TV 2007: A Retrospective

This year has been a very interesting year for television, even more so than most years. This is my last column of 2007, and as I consider myself the resident TV guru on the Editorial Board, it’s only fitting that the following consists of the moments I consider paramount to TV.\n• “The Sopranos” series finale: When one of the most important and highly regarded shows of all time says goodbye, the surrounding hype is huge. By the time June 10 rolled around, people were not ready to let Tony and company go, but they were forced to accept the fact that the masterpiece was over. However, no one expected that the final scene would culminate with a quick fade to black. Millions of people were still going through the five steps of grieving and debating the ending weeks after.\n• “Lost” season three finale: After a shaky start with the six-episode pod in the fall, “Lost” came on very strong – season one strong – in its final stretch of episodes, and it was capped off by the mind blowing finale. While the island’s action was exciting and poignant (RIP Charlie) it was an insane introduction to the flash forward of Jack’s life after he got off the island that left people picking their jaws off of the floor. From here on, the story will now be told with both the flashbacks and flash forwards, something I didn’t even think the creators would consider.\n• The TiVo Effect: When Nielsen began the confusing task of calculating how many people were watching prime time shows later on their TiVos or DVRs, the move couldn’t have come any sooner. As more people use these devices, the audience’s measurements for the initial airing of a show is going to continue to decrease, and the implementation of DVR numbers will prevent some shows from getting cancelled. \n• Terrible shows surviving: In recent years, some very good shows have been cancelled prematurelybecause networks refused to let the show settle in to its audience. “The Nine” and “Kidnapped” got the hook too early and people were angry. But this year, the networks have finally figured out that it takes a while to build an audience. Shows with bad ratings (“Journeyman”) and bad plots (“Moonlight”) alike have survived. The negative aspect of that is only one show has been cancelled in a fairly weak year for new content.\n• The Writers Guild Association Strike: For all the wrong reasons, this is the biggest moment for the industry. The writers’ strike began in November, and though talks have resumed, many believe that it will continue into March 2008. This means all scripted shows have ceased production and viewers will be without fresh episodes of their favorite shows until February. What’s worse is that we could be without them throughout next year as well. \nOverall, this year has been a roller- coaster. The ups have been some of the best ever, while the downs have been some of the worst. Hopefully, the strike gets sorted out and some of the madness ends. If only “Heroes” had a few good writers on staff, we’d be in business.