"Dexter," "Friday Night Lights" and "Sons of Anarchy" Bring a Decade of Outstanding TV Drama to a Close - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

Andy Serwer is right As his recent cover story in Time magazine made clear the 0039s have indeed been The Decade from Hell These last ten years began with a stock market crash and the terrorist attacks of 911 They are ending with a fullblown economic crisis that has people longing for the good old days of 1999 In between we have suffered two wars the unprecedented devastation of Hurricane Katrina failing power grids falling bridges numerous school shootings and so much more that would best be forgotten were so much of it not so unfortunately instructiveIt39s hard to think of anything that will evoke fond memories when people look back on these last ten years as they inevitably will But here39s something worth remembering The beginning of the decade unexpectedly ushered in a new Golden Age of Television an accolade previously reserved for the Fifties when high culture and profound drama much of it live dominated the then nascent mediumAs I think back the quality of scripted television entertainment had eroded so noticeably in the Nineties that critics everywhere were wondering what would happen to TV when its handful of remaining gems especially Seinfeld ran their course near decade39s end With the exception of NYPD Blue which by the late Nineties was showing its age and Law ampamp Order which has proven timeless there were no longer any dramas on television that had people buzzing Even ER one of the most acclaimed series of the decade had dropped below the radarAnd then seemingly out of nowhere along came The Sopranos and The West Wing in 1999 Viewers took to both shows with such surprising vigor that wellwritten adult contemporary drama was in sudden demand Consider the outsized wave of quality dramatic programming that would follow throughout the 2000s The Shield Six Feet Under 24 Lost House The Wire Buffy the Vampire Slayer Battlestar Galactica Rome Rescue Me Mad Men The Closer Friday Night Lights Big Love Damages Burn Notice Dexter Breaking Bad In Plain Sight True Blood and so many moreThe success of these shows proved even more satisfying given everything that happened to television during the decade There were so many lousy sitcoms produced that the genre looked to be a goner Reality television came roaring back in the summer of 2000 with Survivor and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire opening the floodgates for lowcost unscripted programming that put highercost scripted fare on notice Homemade and professionally produced videos siphoned millions of young people from TV to the 39NetBut here we are at the very end of the decade and scripted drama is still as vital and vibrant as it was ten years ago Consider FX39s Sons of Anarchy which just wrapped its second season last Tuesday A modest performer last year Sons was a sophomore hit especially with male viewers Considering it is a gritty drama about rough tough biker guys Sons unexpectedly became a showcase for the actresses in its cast series lead Katey Sagal as deserving of an Emmy nomination as any other lead actress this season supporting player Maggie Siff also Emmyworthy and guest star Ally Walker dittoMeanwhile Showtime39s Dexter is careening toward its season four climax in grand nailbiting fashion as serialkillerofkillers and new dad Dexter Morgan Michael C Hall draws ever closer to a fateful confrontation with Arthur Mitchell aka the Trinity Killer played by scary good guest star John Lithgow The recent Thanksgiving episode in which Dexter witnessed firsthand the means by which Mitchell routinely tortures and torments his wife and two teenage children was an unforgettable shocker Dexter has never been betterLastly DirecTV39s Friday Night Lights last Wednesday delivered its finest hour since its Season One finale Zach Gilford as nice guy Matt Saracen was absolutely heartwrenching in a story that found the recent high school grad coping with the sudden loss of his estranged father a career soldier who died in Iraq In most drama series characters typically respond to the deaths of family and friends with a big boohoo and a few hugs But Lights avoided any such clichamp233s Matt kept most of his emotional turmoil inside even after viewing the ravaged remains of his dad until he became quietly unglued at the Taylor home trying to explain what he was feeling to girlfriend Julie former coach and father figure Eric and Eric39s wife Tami There were no quoteverything is going to be okayquot hugs which rang completely true for these very realistic characters Instead in one of this series39 typical grace notes Eric silently accompanied the quietly crying Matt as he walked home I once wrote that an Emmy Award wasn39t good enough for the performance Bryan Cranston delivers in Breaking Bad Instead I thought he should receive an Oscar for his work on that show I felt the same about Gilford after last week39s FNL

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"Dexter," "Friday Night Lights" and "Sons of Anarchy" Bring a Decade of Outstanding TV Drama to a Close - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

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Ed Martin

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 6) - By Carl Mayer

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"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 6) - By Carl Mayer

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