TWILIGHT: THE SERIES
Bella and Edward and Jacob… oh my. How can network suits resist the allure of eternally young teenagers… especially now that the ONE TREE HILL gang has been forcibly ejected from high school and into the “real” world.

AFTERLIFE
This GREY’S ANATOMY spin-off features the wacky adventures of Denny as he tries to help lost souls with the help of several hot, heavenly interns. Think of it as TOUCHED BY A HUNKY ANGEL.

AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MUPPET
Fuzz and furry creatures from around the globe compete for a guest-gig on SESAME STREET. Your host? Trash-talkin’ Oscar the Grouch.

SURVIVOR: MANHATTAN
You want a real challenge? Try emerging from the American Girl store on 5th Avenue with everything on a little girl’s wish list… two days before Christmas!

THE TUTORS
A sexy new series featuring former Playboy Bunnies who become high school teachers and bring history to life by dressing up as famous women in history. But not the ugly chicks like Janet Reno, just hot ones like those Boleyn babes.

DESPERATE TEENAGERS
Marc Cherry’s DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES prequel in which we meet the women of Wisteria Lane back when they were teens. Susan’s still a klutz, Edie’s the class ho, Bree a home-ec whiz and Lynette’s that judgemental bitch who always volunteers to be hall monitor.

HAPPY ENDINGS
Fox finally gives the people what they want with this weekly series in which loose ends left hanging thanks to the premature cancellation of shows such as DRIVE and REUNION are neatly tied up via two-hour movies.

CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH: THE REAL DEAL
No cute claymation beheadings here, this is the real deal as feuding stars take their grudges into a modern-day Thunderdome. First up? MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann vs. FOX News’ Bill O’Reilly!

EVERYBODY LOVES JOE
Finally, the RAYMOND spin-off CBS has been dying for! In this sitcom, Joe The Plumber takes one last stab at stretching out his 15-minutes of fame by doing anything and everything that will keep his face in front of a camera. In the pilot, Joe tries to recapture the attention of the nation he feels is losing interest in him by faking his own kidnapping. John McCain guests as Joe’s grouchy old neighbor.

PORN
Desperate to regain viewers, NBC goes for broke by airing full-on triple-X features once a week. They’re fined out the wazoo by the FCC, but still manage to make a fortune thanks to weekly ratings not seen since the heyday of DALLAS.

Direct from our newest correspondent Aleks Chan (or as we like to call him, our very own Ken Tucker in training) comes theTVaddict.com’s third and final Top 10 of 2008.

1. THE WIRE
Some say that David Simon’s Dickensian tale ended on a weaker note compared to season’s past. They’re dead wrong. A single episode of THE WIRE (about the drug wars, the cops investigating them, and the corrupted city government in Baltimore), even the worst one, is still better than everything TV had to offer in 2008. The final season centered on the local paper too inept too take notice of the overt tragedies before them. We saw the series’ most engrossing characters fall into the archetypes the failed city doomed them to fill, and we saw our antiheroes’ faces tighten into grimaces as their futures unfolded in an appreciated final goodbye. It wasn’t just a cop drama about good poh-lice and the gangsters they hunted, but a testament to the most tragic, serenely poetic, and tearfully funny tale of our time: us. THE WIREe wasn’t just TV, it was a masterpiece.

2. MAD MEN
Don Draper (Jon Hamm, stone-jawed poster-man for steely-eyed Great Performances), flailing in his age and failing to stay faithful, goes covorting by the sunny poolsides of California, far away from his Madison Ave office, where chaos is in full swing: Sterling Cooper, the ad agency where he works, has just been sold to a British firm. His ex-secretary has catapulted to the top of the steno pool, landing a junior copy writing job in a man’s world; his weaselly protege is unravelling like a ball of yarn thrown out the window. And his wife, peering into her refrigerator late at night, grabs a bottle of milk, and takes a swig. She just got back from her own extra-marital tryst, rendering her empowered, yet disgusted. MAD MEN’s second season unfolded with relishing zest, set at its own pace, tagging us along to the Bay of Pigs.

