Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to put together a list of my favorite television moments before the end of 2008, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t spend an inordinate amount of time in front of the tube. (Come to think of it, maybe my television addiction was the reason I didn’t have the free time to write about the best of 2008. Hmm.)

Anyway, here is a list of seven terrific shows that seem to be flying under the proverbial radar.

1. “True Blood” (HBO)
Alan Ball, the writer of “American Beauty” and the creator of “Six Feet Under,” brings us a series based on vampires in the Deep South. The series is based on Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series of books and stars Anna Paquin — whom I argued, under the moniker of Eli Cash a few years back, would have made a better Penny Lane than Kate Hudson — as a mind-reading waitress in a small town in Louisiana. The first season was excellent, though it got off to a bit of a slow start. Paquin is the key, but her best friend Tara (played by Rutina Wesley) often steals the show.

In nature, the weaker members of a species are often ostracized so they cannot reproduce and dilute the gene pool. Lions, for example, do not keep an omega male around to be the butt of the joke for the rest of the pride, like we humans tend to do. And while that makes sense in a Darwinian way, our way is a lot more fun. It may be cruel, but imagine how boring life would be if we lived in a world without the human equivalent of a punching bag. Admit it: you all know someone who fills this role in your life, and you relish it. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t.

The world of television has a near-inverse proportion of punching bags as there are in nature, and this makes sense; it is much easier – and fun – for the writing staff to designate one character as the target for random acts of misfortune and malice, though not necessarily in that order. If you ever wondered why every show features at least one character that the other characters would likely never associate with in real life, now you know.

So bring us your sad, your weak, your insecure; your clueless, your obnoxious, your desperate, your slow-witted, and we will celebrate them for their inherent loserness. Get your boxing gloves on as we present to you Bullz-Eye’s all time favorite TV punching bags.

NBC may not be King of the Nielsen Ratings just yet, but we know good television when we see it, and the Peacock has returned in full force with a dominating presence that includes the top three shows and five of the top six. HBO, on the other hand, is experiencing the opposite, with the departure of “The Sopranos,â€� “Deadwoodâ€� and “Rome.â€� Add to that the fact that our list features a whopping 10 new entries — five of which are freshmen — and you’ve got one heck of a Power Rankings shakeup. Much of this has to do with so many shows being on hiatus until next year, but whatever the cause, it’s nice to see some much-needed change to a usually familiar lineup. And, hey, don’t miss the list of our favorite shows which are currently on hiatus (and are therefore ineligible for the Top-20), our farewell to “The Sopranos,” and our stable of Honorable Mentions.

Check out the list here, then come back and let us know how we did…or if we missed any of your favorites!

When David Chase took the stage to accept the Television Critics’ Association Heritage Award for the cumulative run of “The Sopranos,” he said that he’d considered making a comment about the meaning of the finale of the series, then decided against it, but he did offer a very telling anecdote about the first time he ever saw “Planet of the Apes.”

“When the movie was over, I said to my wife, ‘Wow, so they had a Statue of Liberty, too!’ So, uh, that’s what you’re up against.â€�

Other Chase one-liners from the evening:

* “Here’s another clue for you all: the walrus was Paulie.”
* To critic Alan Sepinall, from The Star-Ledger, in Newark: “Would you explain to these people that it’s very possible to be sitting in a restaurant in New Jersey and everything just stops?”

Chase, by the way, wasn’t the only winner tonight:

Individual Achievement in Drama: Michael C. Hall (”Dexter”)
Individual Achievement in Comedy: Alec Baldwin (”30 Rock”)
Outstanding Achievement in News and Information: “Planet Earth” (Discovery Channel)
Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming: “Kyle XY” (ABC Family)
Outstanding New Program: “Friday Night Lights” (NBC)
Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials: “Plant Earth” (Discovery Channel)
Outstanding Achievement in Drama: “The Sopranos” (HBO)
Outstanding Achievement in Comedy: “The Office” (NBC)
Career Achievement Award: Mary Tyler Moore
Program of the Year: “Heroes” (NBC)

