by Neena Louise
Worst Actress
Stana Katic, "Kate Beckett", Castle
For the third year in a row. Katic had just two expressions: blank and pissed-off. Combine that with the zero chemistry between her and co-star Nathan Fillion, and she just has to go.
Best Actress
Cloris Leachman, "Maw Maw", Raising Hope
Though the entire cast was outstanding, Leachman’s fearless performances repeatedly stole the show.
Most Overrated Female
Julianna Margulies, "Alicia Florrick", The Good Wife
Margulies is a very good actress, but her turn in The Good Wife didn’t deserve the gushing she received.
Most Overlooked Female
Debra Jo Rupp, "Vicky Putney", Better With You
The show was stupid and unfunny, but Rupp made it worth tuning in. Almost.
Worst Actor
Justin Bieber, "Jason McCann", CSI
Bieber’s guest role on CSI had me thinking one thing: "He can’t act, either."
Best Actor
Jim Parsons, "Sheldon Cooper", The Big Bang Theory
Four seasons in and "Sheldon" should have become tiresome, but Parsons’ spot-on delivery kept me wanting more.
Most Overrated Male
Alex O’Loughlin, "Steve McGarrett", Hawaii 5-0
O’Loughlin’s plank-faced performance did not deserve the accolades he got.
Most Overlooked Male
Ben Rappaport, "Todd Dempsy", Outsourced
Rappaport’s sweet portrayal of "Todd" was the best thing about this now-cancelled show.
Worst-Dressed Female
"Gloria Delgado-Pritchett", Sofía Vergara, Modern Family
Ok, we get it already: Vergara is sexy and has big boobs.
Best-Dressed Female
"Julia Braverman-Graham", Erika Christensen, Parenthood
Dressed casually, for the office or all dolled up, Christensen always looked great.
Worst-Dressed Male
"Charlie Harper", Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
The silly bowling-shirt-and-shorts ensemble was old and tired 5 seasons ago. It’ll be interesting to see how they dress Sheen’s replacement, Ashton Kutcher.
Best-Dressed Male
"Patrick Jane", Simon Baker, The Mentalist
More men should wear three-piece suits.
Worst TV Mom
"Jules Cobb", Courtney Cox, Cougar Town
So cloyingly needy, she wouldn’t let her grown son be grown.
Best TV Mom
"Frankie Heck", Patricia Heaton, The Middle
An honest depiction of a mother, with all her flaws and short-comings. Finally.
Worst TV Dad
"Adam Braverman", Peter Krause, Parenthood
He screamed in frustration at his autistic son, ordered his daughter not to see a boy, gave both his daughter and brother the silent treatment when they disappointed him and barked orders at his wife. Father of the year, he wasn’t.
Best TV Dad
"Jimmy Chance", Lucas Neff, Raising Hope
Despite his youth and nutty family, "Jimmy" always put his baby first.
Worst TV Kid
"Sydney Graham", Savannah Paige Rae, Parenthood
"Spoiled brat" doesn’t even begin to describe this obnoxious kid.
Best TV Kid
"Sue Heck", Eden Sher, The Middle
Delightfully oblivious to her extreme nerdiness.
Least Likable Character on a Show
"Megan Hunt", Dana Delany, Body of Proof
At first, I didn’t know if you were supposed to sympathize with her, or hate her guts. Guess which one won out?
Most Likable Character on a Show
"Patrick Jane", Simon Baker, The Mentalist
That winning smile. Those puppy-dog eyes. What’s not to like?
Worst Drama
Off the Map
Basically Grey’s Anatomy in the Jungle. And Grey’s Anatomy was better, which gives you an idea of the quality of this piece of crap.
Best Drama
The Mentalist
One of only a very few shows this season that was a must-watch.
Worst Sitcom
Traffic Light
There wasn’t a single redeeming quality in this unfunny supposed sitcom.
Best Sitcom
Raising Hope
Decidedly un-PC, but most definitely hilarious.
Worst SciFi
V
Why this embarrassingly silly show made a reappearance mid-season is completely beyond me.
Best SciFi
Fringe
Though it got a little hard to follow, it was still leaps and bounds better than any other SciFi offered on network TV.
Worst Animated Series
The Cleveland Show
Best Animated Series
The Simpsons
Most Overrated Series
The Good Wife
Nowhere near as brilliant as so many seemed to think. Rather average, actually.
Most Overlooked Series
The Defenders
Stellar, it wasn’t, but this now-cancelled series was decent enough – and a good deal better than many that were renewed.
Worst Writing
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Often laughably stupid, this spin-off had last year’s winner (its parent show Criminal Minds) beat when it came to eye-rollingly bad dialogue.
