Ypulse Best And Worst Of 2009: Moments In Television

Today we continue our steady stream of Year In Review coverage with Youth Advisory Board members Alyx Steadman and Lauren Williams who share their respective picks for the best and worst moments on television this year, both from the teen-targeted end of the spectrum, as well as those phenomenons that swept up viewers of all ages across the nation.

Again, keep in mind that these picks are personal. For a more scientific look at teens and college students’ favorite TV shows and media viewing habits, check out the September Ypulse Monitor!

Best: Lauren’s Picks

Chuck is saved by fans… and Subway. Every year I am bombarded by petitions to save this show or save that show, but never have I seen the fruits of this labor.  Not until our beloved Chuck, the greatest, most unlikely spy to hit the screen since Maxwell Smart, faced the axe that is.  The outpour from fans was beyond astounding, it was intelligent and organized.  To start, saving Chuck would take more thought than a few hundred names on a list.  The network, NBC, needed a legitimate reason to protect their little spy comedy, namely a business reason.  Fans organized the “Be A Nerd… Join the Herd” campaign and did everything from flooding NBC with buttons to flooding Subway with comment cards.  Eventually, Subway got the message(s) and struck a sponsorship deal with NBC.  Thanks to the revolutionary work of fans actually working with the industry for once, we will see more Chuck in 2010!

“Jam” gets married. I may be in the minority here, but I wasn’t expecting a wedding when I tuned in on that random Thursday in October. Television weddings are usually grand events.  Often they take place at the start of summer, just as the television season ends.  And typically, the episode is a battle of will they or won’t they make it down the aisle and say I do.  Jim and Pam had an entirely different affair.  The episode had no qualms reiterating that this is “The Office,” not “The O.C.”  The wardrobe department purchased Pam’s dress at David’s Bridal, rather than from Vera Wang. The location was understated and relatively intimate in kitschy Niagara Falls, rather than a 100,000-dollar party on the beach.  Perhaps the best thing about the episode is how easily it stays true to form.  The first half of the hour is uncomfortably awkward as character after character falls victim to his or her own absurdity, even Jim!  The second half of the hour brings the sweetest, most natural runaway wedding for Jim and Pam, and the perfect viral video-inspired dance ceremony for the friends and family.  The icing on the wedding cake, however, was Jim’s final line that Plan A would have been to marry Pam the day they met. Awwwwww.

Britain’s Got Talent 2009. Surprise hit Susan Boyle was only one of a vast array of super-talented Brits to step on to the 2009 stage in the hopes of securing a performance for the Queen.  Dance troupes Diversity (the actually winner) and Flawless wowed the judges with their inventive choreography. Itty-bitty Hollie Steel nearly got the buzzer as she lamely flitted about the stage in a tutu until she stopped, opened her mouth, and hit us all with a gorgeous operatic soprano. Stavros Flatley, a comedic father-son dance team, made us laugh and stand in awe as they merged Greek satire with Irish dance.  I could go on, but I’ll leave you to head over to YouTube where you can see the talent for yourself. Channel name: ‘BritainSoTalented.’ So true.

Best: Alyx’s Picks

The CW continues to reign as drama queen. The CW has built a reputation as the go to place for Gen Y girls. Sure, they may not have the ratings as some other channels do, but the amount of press they generate is huge! Shows like ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘Vampire Diaries’, ‘America’s Next Top Model’, ‘90210’, and ‘Melrose Place’ call the network home, and that usually guarantees something to talk about. All of my  female friends watch at least one of these shows, meaning that the CW has to be doing something right to reach girls. In my opinion they are the master of publicity, so good for them.

‘Glee’ hits a high note. These days, a burst of joy rushes through my system the moment anyone mentions the word ‘glee.’ FOX’s show, ‘Glee’, is officially a cultural phenomenon. The show itself has become a marketing juggernaut, selling music like crazy on online stores like iTunes and Amazon. What’s even better than the music itself, is that the show is genuinely good! It has become my number one favorite show. And the greatest part? I can watch it with my mom. Not too many of my shows (like “Gossip Girl” and “Vampire Diaries,” for example) make for comfortable co-viewing, but this is one that the whole family can enjoy.

