What TVLine Is Thankful For: Fringe Closure, Revived Dexter, Parenthood Tears And More
gal_thanks_greysanatomy
GREY'S GOOD DOC
Yes, William Daniels' curmudgeonly surgeon Dr. Thomas was taken from us after just a few episodes. But during his brief tenure as Cristina's Mayo Clinic mentor/father figure on ABC's medical soap, he managed to do the unthinkable: He made us fall in love with Sandra Oh's increasingly sour surgeon all over again.
gal_thanks_fringe
FRINGE'S EVENTFUL FAREWELL
Many a Saturday morning I have spent camped out by the email inbox, waiting to see if Fringe ticked up that week, in the direction of salvation, or inched downward toward its doom. Because few shows have fought as hard, year in, year out, for their longevity. That Fox afforded the underwatched drama an official farewell run, where others might have pulled the plug, assures that the proper ending will see the light of day and not forever be trapped in amber.
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A TELEVISED REVOLUTION
If network TV's latest go at "out there" fare had tanked, you can bet that everyone would've collectively given up and steered clear of genre-TV for years to come. Revolution, thankfully, lit up the place, roused the crowd and reaped solid ratings. That NBC's freshman adventure-drama has helped restore some of the Peacock's overall pride is just icing on the cake.
gal_thanks_arrow
OLIVER QUEEN WORKING OUT (SO I DON'T HAVE TO)
Pretty much every episode of Arrow features our protagonist (Stephen Amell) holed up in his warehouse hideaway doing pull-ups or lifting crates of anvils – often while shirtless — and I'm not complaining. Watching Oliver do all that exercise is so exhausting, I figure it's the equivalent of at least two trips to the gym for any of us. Who says you can't burn calories being a couch potato?
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STRONG SENDOFFS
Are 30 Rock and The Office's final seasons completely up to par with their respective glory days? Not quite — but they're pretty darn close, and I love it! Dunder Mifflin post-Michael Scott was a dark place last season, but with the ouster of James Spader's increasingly icky Robert California and the return of original Office helmer Greg Daniels, the long-running comedy is once again delivering on what it always did best: showcasing the hilariously unconventional relationships of the 15+ plus coworkers. 30 Rock, meanwhile, is aiming to go out touting its signature, outrageous style — and so far, so good. Plus, before all is said and done, Liz Lemon will finally get the guy, and to that I say: "I want to go to there." (See Liz and Criss' wedding invitation here.)
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A BRIGHT FUTURE
With several promising new shows slated for midseason – the scary, thrilling The Following, the charming Carrie Diaries, FX's The Americans (Felicity and Kevin Walker!), to name a few – the best of the 2012-13 cycle may be yet to come. (And after a rather ho-hum fall pilot crop, it can't come soon enough.)
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REVENGE'S HAUNTING SCORE
It's as integral a character as Emily and Victoria, but it gets a fraction of the attention. I'm talking about the ABC hit's hauntingly luscious iZlER-produced score, which is like Lost meets Falcon Crest as reimagined by the love child of Christopher Nolan and Alfred Hitchcock. Revenge never sounded so good.
gal_thanks_once
THE VISUAL MAGIC OF ONCE UPON A TIME
If picking nits somehow validates your existence, sure, you can poke fun at the ABC drama's CGI. But me? I appreciate the fact that this show not only does but must rely heavily on visual effects to tell its fantastical tales, on a weekly basis and with a TV-friendly budget that isn't going to one day suddenly blossom ten-fold. We've come a long way from Anna "floating" across the V spaceship's floors, people, and the fact that Once can conjure up entire virtual rooms, castles and other-worldly happenings is a piece of magic even Regina must admire.
gal_thanks_idolseacreast
THE HOST WITH THE MOST
After 11 seasons of keeping the massive American Idol machine in smooth, perpetual motion, it's easy to take Ryan Seacrest for granted. But watching Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez flail and fail through Season 2 of The X Factor has served as stark reminder of just how good Ryan really is at his job. So before he goes back into the lion's den to mediate fights between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey for Season 12 — and stretch a 60-second results announcement into a one-hour episode — let's raise a glass (of Coca-Cola) to a guy who makes his job look so easy, he sometimes misses out on proper credit.
