This past year of television has introduced many shows, some that were cancelled within weeks and others that lived on to provide a very solid first season. The shows that survive are the ones that manage to combine good ratings with critical success. However, a few new comedies and dramas stood out as some of the most original and watchable shows on the air this season. Some of these shows are critical darlings that may not make it past season one, while others have huge ratings, but less original plotlines. These are some of the best new shows of the past year.
Best Dramas:
Revenge (ABC) is without a doubt the most addictive new drama to grace our television screens this year. The plot is remarkably original—Emily Thorne, born Amanda Clarke, returns to the Hamptons to seek revenge on the Grayson family, who framed her father for a murder he didn’t commit. She manages to weasel her way into the lives of the Grayson’s via their son, Daniel, who she starts dating. Each episode features her trying to take down one of the members of the Grayson’s inner circle that helped to frame her father. Not only are the characters on this show ridiculously complex, but they are also some of the most attractive people in all of television, which is a huge plus.
The best thing about this show is how each person has so many layers and nuances that we are just beginning to discover. Every main character has both a good and a bad side and it’s often very difficult to figure out whether you’re routing for them or not. The main character, Emily Throne, has got to be the most villainous protagonist on television (minus Dexter), and we continually route for her week after week. It seems as though every episode brings another twist and turn, so I can’t wait to see what is going to happen in the finale. All I know is that it’s going to be a very tough summer waiting for this show to come back on the air.
Once Upon a Time (ABC) has a very unusual premise that turned many people off of the show before they watched the first episode (me included). The show centers on Storybrook, a town in Maine, where everything seems perfectly normal. The people there don’t realize that they are actually trapped, bound by a curse that means they will never age and they can never leave the town. They were banished there by The Evil Queen from the fantasy world, from which they came. The only person that knows all of their true identities is Henry, the son of the mayor of Storybrook, Regina, who is actually the evil queen. However, his real birth mother is Emma, who gave up her son when he was born, not realizing her true potential. Henry knows that she is the only person that can save everyone in the town from the curse, because she is in fact the daughter of Snow White, and was smuggled out of the fantasy land right under the queen’s nose. When Henry convinces Emma to come to Storybrook, she at first doesn’t believe his stories (because who would believe they were the daughter of Snow White), but she soon comes to realize that he is not simply a deranged child. This season has shown her continually butting heads with Regina, who is one of the only people in the town who knows her true identity and still holds her power.
While the first few episodes were a bit choppy and over-dramatized, the show has really come into its own, especially in the past three months. The show has managed to seamlessly combine some of our favorite childhood stories like Cinderella, Rumplestiltskin, and Red Riding Hood into one giant melting pot of awesomeness. The juxtaposition between flashbacks to the fantasy world, and the relationships between the characters in Storybrook is really fascinating to watch, and despite the cheesiness of the show, I find that my curiosity brings me back week after week.
Awake (NBC) is a new drama that proved to be one of the most impressive pilots of the past season. Even though it started just a month or so ago, it has already captured the attention of many critics. Despite it’s critical success, the show hasn’t achieved great ratings, which makes renewal unlikely. However, if this show only lasts one season, it will go up in the ranks as one of the better television premises.
Michael Britten, played the one and only Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), is a man trapped between two worlds—one where his wife survived a tragic car crash and the other where his son was the sole survivor. He wakes up one morning with his son alive, dealing with the death of his mother, and wakes up the next with a grieving wife, getting over the death of their son. He is completely conflicted, not knowing if he is dreaming or awake, and has shrinks on either side who are trying to help him deal with this problem. The most complicated part of this situation is that he obviously doesn’t want it to end. He lives in a world where he is able to see both is wife and son, and although they can’t see each other, he lives in a fantasy where they both exist.
It’s rare that a television show can hook you in the first episode. It usually takes a few episodes, or even a season, for a show to come into its own. However, the pilot of Awake impressively made you care about Michael and his situation within about 10 minutes of the episode starting. The show also features some of the best use of color that the television industry has ever seen. Each of the two worlds is so subtly different because of different tints that were made to the film. For instance, the world with the son is slightly gray, while the world with mother has more emphasis on pinks and reds. This amazing filming, combined with amazing acting, makes this show one to watch.
