HitFix's Top 20 TV Shows of 2009
'Chuck,' 'Mad Men,' 'Sons of Anarchy,' 'Dollhouse' plus at least four new comedies made the cut
No. 20: ABC's Summer Burn-Off Theatre
ABC cancelled "Eli Stone," "Pushing Daisies" and "Dirty Sexy Money." That was a bad thing. Or at least a sad thing. But credit to ABC for not just using those episodes as a lure to get fans to pony up for the DVD. Over the course of several summer months, Saturday night became an actual destination for original scripted programing (especially with NBC burning off "Kings" and CBS burning off "Harper's Island"). The ratings for this experiment weren't very good, but this list seemed like a nice opportunity to thank ABC for giving an on-air, hi-def home to those remaining "Pushing Daisies" and "Eli Stone" episodes in particular and to suggest that other networks should feel free to do the same thing with other shows that suffer a similarly ignominious fate. Imagine all of the awesome summer programming FOX could have had this decade with burn-off marathons of "Wonderfalls," "Drive," "Kitchen Confidential" and "Method & Red" (among other shows).
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Login or create a HitFix account Login Signuplazygarfield
December 24, 2009 at 4:12AM EST Reply to CommentNo Firefly? Why, Dan, why???????????
dan lazygarfield - No "Firefly" on my Best of 2009 list? I can think of MANY reasons. If you mean why it didn't make my ongoing Best of the Decade list? It was somewhere between #32-35. I knew it wasn't there. I knew people would miss it. I just couldn't find a show I was willing to delete for it.. -Daniel
December 24, 2009 at 12:29PM ESTlazygarfield Oops lol... sorry. Anyway, I would like to see your entire list before seeing whether there was truly nothing deletable...
December 24, 2009 at 10:01PM ESTgregel
December 24, 2009 at 4:33AM EST Reply to CommentCough, True Blood.
WhatTheFDidIDo
December 24, 2009 at 4:57AM EST Reply to CommentLost at #12? Bahhhh. Lost would be my #2, dropping SOA to #3, with Breaking Bad my #4. As much as I liked SOA's sophomore season, I think it peaked with "Balm". The last few eps and finale just didn't live up to that episode. Just a few too many plot holes and not as realistic as what lead up to that point imo.
Lost, on the other hand, had the amazing "The Variable", which I agree is the season's highlight, and followed it up with "The Incident" which was just a brilliant season finale. They showed us things they had been hinting at for five seasons and then leave us with a million possibilities for next season, and consequently a million things to talk about during the hiatus. Those evil Bastards.
Was gonna check out Kings simply because of Ian McShane, but since it's your #8 I might have to get too it a little sooner.
And wow, it really is a great time for TV comedy, isn't it? ABC finally joined the party so now seemingly every network has atleast 2-3 hits. (Although FOX still cant develop anything not animated.) You didn't even mention Its Always Sunny in your near-misses, and they had arguably their most consistent season yet. Also not sure how you liked The League, it was a little inconsistent, but the finale had me laughing as much as anything else on TV this year.
dan WhatTheFDidIDo - It was like I said over at my blog: #s 8-20 were effectively equal. So I bumped "Lost" down a few spots to showcase a few less-acknowledged shows, "Kings" in particular. And "Always Sunny" *did* have a good season and was either in the 10 after this or maybe even the 10 after *that*. LOTS of good stuff. And "The League" was, indeed, uneven, but it definitely improved. We'll see how it comes back next season... - Daniel
December 24, 2009 at 12:27PM ESTJR
December 24, 2009 at 5:05AM EST Reply to CommentLove the list and think you nailed it on #1 & #2. You might want to correct Kurt Sutter's name in here, though. He seems pretty badass and might take offense at being called the wrong name. Although I guess it's easy to confuse him with Ryan Sutter, Trista's husband from The Bachelorette ;)
dan JR- I *think* I'm either gonna attribute the mistake to having just added "Ryan Hurst" in the previous sentence. But it may also be the "Trista's Husband" thing. Either way? Eeek! Fixed. -Daniel
December 24, 2009 at 12:25PM ESTThat Werewolf Guy
December 24, 2009 at 7:13AM EST Reply to CommentThis list needs definitely more "Breaking Bad". (And maybe a little bit more "Venture Bros." I know, it's not popular to like Season 4, but I do. It's still the perfect mix between childish humor and intelligent storytelling.)
