Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

Whoah buddy! The fall tv season is upon us, and so are the September Power Rankings here at the Quiet Pool Perspective. Here is your look at what you should be watching, or catching up on if you have missed the boat.

Show (Last Week) red=moving down, green=moving up

30 Rock (18) Thursdays on NBC
The NBC comedy didn't leave that great of a taste in my mouth after last season, so it falls out of the rankings. It doesn't air again until mid-season, so I doubt it will return any time soon.

Kasey on Bachelor Pad

Bachelor Pad (-) Mondays on ABC
I don't watch Bachelor. I don't watch Bachelorette. But putting all of these crazy people in one house does it for me. This season hasn't had a top group as enjoyable as last year's Dave and Kovacs, but it's been just as fun to hate on Kasey and Vienna.

Entourage (-) Sundays on HBO
I haven't hated this final season of Entourage thus far, but it has been really boring. Other than the episode when Tig blew his brains out, I could really care less about what is going on. I vote for Vince getting back on coke before it's all over. That was the most interesting thing in series history.

Falling Skies (HM) Sundays on TNT
I enjoyed the first season of Falling Skies, but if this was on during the year, it definitely would have started to back up on my DVR. I was never excited to see the next episode, but it was nice to have each Sunday this summer.

Dave and Alex on Happy Endings

Happy Endings (-) Wednesdays on ABC
I just finished listening to Mo Ryan and Ryan McGee wax on about the things they didn't like about Happy Endings. I was visibly angry at them. I really enjoy this series and you all should get on board the Happy Endings train. I'm not sure what the point of airing a new episode in the middle of the summer was, but I was pretty excited to see it.

iCarly (-) Fridays on Nickelodeon
With Hannah, Jonas, and Sonny of the air, Nickelodeon is the current king of teen comedies with iCarly coming into its own. I've enjoyed Miranda Cosgrove ever since School of Rock, but never gave this show a chance until this summer. She and her tv older brother Jerry Trainor kill it on this Nick show week in and week out.

The Lying Game (-) Mondays on ABC Family
I could only get through two episode of Nine Lives of Chloe King, I have seen six of Switched at Birth but not really enjoying it, so The Lying Game is the only new ABC Fam show I am really enjoying. The leading girl is all well and good, but it's her tv sister that I am really loving. This is some nice and light summer fare.

The Mentalist (-) Thursdays on CBS
It took me a while to finish this past season of The Mentalist, but once I got to that finale, I was certainly glad I did. It was some of the most suspenseful and emotional television I had seen in a while. I just don't know where the show goes from here, now that the only long-running story line is basically finished.

Marnie on True Blood

True Blood (HM) Sundays on HBO
This season hasn't been nearly as strange for strange's sake as last year, but I was over the witches from day one...especially Marnie. I can not stand her, and she is ruining the entire season. The only bright spot from this season has been Bill's development into a likable character...well that and the absence of Larry's were-panthers.

Wilfred (HM) Thursdays on FX
I've said enough about Wilfred through my reviews as of late, but I wanted to put it here in Honorable Mentions to note that I was very close to adding it to the Top 20. I have thoroughly enjoyed this first season, and am excited to see the finale.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

E vs. Vince take one

It's that time again. The Quiet Pool Perspective's Bi-Monthly Power Rankings are back for its second September version. I can't believe I've kept this up for an entire year. Before we talk about our honorable mentions, let's take a look back at where my head was in September of 2009. I obviously wasn't watching as much tv, because I only had six honorable mentions. Now I have to just rotate who gets a mention in this first post of the power rankings because there are too many that deserve a nod.

The six series were (in alphabetical order) The Amazing Race, Entourage, Gary Unmarried, Gossip Girl, Mad Men, and Rules of Engagement. Right off the bat I notice that the Jay Mohr comedy has been cancelled. Next there are those that I still watch but aren't on this month's edition; The Amazing Race, Gossip Girl and Rules of Engagement. Gossip Girl is the only one of the three that I feel got considerably worse over the course of last year. And Mad Men, as is noticeable by many of the previous rankings, has moved up the chart since this time last year. But that may be because I've catered to the masses.

