The Best Television of 2005

Well, it’s the end of the year…which means it’s time for all the Best of and Year in Review type posts.

Over at Demure Thoughts, Jennifer — a self-proclaimed TIVO Whore — has posted her Best TV of 2005 list (15 shows, and 4 honorable mentions…damn, that girl does like TV).

We also love our DVR, but I have limited my list to the Ten Best TV Shows of 2005 (none of which are on Jennifer’s list):

1. Six Feet Under (HBO) — Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Rachel Griffens, and many others — Family has always been the central theme on Six Feet Under (moreso than even death) But in the fifth and final season, the Family theme is about the Fisher family repairing and getting closure on the complex problems that have built up over the first four seasons: Ruth deals with George’s mental deterioration, David and Keith adopt two little boys, Nate and Brenda get pregnant, lose the baby, and get married, and Clare and Billy give their relationship one last chance. In the end, Nate’s brain cancer and death bring everyone together one last time. The final 6 minutes, with Claire driving off to go to school in New York, and the montage of everyone’s life and eventual death is the most perfect 6 minutes of television I have ever seen.
2. Arrested Development (FOX) — Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor — the third and final season of this brilliant comedy, which the critics loved, but just never had the viewership to carry it. The early demise of this show only confirms my belief in how unintelligent the average American is. Seriously — think about how dumb the average person is…then realize that 50% of the population is dumber than that. This show is gone because too few people were intelligent enough to “get it”. Unfortunately, the season finale probably wont wrap up all the lose stories like Six Feet Under did. So we’ll never get to find out if George Michael Bluth ever hooks up with his cousin Maeby, or if George Bluth Sr. is ever exonerated by the evidence destroyed by his inept magician son George Oscar Bluth II (GOB, which he pronounces Jobe). Besides, how can you not love a show which brought half the original cast of Happy Days back to television (Richie Cunningham is the show narrator, Henry Winkler was the family’s old attorney, and this season they brought in Scott Baio as the family’s new attorney, Bob Lob Law)? Even a mention of blogging: Bob Lob Law’s Law Blog (“Whew, you’re a mouthful!). Tim Goodman at the SF Chronicle agrees: “Any TV show that’s funny the third time you watch the same episode is rare indeed…”
3. Deadwood — (HBO) — Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Johne Hawkes, Paula Malcomson, Robin Weigert, Powers Boothe, and many others — If Shakespear had cussed like a sailor, he could have written Deadwood. Interspersed between Mr. Wu’s littany of “cocksucker” and Calamity Jane saying “fuck” every other word, the dialoge in Deadwood was brilliant, a form of profain poetry at times. The second season of this old West drama introduced one of the most disturbing characters on television in 2005, Francis Wolcott (played by Garret Dillahunt). Ian McShane was easily the best actor of 2005.
4. House (FOX) — Hugh Laurie, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Jennifer Morrison, Jesse Spencer, Sela Ward, and Lisa Edelstein — As a former EMT and Combat Medic, I love medical dramas. But ER jumped the shark so long ago, that I forgot it was still even on television, and nothing has come even close to filling the void until House. The actual medical dramas are not what makes this show, rather it’s the smart and witty dialog, especially Dr. House’s irreverent bed-side manners. Hugh Laurie was the single best actor on network television in 2005. Perhaps Emmy voters held his being British against him…how else can you explain him (or Ian McShane) losing the mediocre talent that is James Spader?
5. Huff (Showtime) — Hank Azaria, Paget Brewster, Blythe Danner, Oliver Platt, Anton Yelchin, Andy Comeau, Kimberly Brooks, and Jack Laufer (as the Homeless Hungarian that haunts Dr. Huff) — The very best show on television that nobody else seems to know about. Does nobody else have Showtime? The dynamics and chemistry between the main characters, particullary Dr. Huff, his mother Izzy, and his lawyer Russel Tupper, makes this one of the most compelling shows to watch on television. It’s billed as a medical drama (Huff is a Los Angeles psychiatrist), but it’s more about family and relationships than anything else. Just some very bizarre and complex relationships. Oh, and in addition to Huge Laurie and Ian McShane, Hank Azaria also deserved to win the Emmy for best actor over Jimmy Spader. Damned politics of Emmy voting…
6. My Name is Earl (NBC) — Jason Lee, Jaime Pressly, Ethan Suplee, Eddie Steeples, and Nadine Velazquez — There hasn’t been a good stereotypical “white trash” sitcom on television since Rosanne (and Rosanne wasn’t very funny nor even very good). I was a little uncertain about Earl after the first episode, but it’s grown on me. And Jaime Pressly is the best caricature of a character on television in 2005, and she deserves Best Actress in a Comedy series. Nobody else is even close.
7. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) — Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Richard Lewis, Jeff Garlin, and Susie Essman — The common theme amongst all of my favorite shows is superb writing that results in brilliant dialog. Curb Your Enthusiasm uses brilliant writing to create outrageously funny situations. Larry David is train wreck of a human being in this show, but you can’t look away. The episode this season where Larry thinks he was adopted and isn’t really Jewish is one of the funniest episodes in all of television in 2005.
8. The Office (NBC) — Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Jim Krasinski, B.J. Novak — Another show that grew on me over the year. Steve Carell was the scene stealer on the big screen in Bruce Almighty and Anchorman, and then showed that he could carry a movie in The 40-Year Old Virgin. In The Office, Carell shows that he can carry a television comedy too. However, Rainn Wilson’s character Dwight plays the role of scene stealer in most episodes.
9. The Sports Reporters (ESPN) — Jaon Whitlock, Bob Ryan, Mike Lupica, Michael Wilbon — My favorite reason for getting up early on Sunday morning. It’s a round-table discussion on Sports amongst four knowledgeable and passionate sports reporters, who often don’t agree with each other. The highlight of the show is the final Parting Shots segment, where each reporter gives a usually unrestrained and often biting take on a particular topic from the week in sports.
10. Prison Break (FOX) — Dominic Purcell, Amaury Nolascos, Peter Stormare,Wentworth Miller, Sarah Wayne Callies, Robert Knepper, Robin Tunney — according to my wife, the most compelling reason to watch Prison Break is “Wentworth Miller…mmmm…Wentworth” (said in her best Homer Simpson voice). Yeah, this show’s not even a little bit realistic. The acting is good at best. The story? So full of holes you could break out of prison through them. Then how did it make me Top 10 list? Because it’s entertaining as hell. A whole season about a single prison break that didn’t even occur? I don’t know…you just gotta watch all the beautiful prison people to understand.