Worst: Lauren’s Picks

“Sci-Fi” becomes “SyFy.” For sixteen years, the Sci-Fi channel provided the best of science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and all things supernatural.  Now, the SyFy channel does exactly the same thing.  Why NBC Universal felt it necessary to spend the millions of dollars it takes to rebrand something on the changing of Sci-Fi to SyFy still escapes me.  Originally, the rebranding was to draw in viewers who would be normally be uninterested in what Sci-Fi had to offer.  Yet, with no change in actual content, those new viewers would simply tune right back out.  Finally, it was revealed that the network needed a new term as Sci-Fi had a limited copyright.  By creating their own word, the channel can use the term however they choose.  However, simply replacing letters shows a lack of creativity and innovation, two traits upon which this network was founded, am I mistaken?

Whedon sabotages Whedon. I knew “Dollhouse” was dead the moment it was announced.  After the Buffy debacle, not to mention the Firefly tragedy, and with the knowledge of FOX’s tendency to cancel 90% of the new shows they produce, you would think Joss Whedon would move on to another network… perhaps Syfy?  Nope.  Instead, Whedon took his new show right back to the same network that seems to revel in his failure.  That is why this time I’m not angry at FOX.  At least they are consistent. I’m angry at Joss Whedon for getting a great idea, putting pen to paper, casting excellent actors, building sets, rolling tape, and putting all his chips on FOX for the win.  Learn your lesson already!

The Jay Leno Show. One of the reasons Chuck almost didn’t make it back on the air was because there was no room for the show.  Thanks to Jay Leno and someone’s ridiculous idea to move him from late night to prime time, five hours of prime television real estate were lost.  Many shows without the luck of Chuck fell into the abyss created by Jay Leno’s move.  The worst part stems from the fact that The Jay Leno Show is not only no different from his stint on The Tonight Show, but all that the show is really bad.  In fact, “The Tonight Show, now with Conan O’Brian,” is also very unfunny.  The NBC Shuffle, as they are calling it, destroyed not only five nights of television, but also a timeless classic (The Tonight Show has been on since 1954), and possibly two comedic careers.

Worst: Alyx’s Picks

OMG Overload on The CW? Once again, The CW makes an appearance. So what makes it a “best” and “worst” pick? Like I said, they are publicity geniuses, but what exactly are they publicizing? The press around the CW is always about how racy their ad campaigns are and whether the shows live up to the hype. Are they effective? Yes. But at what price? Girls from their pre-teens to older twenties watch these shows. So the question is—is one ad campaign one size fits all? I don’t think so.

SNL Slump SNL falls flat this year with unexciting hosts and even more snooze worthy skits. Who writes those things? Two out of six skits are chuckle worthy, and even a smaller fraction of them are YouTube-able (as in, worth looking up for a second time and sharing). Nothing this year has even come close to the cultural hit of years past like Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin or Justin Timberlake’s “Dick in a Box” skit. Step it up, SNL!

About Lauren

Lauren recently spent a harrowing year in England where she overcame her life’s demons and finally found her answer to that itching question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  Currently, she is completing her final year at Northern Arizona University. She will graduate this spring with a BA in English and a minor in Cinema and Visual Culture.  Meanwhile, she is keenly stressing herself out by volunteering to take on a 60 page undergraduate thesis about Superman.  When not studying, Lauren enjoys watching ungodly amounts of television. An All-American girl, Lauren loves baseball, Coca-Cola, cherry pie, and violent action films. Her favorite pastimes include hanging out in grapefruit trees, building complex civilizations out of LEGOS, and digging for dinosaur bones in the sandbox.

About Alyx

Alyx Steadman is a sophomore in high school in Montana, and loves every minute of it. He loves reading, writing, acting, singing, and being a social butterfly. In the past people have accused him of being a YouTube addict and a pop culture junkie (and sadly Alyx cannot deny these accusations). His love for teen culture has led him to many hours slaving on the computer soaking up every piece of drama Hollywood has to offer. In the future he hopes to pursue a writing career as some type of journalist. Excited doesn’t even begin to cover how he’s feeling to be in the Ypulse Advisory Board.