3. 30 ROCK
This spot should really be for Tina Fey, who’s celebrity went from “that sassy girl from SNL,” to “I can see Russia from my howse!” But her show 30 ROCK seemed to benefit just as well: its ratings are slightly up (though its no Two and a Half Men), and it’s as boldy creative as ever in its third season, anchored by Alec Baldwin’s game-changing performance as a whispery GE honcho. 30 ROCK is the true blood heir to the late ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT in that it is the embodiment of the best of TV’s past (think Mary Tyler Moore meets Seinfeld), under-appreciated for its smart, literate sense of humor. I bet Sarah Palin watches.

4. THE SHIELD
Now this is how you do a final season. Shawn Ryan’s tragic drama about a corrupt police squad came to the most arresting emotional breaking point in the series’ history as Vic Mackey’s (the astounding Michael Chiklis) seven years of a downward spiral finally thudded against the ground, leaving us in fits of tears, laughs, and pain. Walton Goggins, as Vic’s longtime partner and ultimately betrayer, deserves an Oscar. I don’t even care that it doesn’t make sense. THE SHIELD’s profound legacy doesn’t always either.

5. DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG
Okay, while not technically television in the traditional sense, Joss Whedon’s three-part series is what the new generation of TV should be: site-crashing, I’ve-got-to-pay-$1.99-for-it-on-iTunes good. Starring Neil Patrick Harris as the eponymous evil doc applying for membership into the all too exclusive Evil League of Evil, it had the level of sophistication in its storytelling that Whedon is infamous for without making it as laborious as watching TV on your computer can sometimes be. Oh, and it’s a musical.

6. LOST
I’ll admit it: for a while there, I had lost faith in LOST. It got murky in its already convoluted plot, and it felt like all the primary characters were either being shorthanded or rendered boring for the sake of peripheral characters who we didn’t care about anyway. It’s redemption is all the more worth celebrating. LOST shed itself of all the trappings and pretensions that made it annoying to watch and just stuck along the trajectory laid out by the showrunners, who were smart to set an end date. So was taking up flash-forwards, to when six of the islanders are actually off the island. It’s coming full circle, and we can finally be in the loop.

7. ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL
Architecture was both central and completely beside the point to this poignant reality series about a group of Tulane students attempting to build modern, avant-garde-ish, affordable housing in a Katrina-stricken New Orleans: central because how the houses are made is integral to the survival of the community, beside the point because the greater story was in the citizens left after the storm, downtrodden and desperate to start anew, their appreciation was mixed with apprehension. It’s a story about people trying to salvage their identities more than it ever was about dedicated kids building.

8. CHUCK and GOSSIP GIRL
Super-producer Josh Schwartz may have lucked out with last year’s writer’s strike: both of his new shows returned creatively charged. CHUCK weaved a much needed serialized element into its rewardingly comical procedural setup, and GOSSIP GIRL just gave up on playing coy, and embraced the fact that its stars look like they’re in their mid-twenties — so they started behaving like they are, fully aware and completely engrossing.

9. LAW & ORDER
Who knew Dick Wolf’s long-running legal drama could reinvigorate itself so powerfully in its 18th season? Thank new cast members Jeremy Sisto and Anthony Anderson as the new detective duo, and Linus Roache as the slicingly slick new assistant district attorney Michael Cutter. It stuck to its ripped-from-the-headlines approach, but now they’re now laced with personal and emotional implications, connecting the crimes with the people who solve them. And finally upgrading Sam Waterson’s Jack McCoy to district attorney? Thanks for that.

10. THE MIDDLEMAN
Talk about undervalued. This adaptation of the Javier Grillo-Marxuach graphic novels was a short-lived treat into a world where bad guys wear luchadore masks and the good guys dressed like fired Canadian Mounties, and it’s completely okay because its so self-effacing and purposely goosey that you just don’t care.

1. NBC President Ben Silverman: Call us crazy, but we expected more from the man who brought UGLY BETTY and THE OFFICE to America.

