SEASON IN REVIEW: 2012-13 Miscellaneous Awards

On this final day of the season, I am handing out some miscellaneous awards to shows from the season as I did last year and in 2011!

Just a side note, this summer will be quiet on the blog as every summer is but I will continue to post the rundown, ratings recaps, and pilot reviews of unscripted shows. They just won't be as detailed as they are during the season and I won't have the random other features.

BEST RETURNING COMEDY - New Girl (FOX)
The new comedies were very disappointing this year but returning comedies had a nice season. From the always reliable Modern Family and The Middle to the (somewhat) rebounding The Office to the stellar Parks and Recreation. But my favorite returning comedy was season two of New Girl. The hip comedy followed up a strong first season with an even better second season. The cast gels together so nicely and it is one of TV's best ensembles right now. The decision to hook up Jess and Nick (Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson) was a risky one but it has paid off as it has given the storyline a place to go. I hope they go more the way of Ross and Rachel and have them apart then together then apart then together. That works better than the Jim and Pam route so comedies can stay fresh. New Girl had many brilliant episodes this year. It is a show for 20-somethings as evidenced by its incredibly young skew. It is a great product of the current era and I'm excited to see what lies ahead.
The Runners-Up: Parks and Recreation (NBC), The Middle (ABC)

BEST RETURNING DRAMA - Scandal (ABC) - Hands down, the most exciting hour on TV every week was ABC Thursday at 10pm. Scandal followed up a short but promising first season with a lights-out, wild ride of a second season. If you're a fan of the show and you think back to the sheer number of things that happened this season, it's ridiculous. The show had more plot twists and surprises this season than most dramas do in 4-5 years. The show very wisely promoted Bellamy Young and Joshua Malina to series regulars and had some excellent guest appearances from actors such as Scott Foley and Joe Morton. But the center of this show is Kerry Washington who is beyond brilliant as the headstrong yet self-destructive Olivia Pope. This show revolves around Washington and she heightens every scene she's in whether its a romantic scene with Fitz, the President (Tony Goldwyn) or going to battle with her team of gladiators. Scandal was incredibly fast-paced and hard to figure out. It took things to places you thought were not possible (the president murders a Supreme Court Justice? What?!). It was riveting TV and I can't believe I have to wait all summer to see what happens next.
The Runner-Up: Person of Interest (CBS)

BEST SEASON FINALE - The Office (NBC) - Well this is sort of cheating because it was a series finale but The Office is well deserving of this honor after its sweet ending that struck the exact right tone. It was satisfying for longtime fans as many, including me, hoped it would after some real up and down seasons. The first half of the episode dragged a little bit but everything turned for the better when Steve Carell showed up to reprise his iconic Michael Scott role even if it was just for two lines. The show then soared to the end and its final scene in the office had some poignant reflections on life at a midsize paper company and all the show has meant to the characters, and viewers, over nine seasons.
The Runners-Up: Scandal (ABC), The Following (FOX)

THE "BIGGEST DOWNFALL" AWARD - Revenge (ABC) - At the end of last season, I was more excited about Revenge than Scandal. What a difference a season makes. Revenge returned this fall to lots of fanfare but it was quickly apparent that the show was not going to be able to recapture the magic of season one. The show got bogged down in an overly complicated storyline with unnecessary characters. The problem is that the plot for this show was always too thin to be a long-running series. The first glimpses were when they didn't kill Daniel off at midseason last year and now it has become glaringly obvious. I finally gave up on this show in March which is shocking because I was its number one fan. But it has been a long decline because even the second half of season one wasn't as good as the first half. It just couldn't sustain itself and I shudder to think what season three will look like.

THE "STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH" AWARD - Smash (NBC) - OK so Smash was better in Season 2. They got rid of some of the worst characters (Ellis, Dev, Frank, and especially Leo) and they added an interesting storyline with a second musical. They also had their best episode since the pilot centered on the night Bombshell opened. That's the good news. The bad news is it just didn't do enough to become a great show meaning in two seasons, despite a retooling, it just couldn't live up to its promise and pedigree which was very disappointing. The show brought on Jeremy Jordan as Jimmy. Though he was a gifted performer, his character was exceedingly annoying and the show still clung to cliches and tepid writing. This show just frustrates me because it couldn't have been so good and it wasn't. Yet I have continued to watch it. Why? I don't know. But it only has two episodes left so I'm going to stick it out.

THE "BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT" AWARD - Vegas (CBS) - Vegas was the drama I was most excited about heading into the season. It had a great cast and I love period dramas - this was mobsters vs. the old west in 1960s Las Vegas. It sounds completely up my alley. Yet I gave up on it after about ten episodes because it just wasn't interesting. It was a mundane case-of-the-week show and didn't seem to have a clear direction. It also didn't seem to know what to do with the talents of Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis. Period dramas can be great but after this and two failures last season (The Playboy Club, Pan Am), I think networks will be more gun shy.

THE "LAST LAUGH" AWARD - The Neighbors (ABC) - This is not a comment on the quality of The Neighbors. I only watched the series premiere and hated it and never came back. But you have to admit, when ABC's schedule came out last May, you thought The Neighbors was sure to be an early cancellation. Instead it's coming back for a second season and gets the last laugh against the many critics and eye-rollers connected to the show. No it wasn't a breakout hit but it beat fellow bubble show How to Live with Your Parents for a spot on the fall schedule. That's an impressive feat for a show that many thought might not make it past the 2012 calendar year.