Decadeworthy - Television of the Decade

Here's my picks for the Best in Television of the Decade. Yes, it was the golden age of television. Where shows were able to further blossom, delve deeper, run archs that created emotionally satisfying stories that took advantage of using the longer format. Or, the opposite, where crime procedurals flourished.

And yes, while it may seem like I watch every show out there, I actually do not. Sadly, I had real jobs to do. So no, I still haven't started The Wire or Battlestar Galactica or Big Love yet, and while I petered out on Six Feet Under and The Sopranos, I never got back into them when they apparently resurged in quality.

So I've limited to picking the shows with their best season in this decade (so thus, The Sopranos S1 was 1999 and thus ineligible, as was S2 of Sex and the City. 1999 was a good year for HBO wasn't it?), and it can't have already been mentioned on my Decadeworthy: Best of Television 1 Season Wonders List.

I also started listing them in order but kept switching the orders for days that I almost went back to alphabetical, but decided to leave the ranking, but you can probably argue a different order especially from 11+ and I could agree. So don't put too much attention to the exact order.

So here's my Decadeworthy List for Television of the Decade:


1. Friday Night Lights (DirecTV/NBC) - Season 3 (2008)

Right from the get go, Season 1 grips you into the lives of the residents living in Dillon, TX, but Season 3 is when the emotional culmination comes to full fruition in deeply moving stories that continue on in Season 4 as more characters are giving satisfying sendoffs while new players are rolled in, all with the central core of Tami and Coach Eric Taylor staying strong at its heart.


2. Lost (ABC) - Season 4 (2008)
Best Episode: "Through The Looking Glass" (Ep. 322)

The 3rd Season finale changed the game but also confirmed Lost was in fact, not completely lost, with Season 4 continuing the build on everything since the terrific first season, mixing the mystery and lore with deep looks into Oceanic 815 survivor's lives and their destiny.


3. Coupling (BBC2) - Season 3 (2002)
Best Episode: "Remember This" (Ep. 304)

A British version of Friends with Sex and the City thrown in, the show is cute and builds to comic perfection in Season 2, but Season 3 tops that with some genius devices including the "Split" and "Remember This". I would say 5 of the 7 episodes in the season are perfect and cannot be touched.


4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TheWB/UPN) - Season 5 (2000-2001)
Best Episode: "The Body" (Ep. 516)

Before the decade had begun, the show had already perfected the use of high school/college as allegory for bigger, more devilish themes, with a funny Scooby crew fighting off demons and vampires, but everything seemed to gather to an emotional and urgent climax to fight Gloria, as well as the incredibly moving and non-supernatural death of Buffy's mom.


5. Everwood (TheWB) - Season 4 (2005-2006)
Best Episode: "Foreverwood Parts 1 & 2" (Eps. 421 & 422)

Every season deepened the family drama about a successful surgeon and his two kids that he tries to know better after moving to the small town of Everwood, CO. Everwood managed to balance both a light and fun tone with deeper and more emotionally dark issues, all with characters we learned to love, and managed to cobble together one of the most satisfying finales despite having the show cancelled unceremoniously at the last minute.


6. Pushing Daisies (ABC) - Season 1 (2007)
Best Episode: "Pielette (Ep. 101)

A deliriously delicious romantic murder mystery that sort of defied genres. Part romantic comedy, part crime procedural, part fantasy, part gay wonderland, and all wonderful.


7. Veronica Mars (TheWB) - Season 1 (2004-2005)

A mystery film noir done for the high school set but was not for the high schooler, with the dark cases and witty repartees, Kristen Bell led a terrific cast in a sleuth show that constantly surprised with twists and turns that were both fun and actually puzzling.


8. Gavin & Stacey (BBC3) - Season 1 (2007)
Best Episode: "Episode One" (Ep. 101)

A great romantic comedy television show that wasn't schmaltzy or cliched and pushed forward in a dizzying pace with harsh realities without ever losing the dream romance at its core.


9. Arrested Development (FOX) - Season 1 (2003-2004)

O that zany Bluth family. There's no words to describe the hilarity or to make sense of it all.


10. Gilmore Girls (TheWB) - Season 2 (2001-2002)

Comfort TV at it's finest, and fastest with the witty banter between the close mother and daughter relationship of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, but the power in the Gilmore Girls was that it was really a 3-generations relationship with grandmother Emily. The quirky townsfolk of Stars Hollow just romanticized small town living to its finest.


11. Friends (NBC) - Season 9 (2002-2003)

Some said Friends went downhill in the later seasons, but while it had its up and downs, I thought things started picking up again once Chandler and Monica started having their secret affair post Ross' London wedding, and got back into a great groove near the end when Rachel had her baby, Joey had his crush, and things started to set up for the end in the following year. The comic timing between the tight cast were down to perfection by that point, and the writing got sharper again, using the years of character history to construct new comedy gold.


12. Mad Men (AMC) - Season 1 (2007)
Best Episode: "The Wheel" (Ep. 113)

I haven't seen the latest season yet, but the series is a fun and addictive look at the 60's lifestyle of these Madison Avenue men, but the heart of the show is still its women (Peggy, Betty, Joan). The show slowly draws you into the darker underlying tones that hide under the well tailored suits and flower patterned dresses.


13. Modern Family (ABC) - Season 1 (2009)

Welcome to the new age of the family sitcom!