2. HEROES: Somebody please be sure to let us know when Bryan Fuller’s first episode premieres.

3. 90210: You know you’re in trouble when the show pulls out the long-lost-crazy brother card a mere half way through the first season.

4. Jay Leno’s New Deal: Will either effectively put the final nail in NBC’s coffin, or completely change the landscape of primetime television forever. Either way, fans of quality scripted fare are pretty much screwed

5. Shonda Rhimes: Between “Ghost Denny,” the never-ending behind-the-scenes controversies (see: Hahn-Gate, T.R. Knight) and the disappointment that is Kate Walsh’s PRIVATE PRACTICE, we have a feeling that no showrunner (or audience for that matter) is as thankful for a fresh start as Shonda Rhimes

6. TRUE BLOOD: Only further validates our belief that Showtime is the new HBO.

7. ELI STONE’s cancellation: And rest assured ABC, we’re not the only ones who are disappointed

8. Mark Paul Gosselaar’s hair on RAISING THE BAR: Mr. Belding called, he wants his wig back from that very special “Big Bopper Belding” episode.

9. FOX’s total lack of support for BACK TO YOU: Kelsey Grammer deserved better

10. Mary McDonnell on GREY’S ANATOMY: So did Mary McDonnell in her first post-BATTLESTAR GALACTICA gig.

1. McDreamy & McSteamy (GREY’S ANATOMY)
2. JD & Turk (SCRUBS)
3. Bart & Milhouse (THE SIMPSONS)
4. Stewie & Brian (FAMILY GUY)
5. Barney & Ted (HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER)
6. Sheldon & Leonard (THE BIG BANG THEORY)
7. Denny & Alan (BOSTON LEGAL)
8. House & Wilson (HOUSE)
9. Chuck & Morgan (CHUCK)
10. Sam & Dean (SUPERNATURAL)

Putting together my annual list of top 10 shows is never easy. Some years, it’s because there are just too darn many choices. Others, too few. So how did 2008 fare? Let’s just say that THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA made the list and leave it at that.
 
The problem isn’t necessarily that the season was necessarily bad so much as it was mediocre. Shows that have been fantastic in the past were average at best (GREY’S ANATOMY, UGLY BETTY) and nearly unwatchable at worst (HEROES). So this year, I’m going with the 10 shows that gave me the most bang for my buck. In some cases, they might not have been MENSA worthy, but they brought me a whole lot of pleasure. So while you won’t find MAD MEN on my list, it’s mainly because I haven’t seen it yet. (No, not even season one. Hey, I’m only now starting to watch BIG LOVE!) Without further ado — and while fully aware of the slings and arrows sure to be launched my way by the peanut gallery — I present to you, in no particular order, CT’s Top 10 Shows of 2008.
 
THE BIG BANG THEORY
Newsflash, folks: Comedy isn’t dead. And if it were, these guys would probably be able to reanimate it in their lab. Yes, everyone and their mother is heaping praise on Jim Parsons for his role as Sheldon, but take him out of the equation and this cast would still keep me coming back for more. In fact, they might wanna be careful not to become too Sheldon-centric. My hope? That in the coming year, we’ll see a whole lot more of supporting players Howard and Rajesh. 
 
TRUE BLOOD
I was tempted to lump this show and DEXTER together if only because they only give us 12 episodes a season. But each deserves separate recognition because of what they do best. With TRUE BLOOD, it’s a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. I’m not a particularly huge fan of the show’s supposed root-for couple, Sookie and Bill. But the secondary characters — especially Rutina Wesley’s heartbreaking Tara and Ryan Kwanten’s comically self-destructive Jason — are the true lifeblood of this seductive series.
 
DEXTER
Although this series is, in essence, a one-man show, the writers have done an amazing job of fleshing out the people in our anti-hero’s life. This season, Dexter’s efforts to achieve normalcy in both his relationship with Rita and his ill-fated-from-the-start “friendship” with Miguel allowed us to see not only much-needed growth on the part of our favorite serial killer, but also, in an ironic and tragic twist, just how difficult it will be for him to expand his universe.

THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS
When 2008 began, this show was as lethargic as Victoria, who was slumbering away in an endless coma. Over the next few months, fans became restless as Sabrina and Victor’s blah romance and the ridiculous antics of the Restless Style gang took over. But a funny thing happened on the way back from Sabrina’s funeral: Unlike most soaps, the execs at Y&R actually listened to fans and got the show back on track. Since then, the show has proven that when you have a great story, you don’t need tornados, weekly shootouts or guest psychos. Now if only the other soaps — each slowly limping their way toward cancellation — would take a page from the show that’s been perched atop the ratings for five years and get their acts together!
 
SCREAM QUEENS
I’m willing to bet 95 percent of you never caught this VH-1 reality show focused on the search for a young actress who would win a “featured role” in the upcoming flick Saw VI. Sure, we can debate on just how big a break that really is, but what made this limited-run series work was, in part, the fact that it felt like a special event. (Why it wasn’t timed to run around Halloween, I’ll never know.) Plus, the winner — Tanedra — was the girl you actually wanted to see come out on top. If the chops she showed during the course of this series are any indication, this girl’s going to go a whole lot further than just being some random victim of Jigsaw.
 
LIFE ON MARS
This show’s main hook — how did modern-day cop Sam wind up being thrown into the year 1973, and will he be able to find a way back — is actually the least interesting thing about MARS as far as I’m concerned. This is a great ensemble cast on a genre-defying series that deserves to be a lot more popular than it is.
 
ONE TREE HILL
They had me at Crazy-Nanny Carrie. And while I still think Lucas should have picked Brooke, (Am I the only one who wouldn’t be crushed if P. Sawyer was fatally felled by the cancer she may-or-may-not have?) this show seems finally to have come into its own. It ain’t easy balancing drama, laughs, romance and melodrama, but OTH somehow manages to make it look simple. As for that whole 1920’s episode? Let’s just hope Chad now knows that while he character’s a scribe, he is not.
 
SUPERNATURAL
AKA “The Show That Made A Believer Out Of CT”, this series easily could have continued telling Monster-Of-The-Week tales and had a long, successful run. Instead, the show has continued expanding upon its own mythology, introducing the devilishly confounding angel Castiel. While many BUFFY fans thought her round-trip ticket to hell was the beginning of the end for that series, Dean’s sojourn to the underworld gave this show new life.
 
WORST WEEK
It’s been a long, long time since television has offered up a great farce. Perhaps not since the days of FRASIER. And it’s easy to see why, given the complexity of this subgenre of comedy: On the one hand, the audience has to be able to see the joke coming a mile away. On the other, when finally it arrives, the moment must still inspire genuine laughter. Thanks to a wildly appealing and talented cast — headed by Kyle Bornheimer, one of the most naturally-gifted comedic talents to hit television in a decade — WORST WEEK manages to pull off this difficult task nine out of 10 times. Week after week, WORST proves itself to be among the best shows on the airwaves.
 
THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA
Look, I warned you right up front this was a list based on quantity of enjoyment as opposed to quality of content. And let’s face it, love it or hate it, this was one wildly entertaining show. From Sheree’s laughable “launch” of her clothing line to Nene’s over-the-top persona, this reality show is about as fake as… um, everything about Kim. Yet somehow, this train wreck was so absorbing that I can’t for next season’s derailment.
 
 
The “Close But No Cigar” Awards go to…
THE OFFICE: Sorry, but between axing Holly, that painful intervention and a serious dirth of Pam and Jim, I’m just not feelin’ it.
 
GREY’S ANATOMY: The second half of the 2007-2008 season was pretty awful. And while so far, the 2008-2009 season has vastly improved, the mishandling of the whole Callie/Erica romance and near back-burnering of Bailey has left me kinda cold.
 
GOSSIP GIRL: Season two has been much better than season one. But I’m just not feelin’ the whole Aaron Rose thing, and, proving that I’m getting old, I just wanna pull Jenny over my knee and give that twit a spanking.
 
