rec.arts.tv Commentary:

MY REVIEW: The '01-'02 Season: My "Musings" Review:

This article was written, by me, and posted to the 
rec.arts.tv newsgroup on May 27, 2002. 
That original article has been slightly edited by me 
before being placed on the web on October 27, 2002.

Note: Your best bet is just to pick out the shows you watch, and read those reviews - few people read my whole dang review!

Beyond that, have at it!

LIST OF GRADED SHOWS:

Rank   TV SERIES                GRADE    OTHER COMMENTS
----  -----------               -----    --------------
  1   Once & Again                A-      MY #1 SHOW OF THE YEAR
  2   24                          B+      MY #2 SHOW OF THE YEAR
  3   Roswell                     B+      MY #3 SHOW OF THE YEAR
  4   Dark Angel                  B+      MY #4 SHOW OF THE YEAR
  5   Special Unit 2              B+      MY #5 SHOW OF THE YEAR
      Dawson's Creek              B       HONORABLE MENTION
      The Agency                  B       HONORABLE MENTION
      Wolf Lake                   B       HONORABLE MENTION
      Beastmaster                 B       SPECIAL MENTION
      The Tribe                   B       SPECIAL MENTION
      Mutant X                    B       GUILTY PLEASURE #1
      The Bachelor                B       GUILTY PLEASURE #2
      Andromeda                   B
      Law & Order: Special 
        Victims Unit              B
      Raising Dad                 B
      V.I.P.                      B
      Alias                       B-      MOST OVERRATED
      Charmed                     B-
      The Practice                B-
      Survivor IV: Marquesas      B-
      That 70's Show              B-
      Boston Public               C+
      King of Queens              C+
      That 80's Show              C+
      Angel                       C       BIGGEST DECLINE
	                                      & BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
      Yes Dear                    C
      The X-Files                 C-
      Earth: Final Conflict       F      

THE SHOW REVIEWS:

OVERVIEW:

Apparently like everyone else writing about it on IMDb.com, I accidentally discovered this show on the cable channel MOVIEPLEX/WAM! while channel-surfing for something decent to watch Sunday nights at 7pm. I'm glad I found it.

The "best" (read: "only") post-apocalyptic teen soap opera on the air(!), "The Tribe" is essentially a reworking of the concept from the "Star Trek" episode "Mira" (ground similarly covered in Showtime's "Jeramiah", though "The Tribe" predates it by a couple of years) - a human-engineered virus, designed to prolong the human life-span, instead escapes, wiping out the entire adult population of the world. Who's left? From the looks of it, the only survivors are an intrepid (and photogenic!) crew of Australian and New Zealander teens and pre-teens.

While this may sound silly (and the costuming and make-up for this series is silly!) and juvenile, "The Tribe" actually pulls this off a lot better than it has any right to. More than a straight-forward soap, the show manages to deftly integrate sociological, theological and science-fiction themes into its soap format.

My only disappointment/complaint about this show is that I've seemly stumbled upon "The Tribe" in the middle of its 3rd season. From what I've been able to gather, its first, and especially second, seasons were better and even more crucial, which is why I'm hoping MOVIEPLEX starts replaying the entire series from the first episode at some point. (Note: Apparently, the digital cable channel WAM! does plays this show daily, if you can get WAM!...)

But for now, I'm pleasantly surprised by this imported gem...

WHAT WORKED:
    The writing for this show is surprisingly deep, and also contains good character work. The premise is intriguing, and the people behind the show have done a good job fleshing it out and working the premise. The best characters in the third season are Ebony, Lt. Luke, Tai-San and crazy Salene.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    While the writing is deep, jumping into this show mid-stream shows you that these writers don't go into great deal into past events, which is frustrating. Ned, the "comedy relief" for season #3, doesn't really work as a character. The actor playing "The Guardian" is obviously well past his teen years, and is a little too over-the-top to boot. This is a mostly teen cast, so don't expect the acting to be stellar. For those used to American television, Australian/British shows can be annoyingly more elliptical than their more straight-forward American counterparts.

OVERVIEW:

Without belaboring the point (again!), I still feel that this is a show that would have been much better with a stronger lead. In the end, it gets by mostly on the strength of its supporting cast, and some good action/suspense writing.

It's also way overhyped in the Press (e.g. Entertainment Weekly), which treats the show like a "breakout hit", when the ratings suggest otherwise (check its ratings if you don't believe me).