14. 30 Rock (NBC) - Season 2 (2007-2008)

While the overall story arcs are sometimes left at the wayside for the side-splitting insanity within each episode, but when it's that insanely funny, what's really the problem with that?


15. Glee (FOX) - Season 1 (2009)
Best Episode: "Pilot" (Ep. 101)

Do I need to explain my love for this high school musical with a black humour streak? Just don't stop believin'!


16. Desperate Housewives (ABC) - Season 1 (2004-2005)
Best Episode: "Pilot" (Ep. 101)

At it's best, the show, and especially the pilot, was a great dark satirical soap opera on the suburban lives of these desperate housewives and while it had some hiccups, the five year flashforward reinvigorated the show. Still, the first season, with the 1st mystery arc and the dark humour, worked great together.


17. The Office (NBC) - Season 3 (2006-2007)

For once, I thought the Americanized version of a show actually bettered the original UK version. I know purists will disagree but the original was TOO painful and awkward. Fascinating yes, but painful. The American version really got into its own groove in the second season mixing painfully awkward humour with a more powerful emotional impact by making it easier to relate to the office drones. By season 3, the balance had been perfected and the show really became its own entity.


18. Grey's Anatomy (ABC) - Season 2 (2005-2006)

When it was great, it was melodrama at its best.


19. Alias (ABC) - Season 1 (2001-2002)
Best Episode: "Truth Be Told (Ep. 101)

Things could not be more complicated for Sydney Bristow (a star making turn by Jennifer Garner) and the pilot episode was a wealth of information and twists and turns into her world as a secret spy living as a grad student by day. In comes spy daddy (the terrific Victor Garber) who may or may not be on her side, plus a cast of great characters in her spy world and at home, and it was the beginning of a totally wild and action packed series that eventually fell off the tracks, but boy was it fun while it was still hot.

20. The Amazing Race (CBS) - Season 2 (2002)
Best Episode: "Help Me, I'm American" (Ep. 202)

First season was brand new, but they perfected the race in the 2nd season with a perfect mix of racers including Tara and the Weasel Will, Cute brother and sister team Blake and Paige, the fabulous Danny and Oswald (who actually stopped racing to go shopping in Hong Kong AND still beat the others to the airplane), and the hunky Boston boys. Plus it's where the racers played it boldly, including the first time a team was brave enough to ask strangers for help and when the race still ended in a footrace that ended with teams so close together that it went down to the wire. Exciting and hilarious.

21. Ugly Betty (ABC) - Season 1 (2006-2007)

22. Once and Again (ABC) - Season 2 (2000-2001)

23. Entourage (HBO) - Season 2 (2005)

24. Weeds (Showtime) - Season 1 (2005)

25. Nurse Jackie (Showtime) - Season 1 (2009)

26. So You Think You Can Dance (FOX) - Season 2 (2006)

27. The OC (FOX) - Season 4 (2006-2007)

28. Better Off Ted (ABC) - Season 1 (2009)

29. The United States of Tara (Showtime) - Season 1 (2009)

30. Damages (FX) - Season 1 (2007)

31. Supernatural (TheCW) - Season 1 (2005-2006)

32. Burn Notice (USA) - Season 1 (2007)

33. Angel (TheWB) - Season 4 (2002- 2003)

34. Survivor (CBS) - Season 1

35. Bones (FOX) - Season 4 (2008-2009)

36. American Idol (FOX) - Season 1 (2002)

37. Top Chef (Bravo) - Season 6 (2009)

38. Project Runway (Bravo) - Season 4 (2007-2008)

39. Chuck - Season 1 (2007-2008)

40. Six Feet Under (HBO) - Season 1 (2001)

41. Southland (NBC/TNT) - Season 1 (2009)

42. Scrubs (NBC/ABC) - Season 2 (2002-2003)

43. Ed (NBC) - Season 1 (2000-2001)

44. Gossip Girl (TheCW) - Season 1 (2007-2008)

45. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX) - Season 1 (2005)

46. 24 (FOX) - Season 1 (2001)

47. The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - Season 2 (2008-2009)

48. How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - Season 2 (2006-2007)

49. Without a Trace (CBS) - Season 1 (2002-2003)

50. Men In Trees (ABC) - Season 1 (2006-2007)


Best Shows I Started Watching But Am Only Finished or Partway Through the First Season So I Didn't Feel I Watched Enough to Properly Place A Ranking For It But They Are So Awesome I Need to Acknowledge Them Somehow:

Breaking Bad (AMC) - Season 1 (2008)

Dexter (Showtime) - Season 1

Fringe (FOX) - Season 1

The Secret Diary of a Call Girl (SHOWTIME/ITV2) - Season 1

Shows I Know Are Good But Have Yet To See and Still on my Pile of Shows to Watch:
Big Love
BattleStar Galactica
The Wire


______________________________________

Decadeworthy - The Best of 2000-2009 Lists:
SYTYCDworthy (w/ Videos) - List Format
Theatre of the Decade
Best Films of the Decade
Favorite Films of the Decade
Television of the Decade
Television of the Decade - 1 Season Wonders

Best of 2009 Lists: Coming soon
Best of Music 2009
Best of Television 2009
Best of Stage 2009
Best of Movies 2009

Previous Best-of Lists:
Best of 2008 Lists:
Best of Music 2008
Best of Television 2008
Best of Stage 2008
Best of Movies 2008
Best of Television Fall '07 - Winter '08 List

Best of 2007 Lists:
Best of Music 2007
Best of Television 2007
Best of Movies 2007
Best of Stage 2007
Best of 2007 (The Final Wrap Up)
Best of Television Fall '06 - Winter '07 List

Best of 2006 Lists:
Best of Music 2006
Best of Television 2006
Best of Movies 2006
Best of 2006
Best of Television Fall '05 - Winter '06 List

Best of 2005 Lists:
Best of Television 2005
Best of Movies 2005



Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

The Underdogs Finally Prevail!

