Most formidable team: Would you want to go up against the combined fierceness of “Deadwood’s” Al Swearengen and Sheriff Bullock? Nope, me neither.

Most dynamic duo: Dulé Hill and James Roday on “Psych.” Roday’s energetic irreverence and Hill’s pained, deadpan patience make for a delightful combo.

Most efficient way to kill a show: Schedule it very late on Fridays, don’t promote it and then yank the show entirely after a few weeks. That’s what A&E did with the fine British spy drama “MI-5,” and it worked a little too well.

Best new “Lost” character: The enigmatic Desmond, brutha, played by Henry Ian Cusick. Let’s hope we see more of him (and the slippery Benjamin Linus) when the show returns in February, and I’m crossing my fingers that they wait a while before they kill either of them off (speaking of that, I hope they kill off those annoying new Losties first).

Best network executive (non-fictional): Kevin Reilly. Not only is he the man who stuck by “The Office” and was brave enough to put it on Thursdays, he also put his career on the line by giving full seasons to the entirely worthy (but ratings-challenged) “Friday Night Lights” and “30 Rock.” Which almost makes “Twenty Good Years” forgivable.

Scariest network executive (fictional): Jack Rudolph, the fearsome head of NBS on “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Steven Weber is obviously having a great time playing this icy, ambitious executive. More screen time for him, pretty please.

Scariest movie executive: The fictional head of Warner Bros. on “Entourage”: Actor Paul Ben-Victor gives the studio boss just the right amount of steely resolve and smiling, shark-like viciousness. You hated him for not letting Vince Chase make “Medellin,” but you understood why even Ari Gold fears the guy.

Funniest network executive (fictional): Jack Donaghy, who does double duty on “30 Rock” as the head of GE’s trivection oven division -- and he also oversees an NBC sketch comedy show. As masterfully played by Alec Baldwin, Donaghy is an unaccountably charismatic network suit, and the smirky spin Baldwin puts on every one of his lines makes him by far the best part of the show.

Best eyes: Hugh Laurie’s peepers continue to be among the most transfixing things about “House.” Yes, the show has fine writing and acting and production values and all that. But if that all goes away, those blue orbs will keep me watching.

The go figure award: Who knew that “Jericho,” a Midwest-set thriller about a post-nuclear society, would be one of the few serialized dramas from the fall roster to find a following?

Most gripping season finale: The final 90 minutes of “The Shield’s” fifth season was so engrossing that the commercials came as jarring interruptions. The death of Lem -- at the hand of his anguished best friend, Shane -- is one of the most tragic, Shakespearean moments in TV history.

Most cheering news: “The Wire” will have one more season to tell its impassioned stories. If you’ve watched any of the sterling HBO show’s previous four seasons, you know why this is a wonderful thing.

Most dead network trend award: Serialized dramas with a crime element. In 2006, “Heist,” “Runaway,” “Smith,” “Kidnapped,” “The Nine,” “Day Break” and “Vanished” all tanked. Don’t expect to see more of these sorts of shows next year. Unless they also involve nuclear destruction. Or doctors.

Most charming new kids show: Playhouse Disney’s “Charlie and Lola,” an entirely winning, distinctive import about two fanciful British kids. A few other recent pre-school favorites: “The Wonder Pets!,” “The Backyardigans” and “Little Einsteins,” all of which have good music and stories parents won’t mind watching.

Most winning immigrant: The optimistic time-bender Hiro Nakamura of “Heroes,” who, along with the mysterious HRG, gave even grumps like me (who sometimes wince at the show’s dialogue and story lines) a reason to watch NBC’s surprise hit.

TV personality enduring the most awkward holiday season: Thanks to a technical glitch, Kyra Phillips, a CNN anchor, called her sister-in-law “a control freak” on national television -during a speech by President Bush, no less. But Phillips was a good sport and went on Letterman soon after to mock her inadvertent familial dis, which may have made passing the turkey a little tense this year.

The most welcome return to television: If “Brothers and Sisters” was purely a vehicle for the sensational Sally Field, that would be enough reason to tune in. But the nicely ripening show is much more than that, and has grown into an engrossing family drama. Still, a big reason to tune in is because Field is turning in great work as widowed matriarch Nora Walker.