LIPSTICK JUNGLE: I kid, I kid. Even the ever-naked Robert Buckley (Kirby) couldn’t drag me back after having suffered through the first season.

Missed the TV Addict’s Top 10 of 2008? Click here to check them out.

As we take a page from virtually every media outlet across the globe, this TV Addict thought we’d end off 2008 by deluging you with an endless string of utterly pointless yet mildly entertaining Top 10 Lists. Because as we mentioned yesterday, there’s no such thing as too much of a good thing. (Just ask EW.com!)

1. Clarke Duke (Dale on GREEK)
2. Tina Fey (Liz Lemon on 30 ROCK)
3. Michael Hogan (Colonel Saul Tigh on BSG)
4.America Ferrera (Betty Suarez on UGLY BETTY)
5. Stephen Colbert (THE COLBERT REPORT)
6. Damon Lindelof (LOST showrunner)
7. John Hodgman (I’m a PC, THE DAILY SHOW)
8. Christian Clemenson (Jerry Espenson on BOSTON LEGAL)
9. Rich Sommer (Harry Crane on MAD MEN)
10. Michael Emerson (Benjamin Linus on LOST)

*Eye issues include glasses, eyepatches and in Benjamin Linus’ case — Bug eyes!

While they may not have been the year’s most critically acclaimed (WEEDS), or the country’s most popular (TERMINATOR THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES), the following shows made this TV Addict’s Top 10 of 2008 for the simple reason that week in and week out they left us wanting more. More laughter (30 ROCK, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER), more emotion (MAD MEN, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) and of course, more questions (LOST).

1. LOST
With a fourth season comprised of jaw-dropping twists, top-notch acting and addictive storytelling that, let’s face it, are now par for the course island, LOST has not only cemented itself among the pantheon of great television dramas, but raised the bar for serialized drama forever — essentially making the Lindeloff and Cuse masterpiece the television equivalent of Christopher Nolan’s DARK KNIGHT. (Either way, HEROES is kind of screwed!)

2. 30 ROCK
It’s a rare thing indeed when a television show lives up to the hype. Yet following what seemed like months of build up, nearly daily press releases about the latest A-lister to sign on for a cameo and the gift that kept on giving — Sarah Palin — Tina Fey and company returned to the airwaves and did just that, providing for the best mix of hijinx and hilarity since WILL & GRACE went off the air.

3. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
Thanks to one of television’s most likable casts, two of television’s sharpest showrunners (Carter Bays and Craig Thomas) and an endless supply of Barneyisms (”There are only two reasons to date a girl you’ve already dated: breast implants”), 2008 will be fondly remembered as the year audiences finally fell in love with our favorite MOTHER.

4. TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES
It so easily could have been a disaster of Judgment Day proportions. Instead, showrunner Josh Friedman deftly avoided the dreaded Terminator-of-the-week problem that plagued SMALLVILLE’s krypto-heavy first season by infusing Sarah’s chronicles with the perfect balance of adventure, mythology and Summer Glau. We can only hope that enough people tune in next year to ensure that you, know… she’ll be back.

5. WEEDS
To the critics who’ve been quick to proclaim WEEDS’ best seasons behind them, we’ve got one thing to say: What are you smoking? Jenji Kohan’s decision to move the Botwin clan to the fictional bordertown of Ren Mar was a masterstroke. Aside from THE SIMPSONS, no show on television deals with such serious issues as race, immigration, drugs and relationships in so consistently hilarious and poignant a manner. That, and you would not believe how many people stumble across theTVaddict.com by typing in the words… “Mary Louise Parker Nude.”

6. THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
For providing us with consistent laughs on a weekly basis, the highest praise we could give stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Wanda Sykes is that they’re this generations Lucy and Ethel. Okay even though this TV Addict is a little to young to have actually seen Lucy and Ethel in action, our good friend CouchTater tells us they were kind of a big deal back in the day.