WHAT WORKED:
    It's all about the great supporting cast, lead by Ron Rifkin, Carl Lumbly and Victor Garber. Also key are the action and suspense sequences that really do hold attention. Good stunt/fight choreography rounds things out. The one storyarc that really worked this season was the one involving Sydney's reporter friend Will Trippin (Bradley Cooper) attempts to discover the truth about the murder of Syndey's fiance and SD-6.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Jennifer Garner is irreparably miscast (too weepy, not 'kick-ass' enough) as the lead, Syndey Bristow. Michael Vartan is similarly weak and unimpressive, as Syndey's CIA 'handler', Michael Vaughn (if only he'd stay dead!). The show muddies its superior elements (the 'spy game') with silly forays into quasi-fantasy/Sci-Fi (that's called "muddling your genres"...). Also of concern - can this show keep this level of intensity and engagement into a second season without becoming tiresome?! (I'm dubious...)

OVERVIEW:

Remember when this show used to be good?... Yeah, I barely do, either.

At least the series finale, "The Truth", finally explicitly laid out the answers to many of the show's mysteries (too bad the entire series mytharc could have paid-off much more evenly and satisfactorily all along...)

WHAT WORKED:
    Robert Patrick was about the only thing still working in this show. Cary Elwes would have been an intriguing addition to the show... three years ago! The aforementioned series finale was actually pretty good. TGIO!!! ( = "Thank God It's Over!!!")
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Have I mentioned how horribly miscast Annabeth Gish (whom I've liked in other things) is for this show?! Gillian Anderson was 'going through the motions', zombie-like, this season. And she wasn't the only one - XF writers, anyone?! Killing The Lone Gunman was unnecessary, pig-headed and mean-spirited. If the "Myth-Arc" is inane by this point in the show's run, even the MOTW episodes were lackluster this season. Where was Deep Throat among Mulder's hallucinations of the dead in the finale?!!

OVERVIEW:

Over-the-top schlock lawyering, at its best.

WHAT WORKED:
    What he just said! Also, the finale's development of sending Lindsey (Kelli Williams) to jail, if highly improbable, is also amusingly entertaining.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Are we supposed to like any of these people?! (With Kelley shows, I can never tell!) What happened to Ron Livingston?!

OVERVIEW:

Once probably the funniest sitcom on the air, KoQ seems to be on the decline these days.

WHAT WORKED:
    I still love Kevin James.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Remember how everyone said this series was "annoying" last year? Well I'm starting to agree with them. Second season situations weren't nearly as amusing as first season ones.

OVERVIEW:

A decent first season is not followed up on nearly as well in season #2.

WHAT WORKED:
    For whatever reason, I still think Mike O'Malley is a hoot!
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Remember how everyone said this series was "annoying" last year? Well I'm starting to agree with them. Second season situations weren't nearly as amusing as first season ones.

OVERVIEW:

While hitting all of the usual Kelley notes, for a David E. Kelley series, this one is surprisingly addictive. It's also unbelievably schlocky, and (as is par for the course with David E. Kelley) unnecessarily over-the-top.

WHAT WORKED:
    Jeri Ryan's addition actually helped the show. This is the most ridiculously melodramatic show since "Melrose Place" - and I miss "Melrose Place"!
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Michael Rappaport's addition actually didn't help the show. Ryan's addition meant that Jessalyn Gilsig's Lauren has been pushed to the side, and dumbed down. While obviously going for over-the-top controversy/melodrama, the problem is that some people might take this show seriously and think it's true-to-life. David E. Kelley's far too frequent Left Wing slant - 'nuff said. As with all Kelley shows this one tends to be loud and shrill, and can probably only be taken in small doses.

OVERVIEW:

How do you go my #3 Ranked/"Most Improved" Show to the "BIGGEST DECLINE" & "BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT" in one season? Ask Angel.

A formerly watchable fantasy/detective show hybrid, this show has unfortunately degenerated into the same weepy, over-the-top melodrama that its originator "Buffy" has. And like "Buffy", I'm just plum bored with it - call me a radical, but I vastly preferred the Rockford Files-meets-Kolchak/MOTW vibe of season #1. (Meanwhile, while season #2 was also much more 'arc-intensive', at least it was powered by a *good* arc, and some great episodes!) Color me severely disappointed in season #3 "Angel". (In fact, a return trip for season #4 is highly unlikely at this point, for this author.)

WHAT WORKED:
    Darla's return was cool. For what it's worth, I liked the villain Holtz. I also like what they've done with Lilah, and later on with Wesley.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    I now dislike or hate every other character on the show including Angel (give me back season #1 Angel!), Cordelia (who gave this girl a personality lobotomy?! she used to have edge! This NuCordelia sucks!), The Host (overused much?! - but at least he's gone now), Gunn (Hello Captain Dunsel!), and most especially the annoying Fred (I hated this character when she was called "Willow", and I still hate it!). John Rubenstein's Linwood Murrow is simply a Holland Manners (the superior Sam Anderson) retread. I liked the first season vision of this show, not the tiresome soapy melodrama we're getting now. Like "Buffy" before it, "Angel" episodes now suffer from severe pacing problems. This 'son of Angel'/Connor storyarc was "Angel's" Waterloo. Who cares?! Not me!

