Democrats and Republicans can unite on one matter: Hands down, the biggest media star of 2009 has been Barack Obama.
Of course, he’s the commander in chief. We’re obligated to tune him in. It’s not so easy for the other personalities who have stood out over the past five months. As the 2008-09 television season comes to a close, we salute some of those who gave command performances.
George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Susan Sarandon, “ER.” Last month’s finale of the long-running NBC drama was outclassed weeks earlier by a simple story — a mother who can’t let go of her brain-dead son — delivered by award winners who left their hardware, and their egos, at the door. The three, who could have coasted along on Clooney’s eyebrows, gave modest, understated performances that reminded us that nothing is more glamorous than good old-fashioned acting.
Michael J. Fox, “Rescue Me.” Denis Leary’s dark dramedy has long been the go-to destination for actors eager to scuff up their image, but the idea of Alex P. Keaton playing a hard-headed, alcoholic, womanizing jerk is a bit like casting Jimmy Stewart as Jack the Ripper. Fox pulls off the challenge with so much gusto, you quickly forget that he’s somehow managing to keep the bottom half of his body still (his character is a paraplegic) despite his real-life struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
Joan and Melissa Rivers, “Celebrity Apprentice.” An insecure daughter and an overprotective mother teamed up to deliver this season’s guiltiest, most garish pleasure. Mean-spirited insults and temper tantrums may not be welcome at parties, but they’re exactly what we crave from low-rent reality shows.
Jane Lynch, “Party Down’ and “Glee.” The long underappreciated 48-year- old veteran of Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries brought her unvarnished wit to Starz’s little-seen but appetizing series about sloppy caterers as well as Fox’s promising new dramedy about school nerds. Anyone making any type of comedy would be a fool not to squeeze Lynch into the cast.
Timothy Hutton, “Leverage.” It’s been nearly 30 years since Hutton won an Oscar for “Ordinary People,” so you could be forgiven for forgetting what a talent he is — until now. In TNT’s “Leverage,” Hutton gives us a complex yet cool leading man, oodles of fun compared with the dour, dark do-gooders from the “CSI” and “Law & Order” factories.
Mary McCormack, “In Plain Sight.” Kyra Sedgwick’s Brenda Johnson may get the lion’s share of attention, but of all the tush-kicking, tough-talking females on TV today, I’d want McCormack’s Molly Shannon by my side.
Portia de Rossi, “Better Off Ted.” De Rossi’s turn in this just-renewed ABC sitcom as the frostiest ice queen outside of St. Paul’s Winter Carnival gave me the shivers, in a good way.
