CHICAGO – We were considering looking back at the best programming of 2008 when something dawned on us - a lot of it isn’t on the air right now and not yet available on DVD. We at HollywoodChicago.com believe in being productive and helpful, so why tell you something is great when you can’t even see the show?
The final season of “The Shield [1],” the third season of “Dexter [2],” the fourth season of “Weeds [3],” the fourth season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia [4],” the final season of “The Wire [5],” the second season of “Mad Men [6],” the entirety of “Pushing Daisies [7],” and the two best new shows of 2008 - “True Blood [8]” and “In Treatment [9]” - all rank among the best programming of 2008, but none of them are on the air right now and none are on DVD yet. What’s a TV fan to do?
 Tina Fey, Jennifer Aniston, Alec Baldwin on “30 Rock”. Photo credit: Nicole Rivelli |
That’s why we’re here - to help. Instead of giving you another list of shows that you can’t even see on DVD yet, we’ve found some equivalent (or at least similar) shows currently on the air that we think you should give a chance. With dozens of new and returning shows hitting the airwaves every week, it can be hard to know what’s right for you. Let us guide the way.
First, there are a FEW of the best series of 2008 still on the air or returning soon. “Lost [10]” comes back January 21st, 2009. Check out our review [11] of the first two episodes for a sneak peek. The quick version? It’s real good.
The best comedy on television, “30 Rock [12],” is still kicking butt on Thursday nights even if we do slightly agree with the criticism that the show has gotten a bit too gimmicky for its own good recently. Hey Tina, cut out the revolving door of guest stars and get back to the characters we know and love.
“Battlestar Galactica [13]” comes back on January 16th and, as for the best of reality TV, Jeff Probst and “Survivor [14]” return on February 12th and Phil Keoghan and “The Amazing Race [15]” start running again three days later, February 15th.
Finally, “Reaper [16]” returns to The CW on March 17th. Yes, The CW can actually lay claim to one of the best shows of 2008. If you don’t believe me, catch up with the first season, now on DVD, and come back for more coverage in the coming months of one of the most sharply written and clever shows on television.
 Bret Harrison and Ray Wise on “Reaper”. Photo credit: Lionsgate |
The rest of the “Best of 2008”? It’s all off the air, but we found relative equivalents for most of them. Of course, there will not be an equivalent for ABC’s great “Pushing Daisies [17]” for a long time. Just watch season one again. It was brilliantly unique and left us way too soon.
One of the main reasons that HBO’s “True Blood” and Showtime’s “Dexter” were two of the best shows of 2008 was that there’s nothing on the air like them. What could we possibly compare to Alan Ball’s gothic vision of vampires or Michael C. Hall’s riveting performance as a serial killer with a moral code?
There are two shows coming up that seem to have that unique quality that separated “True Blood” and “Dexter” from the pack in 2008.
The first season of AMC’s “Breaking Bad [18]” was hit-and-miss but the clarity of Bryan Cranston’s excellent performance on that show reminds us a bit of what Hall does as Dexter Morgan on the excellent Showtime drama. “Bad” returns to AMC in March.
As for “True Blood,” the show that has similar what-the-hell potential has to be Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse [19]”. The long-delayed and controversial series starts on February 13th on Fox. Rumors of reshoots and behind-the-scenes trouble have made us nervous, but Whedon is the kind of risky TV voice that always brings the potential for greatness, kind of like “True Blood“‘s Alan Ball.
 Toni Collette on “United States of Tara”. Photo credit: Nigel Parry/Showtime |
If neither “Breaking Bad” nor “Dollhouse” works for and you’re still looking for something left-of-center like “True Blood” or “Dexter,” put April 9th on your calendar. That’s when “Harper’s Island [20]” premieres. We haven’t seen much, but the preview we did see from last Summer looked like “Gossip Girl [21]” if one of the beautiful people from that show happened to be a serial killer offing his socialite friends on a remote island. Yeah, it looks like twisted fun.
But what should fans of the other great shows from 2008 do with their time in early 2009?
One of the best comedies of the last few years, Showtime’s “Weeds,” will be back this summer, but there’s another half-hour comedy that looks at suburbia from a different angle on the same network - “United States of Tara [22]” - that’s currently on the air.
