Here we stand at the last day of 2007. It’s been a roller coaster ride of highs and lows, and I hate that we have to say goodbye to the year with the shadow of the strike hanging over us, but such is life.

So, I’ll take this opportunity to look back at the year with our First Annual Jabbie Awards, where we highlight the ups and downs of 2007. Here we go…

Worst New Show (Comedy) - Cavemen

The original pilot was so mind-blowingly, awfully unfunny that it made my eyes bleed. Though it was so poorly received, the powers that be decided, “It must be the…cast. Yeah, yeah that’s what’s wrong with this show.” So they did a bit of recasting and retooling. But it did nothing to save this train wreck. It’s not funny, and not watchable.

Worst New Show (Drama) – Big Shots

My wife loved this show. I didn’t. However, we have so few shows that we can commonly agree on that I’ll sit through a lot of bad stuff just to have something to watch together. So, in that respect, it was tolerable, I guess. In the list of new dramas, though, there wasn’t really a stand-out stinker. Big Shots came across as really smug and full of itself, and that’s a real turn-off.

Most Disappointing New Series – Bionic Woman

I watched every single episode of Bionic Woman. This was the one that people were clamoring for. But it lacked that spark…that hook. It started to show slow signs of improvement toward the end of its run, but too little, too late. This show should have hit the ground running with its butt-kicking heroine, but maintained its slow-burn status for the eight episodes that aired. That wasted potential earns it the title of Most Disappointing New Series.

Break-out Star – Zachary Levi - Chuck

Though Chuck just barely didn’t make it into my list of top shows, Zachary Levi, who plays the show’s title character, is my absolute favorite person to watch on television today. He plays the best geek since Hiro Nakamura, and, as the frontrunner of NBC’s marketing campaign for the show, he has been catapulted into the public eye. Since the show has quite a large range of genres…spy drama, comedy, romance…Levi has proven that he can hold his own in a multitude of roles. I expect to see big things from this geek in the next few years.

Best Late Night Talk Show – Jimmy Kimmel Live!

I was a relative latecomer to the Kimmel experience. I used to prefer Conan, but was…persuaded to start watching Kimmel (my wife said that’s what we would watch). I don’t regret the switch at all. From his quirky sidekicks such as Uncle Frank and Parking Lot Security Guard Guillermo to my most anticipated segment, “This Week in Unnecessary Censorship” (as seen below), it’s the best choice in late-night viewing.

Best Scene of the Year – Alec Baldwin as Red Fox on 30 Rock

I know that I’ve watched this scene several dozen times, and each time I laugh out loud at it. I’ve shown it to friends who have never watched 30 Rock, and this scene alone has gotten them hooked. If there’s ever been a scene that screamed “Golden Globe”, this is it. Absolutely phenomenal. It’s presented below, thanks to the beauty of Hulu, for your consideration.

Best New Show (Comedy) – Samantha Who?

Really, this show completely rides on the shoulders of Christina Applegate. The program itself is nothing revolutionary like, say, Office or 30 Rock, but it is consistently quite funny. I guess it goes to show the lack of comedic offerings this season when I say that the best comedy is just “not bad”.

Best New Show (Drama) - Damages

Damages is one of the greatest shows on television. While there are many different courtroom/legal dramas on now, this show stands head and shoulders above the competition. Every character has some kind of flaw…no one is perfect. And, as if there was really any indecision about the quality of the show, the mind-blowing last two minutes of the finale were enough to cement it in its rightful place as the best drama of the year, and one of the greatest shows to grace our televisions in a long time.

TV Show of the Year – Pushing Daisies

It’s a choice that should surprise no one. I fell head over heels for the Daisies pilot, and it improved all the way through the show’s 9-episode run, with nary a stinker in the bunch. Everything, absolutely everything about this show is phenomenal. The visual style is amazing. The narration is perfection. The music is stirring. The performances, especially Chi McBride and Kristin Chenoweth, are incredible. I’m running out of synonyms for “excellent”, which is exactly what Pushing Daisies is.

In the increasing monotony that the current network television offerings are becoming, Daisies is a breath of fresh air. It’s a no-brainer for, not only best new show, but the best show overall of the year.

———————————

So there you go…my hits and misses of the year. If this writer’s strike goes as long as some are predicting, there may not even be any programming to judge for next year’s Jabbies, so we may resort to “Wheel of Fortune’s Greatest Moments of ‘08!” I kid, I kid…sort of.

What do you think? Anything that I’ve left out or looked over?