"Tosh.0," “Fashion Police,” “The Graham Norton Show” and More: A Top Ten List You Won’t See Anywhere Else (Part 1) – Ed Martin

As 2014 draws to a close and criticsamp8217 Ten Best lists begin appearing throughout the media itamp8217s time to once again complain about their collective tendency to single out a mere ten television and video programs from the thousands available on hundreds of outlets That number worked fine when TV was limited to three broadcast networks and PBS and even when cable networks began experimenting with original programming often with substandard results But why should a decadesold tradition restrict current yearend accolades in this new media worldMy choices for the Twenty Best Shows of 2014 will appear in a series of columns during the next two weeks But first in keeping with my own tradition one only a few years old here is the first half of my annual Alternate Ten Best list featuring noteworthy programs that likely wonamp8217t turn up on many if any yearend lists The rest of the list can be found here Most of these shows were on the same list in 2013 and all of them will still be with us in 2015 though one will be almost unrecognizable Youamp8217ll know it when you see itamp8220House Huntersamp8221 and amp8220House Hunters Internationalamp8221 HGTV amp8211 Once again Iamp8217m putting amp8220House Huntersamp8221 and amp8220House Hunters Internationalamp8221 at the top of this list because they are arguably the most popular shows on television People seemingly canamp8217t get enough of watching folks with more money than they have shop for first homes andor vacation homes that are probably nicer than any house in which they will ever live I prefer to think of amp8220HHamp8221 and amp8220HHIamp8221 as programs that I can relax with on certain occasions those occasions being when I canamp8217t find anything else to watch or when Iamp8217m visiting with friends and weamp8217re looking for something to put on in the background which invariably becomes the focus of our attention Even if you donamp8217t watch these two shows you certainly know someone who doesamp8220Fashion Policeamp8221 E amp8211 It is almost too sad to write about this show in the wake of Joan Riversamp8217 untimely passing Friday nights simply havenamp8217t been the same since she left us But for most of the year Rivers and her costars Giuliana Rancic Kelly Osbourne and George Kotsiopoulos got our weekends off to an entertaining start with their smart and sassy take on celebritiesamp8217 fashion hits and misses from the previous week There was rarely a dull moment on this show due almost exclusively to Riversamp8217 unique ability among older comics to remain relevant and stay on top of current trends and the personalities of popular culture With all due respect to everyone involved I am not looking forward to the return of this franchise in whatever form it takesamp8220Tosh0amp8221 Comedy Central amp8211 For the fourth consecutive year and again with apologies to Eamp8217s timetested amp8220The Soupamp8221 Iamp8217m choosing amp8220Tosh0amp8221 pictured below as TVamp8217s Funniest Show Comedian Daniel Tosh continues to command the screen with a comic intensity that escapes most television personalities making even the most disgusting or offensive video content somehow palatable and often riotously funny The segments that he produces with his creative team push all kinds of envelopes especially in terms of sexual content and nudity but in general the most shocking visuals on his show come from viral videos that have already been watched by millions As always I canamp8217t understand why the people in those videos recorded their mishaps or chose to put them on the Internet in the first place but thatamp8217s their business Tosh delights in showcasing them making merciless fun of them and often extending whatever degree of media notoriety they may already be enjoying He gets extra credit this year for his noholdsbarred attack on ESPN and for producing a remarkably restrained installment of the show that was suitable for viewers of all ages even though viewers of all ages are already watchingamp8220The Graham Norton Showamp8221 BBC America amp8211 Itamp8217s been a good year for entertainment talk shows in this country with Jimmy Fallonamp8217s triumphant move to NBCamp8217s amp8220Tonight Showamp8221 David Letterman ramping up for his departure from CBS in May and ABC39s Jimmy Kimmel more than holding his own against increased latenight competition Also Fallon and Kimmel became major YouTube stars this year But across the pond and here on BBC America Graham Norton continued to hold court as the most reliably entertaining talk host of them all with an uncanny knack for assembling the most watchable groups of unrelated celebrities and encouraging them to mix it up on his bright red couch Yes Nortonamp8217s is a onceweekly show and not a nightly affair so comparisons to others arenamp8217t exactly fair Still I like to think that his unwavering popularity might have influenced CBSamp8217 decision to replace the outgoing Craig Ferguson on its amp8220Late Late Showamp8221 with the reliably charming and funny British actor James Corden a frequent guest on Nortonamp8217s programamp8220Late Night with Seth Meyersamp8221 NBC amp8211 Speaking of all the excitement this year in the late night arena why should Jimmy Fallon get all the credit for turning his networkamp8217s postprime schedule into the most exciting time period in broadcast television The new amp8220Tonight Showamp8221 is a marvelous thing more on that in a later column but NBC wouldnamp8217t have quite as much to celebrate if it didnamp8217t have the right show on after it to continue its dominance in the daypart Meyers and his team have proven to be outstanding in that capacityNext The Alternate Top Ten List Concludesamp160The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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"Tosh.0," “Fashion Police,” “The Graham Norton Show” and More: A Top Ten List You Won’t See Anywhere Else (Part 1) – Ed Martin

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