Anyway, these are some of the shows that you might want to think about watching.

Honorable Mentions

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

American Idol- (20) Tuesdays on FOX
This time last year Idol was 10th. Just two months ago it was still in the top 20, but with the departure of Simon Cowell and the unknown of who will be judging come January, I can no longer rank this in the top 20. It is now out of my current top three for reality competition series. Which is that third series you may ask. Find out tomorrow.

Covert Affairs- (-) Tuesdays on USA
I posted on the new spy series last week, but I think it deserves another mention here. It's light but fun. The characters are great. There is definitely less serialization than I thought there would be at the start, but it's still worth it during the summer.

Entourage- (-) Sundays on HBO
Since it's my job to review Mad Men and Hung on Sundays, I have yet to speak about this season of Entourage. It has definitely been a marked improvement. Steven James Snyder wrote a nice piece over at TIME about how the story lines were much more interesting, and I couldn't agree more. Finally seeing Vince get punished for his foolish actions is a nice change. In a Don Draper-ish fashion we're watching to see how far he can sink this season. The addition of Scott Caan and the evolution of a much less irritating E has made for a good season overall.

Hannah Montana- (-) Sundays on Disney Channel
I didn't go out and buy The Last Song on Blu Ray, like some other people I know, but I love me some Miley Cyrus. Both the rise in effectiveness of Emily Osment's Lilly and the loss of Mitchell Musso's Oliver have been an added bonus to an already stellar comedy.

Hard Knocks- (-) Wednesdays on HBO
One of the best fringe benefits of getting six months of free HBO. I would have downloaded True Blood, Entourage and the like, but I probably wouldn't have gotten around to Hard Knocks. Having it on my DVR? Great! It's just a great inside look at the sport I love to watch most. It doesn't hurt that Rex Ryan is loud and cursing all the time, Antonio Cromartie can't remember his kids' names, and Mark Sanchez acts like a little baby during practices. All good stuff.

Ron and Sam fight

Jersey Shore- (-) Thursdays on MTV
As Bill Simmons and the Czar of Reality TV Dave Jacoby talked about, it's hard to find someone who watches a bit of Jersey Shore and doesn't like it. When I first heard about it, I was like "ehhh another reality show where the people are ridiculous but uninteresting. No thanks." Well after my boys in NYC talked it up, I started watching, and began to really enjoy it. Most of these people actually are interesting. My only problem with the second season so far is that every episode has dealt too much with Ronnie and Sammy. No matter what Simmons says, Situation is the MVP. Always has been, always will be. The dude is awesome and he needs to be the focus of every episode.

The League- (-) Thursdays on FX
With the start of football season coming up, The League needs to get mentioned here. A show that improved over its first season, I wouldn't be surprised to see it take another step forward. If it has more fantasy football plot in the second season (as is rumored by Alan Sepinwall) then I will be much more happy with it.

Rubicon- (-) Sundays on AMC
Here's a show that has taken advantage of the situation. It's the third original series on AMC. Coming after the critically acclaimed Mad Men and Breaking Bad, everyone assumes this is automatically going to be fantastic. I'm intrigued so far, but not overly excited about it. It's slow and none of the characters are interesting at this point. James Badge Dale is great, but he hasn't shown me anything good thus far in Rubicon.

Spartacus- (-) Fridays on Starz
Now that Mo Ryan and Ryan McGee have admitted to loving this show, I feel that I can actually write that I watched and enjoyed the first season. It is now socially acceptable. By no means is it great television, but there are moments of action and drama that are extremely watchable.