7. MAD MEN
Contrary to popular belief, we do not watch this show just so we can feel morally superior to everyone else. (That’s what PBS is for.) We do watch MAD MEN because it’s different. Frankly, the glacial speed at which the story moves is a welcome break from the frenetic pace and all-too-neatly wrapped up stories found on more mundane shows. Okay, so maybe we do feel a little superior.

8. BROTHERS & SISTERS
Like most families, the Walkers have their issues. With the good (Rachel Griffiths), comes the bad (Balthazar Getty). For every enjoyable clan crisis (Left-leaning Kevin winds up working for his brother-in-law, the right-wing senator!), there are those we could do with out (How many more times are we going to witness Nora break down over her husband?). But just like in real life, all is forgiven when the dysfunctional dynasty gathers around the dinner table to raise a glass. Or in the case of the Walkers, a few glasses.

9. SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
The good news is that 2008 was the year SNL reminded viewers why it’s been a late -ight institution for over a quarter of a century. The bad news is that the election is over. Which means that the five brilliant minutes by Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and/or Darrel Hammond that more than made up for the other 85 minutes of mediocrity won’t be back for another 3.5 years. But hey, it was good while it lasted, right?

10. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
The truth is, after four and a half seasons of excellence there really isn’t anything we can say about BATTLESTAR GALACTICA that hasn’t already been said. So rather than wax poetically about BSG’s final season set to unspool this January, we thought we’d celebrate everything the show has given us this year. So here’s to you Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and the entire cast and crew, both cylon and human alike. Thanks for one helluvva fraktastic ride and we’ll no doubt see you back here one year from now as we put the finishing touches on the Best of 2009.

If Tina Fey taught us anything this year, well, aside from the fact that “Bitch is the new Black,” it’s this… Between her Emmy award winning day job on 30 ROCK, her weekend gig putting the final nail in Sarah Palin’s political career on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and her brief foray into silver screen stardom with BABY MAMA, America’s newest sweetheart proved once again that there is no such thing as too much of a good thing.

Advice we at theTVaddict.com are taking to heart as we spend our final days of 2008 creating an endless barrage of “Top 10’s”. Because as much as you don’t want to admit it, everybody loves a list!

OUR TOP 10 TV “DAVIDS” OF 2008
1. David Zayas (Angel Batista on DEXTER)
2. David Shore (Creator of HOUSE)
3. David Cook (AMERICAN IDOL Winner)
4. David E. Kelley (Creator of BOSTON LEGAL)
5. David Eick (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Producer)
6. David Sutcliffe (Addison’s Ex on PRIVATE PRACTICE)
7. David Duchovny (CALIFORNICATION)
8. David Archuleta (IDOL contestant)
9. David Blue (Cliff St. Paul on UGLY BETTY)
10. Larry David (CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM)

Least interesting root-for couple: Sure, we’re supposed to be anxiously awaiting the reunion of GOSSIP GIRL’s Serena and Dan, but, um, yeah… we’re not. Every other couple on the show – Jenny and Nate, Rufus and Lily, heck, even Cyrus and Eleanor – rank higher on the list. And then, of course, there’s the devilishly delightful Chuck and Blair, who are their generation’s Sam and Diane.

Best twist, comedy: “Ugh, not another guest star!” we said of 30 ROCK’s appearance by Oprah… until it turned out Liz had actually been talking to a pre-teen Oprah wanna-be.

Biggest jawdropper, daytime: When THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Storm killed himself so sister Katie could have his heart, it was the kind of compelling drama serials rarely tackle today.

Trend most likely to help bring about the downfall of civilization: We have no doubt that execs thing they’re being wildly clever in naming shows things like DANCE YOUR ASS OFF or BITCH, but all they’re really doing is making it tougher for parents to keep their kids from being exposed to things they might prefer to shield them from.

Best performance on a God-awful show: Yes, DO NOT DISTURB was a gigantic waste of time… except for the moments when Molly Stanton was on screen as Nicole, a model whose anger was rooted in hunger.