Featuring a stunning performance by Oscar nominee Toni Collette as a mother with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), the Diablo Cody creation fits perfectly in the Showtime milieu of characters who may look normal but live very different lives from you and me. With a dark, black streak of humor, “Weeds” has been consistently entertaining for four seasons now and, based on the promise of the first quartet of episodes, it’s not hard to see “United States of Tara” staying on the air just as long.
Another great comedy with a huge internet following from 2008 - third on the laugher list after “30 Rock” and “Weeds” - is FX’s unpredictable and raunchy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. There’s nothing as quick-witted or clever as the hilarious tale of Charlie, Dennis, Dee, and Mac, the ’00s equivalent to the “three guys and a girl” from “Seinfeld”.
In fact, comedy in general is a little weak in early ‘09. “Sunny” fans can always go back and catch up with their favorite show on Hulu. It’s unlikely you’ll see anything as funny as “The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis” before the show returns.
Or may we suggest, before it gets canceled, leaving “American Idol [23]” behind and catching up with “The Mentalist [24]” later and actually checking out a revived “Scrubs [25]” on ABC? The first four episodes have been slammed in the ratings but have been more creatively satisfying than the last several years on NBC. If you were ever a fan of J.D., Turk, and the gang, take a look.
 Patrick Swayze and Travis Fimmel on “The Beast”. Photo credit: Michael Muller |
What about fans of one of the great 2008 series that’s never coming back, HBO’s “The Wire”? They may not have the same ear for dialogue and the characters aren’t nearly as genuine, but there are two good entries this season for TV fans who like their drama a little gritty - A&E’s “The Beast [26]” and Fox’s “24 [27]”.
Maybe you’ve heard of Jack Bauer? He’s finally back and, while the influential Fox series hasn’t made a best-of list for the last two years (season six was weak and they took off 2008), the seventh really bad for Mr. Bauer has started promisingly. Same goes for “The Beast,” a show that needs some tinkering but features an incredible lead performance from Patrick Swayze and the potential for greatness. Will “The Beast” ever be as rick or detailed as “The Wire”? It’s very doubtful but TV fans with a taste for something dark should take a look.
We were hoping to be able to suggest fans of 2008’s excellent “In Treatment” take a look at Fox’s “Lie To Me [28],” a new Tim Roth vehicle about people paid to determine if and why a suspect has a problem with the truth. Shrinks and lie detectors certainly have a lot in common. Then we watched the pilot. You’ll read more about it here at HollywoodChicago next week, but “Lie To Me” isn’t half the show of “In Treatment”. It isn’t even a quarter.
Instead, why not take another chance at “Big Love [29]”? It’s never been a perfect show but has always displayed the potential for greatness. Maybe this will be the season, the show’s third, that it takes off.
 Ed Cavanagh and Eric McCormack on “Trust Me”. Photo credit: Karen Neal |
A logical suggestion for fans of the Golden Globe winner for Best Drama, “Mad Men,” is the show that the stars have joked they wanted to call “Madder Men,” TNT’s “Trust Me [30]”. “Ed“‘s Tom Cavanagh and “Will & Grace“‘s Eric McCormack co-star as two ad men trying to make it the cutthroat world of pitch meetings and tag lines.
“Mad Men” may have proven that advertising is intriguing fodder for drama, but “Trust Me” is much closer in tone to its two stars previous work than the AMC show. It may not have the clever script or the incredible design of “Mad Men,” but “Trust Me” shares something besides subject matter with that great show. An excellent ensemble, including the charismatic leads, gives the show a spark that a lot of network television is missing. Watch for a full review later. It’s good stuff.
The best show of 2008 was the final season of FX’s brilliant “The Shield”. That show is never coming back, having perfectly wrapped up the entire series in an amazing arc of episodes. Nothing on television was as riveting in 2008 and an early contender for a season just as hard to shake has to be FX’s “Damages [31]”.
Vic Mackey on “The Shield” and Patty Hewes on “Damages” are cut from the same cloth, murderous anti-heroes who exist in world where black and white are nowhere near as interesting as gray. With the best ensemble currently on television, “Damages” is an obvious contender for best show of 2009 and a perfect alternative to one of the missing greats of 2008.
 [32] | By BRIAN TALLERICO [33] |