This article was written, by me, on June 3, 1997 and posted to the rec.arts.tv newsgroup. That original article has been somewhat edited by me before being placed on the web on June 6, 1997.
BEST DRAMAS:
1. ER
2. Homicide
3. Party of Five
4. La Femme Nikita
5. Orleans
"Special" Mention : Dark Skies
Honorable Mentions : Murder One, The Pretender, Profiler,
(in no order) Savannah, EZ Streets
Guilty Pleasure(s) : Xena Warrior Princess,
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Biggest Disappointment : Babylon 5
Most Overrated : The X-Files
Seen, at least 2-3 times : Hercules, Sinbad, Lois & Clark, Melrose
(but no special mention) Place, 7th Heaven, NYPD Blue, Beverly
Hills 90210, Law & Order, JAG, Sliders,
Crisis Center, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Nash Bridges,
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Early Edition,
Walker Texas Ranger, Touched by an Angel,
Silk Stalkings, The Big Easy
In a turnaround from last year, I think "ER" had an excellent season, while "Homicide" had a lackluster season (last season, the situations were reversed). So that puts "ER" in the lead position as my "#1 drama".
While some people around here have grown tired of "ER's" 'formula', IMHO NBC's "ER" never fails to challenge and entertain the viewer. Basically, I approve of everything that "ER" has done this season. Unlike last season, the writers have not (by and large) tinkered unnecessarily with the lead characters (though I was dissatisfied with what they did with Mark Green in the season finale). Additionally, no distracting or annoying supporting characters have been foisted upon the audience (though the "comedy relief" with Jerry, the desk clerk, was getting lame this season), and they've done a good job with the supporting characters they did introduce (e.g. Abby Keaton, Anspaugh). Even the loss of Sherry Stringfield could not disrupt what is the most consistently entertaining and solid drama on the air. Solid directing, solid writing and a charismatic cast... what more could you ask for? Kudos to the makers of "ER" for a great season!
Considerably less successful this season were the makers of NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street". That is not to say that "Homicide" still wasn't one of the best shows on TV - it was. Indeed, even a bad episode of "Homicide" is better than most dramas on the air. And that is not to say that individual episodes of "Homicide" this season weren't brilliant - some were. Indeed, the "Homicide" episode "Kaddish" was the single most brilliant thing I saw all season (and maybe even in several seasons!). Several other episodes (the one directed by Walt Stillman, the one which guested Lee Tergesen, the one written by Yaphet Kotto, etc.) were also very good. But compared to last season, "Homicide" has been rather flat, and significantly more conventional, this season. The best ensemble on TV is being abused by substandard plots and rather unimaginative cases. And this is preventing the show from realizing the full potential it achieved just last season. Still near the best of TV, "Homicide" could be blowing everything else away. Too bad, this season, it's not...
And speaking of stunted growth, my #3 drama was also teetering close to disaster this season, but was just so good that it stilled pulled off pretty much everything it was trying to do. Still, while FOX's "Party of Five" seems to have finally gained a toehold with popularity, it is also beginning to look threadbare to those of us who've been with the show since the beginning. What sets "Party of Five" apart from every other drama on the air is inspirational dialogue writing, and the best ensemble of 4 young actors that a TV show could possible gather. However, the "every week a terrible tragedy" (what my Mother likes to call "the Teen Tragedy Show") formula was terribly milked this season. To achieve long-standing greatness, "Party of Five" must break out of its formula more (a couple of *funny* episodes would be welcome!). But based on the incredible acting and the very good dialogue writing from this season, "Party of Five" is still peerless.
My #4 pick is an intriguing combination of "Mission Impossible" and "The Prisoner". Jettisoning the premises of its movie predecessors, the TV version of "La Femme Nikita" (USA cable network) is going in a whole new direction, and, as a result, is successfully plowing over territory that has caused "The X-Files" to stumble. About an innocent caught in way over her head, "Nikita" (the show) is about Nikita (the person), who stumbles through each mission while we the viewer wonder if this is the time that Nikita (the innocent) is finally going to crack. It's like watching a psychological car crash in slow motion, week after week. Intriguing and stylish, "Nikita" is probably the best new show of the season.