Horrifyingly watchable "schlock TV", at its very finest - proving that you "can't go wrong" with the watchability of relationship 'train wrecks'.

WHAT WORKED:
    Smarmy bachelor Alex's final choice of zaftig, placid, low-maintenance, Mid-Westerner Amanda outraged feminists and 'sophisticated modern' (read: overtoned, neurotic, Coastal urbanites) everywhere! - that alone was worth the price of admission! There's something strangely fascinating about women being catty with one another.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    The fact that all of these women were willing to debase themselves falling all over this phony, transparent, smarmy (gay?) Alex should depress men everywhere (but, then again, hasn't it always been that way!). Um, Shannon?! Men don't go for "drama Queens", no matter how pretty they are - chill out! What was Alex's whole obsession with Trista, anyways?! I don't get it!!

Despite a truncated season that rushed some season-ending storylines (and a finale that was perhaps a little too generous in tying up loose ends), I've got very few complaints with this highly entertaining season. In short, O&A was back to form this season, leading to the now endless debate - which was the better season: season #1 or season #3?!

"Once & Again" and "Roswell" are two shows that I'm going to miss a heck of a lot...

WHAT WORKED:
    Obviously, the Jessie and Grace arcs were by far the most interesting parts of this season - too bad the former storyline was never satisfactorily finished. Mischa Barton and Eric Stoltz was great guest stars. A close second was the storyarc regarding Karen Sammler's melt-down, and subsequent accident - "Gardenia" was probably the single best episode of the season for any show. The Eli storyarc, while frustrating, was very true-to-life. Lily & Rick were more plusses than minuses this season. Zoey was growing up! (too bad we won't get a season #4 to explore that!). "Losing You", about Lily's mother's condition, was another very good, fascinating, and heart-breakingly true-to-life episode.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    While excellent in the first season episode "Mystery Dance", the addition of Steven Weber to the show did not help matters any, and his and Judy's relationship was the least interesting and least successful part of this season. A little of Tiffani and Jake went a *long* way. Unlike, the second season episode "Aaron's Getting Better" (which was excellent - probably the best episode of season #2), "Aaron's House of Dreams" was disappointingly facile and didactic (which is beneath a show like O&A).

OVERVIEW:

Formerly "sweet" 'retrocom' is still funny, despite increasing undercurrent of meanness and cruelty among its teen characters.

WHAT WORKED:
    The world rises, and sets, on Topher Grace (who's also the only cast member who can actually sing, as the 100th episode proved). Meanwhile, William Valderrama is actually a good dancer!
    This show would probably be lost without the supporting work of Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith. Kunis and Prepron? Still very h-o-t-t hot. And, Jackie's a hoot besides...
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Tommy Chong is totally unnecessary and redundant for these proceedings. Donna, Hyde, Kelso, and sometimes even Eric, are just too darn mean and cruel for my tastes these days. Kelso's and Fez's buffoonery/schtick is starting to wear thin after all of these years.

OVERVIEW:

Despite a rickety start, and a seasonal direction that didn't appeal to many, color me pretty darn happy with this season of the show. Too bad it's over! (but thank God it is, so that it can't be ruined anymore by outside influences!)

Even better was a series finale which, if not answering every question, at least ended on a happy, upbeat, satisfying note, and which was clearly designed to be a gift to all the fans who had stuck around since season #1. Too bad the rest of the last third of the season was so rushed...

I'm going to miss this show.

