Now I watch quite a bit of TV so this was a VERY hard list to come up with. I found myself putting in some shows that may not actually be more favorable over others but I have to give props if they had an impressive year. I’ll try to keep summaries to a minimum but there are gonna be spoilers to give a little on why one such show was awesome last year.

12- Cougar Town – Title withstanding, the ABC show has really came into its own and improved significantly, and we’ve seen less of Barb, so that alone is a major improvement. 2nd season airs Wed. 9:30PM, ’til February, then returns again in April.

11- The Vampire Diaries – Yeah, it’s a bit on the soapy teen side, but it still has more sex and violence (at least what can be on broadcast, so no nudity, but that’s okay) than a certain (non)-vampire movie franchise (note, I’m basing that on the 1st movie). Plus, the introduction of werewolves, bringing in more witches, and the arrival of Katherine, the vampire who turned Damon and Stefan and who Elena looks like. The writing is much stronger and the storylines now are really making it a bit of a surprising drama series that I find very much worth watching. The 2nd half of its 2nd season returns January 27th at 8PM on the CW.

10- Modern Family – What’s not to love about this one of a kind comedy where you have a father who married a younger Colombian woman with a son, and a daughter with a man-child of a husband and three kids, and a gay son who adopted a Vietnamese baby with his partner. Add in a doc-style therapy narration and you have a unique comedy that not only does extremely well in demo, but it actually won an Emmy too for a comedy and get this, it’s actually funny. This ABC series 2nd season airs Wed. at 9PM.

9- Eureka – The Syfy series saw some real creative genius last year when Carter, Allison, Henry, Jo, and Fargo had traveled back to the past and arrived back to the present with a man named Trevor Grant joining, to find a very different Eureka (Jo and Zane never dated, Tess never left, Henry is married, Allison’s autistic son was surprisingly no longer autistic, and, Fargo is in charge of GD). Playing with time can be a tricky thing, but this show excelled (although I’m still not sure how a kid would no longer be autistic), but it was still a fun show to watch, and I look forward to more. Return TBD.

8- Sanctuary – This little Syfy gem may not get the press that the now canceled SGU and Caprica got, but it certainly tops my list from the net. And last year it got even better, picking up after the the Big Bertha storyline, Magnus and her team look for Hollow Earth, and the last ep of the year was a big “WTF” moment that still has me in shock. I look forward to its return this spring to finish out its 3rd season, and hope for renewal of such an underrated series.

7- Fringe – This FOX series, now in its 3rd season, is moving to Fridays, so spread the word ’cause this series must continue. The 3rd season opened us up more to the alternate universe with the first half switching between the ‘Fringe’-world we know and the alternate one, having our Olivia “over there” and Fauxlivia (the “over there” Olivia) “over here.” The once X-Files-esque show is going more in mythology and the deepness of it is a hard sell to average viewers, which is a shame, because this has been a truly great year. 3rd Season returns January 21 at 9PM on FOX (with an episode titled, get this, “Firefly”)

6- Bones – Oh last year saw the 100th episode with Booth telling Brennan he loved her and she rejecting him and then the last ep of the year in which Brennan saw herself in a victim and realized she made a mistake and her putting her heart out there, but because of, eh, Hanna, Booth then rejected her. I say, give the Emmy to Emily Deschanel, please. Oh, and Hodgins and Angela got married in jail and are now expecting. Really looking forward to the aftermath of Brennan’s tearjerking moment, plus, there are spoilers out there that a supporting character (possibly one of the squinterns) is gonna say hello to a bullet. 6th season returns January 20 at 9PM on FOX (yes, 9PM now, not 8PM, 9PM, don’t forget it).

5- How I Met Your Mother – The closest thing to a Friends replacement, this CBS comedy is now in its 6th season and isn’t slowing down. Any show that can take what should be a simple story to kids on how their parents met and make it into a non-stop force of comedy for 6 years running is a masterpiece. Now if only Neil Patrick Harris can get that Emmy for this series he so DESERVES, and maybe little more love for Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan this year? Oh, and let’s not forget that almost a year ago was the 100th episode, with the wonderful musical number “Girls Vs. Suits.” This CBS series 6th season airs Mondays 8PM.