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com:

The Golden Globes Awards were on. Yay. (Finger in the air in circles)

Okay. I actually do love them but considering everyone else is live blogging the damn thing, I can't be bothered.

But considering the awards show got a LOT right (or at least acceptable), AND there were a lot of funny speeches and intro (The best: Ricky Gervais, runners up: Anybody from 30 Rock including Tracy Jordan, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin), it was a good year.

Yays on Kate Winslet winning everything! To make up for losing at the Oscars every damn time. Meryl eat your heart out. Also, yay for looking so smokin' hot! Eat your heart out James Cameron.

Yay for Colin Farrell. He may be a bad boy but he sounds SOOO good in his native Irish accent. (I just thought of something very dirty with the words lick and Irish Cream but I won't say it. I think I'll go have some Bailey's now...)

Yay for the Slumdog Millionaire sweep! Dev Patel and Freida Pinto looked SOOOO cute on the red carpet! Yay to Danny Boyle! The composer! Simon Beaufoy! And for now being the official front runner to the Oscars! I feel like doing a Bollywood dance now!

Yay for newcomer Sally Hawkins and for showing that not everybody has a stylist still.

Yay for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I liked In Bruges more but I'm happy with this choice.

Yay for Jenna Fischer who looked positively HOT!

No huge surprises but Yay for Mad Men, Wall*E and Heath Ledger.

As for the boos:

Boos to Renee Zellweger for her dress and her hair. WTF was that? Sally Hawkins is an unknown actress from England and has an excuse. You can afford it ReyRey, and you have no excuse. (And what's with that new Alaskan movie you're doing with Harry Connick Jr. anyways? Lame).

Boos to The Wrestler for Bruce Springsteen's song (not Mickey Rourke's Best Actor award. Everyone loves a comeback!). Another Springsteen song? Really? Because it sounds so different than the last bunch of songs he did for movies? I once loved Brucie but now it all sounds the same.

Boos to Laura Dern in her cartoonish performance in Recount. The rest of the cast was awesome but really? For Laura?

Boo to Will Arnet who looked positively bored when Heath Ledger won and they started slowly giving him the obligatory standing ovation. Love you Arnet but at least fake some sympathy.

Boo to Jeremy Piven for showing up. I thought you were sick?

Really? to Anna Paquin? Was she that good in True Blood?

Really to Waltz With Bashr? The concept was neat and the animation was incredible but it was SOOO self-involved and contrived and the movie would have been so much more powerful if the narrator didn't drone on and on about himself and his dreams all in an effort to "remember".

Gabriel Byrne huh? really?

And so much for John Adams? I mean, I love Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson but another one for someone in a Mini-series over Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother? I'm sick of this sh#t.

But okay okay... generally it was a pretty good night.

I think I'll go do that basketball dance now.

More After the Jump...

Best of Television 2008

The writer's strike may have screwed up the first half of the year, but there was still a lot of great stuff to watch on TV. Here's my picks for the Best of Television for 2008

(With the ranking from the two previous lists (Best of TV - Fall 2007/ Winter 2008 Season, Best of TV 2007) in parenthesis.)

1. Friday Night Lights - NBC/DirecTV (3, 1)

They may have taken a misstep in Season 2 but the second half (that aired at the beginning of 2008) was great and all I can say about Season 3 (currently only showing on DirecTV), especially for those of you who will finally get to see it on NBC in the new year, is that it is PERFECT. I can't wait for y'all to see it because the show has never been better, never been more emotional, more fascinating, more thrilling and more soulful. The continuing growth of the characters living in small town Dillon, Texas, along with Tami's new career, a new star player and his overbearing father, the goodbyes to Smash and Jason Street (make sure you have hankies in hand to mop up the tears), Tim Riggins new hidden maturity, Tyra's attempts to redirect her life, Landry's new band, Matt Saracen's new homelife, Buddy Garrity's new situation, Lyla's future at stake and much much more, is all just astoundingly astute and amazingly profound. All the intertwining lives and the little details of regular life are what make this show the most affecting show on TV.


2. Lost - ABC (1, 4)

Honestly, at this point, I have NO IDEA what's going on. But boy it sure is a fun and emotional roller coaster ride. What makes this big puzzle mystery work is that at its core, it is still about the lives and humanity of the people trapped in this netherworld.


3. Pushing Daisies - ABC (2, 2)

From the zippy dialogue, the cast that can pull it off with charm to spare, within sets and camerawork that dazzles the eyes, all the senses are working on full drive when you're watching Pushing Daisies that you can almost smell that pie baking in the oven. The mysteries are constantly surprising, the sight gags hilarious, the lines are a hoot and yet it's still romantic to boot.