Ultimate Catch- (-) Sundays on VH1
I am not one to enjoy a reality dating show, but I'll make an exception on this. As a football fan, I'm enjoying watching Chad Ochocinco do his thing with the ladies. His taste and decisions are extremely suspect at times, but it's still interesting to see what he thinks in every situation.

Summer Poolies Watch- Drama

And so we round up the Summer Poolies watch with a quick look at what's been going on in the drama department. First up is the Dynasty Award for Best Drama Series and let's begin with a couple of sure fire nominees. I have no idea when Treme is going to air in 2011, but the three eps that we got in June, including 'All On a Mardis Gras Day' were fantastic. There has only been one Mad Men ep thus far, but it is a lock every season.

Other shows looking for a nomination: Entourage has been much more enjoyable this season, as Scott Caan has proven to be a wonderful addition. Jonas makes the switch to the drama category, and even though its revamped style isn't nearly as good as the first season, I love me some Jo Bros. Glee aired two eps at the end of season one in June, and if things don't get less annoying on that show, it might miss out on nominations. Then there is Hung and Pretty Little Liars. The first has given no real entertainment, while the second has been much better than expected (although still underwhelming).

The Dr. Doug Ross Award for Best Lead Character in a Drama is next up. Ari Gold (right) has one the supporting category two straight years, but it's about time to realize that he is a lead in this show. There are basically five leads. If I were to say who the two with the most screen time were, I'd guess E and Ari. Then of course there is Mr. Draper of Mad Men and a couple of French Quarter guys, in Davis McAlary and Antoine Batiste of Treme. If any of the Jo Bros stand out from each other, they could have a good shot at a nomination in a much easier category than the comedy one they were in last year.

Supporting characters. The Noah Hunter Award. With Ari hypothetically out of the group, I like Roger Sterling and Scotty Lavin of Entourage as my early favorites. Creighton Bernette and Albert Lambreaux of Treme also put forth good performances in June, but the big man won't be around next season so that limits his ability. Puck of Glee, although not as cool as I want him to be, has his moments and should be in the running for a nomination next year.

I'll be interested to see if any of the smaller female characters of Glee step up next year. The Veronica Mars Award already is packed with hopefuls, but Quinn Fabray (left) and Santana Lopez of the singing drama deserve some consideration. Of course they'll be competing with their teammates Sue Sylvester and Rachel Berry. My early favorite though? Annie of Treme. I just loved watching her take a beating from Sonny and then falling into Davis's arms. Macy Misa and Stella Malone don't get that much of a break from the category switch as it is just as tough over here in drama for the ladies. Others of note: Janette Desautel of Treme, Jessica Haxon of Hung, Lizzie Grant of Entourage.

Another category loaded with talent is the Marissa Cooper Award for the Character You Love to Hate in a Drama. I could fill this whole thing with people from Glee and The CW. Kurt, Emma, Mr. Shue, Mercedes, Artie, Finn...keep 'em coming from Glee. Then there are the category staples of Entourage's E and Mad Men's Peggy Olsen. I can't tell if I hate Sonny from Treme because he's so awful to Annie, or love him for it so that's a tough one. Others of note: Tanya Skagle of Hung, Dee Zee of Jonas, Henry Francis of Mad Men.

Episodes of note thus far would be Treme's 'All On a Mardis Gras Day', Mad Men's opener 'Public Relations' and maybe the most recent Entourage 'Tequila Sunrise.'

And there we have the Summer Poolies watch. I might come back in October for a Fall Poolies watch, but I might not. If any of you Poolie voters have any suggestions leave them here (although I know no one but Jaydon or T-time would).