To bookend this posting with “Sopranos”-related anecdotes, Alec Baldwin accepted his award for his performance on “30 Rock” by telling a story about how he actually changed management because his new managers told him that they could get him on “The Sopranos.” A year later, there’d still been no meeting with David Chase…but an encounter finally came about rather accidentally. Baldwin was in NYC, on his way to a meeting about some charity work he was going to do, and due to an error, he ended up at the Four Seasons Hotel rather than the Four Seasons Restaurant. He made a mad run from one place to the other, ending up at the restaurant drenched in sweat. Upon meeting his party, he apologized and made a dash to the men’s room, where he promptly removed his shirt and stood topless as he held the shirt in front of the hot-air dryer…and who should walk in?

Suffice it to say that Baldwin never made it onto “The Sopranos.”

(Chase’s version of the story: “All I thought was, ‘Omigod, that’s Alec Baldwin, the famous actor!’ I didn’t even notice he wasn’t wearing a shirt!”)

James Gandolfini seemed like a nice enough guy, but after several seasons of “The Sopranos,” you can’t help but feel like he might slug you if you ask him the wrong question.

Larry David was extremely approachable…so approachable, in fact, that he was constantly surrounded by reporters with tape recorders, trying to get a good sound bite out of him.

For the boys back home: I had a nice “Entourage” moment with Kevin Dillon, who was a very cool guy, but, sorry, I had to yank the pic because I didn’t realize it’s frowned upon for TCA members to take shots with the celebs. It’s probably something to do with maintaining distance between professional writer and professional fanboy, and I get that. But, anyway, a shout-out to my new friend, Steven Chupnick, managing editor of JewReview.net; he and I stood around and talked w/ Kevin about the show, how it’s progressed, and what it’s like with Matt Dillon as your brother. (No way I’m transcribing that now. You’ll have to wait ’til I’m back and can get more caught up!)

Okay, it’s still 6:54 AM here, but, damn, I feel a hell of a lot better after just a few hours sleep. As such, let’s go ahead and take a look at those HBO panels from yesterday:

As You Like It, Kenneth Branaugh’s latest Shakespearean adaptation:

Branaugh found it very easy to cast Kevin Kline in the role of Jacques, it seems. “(He has) vast Shakespearean experience, as you know, a brilliant dramatic actor, a very, very funny man, and is, in life, intellectually curious. And as with all funny men, I would say - without trying to tell my friend who he is - a kind of disposition to a certain kind of melancholy and philosophical introspection. But I just thought he was a great actor.”

Kline’s response? “I disagree.”

Kline isn’t the only American in the production; he shares that honor with Bryce Dallas Howard…even if she doesn’t see it that way. “I would have to say that Kevin Kline is almost like an honorary Brit when it comes to Shakespeare, (whereas) I felt like a little bit of a cowboy,” said Howard. “Like, it’s, you know, a little rough with the language, and I didn’t really have a lot of confidence with it, initially. But under the guidance of Ken, and everyone else that was involved, I allowed myself to just enjoy the experience and do my best. But it was definitely initially intimidating, perhaps being an American, but even more than that, just being someone who is literally at the start of my career. I haven’t had as much experience as I would like to.”

The role of Orlando is taken by relative newcomer David Oyelowo, who had a serious attack of nerves when he discovered that A) he had to go to Branaugh’s house to audition, and B) he had to audition with Branaugh. “You were reading the other lines,” he said, turning to Branaugh, “and my saliva just turned to sand. I mean, there I was, auditioning with Henry V, Iago, Benedict, Coriolanus…and it just…I mean, you probably won’t remember this, but the lines…they just completely went out of my head. You were so gracious; you just went, ‘Okay, let’s do that again…’”

Read the rest of this entry »

…just imagine how bad it could’ve been if it were on a major network.

Can anyone think of anything else that would’ve been different…?

