TV in the 2000s or How Let's name ABND's Best Drama Actors/Actresses

Best Performances (TV Drama)

Narrowing the performance/actor categories was HARD. But I went with two things:

1. Do I like the actor/actress?

2. Do I like the performance?

Okay, maybe that didn't help 'em narrow them down at all. But I do have a crazy math system in the back of my head. Just don't make me explain it to cause I'm sure it would blow you away with its awesome and accurateness.

Best Drama Actor

What is it about male actors that keeps me from being wholly invested in them and prevents me from giving great praise to their work? I was planning on writing these men up but maybe it's the end-of-year fatigue coupled with the amount of schoolwork I have but I think they'll speak for themselves.

Jon Hamm - Don Draper (Mad Men)

"You are the product. You feeling something. That's what sells. Not them. Not sex. They can't do what we do and they hate us for it."

Peter Krause - Nate Fisher (Six Feet Under)

"None of us know how long we've got. Which is why we have to make each day matter."

Michael C Hall - David Fisher (Six Feet Under)/ Dexter Morgan (Dexter)

"Yeah, I'll be the strong one, the stable one, the dependable one, because that's what I do. And everyone around me will fall apart. 'Cause that's what they do." - David

"Viva Miami" - Dexter

Hugh Laurie - Dr Gregory House (House)

"It's Never Lupus!"

Victor Garber - Jack Bristow (Alias)

"Sydney, get in. Get in now... you can be stubborn later."

Runners up:

What would Battlestar Galactica have been without Edward James Olmos' raspy, Bale-doing-Batman voice and stern command? What would Big Love have been without its center piece in the form of Bill Paxton? Or, what would Joss's Angel had been without its leading cast member (David Boreanaz, now a staple at Fox's Bones)? Answer: not as good a show as they were.

Best Drama Actress

The ladies though, I couldn't leave without some commentary. Brief as it may be:

Mary McDonnell - President Laura Roslin (Battlestar Galactica)

"I won't compromise the success of this operation or the safety of this fleet to indulge the neediness of 12 perpetually unhappy representatives. I can't."

What to say about one of the most complex female political figures to grace TV this past decade? The younger cast may have given us plenty of eye candy (Tricia, Katee, Tammoh, Jamie) but it was truly in the duo of Edward James-Olmos and Mary McDonnell, that BSG soared for me. In Laura Roslin - a minister of Education thrust into the role of president after humankind is annihilated, McDonnell gave us a towering presence from the miniseries all the way to the end, when we finally saw her experience pure happiness. Here was a woman who knew what was best for humanity and in many odd ways managed to make me support and believe in the powers of dictatorship, torture, as well as ruthless political strategy without ever making me blink or doubt her. That alone was a feat in itself. The fact that despite this resolute nature of her was still imbued with tenderness and vulnerability (not only in the form of her illness but in her romantic engagement with Adama), without ever seeming at odds, shows how carefully McDonnell (a past Oscar nominee, let us not forget) crafted this character.

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

"I'm the thing that monsters have nightmares about. And right now, you and me are gonna show 'em why."

Probably my pick for the bravest and most fully formed character this past decade, there's no denying that Buffy Summers wouldn't have been the pop cultural icon it became without the strength of Gellar's thespian skills. Few can straddle the line between high camp and deep melancholy which this part required. Here was a conflicted woman torn between triviality (prom, dating, hairstyles, boys) and the transcendent (death, grief, demons, boys). "The Body" - the episode where Buffy's mom passes away (beautifully directed sans accompanying score by Joss Whedon) is one of the most affecting episodes this show ever produced. To see Gellar's close ups is to see a great actress at work, showing so much grief and so much pain yet trying to remain in control and composed: but how does a slayer deal with death when 'death is her gift' as that season constantly reminded us? But it wasn't just the dramatic scenes that make Buffy a great character and Gellar a worthy candidate for this award: her comedic timing (whether she's playing a robot version of herself, going all "cave-girl" because of beer, or playing up her ditzy blonde routine) is flawless, never missing a beat and always willing to be butt of the joke should the occasion require it. For that, Gellar remains one of my all-time favorite actresses, even if her filmography leaves much to be desired.

