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Top TV Picks of 2008

As it's nearly the end of the calendar year (only a few more days to go, in fact), I figured now was as good a time as any to look back at some of the shows that that have entertained and inspired me over the past year. It's been a crazy year, between the WGA strike affecting everything from truncated freshman seasons for Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money , and Chuck , delayed seasons for FX's Damages and HBO's Big Love (and a host of others), and a generally frantic development season that only saw two relative hits emerge this fall. So, what were the favorite series in the Televisionary household? Which left me wanting more... and which ones made me eager to change the channel? Find out after the jump. Best Reality Series: Top Chef The Amazing Race Flipping Out Top Chef remains my number one reality obsession. Bravo and Magical Elves have done themselves proud with this sleek, slick production that makes the art of cooking into a nail-biting competition in which eg

Talk Back: "Skins" Season Finale

I don't know about you but I am going to miss the cast of Skins . You've already read my advance review for the second season finale of Skins , which sees the departure of the entire cast, save Tony's little sister Effy and her friend Pandora , as Season Three will feature new characters, rather than our faves as they embark on new adventures. (And if you haven't read my review, do so now.) Sniffle, sniffle. But I am curious what you thought of last night's heartbreaking season finale of Skins . Did you get choked up when Tony finally told Sid that he loved him best and sobbed as the revolving door came back around empty? Did you cheer when Anwar accepted Maxxie's invitation to go to London and turned his back on manipulative and sociopathic opportunist Sketch? Did you realize just how much you loved Jal when she gave a gut-wrenching speech at Chris' funeral? And cheer when those fireworks went off? Talk back here. Skins launches its third season in the UK

Things Fall Apart: An Early Look at the "Skins" Season Two Finale

It was with an extremely heavy heart that I sat down to watch the season finale of British teen series, Skins , which airs this Sunday at 10 pm ET/PT on BBC America. After the last episode, which saw the death of one of the main characters and the disappearance of another, I didn't think that the writers of this brilliant and evocative series could twist the knife any deeper and yet after watching next week's season finale, my jaw hit the floor. It wasn't a shocking plot twist that made me so emotional about the end of Skins ' second season but rather the naturalistic way which with the writers dealt with each of the characters going their separate ways. US series--especially teen dramas--could learn a hell of a lot from Skins , especially the producers' decision to push our beloved characters out the door and onto new (unseen) adventures while replenishing the cast with a new batch of characters, including Tony's sister Effy . That, after all, is the nature of

Effy is Artful: Falling Apart and Coming Together on "Skins"

Just a few quick words about this week's episode of Skins , which focused on Tony's younger sister Effy, she of the few words, kohl-rimmed eyes, and old soul who will be the focal character of Season Three of Skins , kicking off early next year in the UK . Last night's episode of Skins ("Effy") also introduced the new character of Pandora (Lisa Backwell)--who will also appear in the third season of the hit series, alongside Effy (Kaya Scodelario)--and pushed the series' focus onto Effy Stonem, who in true Effy-fashion managed in the course of about a day to heal three fractured relationships, clean up her family's home (and get her mother Anthea into full Sleeping Beauty mode for her father's surprise arrival), and get Tony's watch fixed and inscribed for Michelle... all seemingly without blinking an eye or breaking a sweat. It would seem that Effy has truly inherited her older brother's gift of manipulation but without its more Svengali-like

New Cast Announced for Season Three of "Skins"

While we here in the States are still in the midst of Skins ' second season, the UK is gearing up for the January launch of Season Three, which will--as promised--feature a virtually whole new cast. So say good-bye to Tony, Michelle, Sid, Cassie, Chris, and the rest while you still can, because there are some new kids on the block, as it were. E4 has announced the cast for Season Three of Skins . Not unsurprisingly, it will feature supporting character Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario), best known as Tony's wily if often mute younger sister. Also on tap for the third season: Effy's wayward best friend Pandora (Lisa Backwell), whose own spacey gregariousness contrasts sharply with Effy's quiet ways. New characters for Season Three will include twins Katie and Emily struggling in different directions, idealistic and politically-minded Naomi, as well as charismatic nutcase leader Cook (Jack O'Connell), clearly filling the void left behind by Season One's manipulative T

Single White Female: Sketch Paints a Convincing Portrait of a Serial Killer in the Making on "Skins"

Once again, Skins has managed to completely surprise me. Revealing just who has been stalking Maxxie in this week's episode ("Sketch"), Skins took what could have been a humdrum plot about a girl having a crush on gay Maxxie and transformed it into a full-on psychotic episode in which said girl, Lucy (a.k.a. Sketch) not only binds her breasts to be more like a boy (and decorates her bedroom with spy shots of Maxxie) but constructs an elaborate fantasy world for her handicapped, reclusive mother in which she and Maxxie are dating. If that weren't enough, Sketch embarks on a series of plots to engineer her way into the school play ( Osama!: The Musical , no less) so that she can star opposite Maxxie and kiss him on stage. Her idea is that Maxxie will realize that he does love her as soon as their lips meet. Um, not quite. In order to get her way, Sketch tries to convince lecherous drama teacher Bruce to cast her as the female lead and boot Michelle from the role. When

