2009 year in review: We laughed, we cried

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GLEE: An uplifting series with biting humor that follows an optimistic high school teacher as he tries to refuel his own passion while reinventing the high school's glee club and challenging a group of outcasts to realize their star potential.

It was a year of Glee-fully musical arrivals and tearful ER goodbyes, populated by brooding vampires, recession-proof entrepreneurial Dragons, nostalgically Mad men, stoically Good wives, extra-evil Survivors, surprisingly entertaining figure-skating hockey players and confoundingly annoying reality-TV spouses.

But for TV watchers on the chilly side of the Canada-U.S. border, the lingering impression of the televised year past might be the never-ending, nerve-end-shredding exchange of "Save Local TV!" and "Stop the TV Tax!" pleas that cluttered the Canadian airwaves for much of 2009.

As this country's broadcasters and cable- and satellite-service providers whined and begged and bickered and wept over who was going to get which piece of which big pile of money, the two sides' ceaseless (and stupidly expensive) effort to win public sympathy eventually made it hard to watch an evening of prime-time programming without running headlong into a TV commercial promoting one or the other's position (often, the competing and directly contradictory ads ran back to back).

Whatever the desired outcome was for the folks who designed and dispatched these disingenuous 30-second spots, the end result was that viewers from coast to coast grew equally irritated by both campaigns. When the federal broadcast regulator finally rules on the question of payment for distribution of traditional broadcast networks, at-home viewers won't care in the least who wins; all that will matter is that those commercials will finally, mercifully have stopped.

On the TV screen, 2009 actually brought us a whole lot worth celebrating. Here, in no particular order, are some of the highlights:

Newcomers hit the right notes:

Fox made a shrewd decision when it sneak-previewed the pilot of Glee last May, getting the buzz started long before the fall crush of series premieres. The move paid off, big-time -- Glee's following grew through the summer months, thanks to clever cross-platform marketing that included distribution of the show's musical numbers on iTunes. But the truth of the matter is that Glee would have become a standout whenever Fox decided to premiere it -- it's smart, funny, hip and infectiously sing-along-able.

Other notable newcomers in the 2009-10 crop include Modern Family, a rookie arrival that ranks as one of the best comedies of the decade; The Good Wife, a simmering drama that showcases the considerable acting talents of ER alumna Julianna Margulies; NCIS Los Angeles, which paired with the original NCIS to produce the most powerful one-two drama punch in prime time; The Vampire Diaries, which has capitalized on the current young-bloodsuckers craze and attracted a solid, youthful following; FlashForward and V, two solid, sci-fi-driven dramas that started strong but must work hard to regain their followings when they return from hiatus in March; and Cougar Town, which started out as a starring vehicle for Courteney Cox but has evolved into a very likable ensemble comedy.

Fond farewells:

There were tearful, heartfelt goodbyes on both sides of the border this year -- ER, U.S. television's dominant drama for nearly a decade (before the C.S.I. phenomenon arrived) finally signed off after 15 seasons; its final set of episodes featured some of its strongest storytelling ever, while allowing several of its long-departed cast members to drop in one last time. Up hereabouts, Canadian viewers bade happy trails to Corner Gas, the first big-hit sitcom ever created by this country's TV industry, and series creator Brent Butt found a perfect (and perfectly low key) way to say goodbye.

Also sorely missed by its fanatical following is the stellar sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, which during its four-year run elevated the space-jockey genre to a new and smartly sophisticated level.

Cable creates quality:

Since the rise of The Sopranos as perhaps TV's best drama ever, viewers have turned, in increasing numbers, to cable and specialty networks in their search for new and better programming. And cable did not disappoint in 2009, with AMC contributing Mad Men and Breaking Bad, HBO serving up True Blood, Hung, Bored to Death and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, as well as returning titles Big Love, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage and In Treatment, and Showtime producing Nurse Jackie and The United States of Tara along with returning favourites Weeds, Californication and Dexter.

Canada's pay-TV services also contributed quality fare, including Movie Central's Durham County and HBO Canada's The Line.

Maple Leaf movers:

The ever-increasing popularity of CBC's entrepreneurial reality show, Dragons' Den, was a noteworthy achievement during an economic downturn; the cross-border success of CTV/CBS's set-in-Toronto Flashpoint was a definite feather in Canadian TV's cap; but without question, the most surprising and uplifting homegrown hit of 2009 was CBC's Battle of the Blades, which paired world-class figure skaters with over-the-hill hockey players and created a competition that was as daring and dangerous as it was wildly and unexpectedly entertaining.

That's Life:

There was plenty to discuss and dissect in the realms of drama, comedy and reality TV, but the very best thing on the tube this year didn't reside in any of those categories -- instead, it arrived in the nature/documentary genre, in the form of Discovery Channel's 10-part BBC import Life, which featured some of the most amazing, innovative filmmaking techniques ever employed on a screen of any size.

Terrible tube:

The bonehead move of 2009 was NBC's decision to opt out of scripted programming in the 9 p.m. time slot by turning the weeknight hour over to The Jay Leno Show. The former Tonight Show host's move to prime time was a ratings disaster, losing to the competition every night of the week while at the same time damaging the network's late-night performance.

Also earning spots in TV's "Oops!" list in 2009 were reality TV's most tiresome couple, Jon and Kate, who finally went away for good earlier this month, Paula Abdul, who vastly overestimated the value of her contribution to American Idol's judging panel, Survivor: Samoa runner-up Russell Hantz, who played the castaway game shrewdly but was undone by his own arrogance, and David Letterman, whose admission of workplace infidelity took much of the lustre off his trademark aw-shucks persona.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 28, 2009 D1