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GRIMM'S SIMILIARITIES TO EARLY BUFFY
A mystical protector and a significant other who just can't seem to make it work? A bookish guy who leads up a research team? A burgeoning mythology revealed in tantalizing pieces? Creatures whose facial features shift with a swooshing sound? Portland 2012 feels a lot like Sunnydale 1998, and that's all right in my book if it means that the NBC drama will follow the path forged by Joss Whedon's first cult hit — which, like Grimm, hit its stride in the second season.
gal_thanks_community
OCTOBER 19 – WHEREVER IT MAY BE
Amidst an ever-evolving Season 4 premiere date, the kooky Community cast threw together a fun little video revealing why their originally planned launch date — the aforementioned Oct. 19 — is merely just "a state of mind... a feeling within us all." As such, whenever the Human Beings are back in session — Feb. 7, as of now — that's October 19! However, it's not just the date that I'm thankful for. What I enjoyed most was the video itself, which gave fans their first fresh Community footage in over five months!
gal_thanks_nashville
THE SOUNDS OF NASHVILLE
Like a breath of auto-tune-free fresh air, the freshman ABC drama's grounded, beautiful songs are sweet music to the ears. Whether it's Scarlett and Gunnar's mesmerizing duets, Juliette's catchy hooks or Rayna and Deacon's haunting "No One Will Ever Love You," Nashville could make any non-country fan into a lover of the southern-fried fare. So how about a concert tour, ABC?
gal_thanks_ahs
HORROR STORY'S DEVILISH ANGEL
Possession stories usually freak me out, but in this case, the mark o' the beast gave Lily Rabe's Sister Mary Eunice intelligence, spunk and a backbone. Well played, Lucifer.
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WHITNEY'S RENEWAL
Yeah, yeah, I know — probably the only two people in the world who are thankful for this one are me and Whitney Cummings. But I'm still hopeful that this season more viewers will get over their hate-on for the comedienne and discover that not only is her NBC sitcom a romantic gem, but she and Chris D'Elia are the cutest couple this side of Happy Endings' Damon Wayans, Jr., and Eliza Coupe.
gal_thanks_snlkate
SNL'S FRESH BLOOD
There's no denying that Saturday Night Live has suffered this season without Kristen Wiig. There's also no denying that hilarious newcomer Kate McKinnon is one of the few reasons we're still tuning in to NBC's slumping late-night institution. Whether channeling Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo or playing drunk tonsil hockey with Louis C.K., the versatile comedienne is one player who is more than ready for prime time.
gal_thanks_rupaul
RuPAUL
She rarely picks the right winner on Drag Race. Her She-Mail messages to her contestants never (ever!) make sense. I have no idea what a "faculty" is or why Drag U has one. And yet, were it not for the gender-bending Tyra Banks' Logo series, I'd wouldn't have learned the five Gs, gotten "Don't Be Jealous of My Boogie" stuck in my head or heard of queens like Pandora Boxx. Chanté, Ru, you stay... exactly the nonsensical glamorpuss that you are!
gal_thanks_generalhosp
GENERAL HOSPITAL HONORING ITS LEGACY
I was already jazzed about Ian Buchanan's return as Duke, but when "Duke" really turned out to be 1990s-era bad guy Cesar Faison — who had the real Scotsman stashed away! — my Port Charles love skyrocketed. And now they're bringing back the Nurses' Ball?! It's like I died, then came back from the dead, then died and went to heaven!
gal_thanks_dexter
A BLOODY GOOD COMEBACK
Very few shows can count their seventh season as one of their best, and yet Dexter — which had a lackluster sixth cycle, to put it nicely — has done it. I'm not sure if it was the choice to have Deb uncover the secret of the Dark Passenger, the addition of Chuck stunner Yvonne Strahovski or merely a reinvigorated writing team, but something has breathed new — and much-needed — life back into Showtime's death-obsessed drama.
gal_thanks_supernatural
A SUPERNATURAL RESURGENCE
Thanks to new showrunner Jeremy Carver – not to mention a ratings boost courtesy of plucky Arrow – the long-running CW series is once again sporting a healthy pulse. Season 8 has found its groove – weird Sam's normal life flashbacks aside – with a mysterious, juicy mytharc that's given us a fascinating new dynamic in Dean and Benny, ratcheted up the tension between the brothers and interwoven Castiel's turmoil without ever losing its sense of humor ("There's a demon in you, and you're going to your safety school.").
TrueBlood_Sookie
SINGLE SOOKIE
After four years of triangle drama on HBO's True Blood, it was refreshing to see Sookie put both Bill and Eric in her rear view mirror in Season 5 and focus on something else for a change (like solving the mystery of her parents' death).