The “Are you frakking kidding me?” award: In the January Season 2 finale to “Battlestar Galactica,” the writers advanced the story by a year in the blink of an eye. Putting a big chunk of “lost time” in the middle of this stunningly well-told story was a gutsy move, but no more than fans expect from this provocative, risk-taking drama, which has deepened and become even more satisfying each season.

Best dance routine: Donald Faison, who plays Turk on “Scrubs,” did a note-perfect dance routine to the new-jack-swing classic “Poison” in a February episode of the NBC comedy. Not only are his comedic chops impeccable, the man has footwork to die for.

Best cover song: Lane Kim’s band on “Gilmore Girls,” fronted by none other than former hair-metal bad boy Sebastian Bach, did a version of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” that was as sizzling as it was unexpected.

The why the hell did they do that to Kyle Chandler award: In the conclusion of the heart-stopping post-Super Bowl “Grey’s Anatomy” two-parter, the show reached a dramatic high point. Too bad they had to do it by making “pink mist” out of Chandler, who played a hunky rescue worker trying to defuse a bomb inside a patient. “Grey’s” creator, Shonda Rhimes, had to adamantly insist on her blog that Chandler’s character really did kaflooey and was really not coming back (but thank goodness he did come back in another show, “Friday Night Lights”).

Hottest romance: Forget McDreamy and Meredith. Tim Riggins and Lyla Garrity’s secret hookups nearly scorched the screen on “Friday Night Lights.”

Best YouTube snippet from “The View”: Oh golly, where to start with this one? There wasn’t just Star Jones Reynolds’ surprise “I’m so outta here” announcement or Barbara Walters’ icy “Don’t let the door hit you on your newly slender behind” rebuttal the next day. There were also any number of Elisabeth Hasselbeck meltdowns and a memorable claws-out encounter between Sandra Bernhardt and the entire “View” crew. And that was all before the combustible Rosie O’Donnell joined the fray! Post-Rosie, there was Danny DeVito’s inebriated appearance, which didn’t really make me lose respect for Danny, it made me wish I could party with George Clooney.

Most enjoyable daytime talk-show moment: Delightfully subversive actress Amy Sedaris’ appearance on Martha Stewart’s show, in which Stewart didn’t react to any of Sedaris’ seditious comments, or at least pretended not to hear her subversive chatter, was frankly a classic. When does Sedaris, who’s written the demented “I Like You,” an entertaining book of her own, get a show?

Most enjoyable nighttime talk-show moment: Conan O’Brien’s trip to Finland may be the most memorable thing he’s ever done. It’s certainly the funniest, and it showed him at his irreverent, spontaneous best.

Best fan campaign (network division): “Office” creator Greg Daniels used an interview in the Tribune to plead for a supersize Season 2 finale. Within hours of that interview, “Office” aficionados from the fan sites OfficeTally.com, NorthernAttack.com and GiveMeMyRemote.com had set up supersizedoffice.com -- and the thousands of pleas on the site worked - “The Office” got a supersize finale. Well done, fans!

Best fan campaign (cable division): When word leaked out that “Deadwood” might be going the way of the high-button shoe, the show’s vociferous fans made a ruckus, and thanks to sites such as savedeadwood.net, “Deadwood” will be getting another four hours to wrap up its enthralling stories. Heng dai!

Best political satire (British division): Talk about laughing till you cry. “The Thick of It,” a British faux reality show about a cabinet minister shot in the style of “The Office,” makes you weep with laughter at the ineptness and arrogance of politicians and their minions. Then you just weep because the antics of these self-serving government types are probably more realistic than you want to believe.

Best bad boy: Logan Echolls of “Veronica Mars.” Guys, next time you wonder, “Why do all the girls dig the bad boys?,” rent this show to find out. Thanks to Jason Dohring’s magnetic performance, Echolls isn’t just a messed-up rich boy with a bruised heart of gold, he’s also quite a match for the title character of “Veronica Mars,” played by the equally talented Kristin Bell. Too bad this on-again, off-again couple broke up, but their sparky post-breakup dialogue is often the best thing about the show.