4- Smallville – Hey, it’s in its 10th and final season and they are giving us one hell of a season. The 10th season is now getting more into the Superman mythology, even that scene with the ‘Superman Returns’ costume in the Fortress of Solitude gave me goosebumps (got them again just thinking about that scene). And let’s not forget the wonderful 200th episode where James Marsters returned as Brainiac and Clark and Lois’s floaty dance at the end, it’s just, well, super. 10th season returns, with only 11 episodes left, of this epic series, on January 28 at 8PM on the CW.

3- Chuck – This spy-action comedy series is very much adored by its close-knit of fans, and that dedication has helped bring this series into its now 4th season. But, hope for a 5th dwindles unless ratings can spike, and last year saw a massive amount of what they call stunt casting, but, though it didn’t hurt, Linda Hamilton, Lou Ferrigno, Summer Glau, Robert Englund, and Timothy Dalton didn’t help ratings either. 4th season returns January 17 at 8PM on NBC.

2- True Blood – Well, duh, my #2 show in general is the HBO hit with vampires, werewolves, and now fairies. Going into a 4th season this year, we should see more witches and, from what I hear, more vampire politics. The sex and gore didn’t stop in the 3rd season (the disturbing head twist sex scene between Bill and Lorena and Russell ripping the spinal column of a news anchor on live TV, great stuff.) 4th season airs this summer on HBO.

1- Supernatural – Not a surprise, it’s always been my most favorite show since it premiered. With a great mix of drama, action, and comedy, strong characters, excellent writing, we haven’t had a show this strong since Buffy. Last year we got the 100th episode, a showdown with Lucifer, and more crazy “WTF” moments (“fairies”?), a great Bobby episode, and you also had Castiel watching porn, I never laughed so hard in my life. Kidding aside, it’s still a strong serious show, and now that Sam has his soul back, with the unreliable “patch” from Death, what’s next for our favorite demon hunters? 6th season returns January 28th at 9PM on the CW.

BEST NEW SERIES from LAST YEAR:
Haven (Syfy) – The series will return for a 2nd season this summer (yay!) and is actually a quite intriguing show, much better than the highest rated scripted show on Syfy, Warehouse 13, which is good too, but I like Haven more. Taking place in a small town in Maine, it follows an FBI agent who found herself trying to unlock the mystery of the Troubles and a mysterious picture in an old newspaper of a woman that she believed to be her mother. It’s got a great cast, and when we last saw it, Audrey got more clues to her mother, that it might not have been her mother, but her! Plus Duke’s hunt to find out who is supposed to kill him, bringing in the mystery of the maze tattoo. Oh, and this is loosely based on the Stephen King novella ‘The Colorado Kid.’

Shows I Wish Weren’t Canceled:
My Boys – The highly underrated TBS comedy was a pleasant surprise to me. I started watching it when it was halfway through its 1st season since someone recommended it, and I’m glad I did. It was a smart and funny show, with a great ensemble.

Party Down – The Starz comedy by Rob Thomas (not the singer, the guy who gave us the wonderful Veronica Mars) was about actors, writers, comedians who work at a catering company called Party Down in order to pay the bills as their dream jobs aren’t going well.

Heroes – Yeah, ratings were low, blah, blah, but all I really wanted was some shorter season to tie up loose ends, as the last episode ended with a HUGE cliffhanger, Claire showing her regeneration ability on camera for everyone to see.

Stargate Universe – after a rocky start, the show really improved. It was canceled last year, but the remaining 10 eps of its 2nd season will air this year, and I believe I heard there’s a cliffhanger (of course).

Dollhouse – Of course I’m gonna have this on here. Those few eps last year were among the strongest. Guess it’s a good thing Joss Whedon pretty much knew the chances of renewal were slim, and the last episode at least had an ending, while Heroes did not.

NEW SHOWS this year:
The Cape (special premiere on January 9th at 9PM on NBC, regular time slot begins January 17 at 9PM) – Summer Glau returns to TV! NBC is promoting this more heavily than their other new shows, and it does seem interesting, but is it too soon after the fall of Heroes?