I don’t even know what to fucking say right now. I really don’t. Maybe I missed something. Maybe I just didn’t appreciate what David Chase was trying to accomplish. Or maybe my expectations were simply too high. I don’t know.

People have been saying for years that “The Sopranos� peaked too early. I’m not sure if I agree with that or not, but I will say that this final season peaked too early. Last week’s episode was brilliant, maybe one of the finest hours of television you’ll ever see. Seemed the stage was set for a fantastic finale for a series so many of us have been following for so many years.

Instead, we got this. Look, I wasn’t expecting a 65-minute bloodbath tonight. That’s not even what I was hoping for. But I sure as shit wanted some resolution, and I wanted some conflict. Instead, we get AJ telling his parents he wants to go into the Army so he can fulfill his dream of being a private helicopter pilot for Donald Trump, Meadow trying to parallel park her car for 20 freaking minutes, Carm starting the plans for her next spec house, Janice trying to swindle Junior by telling him he was her daughter, Paulie bitching about a stray cat, and Tony shuffling through a tabletop jukebox.

What, the, fuck?

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There’s a part of me that doesn’t even want to blog about this episode. I don’t want to ruin it. I don’t want to overanalyze it. I don’t want to pick it apart. It was a brilliant 50-plus minutes of television, setting things up for what looks to be one helluva memorable finale next week, and that’s really all that needs to be said. The episode speaks for itself.

But what kind of blog would this be if we didn’t actually blog? So let’s start by saying: Here we go. Seems the bloody, shoot-em-up ending that so many viewers wanted has come to be. That early scene with Phil and his two cronies was one of the best scenes of the season, maybe the series. “The Sopranos are nothing more than a glorified crew,� Phil says, quoting Carmine. “We decapitate and do business with whatever’s left.� Seems Phil doesn’t think all that much of his NJ counterparts, or at least, that’s what I gathered when he called them a “Pigmy tribe.� He wants the top three guys gone: Sil, Bobby and, of course, Tony.

A couple of interesting notes here, the first coming from one of the guys from the NY group. Bobby is Tony’s #3. We’ve kinda known it for a while but, as the NY guy pointed out, Bobby used to be Junior’s driver. Then he marries Janice and a couple years later he’s T’s #3? That always seemed strange to me. Turns out they promote everybody, as Phil says, and Bobby’s a very large piece of evidence. But would Bobby be in that position if Chris had still been around? Probably not. Or, at least, you can bet Phil would’ve made Chris a priority over Bobby because he understood that Chris would’ve hurt T more. But Tony gives Chris a friendly push toward his dirt nap a few episodes ago and poor Bobby pays for it. In a hobby store buying an $8,000 train, no less.

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HBO has been running a 15-minute documentary entitled “The Music of the Sopranos,” which features interviews with creator David Chase, Steven Van Zandt and others. Chase describes the methodology he uses to choose a song for a particular scene or montage, including how he decided on A3’s “Woke Up This Morning” as the show’s theme song.

They’re running it one more time this week: tonight at 11:45 PM ET. For fans of the show (or fans of music), it’s time well spent.

Jamey is on a much-deserved vacation this week, so he asked me to step in and cover the blog. I’ll do my best to fill his considerable shoes.

I was hoping for a barnburner tonight, the kind of episode where the blog would pretty much write itself, but instead a good 35-40 minutes were devoted to AJ, my least favorite character on the show (save for Livia, but she’s been gone a while now). Normally, he’s just a whiny, spoiled kid, but now that he’s doing some of that fancy book learnin’, he’s a whiny, spoiled, depressed kid. Tony’s reaction to AJ’s spiel about the virus spray on the meat underlined his own inner conflict about his son’s future. On one hand, he has always said he doesn’t want AJ to turn out like him, but when the kid tries to branch out, he threatens to put his head through the wall.

