A few of my favorite things 2010 style

by Ivey West

Earlier this week, I talked the things I hated about the year in television, but today I try (and fail) to scrape together ten things that I love.

Is it bad that, when trying to write a Top Ten list of my favorite things of 2010, that I can only get to eight? Good or bad, it is certainly telling that I didn’t have a lot to love. If you know me well enough, you won’t be surprised that that show (The one about ad executives) won’t be anywhere near this list. Since I could only come up with eight, why don’t you share with me your most favorite things about the year in television in the comments section?

Lost/24 Series Finales
I know this won’t be a popular opinion, but I liked (GASP!) the Lost finale. I had no illusions going into it; There could be no way that the producers would be able answer even a portion of the questions posed on the show over the years, and frankly, I’m not sure I would have been a fan of the final season if they’d spent the whole time running down a checklist of questions. Also great was television swansong of Jack Bauer. While it wasn’t a happy ending, I was able to settle for bittersweet.

Zoey on HIMYM
Based on much of the commentary going into the sixth season of How I Met Your Mother, many people have given up on ever finding out the identify of the titular mother. Heck, even I’m making Lucy/Football/Charlie Brown references! But I’ve liked the addition of Zoey to the show, if for no other reason than it is interesting to see a potential love interest for Ted that doesn’t fall all over herself for him. Will Zoey end up being the final answer? Not sure, but the better question might be how obvious is it that Barney and Robin are still meant to be together?

Friday Night Lights
I’m sorry, I don’t care what anyone says, Friday Night Lights has been one of the best darn show on television for a long time now. Sure, the second season was rough, but, seriously folks, get over it. How Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler have been nearly totally ignored when it comes to any award season is beyond me. What amazes me, though, is the fact that I don’t really like anybody on the new cast, but I’m still drawn in week after week.

Grey’s Season Finale
Dude, the finale was good. Sure, putting the entire cast in peril is probably as much of a clichéd plot arc as anything on television, but it worked here. The shooter’s (the always brilliant Michael O’Neill) storyline was woven through the back half of the season, so by the time he pulled the gun and shot Eden Reed, it all kinda made sense (and come on, can Nora Zehetner actually not die on a show I like?). While I may have not liked the aftermath of the shooting, but the event itself was great television.

The Walking Dead Pilot
Speaking of great television, this show came out of nowhere to absolutely blow me away. And, yes, I say the pilot, because I haven’t been able to watch the rest of the series (darn move across country and DVR being packed away). I doubt the remaining five episodes can be as good as the first, but I’m looking forward to finding out.

Leverage bounces back
It is no secret that I was not a fan of the second season of Leverage. The show was, in this humble blogger’s opinion, was so off of its game compared to season one, that I was ready to walk away. The third season bounced back in a major way. I may have not loved the Goran Višnjić stuff at the end, but in general, proverbial band is proverbially back together.

Fringe
Fringe is that show that I keep forgetting about, then watch four or five episodes in a row, and realize how stupid I am to have forgotten how good the show is. I was decidedly not looking forward to this fall’s “split” series, but I was proven wrong (Which does happen, it is just very, very rare … Just ask Julia). Watching the two Olivias operate in their alien worlds was interesting in ways I never really expected, but I am glad to have “our” Olivia back home.

NBC and Jeff Zucker split
I’ve never met the man, and I’m not going to sit here and agree with any of the crappy things said about the guy over the years. But, it has been obvious for a while that he wasn’t the right fight at NBC Universal, so I can now look forward to see what happens next with a network I have completely sworn off at least twice (What can I say … I’m weak.).

Honorable Mention: If more than six episodes of Shawn Ryan’s run of showrunner of Lie to Me had aired in 2010, I would have put it on the list. The second season was on fire, and if Terriers was the price we paid to lose Ryan on LtM, then we got ripped off (Because as much as I’m a fan of Ryan, I thought Terriers was the most overrated thing on television, since, well Lone Star.)

Photo Credit: DirecTV