The Noah Hunter Award- Supporting Character Drama

Named For: Noah Hunter played by Vincent Young in Beverly Hills, 90210
Awarded To: Best supporting character in a drama series from
June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: Ari Gold- Entourage

Place. Character (Show) Points (My Vote)

10. Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy) 0 points

9. Crosby Braverman (Parenthood) 2 points

8. Creighton Bernett (Treme) 6 points

7. Dale Kettlewell (Greek) 9 points (3rd)

6. Davis McAlary (Treme) 11 points (5th)

5. Buddy Garrity (Friday Night Lights) 15 points

4. Roger Sterling (Mad Men) 20 points (1st)

3. James Wilson (House, MD) 21 points

Runner-Up
2. Landry Clarke (Friday Night Lights) 21 points (2nd)

and the Poolie goes to...
1. Ari Gold (Entourage)
31 points (4th)

Here with his thoughts on Ari Gold is Poolie voter, Tyson...

Before we get started I just want to warn the throngs of Pool readers that the following post will contain profanity, sexism, homophobia, and possibly a little anti-Semitism. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s congratulate Ari Gold for winning the 2010 Noah Hunter Award. If Jeremy Piven were here, I’m sure he would be psyched to win an award named after the actor who played Raoul in the 2004 film, Knuckle Sandwich.

Ari Gold does so many things well it’s hard to know where to begin. He is wonderful when he yells at gays, amazing when he yells at women, and awesome when he yells at everyone else. The beauty of Ari is that he vocalizes the things many of us would never dare to say. For example, Take this exchange between Lloyd and Ari:

Lloyd: Are you hiding something from me Ari?
Ari: Only my c*ck and my a**hole Lloyd..

…simply magical. Quotes like that really make me wish I had some openly gay friends.

The most amazing thing about Ari’s character is that he is universally liked by viewers yet loathed by most of the other characters. I think the point the writers want to convey here is that a small, angry, Jewish man is much more enjoyable from a distance and much less enjoyable close-up, when he is yelling at your mid-section.

If there is a point to the nonsensical preceding paragraphs, I guess it would be that the beauty of Ari is not the complexity of his character but the extent of his quotability. With that in mind, I will leave you with one of my favorites from this past season:

(Ari walks into yet another assistant)
Jake: Hi Mr. Gold. I’m Jake Steinberg, HR sent me up to replace your last assistant.
Ari: I don’t care. Get me Eddy Kapowski on the phone.
Jake: Uhm, any relation to Kelly Kapowski? You know, Saved by the Bell?
Ari: You’re finished. Go. You’re f*cking fired.

by Tyson Brazell

The Nip/Tuck Award- Worst Series

Named For: Nip/Tuck (FX) 2003-10
Awarded To: Worst series that you used to like from June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: no award

Place. Show (Network) Points (My Vote)

5. Gossip Girl (The CW) 3 points

4. One Tree Hill (The CW) 3 points (2nd)

3. 24 (FOX) 7 points

Runner-Up
2. Entourage (HBO) 8 points (3rd)

and the Poolie goes to...
1. Heroes (NBC) 17 points (1st)

Here with his thoughts on Heroes is Poolie voter, T-time...

The first season of Heroes did everything you want in a show of it's ilk. It introduced a set of disparate characters who would be brought together by fate, while steadily delving deeper into the mythology. It asked a series of questions, answering some of the important ones by season's end while leaving major facets of the universe unexplained. The season culminated with an event foreshadowed early in the season, a major obstacle that concluded the destiny of several,
well-established characters.

Or so we thought, because soon into season 2, it all went wrong. The show caved to fans who demanded their favorite characters return and instead of telling a new story in the developing universe, the show began to follow the people we knew as their lives continued. We saw characters who had outlived their dramatic arc be foolishly working into plot lines they simply didn't belong in. As seasons wore on, we learned less and less about the world and the whole series devolved into a series of villains with nefarious plans threatening the same group of characters.