January Jones - Betty Draper (Mad Men)

"Sally! Go Bang Your head against the wall"

There are many detractors when it comes to Betty Draper. But one thing that is hard to argue is that, regardless how you feel about Betty, you have to give January Jones props for unflinchingly making Betty the ice-cold Nordic frazzled and childish queen that she is. While her storyline this past season fell mostly on the grating side, her season 2 arc is one of the most interesting examinations of female (and feminine) desire in twentieth century America I've seen put on screen (and here's someone who loves Revolutionary Road, Far From Heaven, The Women, The Hours and Almodovar's films). Betty may seem like a spoiled child (and there's no denying she is) but rather than see her as merely promoting this ideal, Weiner's show is clearly more interested in examining her as a symptom of the culture that bred her. Her mood swings are no less a consequence of here-and-there plot twists but more of a portrayal of the conflicting discourses that rule her life and which she cannot seem to comprehend. I am still waiting to see what they have in store for her next season (I, for one don't want Betty to go away) but these past three seasons enamoured me and while she's anything but lovable, she's fascinated and most of this is because Jones plays her so beautifully (her melancholy gazes, her hysterical fits, even her eerie calm resolve are always magnetic).

Jeanne Tripplehorn - Barb Henrickson (Big Love)

"We're never too far apart when we're holding hands."

This show is pitch-perfect when it comes to complex women (any of the other two wives could have easily made this lineup) but for me it's all about Barb. Maybe it's because she's the one I can relate to the most (and the one that most reminds me of my mother) but it's also because she seems to be the most fully formed and conflicted when it comes to her make-shift "family" and still its most staunch supporter (as evidenced by last season's storyline). She always breaks my heart but what Tripplehorn manages is to achieve this without falling into a portrayal that plays up her victim-like position (which is rarely promoted by the writing itself) but by braving the attacks on her family and her lifestyle knowing full well how she will always stand for what is right (which is why I love the quote that I chose): she may not agree with Margie or Nikki all the time, but she loves them. Family, as they say, always comes first.

Amy Acker - Winifred Burkle (Angel)/Dr Saunders (Dollhouse)

"This has been the best night ever. First, there's you taking me to ice cream, then there's the ice cream, then that monster jumps out of the freezer and you're all brave and, "Fred, watch out!," and then we get to chase it down into the sewers, which are just so bleak, and oppressive and homey. I-I could build a condo down here." - Fred

"You can't be your best. Your best is past. Your past you can't even remember. You're ugly now. You're disgusting. All you can hope for now is pity. And for that, you're going to have to look somewhere else." - Dr Saunders

This is probably my only left-field entry but I have a soft-spot for Amy Acker and I truly believe that her 2 (well, 4 if we're being specific) Whedon characters speak very highly about this young Sci-Fi starlet (it's no surprise she has several Saturn Award nominations and one win under her belt). From the quirky and lovable Winifred ("Fred") to the ice-cold alien nature of Illyria to the touching pitiable Dr Saunders (and then her creepy and touching turn as Whiskey), Acker showed great range, while still nailing the vulnerable and wounded aspects of her characters. "A Hole in the World" (the episode where - spoilers alert! - Fred "dies") still ranks as one of my all-time favorite Whedon episodes and most of it is due to Acker's performance because even as it could have fallen into cliche (dying words, sickness), her tenderness and humour weren't completely gone and made the scene when she finally dies that much more heartbreaking.

Runners up:

The Six Feet Under gals (Lauren Ambrose, Rachel Griffiths & Frances Conroy) for carefully adding much needed estrogen to the boy-ruled household. Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) for making Six a more complex and interesting cylon than most human TV characters this decade. The Damages pair: this show really works Rose Byrne and Glenn Close for all their thespian power and in the process we get two lawyers with more characterization than a mere procedural would ever require.