Mr. Sunshine (premieres February 9 at 9:30PM on ABC) – Chandler Bing! Yes, Matthew Perry is back on TV, 2nd time after the end of Friends and with a sweet timeslot after the super hit Modern Family. Though, that means Chandler is being mean to Monica, being it’s bumping Cougar Town for a little bit.

Camelot – Starz isn’t slowing down in an effort to go up against HBO and Showtime, and this further proves it. A retelling (yes, another) of the Arthurian legend, this version will primarily be using Thomas Mallory’s 15th century work, “Le Morte d’Arthur”, along with other Arthurian legends as its source. Premieres April 1.

RETURNING Shows looking forward to:
Primeval – It came back on New Year’s, after over a year since the 3rd season and news of a cancellation, the show was brought back with a deal of 13 episodes spread between two seasons. BBC America is currently showing this wonderful British series on Saturday nights for us in America.

Torchwood – The 4th season of this British show, which was missing last year, returns this year, now on Starz (for us). The series will take a slightly different direction as Captain Jack and Gwen Cooper will travel across the pond, as the series will now have US financing (thanks to Starz) along with continuing BBC love. The 4th series adds Americans Bill Pullman and Mekhi Phifer to the cast, as well as some big guns in writing, with former Buffy writer Jane Espenson, X-Files & Supernatural writer John Shiban, and House writer Doris Egan adding their magic touches to the season along with creator Russell T. Davies and John Fay returning. This will be one series not to miss.

—-

I don’t have much to say in terms of music and movies (I didn’t purchase that many CDs last year, getting only CDs from bands I like enough to get the day they come out (which is VERY few) and I don’t go to the movies, it’s been 2 years almost since I’ve last been.

But, going by albums released last year, I actually purchased 5 total CDs, and only 3 of them were new releases (Godsmack ‘The Oracle’, Disturbed ‘Asylum’, and Apocalyptica ’7th Symphony.’) So I guess there’s my top 3, but Apocalyptica would be my favorite of the three.

And, I saw newer movies in other ways (Netflix). So, movies that came out at the end of 2010, of course I haven’t seen yet, but for those available to rent and buy (I believe I only bought 2 movies – ‘Legion’ and ‘Kick-Ass’) but I’ve also eventually saw ‘Daybreakers,’ ‘Death at a Funeral’, ‘Alice in Wonderland’, ‘The Grown-Ups’, ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice,’ ‘Hot Tub Time Machine,’ ‘The Losers,’ and ‘When in Rome.’ And when they are available to rent or when popularity dies down, I look forward to check out ‘Skyline,’ ‘Toy Story 3,’ ‘Inception,’ and hopefully in about 4-5 months, ‘Little Fockers,’ ‘Yogi Bear,’ ‘Tangled,’ and I kind of want to see ‘Gulliver’s Travels.’ Unfortunately, I haven’t seen them, so I can’t say anything about them other than that they look good from previews.

Anyway, of the ones I saw, I think people were too negative about ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ ’cause I thought it was entertaining (even though there were some amounts of lameness, I mean seriously, Prime Merlinean?) ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be, but it was still funny, but ‘Death at a Funeral’ was HILARIOUS. ‘Legion’ wasn’t as good as I would have hoped, but ‘Daybreakers’ was actually pretty good (not the best vampire film, but is a better movie than the shit a certain studio is selling as vampire films (you know what I’m talking about). ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was, eh, okay, but eh, was a waste of my time, ‘The Losers’ was pretty awesome, and ‘The Grown-Ups’ was pretty funny (not the funniest Adam Sandler movie, but good). And ‘Kick-Ass,’ well, it KICKED-ASS.

As for what to look forward to in 2011 as far as music and movies:

MOVIES:
‘Cabin in the Woods‘ – Joss Whedon, need I say more

‘Super’ – limited April 1 – Rainn Wilson stars as a man who decides to become a superhero, even having a crazy sidekick played by Ellen Page. Nathan Fillion, Liv Tyler, and Kevin Bacon also star.

‘Super 8′ – June 10- not much is really known, but it’s Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams working together on this, super secret movie.

‘Thor’ – May 6 – the kickoff of the summer blockbusters starts with a Marvel superhero. The movie looks good, and as much as I tend to prefer DC over Marvel, I’d be more inclined to check this out over ‘the Green Lantern,’ though I kind of want to see that too.

