A Look Back at 2009 (Part 1)

It’s that time of year again: the time to look back on the year that was by making up lists of the best and worst of the television season. The sections that follow will highlight the year that was in TV (and just a little bit of movies) for 2009.

Before I begin the highlights sections, I want to focus, briefly, on what I believe will become regular trends in television in the not-too-distant future.

1. Web-series will become the norm much like network TV;
2. Most, if not all, networks will shorten their seasons to anywhere between 6 to 13 episodes (much like how the UK series run on the BBC);
3. Networks sharing timeslots with multiple series will become the norm not the exception;
4. With the recent purchase of NBC by Comcast and the resounding rumor of the network becoming extinct, this trend could very well be more the norm at other major networks as well;
5. The major networks will start to air their major programming at multiple times much like the cable networks; and,
6. The new season (2010-2011) will reflect more female-led TV shows (again) due much in part to the success of the new CBS series The Good Wife.

One more thing, any and all errors within this article series are mine and mine alone. I apologize in advance for any omissions, spelling errors or oversights. I, however, don’t apologize for any of the choices I made in the various sections. And now, here are the highlights sections for your enjoyment!

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MEMORABLE TV MOMENTS:

Every season there are special moments from television series that are moving, shocking, heartbreaking and entertaining. The following monthly events may not reflect everyone’s ideals of the most memorable (or not so memorable) TV moments, but they were to me.

January:
Who did Ellen shoot in the Damages season premiere
The Stargate Atlatnis series finale that brought all of them back to Earth
Learning that Ellen Tigh is one of the final 5 Cylons on Battlestar Galactica
Davis turning into Doomsday on Smallville
Gaeta and Zarek committing mutiny on Battlestar Galactica

February:
Learning the back story of how the survivors got off the island on Lost
Zarek and Gaeta being executed for mutiny on Battlestar Galactica
The Gravedigger taking Booth hostage on Bones
Watching (fictious band) Sebastian Grace and the Electric Lizards perform on Life on Mars
Watching the Friday the 13th episode of Psych
Seeing the survivors go back to the island on Lost
Brenda and Fritz getting married on The Closer

March:
Robert having a heart attack on the same day as their surrogate gives birth to his and Kitty’s baby on Brothers & Sisters
Izzie admitting her health problems to Cristina on Grey’s Anatomy
Bill sacrificing himself on 24
The debut of Castle
The unresolved cliffhanger series finale of Kyle XY
The 150,000 years leap in the series finale of Battlestar Galactica
Sayid shooting young Ben on Lost
Owen choking Cristina on Grey’s Anatomy

April:
Kate telling Claire’s mother the truth about Aaron on Lost
The Winchester brothers learning about the Supernatural paperback books on Supernatural
Derek (Brian Austin Green) being killed on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Sarah finding Chuck’s dad on Chuck
Series finale of Life, which actually offered some closure to the storylines
The unresolved cliffhanger series finale for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Learning about “The Morgan” (a girly-pose used as protection for the face and groin) created by Morgan on Chuck
Lois posing as “Stiletto” (costume and all) on Smallville
The introduction of Sam and Dean’s half brother on Supernatural
Learning Sarah is pregnant to Michael in Prison Break
Captain Awesome and Ellie getting a beach wedding from Chuck and Chuck getting Intersect 2.0 implanted in his brain on the season finale of Chuck
Lost has its 100th episode

May:
Learning the identity of “Alpha” on Dollhouse
Justin proposing to Rebecca on Brothers & Sisters
Oliver admitting to Clark that he killed Lex on Smallville
The wedding day for Meredith and Derek that ends up being for Izzie and Alex instead on Grey’s Anatomy
Learning that Booth has a brain tumor on Bones
Castle digging up information on Beckett’s mother’s murder on Castle
The bizarre dream Booth has while he’s in a coma with Brennan reading her latest book to him on Bones
The shocking reveals on the season finale of Lost
Izzie surviving surgery, then crashing, and learning the bus victim was actually George on the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy
Heartbreaking series finale of Prison Break
Chloe splitting Davis from Doomsday, only to witness him kill Jimmy and vice versa in a stunning scene on Smallville
Sam killing Lilith, Dean killing Ruby and Lucifer rising from hell in the season finale of Supernatural
Who does Mike marry on the Desperate Housewives season finale
Ziva leaving the team and ending up as a beaten hostage in Somalia in the season finale of NCIS
The early introduction to Glee