Season One set a blueprint for greatness, if only they had been willing to let obvious deaths like Parkman's stand, and let Claire fade from the spotlight when she had nothing to do instead of following her like a soap. The world at that point was interesting and full of possibilities. Each season should have answered questions deepening the world, while introducing further questions to pull the audience along. Maybe it is a lesson for future shows. The fans got what they asked for, and when they realized it wasn't what they thought, they abandoned the show in droves.

by Tim Forcella

The Marissa Cooper Award- Worst Character Drama

Named For: Marissa Cooper played by Mischa Barton in The O.C.
Awarded To: The character you love to hate in a drama series from
June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: Jason Street- Friday Night Lights

Place. Character (Show) Points (My Vote)

10. Rusty Cartwright (Greek) 3 points

9. Millicent Huxtable (One Tree Hill) 3 points (5th)

8. Peggy Olsen (Mad Men) 8 points

7. Sue Collini (Californication) 10 points (3rd)

6. Dixon Wilson (90210) 10 points (2nd)

5. Eric Murphy (Entourage) 13 points

4. Kurt Hummel (Glee) 13 points (1st)

3. Serena van der Woodson 14 points

Runner-Up
2. Emma Pillsbury (Glee) 16 points

and the Poolie goes to...
1. Ashley (Entourage) 31 points (4th)

Here with his thoughts on Ashley from Entourage is Poolie voter Mags...

HBO’s Entourage gets a lot of hate for a variety of reasons. Some people complain that the show is boring or played out, others think the actors are no-talent dirtbags who don’t deserve their success. Personally, I can appreciate the show for what it is: a weekly 25 minute look at a bunch of bros living in Hollywood and killing it. I know nothing bad ever happens, the acting is horrible, the story generally sucks, and the chicks are way too hot for the guys. I don’t care much. Oh the little leprechaun loser Eric Murphy is hooking up with this dime Sloan? Good for him. I apply that perspective to most of the show, but something happened in the last season that just killed me.

After E breaks up with Sloan, he ends up with this random piece named Ashley. She sucks. Like way more than most chicks. She has a 5 head, gross hair, an ugly face and probably a lazy eye. She is also pre-pubescent. Her voice is annoying, and on top of all her physical flaws she is jealous and stupid. Just out of curiosity I Googled “ashley entourage.” Some highlights on the results:

1. Entourage: Ashley’s Not Going Away Soon
- Highlight: If you are sick and tired of what's-her-face (Ashley) as E's current flame on Entourage, then you're not alone.

2. ASHLEY FROM ENTOURAGE IS GROSS
- Highlight: That new chick they got on, this Ashley chick, is fugly.

3. Ashley has to Go!
- Highlight (from an Entourage forum): Ashley definetely has to go.. she is probably the most annoying character we have ever seen on entourage.. seriously…she looks like a 10 year old girl to me..

Now the guy who wrote the last highlight is clearly a bit of a RE, and he still gets it. I spent some solid time on Google and the whole internet hates this broad. At this point even if you don’t watch the show you hate her. I could lob hate grenades at this heinous crank (h/t Joe Bertoulli) all day. Presenting your winner for the 2010 Marissa Cooper Award: Ashley from Entourage.

by Kyle Magnus

Sunday Speculations- Entourage Goes Terminator

Curb Your Enthusiasm
When I watched the 3-4 minute preview of the Seinfeld cast discussing their experiences on this season's Curb I got really excited. They talked about how well it turned out, but what else was I really expecting? That they were going to say that the end product didn't turn out that well? Not likely. But still, it got me real excited. How did the first Seinfeld-esque Curb episode go? I loved it. It's similar to how just mentioning Brandon and Dylan in the new 90210 makes it that much better. At the beginning of this week's ep Larry just starts mentioning Jerry and story ideas for George and I got giddy.

Once Jerry, Jason, Julia and Michael it just got better and better. A couple of interactions between LD and the cast got me going. The first was when Jerry told Larry that he had shifted his view on Reunion Episodes and their conversation turned to "Shift, no shift, shift, no shift." Classic. When Larry had lunch with Jason, I thoroughly enjoyed when he kept making fun of George, because we all know that George was always supposed to be Larry.

