Battlestar Galactica Cast
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The Wasteland Awards 2005-06
By: Jason DavisDate: Monday, June 05, 2006
Well, it's time to stir up the rabble with TV Wasteland's first ever (at least under my administration) Wasteland Awards. Essentially, this is an opportunity for me the columnist to heap meaningless praise upon the shows I enjoyed this year while providing you, the readership, an opportunity to cast aspirations upon my personal tastes while violently defending your favorite shows that have been unduly passed over. All in good fun, of course. Then, next week, we'll get back into deep, meaningful conversations about the meaning of LOST, why it's important to label videotapes of VERONICA MARS, and how much I've enjoyed watching the first season of MEDIUM this week. But first, let's get to the TV Wasteland awards.
Much like the Emmys, these shows were nominated by a small group of people and voted upon by an even smaller group of people to provide winners that in no way reflect the popular opinions of the audience en masse. To be eligible for said awards, the program must have run between June 1, 2005 and May 31, 2006. For each category, I shall enumerate four honorable mentions before concluding with the winner...as always, should you, or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.
So, I think we'll kick things off with the rookiesotherwise known as Best New Series of the Year. There was fierce competition in this category with a number of great new series hitting the screen. Thus, the first honorable mention is awarded to Fox's THE INSIDE. Premiering in June after a lengthy and difficult development process, this series, created by Tim Minear (WONDERFALLS) and Howard Gordon (24), followed the investigations of a Los Angeles-based FBI violent crimes unit led by the Machiavellian Virgil Webster and focusing on former kidnap victim-turned-profiler Rebecca Locke. Next up is Showtime's WEEDS, a half-hour serio-comic journey into the world of a suburban marijuana-dealing mom trying to raise her kids after the death of her husband. In keeping with the pay cable theme, HBO's classical BBC co-production, ROME ranks magna cum laude for its able blend of historical fact and dramatic fiction against a tapestry of treachery and politics. Staying with HBO we have BIG LOVE, focusing on the exploits of entrepreneur Bill Henrikson and his three wives as they struggle to maintain the secret of their polygamist lifestyle in modern Utah. Alas, most of this audience will not have seen my pick for the year's best new series. Slated to air on BBC America later this year, and already available on Region 2 DVD, that series is LIFE ON MARS. After awakening from an automobile accident, present day copper Sam Tyler finds himself in 1973 Britain where a very different brand of law enforcement is practiced. Unsure if he's delirious, comatose, or actually traveling through time, Tyler brings his knowledge of modern police work and principled ethics to bare on a world where cops coerce confessions with a rolled up phone bookthe incredible period soundtrack ain't bad either.
For best returning series, a nod goes to DOCTOR WHO, a series straddling the cut-off date with three first season episodes and seven second season episodes viable for nomination. After last year's astonishingly popular comeback, this year has continued the trend with an even better mix of episodes than the freshman outing yielded. SCRUBS, the best comedy on American television or I'll play ten rounds of jiggly ball, continues to go from strength to strength with characters maturing in new and interesting ways while stridently avoiding shark-infested waters. HUSTLE, newly imported to the US by AMC, recalls the complicated plotting of the original MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE while offering a post-modern wink from its cast of incorrigible conmen. The fourth honorable mention in this category is a bit of a wild cardthe thing is, I got this gig at an awkward moment and hadn't properly immersed myself in advance. This, unfortunately, means I wasn't quite up to date on several key shows that I'd like to be more conversant with. So, this failing established, I reserve the right to fill this slot after a summer of DVDs and re-runs which, ideally, will find me au currant by September. That said, it is without reservation that I award BATTLESTAR GALACTICA with the title of Best Returning Series. The show never ceases to amaze with its unflinching ability to push story and characters to the limits in new and imaginative ways. So say we all.
Best Guest Actor ended up with a transatlantic (technically transpacific as well, now that I think about itoceanic, you might say) tie, but I'll start with the honorable mentions. First up is Michelle Forbes who did a splendid job of walking the fine line between right and wrong as Admiral Cain on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Walking a completely dissimilar line was Claudia Black whose return to STARGATE SG-1 left me convulsing with hysteriaparticularly in the wake of her appearance in Daniel Jackson's body. Michael Hogan's Colonel Tigh was a consistent strength in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's first season, but the shooting of Commander Adama in that season's finale propelled the actor to the forefront for an extended second season arc displaying Hogan's finesse at appearing irritated it a number of intricate ways. Leaving deep space for the South Pacific, a co-recipient of TV Wasteland's Best Guest Actor award is LOST's Michael Emerson. Easily a nominee for his work in the "Pre-filer" episode of THE INSIDE, Emerson's consummate performance as "Henry Gale" was a masterpiece of subtlety and manipulationin a cast of extraordinary actors, his work never fails to impress. The same can be said of DOCTOR WHO's Elisabeth Sladen who, after 23 years (30 since she was a regular) slipped so effortlessly back into the part of Sarah Jane Smith that the mere sight of her made my heart skip a beat. Then she spoke...and DOCTOR WHO went places it had never been before.
