2009 TV’s Best, TV’s Worst
Like every other medium, it was a year of hits and misses in the world of television.
EDGE’s Jim Halterman goes over his list of the Best and Worst on the small screen in 2009.
Best New Sitcom
No surprise here - Modern Family hits all the right notes and its success is not only due to including gay Dads Cameron and Mitchell (Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson) but also for creating a sitcom with great characters, funny situations and, at its core, heart.
Worst Move
ABC renewed the on-the-fence Ugly Betty only to banish one of the gayest shows on Friday nights. Thankfully, Betty and gang move to Wednesday nights after new hits Modern Family and Cougar Town starting January 6th.
Best Reason(s) to get Logo
RuPaul’s Drag Race took the reality competition show to new heights while Jeffrey and Cole Casserole showed how two young (and cute) guys could be hilarious with a camera and no budget. Also, if you’re in an area that doesn’t offer Logo, you can still watch these shows on www.LogoOnline.com.
Worst Waste of Space
Moving Jay Leno from five nights a week in late night to prime time didn’t make him any funnier (or funny, period) but Leno is gay friendly so he still has that going for him. Creating laughs? Not so much. On the other hand...
if there are really no other 10pm choices, the Best Reason to Watch Leno is the super gay, super hilarious Ross Mathews, who is one of the revolving correspondents for the show and never holds back for Jay or his audience. His Halloween piece had Ross shrieking and swearing through a haunted house while doing a pretty damn good Jon Gosselin imitation.
Worst Gay Move
Showtime gave us the addictive Edie Falco series Nurse Jackie and, along with the pill-popping nurse, her sassy gay BFF Mo-Mo (the sexy Haaz Sleiman). However, it was announced last week that Mo-Mo has been dropped from the series and won’t return for season two because his character, according to a Sleiman rep, "had run its course." With Mo-Mo as a supporting character who barely had his own storyline, there’s something amiss at that hospital (and at Showtime).
Best Coming Out
Glee’s resident teen gay Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) came out to his macho mechanic father (Mike O’Malley), Dad admitted to knowing and though he may not want to hear about Kurt’s dating woes, he would, of course, still love his son.
Best Death: Torchwood
Children of Earth brought one of the most frightening and thrilling chapters in the BBC America show’s history but it was when Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) died in the arms of lover Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) did we get both a great end to a fantastic love affair and, sadly, a broken hearted time traveler.
Worst Handling of Gays
Near the end of 2008, Grey’s Anatomy abruptly fired actress Brooke Smith for her role as Dr. Erica Hahn, who had gotten involved with bisexual Callie (Sara Ramirez). Enter Melissa George as Sadie, who looked to be a new romantic interest but then George abruptly left the show. In both cases, the show made excuses that only accentuated the notion that the show and the network had no clue what they were doing with its gay characters as well as openly gay actors. Case in point, T.R. Knight, who was barely used during his last season on the show, was finally killed off in the season finale in May.
On the bright side...
...the Best Lesson Learned goes to Grey’s as they somehow managed to get it very right when Callie was paired with pediatrician Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and the twosome were allowed to be together and have Callie deal with the fallout from her father (Hector Elizando) on his close-minded beliefs. Let’s hope it’s a lesson that Grey’s won’t need to be taught again.
Worst Tim Gunn Impression
For everything that Isaac Mizrahi has done right in his career, hosting Bravo’s The Fashion Show was a massive misstep not only for trying to take the place of the Lifetime-departed Project Runway but for showing that his over the top personality does not translate to ratings gold. Hopefully, Bravo will let this show never take another turn on the catwalk.
Best American Idol 2nd Place Finish
Adam Lambert proved that you don’t have to be the winner to come out (literally) on top. While he didn’t officially come out until after the Idol season was over, it was a huge piece of non-news. That didn’t last, though, when Lambert shook things up again with his smoochy/crotchety performance at the American Music Awards. Bottom line - the guy can sing and isn’t afraid to be who he is. For your entertainment - a role model for the ages!
Worst Letdown
We waited and waited and waited for the lawyers to figure out which cable giant was going to air Project Runway only to see it land at Lifetime with a thud once the dust settled. While the Los Angeles-based season had been filmed prior to the infamous lawsuit, the West Coast just didn’t serve the show as well as NYC and by only having the fabulous Nina Garcia and Michael Kors appear irregularly, even Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum couldn’t save the lackluster season. (Good news-the new Lifetime season kicks off January 14th back in New York with everyone back full-time!)
Best Reasons to Dig Vampires
Lately on television where you find bloodsucking and vampires you also find immense eye candy. True Blood creator Alan Ball knows how to write but he also knows that casting Ryan Kwanten, Nelsan Ellis, Alexander Skarsgard and Mehcad Brooks will keep viewers coming back for more. And the CW (and creator Kevin Williamson) brought us sexy Vampire Diaries brothers Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) who, from their chiseled torsos, seem to spend as much time at the gym as they do hiding from wooden stakes. Is it no surprise that both Ball and Williamson are gay?
Best Case for Marriage Equality
Jon and Kate Gosselin. If these two nutjobs can marry, why can’t we?