My highlight of the ep was when Larry had to think about the two consequences for his decision to either save the NBC presidents' life or not. His first dream sequence is having a great time on the set of Seinfeld as he begins to win back his ex-wife. Then we get to the moment that should have made everyone laugh hysterically. His second dream sequence was him walking up to the casket at the NBC presidents' funeral, putting his hands up in the air and smiling. Unbelievable!

Entourage
This week I felt thoroughly satisfied with the Entourage season finale. The two characters I care about, Johnny Drama and Ari, had story lines that were both humorous and heartfelt. Ari foreshadowed his big moment by saying that he was going to go Terminator on Terrence's building after he bought the agency. Sure enough, after buying out Terrence, Ari walked through the halls with a paint ball gun, shooting everyone and telling them they were fired. Now Drama, on the other hand, was basically giving up on his acting career and the self-loathing was fantastic. After giving it one last ditch effort in his audition for the new Melrose Place, he had peace with himself. Then he was given new life, when the studios decided they wanted to create a whole new show for him. I felt really good for him in that moment. And we won't talk about the terribleness that was E's engagement and Turtle's breakup.

Mad Men
Note to Matthew Weiner: Nobody cares about Pete Campbell's life. I hate to say it, but I think I'd rather see a Peggy Olsen storyline than spend another terrible week in the life of Mr. Campbell. With no Roger in this week's ep, the women of Mad Men had to carry the load. Betty and Sally Draper were terrific. Why does Betsy know Italian? I don't know but I liked it. Her little charade with Don outside the hotel was fantastic. Sally shows both sides of her in this episode. She lays down the pain on her brother Bobby, before showing the sweet, shy side when Don comes home.

The Cleveland Show
I like Family Guy as much as the next guy. American Dad can do it for me at times at well, but why would you spin-off of Family Guy with a terrible character? To be fair, there aren't many good minor characters on Fam Guy. Peter, Stewie, Brian and Chris are all good, but Quagmire, Cleveland; these guys aren't the ones you should base a whole show around. As far as the other characters on Cleveland's new show go, the only one I'm finding myself laughing at thus far is the Big Brown Bear. His accent is quality comedy for me.

Sunday Speculations

Mad Men
In this week's episode I experienced my first laugh out loud moment while watching Mad Men. The show-stopping scene is set up early on in the episode when Ken Cosgrove brings a John Deere lawn-mower into the office to show off the new client he just signed. After the British come and invade Sterling Cooper, rearranging personnel and upsetting most, the whole crew has a going away party for dear Joanie. Some dude is bored and decides to break out the tractor to ride through the office. After he has his fun, one of the secretaries gets on top of this thing and obviously can't control it. She drives it right through the center of the office, taking down everything in her path, including the end of the new British guy's foot. He's screaming in ridiculous pain and I can't stop laughing hysterically. Roger caps the situation off with a fantastic joke. All he said was "just when he got it in the door." Classic.

Sally Draper proved once again this week that she has to be in the conversation for best character on the show. Sure there are your front-runners like Draper and Sterling, but little Sally's attitude and demeanor put her in the Big Three in my opinion. Her hatred for her new baby brother/sadness in missing her late Grandpa was absolutely fantastic in this week's episode.