Best Writing
How I Met Your Mother
I don’t like this show very much, but it nevertheless had some of the best lines.
Worst Host/Narrator
K.C. Clyde, Secret Millionaire
Sounding like a stoner with a bad cold, Clyde’s voiceover came close to making Millionaire unwatchable.
Best Hosts/Narrators
John Henson and John Anderson, Wipeout
They played off each other perfectly, and had some of the funniest descriptions of the weirdo freaks called contestants.
Worst Newscaster/Reporter
Scott Pelley, CBS Evening News
There’s something off-putting about Pelley. Not a good choice for Katie Couric’s replacement.
Best Newscaster/Reporter
John Quiñones, Primetime: What Would You Do?, other ABC reports
Always managing to remain impartial, Quiñones pointed out the outrageousness of some situations with grace.
Worst News Magazine
20/20
For the first time ever, I don’t think I watched a single episode of 20/20 all the way through. I’d watch the teasers – all of which insisted they were "special" episodes – then quickly turned the channel.
Best News Magazine
Primetime: What Would You Do?
Always thought-provoking and had me constantly asking myself "what would I do?".
Worst Reality Show Series
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
Though his intentions were good (and the L.A. school board’s steadfast refusal to cooperate made me wonder what they had to hide), Oliver’s lecturing, holier-than-thou, bash-you-over-the-head approach would make anyone turn a deaf ear.
Best Reality Show Series
Undercover Boss
It sometimes strayed into eye-rollingly gaggable territory, but still managed to entertain. I think every CEO should get in the trenches with their front-line workers.
Worst Reality Game/Contest
Big Brother
Never what one would call a quality show, this declines into more of an idiotic jigglefest with even more idiotic contestants every season.
Best Reality Game/Contest
The Amazing Race
As long as this show is on, it will probably win this category. No other reality game can beat it.
Worst Reality Villain
Star Jones, Celebrity Apprentice
I always knew she was obnoxious, but I never realized just how thoroughly rude, full of herself and dishonest she was.
Best Reality Villain
Again this season, there weren’t any "best" villains. The people you disliked were either just [badly] playing a role or were so profoundly stupid, you couldn’t bring yourself to dislike them.
Worst Game Show
Minute to Win It
It never fails to boggle my mind how much people are willing to humiliate themselves on national television for money.
Best Game Show
Jeopardy
Worst Score
Hawaii Five-0
The dramatic drama of the overly-dramatic music was cheesy and groan-inducing.
Best Score
So You Think You Can Dance
Rarely did an episode go by that I didn’t download a tune or two.
Worst Theme Music
Mr. Sunshine
Drunken frat boys slurring out three whole words in what I guess could be called singing. The saddest part is that this was the best thing about the show.
Best Theme Music
The Amazing Race
Race‘s theme has the inherent ability to get stuck in your head.
Worst Newcomer (that hasn’t been cancelled)
Blue Bloods
Yawwwwwwwwn.
Best Newcomer (that hasn’t been cancelled)
Raising Hope
Sometimes very silly, but it never failed to invoke belly laughs.
Biggest Decline in Quality
Criminal Minds
Maybe its spinoff sucked all the life of out it, but whatever it was, Criminal Minds was almost painful to watch this season.
Most Improved in Quality
The Oprah Winfrey Show
Because it’s off the air! Gone! Hallelujah and a good, good riddance!
Best Network
CBS
For having the most view-worthy sitcoms and dramas.
Worst Network
NBC
For…well, being NBC.
Worst Commercial
Old Navy "Getaway Dresses"
Old Navy has always had some of the worst commercials and this one is no exception.
Best Commercial
Volkswagen Passat "The Force"
Never fails to make me laugh.
Biggest Stinker of the Season
The Paul Reiser Show
Yanked after just 2 episodes, it was on 2 episodes too long.
Trend of the Year
The "hours/days/weeks earlier" thing
Show after show started with some nonsensical scene from either the middle or end of the episode, then went to so many hours/days/weeks earlier to "start" the show. I’ve never seen so many series do this. I hope to never see it again.
Least Magical Moments
The whole "Doyle/Prentiss" (Timothy V. Murphy/Paget Brewster) thing on Criminal Minds
The entire boring plotline seemed to just never end, and invoked either "oh, whatever" or "why aren’t you telling your team? ". I was glad when "Prentiss" was killed off, even though she wasn’t, really. Apparently she’ll be back.
Most Magical Moment
Justin Bieber getting shot on CSI
I enjoyed that very much, despite the fact it was one of the worst-acted death scenes ever. I enjoyed TMZ gleefully repeating it over and over again almost as much.
About Michael