‘Your Highness’ – April 8 – It’s a spoofy movie on the whole like medieval prince/princess/dragons stuff which stars Danny McBride, James Franco, Zooey Deschanel, and Natalie Portman.

MUSIC:
One confirmed album I’m looking forward to: Within Temptation‘s 5th album ‘The Unforgiving.’ A concept album based on a comic book series by Steven O’Connell. Set for release in March.

Anything else is up in the air as the year just started, but Lacuna Coil are writing (stated on their Facebook page) and Tantric is also working on a new album (also mentioned on their Facebook page, but vaguely).

AND, let’s not forget VIDEO GAMES:::
First, ‘Mass Effect 2′ comes to the PS3, which is the console I have, so that means, if/when I get it, I can finally play it.

And on 11/1/11 we get the third ‘Uncharted’ game, ‘Drake’s Deception,’ which is available only for the PS3. HAHA, take that Xbox owners!

Small reminder post, Dollhouse will begin its last 9 episode run tomorrow, Dec. 4, with back to back episodes starting at 8/7c on FOX. Some shows haven’t gone on winter hiatus yet, so there’s still some competition (especially since USA Network’s Monk is ending its run at 9/8c). I have to DVR Monk and Medium, and record Dollhouse over the air, right to DVD, as 9pm hour is really congested, since Stargate Universe is also new, but Syfy re-airs new episodes later in the night, so I’ll catch the 11pm showing. Smallville is a repeat, so 8pm is just Dollhouse for me, and 10PM is just 2 shows that record fine on DVR, Syfy’s excellent Sanctuary and USA’s newest hit, White Collar.

Oh, and I’m working, don’t get off ’til 8pm, lovely huh?

I could come up with a more interesting title, but it doesn’t make the news any better. FOX has canceled Dollhouse. There is no surprise, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an uproar. FOX killed the show before it aired when they premiered it on a Friday. They surprisingly renewed it, yet kept it in the shitty timeslot, where it suffered even worse now. It was pulled from the November lineup, and will now air the remainder of its order (it’s currently filming the 11th episode of a 13 episode order) starting on Dec. 4 at 8/7c, with two episodes throughout December (the 4th, 11th, and 18th), then return to its regular schedule on Jan. 8th (9/8c), air on the 15th, which means the series finale will air on January 22nd, 9/8c.

Therefore, I updated the Countdown Timer I have on this blog to reflect each of those dates. I feel that this is an amazing show, that had a little rough and tumble in the beginning (also FOX’s fault, interfering with the man, Joss Whedon), but the last half found its footing, and now we have a true Joss Whedon series, innovative, unique, and very compelling drama. Which, in FOX’s terms, spells out the word ‘Cancellation.’

Dollhouse canceled – What went wrong? – TV.Com

I guess the only good thing to come out of all this, Joss Whedon able to focus on a sequel to the Internet smash, ‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.’

Hulu.com has the trailer for the upcoming 5th episode, which will guest star Summer Glau (Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicle, Firefly), here’s the link: Dollhouse Ep. 2-5 ‘Public Eye’ trailer

Catch up with Dollhouse on Hulu.com

Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles in Supernatural Season 5. the CW 2009.

Tomorrow is September, yep already. With majority of Summer TV winding down (oh, the season finale of HBO’s True Blood is September 13th, sucks we have to wait two weeks, but I can’t wait), the broadcast networks of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and CW are about to premiere their television lineup of favorites and new series, with the CW pretty much leading the way with 90210 and Melrose Place on September 8th. But the biggest premiere of all of TV, comes from the CW’s very own Supernatural, returning for a milestone 5th season with the rise of Lucifer, on September 10th. But instead of following Smallville (which doesn’t return until Sept. 25), a new series will premiere in the Thurs 8PM slot, The Vampire Diaries, which, like True Blood and Twilight, is based on books, but more closer to Twilight in that its teeny, so I don’t expect much from it, it won’t even touch the greatness the WB had with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, much less touch the latest TV-Vamp sensation, True Blood. Anyway, it’s got vamps, I’ll still check it out. There are other CW shows, but if I mention all shows coming back, this will be a long post, so I’ll stick with what I’m watching (note, that doesn’t include Melrose or 90210, those were just for the purpose of noting the main beginning to Fall TV).