WHAT WORKED:
    After a highly uneven and almost disastrous second season (especially the first-half) that focused too much on hair-brained Sci-Fi (thanks to directives from The WB's hare-brained network goons), the third season of "Roswell" thankfully returned to much more character-based story-telling. This show really hit its stride again in the third season with the LA-two-parter, "Secrets & Lies" and "Control", and didn't really falter much after that (excepting the less successful "To Have & To Hold"/"Interruptus" two-parter immediately following). The villains this season thankfully returned to being of the human variety (except for the lamentable appearance of Kivar in "Interruptus").
    Liz was thankfully mostly front-and-center this year, after a second season where she'd been regrettably sidelined (thanks again WB network goons!). After once again being a jerk early in the season, Max too settled down to being a likeable character once again. And you can't go wrong with Kyle Valenti.
    The storytelling this season was much more solid, particularly in the second half of the season. Indeed, there were some good developments in the second-half including the reemergence of the FBI "Alien Squad", Jesse's forced integration into the "secret club", and the return of Tess (and the resolution of what happens to her baby). The best storyarc of the season, however, was Phillip Evans' "quest for the truth" (shades of season #1 Sherrif Valenti, anyone?), even if his ultimate reaction to it was anti-climatic (and a little unbelievable).
    Leaving the exact fate of the Tess character ambiguous was something I greatly appreciated.
    Thank Gawd for the finale! (Happy Liz! Yea!!)
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    The first part of this season was strangely uninvolving, and this no doubt was the final nail in this show's coffin with the mass adience (even if the show improved soon after that). Focusing so much of the (early) part of the season on the Jesse/Isabel relationship was a serious mistake, involving a character (Jesse) no one really liked, in a storyline nobody really cared about and which distracted from more pressing and interesting storylines. I didn't really care for the McGuffin of Liz developing "alien powers".
    Meanwhile, the last several episodes of the season were obviously rushed, forcing some storyline resolutions to be somewhat anticlimactic, when they should have been exciting - but I guess that's what happens when your episode order is cut back from the expected 22 episodes to just 18. Also, sticking this series in the most competitive timeslot of the week, and then failing to promote it, bites. (Not to mention replacing the show with two loser sitcoms that didn't even last 3 weeks!)
    If the virtual banishment of the Maria character to a one-scene-per-episode status was unfortunate (if understandable, based on the actress' attitude), the almost complete banishment of Jim Valenti to the sidelines was unforgivable (why not do more with this great character?!) - also, recasting the role of Jim Valenti, Sr. was very unfortunate. And, you know what? - that Isabel just isn't very likeable, is she?!
    There are still a lot of loose ends here: what happened to Brody, Milton, Sean Deluca, and Maria's and Liz's Moms? (and Deputy Blackwood?! And Kal?!!); were Holo-Mom & Future!Max real or just Tess-inspired illusions?; where did Max's, Isabel's & Tess' human DNA come from? (cf: "The Hydrid Chronicles"); what happened with Nicholas and the Skins, or the Dupes? (not that I care, particlarly about the latter); what happens to Antar now?!; etc.
    Implying that Tess was dead made me sad... :(
    Oh yeah - UPN & The WB suck.

OVERVIEW:

A bravely nervy premise is this show's best feature, along with serviceable writing, and a game cast.

But it was the suspense element that made this unlike any show on TV right now.

Add in a whopper of a season finale ending (and a 2nd season pick-up, with no formatting changes- yea!), and color me real happy with this one.

In short, "24" was the only really outstanding new show of this season. (Thank Gawd there's at least one!)

WHAT WORKED:
    Exhibit A: The format - no one besides EP's Surnow & Cochran would have the balls to do a show in "real time", but I'm so thankful they did. It was the main ingredient in this show being as good as it is. (And what better inducement to not missing an episode?!)
    While we're at it, Exhibit B is the suspense element of this show. Lots of shows have "action". But there's probably no other show on television that has the strong week-after-week suspense element to it, and almost no show's have such high integration with a season-long storyarc, as "24".
    The cast on this show was uniformely great, starting with Keifer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, and going on through Sarah Clarke and as Nina, Dennis Haysbert and Penny Johnson as David and Sherry Palmer, Leslie Hope and Elisha Cuthbert as Teri and Kim, and extending all the way down to more minor characters like Xander Berkley as Mason and Eric Balfour as Milo.
    And thanks for the whopper ending in the season finale! Nice way to tie up loose ends, while still making the proceedings mean something by having real loses for Jack Bauer. Kudos!
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    While in the guise of maintaining suspense, there were a number of questionable elements in this one - e.g. how many times can Kim and Teri be kidnapped/almost killed before it becomes laughable (and I'm not even talking about the temporary amnesia thing).

OVERVIEW:

A quite watchable, if generally unfunny, sitcom from the producers of "That 70's Show", which was almost entirely carried by Tinsley Grimes, as perky sister Katie.

WHAT WORKED:
    The aforementioned Tinsley Grimes, as perky 'Valley Girl' (yeah, yeah, I know it was set in San Diego!) Katie, was the show's primary selling point. Additional good supporting work was provided by Eddie Shin as Roger, Chyler Leigh as Tuesday, and especially Margaret Smith as the record store owner. Later on, they finally figured out what to do with Brittany Daniel's Sophia, and Daniel returned to her previous good form as seen in "Sweet Valley High".
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Geoffrey Pierson was surprisingly uninspired as the dad. Glenn Howerton was disappointingly bland as lead Corey Howard (Howerton's no Topher Grace!). Overall, "That 80's Show" was more "pleasant" than "funny" (still, I'm sorry to see it go...).

OVERVIEW:

"Dawson" mostly successfully navigates the transition to college... until the evil specter of Dawson/Joey rears its ugly head in the season finale, and mars a very good season up to that point.

