intellectual suicide to admit that?). While not quite reaching the heights of humor of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia there is an underlying sweetness that permeates this show, and that plus the great character relationships push that above this. Not that this show isn't hilarious, because it is. And the second season, currently in the middle of airing, has been a big step above the first season (see, for example "Ted Moseby, Architect" or "Slap Bet"). The first season had its share of highlights as well (in particular "Okay Awesome" and "The Pineapple Incident"), but it got worse towards the end. So I was totally unprepared for the complete awesomeness of season 2. If it keeps up the quality of the first half of the second season, we could be seeing a real classic unfolding here.

1. The 4400 (USA)
Like Lost or Heroes this show is a science fiction type show with long, epic storylines that unfold during the course of several episodes. Unlike those shows, this show maintains a strong interest throughout by moving at a breakneck pace. Multiple important events and revelations during each episode is a matter of course, with all the events leading to further interesting mysteries and storylines. Maybe it's because one season of The 4400 is barely more than half the length of those other shows, so they have to pack everything in much faster. Maybe it's just that the writers have better ideas. I dunno. All I know is that with all the questions that have been done on this show, few have been settled too slowly or quickly and few have been answered unsatisfactorily. Each season has been totally different from the last, and each has been better than the last. And the most recent season, season 3, ended last summer with an excellent series finale that left several interesting cliffhangers which may, in fact, change the entire nature of the show yet again. There's no way I could have seen this coming from the mediocre original miniseries, but I feel quite comfortable declaring this to be the best show on TV right now. And Heroes is totally a ripoff of this.

Christmas Episodes: Phil of the Future - Christmas Break

Day 8 of the TCR Christmas Extravaganza

Ever since I first saw an episode of Phil of the Future, which was just in February of this year, it has been one of my favorite tween shows on television. I've now seen the entire run of the series, mostly multiple times over, thanks to constant repeats on the Disney Channel. And I have to say that it remains one of my all time favorites. While I unsurprisingly prefer the first season (when it had Kay Panabaker) the second season was still great TV. With that in mind here's a quickie review of one of the episodes in that second season, "Christmas Break".

The Show: Phil of the Future

The Episode: "Christmas Break"
Year of Production: 2005
Episode Number: 36 of 43

Brief Series Summary, For the Totally Clueless: Disney Channel's hit series, Phil of the Future, tells the story of the Diffy family, a futuristic family from the year 2121. When the eccentric dad, Lloyd, rents a time machine for their family vacation, everyone is excited. But then something goes wrong. Their time machine malfunctions and they are thrown out of the space/time continuim in the year 2004. The time machine has broken, and Lloyd is having trouble fixing it, so he, his part-robotic wife Barbara, and his kids: fifteen-year-old Phil Diffy (Ricky Ullman) and his thirteen-year-old daughter Pim, the little menace of the family, are forced to live in the past and pretend to be a normal family in the suburban town of Pickford. The only person who knows their secret is Keely Teslow, Phil's best friend. Together they deal with the things that every teenager in 2004 must deal with: school, bullies, significant others, crushes, homework...and then add the Diffys' habit of getting into trouble by using their futuristic gadgets, such as the Wizrd, the Insta-Morph, Skyaks, the DNA Scramber, and much more. [Attribution to Tv.com.]

Episode Summary [Contains Spoilers, As Such!]: The episode opens with Keely Telsow (Aly Michalka) visiting the Diffys in order to help them trim the tree. After some lighthearted humor, it ultimately slips out that Phil knew that Keely was at one time the Pickford Yuletide Star Princess. But Phil didn't know Keely at that time, so how could he know that? Phil ends up telling the story of how he first met Keely (unbeknownst to her). [flashback]. The Diffys arrive via time machine in the year 2003. They talk a bit about how the kids can go out and explore the area for a while (they want to go shopping at a mall). Opening credits. When the opening credits end, we pick up the story of the Diffys in early 2003. They flip a coin to decide which mall to go to, but the coin slips away from Lloyd Diffy's hand and Keely finds it. The kids have to retrieve it because it is made of a futuristic metal that doesn't exist yet, and they don't want to disrupt the time line. Back in the Diffy's living room, Lloyd (Phil's dad) interrupts the story to start telling about how they bought their house. Lloyd and Barb have stayed behind while their kids retrieve the coin (lazy!) Then, since Barb really wants to see the house, they notice the house is for sale and pose as buyers to get a chance to tour the house. Back to the Diffy's living room, where Phil takes the conversation back over. Phil and Pim follow Keely to HG Wells High. Some exposition from Keely explains that she is the Pickford Yuletide Star Princess and is therefore solely responsible for keeping the antique star safe until the tree lighting ceremony (doesn't really make any sense but whatever). When Keely is distracted, Phil grabs the coin, but Pim steals the star too. Phil tries to make her give it back, but in the struggle, the star is dropped and broken. Phil feels pretty bad, so gets the idea to use the time machine to go back in time and save the star. We cut back into Lloyd's story. Lloyd and Barb continue to look around, and there's a bunch of "The Diffys are from the future" related humor that is mostly lame. What follows next is a lengthy and rather clever montage where Phil and Pim repeatedly go back in time to save the star, only to have it break in a different way. Ultimately Phil is able to save it. Lloyd cuts back to his story. It turns out that the exhaust from time engines are pure, flawless diamonds. Worthless in the future but obviously extremely valuable now. He trades a few handfuls of diamonds for the house (intended to be used as a vacation house). Phil and Pim meet back up with them and they decide to go back to the future, but the time machine is broken! Since they have to stick around anyways, they decide to go to the lighting ceremony because Phil wants to see Keely light the tree. There's a rather cute scene where Keely gives a touching speech and then places the star as they all watch on.