FOX is next in line, with their own Thursday night lineup, with Bones (also 5th season) and the 2nd season of Fringe on Sept. 17. NBC’s comedy night returns, but w/o Earl, the only show I think worth checking out is Community, which will start in the 9:30 slot, before moving to 8PM in early Oct. and stars Chevy Chase.

And then there’s CBS and ABC, and very few NBC shows to watch (mostly due to the Jay Leno Show, starting Sept 14):

Monday, September 21 will mark the, yeah, 5th season of How I Met Your Mother on CBS at 8PM (actually all of CBS Monday Comedy night, and one drama). ABC will also bring back Castle on Sept. 21 as well at 10PM. NBC’s Heroes returns to a 4th season at a new time (8PM), and the 6th season of FOX’s House at 8PM as well (busy busy Monday, certainly make full use of DVR & my DVD Recorder).

CBS’s 7th season of NCIS returns Tuesday, Sept. 22, along with the new spin-off series, NCIS: LA. ABC’s V premiere’s Nov. 3 on Tuesday 8PM. Wednesday, Sept. 23 will bring back CBS’s Criminal Minds (no surprise, a lot of 5th seasons), and also that night ABC’s comedies, including Courteney Cox’s new show Cougar Town (9:30PM), and the TV adaptation of Witches of Eastwick, simply titled Eastwick at 10PM. NBC also has a new series, starring former Buffy alumna Michelle Trachenberg, in Mercy, airing at 8PM.

Thursday, Sept 24 will see the 10th season return of CSI, unfortunately, with FOX’s moving of Fringe, and Superntural still on, and for a few weeks, the new NBC comedy Community, I won’t be watching it, but I feel need to mention it, as I did like it, a little. ABC also has a new show, Flash Forward at 8PM that may be worth checking out.

Eliza Dushku stars as Echo. FOX promo.

And Friday, September 25th, we will once again enter the Dollhouse on FOX at 9PM, plus the CW’s move of Smallville to Friday at 8PM, and CBS bringing Medium back and premiering it in the 9PM slot, between Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs (which I’ve lost interest in).

And, then there’s the FOX animation-domination night (really, it’s a Seth MacFarlane animation-domination night), coming back Sept. 27, with new series The Cleveland Show, a Family Guy spinoff, which will still lead into the other MacFarlane show, American Dad. And, the record-breaking season of the Simpsons (officially, the 21st season now), starting it all at 8PM. (note, there is an NFL overrun, so set DVRs accordingly). CBS’s new series Three Rivers premieres Oct. 4th, which stars Alex O’Loughlin, aka Mick St. John from CBS’s canceled vampire series Moonlight which I’m still pissed about (one year later, and it would have still been on).

And let’s not forget the cable shows, though most bring in the goods during the summer, doesn’t mean they don’t try to take over from fall nights.

Recently premiered returns of Monk and Psych on USA’s Fridays overlap into the fall, well, Monk appears to be airing it’s final season through, while Psych goes on hiatus after Oct. 16 to make room for the new series White Collar (Oct. 23), which seems to be USA using the final season of Monk to lead into a new show, to gain viewers, so when Psych returns, they both end this season together and become the new Friday-night pair for the USA network. Also, we still of SyFy’s Ghost Hunters on Wed. 9pm, and its buddy Destination Truth returns on Sept 9 at 10PM. Comedy Central’s South Park returns on Oct. 7. F/X will bring back Nip/Tuck for its 6th season on a new night, Wednesday at 10PM on Oct. 14.

And of course, SyFy has their Friday nights, with the latest Stargate spin-off, Stargate Universe on Oct. 2 at 9PM (2 hour premiere), and the next week will see the return of Sanctuary. (BUSY busy, Friday for me too).

And then there are midseason shows, including the return of Chuck on NBC, which will be in March, after the Winter Olympics.