WHAT WORKED:
    The entire college saga of Joey (not including the band detour) was the most involving part of the show. Indeed, finally throwing in the towel and primarily basing the show around the Joey character was probably the most logical course of action.
    Pacey's career track was the other involving storyline, and the portrayal of a character who succeeds, despite not going to college, is laudable, if an all-too-infrequent occurrence on television. Too bad they ruined this development at the end of the season - though I did very much like Sherilyn Fenn's guest stint (even if, once again, they wimped on the ending of it). I also liked Jack's arc, even if it did ultimately degenerate into the stereotypical bashing of fraternities (so tired of this - is everyone who writes for television a rejected rushing pledge from a fraternity or a sorority?!).
    Dawson & Jen was a pairing that actually made sense - too bad the writers gave up on it so quickly. Indeed, Jen's confrontation of her past and her father was probably the best thing that happened this season.
    The Audrey character, though seen far too much, was a welcome addition to the show. Also, the Charlie character added a bit of 'flavor' to the show (even if I preferred this actor when he was playing Tristan on "Gilmore Girls").
    Thank Gawd Grams survived the "purge of the adults" at the start of this season!
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Have I mentioned how much I hate Dawson & Joey (together, as a couple) lately? While we're at it, yeah, we get that Pacey is a stud - but does he have to sleep with (or attempt to sleep with) every single female that crosses his path?! Yikes! I also could have lived without Joey's cliched 'almost affair' with her professor.
    Giving up on Dawson/Jen after a mere 3 episodes was an inexcusable cop-out. In fact, giving up on Dawson in California so quickly was also incredibly lame. Are these writers so afraid of writing for characters in two geographical locations?! (There were a million ways they could have handled this - sending Dawson back to MA almost immediately was really wimpy.)
    Somebody needs to tell Katie Holmes that she's become too mannered an actress, and is mugging for the camera too much these days. While they're at it, they can give Busy Phillips the same message.

OVERVIEW:

This, along with "The Chronicle", were the only true Sci-Fi comedy/dramas out there, and I liked this one better. Needless to say, both shows were casualties of this TV season (in SU2's case, blame Les Mooves, who'll soon discover (the hard way!) that nothing will probably work in the post-"Enterprise" timeslot as well as SU2 did!) - casualities of a TV season without hope.

Which is too bad, as SU2 was the show I most looked forward to for the first half of this season...

WHAT WORKED:
    The humor was by far this show's best feature, and it was occasionally laughing-so-hard-it-hurts funny, in episodes such as "The Sand". Carl (Danny Woodburn), the larcenous gnome snitch/supporting player was many people's favorite element, and he was certainly one of mine.
    The running theme of the disaster-that-was-Kate-Benson's-love-life! was an amusing touch.
    I liked the lab tech, Jonathan, who managed to be amusingly nerdy, without crossing the line into annoying (I wish "CSI" had such a sharply drawn character, as opposed to the generally annoying lab tech they have.)
    The make-up for some of this show's monsters was among the best on TV.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    It was generally a less effective show in its occasional lapses into a little more serious terrain. It wasn't falling-down-on-the-ground funny quite often enough. The fact that it didn't get a full second season, despite the fact it had been promised one.

OVERVIEW:

A densely ambiguous fantasy show, "Wolf Lake" grew on me as it went along. Too bad it only managed to get through 9 episodes before Les Moonves pulled the plug on another original potential winner...

WHAT WORKED:
    The cast was very good - even Scott Bairstow, whom I've been dubious about before (e.g. Lonesome Dove: The Series, Harsh Realm), was quite good here. The standouts among the cast were Bairstow, newcomer Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Sophia (previously seen as Jessica #1 on "Passions"), Tim Matheson as her father Sheriff Donner, and especially Graham Greene as the mischievous Sherman Blackstone (playing very much against type here).
    This show was just hitting its stride when production was halted, which is a real shame as there will never be a resolution to its various plots. Indeed, this show got better and better as it went along. Standout episodes were "Tastes Like Chicken" and "Legend of Lost Lenore".
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    As with many "mythos"-driven series, this show took too long to get to the heart of its mystery/story/themes, causing most early viewers to abandon it - in the present TV climate, you either get to the point immediately, or you get cancelled. But, then again, this show was never a "mass audience" show, was it?...

OVERVIEW:

A basically unlikable cast dragged down this 4th installment in the series, which was only saved by the unexpected back-and-forth flow of the game. But I suspect that this was the result of heavy manipulations by EP Mark Burnett, which finally and unambiguously calls into question whether this show truly is "reality", or is actually "scripted".

In any case, this was the worst "Survivor" installment yet, in my book.

WHAT WORKED:
    The back-and-forth in this game was its selling point - unlike previous installments of this game, where the basic outlines of the outcome were readily apparent even early on, this one kept you guessing all the way through. Hunter and Gina were the only likeable contestants, thought Pascal and Kathy got more intriguing as time went on.
    Also, it appears that Mark Burnett is finally putting some effort into coming up with more original "challenges", as opposed to previous installments where the challenges were just clones of the first "Survivor".
    The island setting is vastly preferable to Australia/Africa.
    Call me a radical, but I love unctuous host Jeff Probst! :)
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    This cast of characters were highly unlikable - especially Rob, Sean, and John, and also Tammy who's lame meltdown in the Final Jury was neither entertaining nor reasonable (making it probably one of the worst "sore loser" speeches ever seen on TV). And the winner and runner-up, Vecepia and Neleh, were both highly undeserving, IMO.
    Also, I don't like the new tie-breaker rule for voting.
    The "Switch" has got to go! - either play the game through, or just call it "scripted" drama, and be done with it!! (The "Switch" this time around deprived us all of the Maraamu Tribe complete melt-down that was certain to come - and that would have been far more entertaining television than what we got!)