Gail
December 24, 2009 at 1:20PM EST Reply to CommentHow can you possibly not include "Breaking Bad"? It was easily almost as excellent as Mad Men,and the season finale had to be one of the best episodes of the year. Leaving this series out puts a large question mark on the validity of the remaining items on your list.
dan Gail - No it doesn't. But I'm glad you love "Breaking Bad." Many of my critical colleagues do as well. Part of why 2009 was such a darned fine TV year is that there were so many excellent options. -Daniel
December 24, 2009 at 1:26PM ESTbelinda
December 24, 2009 at 1:53PM EST Reply to Comment:D I still can't fathom how Breaking Bad is not on your list somewhere if something like Dexter could. I could understand it better if it were only a top 10 and BB simply isn't your type of show. But a top 20 without BB seems unnatural and wrong. I also love the Dexter twist, but every party of every episode of BB this season was kind of phenomenal in a way that few shows (and certainly not Dexter, which has built in dud moments with certain characters and storylines) can achieve.
Kevin
December 24, 2009 at 2:56PM EST Reply to CommentWhat exactly is the reason for the absence of Breaking Bad? I think there is an undeniable quality in writing and production to it, which is why I've seen it on pretty much every other list so far - on a lot of those it's even in the top 2.
dan Kevin and the rest of the "Breaking Bad" Advocates - I've discussed this in other postings, but I can't expect y'all to read everything I write. I watched the first few Season One episodes of "Breaking Bad" and was impressed with Cranston's work, but unengaged by the rest of the show. With only limited impetus to keep up, episodes began to pile up and I stopped watching due to the sheer volume of other TV shows that exist in the world. As more than a few of my friends/colleagues say that it got *really* good in the second season, I intend to catch up, hopefully by the start of the start of the third season. But the simple fact is that no human and no critic watches everything and that sometimes choices are made and cause you to miss out on a good show or two. It's 100 percent unavoidable. The only thing you can do is try to catch up on the ones that people say are unmissable. -Daniel
December 24, 2009 at 3:10PM ESTKevin Okay, I (obviously) didn't know you haven't seen it. Sorry about that.
December 24, 2009 at 3:27PM ESTAnyway, I for one was fascinated from the very beginning with the quirkiness and the visual style of the show, nothing I've quite seen before. The writing, in my opinion, was good, too.
But season two is a big step-up nonetheless. It matured into one of the best shows currently on TV and one of the greatest of the decade.
Jase
December 24, 2009 at 4:38PM EST Reply to CommentNice to see you've included Dollhouse, which for me, is the best show of 2009. It stimulates my mind, gets me talking, and gets me more creative and inspired than any other show. I've never felt more passionate about a TV show, really. And Eliza Dushku is just a pleasure. :)
Kristi nicely said. Fox is stupid for cancelling Dollhouse. The nielson ratings are out-dated and bogus. We should not rely on them and start using common sense. When a show is good, keep it. I will let you know which ones they are, if you need help, and I think you do.
January 6, 2010 at 3:32PM ESTTrekscribbler
December 24, 2009 at 7:16PM EST Reply to CommentDOLLHOUSE? Really?
I can't agree on MAD MEN, either. I know it gets major kudos across the board, but I only see it novel for its excessive smoking. Call me naive.
December 25, 2009 at 3:16PM ESTkara
December 28, 2009 at 8:46AM EST Reply to Commentwhere's SUPERNATURAL???
adele Yeah I was so sure that it would be in here, but positively I was surprised by Chuck, I´ve always thought that show has been totally overlooked.
December 28, 2009 at 10:10AM ESTGrace
December 29, 2009 at 12:23PM EST Reply to CommentDollhouse ! it's so sad :( I totally will miss this series.
Kristi
January 6, 2010 at 3:34PM EST Reply to CommentAnother thing, if you want to make money, see to it that Eliza Dushku stars in another hit show or a movie. I will pay to see her talents.
Trekscribbler I'd pay to see her assets as well, but that's about it.
January 6, 2010 at 4:52PM ESTKristi
January 6, 2010 at 3:39PM EST Reply to CommentAnother idea, get McDonalds to sponsor and save it, just like Subway did for Chuck.
duhg
May 28, 2011 at 9:27AM EST Reply to CommentIf Jerry Gergich is your favorite tertiary character on TV, you'll love this montage that I produced!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMRUf8ykPhI