With #5, I'm going with a mid-season show that was totally (and unfairly) overlooked. While most everyone else went ga-ga over CBS's "EZ Streets" or ABC's "The Practice", I stumbled across this little gem, CBS's "Orleans", starring Larry Hagman. "Dallas" it wasn't, as "Orleans" was significantly more stylish, and was more definitively oriented toward the serious drama of family, morality, ethics, Orleans politics and the law (all of which seem to operating at cross-purposes in the city of New Orleans!). That's not to say the show was totally successful - it wasn't. Attempts at courtroom comedy relief were often jarring to the drama, and usually fell flat. But when "Orleans" was bathing itself in the jar pits of family secrets, crime and politics in "way down yonder", it was one of the most satisfying experiences of the year.
I've reserved this category for a show which I considered to be daring or noteworthy, but which just wasn't up to the quality of one of the "Top 5" Dramas. This year, I've gone with NBC's (now cancelled) "Dark Skies".
"Why 'Dark Skies'?" you ask incredulously. "Wasn't it a bad rip-off of 'The X-Files'?!"
The answer to this question is a definite "No". You see, "Dark Skies" succeeded in the one area that "The X-Files" consistently fails terribly at: the ability to write a coherent, intelligible and (semi) believable story-arc over multiple episodes and seasons.
So what are the differences between the two shows? "The X-Files" does have two incredibly talented lead actors, as well as a stable of excellent guest actors. In general, this is an area that "Dark Skies" did not do as well at. In addition, in the area of individual episode writing, "The X-Files" excels beyond most other shows (though this season, there have been fewer 'home run' episodes in the league of "Humbug" or "Jose Chung's It Came From Outer Space"). And, again, this tended to be an area that "Dark Skies" wasn't as good at (though there were several very good episodes of "Dark Skies" as well; they just weren't as good).
But, it is in the area of actually executing and pulling off a storyarc, a "conspiracy", that made "Dark Skies" so much more satisfying than "The X-Files" (or the similarly structured "Babylon 5", for that matter). Nearly every "conspiracy" episode of "The X-Files" has been a clunker: a convoluted mess than ends up signifying nothing at all. Contrast that to "Dark Skies", where tangible progress is made every week, and the satisfaction grows as the series progresses.
Unfortunately, most people just wrote off "Dark Skies" as "a bad 'X-Files' rip-off", and as a result NBC cancelled the show. This is a shame because, in the end, I ended up looking forward to "Dark Skies" every week a lot more than I looked forward to "The X-Files".
While not as excellent as season #1, season #2 of ABC's "Murder One" was still a crowd pleaser. The first and third cases of the season, especially, combined both the solid acting of Anthony LaPaglia and crew, with some incredible portrayals by the actors playing the defendants (Missy Crider and Pruitt Taylor Vince, respectively). Further lifting the show are the ethical issues that our (anti)heroes must deal with week after week. It's too bad ABC buried the show on Thursdays, because "Murder One" was the best show ABC had this season, by far. Without "Murder One", ABC now looks like the other networks' ugly stepsister...
NBC's "The Pretender" has two ingredients that make it successful: three very likable lead actors (and let's not forget Broots!) and a continuing secondary storyline that overwhelms the relatively unsatisfying main episodic stories of Jarod as everyone's "avenging angel". Every episode brought a new twist and turn to the history of Jarod and Miss Parker, Sydney and The Centre. "The Pretender" was probably my favorite new show of the season, and I can't wait to see where this show takes us in season #2!
And pretty much everything I said about "The Pretender" also applies to NBC's "Profiler". More accessible than its 'evil twin' "Millennium", "Profiler" boasts an interesting ensemble cast, headlined by the always likable Ally Walker and Robert Davi. Will Jack ever be caught?! Who cares! The irony of "Profiler" is that it is generally more interesting when it deals with individual cases (and the occasional insight into the personal lives of the investigative team), than when it deals with the over-the-top 'Red Ball' Jack of All Trades case. Maybe "Profiler" (and "Homicide") should take a cue from this advice...
