It’s Thanksgiving 2005. Do you know where your remote is? How about the TiVo controller? The DVD/VCR remote? The video iPod earphones?
As we gather in the warmth of the cathode ray tube, the rear-screen projector, the liquid crystals and the hand-held, here are five reasons to be thankful, and five turkeys we’d just as soon get the small-screen ax.
First, let us give thanks for:
1. “Grey’s Anatomy.” Even though it has its sappy moments, here’s a reason to return to watching hospital series. The triangle – Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), “Dr. McDreamy” (Patrick Dempsey) and Addison (Kate Walsh) – is endlessly watchable. We’re grateful it has climbed into the top-5 in the Nielsens and is holding its own.
2. Ted Koppel, for nearly 26 years of incisive interviews, influential reporting and superior broadcast journalism. We are ashamed to admit we didn’t always watch. We are proud to note that whenever we did, we learned something. Koppel and longtime producer Tom Bettag have formed a news production company and plan to concentrate on long-form journalism away from the pressure of daily deadlines.
3. “Arrested Development.” The prickly and wicked humor, the devious and shallow characters, it’s just about over and out. Let us be grateful to Fox for keeping the comedy going this long in spite of lackluster ratings.
4. “Lost.” It’s the best serial drama on television and keeps getting better, if ever more complicated. Clearly this is the most modern of TV dramas since some of the best fun is to be had away from the screen, on the Internet amid the fan deconstructions.
5. “My Name Is Earl,” “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” At a time when complaining about the death of comedy became a reflex, these broke out as great examples of the next comic wave.
Did you catch Earl (Jason Lee) break-dancing after he made amends for ruining his ex-wife’s wedding? A knowing poke at white trash. Did you catch Chris (Tyler James Williams) having his first slow dance? Did you see his mom (Tichina Arnold), the “ghetto snob,” deliriously grocery shopping with free food stamps, only to be too embarrassed to use them? A knowing look at Chris Rock’s African-American 1980s childhood. And did you see Larry David in the “Kamikaze Bingo” episode, insulting the Japanese World War II veteran? A wonderfully excruciating half-hour in the company of a misanthropic jerk.
And here are five that are, sorry, for the birds:
1. Geraldo Rivera. His new syndicated show, “At Large With Geraldo Rivera,” a sort of post-“Current Affair,” ( 10 p.m. on Fox Channel 31), follows the erstwhile war correspondent, Al Capone vault opener and host of riot-marred talk shows into new turf.
2. NBC’s holding pattern. Is “Joey” really still airing? Time to admit the “Friends” magic cannot be replicated. Move on.
3. “Gilmore Girls.” That’s it, we’re out of patience. The on-again, off-again relationships – Lorelai and Rory, Luke and Lorelai – strain credulity and Sookie has become unbearable. The denizens of Stars Hollow have lost whatever charm we once found in them. It’s season six but it feels like 10.
4. Nancy Grace. The shrill mouth of CNN Headline News, the famously tough-on-crime, ambulance-chasing legal analyst would just as soon skip the analysis and get to the conviction. Mostly though, she’s about promoting Nancy Grace.
5. “Monday Night Football’s” transformation into a General Motors product platform. GM’s deal with ABC and ESPN calls for their trucks and SUVs to be in the NFL starting lineup. Makes us miss the old days when a sassy “Desperate Housewives” promo was the talk of “Monday Night Football.”
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-820-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