The “Oh, my ears, my ears -- make it stop!” award: The two singles unveiled during the “American Idol” finale - “Do I Make You Proud” and “My Destiny” - were, I suppose, preferable to listening to six minutes of cats with laryngitis screeching at top volume, but then again, maybe not. Speaking of that finale, what was up with Clay Aiken’s hair? Did he have a bad encounter with some kelp?

Biggest reality TV upset: Chloe Dao’s win on Season 2 of “Project Runway” in March. But never mind, the right person, Jeffrey Sebelia, won Season 3, so now I’m mollified.

The go away already award: “The Apprentice.” It’s coming back next year. Why? We. Just. Don’t. Care. Anymore.

Biggest disappointment (cable division): After a wait of nearly two years for new “Sopranos” episodes, this June blog post was my reaction to much of Season 2: “Too many Season 6 stories on this once-great show are stone-cold boring, insignificant or glaringly obvious. Too many times this season, I’ve looked at my watch during an episode, wondering when it would be over. That shouldn’t happen.” Let’s hope the show amps things up for its final nine episodes, which begin airing next spring.

Biggest disappointment (network division): What the heck happened to “Commander in Chief”? From promising drama to limp dishrag in less than a season. Only “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” managed to go south faster.

Biggest acting revelation: Who knew that Gerald McRaney was capable of such a thunderously great performance as George Hearst on “Deadwood”? All I can say is, wow.

Best commercials: “Prison Break’s” Peter Stormare starred in VW’s hilarious “Unpimp Your Auto” ads.

The “Oh, snap” award: There was one character who made me believe in the virtue and selflessness of public servants -- Aaron Pierce (Glenn Morshower), the Secret Service agent on “24.” When the evil President Logan tried to weasel out of his myriad crimes, here’s what Aaron said: “There is nothing that you have said or done that is acceptable to me in the least. You are a traitor to this country and a disgrace to your office, and it’s my duty to see that you’re brought to justice for what you’ve done. Is there anything else, Charles?”

Least inspired copycat award (cable division): “Saved” was about a troubled, rakish, charming bad boy with women troubles and addiction problems. Where have we seen that before? Uh, everywhere.

Least inspired copycat award (network division): “3 lbs.” We have a great show about a jerky doctor. It’s called “House.”

The underhyped gem award: If you haven’t seen Sundance Channel’s “Slings and Arrows,” go rent the first season now. That glimpse of the delicious backstage drama should get you salivating for Season 2’s DVDs, and for the third and final season, which should arrive on the cable network in 2007.

The blink and you missed it award: The ethnic divisions of the four teams on most on the most recent edition of “Survivor” was, according to creator Mark Burnett, supposed to get us all talking about race and really take on the subject in a serious fashion. Or, maybe, just maybe, this racial edition was all about the hype, considering the ethnic experiment lasted all of two episodes.

Least enjoyable reality-show judges: Count the number of times the judges on “Rock Star: Supernova” said “dude,” “that rocked” and “rock on,” and … you’d have a really, really high number.

Least effective “Grey’s Anatomy” character: Callie Torres. She irritates me less than she used to, but she has zero chemistry with George, and I’ve just never really liked her “I’m a tough girl, back off” persona. Maybe if there was something else going on there, I’d dig her more. But, so far, Addison Shephard is by far the better addition to the cast.

The give me that hour of my life back award: Yes, I have the most enjoyable job in the world. But I’ve also had to not just watch but find something to write about these wretched new shows: “American Inventor,” “Happy Hour,” “The Underground,” “Heist,” “Pepper Dennis,” “Twenty Good Years,” “Love, Inc.” It’s hard out here for a critic.

Most demented award: I usually feel like as if I’m breaking some kind of law by watching “Wonder Showzen” and “Moral Orel.” And that’s a beautiful thing.

The surprisingly not awful award: Tori Spelling’s “So NoTORIous,” a faux reality show modeled on her life, wasn’t half bad. And the devastating portrayal of Spelling’s TV mom makes their real-life battles that much more understandable.