Unfortunately (for us fans), WBN's "Savannah" was just too expensive for the little WB network to hold on to. And this is a shame, as "Savannah" was the most satisfying nighttime sudser on the air, this season. Led by the incendiary Jamie Luner and George Eads, "Savannah" was basically a "semi-serious" soap, and it was more successful at this particular sub-genre than any soap has been since "Knots Landing" departed the airwaves. I will miss this little gem (and I hope all of the cast members of this show end up on other shows ASAP!), as it was clearly one of the best shows of this season (and last).
Finally, I'm giving an "Honorable Mention" to the much loved "EZ Streets" (CBS). I don't think it is any secret that I was less enthralled by this show than many of the partisans of rec.arts.tv. Nonetheless, I don't deny that "EZ Streets" was a very good show. Exceedingly dark (perhaps too much so), the cast of "EZ Streets" electrified you week after week. A show like this makes you realize how weak something like "NYPD Blue" looks in comparison. But, not being a 'mass audience' show, "EZ Streets" was quickly swept from the schedule. Too bad, for we as viewers could do a whole lot worse than "EZ Streets" (and, no doubt, we will)...
What list would be complete without a couple of 'guilty pleasures'. You know, shows that you love to watch, but which you are kind of embarrassed to admit you watch.
Well, this year, I think everybody's 'guilty pleasure' list has the same two entries: "Xena: Warrior Princess" (syndicated) and "Buffy, The Vampire Slayer" (The WB).
And this is appropriate, as the two shows share much in common. Both shows are "fantasies" (not "Sci-Fi", please!). Both shows are headlined by exceptionally strong female leads, with engaging supporting cast(s). Both shows have overwhelmed their immediate predecessors ("Xena" has blown away "Hercules" and "Brisco County, Jr."; "Buffy" has taken it to "Eerie, Indiana", and even "The X-Files"). And both shows have an incredibly satisfying mixture of comedy and action.
Of the two, I originally liked "Xena" better, but I'm now finding I like "Buffy" more. Why? Two reasons: 1) I always love shows with "teenagers" you love to hate, and 2) "Buffy" is better suited to forays into darker and more serious subjects than "Xena" is. But make no mistake, both these shows are a hoot to watch. These two shows are real "Must See TV"!
Now, the bad news. Of all the shows that I've been watching over the past couple of years, "Babylon 5" (syndicated) has let me down the most this season. That is not to say that I still don't like B5 - I do.
But, IMHO, this show has just never pulled it all together. Like "Dark Skies", "Babylon 5" has an overall story-arc that should pull all the parts together into a greater whole. But in the case of "Babylon 5", it just never seems to all come together. While the occasional individual episode can be quite good (and many indiviual episodes this season have been quite good), and the occasional actor or character is good, the whole thing just never... gels. This situation became worse for me this season when the resolution to one of the main storylines was finally revealed. When it was, it was as if this entire particular storyloine had been exposed as a fraud: "The Emperor had little in the way of clothing."
And this caused me to lose a lot of my enthusiasm for B5. Too bad, because I think "Babylon 5" has broken ground and has served as an inspiration to shows like "Dark Skies" (and this is a good thing). And it has definitely delivered the goods in the case of some of the individual episodes and some of the individual performances.
But, in the end, I think B5 will be remembered more for putting forth the 'story-arc, novel-for-television' idea, than it will for what it actually accomplished as a show.
Can there be any doubt?! Heck, no! FOX's "The X-Files" is the most overrated show on the air. Yes, it had a pretty good first season. Yes, season #3 had some excellent episodes. Yes, everyone loves the lead actors.
So what? When you look beneath the surface, there is nothing there! There is no rational story-arc here. The writers are casting about from episode to episode with no clear idea of what to do. And as the years roll on, the vacuousness of "The X-Files" becomes more and more clear. Sure, it works, sometimes, in the case of individual episodes. But not often enough! Why should I care about this show? Why should I care what's going on? "The X-Files" have never seemed to answer these questions to my satisfaction.
If you expect me to watch a show week after week, you have got to treat me with some respect and intelligence. After this season, it is clear to me that "The X-Files" is treating the viewers with neither.
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