OVERVIEW:

Did "Charmed" 'jump the shark', post-Shannen Doherty? The jury is still out.

While Rose McGowan rose to the challenge of being "the replacement", the show itself took a turn itno glum and humorless melodramatic terrain, threatening that "Charmed" might fall unequivocally into the same swamp that seems to have swallowed "Buffy" and "Angel".

WHAT WORKED:
    Rose McGowan fits in nearly perfectly, even if her start was a tiny bit shaky - but Paige adds more to the show than she detracts. I personally like Julian McMahon, even if he is on too much. Finally! The show has deigned to actually have some recurring villains! Even 'coasting' (as she clearly is), Holly Marie Combs is still this show's "center" and best actress.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Both Phoebe and Cole were way overexposed, and way overused, this season - I didn't like it when "Charmed" threatened to turn into "The Shannen Doherty Show", and I don't like it now when it's threatening to turn into "The Alyssa Milano Show". Similarly, there wasn't enough Holly Marie Combs this season, and when there was her character, Piper, tended to be glum and unhappy - stop this!
    In fact, overall, this season was too "dark" and serious - earlier "Charmed" was best when it both simultaneously paid attention to continuity and setting, but didn't take itself so seriously. This show blew it with Bruce Campbell's character in the season finale - his character would have allowed the show to go into a new direction, but the writers blew this by making him the MOTW.

OVERVIEW:

A surprisingly solid show that really hit its stride after the addition of Daniel Benzali.

WHAT WORKED:
    Benzali was the best part about this show, along with David Clennon. Props also to Will Patton, Paige Turco and eternal guest star Richard Speight Jr. as techie Lex.
    While not groundbreaking in any way, this show is a good action/suspense spy yarn, that gets extra points for accurately mixing real-world events into its proceedings.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    I'm not sure why it was necessary to replace Ronny Cox, and I'm not sure that Beau Bridges' Tom Gage is all that interesting (or well-written).

OVERVIEW:

This is one of only 2 or 3 sitcoms, that originated exclusively on The WB, that I've ever liked. It's also maybe the only sitcom right now that's truly a "family-friendly" sitcom. Needless to say, on The WB, it was toast.

WHAT WORKED:
    Kat Dennings was very well cast as teen daughter Sarah - she's the "find" of this show. Much-maligned Bob Saget was actually pretty amusing here. It's nice to see old pros like Jerry Adler getting steady work.
    This may have been the only "family-friendly" sitcom on the air this season that actually lived up to the label.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    The fact that The WB cancelled it: sorry guys, this show, "Maybe It's Me" and "Grosse Pointe" were the only decent sitcoms you've ever commissioned, and you cancelled them all after a single season - maybe it's time The WB just got out of the sitcom business?... I think so.

OVERVIEW:

After needlessly changing premises as the start of its second season, leading to an inordinately slow and unpromising start, "Dark Angel" happily found its voice again by January, and has been cruising for 'the win' ever since. And its series finale leaves the door open to future movies - goody!

WHAT WORKED:
    Alba improved markedly as an actress in season #2 (no more Alba bashing!). After an initially lackluster start, James Cameron appears to have intervened, forcing a renewed focus on what worked about the new concept, leading to a second half of the season that was much better than the first.
    After a rocky start, Alec was a good addition to the cast, even if the writers seem to sometimes forget his established character (e.g. events from "The Berrisford Agenda", sometimes forgotten soon after...). Ames White was a very good villain (when you really want to see a guy dead, the villain's done his job!). Jam Pony was mercifully deemphasized this season, and when it was used, it was generally used well, especially towards the end of the season (e.g. Normal, Sketchy).
    There was very, very good episodes this season (see: "The Berrisford Agenda", "Harbor Lights", "Hello Goodbye", "Dawg Day Afternoon", and the finale "Freak Nation").
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Asha was a useless character, played by Ashley Scott, a generally useless actress. This show pulled the 'shippers' chains once too often with this virus thing. Junking the original show-theme (Max finding the "lost 12" X-5's) for the new season #2 one (Max leads all transgenics to freedom) was not a wise move, and set the show back to 'square one' at the start of the season which is why it took so long to build up momentum again. And, for what it's worth, I preferred the season #1 theme for being simpler and more effective. The MOTWs for season #2 were often silly. The lack of closure in the finale on several storyarcs (esp. the breeding cult questions) was very frustrating.