The Tricky Dick award for best villain: If Gregory Itzin wasn’t the most transfixing actor “24” has ever had, then I don’t know what’s what. His querulous, commanding, absolutely riveting portrayal of a dastardly, self-serving president made a thrilling show even better, and was surely a big factor in the Fox drama winning the best drama Emmy in September. And in Jean Smart, Itzin’s President Logan had a more than worthy scene partner. It’s good to know they’re both back next season.

Most annoying “comedic” moment: The talking va-jay-jay on the Showtime sketch series “The Underground.” I don’t mind tawdry and gross comedy skits, as long as they’re also, you know, funny. This wasn’t (and besides, “South Park” had the dubious distinction of doing this particular bit first).

Best new “Daily Show” correspondent: As the show’s Resident Expert, John Hodgman’s unflappable inaccuracy never fails to produce a giggle or five.

Least effective public apology: James Frey’s appearance on “Oprah” in January only made me despise the lying liar even more.

Best online contest: “The Colbert Report’s” search for a fan-made version of Stephen Colbert’s light saber exploits drew dozens of hilarious and entertaining entries -- even a fancy one made by George Lucas, in which Jar-Jar Binks made an appearance. Lucas lost, and a terrific fan-created short film won. Me so happy!

Best award acceptance: Despite strong competition from Hugh Laurie and Gina Davis, Steve Carell was the most entertaining statue-accepter at January’s sprightly Golden Globes. In his deadpan speech, he thanked “Nancy, my precious wife, who put her career on hold in support of mine and who sometimes wishes I would let her know when I’m going to be home late, so she can schedule her life, which is no less important than mine.” Trust me, Carell’s delivery made that speech hilarious.

Funniest Online Extra: The “Psych-Outs” that accompany the winning USA series “Psych.” Little more than improvised silliness between co-stars Dulé Hill and James Roday, they are unaccountably smile-inducing, especially the duo’s goofball take on “Pass the Dutchie.”

Most revealing online extra: Dwight Schrute’s “Schrute-Space” blog gives us possibly more insight into his mind than we wanted. But I must give him credit where it’s due. He had some good ideas about merging the casts of “Lost” and “Battlestar Galactica.” “President Roslin would … have both casts mate in order to create more surviving humans.”

Best online presences: Most of the cast of “The Office” blogs, and there are several terrific fan sites as well that cover the show in exhaustive depth (in addition to the “Office” sites Office Tally and Northern Attack, check out Dunderball for the best quotes). And SciFi.com’s blogs and extras for “Battlestar Galactica” are among the most extensive anywhere; to keep with general news on the show, I dig Galatica Sitrep. Finally, the "Project Runway" offerings at Bravotv.com are always worth a look, but the day after each episode I positively run to the computer to check out the witty commentary at Project Rungay.

Worst guest star (cable division): Sharon Stone on “Huff.” When did overacting become an Olympic sport? Her scenes with Oliver Platt were veritable ham-offs. Yecch.

Worst guest star (network division): In Britney Spears’ appearance on “Will and Grace,” the pop star proved she’s no better at acting than she is at picking husbands. By the way, I would have nominated Kevin Federline’s guest turn on “CSI” for worst guest appearance -- if I could have brought myself to watch it.

Most shocking character deaths: They killed President Palmer! They killed Michelle! They killed Tony! They killed Edgar! Curse you people at “24” for whacking some of my favorite characters, yet addicting me to your show anyway.

Most weaselly NBC move: Premiering “Book of Daniel,” a fine and well-written series, on Friday nights in January, then yanking it as soon as humanly possible. It was a good show and deserved better. And “Deadwood’s” Garrett Dillahunt was surprisingly empathic and funny as Jesus.

Best ABC move: Shifting “Ugly Betty” to Thursdays, and building the most chick-friendly night on TV (and yeah, I know, lots of guys are addicted to the “Betty”/“Grey’s” combo as well). Kudos to the network for giving this scrappy, terrific show a chance at the big time. And hey, even “Men in Trees,” a new ABC Thursday entrant, is growing on me. A little.