Bringing up the final quarter of the ceremony, we have the award for Best Series Regular. As it happens, two winners from the previous category will be joining this category next yeara testament to their work. This year's honorable mentions include some exceptional artists and I'm hard-pressed to pick a favoritebut I must. So, the first honorable mention goes to Philip Glennister of LIFE ON MARS. It takes a lot of work to keep a politically incorrect copper from 1973 from being either a monster or a joke and Glennister's performance evolved with an understated elegance across series one in a way I've seldom witnessed. Anna Maxwell Martin's, who essayed the role of Esther Summerson in the BBC's production of Charles Dickens' BLEAK HOUSE (broadcast by PBS's MASTERPIECE THEATRE in the US) claims the second hearty slap on the back for the vulnerability she brought to her character while still carrying the weight of a predictably complicated tale. LOST's only surviving second season cast addition wins the third honorable mention. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's performance as the enigmatic Mr. Eko recalls Terry O'Quinn's close to the chest performance from last year while adding an intensity that, if focused, would likely carve initials on the face of the moon. Intensity of another kind wins Tricia Helfer a spot on the list for her triple portrayal of Caprica Six, Gina, and a figment of Gaius Baltar's twisted imagination. At once revolutionary, heart breaking, and manipulative, her tripartite performance is a marvel to behold. This brings us to a man who had an impossible act to follow and did so with an energy unparalleled in the annals of television. When news broke of Christopher Eccleston's resignation from the title role in DOCTOR WHO, viewers already in love with his portrayal after one episode were despondent. Luckily for them, David Tennant was the perfect antidoteat once seizing upon the best bits of the character and adding his own flourishes, Tennant has made the role his own...and will stick around...if he knows what's good for him.
So, there you have it. Argue amongst yourselves! Let me know what you loved this year and I'll set to the DVD sets before me in the hopes of discussing the joys of VERONICA MARS, 24, et al with you in the very near future. Have a great week and don't forget to check out the finale of DOCTOR WHO this Friday!
(the sound of crickets chirping)
VERONICA MARS (9 PM PST, UPN) "Green-Eyed Monster" Can I tell you how frustrating it is to reach the end of this show's first season and then find your videotape (I know, old fashioned Jason still uses analog media) is missing? I'm tearing the cupboards apart and I will find that tape!
BOSTON LEGAL (10 PM PST, ABC) I'm just now savoring the Shatneric greatness of this show's first season on DVD and commend its strange blend of ALLY MCBEAL humor and PRACTICE drama to you all without reservation.
LOST (9 PM PST, ABC) "Adrift" Probably my least favorite installment of season two, skip it and watch "Orientation" for the lovely Katey Sagal next week.
HEX (10 PM PST, BBC America) "The Story Begins" Boarding school outcast Cassie discovers a mystical artifact that imbues her with strange powers in this two-year old British series receiving its American debut.
GHOST WHISPERER (8 PM PST, NBC) "Pilot" See how it all began when CBS re-airs the pilot. Personally, I found the pilot much more atmospheric when Paramount hosted a pre-air screening in the cemetery behind the studio...it may also have had something to do with Jennifer Love Hewitt actually being on hand for the event...
DOCTOR WHO (9 PM PST, Sci Fi Channel) "The Parting of the Ways" Last week's cliffhanger found Rose in the clutches of the Daleks and the ninth Doctor making the most impassioned speech of his lifetime (way to go, Christopher Eccleston!). Hang on to your seats, kids, 'cause this one is a hell of a ride and you'll be begging the Sci Fi Channel for season two minutes after it ends.
DOCTOR WHO (7 PM GMT, BBC1) "The Satan Pit" So, it seems like it's the Doctor versus the Devil midway through series two and I must say that last week's installment might have dethroned "The Empty Child" for creepy moments.
THE 4400: UNLOCKING THE SECRETS (7 PM PST, USA) Initially broadcast on the Internet and at odd hours throughout the week, this special will bring viewers up to date for the series' third season premiereor you could pop out and get the first two seasons on DVD like I just did.
THE 4400 (9 PM PST, USA) "New World Part 1" Season three premieres...
THE 4400 (10 PM PST, USA) "New World Part 2" ...and continues well into the next hourgotta love a two hour premiere!
HUFF (10 PM PST, Showtime) "Tapping the Squid" No idea what the title means, but I find it strangely compelling...
