What In Tarnation?!?!? In the Classroom

Best

1. 24 (FOX) - I have sung the praises of this show a few times in this blog. 24 is what I truely call appointment TV. Each episode covers one hour in the insanely tense day of CTU agent Jack Bauer. 24 comes with some many plot twists and shocks that it is very difficult to predict what is going to happen. I hope the creators of this show can figure out how to keep 24 ticking for another year. What an awesome show!
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (UPN) - Last season Buffy almost lost me as a very loyal veiwer. It plundged to the depths of ickiness and stupidness that I decided to give it only one more chance this season. We it won me over, big time. The show seems to have rediscovered what I loved about the show in the first place and lost all the kinkyness that I hated about last season. Now I just wish I knew what will be the fate of the show for next season.
3. Monk (USA/ABC) - The cop/detective show on TV had either become boring or too risque to care about. Then along came Monk, quite unexpectedly. Monk is probably my favorite character of the season. Monk has obsessive/conpulsive disorder, that is not overly played but still provides ton of laughs. Read my review over at the Screening Room.
4. Boomtown (NBC) - I initially didn’t think I would like what appeared to be another Law and Order rip off. How many shows can we have that tell the stories from all the branches of the criminal justice department. Boomtown takes this idea a step further, it tells a single story from different view points. Many times the story is even told out of order, making the viewer piece the story together. Some folks find this type of story telling frustrating but I find it exciting.
5. Firefly (FOX) - A series that actually lives up to the idea of a “wagon train to the stars.” This series is actually more western than it is sci-fi. The characters where interesting and seeing them interact from week to week was always fun. Now why in tarnation did FOX decide to air the show out of order? Veiwers where thrown into the series without any back story on the characters, which I think made its veiwership drop off. Silly TV executives.
6. Farscape (Sci-Fi) - The other great space show that was putting some of the finest sci-fi stories on the small screen. This series was truely imaginative. Leave it to the folks at Henson to come up with some of the greatest alien creatures to be featured on TV.
7. Enterprise (UPN) - What would one of my lists be without some incarnation of Star Trek on it?
8. Alias (ABC) - The coolest spy on TV right now is the double agent Sydney Bristow. This poor girl has one messed up family and personal life. At the center of this disfunction is her job at the CIA and in a secret underground agency that is merely pretending to be CIA. Dad is also a double agent and mom who was thought to be dead is actually a former KGB agent who was also a double agent. Don’t trust anyone on this show. Oh, and I like all of her cool costumes.
9. CSI (CBS) - This show continues to fascinate me. The cool camera movement, zooming in and out of wounds and bug carcases is too cool. William Peterson is excellent in his role and his supporting cast in not to be ignored.
10. The Dead Zone (USA) - Based on the Stephen King novel, this series about a former teacher who see visions of the future (and very few of the visions are pleasent) as a result of an accident that he had, is engaging, especially with the addition of the super evil politician (is there any other kind?) that will play an important role in the coming episodes. Don’t want that politician to cause the apocalyps!

WORST

1. CSI: Miami (CBS) - I HATE the gal that they got to play opposite of David Caruso. I can’t stand watching her. Now that she is gone, I might have to give the series another chase.
2. ER (NBC) - Isn’t it time for this show to die already. It is like old rotting fish. Why, then, do I keep watching it?
3. Without A Trace (CBS) - Too many CSI spin-offs in one season. Burn out!
4. Firefly (FOX)/Farscape (Sci-fi) - And who in tarnation are the idiot TV Execs that are cancelling these super cool shows!!!
5. The last episode of Taken (Sci-Fi) - Well I liked the mini-series Taken until the very last episode, and then it transformed itself into a predictable and overly mushy mess. Way to leave a sour taste in my mouth.

Feel free to tell me what I have wrong in the comments.

Class dismissed!