Be a critic for a day: Name your best and worst of 2008

Some might say it's a cheeky way to fill a blog post AND dodge of bit of work close to the holidays.

But I prefer to think of this next request as a fun way to do what I love most: Talk about TV.

Every year, I pore over old blog posts and resurrect old TV schedules to figure out my highlights and lowlights for the year. Some choices are obvious -- I'm expecting Tina Fey and Mad Men to make every reputable list this year -- others require a little more, um, initiative.

So I want to open the process up. I want to ask you, blog reader, what you're checking off in the cool and not-so-cool columns as 2008 closes. What worked and what didn't? Who rose and fell? How did we wind up with a TV season that gave us Fey as Sarah Palin and Mad Men right next to a Knight Rider remake and Criss Angel "surviving" an imploding hotel in prime time?

Here's my list of some interesting TV stuff to consider:

Mad Men -- '60s ad man Don Draper is the ultimate distant dad -- talented, desirable, remote and full of secrets. Placed in a pathologically detailed re-creation of a Manhattan advertising firm, he's the James Bond of Madison Avenue.

Tina Fey -- Possibly swings an election with a dead-on Sarah Palin impression, then runs the Emmy table to win more awards than any other for 30 Rock. Can she get on that whole economic crisis thing next?

Dexter -- Jimmy Smits as a murderous prosecutor who gets undercover serial killer Dexter Morgan to teach him how to get away with murder. Better onscreen than it reads in print. Trust me.

The Wire -- HBO's masterful Baltimore crime drama presciently foretold the crumbling of the newspaper industry in its fifth and final season.

Hulu.com -- A few more sites like this one -- which offers a host of NBC, Fox and other TV shows stramed on demand -- and I won't even need a TV.

Burn Notice -- A spy stuck in Miami with Gabrielle Anwar and Bruce Campbell? Sardonic action TV heaven.

Lost -- The only series to get better because of the writers strike, finding new, compelling rabbit holes for its endlessly puzzling story of castaways stuck on an island with a will of its own.

Recount -- Laura Dern channels the spririt of Katherine Harris (that's her, as Harris, at left) in HBO's cheeky, involved recounting of how Florida screwed up a presidential election.

*

Comments

[Ed]

I can't believe there is no love for 'The Shield'. Incredible conclusion to an amazing show.

Biggest disappointment for me this year has been 'Heroes'. Jump the shark? Try Circling the drain.

[Adam]

The best show of the year was without a doubt TRUE BLOOD on HBO. If you say otherwise, you're just wrong.

The worst show of the year (excluding stuff that was canceled already like that Rosie O'Donnell abortion) was HEROES. We spent a year listening to how they were going to make up for last year's writing abomination, but it was just more of the same and the only real plot twists involved the surprises that people were related. "He's your father!" "She's your sister!" Give me a break.

[Bob H]

Bar none, the worst of television programming are the so-called reality shows. First of all, they aren't reality in any sense of the word. At best, the outcomes of these insipid shows are pre-determined. At worst, and far more likely, they're scripted. If you want to see a reality show, watch a documentary.

[Pam Davis]

Best: Amy Poehler is truly underrated - her talent and sarcasm will be missed on SNL.

Worst: Non-partisan, here. Hands-down worst "news" shows were Hannity and Colmes and The Situation Room (Wolf Blitzer). I cannot think of one insightful, non-rehashed point offered in either of those programs. Oh, and BTW, EVERYTHING is NOT "Breaking News".....

[Rebecca Whistler]

On the list for Best of 08, without a doubt has to be HBO's True Blood and SNL for their spot-on coverage of the election. On the worst list has to be Knight Rider, the KITT Mustang rocked, but the show was a crapfest of epic scale...

[TechRider]

One of the best: My Own Worst Enemy, the worst don't bother me, as I do not watch them. As for Heroes, they should have quite after they saved the Cheerleader and The World.

[Karen]

BEST: NCIS, hands down. Second: Brothers and Sisters (love Sally Field), but they're starting to slide down the slippery soap opera slope -- pull it back up to first season snappiness. Also: Anxiously awaiting Big Love's return on HBO.

