Joan of Arcadia: Season 1
Starring: Amber Tamblyn, Jason Ritter, Mary Steenburgen, Joe Mantegna, Michael Welch, Chris Marquette, Becky Wahlstrom
Created By: Barbara Hall
Grade: B+
Joan of Arcadia is a series I have been meaning to see for a long time. It’s incredible ensemble cast is really what brought my attention to it. Amber Tamblyn is one of the finest young actresses today. Her presence bursts through the screen and allows the audience to relate and feel through her character fully. Tamblyn alongside the equally talented, Jason Ritter and Mary Steenburgen, brings out the complex and engaging relationships of this family. Joan of Arcadia is an incredibly intelligent, emotionally honest, and very realistic show about the difficulties of being human, questioning of faith, and what the significance of everything in life is. Read the full review.
Kyle XY: Season 2
Starring: Matt Dallas, April Matson, Chris Olivero, Kirsten Prout Created By: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber
Grade: B+
Kyle XY is one of ABC Family’s best shows to date. It is an intriguing mix of mystery of a corrupted conspiracy and teen/family drama. . Kyle XY is an extremely interesting show that is always going in a new direction with plenty of twists, catching you off guard. It takes its’ unique premise and utilizes youthful insight, great suspense, and an unraveling criminal plotting. The characters are genuine, well developed, and a lot of fun to watch. Kyle XY is a compelling, fresh show with enjoyable characters and exciting storylines. Read the full review.
My Name is Earl: Season 2
Starring: Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly
Created By: Gregory Thomas Garcia
Grade: A
The karma and moralistic motivated, My Name is Earl, taking place in a small simple town in Camden county, manages to seem even funnier and fresher in its sophomore season. A few of the episodes here show uniqueness and an ironic heart with the offbeat tone. There really is no other show like My Name is Earl. This season of My Name is Earl is very concentrated on his list and doing right by everyone, but it switches directions and starts to be more about him and the person he wants to be in the future and the life he wants to have. Read the full review.
Party Down: Season 1
Starring: Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Ken Marino, Ryan Hansen, Jane Lynch, Martin Starr
Created By: John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, Paul Rudd, Rob Thomas
Grade: B+
Creator of Veronica Mars, Rob Thomas, teams up with “Mars” producers, John Enbom and Dan Etheridge along with Paul Rudd who co-starred on the show in its’ final season. It’s a very laid back and wildly hilarious show with fun characters and a new atmosphere every week. It has a similar feel to The Office, set in the workplace with an idiotic but lovable boss. The goof offs are more concerned about their workplace romance than their actual work and the nerdy guy vs. the good looking guy dynamic is an ongoing and wildly entertaining rivalry. Read the full review.
Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series
Starring: Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Samm Levine, Martin Starr, Jason Segel, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Busy Phillips
Creator: Paul Fig
Grade: A+
Freaks and Geeks is an incredible TV show with outstanding, rising talent that unfortunately got cancelled prematurely. All of the episodes of the first season weren’t even broadcasted on TV, which is mind-boggling. It is a daring show that took a chance. It focuses on the people that normally wouldn’t get recognition; the misfits. Freaks and Geeks depicts high school with great honesty. It has excellent character development and acting. The script is wickedly funny through its uniqueness yet also deals with so many universal issues in life, especially those for teens. Read the full review.
Undeclared: The Complete Series
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Carla Gallo, Charlie Hannon, Monica Keena, Seth Rogen, Timm Sharp, Jason Segel
Created By: Judd Apatow
Grade: B+
Freaks and Geeks still stands out as one of the better high school depictions on television. It showed the hardships in trying to figure out where you fit in and who you really are. Many of the character’s feared the future, but among the fear were eager to defy the expectations set for them. Undeclared covers the next step, centering on college life. The show still has many youthful elements, brought out wonderfully by the top notch writing, likeable characters, and great acting including those who have become some of Apatow’s go to guys. Read the full review.
One Tree Hill: The Complete Series
Starring: Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, Bethany Joy Lenz, Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush, Paul Johansson
Created By: Mark Schwahn
I have just completed One Tree Hill, the last season; the series in its entirety. I will never see these characters again. I have been with some of them for nearly a decade. I grew with them since I was in high school to adulthood, through my own heartbreak and passion, my own struggles and success, sadness and joy; a life of my own, but mirroring all that Mark Schwahn created and the show embodied and maintained in this series. It’s over. And I’m strangely okay with this. The series ended strong and without realizing it was the last episode at first (the last season only has 13 episodes for its 22+ episode norm per season), it felt right. I didn’t want anything to touch or tarnish this slice of perfection that the last episode portrayed with such understanding. Read the full review.
