As the networks continued to obsess over the short-term ratings gains of cheesy reality shows, they also accelerated their longer-term slide into mediocrity of imagination.
In considering which programs meant the most this season, it was a struggle to come up with one network effort to comfortably include in the Top 10. One! Thank goodness for cable.
1. “Soldier’s Girl” (Showtime): Director Frank Pierson’s heart-wrenching, humane view of a transgendered woman and the unsophisticated soldier who can’t help loving her was a small masterpiece.
2. “The Office” (BBC America): This “mockumentary” series traces the mundane inanities of office work to reveal the little power trips and ego tugs-of-war with which we occupy ourselves.
3. “Playmakers” (ESPN): Gutsy isn’t the word for John Eisendrath’s unsparing portrayal of the darkness and desperation inherent in the lives of high-ticket football players, coaches and hangers-on.
4. “South Park” (Comedy Central): Still the most original and persuasive social satire on TV. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone shy away from nothing and observe everything with keen (if sometimes crude) insight.
5. “The Shield” (FX): Shawn Ryan’s explosive police drama lost none of its heat in this second season.
6. “Farscape” (SciFi): Another show that’s far more profound than most folks suspect. If only viewers had looked beyond the space-age makeup to recognize the smart hearts and souls inside these extraordinarily developed characters.
7. “Battlestar Galactica” (SciFi): It reflected us by reflecting a world forced to grapple with its past doings and future possibilities.
8. “Angels in America” (HBO): What a gorgeous production from Mike Nichols, what a gifted cast (Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Justin Kirk), what a wondrous parade of language from playwright Tony Kushner.
9. “Freshman Diaries” (Showtime): Wow, a reality show not about rivalry, scheming and general misbehavior. Documentarian R.J. Cutler just turned the camera on to (and over to) varied college freshmen as they learned to navigate the sprawling University of Texas at Austin campus.
10. “Arrested Development” (Fox): OK, here’s that network series. As TV comedy lies wasting away, along comes this jaunty, acerbic yet affectionate look at a shallow nouveau-riche family.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