“Twenty years, he won’t crack a book. All of a sudden he’s the world’s foremost authority.�

Did anyone really think that AJ’s suicide attempt would be successful? Since we lost Chris last week, the odds were against another main character dying so quickly, and honestly, AJ hasn’t been able to follow through on anything. Once the cement block hit the pool floor, he freaked out, and it looked for a moment that he might somehow die accidentally at his own suicide attempt. Tony’s just-in-time arrival made for a very powerful scene. It’s obvious that he loves his kid, but at the same time AJ’s troubles are a giant pain in his ass, both at home and on the job.

How will the suicide attempt affect Tony’s work? It can only be seen as another sign of weakness (in what has become a pretty long line). Pauley’s take was priceless:

“Ask me, it’s all these toxins they’re exposed to. It fucks with their brains. Between the mercury in the fish alone it’s a wonder more kids aren’t jumping off bridges.�

“Between the mercury in the fish alone“? Fucking Pauley is fantastic.

Tony talks to Melfi about the suicide attempt and she suggests that it might have been a cry for help - that subconsciously he knew that the rope was too long to keep him submerged. Tony’s reply was classic:

“Or he could just be a fucking idiot. Historically, that’s been the case.�

Regardless, Tony understands that his cursed genes have a large part to do with AJ’s troubles, so he’s empathetic to a certain point, but that doesn’t stop him from getting into it with Carmella once AJ is committed. Is it just me or does it seem like their marriage is once again holding on by a thread? I had to laugh when Tony gave her a watch (out of guilt?) after he took care of Chris’ “business affairs� in Las Vegas. Business, Carm? You sure are a trusting soul. (Or more likely, you’d simply prefer not to think about it.)

Later, in therapy, Tony starts talking about how mothers are buses and all we want to do as children is get back on the bus, but it can never happen. After Melfi says that the theory is insightful, Tony quips, “Jesus, don’t act so surprised.� It’s clear that Tony wants Carmella to accept some of the blame for how his son turned out, and this might be his way of disowning the kid. When Melfi asks if he’s ashamed of AJ, Tony replies, “Yeah, I am. Coward’s way out, right?�

Aside from this week’s depressing depression, the brewing conflict between Tony and Phil finally kicked into high gear. Once Phil rejected Tony’s asbestos-related offer, it led to T pulling a couple of jobs that were designated for Phil’s men and then to that idiot Coco accosting Meadow while she was having dessert in Little Italy. It was funny to watch Tony try to calm his daughter and wife down when you just knew that underneath the surface his blood was boiling and that Coco was about to get one serious beatdown. I wasn’t expecting Tony to go all “American History X� in the restaurant, but it was even more surprising that Coco survived the attack.

It’s clear now that Carmine’s failed peace accord will lead to further escalation, though I think his line to T – “you’re at the precipice of an enormous crossroad� – had more than one meaning. It was strange to hear Phil spouting his obscenities from the safety of his ivory tower. It’s doubtful that he’d be so bold if he were standing face to face with Tony, but even so, you could see from the look in T’s eyes that there is no going back.

With just two episodes left, there are still a number of unanswered questions: Will Tony once again hear from the two suspected terrorists? Will AJ’s stint in the hospital do anything for his outlook on life? Will Tony continue on his existential journey and finally find happiness? Will his marriage survive? And most importantly, will he survive the coming war with Phil?

Game on.

Well…I guess Chris wound up flipping after all.

Okay, I know – bad taste. But come on, how else would I lead this blog entry off? There have been plenty of shocking moments in TV history, but I was utterly speechless for a good five minutes tonight after Tony suffocated Chris following their car accident. The buildup surrounding Chris’ character in general and his relationship with Tony in particular had been going on for years, and it accelerated the past few episodes, so to see it all end like that was…to be honest…a little disappointing. Sure, it’s one of the biggest moments in the show’s history, but with everything that had been going on – the tension between T and Chris, the possibility that Chris was going to talk to the feds, Carmella suspecting Chris of killing Adrianna, and the ongoing feud between Chris and Paulie – this was just about the most anticlimactic way to wrap up his arc. I thought somehow, some way, that Chris was going to be right in the middle of whatever went down in the final moments of the series, but that’s obviously not the case now. Bummer.

