TVnista Fall 2006 Mid-Season Awards!

First, I'd like to thank you all for taking a little time out of your day to read my blog. Stay tuned for more ramblings and good times next year. TVnista will be on vacation until January 2, 2007, but I won't leave you hanging.

Announcing the First Annual TVnista Mid-Season Awards:


BEST BRAND-NEW SHOW: STUDIO 60
I’ve never heard such clever, witty and intelligent dialogue before on TV. (Sorry, Dawson’s Creek, but most of that was pseudo-intellectual!) Studio 60 reminds me of that popular college course with the cool professor and the two-mile long waiting list. For the lucky few who make it in, after class your brain is alive and firing on all cylinders, and you actually feel smarter than when you entered the classroom.


RUNNER-UP: THE GAME
An admirable effort to replicate the lives of women involved with professional athletes. It could use a heavier dose of reality (get some real wives as consultants) but we’ll cut it some slack since it is a comedy, and is one of the few programs on TV today that make me laugh.


BEST RETURNING FAVORITE: THE WIRE
If you had asked me just a few years ago what my favorite TV show of all time is, I’d answer A Different World with no hesitation. Now, I’d have to qualify my answer. Yes, A Different World stands as the best show of my first 25 years, but right now, The Wire is the best show on TV, period, and will probably remain that way in my book for another 25 years, or longer. This gritty drama makes you flinch, but for good reasons, by turning a camera on the urban realities so many people live in quiet desperation. Often I have to pinch myself to remind myself that I’m not watching a documentary, but instead, a work of fiction.


RUNNER-UP: NIP/TUCK
This season of Nip/Tuck was uneven at best, but even on an off night, Nip/Tuck is still a fabulously written and acted show. I felt like we watched these characters really grow up this season. Julia finally stepped into a mother role, Christian put his playboy ways behind him (for now), Sean found a way to step out on his own, and Matt blossomed into a responsible, caring adult. Plus, we saw many memorable performances from guest-stars, from the hilarious lotto-winner Dawn Budge (Rosie O’Donnell) to the odd I-have-sex-with-my-dog, Shari Noble (Melissa Gilbert).


BEST REALITY SHOW: PROJECT RUNWAY
I’ll admit it…I was a latecomer to this show, but I loved it just the same. Not since the first season of The Apprentice has a reality game show displayed so many talented contestants. It really was neck-and-neck with the final four of Uli, Michael, Laura and Jeffrey. There was a nice balance between work and play and the judges were actually fair and knew what they were talking about.


RUNNER-UP: LAGUNA BEACH
While I did watch The Hills starring Lauren “L.C.” Conrad, I’d never before seen even an episode of Laguna Beach, but this season drew me in right from the jump. Whether it was Kyndra and Cami plotting schemes around the pool, all the girls in Laguna fighting over Cameron or Tessa and Raquel always being ignored at the parties, I loved all the drama and even now, I’ll sit down and watch episodes I’ve already seen, because I always pick up something new that I might’ve missed the first or second go-round.


BREAKOUT HIT: SHARK
I didn’t expect to watch or even like this show, but I did, thanks to ABC pulling the plug on Six Degrees. James Woods stars as a hotshot defense attorney who decides to play for the other side and commands an office full of impressionable, young, hot aspiring district attorneys. While the cases could use a bit more pathos we experience on other crime dramas, namely CSI and Law & Order, it always seems too easy for Stark to solve these crimes and get the bad guys. It’s still a solid hour of TV from start to finish, the way Law & Order used to be, and as long as the handsome Henry Simmons is on, I’ll be there for sure!


RUNNER-UP: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Here’s another show I didn’t expect to like, but I really do. It took a while to grow on me. I was bored the first few episodes, but I remember one night where I actually sat down and devoted my attention to it entirely (no phone, no computer) and I’ve been into it ever since. It’s a toss-up for me which episodes I like better – the ones with football action or the ones without. For me, it doesn’t matter since all the drama really happens off the field anyway. I’m actually rooting for these kids like it’s a reality show. Matt is such a sweetheart and his nervous stutter around Julie is such a throwback to old times, when guys actually made an effort to talk to girls they liked rather than just throwing them over their shoulders and carrying them off to the bedroom; and as much as we’d like to hate Lyla for cheating on Jason, we can’t, nor do we hate Riggins for taking advantage of her. Here’s another show, like The Wire, that can often feel like a documentary. It does have a film-like quality, but I could do without the shaky camera. It makes me a bit nauseous.


BEST ACTRESS: CHANDRA WILSON
Whether it was shouldering the fall-out from Denny’s death or disciplining her wayward interns, Dr. Bailey does it all with grace and a take-no-prisoners attitude. But she does have a soft side, as she displayed at the end of one episode where she called home to sing her son a lovely lullaby, “God Bless the Child.” That alone should sew up her Emmy win next year.


RUNNER-UP: BRITTANY DANIEL
Yes, her previous acting roles included being one of the Sweet Valley High twins and starring in the movie White Chicks, but you’d never know that watching Kelly on The Game. She has a natural comedic timing I’d liken to that of Lucille Ball. But she really knocked it out the park with her pole dancing routine. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. Work it girl!


BEST ACTORS: TRISTAN WILDS, JULITO McCULLUM, MAESTRO HARRELL, JERMAINE CRAWFORD
Collectively known as the “corner boys” on The Wire, these young actors were the brightest spots on TV this year. Michael, Namond, Randy and Dukie showed America what it’s like to grow up on the streets and how it changes and defines you as a person.