4. Gavin & Stacey - BBCAmerica (New)

A romantic comedy set in a dryly depressing reality of British life. The sarcasm and the realism balance out the fantasy like romance in a show that shouldn't work but totally does. Much of the credit goes to the charming leads and hilarious sidekicks (who in real life wrote the script) and some crazy (yet strangely realistic) family characters that surround Gavin and Stacey as they make their whirlwind romance move through the paces at lightning speed.


5. 30 Rock - NBC (4, 5)

No amount of crazy can help describe how crazy 30 Rock has become and how funny it all is. The ensemble is fantastic and Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin have become an unlikely great comic duo and all the crazy stunt guest star casting has only helped enhance their rapport.


6. Mad Men - AMC (5, 10)

A deceptively intricate series that slowly reveals the layers beneath all those 1950's styles. While the men may rule the office, the women have become the heart of the show, with Peggy slowly inserting herself into the boys club, Joan (who would be ruling the office if it were present day) trying to keep her dignity and image up, and Betty finding out that the perfect picket-fenced life at home isn't all that perfect, and it all slowly pulls in the shattering effects society has managed to twist their way on everyones lives.


7. Ugly Betty - ABC (9, 3)

Sometimes the story threads meander and get too loose and they seem to throw outrageous ideas out to see what sticks, but when it does, the show sparkles with a vividly colourful energy much to the credit of some zany one-liners and a fab cast that can deliver them with pizzazz (and sometimes with jazz hands).


8. Privileged - The CW (New)

Cute and charming can usually only buy you so much respect but this show manages to outcharm everything else with a darling cast (led by the superadorablycharming JoAnna Garcia) that mixes frothy soapy stories with moral lessons that avoids condescension and banality. It may look silly and vapid on the outside, but it's deceptively clever and witty and even with all the hot cast members around, strangely wholesome in a heartwarming way.


9. So You Think You Can Dance/So You Think You Can Dance Canada - FOX/CTV (8, 11/New)

New choreographers on the American version (especially Napoleon and Tabitha) and some great guest judges/choreographers (Adam Shaknman, Andy Blankenbuehler) managed to keep things interesting as the level of dancing reached a plateau that it became hard to pick a favorite from the talented bunch. The Canadian edition surprised as well with an amazing array of dancers that were so strong that every cut was painful.


10. Chuck - NBC (12, 9)

A smart alec take on the spy show that feels fresh and fun. The spy games always have neat twists and turns, the jokes are spot on (including some great visuals including my favorite of the year: the new fro-yo store "Orange Orange") but they keep the emotions somewhere within it all so that we actually care about the characters and care about each missions outcome.


11. Gossip Girl - The CW (17, 18)

Never has watching pretty people doing very bad things felt oh so good. And in fancy smashing outfits no less!


12. Aliens in America - The CW (11, 9)

Sadly no one really bit into this biting satire of both American politics and American society and the truly underrated cast seriously milked the comedic gold from its witty and intelligent scripts. Here's hoping the show finds itself a new life on DVD and people get to discover this gem that only lasted one hilarious season.


13. Desperate Housewives - ABC (18, 20)

Even before jumping ahead 5 years, the show was getting back on track with the balance between suburban satire, black comedy and soap opera antics but the leap ahead gave the show a clean slate to play with the desperate women of Wisteria Lane and gave us a fresh new look on a show that once seemed destined for the dustbin. Maybe a little housecleaning IS all that is needed and this show proved it can be done!


14. Top Chef/Project Runway - Bravo (Not ranked/13, 14)

The drama never ends when creative types compete to be the "best" in a qualitative field. While the end of the "Christian" season might have been the end of Project Runway's high, Kenley-withstanding, I liked the recent season that may have had less "characters" but still offered up actual practical creative people to root for (go Leanne!). Meanwhile, I finally fell in love with Top Chef.


15. Bones - FOX (15, 15)

The Gorgamon twist that was rushed through because of the shortened writers-strike-affected season didn't totally gel but it didn't matter because despite the over-arching mystery that fell apart and the individual mysterious in the procedural series, the ongoing moments with the cast of characters we've grown to love on the show is what keeps this show humorous and humane.


16. The Office - NBC (14, 10)

Inconsistent at times, but when it started to come back together at the end of last season and the addition of guest Amy Ryan this season, the series was on a high again. They need to be careful with some of the crazier more unbelievable antics and remind us again that this is just a typical office in middle America so that we can relate again to our favorite office folks but at its core, they've built up enough of a base for us to love that even when the show goes off kilter, it still can be pretty funny.

17. Burn Notice - USA (7, New)

While season 2 didn't seem to have the cohesion the first season did, as Michael looked further into his own burn notice, the general light vacationy feel and sarcastic overtones makes this the sunnier male version of Veronica Mars.


18. The New Adventures of Old Christine - CBS (Not ranked, 17)

And they said the four-camera sitcom was dead. Not when they cast like this show! And not when they write funny scripts like this show!


19. Weeds - Showtime (6, 6)

The Botwins moved to the beach and got in some even bigger trouble. While the series felt a little dry at first (with no help from guest Albert Brooks who bogged down the light yet edgy feel to the show), they recovered with some help from a Mexican kingpin and his really long tunnel (what did you think I was going to say?).


