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The Best & Worst Drama Series Of 2004
The MSN Entertainment staff reviewed the TV year 2004 and rated which drama series were best and which were worst. Was ANGEL liked or spiked? |
We could fall back on Dickensian paraphrase ("It was the best of seasons, it was the worst of seasons..."), or try to isolate a theme that summed up the torrent of good, bad and indifferent programming that coursed through our sets during the past year. Fact is, there's so much TV of every kind that instead we've taken a highly unscientific and nakedly subjective straw vote among our team's usual gang of vidiots, splitting the difference.
Here are the shows we had to watch because they were so good (and a few because they weren't), as well as the shows that made us want to grab the remote and click elsewhere.
BEST/WORST DRAMA
Best: "The Wire"
There may never have been more crime dramas on the airwaves, as the networks wage the war of the franchises. But while "CSI" banks on gross-out FX and sullen heroes, and "Law & Order" continues cloning its binary cops/lawyers template, the most intelligent drama on TV relies on brilliant scripts, layered performances (especially by Dominic West) and intricate storytelling. Under David Simon's supervision, "The Wire" reaches for the detail and nuance of a novel, not an episodic series, and it relies on a writing staff noteworthy for actual novelists to achieve that goal.
Runners-up:
"The Sopranos" -- A dispiriting fifth season, for all the right reasons. David Chase dares to follow the chaotic consequences of his twin families' lousy choices.
"The O.C." -- It's soapy, it's hip, it's teen-driven, but it's also shrewder than that formula suggests. Josh Schwartz has built a split-level soap that likes its grown-up characters as much as its telegenic younger set.
 "Angel" -- The "Buffy" spin-off carved out its own, increasingly audacious and even whimsical universe before taking its final bow in season five.
"Without a Trace" -- If "CSI" embodies Jerry Bruckheimer's assembly line instincts, "Without a Trace" and "Cold Case" attest to his strengths in bringing big screen skill to the tube. "Trace" boasts a solid cast, headed by the terrific Anthony LaPaglia.
Worst: "CSI: Miami"
Call it Unreality TV. The forensic crime empire's second entry gives us designer office spaces and a team that favors suits and even leather in the swelter of the Gold Coast. Only the décolletage enables cast members to cool off. David Caruso's over-the-top intensity makes us watch for the same reason we used to catch "Walker: Texas Ranger" -- it's caricature of cartoon dimensions. Fit and finish may be polished to big screen standards, but the plots and characters don't fly.
Runners-up:
"Third Watch" -- The original triptych of police, firefighters and paramedics has been manhandled with lurching excursions into soap opera and can-you-top-this catastrophes. Recent episodes are much improved, especially in production values, but can you un-jump the shark?
"NYPD Blue" -- In which that last question is almost answered in the affirmative. In its final season, Dennis Franz is wonderful, but Jimmy Smits' return as the Ghost of Seasons Past was cynical, sweeps-pandering schmuck bait and a telling sign of the show's decline.
By the MSN Entertainment staff
To read the whole article, click on the source link. (With "Veronica Mars" and "Lost"!)
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