Falling Apart and Falling Together on "Skins"

OMG! Maxxie's dad is Bill Bailey? How frakking cool was it that we learned on last night's episode of Skins ("Tony and Maxxie")--which kicked off Season Two of the British import on BBC America--that Maxxie's dad was none other than famed British comedian Bill Bailey ( Black Books, Hot Fuzz )? While those reveals weren't the focus of the episode (though pretty bloody awesome nonetheless), Bailey's Walter and Maxxie had a fantastic storyline in which he put his foot down about Maxxie dropping out of college to focus on his dancing. While most series would have made the arc about Walter reacting to his son's homosexuality, Skins deftly reinvigorated a father/son storyline with shades of regret, not about his son's sexual orientation, but about the fact that Walter wanted Maxxie to become a builder so he wouldn't lose him as he loves him so much. All that, seeing Bill Bailey do a country line dance with a dog, and Keeping Up Appearances ' Ge

Romantic Entanglements and Resolutions on the Season Finale of "Skins"

How fantastic was last night's season finale of Skins on BBC America? Managing to tie up several loose plot threads--from the fallout between Maxxie and Anwar to Sid and Cassie's star-crossed romance, to Tony and Michelle finally reconciling--the episode presented one of the most taut, compelling hours on recent television and did so without more than two adult characters. But lest you be worried that you won't be able to get your Skins fix for a while, fret not: BBC America is kicking off Season Two of this highly addictive teen drama next week, so we've got another ten episodes or so to look forward to. My heart melted when Sid finally caught up with Cassie high above the city and their entire exchange--after a day of searching for another, poetic notes, and, well, incarceration at a mental facility--consisted of them taking one another's hands and saying simply, "Hi." I've been avoiding spoilers at all costs so I don't know what happens to Cas

From Russia With Love: "Skins" School Trip

Is it just me or is Tony turning out to be a total sociopath? I'm speaking, of course, of last night's episode of Skins ("Maxxie and Anwar"), which saw the kids traveling to Russia as part of their school history coursework, only to encounter corruption, violence, and the savagery of their Russian jailer/caretaker, prone to serving up gruel (with a garnish of parsley) and hosing down the students each morning. Having the kids break out of their everyday lives to take this bizarro trip eastward was the perfect vehicle to bring about some major changes to the Skins status quo: best friends Maxxie and Anwar nearly come to blows during an ideological discussion in which Muslim Anwar tells gay Max that he thinks that homosexuality is wrong; teacher Tom hits on Angie (after forcing her to share a room with him)... which in turn leads Chris and Angie to consummate their taboo relationship not once but twice; Anwar loses his virginity; Sid finds himself trapped in a house w

Channel Surfing: NBC Orders More "Chuck," New Comedy Pilot from Creators of "Back to You," Roerig Joins "Friday Night Lights," and More

Good morning and welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing. Thanks to all for the birthday wishes both via email and Facebook (I had a wonderful birthday dinner at Comme Ca and saw Ali Larter and Amy Smart); it was definitely a birthday to remember. NBC has gone ahead and ordered the back nine episodes of action-comedy series Chuck a month before the start of its sophomore season. As all Chuck fans know, the first season of the genre-busting series was cut short by the writers strike last season and the Peacock only aired 13 episodes. Series co-creator Josh Schwartz called the news "unexpected" and went to say, "It's an incredible show of faith by NBC and so amazingly nice to get based on the work alone." I couldn't have put it better myself and am pleased as punch that Chuck will get to air 22 episodes this year. Happy days! Chuck returns to the airwaves September 29th. ( Variety ) The Peacock also ordered a fourth season of reality competit

Talk Back: BBC America's "Skins"

Given as enamored as I am of BBC America's latest series offering, Skins , I am curious to know what those of you who tuned in thought of the series' first two episodes, which aired back-to-back last night on BBC America. If you haven't read my original advance review of Skins ' first three episodes , click here to read about a series that I described as "absolutely gripping, funny, and emotionally resonant" and "filled to the rafters with quirky and complex characters, all of whom seem shockingly real." If you tuned in last night, what did you like best about Skins ? (Or conversely, what didn't you like?) Which characters were the best drawn and which ones were (for now, anyway) lacking in definition? And what did you think about both the premiere episode's cliffhanger (you know which one I mean) and the Cassie storyline? Talk back here. What's On Tonight 8 pm: The Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); Summer Olympics (NBC); Goss

From Across the Pond: BBC America's "Skins"

I was a little skeptical going into Skins . After all, it's a teen-centric series featuring real teens who actually look like they're the age group they're playing (spots and all) and, let's be honest, I don't really fit into their target demographic anymore. How wrong I was. Skins , which launches on Sunday on BBC America (after a breakout run on UK network Channel 4), was absolutely gripping, funny, and emotionally resonant, not to mention filled to the rafters with quirky and complex characters, all of whom seem shockingly real. I only meant to watch the first of the three episodes submitted by the network for review but found myself shaking with anticipation and ended up watching all three installments in one go. I'm extremely glad that I stuck around after the slightly shaking beginning which seemed to focus a little too much on popular Tony ( About a Boy 's Nicholas Hoult), whom I found to be a far less interesting character than the rest of his peers.