Full Guide to Fall 2009 by the futon critic

Last week’s episode of FOX’s Dollhouse was a great example of the extraordinary writing behind the show, and the overall creative genius that is Joss Whedon. Those of us that watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly have already known of this genius, and just want to help others broaden their TV habits to go beyond that of mindless American Idol or ridiculous reality shows after reality shows (such as that of this stupid I’m a Celebrity, get Me Out of Here that NBC is gonna air). TV has the ability to expand into a bright imagination, or colorful characters and engaging plots. Dollhouse is one of these shows. With a cast that has proven they are capable of a multitude of different kinds of characters (smart negotiators, talented singers, thrill seekers, lovers, assassins, spies, etc, etc).

But last week’s “Briar Rose” has definitely shown that Dollhouse has finally found its mark. There have been several episodes before, that kept us engaged, but “Briar Rose” gave us a twist, that no one saw coming. We know that Alpha was gonna be revealed, but we didn’t know that Alan Tudyk (who played Wash on Whedon’s Firefly), who was introduced on the show as a nervous, coward architect of the Dollhouse’s self-sustaining system, who Ballard found and asked for his help, was in fact, the doll that malfunctioned, slaughtered many dolls and staff, left Echo alive in the middle of dead bodies, carved up Dr. Saunders face, the mysterious Alpha.

Never saw it coming. Now Alpha, after getting into the Dollhouse, taking advantage of Ballard’s need to save Caroline (“Echo” before she was an active) played by the wonderful actress Eliza Dushku (played a slayer on Buffy andAngel), Alpha now has Echo and imprinted her with a personality of, well we don’t know yet, but they seem to know each other, quite well.

So, in conclusion, tune your TV’s live to your local FOX affiliate, Friday May 8th, at 9PM ET to watch the exciting conclusion of this season (and let’s keep it season as oppose to the dreaded series finale), which, knowing Joss and finales, is gonna leave you wanting more…

Your DVRs can record your other shows, remember, Friday Night Lights is safe for two years, thanks to DirecTV. And Flashpoint is a Canadian production, so even if CBS doesn’t want it (which wouldn’t make sense, since CBS isn’t gonna do any better) it could still survive in Canada, and I don’t know what’s on NBC, nor do I really care. As far as movies go, Star Trek will still be playing on Saturday and Sunday, and in some areas, maybe you can catch a matinee.

If you missed the last episode: here it is, right from Hulu.com:

Catch more full episodes, for free, at Hulu.com

TV.Com has posted an article on 10 shows at risk of cancellation. I could post them all, but I think I’ll just give the highlights of the ones I actually watch (Sorry, I had started this post earlier, and tried Tabbing and Backspace, don’t ever do that in WordPress, it sent me back and when I went forward everything I typed up was gone, so I need to save time)

So I’m really doing the top 4 (though Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles and My Name is Earl is in the list as well.

4: Castle (ABC) : Starring the wonderful and underrated actor Nathan Fillion, this show is actually better than I thought it would be. Airs Mondays 10PM, on ABC.
What you’re missing (Pilot promo):

3: Reaper (CW) : The only CW series on the list, this show has it all: humor, drama, action, and the Devil. What’s not to like? Airs Tuesday 8PM on the CW.
What you’re Missing: (Season 2 promo)

2: Dollhouse (FOX) : The highly buzzed series by the mind of Joss Whedon opened to poor ratings (though better than its lead-in, Terminator, and also enjoys great DVR numbers). Airs Fridays at 9PM on FOX.
What you’re missing (series promo):

1: Chuck (NBC) : Mondays have gotten a little harder for our little spy/Nerd Herd supervisor, as it is now up against FOX’s House and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, and the CBS comedies, though it seems fairly consistent in ratings (I think that’s something NBC should consider), but given the whole Leno thing happening next year (5 nights a week at 10PM is taken), could our little beloved show fall victim of crowded programming? Airs Monday 8PM, on NBC.
What you’re missing: (promo for the next new episode, since it guests Chevy Chase, and shouldn’t be missed):

Full TV.com article: http://www.tv.com/story/13568.html for the other 7 shows (#10 was a tie).

And don’t miss new episodes of Castle (Monday 10 PM ABC), Reaper (Tuesday 8PM CW), Dollhouse (Friday 9PM FOX), and Chuck (Monday 8PM NBC).