At first, I couldn’t tell why Tony killed Chris…or helped him die, if you prefer to look at it that way. Did he think he was doing Chris a favor since he was high and would therefore lose his license? Well, I suppose it’d be better to be alive and without wheels than six feet under, so probably not. Did he think Chris was a goner anyway? He sure was messed up, coughing up blood and barely able to keep his eyes open, so that may very well have had something to do with it. But the overriding factor, we later learned, was that Tony just wanted Chris dead. And this way he didn’t even have to do the dirty work. Hell, he didn’t even need to plan anything or set it all up; just hold the guy’s nose for a few seconds and let him choke on his own blood. Problem solved.

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Okay, four episodes to go and David Chase has set up just about every possible storyline imaginable. “Things are about to change,� we were promised tonight during the preview for next week’s episode, and it sure seems like we’re on the cusp of something big.

AJ’s not taking the breakup well. Okay, so that’s an understatement. It was interesting watching Tony try to talk to AJ about what he was going through, especially when his advice is to get a blowjob and go to a party at a strip club. I mean, how funny is it that Tony forced his 20-year-old kid to go to a strip club? “I’m not debating this with you.� Okay, fine, if you insist, Pop. Tony did throw some decent advice in there, though, something along the lines of the old “there are other fish in the sea� pep talk. AJ wasn’t biting, not until his new therapist put him on anti-depressants, anyway. Once that happened, well, life is apparently all good again. AJ’s going to parties, boozing it up with a bunch of frat buddies, and helping said frat buddies pour sulfuric acid on a welcher’s foot.

That’s the ironic thing in all of this: so AJ had his heart broken. Fine. It happens. Granted, if your kid starts talking about killing himself, you’ve got to get him some help. But while Tony’s heart was definitely in the right place, pushing him to hang out with some of his guys’ kids was clearly the wrong choice. He’s talked before about how he doesn’t want AJ to follow in his footsteps and get involved in the kinds of things he’s doing, but that’s exactly what seems to be happening. AJ got a kick out of the way that kid reacted when he learned that he was Tony Soprano Jr., and he was wired when he got home after the sulfuric acid incident. There’s clearly something there that he’s drawn to, and while Tony may think that depression is in his blood (“My rotten fucking genes have infected my kid’s soul,� he tells Melfi), it’s clear that emotional problems aren’t the only thing AJ’s inherited from dear old Dad.

Read the rest after the jump.

I’ve got to start this week by giving props to BF, the reader who pointed out last week that I failed to mention Tony’s gambling. Clearly it’s become a serious problem, as BF predicted, to the point that Tony considered clipped Hesh rather than having to pay him the $200k he owed him. But then Hesh’s girl Renata died and Tony, ever the caring friend, showed up to offer Hesh his condolences and a paper sack filled with cash. Of course, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought Tony had Renata killed up until he showed up to pay Hesh his money.

This is the first episode of the new pseudo-season that fell a little flat for me. Obviously, Tony’s gambling has suddenly become a big storyline, and you’ve got to wonder just how big of a role it plays in these final five episodes. Tony was out of control this week, losing $20,000 on a horse named Meadow Gold and then, after caving in and deciding to give widow Spatafore the $100k she asked for to give her and, more importantly, her deranged son (more on that later) a fresh start, he took that money and bet it (and lost it) on the Eagles because the Dolphins had to rely on a rookie kicker. The interesting note about all of this was the reaction Chris had when Tony decided to throw that money at the Eagles; if anybody knows dangerous addictive behavior, it’s Chris. Is he going to try to help Tony? Will that drive a wedge even further between the two?

Read the rest after the jump.

At one point during tonight’s episode, Tony told Beansie that things were going great, but he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Excuse me? Things are going great? Not only are the feds up your ass more than ever, but your brother-in-law beat the snot out of you two weeks ago, you said last week that you thought your cousin wanted you dead, and this week you very nearly dropped one of your oldest, closest friends over the side of a boat. Again. If this is “going great,� I’d hate to see Tony after a bad day.