Oddest decision: Why TRUE BLOOD sucked the suspense out of their season finale by revealing the killer’s identity a week earlier we’ll never know.
 

Proof reality TV has gone too far: Did someone at NBC really think it was a good idea to let a bunch of bratty teenagers try and become caregivers to infants? THE BABY BORROWERS was a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Funnest reality show you never saw: VH-1’s SCREAM QUEENS — in which a group of gals competed for a role in SAW VI — was a major hoot, and with nary a catfight to be had. Our only complaint? This so should have aired during the Halloween season!

Best extended guest gig: As demented DA Miguel Prado, Jimmy Smits gave a killer performance on DEXTER.
 
Most misguided network: Bet you can’t turn on MTV and find an actual music video. And now that they’ve announced more than a half-dozen new reality shows for 2009, it won’t get any easier.

Fakest “reality show” since THE HILLS: DATE MY EX had former REAL HOUSEWIFE OF ORANGE COUNTY Jo being fixed up with a bunch of guys… who were living with her former husband, Slade.

In case you missed them, click for Part I, Part II and Part III of our never-ending TV year in review!

Most discussed interview: For a few minutes there, Katie Couric became relevant again thanks to her endlessly mocked interview with would-be vice president Sarah Palin.

Best way to keep actor’s egos in line: Next time an actor says, “I wanna write an episode!” they should be forced to read the nasty message board comments inspired by Chad Michael Murray’s dreadful attempt at scripting a ONE TREE HILL episode.

Most compelling storyline, daytime: Fans were disgusted when ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s Marty — suffering amnesia — slept with her rapist, Todd. But the repercussions of the story created the kind of psychologically complex, buzz-worthy tale that most shows wouldn’t even attempt, let alone manage to pull off successfully.

Worst trend, daytime: Grief sex. GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Sonny and Carly screwed in the back seat of his limo moments after putting their comatose son into permanent care; ALL MY CHILDREN’s Kendall slept with Aidan moments after they decided their supposedly significant others were dead; and AMC’s Krystal mourned her daughter by cheating on her husband with the dead girl’s father. Could someone tell the folks at ABC that grief isn’t an aphrodisiac?
 
Best revamp: DIRTY SEXY MONEY got it right during its second season. Unfortunately, nobody was around to see the show finally become primetime’s guiltiest pleasure.
 
Biggest flop: Any chance the variety show format had of making a comeback was massacred by ROSIE LIVE!

Best resurgence of a soap: A year ago, THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS was a hard-to-watch mess. Unlike most sudsers, it listened to fan outcry and quickly righted itself to once again become daytime’s most reliable show.

Most guilty of Emmy-baiting: Note to LAW & ORDER: SVU: We all know Mariska Hargitay is a good actress. Now that we’ve conceded the point, can the show stop turning every episode into her Emmy reel?
 
Best Jawdropper: Holy Frak! The Chief is a cylon? And Saul, too? BATTLESTAR GALACTICA turned the universe upside down with a shocking reveal three seasons in the making. Now, who’s that last pesky cylon?
 
Lamest excuse: AMERICAN IDOL’s producers announced that due to the faltering economy, their annual charityfest, IDOL GIVES BACK, was being cancelled… just when the country needed it most.

Neighbors we’ll miss most: Dang it, we never got invited to one of Trina and Tom’s infamous pool parties before SWINGTOWN got the axe!

Best newcomer, comedy: Virtual newbie Kurt Bornheimer steals the show as fate’s bitch, Sam, on WORST WEEK.

Best unintentional newcomer, comedy: The so-called ‘acting’ on KNIGHT RIDER.
 
Most catastrophic no-show: Now we’re not saying that John McCain’s decision to blow-off David Letterman cost him the election, but having the late-night comedian bash him for days on end sure didn’t help.

Break-up we took the hardest: THE OFFICE’s Michael Scott wasn’t the only one weeping when his lady love Holly — the adorably goofy Amy Ryan — was sent packing.

In case you missed them, click for Part I and Part II of our never-ending TV year in review!