A Top 10 List That Needs an Addendum By MIKE HALE

December 20, 2009
A Top 10 List That Needs an Addendum By MIKE HALE

PICKING the 10 best television shows of any given year is a fool's errand, or a liar's. It's both physically and psychologically impossible for anyone to check out more than a sliver of what's on. So consider this a list of 10 things I really enjoyed watching in 2009 (in alphabetical order), with a hefty postscript of honorable mentions to acknowledge that most television exists within a fairly narrow range of quality.

Before we get to the list: There are a lot of perfectly well-made, intelligent, but essentially lifeless shows on television that get great reviews and end up on Top 10 lists. People like these shows because they feel that they flatter their intelligence, and because they confuse surface realism with some kind of deeper truth. I don't (like them, that is), so don't look for "Breaking Bad," "Damages," "Dexter," "Mad Men" or their like here.

ANTHONY BOURDAIN: NO RESERVATIONS (Travel) Say what you will about how Mr. Bourdain's sardonic pose has hardened into shtick, "No Reservations" is still the only show in the food-and-travel category that doesn't make me want to throw things at the host. Excerpt

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (DirecTV/NBC) Despite new players and new schools, it remains one of the best, most moving dramas on television. For those without DirecTV, you have it to look forward to when it appears on NBC. Excerpt

FRONTLINE (PBS) The PBS investigative series, which occasionally collaborates with The New York Times, is the best American-made news and current affairs program by a ridiculously wide measure. The PBS film showcases "P.O.V." and "Independent Lens" also deserve mention, but for the most part don't produce original content. Review | Excerpt

HOUSE (Fox) It's a silly show, and the medical plots are risible. But the byplay between Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard as the dysfunctional best friends House and Wilson puts it on this list. Review | Excerpt

LITTLE DORRIT (PBS) This "Masterpiece Classic" mini-series was another lovely, movie-quality literary adaptation from the prodigious screenwriter Andrew Davies ("Bleak House," "Pride and Prejudice"), with an amazing cast: Claire Foy, Bill Paterson, Tom Courtenay, Judy Parfitt, Alun Armstrong, Eddie Marsan, Freema Agyeman. In a class by itself. Review

LOCKED UP ABROAD (National Geographic) This British documentary series (original title: "Banged Up Abroad") interviews former drug mules and kidnapping victims while recreating their horrifying stories with younger and more attractive actors. A model of the genre.

MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! (PBS) "Wallander," with Kenneth Branagh as a glum Swedish detective, was smart, tense and gorgeously shot. The second season of "Inspector Lewis" was a bit of a letdown, but the episode "The Quality of Mercy," in which the detectives stumbled upon the identity of the hit-and-run driver who killed Lewis's wife years before, was a nice showcase for the underappreciated British actor Kevin Whately. Review

SUPERNATURAL (CW) It's a tough call among this CW veteran, "Lost" and "True Blood" for the paranormal-drama slot, but "Supernatural" is currently among the wildest and most entertaining series in prime time. (It helps that Jensen Ackles and, to a lesser extent, Jared Padalecki have improved as actors over the show's five seasons.) While the demon-hunting Winchester boys try to stop Lucifer, stave off the apocalypse and track down God (none of the angels know where he's hiding), the writers out-meta "30 Rock," sending the brothers to a "Supernatural" fan weekend and cleverly working into the show the Internet chatter about the duo's unusual closeness. Excerpt

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (ABC Family) In the dog days of July, this witty, family-friendly high school sitcom with winning performances by Lindsey Shaw, Meaghan Martin and Nicholas Braun may have been the best thing on television. Review | Excerpt

30 ROCK (NBC) Most of the postmodern sitcoms ("The Office," "Modern Family" et al.) pander to their audiences just as vigorously as the more traditional shows do; "30 Rock" is the best of them because it panders less. Also, it's funnier. Review | Excerpt

HONORABLE MENTION "Battlestar Galactica" (Syfy); "Big Love" (HBO); "Bill Moyers Journal" (PBS); "Bored to Death" (HBO); "The Cleaner" (A&E); "The Closer" (TNT); "The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central); "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO); "Doctor Who" (BBC America); "Durham County" (Ion); "Eureka" (Syfy); "Flight of the Conchords" (HBO); "Fringe" (Fox); "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS); "Law & Order" (NBC); "Life on Mars" (ABC); "Lost" (ABC); "Medium" (NBC/CBS); "Modern Family" (ABC); "NCIS" (CBS); "Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew" (MTV); "The Simpsons" (Fox); "Southland" (NBC/TNT); "South Park" (Comedy Central); "Spectacle: Elvis Costello With ..." (Sundance); "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (Fox); "30 for 30" (ESPN); "Torchwood: Children of Earth" (BBC America); "True Blood" (HBO); "The Universe" (History); "Vampire Diaries" (CW); "Weeds" (Showtime); "Wild Russia" (Animal Planet).
10 Memorable TV Shows of 2009 ... and More - Review - NYTimes.com (28 December 2009)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/arts/television/20hale.html?pagewanted=print
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