June:
Allison in coma in season finale of Medium
The debut of Royal Pains on the USA Network
The bridge maker blowing himself up in front of Mary and Marshall on In Plain Sight
The Pushing Daisies series finale
The new version of Cupid debuting yet failing again
Brandi being arrested while Mary works extremely hard to save her on In Plain Sight

July:
The debut of Warehouse 13 on Syfy
Eureka returning with Jack out of a job and “Sheriff Andy” (a robot) on duty
The debut of Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime
Mary saying yes to Raff’s proposal after all on In Plain Sight

August:
Michael killing Strickler on the Burn Notice season finale
Henry’s flying machine from 20 years in the past resurfacing on Earth in Eureka
Being Human being introduced to American audiences
Mary being critically injured in the season finale of In Plain Sight
Allison having a baby girl on Eureka

September:
Sophie leaving the team on Leverage
Learning Dean is Archangel Michael’s vessel to battle Lucifer, and learning Sam is supposed to be the vessel for Lucifer on Supernatural
The debut of The Vampire Diaries on The CW
Terri lying about being pregnant to husband Will on Glee
Zoe leaving for school on Eureka
Booth recovering from surgery but not quite himself on Bones
The 1940’s story on Army Wives
The introduction of the “carnies” on Heroes
Artie being killed (or was he?) on the cliffhanger season finale of Warehouse 13
The rescue mission to save Ziva by McGee, Tony and Gibbs in the season premiere of NCIS
The season premiere of Smallville
George dying and Izzie surviving in the season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy
Kitty discovering a lump in her throat then being diagnosed with cancer on Brothers & Sisters

October:
Dean being sent to 2014 by angel Zachariah where zombies reign on Supernatural
The debut of Stargate Universe on Syfy
Bonnie’s real witch powers starting to immerge on The Vampire Diaries
Ashley being changed by the Kabal into the ultimate killing machine and perishing in the two-part season premiere of Sanctuary
Jane risking her job to expose a dirty deed by a client and then her husband showing up in the season finale of Drop Dead Diva
The possibility of Jeremy shooting himself in the cliffhanger season finale of Army Wives
Learning Quinn is pregnant to Puck (not Finn) on Glee
The 1864 flashback of Stefan, Damon and Katherine and Damon turning Vicki into a vampire on The Vampire Diaries
Shawn actually ending up in some real trouble in the fall finale of Psych
The merger with Mercy West Hospital on Grey’s Anatomy
Emma’s wedding dress scene on Glee
The attack on the agents in DC and on Janis in LA on FlashForward
The inadvertently overlooked patient dying, which sets up a ring-around-the-roses interrogation of the staff on Grey’s Anatomy
The flashback episode to Sierra’s real life and how she came to be in the house on Dollhouse
The great series premiere of White Collar on USA Network
Stefan being forced to kill Vicki in order to save Elena and Jeremy on The Vampire Diaries
Izzie disappearing after being terminated from her job at the hospital on Grey’s Anatomy
The Night of Living Dead episode on Medium
Clark finally kissing Lois on Smallville

November:
The series premiere of V: They arrive
The Trickster trapping the Winchester brothers in various TV shows and the ridiculously funny opening sequence on Supernatual
Learning Rebecca is pregnant to Justin on Brothers & Sisters
Bonnie’s ancestor take her over to stop Damon on The Vampire Diaries
Watching the Supernatural convention on Supernatural
The final 10 minutes of the fall finale of The Vampire Diaires
Ellen and Jo dying in order to save Sam and Dean on Supernatural
The Senator (Alexis Denisof) being revealed as a Doll on Dollhouse
Will learning about Terri’s fake pregnancy on Glee

December:
Learning Peter actually has Kate in the fall finale of White Collar
The fall finale of Glee
Alpha coming back to wreck havoc on Dollhouse
Kitty collapsing at Justin and Rebecca’s wedding on Brothers & Sisters

I do welcome your comments on what you thought were the most memorable (or not so memorable) moments in TV in 2009.

NOTE: If you would like to read my full observations and the full list of memorable TV moments, please visit the following URLS: http://rueben901.livejournal.com/166702.html and http://rueben901.livejournal.com/166489.html.