Best Comedies:
Girls (HBO) is one of the most original and jarring shows to come to television in a very long time. It has received a huge amount of press, either loving the show or hating it. The show centers on a group of girls, struggling to be happy and fulfilled in the cutthroat city of Manhattan. No, I’m not talking about Sex and the City. This show purports itself to be the opposite of Carrie’s gaggle of friends in that it depicts very normal girls who live very average lives and have very average problems.
The show focuses on Hannah, who is an English major trying to keep herself afloat in an industry that doesn’t exact produce a whole lot of money. In the pilot, her parents graciously decide to cut her off and she estimates that she can survive in New York City for about four days before she will starve to death. Meanwhile her friends are struggling with similar situations in their financial and personal lives and they seek to find their identities on their own for the first time in their lives.
It is easy to see why some people haven’t quite taken a liking to this show. It fits a very specific niche, that is, it really only applies to 20-something girls. However, this is what makes the show so fresh and original, because it doesn’t attempt to be some all-encompassing narrative that hits home with every person that sees it. It is a small, somewhat depressing look into the lives of girls, whose stories are glorified to the level of serialized television. The dialogue of the show is choppy and awkward, because surprisingly real people don’t talk in perfect flowing prose. It is the strange reality of this show that makes it one of best and least-funny comedies of this past season.
New Girl (FOX) has got to be my favorite new comedy of the last year. This show does something very rare; its comedic value doesn’t necessarily come from a string of jokes, but instead from the characters themselves as we get to know them over the course of the season. Zooey Deschanel stars as Jess who has recently broken up with her boyfriend and moved into a loft with three other guys. These three buffoons quickly become her quasi-family, each filing a different but essential role in her life.
Nick started out as the trusty, reliable roommate and has morphed into a strange, lonely, scruffy homebody that seems to have taken a fancy to Jess. They have the perfect sexual tension that manifests itself through playful banter and mutual admiration. He is one of those guys who constantly claims that he had a brilliant idea stolen by someone else…essentially an underdog. Ironically, that is the exact description of Jess’ perfect man.
Winston is the voice of reason in the apartment, although he seemingly has no discernible profession or purpose in life. He is probably the least funny of the three roommates but serves the important role of constantly reminding us how ridiculous the other three roommates are at all times.
Schmidt is the voice of lunacy in the group. He is without a doubt the strangest character to grace our television screens this season, and he simply could not have captured more hearts. He is a womanizing, flamboyant, fashionable, OCD, proudly Jewish optimist who managed to snag the Jess’ model best friend, Cece. They have maintained casual, sex-filled relationship for the last half of this season. Schmidt manages to fill any uncomfortable silence in this show with a witticism that raises the awkward level to new heights. Whoever writes this man’s punch lines deserves a gold medal. Or just an Emmy.
Don’t Trust the B—in Apt. 23 (ABC) has just been born into the comedy world about a month ago and is already holding its own against comedy greats. The show centers on the strained and horrifying relationship between June and her psychotic new roommate, Chloe. June has just moved to New York, only to find that her promising new job has been accused of fraud and she was kicked out of her company-owned apartment. In a bind, she decides to move in with Chloe, who seems nice but a little aloof and haughty. She soon wishes that those were the only two adjectives used to describe the maniac she moved in with. In the pilot, Chloe overcharged her for rent and then tried to drive her out of the apartment, thereby stealing from her. June manages to get through to her and they develop a slightly off-kilter mutual respect. That doesn’t stop Chloe from setting June up with her dad, and adopting a foster child to help her organize her life in later episodes.
The best element of his show is without a doubt, James Van Der Beek, who plays the role of a lifetime…himself. James is Chloe’s former lover and current best friend, who is struggling to remain relevant in world that will only ever see him as Dawson. I completely commend James Van Der Beek for willingly ridiculing himself week after week, because it makes for excellent television. Although he isn’t very well incorporated into the show, his subplots continue to stand out as the best part of each episode.