OVERVIEW:

The "Law & Order" that I like most by far, "SVU" probably works best because it's maybe the most "Order"-oriented of the L&O's.

WHAT WORKED:
   Christopher Meloni is the pick of the cast here, though I also like Stephanie March's ADA Alex Cabot very much. Indeed, the best episode of the season may well have been, "Guilt", the one where ADA Cabot slowly melts down as she fails to nab as suspected child molester.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    The rest of the cast gets short shrift here - Richard Belzer gets even less screentime here than he did on "Homicide", and Ice-T and Dann Florek do little better. Mariska Hargitay (whom I've liked in other things) is merely serviceable on this show. The message of the episode "Competence" was highly questionable.

OVERVIEW:

A return to more quest-oriented season #1 themes, in the form of a season-long storyarc which gave the show much needed direction, made the show an almost unqualified success in season #3 (except for that disappointing finale).

Now that it's officially gone, I'm gonna miss this show...

WHAT WORKED:
    The quest for the season, as I've said before, gave this show much needed focus and purpose, something it was severely lacking in season #2. Indeed, dumping Iara and the New Sorceress and season #2's heavy-handed nature-vs-technology theme, and bringing back King Zad and the original Sorceress (and adding Marc Singer as Spirit Guide, Dartanus), was the best thing the producers could have done. Beyond that, returning to a much more season #1 "feel" was very welcome. The characters of Dar and Tao were pleasingly back to form this year, and making Arena Dar's sidekick was much preferable to her season #2 role as Dar's rival.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    While dumping Iara was necessary and smart, I'm not sure entirely losing King Voden (whatever happened to him?!) and The Ancient One for season #3 was either necessary or smart. While they brought back the original Sorceress, her absence from the entire second half of this season was glaring - they should have gotten Monika Schnarre to show up for at least the finale. While we're at it, couldn't they have brought Emilie de Ravin back once as Curupira (she sure showed up in flashbacks enough times - heck, they even had an episode with Isla Fisher as Curupira's sister!).
    The switch from Stone Age to Iron Age weaponry was not strictly necessary IMO - it turned the show into a much more cliched 'sword & sorcery' epic.
    The series finale was rather anticlimactic (and confusing!), and it's final scenes were a mess - so, what?! Is Dar dead now? A God? Doesn't this contradict everything Dartanus told Dar about his role in a post-Balcifer world?! Oy! (Not to mention all the dangling threads that weren't tied up in the last episodes...)
    This show will be missed, though the almost back-to-back clip shows in season #3 would seem to indicate that this show was having severe budgetary problems (which is probably why it didn't return).

OVERVIEW:

After a slow and vacuous start, this show got better and better as season #1 progressed, to the point where, by the end of the season, it might actually have been the most entertaining of the syndicated action-dramas. Indeed, the season finale, building on everything that had come before, was one of the better season finales this year, period!

I guess I can't joke about the only appeal of this show being the clothes anymore, huh?...

WHAT WORKED:
    Both the writing and the caliber of the guest stars improved as the season progressed, and all of the characters, except Jesse, are pretty well fleshed out now. By the February Sweeps episodes (which, coincidentally, tended to be very 'Emma-cetric' ;> ), the show had gotten very solid. Indeed, this show put out a couple of 'gem' episodes this season (e.g. "Double Vision", the finale "A Breed Apart", and especially the tricky, engrossing "Nothing to Fear").
    The dialogue and character interaction is often very silly, but in a goofy, appealing sort of way. And, it can't be ignored - the wardrobe and set-design in this show are great! It's as hip as "La Femme Nikita" was, without going over the top, like that show often did. While we're at it, the cast (and guest cast) are beautiful to look at.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    I'm still not happy with the lack of backstory on this show - we know that "New Mutants" were created by some sort of genetic treatments to either cure a disease or boost the patient's immune system, but we don't know the details (e.g. how long have 'new mutants' been around?, what are the details of their accidental creation?, etc.), and I'd like to know them. (And what year is it? This show seems to be set in the "near future", but when?!) While we're at it, where are Emma's, Shalimar's and Brennan's parents? Adam's family? Does Adam have lots of money? (he must have!), Etc.
    So, can Shalimar actually fly? (They never seem to tell us straight out...) Also, too many of the guest stars and GS Agents are 'new mutants' too - with the number of 'new mutants' we've seen, they must outnumber the 'normals'(!). Thus, the show needs to do a better job of balancing this.
    OK, these kids are pretty, but they aren't the most solid actors I've ever seen.

OVERVIEW:

Building on a promising season #1, season #2 was even better... for the first 2/3 of the season. And then Tribune's idiot studio goons forced out the show's creator, forcing one of its best writers to flee as well, and the troubling signs started to appear...

At least many of the important storyarcs were wrapped up by the end of the season, allowing those of us who've been here before to bail out at the end of season #2, before Tribune's changes are really felt in season #3...

