TV: Top Ten of the 2004-2005 Season (Part 2)

Part 1.

5. Veronica Mars

The inevitable comparison for the smart, tough, wisecracking, spunky blonde crime-solving heroine Veronica Mars is Buffy Summers, but Veronica does it all without superpowers. Kristen Bell is fantastic in the surprisingly complex role of Veronica, and let's not forget Enrico Colantoni as the best TV dad since, I don't know, Andy Griffith? The high school scenes were real and funny and sad, true-to-life for anyone who's ever felt like an outsider, unafraid to make tough observations about racial and class divides. And the mysteries (for the most part) were clever and fair to the viewer, especially the season-long posers: Why did Veronica's boyfriend dump her so suddenly? Why did Veronica's mom flee town? Why did an innocent man confess to a murder he didn't commit? Who drugged and raped Veronica? And who killed Lilly Kane? (If there were any fairness in TV Land, that last question would've gotten as much publicity as, "Who killed Laura Palmer?") There were no cop-out answers, no dangling threads, no out-of-nowhere suspects; everything was laid out fairly, and everything was solved believably and unequivocally. With a second season confirmed, the only question left is: If you aren't watching this show -- why?

4. Battlestar Galactica

In January I said, "I can't imagine 2005 being a year in which this won't be one of my top two or three favorite new shows." Well, since the other new shows on this list all officially debuted in 2004, I guess this makes Battlestar my number one favorite new show of 2005. (Going by its US debut, that is; it premiered in October 2004 in the UK, which doesn't seem fair.) I said pretty much all I needed to say in the entry linked above. Great cast, great writing, great special effects, great atmosphere of sustained fear and paranoia, and one hell of a great season finale. Great sci-fi, and great TV.

3. Lost

One of the best series debut episodes ever kicked off a tremendous freshman season of wonder and mystery. This was the "water-cooler" show of the year (narrowly edging Desperate Housewives); every week, I couldn't wait to find a friend and discuss the previous episode's revelations. Did you see Hurley on that Korean TV program? Does Walt have some kind of powers? What's up with Hurley's lottery numbers? (Hurley's the best.) Can you believe Locke was in a wheelchair?? The revelations slowed a bit toward the end of the season, and the mysteries became a little over-extended in places (I would've liked at least one question well and truly answered in the season finale), but this is still the show I looked forward to watching the most, week in and week out.

2. The Daily Show

It's so easy to take Jon Stewart and The Daily Show for granted. I mean, Stewart's been heading this consistently hilarious, wickedly smart, bitingly satirical, more-incisive-than-the-real-news fake news show for over five years now. It can't possibly be that good every single night, can it? Yes, yes it can. Every American should watch this show. It's not a substitute for the real news, but it is a vital supplement. Get the bare, unexamined, timidly-presented facts from Peter Jennings, get the real insight and critical examination from Jon Stewart. A lot of the show is hit-and-miss: the interviews vary wildly according to how much Stewart cares about the person he's talking to, and the taped pieces can live or die with the correspondent -- with Stephen Colbert preparing to move on to his own show, Ed Helms and Rob Corddry will be vying for the MVP spot among the correspondents. But the first ten minutes are always as good as TV gets, and as important to watch as anything out there.

1. Deadwood

The best show on TV, by quite a large margin. Not even close. This show blew me out of the water. It can shock you with sudden, brutal violence, or it can devastate you with the smallest particular -- the joining of Bullock and wife's hands after their child's death, for example. The language of Deadwood is a thing of beauty, serpentine and alive, layered with meaning -- or sometimes, just plain down and dirty fun. (No one says "Cocksucker!" like Calamity Jane.) The acting roster is so deep, characters will disappear for episodes at a time -- their absence barely noted amidst the other fine performers -- only to pop up again and floor you with their power. In season two, Al Swearengen, the best acted and written character on television, was out of commission a number of episodes due to an incapacitating case of kidney stones; the rest of the cast picked up the ball and ran with it. How many other shows could put their best character in a sick bed for half the season and not suffer in quality one iota? This show is pure gold in every way possible. My only complaint: I want more than 12 episodes!

Other notables throughout the season:

24: From its laughable previous season, 24 made a full recovery, delivering thrills, action, and enough torture to turn the stomach of an Abu Ghraib prison guard.

Entourage: A frequently juvenile but just as frequently funny look at a Hollywood rising star and his various hangers-on.

Carnivale: Cancelled after its second season (one of HBO's very rare missteps), this was a fascinating portrait of good and evil.

House: I have a feeling this would've made the top ten, if I had been able to watch it more; it was scheduled opposite both Scrubs and Veronica Mars. Hugh Laurie is wonderfully cantankerous.

Justice League Unlimited: I miss seeing the central seven heroes on a more regular basis, but the guest heroes have been an admirably diverse and interesting crew, with Jeffrey Combs' voicework as the Question being a recent highlight.

Alias: The ceaseless empty threats delivered by Sydney to Sloane grew tiresome (they started to sound as ridiculous as Robert DeNiro's "I will take you down to Chinatown" speech in Meet the Parents), but the action is always top-notch, and Jennifer Garner sure is easy on the eyes. Plus, what a hell of a cliffhanger!