20. The Big Bang Theory - CBS (Not ranked)

It may be the Sheldon show but at some point, his rapport with Penny gave the show its biggest boost in coalescing into an actual worthy comedy series. The fact that Howard and Rajesh seemed to become sidekicks of their own, and that Sheldon and Penny seemed to move onto greener pastures as friends are all bonuses.

Almost on the list (in no particular order): How I Met Your Mother, Greek, My Boys, Entourage, The Amazing Race, Everybody Hates Chris, Worst Week, The Mentalist, Eli Stone, Survivor, Men In Trees, Supernatural, Brothers & Sisters, Corner Gas

Best Mini-Series or Made for TV Movie: Britz

Best TV Mini-Series or Made for TV Movie That Wasn't Actually On TV: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

I Know I Should Have Be Watching (My bad): Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Skins, Breaking Bad, The Wire, The Tudors, Big Love, Leverage, True Blood, The Paper, Architecture School

New Shows That Didn't Quite Hit My High Expectations At First But Was Slowly Building Its Way There:
Eli Stone
Fringe

New Shows That Turned Out Better Than Expected:
Privileged
The Mentalist
Worst Week
The Secret Life of An American Teenager
The Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Raising the Bar
Miss/Guided

New Shows That Turned Out Worse Than Expected:
My Own Worst Enemy
90210
Lipstick Jungle
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
The Ex-List
Welcome to the Captain
Swingtown

New Shows That Land Right In The Middle (Shows I like but sometimes I don't know why):
The Starter Wife
Kath & Kim
Gary: Unmarried
Rita Rocks
Cashmere Mafia
Life on Mars
Britannia High
Valentine
East Money
Carpoolers
High School Musical: Get In The Picture
Flashpoint
Do Not Disturb

New Shows I Didn't Even Bother Giving A Chance:
Knight Rider
Stylista
Crusoe
quarterlife

Shows That Deserved Better Deaths:
Men In Trees
Aliens In America
Miss/Guided
Back To You
Notes From The Underbelly

Shows That Might Deserve Death:
Heroes
Dancing with the Stars
Private Practice
America's Next Top Model
Prison Break

Shows That Don't Deserve Death But Have Seen Better Days:
ER
House
Grey's Anatomy
Samantha Who?
Scrubs
My Name Is Earl


Best of 2008 Lists:
Best of Music 2008
Best of Television 2008
Best of Stage 2008
Best of Movies 2008
Best of 2008 (The Final Wrap Up)
Best of Television Fall '07 - Winter '08 List

Previous Best-of Lists:
Best of 2007 Lists:
Best of Music 2007
Best of Television 2007
Best of Movies 2007
Best of Stage 2007
Best of 2007 (The Final Wrap Up)
Best of Television Fall '06 - Winter '07 List

Best of 2006 Lists:
Best of Music 2006
Best of Television 2006
Best of Movies 2006
Best of 2006
Best of Television Fall '05 - Winter '06 List

Best of 2005 Lists:
Best of Television 2005
Best of Movies 2005

More After the Jump...

Play Boy - Theatre Reviews

So, like, I saw a few plays recently:

All My Sons - Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
A Man For All Seasons - Roundabout at the American Airlines Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - **
Black Watch - St. Ann's Warehouse - Off-Broadway, Brooklyn, NY - *****
Dividing the Estate - Booth Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
Equus - Broadhurst Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
Ivanov - Donmar in the West End - Wyndham Theatre - London, UK - ***
Prayer For My Enemy - Playwrights Horizon Theatre - Off-Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
The Seagull - Walter Kerr Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - **
6 Characters In Search of an Author - Gielgud Theatre - London UK - ****
Speed-the-Plow - Barrymore Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
Streamers - Roundabout at the Laura Pels Theatre - Off-Broadway, New York, NY - ****1/2
Wig Out - Vineyard Theatre - Off-Broadway, New York, NY - ****

And to be honest, the plays that I responded to the most were not on Broadway, despite some big showy names currently playing the Great White Way (and I do mean white) (Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe in Equus, Katie "I've been capture by Tom Cruise" Holmes with Diane Weist, John Lithgow and Patrick Wilson in All My Sons, Kristin Scott Thomas and Peter Sarsgaard in The Seagull, Jeremy "Entourage" Piven and Elisabeth "Mad Men" Moss in Speed-the-Plow).

Last year I told myself I would try to "better" myself and see more plays and not just musicals but the truth is, a mediocre musical is usually far more entertaining than a mediocre play and most of the plays I saw above were well done productions that I could respect but I didn't love.

On the other hand, when a play is done right, it can blow my mind. Like Black Watch which I saw again this time in New York and will most definitely be at the top of my Best of Stage list for this year. And the Roundabout's Off-Broadway revival of Streamers almost did.

Sadly, since it's taken me so long to get this up, a few shows have closed since (Ivanov and the terrific 6 Characters In Search of an Author in London and Wig Out Off-Broadway) and most of the others are limited runs. Here are my reviews in alphabetical order:



All My Sons - Gerald Shoenfeld Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
Written by Arthur Miller, Directed by Simon McBurney
Runs until Jan. 11th 2009

Lets get to what everyone wants to know. Katie Holmes may have screamed her whole performance but so did the respected John Lithgow and Diane Wiest so I really didn't have a huge problem with her. I thought she was fine in a pared down production that stripped away any excess and presented Miller's classic play in the stripped down staging (think Dogville). Whether you like this new creative fiddling by director Simon McBurney or not will help determine whether you like this new revival of All My Sons.