WORST: Lost -- please lose it. And and all those endless reality shows, except for Dancing w/ the Stars.

[Pennywise]

We love Fringe - it's quirky fun like the X-Files was before it went alien-centric. Sooo hate that Eli Stone got the axe. We really love that show. Heroes has gone off the rails although this season is better than last season. Monk and Bones are always fun to watch.

[Karl]

The Worst TV? It would have to be the Network "news" coverage of the Presidential campaigns. Very scary, indeed. NBC should change it's name to DNC.

[Karl]

The Worst TV? It would have to be the Network "news" coverage of the Presidential campaigns. Very scary, indeed. NBC should change it's name to DNC.

[Eric Deggans]

Jay and Shallow -- The girl in the picture is Laura Dern, playing Katherine Harris in a widely disseminated photo in which she shows off her figure while riding a horse....

[Kevin]

Best: "Recount" Laura Dern's spot on take on Katherine Harris was second only to Tina Fey as Palin.

Worst: Anything on network TV. Does anyone really watch the networks anymore????

[Shallow Hal]

Fringe!!!! Fringe!!! Fringe!!!
Oh AND to the girl in the last picture, thanks for the mammaries.

[Jay]

My vote is for whatever show the girl in the last picture is on. good lord

[Keith]

And dont forget fringe it rocks. I miss xfiles.

[Beavis]

I found two real surprises this year. I loved "Sons of Anarchy" and hated "Testees". I heard the premise for "Testees" and thought it would be hilarious.

[Laura]

I love Psych! I am also quite disappointed that they are canceling Eli Stone, another favorite of mine. Oh, I also find Reaper to be quite clever.

[Stephen]

Thanks for opening up the doors to your blog to the readers!

As a 24 year old male, prime meat/eyes for the advertiser, I love Big Bang Theory and sooooo glad we got a second season, the performances by the entire cast especially Jim Parson, and Johnny Galecki!!!
You mix in a healty dose of Kaley Cuoco
and you got me.

[kim/radiogirl]

Tina Fey is the 'it' girl. Love her as Palin and as Liz Lemon on "30 Rock". "The Office" has it's usual hilarity. But the sleeper on TV might be "The Big Bang Theory" which is growing on me. I don't have cable, so woe is me.

[DoctorDoom]

I would take Sharon's positive and say that is my worst of 2008.

Those "politifact" things are nothing more than opinion pieces masquearading as unbiased news. With these pieces they act as prosecutor, defendant, jury and judge. Give me the facts, I am smart enough to decide how truthful something is on my own.

Another worst was the obvious love affair the media had with Obama (that is OK, support whoever), that they tried to hide as impartial coverage.

My best of 2008 is the continued crumbling of the monopoly the mainstream media has ruled over for so long.

[keith]

I also liked My Own Worst Enemy and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. What the heck happened to Heroes? And could somebody please ax that atrocity Kath And Kim. It's ruining a perfectly good Thursday night lineup. And don't get me started on the supposed Reality shows. How do people sit through that dreck. If I here another word about American Idol may wretch all over my Chuck Taylors.

[Sharon]

I think one of the best was the work of the growing number of reporters actually making a call on the truth and lies on the campaign trail. Politifact, FactCheck.org, the Washington Post Fact Checker, they all took a risk and called the pols on their lies and "truthiness" For too long the media have let lies linger in the public square because they were so worried about looking bias. So you ended up with a he said/she said story. It was refreshing to see a reporter point out when a politician's pants were on fire.

[Randy Miller]

I'll agree with the thumbs-up for Lost and Burn Notice. And add one for Jason O'Mara, an actor who already had the full attention of Closer fans as Bill Croelick. His performance makes Life on Mars a must-watch.

Thumbs-down for the quick hook. I don't know My Own Worst Enemy would have lasted, but it was certainly the kind of show that needed some build time and it didn't get it. All four networks had shows that probably deserved a full season run, but got the ax ihstead.