“Watch What Happens Live!”, “The Talk,” “Father Knows Best” and More: A Top Ten List You Won’t See Anywhere Else (Part 2) – Ed Martin

Following Part 1 of my annual Alternate Ten Best list in yesterdayamp8217s column here are five more shows that stood out in 2014 but likely wonamp8217t show up on many if any bestof yearend lists Actually there are ten shows mentioned below carefully cobbled together into five positions Good news They will all be with us in 2015 at least for a whileamp8220Face Offamp8221 Syfy and amp8220Project Runwayamp8221 Lifetime amp8211 Syfyamp8217s makeup challenge amp8220Face Offamp8221 and Lifetimeamp8217s fashionable amp8220Project Runwayamp8221 turn up on this list every year because they continue to champion and celebrate hard work and creative talent It doesnamp8217t hurt that they both remain exciting to watch more so than the many other similarly structured competition series that come and go on basic cable channels I would also reference Bravoamp8217s amp8220Top Chefamp8221 here but it just doesnamp8217t do much for me maybe because the food that the contestants prepare never looks all that appetizing But if anyone else wants to call it one of TVamp8217s best reality efforts I wonamp8217t argue I wish amp8220FaceOffamp8221 would follow the lead of amp8220Project Runwayamp8221 and expand to 90 minute episodes at least during the first half of each season when there are so many contestants because it often feels quite rushed Similarly I think amp8220Project Runwayamp8221 could give us shorter episodes once the first few contestants are voted out because it often feels padded Beyond those suggestions theyamp8217re all goodamp8220The Waltonsamp8221 Hallmark Channel and amp8220Father Knows Bestamp8221 Antenna TV amp8211 We are undeniably in some sort of New Golden Age of television with more high quality scripted programming and reality fare coming at us from every direction all of the time Itamp8217s more than anyone can hope to keep up with or fully process Sometimes there is nothing better than turning away from it all and enjoying popular television shows from the past on such retro networks as MeTV This TV and Cozi TV This year I found two vintage series to be particularly soothing at the end of the day amp8220The Waltonsamp8221 on Hallmark Channel and amp8220Father Knows Bestamp8221 on Antenna TV Forty years after the legendary run of amp8220The Waltonsamp8221 on CBS and 80 years after the time period in which it is set give or take a few the daily details of life as it was lived by John and Olivia Walton oldest son JohnBoy and the rest of their family seem almost impossible to comprehend But Richard Thomasamp8217 deeply moving performance especially in the first two seasons as the smart sensitive and sincere JohnBoy is in hindsight a revelation Also the familyamp8217s dysfunctionfree dynamics remain as powerful as ever even if they seem somewhat alien in todayamp8217s world The same is true of amp8220Father Knows Bestamp8221 pictured below a genuine black and white golden oldie that ran on CBS from 195460 after a successful run on radio from 194954 Itamp8217s not particularly funny although some of the scrapes young Bud Anderson gets himself into are amusing and it is so dated as to feel utterly and unfortunately unreal But it captivates as pure innocent nostalgia This show came and went before my time and I donamp8217t recall ever watching it in reruns as a kid so itamp8217s been a totally new and distinctive treat for me and one of the most welcome diversions any medium has offered this yearamp8220Watch What Happens Liveamp8221 Bravo and amp8220Talking Deadamp8221 AMC amp8211 Produced for relatively little money by basic cable networks these highly distinctive live talk shows stand out from the rest because they each create a clublike atmosphere that makes the audience feel like it is part of something The aggressive phone email and social media interaction between the hosts and their viewers during each show doesnamp8217t hurt either amp8220WWHLamp8221 is the more impressive of the two simply because it runs five nights a week most weeks of the year and attracts bigname guests more commonly seen on NBCamp8217s amp8220The Tonight Showamp8221 and CBSamp8217 amp8220Late Night with David Lettermanamp8221 Host Andy Cohen pictured at top who has become a star in his own right can seemingly put anyone at ease with his wicked wit and onset cocktail service Come to think of it Cohen may be American televisionamp8217s answer to Graham Norton But Chris Hardwick is pretty great too keeping the singletopic amp8220Talking Deadamp8221 crackling along after each new episode of amp8220The Walking Deadamp8221 If you think what he does is easy consider some of the other live talk shows tied to popular programs that other networks have whipped up and which have proven consistently airless including FXamp8217s amp8220After Anarchyamp8221 and Discoveryamp8217s amp8220Shark After Darkamp8221 and amp8220Naked After Darkamp8221amp8220The Fiveamp8221 Fox News and amp8220Ronan Farrow Dailyamp8221 MSNBC amp8211 Fox Newsamp8217 daily afternoon talk show amp8220The Fiveamp8221 in which a quintet of Fox News personalities most often Dana Perino Greg Gutfeld Kimberly Guilfoyle Eric Bolling and Ben Beckle talk through the dayamp8217s news from both conservative and liberal points of view remained the most stimulating and thoughtprovoking news and opinion series on television People snarl at me when I defend this show I reply by asserting that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and we donamp8217t all have to agree about everything I also appreciate extended conversation about any issue as happens on this show versus the tsunami of contextfree soundbites that have washed over most media reporting Meanwhile MSNBC tried something different this year by turning one hour of its weekday afternoon schedule over to Ronan Farrow a smart articulate and social mediasavvy young man who has proven capable of anchoring a show devoted to indepth news reporting I hope he remains in the news and information business for many years to comeamp8220The Talkamp8221 CBS amp8211 No I havenamp8217t lost my mind CBSamp8217 live afternoon gabfest has brought the kind of reliable energy to daytime television that ABC used to deliver throughout the morning and afternoon Remember when amp8220The Viewamp8221 charged up the day and didnamp8217t take itself so darn seriously Me neither amp8220The Talkamp8221 gets extra credit for leaving its home base in Los Angeles twice a year to originate from New York City It took a few years after stumbling badly at the start with its almost singular focus on motherhood as experienced by women fortunate enough to be able to afford nannies and personal assistants but amp8220The Talkamp8221 is finally on top and daytime television is better for itThe 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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“Watch What Happens Live!”, “The Talk,” “Father Knows Best” and More: A Top Ten List You Won’t See Anywhere Else (Part 2) – Ed Martin

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