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Everyone should be glad LD is back on tv (unless you don't have the means to watch HBO shows). The way Larry can find the problem with every little thing people do is extraordinary. My two favorite instances from this week's season premier were how warm to keep the house and going into other people's refrigerators.
Temperature-
LD's thought: Larry likes to sleep at a cool temperature, right around 68.
Other Curbers: Loretta Black, his new girlfriend, enjoys it nice and warm, at 75. LD decides to call in her brother, Leon, to help with a compromise. Leon immediately flips out because he likes it at 82 degrees!
Quiet Pool Perspective: I essentially am on the same page with LD, but can go anywhere from 67-70 on a normal basis. The difference is that I feel it depends on the season and the outside temperature. In the summer I prefer the low end, so 67, while in the winter I prefer the high end of the range, about 70. When it is hot outside and you come in the house, I like to get cooled down. During the winter, and I'm freezing outside in New England, I like to come into a warm home. I think it makes perfect sense.
Fridge-
LD's thought: As usual, Larry takes a stand. He feels that no one should go into someone else's refrigerator.
Other Curbers: Dr. Schaffer finds it fine to go into LD's fridge and take a lemonade and Funkhouser agrees with him. Funkhouser's explanation at the dinner party that liquids are okay, but actual food is a no go was classic.
Quiet Pool Perspective: To me it all depends on the relationship between the parties and how the fridge raider goes about his/her business. Let's use the Forcella residence as an example. Early on in the friendship, The Bonz or Jon the bon would either ask if we had anything to drink or simply wait to be offered something. After six years of coming over the house (obvious pop-in territory), there is no problem with taking anything from the fridge, freezer or pantry without saying a peep. Now when someone else that is new to what you may call a friendship never asks, goes into your fridge from day one and takes what they want, then you have a problem. Coming over to the house for 10 minutes, grabbing a piece of pie and stuffing your pockets with Capri-Suns for the road is not okay to do.

Entourage
I've said it before that having an easy to hate character on a show can be a positive attribute, but when you couple that terrible person with an even worse character, you just start getting the viewers angry. Sure I can't stand E, but it used to be all in good fun, because Johnny, Ari, Vinny and Turtle would just make fun of him all the time and the good would outweigh the bad. This season the problem began when they had E go out with Ashley, who is in the running for worst character of the year. The storyline makes me want to throw up and it takes away from the good parts they used to have on this show.

Cable Fall Preview

Although many of these cable shows have already started, I believe they need their just due here.

HBO
Entourage
I thought I'd mention the two HBO programs that are finishing up their current seasons. Entourage has four episodes left and it has been as lackluster of a summer as ever for the entertainment dramedy. Lowlighted by Tom Brady's awful performance, season six has been less than stellar. Stop following E's love life. Nobody likes him. It's torture.

True Blood
True Blood, on the other hand, has taken as giant leap in the right direction in its sophomore season. What started out as a weak-charactered vampire show, has turned into a fantastic-storylined supernatural thriller. The 10th episode of this second season was one of my favorite eps of any show in a long time. After this past Sunday's penultimate ep, there is only one left this summer.

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm finally returns on September 20. After what was one of the two best seasons in the show's history, Larry David had a lot to live up to this fall. He found a way to get me even more excited. Prettttty, pretttttty, pretttttty excited. A Seinfeld Reunion. All four of the main actors from Seinfeld, yes Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and even Michael Richards, will be major contributors on this season of Curb. Not only that, but the premise of the season will be Larry and the gang putting a Seinfeld Reunion in the works.

Disney
After the DVD release of Hannah Montana The Movie this month and the television premier of Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie this past Friday, the Disney Channel's big three are picking up major steam. Joined by Sonny with a Chance, these three shows have gotten me hooked on the Disney Channel as I used to be with Even Stevens back in the day. They don't come without major success either, as the Wizards Movie recorded the highest viewership of the summer, with 11.4 million viewers. I'm assuming most of them are not 23 year old dudes.

Greek
I have yet to watch the season 3 premier of Greek that aired tonight (Monday) but I'm definitely excited for it to be back. Whether it's hating on Rusty's awkwardness, loving Cappie's wit, or crushing on Casey for some inexplicable reason, Greek always brings plenty of entertainment.

Mad Men
Mad Men is three eps in now, and it started up where it left off. Interesting, but not entertaining. I find myself a bit intrigued by the stories and historical elements of the show, but they don't manage to portray them in a way that gets me excited for the next episode. I'd much rather watch a show that can entertain without being smart (the late Las Vegas) than a smart show that fails to entertain (Mad Men).