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BRIGHT BLUE
Procedurals aren't usually my cup of tea, but ABC's Rookie Blue offers more than just a case-of-the-week. It consistently turns in solid, compelling storylines that mix relationship drama, humor and, yes, police work, with the help of its uniformly appealing, charismatic cast. If Gail stepping in to read Jerry's wedding speech following his death didn't make you teary, then there's something criminally wrong with you.
gal_thanks_scandal
SCANDAL-OUS BEHAVIOR
Shonda Rhimes faced tough odds, turning her white hot-burning freshman "mini-series" into an equally entertaining second-season drama. And yet here we are, not only still pining for "POPUS" and cheering on Cyrus but also more than a bit intrigued by the Quinnspiracy.
gal_thanks_cougartown
ANOTHER YEAR OF POUNDING GRAPE
As a huge fan of Cougar Town, I had Big Polly (my own oversized wine glass) all cued up to toast the inevitable demise of ABC's genius but not-quite-high-enough-rated series for three seasons running. But when TBS stepped in to rescue the ensemble comedy from cancellation, it was as if Christmas had arrived in May. Thankfully, the buzzy (or should I say buzzed) promos for Season 4 show the cul-de-sac crew won't abandon its commitment to vino — or to keeping me in stitches.
gal_thanks_parenthood2
A GOOD CRY
No series on TV today can stir up a sobfest the way that Parenthood does. From the very first moment the Bravermans grace my television screen each Tuesday night, I know I'll have a good ol' fashioned cry — which is actually pretty cathartic. Plus, the tears that the NBC series brings about always feel earned, which is a nice shift from those dramas that drum up emotion with a song or blatant plot twist.
gal_thanks_vampirediaries
KILLER SERIALS
Not only are the daytime soaps once again holding their own, but primetime is awash in suds. Sure, some shows — The Good Wife, for instance — would probably prefer to think of themselves as "continuing dramas." But whether you call series like Grey's Anatomy, The Vampire Diaries and Scandal soaps or not, their tall tales of love, lust and lies still work me — and, gratefully, a lot of other people — into a lather. Now if we can just keep Revenge from turning into Alias...
gal_thanks_community2
THE ANNIE GASP
More specifically, I'm thankful for the guy behind Plot Point Productions, which put together this awesome compilation of the easily perturbed Community ingénue's reactions. I find it funny when she gasps on the show and funnier still, apparently, when those gasps are all lined up one after the other. I'm odd that way.
gal_thanks_snlsad
SNL STAYING VIRAL
Admit it, when Andy Samberg bid Saturday Night Live adieu at the end of last season, we all feared that we'd get shorted on the likes of his Digital Shorts. Instead, NBC's long-running sketch series is staying in the pre-taped video biz, and successfully so with amusing and off-kilter fare such as "Sad Mouse," "Lincoln," "Mokiki" (oops, did I just give you back that earworm?) and "The Stand-off."
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THE GIFT OF DANCE
It may not pull the ratings of Idol or The Voice, but that doesn't mean Fox's So You Think You Can Dance is any less thrilling. In fact, watching the show's annual parade of amateur dancers compete across a wide range of genres — hip-hop, ballroom, contemporary — elevates the oftentimes bleak summer reality experience to stunning artistic heights. Surely Santa (or Fox) is going make us happy boys and girls by greenlighting a 10th season before the New Year comes, right?
gal_thanks_parksandrec
LESLIE KNOPE
Is there a better role model on television right now (or in recent memory) than Parks and Recreation's leading lady? A rare TV breed, the city councilwoman is proud to be smart and involved, not to mention completely hilarious and all-around awesome. Leslie may be fictional, but her passion, tenacity and positivity is something to which we should all aspire.
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MAD WOMEN
A women's movement took place on AMC's Mad Men this summer, as Joan secured her and her son's future by any means necessary, Peggy let go of Sterling Cooper's apron strings and Megan sought her place in the spotlight. You can have your dashing Don and rascally Roger; it was the women we were mad about this season.
Covert Affairs
HOT AFFAIRS, SMART SUITS
I've watched and enjoyed both Covert Affairs and Suits in the past, but in a casual, easy-viewing kind of way. Then this summer, the USA Network dramas upped the ante and became must-see TV. Covert, in particular, spied the biggest creative upswing of any show I've recently seen with a tense, captivating storyline that found Annie falling for the enemy (Richard Coyle, who I've loved since the UK's Coupling, so double thanks for the reintroduction), while Suits turned in a second season with real stakes.
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