I thought the new direction was an interesting choice that was probably for the wrong play. As the guy and girl next to me argued at the intermission, he loved it for this new interpretation, she hated it for going against the entire point of the play, and I kind of fell in the middle agreeing with both points. By isolating the Keller's onto such a theatrical platform (with a actual platform on the stage that actors walk on and off from, from completely open side wings of the stage where actors sit and await their entrances), it loses the intimacy of the portrait of this particular family and presents them as almost a Greek tragedy using them as propped up examples. The play however probably works best as an intimate look of the Keller's during their time of loss and unravelment.

Yet, the play itself is so simple and so strong that in the end, I was still taken with the play even though I had doubts about the production (which made the first act kind of boring and disjointed) and Patrick Wilson's exceptional and realistic performance stands out amongst a credible cast that percolates with true emotion in a play that is directed to be ACTED. His shirtless scene doesn't hurt either (hehe)!



A Man For All Seasons - Roundabout at the American Airlines Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - **
Written by Robert Bolt, Directed by Doug Hughes
Runs until Dec. 14th 2008

Frank Langella plays Sir Thomas More who tries to do the right thing when King Henry VIII requests a divorce and leaves the Catholic Church. "When he is forced to decide whether to support or denounce the king, More chooses to take the most provocative action of all -- to remain silent" and finds himself being targeted for blame by Thomas Cromwell.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Frank Langella puts in a strong performance and the play was funnier than I thought it would be but in the end, I just couldn't care about the time and history of the piece and while the end scenes with a persecuted More is quite dramatic, getting to that point still felt like a long and boring history lesson in 3D.



Black Watch - St. Ann's Warehouse - Off-Broadway, Brooklyn, NY - *****
Written by Gregory Burke, Directed by John Tiffany
Runs until Dec. 21st 2008

I saw this in Toronto this past summer and decided to revisit the production to verify if I was just high or if the play really was as amazing as I had first remembered it.

The play is really as amazing as I remembered it. It really is the BEST PLAY I HAVE EVER SEEN.

So what are you waiting for? GO and GET TICKETS NOW before it's too late.

I'll basically just be repeating this in my end of the year Stage write up but Black Watch tells an incredibly simple story of soldiers in Iraq (from the view of the Scottish army called the Black Watch) and re-tells it in ways we have never seen before and even though we've thought we've heard it all (when I first heard about it, I rolled my eyes and groaned too), this production re-tells it as if it were all brand new.

The staging, the words, the actors, the lighting, the sound effects, the special effects, the music and score, the choreography, the set and props are PERFECT.

From the scenes of boredom as the soldiers await in the heat of the gulf, to the camaraderie of the boys in the pool hall, to the physical and emotional reactions of "the letters", to the explanation of the history of the Scottish Army through costumes, to the explanation of the codes of injury, the play begins off as any normal retelling of Iraq might have but soon they (literally) rip that up and something fresh, insightful, disturbing, funny, and emotionally devastating will take over your senses to present you something that fully embraces the full potential of theatre.

The full cast of Duncan Anderson, David Colvin, Paul J Corrigan, Emun Elliott, Peter Forbes, Jonathan Holt, Steven Miller, Michael Nardone, Paul Rattray and Nabil Stuart is simply outstanding with not a weak link amongst the 10 men.



Dividing the Estate - Booth Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
Written by Horton Foote, Directed by Michael Wilson
Run until Jan. 4th 2009

The new Lincoln Center Theater play on Broadway brings the transfer of 92 year old Horton Foote's latest Off-Broadway play onto the big stages and it pits a southern family still living in its life of prestige, with a set of Black folks still working as the help, into some turmoil when realism sets in and money troubles amongst the family forces a discussion about dividing the estate.

It's an old style play about old people for old people (I think I was the only person without white hair sitting in the audience) and while it doesn't have the stinging wallop of fellow Broadway play about white people problems August: Osage County, Dividing the Estate is still a pleasant, enjoyable and often quite funny play about the trials and tribulations of ... well... white people coming to terms with the reality of living in the 21st century without access to a plentiful trust fund. And what little of the estate left there is to divide, let's watch as the grown children fight and squabble over it! Oh the fun! (Actually, I'm not being sarcastic, it actually IS kind of fun)! Nothing life changing but this new play will play well regionally and is an amusing diversion if nothing else.

The large cast is led by Elizabeth Ashley (apparently she used to be someone but I think it was before my time) as the matriarch of the family and Gerald McRaney (Mr. Delta Burke, Jericho, Major Dad) as an irresponsible son but Arthur French as Doug, the longtime Black butler who was literally born into the job, and Mary Jo's Hallie Foote, who was literally born with a role given to her, hilariously stood out from the rest of the cast. Hallie Foote may have her father to thank for writing the play with a role she's been given but she knocks it out of the park with her incredibly funny turn and odd yet oddly funny line readings.



Equus - Broadhurst Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
Written by Peter Shaffer, Directed by Thea Sharrock
Runs Until Feb. 8th 2009

Yes, Daniel Radcliffe is REALLY good. Yes he gets fully naked. Yes he has a pretty decent (if petite) body but no, he's not hung like a horse.

Harry Potter Radcliffe plays the the psychological puzzle named Alan Strang that Richard Griffith's (Harry Potter's Uncle Dursley) psychiatrist Martin Dysart must figure out after Strang blinds 6 horses.