I’m sure some people will complain about this episode’s apparent lack of action, but think about what’s been accomplished now: Tony had the brawl with Bobby, the backlash from which we still haven’t seen; Tony’s convinced that Chris despises him and Chris thinks Tony’s pissed about his movie; and now Tony apparently thinks Paulie is so much of a liability that he’s giving serious consideration to whacking him. Three episodes in, and Tony’s at odds with three of his guys. If I’m Sil, I’m watching my back.

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There was a very telling moment in tonight’s episode, and as is often the case, it came in Dr. Melfi’s office. After attending a screening for “Cleaver,� Chris’ just-wrapped horror flick, Tony breaks down and tells Dr. Melfi that Chris despises him. It was obvious during the screening that the boss in the film, played by Daniel Baldwin (“Fuck Ben Kinglsey. Danny Baldwin took him to fucking acting school!�), was based on Tony – the open white bathrobe in the basement scene was a dead giveaway – but not until Carm confronted Tony about the scene where Baldwin fucks the fiancée of Michael “The Cleaver� did Tony stop to think about what that could mean.

So Tony tells Dr. Melfi about how Chris was more like a son after Chris’ dad died, and it bothered him that Chris now seemed to hate him. In fact, the big fella actually broke down and cried during the session before saying, “He wants to see me dead,� a reasonable conclusion considering Baldwin (I didn’t catch his character’s name in the movie) wound up with a cleaver in his skull. But here’s the thing: Tony didn’t seem too concerned about the possibility of Chris making a move against him; he was broken up by the fact that – by his estimation, anyway – Chris despises him.

Read the rest after the jump.

“Woke up this morning, got yourself a gun.� Damn…still the best theme song on TV.

To say that the final run for “The Sopranos� started off with a bang would be a gross understatement. Where David Chase takes these last nine episodes is anybody’s guess, but it certainly looks like we’re headed for some fireworks.

I’m not real sure what the point of the “popcorn fart� weapons charge was, unless it helps push the FBI’s RICO case against Tony over the top. Still, the fact that he dumped the gun in question nearly three years ago in a snowy field would seem to make it pretty unlikely that this weapons charge would gain much traction at all. Now, if Bobby, who finally popped his cherry in this episode, was foolish enough to use hollow-tip bullets when he whacked the dude in the laundry mat (after Janice told him to get rid of any hollow-tip bullets he had, no less), then maybe there’s some connection here to Tony, but even that seems like a major stretch.

Of course, the main story in this premiere episode was the brawl between Bobby and Tony. Geez, maybe we should’ve included Bobby in the Badass Bracket instead of Tony. You knew something was coming when they showed just how much Tony, Carm, Bobby and Janice were drinking that night, and Janice, as always, couldn’t help but get Tony riled up almost from the moment he arrived for his birthday weekend. You’ve got to respect Bobby for defending his wife and all, but…come on, dude! I mean, when Bobby punched Tony, I said, “Oh shit!� I don’t care how smashed you are – you don’t sucker punch the boss of the family, not if you value your life. That was the definition of a knock-down, drag-out fight, and it’s clear that Tony won’t (can’t?) let this go anytime soon. The question, of course, is what are the ramifications?

Tony seemed like he was ready to give Bobby a bigger role in the family, maybe even have him replace Chris as his eventual successor. I say that’s out the window now, but you never know. Tony still seems to be in a reflective state of mind following last season’s near-death experience, staring peacefully out at the water and saying how nice it was at Bobby and Janice’s lake house. Maybe Tony gains some perspective, this all blows over and Bobby slides back into Tony’s good graces. Of course, if you’ve watched enough of this show you know that that’s almost certainly what won’t happen, but we’ll see.

There wasn’t much else beyond the brawl, although judging by the conversation Tony had with Bobby in the boat before the fight and the fact that Tony hung up on Chris when he called to wish him a belated happy birthday, it’s safe to say Chris is sitting firmly in T’s doghouse.