Most literal title: As the title character of “Shark,” James Woods is compelling (as he always is), but he makes the actors around him seem like timid guppies by comparison. They need to give him some co-stars that can stand up to his overwhelming energy.

Best serial killer drama on HBO: “Epitafios,” a South American drama that was an elegiac, elegant film noir.

Best serial killer drama on Showtime: “Dexter,” a black comedy with a gripping plot and a bravura, vulnerable performance by Michael C. Hall.

Best serial killer drama on the broadcast networks: There isn’t one. Yes, I know, “Criminal Minds” is a big hit, but it’s so relentlessly grim and its characters are so thinly drawn that the only reason to tune in is to see whether any of the people on the show can wear an expression other than the “I’m very serious and humorless” face.

Most heartbreaking series finale: “Everwood’s” final moments in May were as classy, well-written and emotionally involving as its very first moments four years ago. We won’t dwell on the fact that the shows that the CW replaced “Everwood” with tanked. We’ll just focus on the fact that the `Wood was very good right ’til the very end.

Best kiss: The smooch between Jim and Pam at the end of the second season of “The Office” still ranks as one of my all-time TV moments. In a thousand ways, small and large, the savvy writers for this show earned that kiss, and the best part was that no spoilers spoiled the magic of that unexpected moment for the show’s loyal viewers. It was pure bliss, and the entire episode was fantastically played by John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer.

Best overall guest roster: Let’s hear it for “Everybody Hates Chris,” which gave good roles to Antonio Fargas, Jackee, Tim Meadows and Whoopi Goldberg, among others.

Best music video: “Robin Sparkles,” a.k.a. Robin from “How I Met Your Mother,” was revealed to be a teen pop princess from Canada -- her secret past included a terrible single, “Let’s Go to the Mall,” and an addiction to rubber bracelets and stone-washed denim. The video for her one hit was an achingly funny re-creation of ’80s tastelessness.

Worst “Desperate Housewives” train wreck: There were many, but all I can say is, I hope the fine Alfre Woodard got a big paycheck for her wasted time on this ABC drama, considering her role as Betty Applewhite went nowhere. I wish I could say that that was the worst part of the show’s second season, but sadly, it wasn’t.

Most “awk-ward” moment: Jon Stewart insulting the assembled glitterati at the Academy Awards. It may have played well to the college kids watching at home, but the icy response in the room to Stewart’s irreverence made the awards show seem even longer than it was.

The we’re not worthy, ma’am, award: Not only did Helen Mirren star as the Queen in, yes, “The Queen,” a critically acclaimed Oscar-bait film, but she gave TV viewers two virtuoso performances in HBO’s “Elizabeth I” and PBS’ final “Prime Suspect” outing. Attention, aspiring actors: You could do no better than watching these mesmerizing, brutally honest performances.

Best “Trek” tribute: The 200th episode of “Stargate SG-1” featured a brief scene with Ben Browder as the captain of the old-school Enterprise. Maybe you had to be a total geek to get why that was so fun, but trust me, it was.

Worst new network comedy: Was it the short-lived “Emily’s Reasons Why Not”? “Twenty Good Years”? “Big Day”? Networks are trying to make comedies better, but as these duds prove, they’re not trying hard enough. Making them funny is a good start, I always say.

Most necessary death: Marissa on “The O.C.” But good heavens, it took her a long time to die! And curiously, for a woman who’d just been in a fatal car wreck, there wasn’t a scratch on her. Now, if they’d just whack the entirely annoying Kaitlin Cooper, we might just be getting somewhere.

Best loser brother-in-law/brother (Network division): Hamish Linklater on “The New Adventures of Old Christine.” In a part that’s often a throwaway on network sitcoms, Linklater injects his sad-sack character with equal parts sly humor and pathetic fear.

Best loser brother-in-law/brother (Cable division): The hilarious Justin Kirk on “Weeds” was a standout in a strong cast as the unwanted houseguest you can’t really kick out but don’t really want around your impressionable kids.

Source Link: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/12/the_watchie_awa.html

Submitted by Zipper

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Last update : 06-12-2006

Keywords : News, Battlestar Galactica News, The Watchie Awards for 2006's wackiest and winningest

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