Cut back to the present in the Diffys living room. A little bit of light humor ensues. Some touching Phil/Keely stuff. Then, Pim places the star on the tree and they all sing Christmas carol from the future.

Greg's Review/Comments: Unlike most Christmas episodes, such as the Lizzie one, there are no grand Christmas lessons learned. Nobody learns that the true meaning of Christmas is helping people, there's no religious content spewed, no Santa content, nothing about giving or receiving presents, nothing like that at all. In fact, this episode deftly avoids all the Christmas cliches while still being very heartwarming and giving a positive pro-charity message for the Christmas season. One could argue, and could argue validly, that for a so-called "Christmas episode" there is very little Christmas content at all. The object they are saving for Keely is a "Christmas star" but it could just as well be any other valuable, breakable object and the episode would not be changed at all. Nevertheless, I'm glad this episode handled the Christmas stuff in the way it did, with it in the backdrop, rather than providing the impetus for the on screen action. In addition, rather than being a stand-alone, throwaway episode, this is a vital episode to the overall plot of the series. Most Christmas episodes are intended to stand by themselves, but this one tells the story of how the Diffys first came to 2003, and how Phil first met Keely (stuff you would think they would have gone over in the pilot, but whatever). I'm not sure how I feel about that, but it's certainly something. And once again, though it's never explicitly stated I think the episodes message is an inherently Christmas-y one. That being the joy of charity and helping others out at the expense of yourself. Although a majority of the episode, like a majority of most Phil of the Future episodes, was spent developing the Phil/Keely relationship, that message does shine through, at least to me.

This episode, in fact, highlights a lot of the best aspects of Phil of the Future. First, there's the originality and avoidance of cliches, as cited above. The humor, particularly in the scenes involving Aly Michalka, is often genuinely funny. (Keely: "Oh no, I broke the Christmas star!" Mr. Hackett: "Yes you did. I'd hate to be the one in your size 8 sparkle pumps come the Christmas pageant"). The problem with providing quotes is that what makes the jokes funny is not the quality of the jokes themselves but the delivery and performance of the cast. Aly Michalka continues to repeat that she prefers singing to acting but I refuse to believe that's true. She's just so natural and amazing in front of the camera, and seems so comparatively nervous singing on the stage, that I really hope she continues acting. Which highlights another of the best parts of the series, which is the outstanding acting for a Disney series. The entire cast are gifted comedic actors, with not a weak link in there. But Ricky Ullman and Aly Michalka also have amazing chemistry, and they are very capable of handling the dramatic scenes as well. I've said it before, but I think people thought I was joking: Phil and Keely go together so well on the screen, and the friendship is portrayed so well, that there are literally hundreds of fan-made montages of touching scenes with them together set to pop music on YouTube. This speaks, I think, to how well-crafted the relationship was. And as this is obviously a key episode in the development of their relationship, their on-screen chemistry really helps out matters here. A lot of the humor still doesn't work (especially the humor based on the Diffys being from the future), but the episodes are always fun, and I can always appreciate them for what does work. Not only all of the above, but even for a Christmas episode, the plot is exceptionally cute. And Keely's speech at the end had me way more emotionally affected than anything in "Xtreme Xmas" or Santa Baby could even dream of getting me.

Then again, the episode also highlights the number one problem with Phil of the Future: the mind numbing monotony of the Phil/Keely relationship. Listen, I'm a "Pheely" fan as much as anybody. When Phil and Keely got together in "Back to the Future" I thought it was pretty much the cutest thing ever. Then, when they finally kissed at the end it made me want to get up and cheer. That doesn't change the fact that every episode covers the exact same ground in their relationship from about the 5th episode all the way up to the last one. Phil and Keely are perfect for each other, they are good friends, they love each other but won't get together. It gets extremely tiresome when every episode in the entire run of the series is built around that. At a certain point it started to go on way too long, and as this episode came towards the end of the show's run, it was definitely in the part of the series where the relationship was dragging.

Final Rating: Despite the lack of Kay Panabaker, excellent performances, funny comedy, and a really cute plot make this one of the best episodes in the entire run of Phil of the Future. In all honesty, this is probably my favorite episode from the second season, barring the series finale "Back to the Future" (which made me almost embarrassingly emotional) ("The Giggle" was good too). 9/10. ("I liked it because it was cute")