…and yes, I’m still hanging on to my theory that Chris is going to flip. That is, of course, if he hasn’t already.

(Oh, and does Carm know how to wish her man a happy birthday or what? Niiiiiiice.)

Curious about checking out the final season of “The Sopranos” but don’t have the time to watch the previous seasons before it premieres next Sunday?

Don’t fret. Some kid named Paul Gulyas has taken it upon himself to edit a seven minute “refresher” montage that pretty much explains everything that went down during the first six years. He speaks a little fast at times, and it’s probably pretty confusing for someone that’s never seen the show before, but it gets the job done, and just under eight minutes.

Okay, so it’s actually “The Sopranos” in seven minutes and thrirty-five seconds, but feel free to check it out before YouTube takes it down.

Since the dawn of creation — well, the creation of this feature, anyway — Jack Bauer sat atop Bullz-Eye.com’s TV Power Rankings, owning the #1 slot for better than a year and a half. Some would say it was only a matter of time, but now that it’s finally happened, the sudden fall from grace of Fox’s hit show “24″ is actually a lot more embarrassing than it is depressing. But the real-time thriller isn’t the only major shakeup in the winter 2007 edition of the rankings. HBO’s “The Wire” makes its grand (and, forgive us, long overdue) debut, while NBC experienced a big surge thanks to its fresh fall lineup. Of course, HBO still came out the big winner with five shows emerging in the Top 10 (four in the first six), proving once again that it pays to, well, pay for quality television.

Here are a few entries from our list:

11. Scrubs (NBC): It shouldn’t surprise anyone to see that “Scrubs� has dropped so low in the rankings. Coming off one of the best years since its debut, expectations for the show were certainly higher than usual – especially when it was called up to the big leagues and given a spot in NBC’s highly coveted Must See TV lineup – but no one could have guessed that the sixth season would start out on such a sour note. Whether it was the accelerated progression of J.D. into adulthood (he’s got a baby on the way, with guest star Elizabeth Banks, no less) or Carla’s all-too-brief post-partum depression (a subplot added to accommodate Judy Reyes’ real-life hip injury), the first five episodes of the new season were particularly somber. Things were looking so bleak, in fact, that fans of the show were preparing to concede that the medical comedy was finally showing signs of wear, but with the much-publicized musical episode creatively rejuvenating everyone involved with the show, things are finally getting back on track. And as long as things remain this kooky and fresh (read: Kelso getting his own episode, or the Janitor using a stuffed rabbit as a salt and pepper shaker), we don’t see any reason why “Scrubs� won’t being making a triumphant return to the Top 5 in the very near future. ~Jason Zingale

17. Deadwood (HBO): Well, despite all the rumors, “Deadwood� isn’t quite dead…yet. Last year, HBO decided not to extend the options of the terrific ensemble cast, making a fourth full season unlikely, but the network and series creator David Milch agreed to produce two two-hour telefilms to wrap up the show’s loose ends. Season Three contained a myriad of intertwining storylines, but focused on the growing influence of businessman/asshole George Hearst, which put former adversaries Al Swearengen and Sheriff Seth Bullock in an unlikely alliance. “Deadwood� features stronger language than any other HBO show, and with “The Sopranos� and “The Wire� on the network’s roster, that’s saying a lot. The truth is that everything about the show – the language, the acting, the story, the sets and the costumes – is colorful, and whether or not HBO wants to admit it, they’re going to miss “Deadwood� once it’s gone for good. ~John Paulsen

Check out the full list here.

The premiere episode of “The Sopranos,â€� which aired on A&E last week in a heavily publicized launch, drew a record-setting 4.27 million viewers — the highest debut ever for an off-network program on cable.

As a result, A&E management should be able to breathe a little more easily over the (also record-setting) $2.5 million per episode licensing fee they paid for the rights to air the show, assuming those numbers hold reasonably well . . . and assuming viewers are not turned off by the absence of f-bombs and the presence of clothing on the ladies at the Bada Bing.