WHAT WORKED:
    The first-half of this second season, when series creator Robert Hewitt Wolfe expanded up and improved what he accomplished in season #2 - there were some really good episodes in this stretch. Similarly, the show's overall storyarcs and character interaction were what made this show special and superior.
    Anything from Keith Hamilton Cobb's Tyr Anasazi is a real pleasure - this guy is the best part about the show! Before the change, "purple" Trance was a close second.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    The new opening and the new opening theme music - the first season ones were good, so why change them?!
    Losing Rev Bem was unfortunate (if possibly unavoidable, if the make-up allergy story is true), but changing Trance was, 1) unnecessary, 2) redundant, 3) idiotic, and 4) responsible for ruining the previously best character on the show. Oh, and the wig on RoboRommie? STUPID! Why any of this was done is beyond me! But this leads us to...
    The 'behind the scenes' coup: why turn out the show's creator and showrunner when he's doing a good job?! Also, rule #1 in television: never let your star hijack creative control of the show - actors are morons, and don't know how to put out a good show! (And, this show has already lost a good chunk of its original writing staff.) Indeed, many of the post-Wolfe episodes were either, 1) not up to the high standards "Andromeda" previously established in the first-half of season #2, 2) inferior reworkings of Wolfe-era material, or 3) downright terrible (please, let us forget "Lava and Rockets"). Which leads us to...
    Overexposing Dylan Hunt: even before Sorbo's coup and Wolfe's ouster, this show was becoming less ensemble-oriented and more Dylan-centric - this was not a good thing. (And the intro about Hunt being "a hero" makes me want to puke every time I hear it.) In fact, Dylan Hunt is the least interesting character they've got. Which leads into...
    Turning this into "Hercules in Space" (or as some cleverly call it: "Kirkules"!) vs. the MOTW in season #3 is a seriously bad idea. The storyarc was probably this show's best selling point (a relatively well-done storyarc! take that "X-Files"!), and junking it for mostly stand-alone episode fare makes "Andromeda" indistinguishable from, say, "Relic Hunter". Once again, Tribune's network goons (with their willing accomplice Sorbo) are running amuck, and threaten to give "Andromeda" the "E:FC treatment".
    And speaking of E:FC...

OVERVIEW:

I didn't think it was humanely possible, but Tribune did the impossible - they actually ruined what they'd already ruined!

WHAT WORKED:
    About the only good things I can say are, I still personally like Jayne Heitmeyer and Melinda Deines. It was good to see Boone (and even Zo'or) for all of 5 seconds.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Everything. The Atavus were dumb. Sandovol was even more ruined in season #5 (and then killed off quickly and uneventfully in the finale, for all his trouble). The plots for this season were boring, and the concepts uninteresting. The sets were cheap and dreary. There was almost no storyarc, and what there was uninspiring (or unintelligible).
    And, to cap it all off, the series finale was one of the biggest letdowns ever (and killing Boone, off-screen, in the penultimate episode was even worse than the killing of The Long Gunmen on TXF).
    And all those unanswered questions - e.g. whatever happened to the Taelons (and Jaridians) after the joining? (One Taelon appears to have survived, but it's unclear why, or how he can survive all by himself.) What happened to Auger? Why did they head back to the Atavas homeworld in the end? - I thought it had been stated that the Atavus homeworld, and the non-Earth Atavus were all gone, long before the Taelons even arrived on Earth? (And I how the heck did the Taelons miss the presence of the Atavus ship on the Earth anyway?!) Whatever happened to Lily?! (I know it was stated that she was dead, but I don't believe it.) And on, and on, and on...
    Bottom line: As flawed as seasons #3 & #4 of this show were (and, boy were they! though not as bad as season #2, which was the 2nd worst season after season #5), the season finale to season #4 would actually have worked as a much better series finale. There should never have been a season #5 of this show. IT SUCKED.

OVERVIEW:

After stumbling in season #3, season #4 has been a happy return to the goofy "VIP" that we all knew and loved back in seasons #1 and #2.

Now that it's been announced that season #4 will be this show's last, I will miss it... <sniff, sniff>

WHAT WORKED:
   "The beautiful and lethal Vallery Irons..." - the opening credits never fail to crack me up! LOL!
    More balance with the cast focus this season: we were back to having two 'Kay' episodes, two 'Nikki' episodes, a 'Jonny' episode, and a 'Val-Tasha' episode - which is all anyone can ask for! And there was mercifully not much in the way of 'stunt' casting (and what there was wasn't bad - e.g. Mark Hammil as Val's loopy Canuck uncle).
    Any show that casts Ashley Jones (ex-Megan, Y&R) in a featured guest starring role gets props from me!
WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
    Nikki is still too much of a b*tch (which she wasn't back in the show's first season). In general, Maxine isn't necessary to the proceedings (though she was used much less in season #4, which is good).

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