The Noah Hunter Award (2009)

The Noah Hunter Award for
Best Supporting Character in a Drama Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Jamie Scott (One Tree Hill)- 1 point...(5th)

9th. Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad)- 5 points

8th. Julian Baker (One Tree Hill)- 5 points...(1st)

7th. Ethan Ward (90210)- 6 points

6th. Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy)- 6 points...(2nd)

5th. Buddy Garrity (Friday Night Lights)- 8 points

4th. Landry Clark (Friday Night Lights)- 13 points

3rd. Lawrence Kutner (House, MD)- 13 points...(3rd)

Runner-Up
2nd. Johnny 'Drama' Chase (Entourage)- 17 points

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Ari Gold (Entourage)- 20 points...(4th)
And now with some words on Ari Gold here is Jaydon from Jaydon's Cave...

_____________________________________________

I've been of the opinion since the beginning that Entourage is an ok show at best. Were Ari not on the show I would probably have stopped watching early season 2. Ari and Drama pretty much are Entourage as far as I'm concerned. In season 5, Ari was offered a studio head position at Warner Bros with a monumental pay hike to boot. He declined in order to keep his agent job which he had come to love and to avoid the added pressures of the studio position. He maneuvered the deal to his advantage anyway, installing Dana Gordon in his stead and getting the ice cold Vincent Chase a job on Smoke Jumpers, a move that would not pan out as well as he hoped. He also made moves to get a former colleague, Andrew Klein, back on track after he had hit rough times staging a mini-coup with his partner Barbara for new terms on their deal. Klein was thereafter employed as a new agent. In short, Ari proved to be a pretty good guy after all in season 5, helping his friends out at the expense of personal gain.

He still found the time to utter these gems though:

E: Wow, golf on a wednesday huh Ari? In the next life I wanna come back as you.
Ari: Wish I can return the compliment E, but I’d rather come back as one of Michael Vic’s dogs.

Ari: You will come back stronger then ever. Like Lance Armstrong. But with two balls.

E: Come on Ari, I’m calling as a friend, all right? I need your help. It’s a really good script, can you help me?
Ari: Yes, I can E. Lloyd! Get the number for UCLA Extension so Eric can take a course of finally learning how the movie business works.

Lloyd: What did he want?
Ari: F*ck you Yoko, get E on the phone.

(Lloyd rants about Ari leaving the company)
Ari: You throw a lot of Jew guilt for a chinaman.

The Marissa Cooper Award (2009)

The Marissa Cooper Award for the
Character You Love To Hate in a Drama Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Marvin McFadden (One Tree Hill)- 0 points

9th. Ryan Lafferty (Brothers and Sisters)- 1 point

8th. Lisa George (Dirty, Sexy, Money)- 7 points

7th. Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy)- 7 points...(2nd)

6th. Peyton Sawyer (One Tree Hill)- 9 points...(1st)

5th. Erin Silver (90210)- 11 points

4th. Eric Foreman (House, MD)- 11 points

3rd. Eric Murphy (Entourage)- 11 points...(5th)

Runner-Up
2nd. Serena Van Der Woodson (Gossip Girl)- 13 points...(4th)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Jason Street
(Friday Night Lights)- 26 points...(3rd)
And now with some words on Jason Street here is Lar...

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QB1 was the ten pound tumor for the most underrated show of the season. He brought nothing to the table and took everything off. Normally a fringe character’s likability goes through a series of peaks and valleys, but this guy has been in Death Valley since day one. Every time he stepped on camera he was either complaining about something or bringing everyone down with his depressing mood. So you had a near fatal injury on the field that ruined your chance at a professional football career and you want to be all emotional and sad? Come talk to me after you sit in a cubicle for 70 hours a week. You’ll find out what real pain is. However, towards the end of the season he turns his life around by getting a job in NYC, which allows him to be close to the girl he knocked up. Things finally seem to be working out for him, and you know what? I’m happy, but not because things are looking better for him. It means he has essentially been written out of the show. Good luck Street, nobody cares.