The production is beautifully directed with gorgeous and simplistic costumes with metal masks and hooves etching out horses from 6 gorgeously bodied actors (who include Spencer Liff and newcomer hottie Collin Baja) and Radcliffe is riveting as the sexually naive (and disturbed) Strang.

Alas, the play ultimately fails though because the play itself seems incredibly dated especially in this day and age of Dr. Phil's, Oprah's and Prozac and much of Dr. Dysart's musings as he relates all of Strang's problems onto his own life gets a little dull and self-centered.

Still, the play is mesmerizing whenever Radcliffe is on stage and he brings whatever light there is to the darkly atmospheric show.



Ivanov - Donmar in the West End - Wyndham Theatre - London, UK - ***
Written by Anton Chekhov, In A New Version by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Michael Grandage
Closed Nov. 29th 2008
The Seagull - Walter Kerr Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - **
Written by Anton Chekhov, In A New Version by Christopher Hampton, Directed by Ian Rickson
Runs until Dec. 21st 2008

After seeing two critically acclaimed British productions of Anton Chekhov plays, with the Donmar Warehouse in the West End's Ivanov and The Royal Court's The Seagull currently on Broadway, I can definitely say that I am NOT that into Chekhov. Wow, really? The plays are about WHAT? I guess I built up Chekhov to be some huge intellectually challenging, thought provoking masterpieces and then slowly realized he writes really fancy soap opera's set amongst a bleak Russia.

Ivanov which has always been seen as one of Chekhov's lesser plays got the grand treatment in London with Kenneth Branagh leading the way as Ivanov, a man dealing with debts and his sick wife Anna (Notting Hill's Gina McKee) whom he no longer loves as he finds a new paramour Sasha and things come crumbling around him.

Branagh was good and McKee is always a wonder but my problem with the performances is that Ivanov is not supposed to love Anna anymore but the chemistry between Branagh and McKee is electric and throws the play off balance. The rest of the play, especially the poker party in Act 2 when Anna and Ivanov are not in much of the scenes together, make much more sense and can play out more naturally (and quite amusingly at times).

Meanwhile, I didn't realize the famed The Seagull is about actors and the romantic entanglements amongst them and while Kristin Scott Thomas is quite commanding and fabulous as a lead actress, I didn't connect with the play at all in its dour and depressing presentation and while I'm a fan of Mackenzie Crook (UK's The Office) and Peter Sarsgaard (Shattered Glass), I found no empathy for their love-lorned characters. In essence, I was bored by the soap opera antics of these drama queens and the greyish looking simplistic sets did nothing to add spice to the production.




Prayer For My Enemy - Playwrights Horizon Theatre - Off-Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
Written by Craig Lucas, Directed by Bartlett Sher
In Previews, Opens Dec. 8th 2009, Runs until Dec. 21st 2008

The story of Dolores (Victoria Clark, The Light in The Piazza) and the story of a family whose son goes to Iraq converge after a devastating accident (but not one you might automatically think of) in a story of enemies and forgiveness.

The family is headed by gruff father Austin (Skipp Sudduth, Third Watch) and Karen (Michelle Pawk) with son Billy (Jonathan Groff, Spring Awakening, Hair) going off to Iraq to prove to his father he's not a sissyboy, while sister Marianne (Cassie Beck) ends up marrying Tad (Zachary Booth), Billy's childhood friend who was in love with Billy.

So yah, I saw this because Jonathan Groff was in it and Victoria Clark was in it and even though I see them at two opposite ends of the theatre acting/world spectrum, it was interesting to see them interact in this play together and it was great seeing their terrific performances in a straight play (though I do miss them singing).

The play is still a work-in-progress with Sher and Lucas still making changes during previews (it opens today actually, Dec. 8th) as they explained in a post-show talk that helped explain the play a lot (though not always a great sign when a play must be explained and it can't totally speak for itself).

Still, the collision of themes from an asshole father to the confusion of gay impulses, to doing what's right, to starting the forgiving process are ripe with thought and though I found sometimes the play presented some themes a bit too bluntly or cliched (must the gruff asshole father be bi-polar and must alcohol play apart of the family AGAIN? Enough already. ANY typical family can have many problems that aren't exacerbated by additional "problems" and it dilutes the connection for the rest of us.) The play is still problematic but it spoke to me far more than the "classics" of Chekhov above and I had a bigger emotional response to Prayer For My Enemy.



6 Characters In Search of an Author - Gielgud Theatre - London UK - ****
Written by Luigi Pirandello, In A New Version by Rupert Goold and Ben Power, Directed by Rupert Goold
Closed Nov. 8th 2008

I knew nothing this play except that Pirandello is a famous playwright but the new Chichester Festival's production that modernizes the old Italian play was both exillerating as it was confusing. This new version envisions a producer (a terrific Noma Dumezweni) making a documentary for DVD and while her crew edits a film about euthanasia, the creepy 6 characters (led by "the father" Ian McDiarmid) in search of an author comes trampling into their office demanding their story to be told. The producer agrees and soon enough, the crew begins setting up the re-enactments with other actors until the 6 characters start demanding to play themselves and thus begins the mobius strip that has only just begun.

Honestly, I lost track of all the meta-physics the play enrolls in oneself (including one scene where the producer runs off stage and a camera crew catches her running off trying to save the body of "the boy" character as she discovers herself backstage in the Gielgud theatre, runs next door to the Queens Theatre where Les Mis is playing and back, all of it breaking the 4th wall and probably a few more).

Some performances were a bit much (notably Denise Gough's "the step-daughter") but it might have been directed that way to differentiate the surreal from the real.

From "the girl" drowning in front of our eyes to the producer herself questioning where the real world begins and ends, the play is truly disturbing and fascinating.




Speed-the-Plow - Barrymore Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2
Written by David Mamet, Directed by Neil Pepe
Runs until Feb. 22nd 2009

Jeremy Piven and Raúl Esparza and Elisabeth Moss in a David Mamet play! Too bad the play seems dated especially in this world of Entourage (oh look, starring Piven himself) and the thousands of entertainment shows and websites where everyone knows everything about how Hollywood is run nowadays.

Piven plays a newly promoted exec who is given the responsibility of greenlighting films and decides to put his friend's (Esparza) blockbuster find through thus giving his friend a huge boost in the Hollywood world. In comes a temporary secretary (Moss) who manages to convince Piven to consider greenlighting an "important" movie based on a book instead and thus the inner confliction and backstabbing begins. Except nowadays, studios are probably likely to approve both a big blockbuster and balance it off with a smaller low budget "Oscar" type movie so none of this really makes sense anymore and thus the crux of the drama seems pale and inconsequential.

At least the performances are pretty good with Piven trying not to play Ari and does a decent job of playing a Hollywood player of a different (and conscionable) sort. While Moss does what she can as the temptress, she's too smart and square as a woman who would be convincing enough to convince the studio exec to completely change his plan. There's a flirtyness missing from her natural aura and she does what she can to act her way through the role but she's battling a bit of miscasting from the start.

Esparza is the star of the show (and probably the least well-known of the 3 member cast) as the desperate player trying to get into the Hollywood game and he sparks and sparkles in his desperation.



Streamers - Roundabout at the Laura Pels Theatre - Off-Broadway, New York, NY - ****1/2
Written by David Rabe, Directed by Scott Ellis
Runs until Jan. 11th 2009

New army recruits are awaiting deployment to Vietnam but the play is less about the Vietnam war itself than it is about the time the boys spend in the bunks as the impending war looms over. As the soldiers await and try to bond, the differences in their status and social classes begin to unravel until a final shocking act that changes it all. I'm still not sure I fully believed the final twist and I could see people hating the plot direction but after some thought, I thought it wasn't as gratuitous as I first reacted.

3 young soldiers are privileged enough to get a room of their own. Richie is a fey acting soldier prone to singing out loud and who grew up in the big city and not your typical enlister. Billy is a small town good boy trying to learn the ways of the world, while Roger is a Black soldier cool enough to ignore Richie's gay tendencies and smart enough to keep quiet about it. Then comes Carlyle, a new Black soldier who isn't a smart or sophisticated as Roger but yearns for some bonding and some attention.

Hale Appleman as Richie turns in a star making performance in his Off-Broadway debut. He plays Richie both tender and witty, confused and controlled and avoids any gay cliches while still playing the character as convincingly gay. It's such a nuanced and delicate portrayal yet Appleman fully commands the stage and after a few minutes of him on the stage, it's hard to take eyes off of him.

J.D. Williams (The Wire) is suitably perfect for Roger, the Black man from the right side of the tracks. Brad Fleischer gives Billy the aw-shucks innocence he needs but almost plays a little too accepting at times that doesn't quite gel when he doesn't seem as accepting but it's a small quibble in a generally great performance. Ato Essandoh has the difficult role of Carlyle and somehow he manages the precarious balance the character requires.

The revival of Streamers by David Rabe (Hurlyburly) may have been written before I was born but it still (sadly) feels fresh and relevant. This new production is captivating and well-acted with a superb cast and while the play takes a head-spinning turn into darkness, it was still a pleasure to watch.

Streamers photo by Sara Krulwich/NYTimes



Wig Out - Vineyard Theatre - Off-Broadway, New York, NY - ****
Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Directed by Tina Landau
Closed Nov. 16th 2008

To call this play fierce is too easy but the dramatic play (with songs) that follows the battle of two houses in a drag off is surprisingly illuminating and emotional even though it's a big melodramatic soap (Chekhov probably could have used more sequins and lip-synching). Young playwright McCraney portrays the family created between a bunch of drag queens, their kings and the real girls that follow in a house led by the amazing Nathan Lee Graham (The Wild Party, The Comeback) as Rey Rey as she lords over the others protectively as their house gets challenged in a Drag Ball.

The drama and romantic interludes intertwine with the rules of their society all while the house must prepare for a surprise walk-off against the rival Serena (a scary Daniel T. Booth) and her underling Loki (a limber Sean Patrick Doyle). A newcomer Eric (a warm Andre Holland) becomes a guest to Ms. Nina (a superb Clifton Oliver) only to find out that head of the house Lucian (Erik King) has already had his mark set upon Eric. Add in fine performances by Joshua Cruz as Venus and Glenn Davis as The Deity, and real girls Rebecca Naomi Jones (Passing Strange), Angela Grovey and McKenzie Frye and you get an excellent all-round cast in an over-dramatic telling of another world that still feels all too familiar.

More After the Jump...