TV in the 2000s or How Let's name ABND's Best Drama Series

Best Drama Series

To say I don't watch too many dramas is an understatement. Maybe this is in part due to the fact that networks rarely stray far away from doctors, lawyers and cops (notice only one of the 8 shows I am about to mention fall into one of those categories), so while everyone this decade was entranced by a mob family (which I hear I really should give it a chance), a plane crash (which I'm scolded for not having given it a chance), McDreamy, all the CSIs and all the Law and Orders, I found a couple of shows that struck a nerve: a blond girl, an AdMan, a rag-tag fleet and a shark-lady lawyer are for me the best drama series this past decade. Find out why:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Joss Whedon's gift to the world came in the figure of a slender blonde girl from California who was a regular misfit (and occasional cheerleader) by the day but who was the 'Chosen One' by night (and also sometimes during the day). "Into every generation a slayer is born" might have ticked off a lot of people who don't see genre as a valid way to make quality TV, but for us geeks every season of Buffy gave us a newfound respect for the writers and actors in this show who took a metaphorical premise (demons in high school) to a new level, making Sarah Michelle Gellar a star (and spawning, among others, current TV staples both in front of the screen: Bones's David Boreanaz, Robot Chicken's Seth Green, How I Met Your Mother's Alyson Hannigan and behind it: BSG/Caprica's Jane Espenson, Grey's/Mad Men's Marti Noxon) way before Twilight, True Blood and every other vampire franchise that paired a young girl with a vampire as her romantic interest was even being gestated. Buffy's mix of humour, pathos, camp and drama can best be summed up in the episodes that have cherished by fans years after the show went off the air: 'The Body' gave SMG a chance to show her acting chops as Buffy dealt with the death of her mother, 'Once More With Feeling' will always be the 'musical episode' every TV show who ever attempts one will be compared to, and the Emmy-nominated 'Hush' (an almost-silent episode) is a master-class in writing and acting. For blending all of these aspects together and breaking new ground in terms of what it means to have a strong female role and spawning a franchise that extended to a spin-off show, several comic book titles, novels and infinite amount of forums around the internets, Buffy should be considered one of the greatest achievements in TV of the decade.

Mad Men

Is there a show on the air more elegantly crafted than Matthew Weiner's two-time Emmy winner Best Drama Series Mad Men? It may be the time period (1960s NYC) but the allure of the show doesn't stop there. Following the elusive and mysterious Don Draper as an Madison Avenue advertising man, Mad Men feels at once like a look back to simpler times and a stern look at how nostalgia itself does wonders for hindsight. Tearing apart the American quaintness of the period (with scathing social commentary ranging from critiques on femininity, marriage and class), the show in the three seasons it has aired, has shown that the American dream might have been at its most nightmarish while it rode high on the Camelot myth. Punctuated by nation-shattering events (Marylin's death, the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK's assassination, the riots in the South after MLK's murder) the show has never lost track of its nuanced and well-paced style, favoring character studies over plot developments, creating simmering build ups rather than explosive melodrama. Emmy nominated thesps John Hamm, Elisabeth Moss and John Slattery, along with (sadly snubbed) January Jones and Christina Hendricks keep us entranced by these characters as they have been moving through the tumultuous decade of the 1960s, a time of change in America, not of course, without looking slicker and more glamorous than any other ensemble cast on television this past decade.

Battlestar Galactica

In a Hollywood world intent on remaking, rebooting and recharging failing and fading franchises, we should all look closer to Ronald D. Moore's Battlestar Galactica to see how it can be done. Taking the premise of the 1970s show of the same name (where a group of cylons - self-aware and intelligent robots - annihilate the entire human race save for one Battlestar), Moore's show took the concept, tweaked it (cylons in this version have managed to look like humans) and carefully constructed an allegory of America in a post-9/11 world dealing with issues of terrorism, suicide-bombers, torture, faith and spirituality in a way that never seemed derivative or exploitative. While many took issue with how the series was resolved, there's no denying that for 4 seasons (and two made for TV movies), BSG was one of the most engaging television series to grace the screen. That it featured a great cast (including Oscar-nominated Mary McDonnell & Edward James Olmos, as well as Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Katee Sackhoff and Tammoh Penikket didn't hurt either as they each brought a visceral vulnerability to characters that, in hands of lesser writers and actors, might have been lost in between the cylon/human fights and all the spaceship stuff worthy of a good Sci Fi show.

Damages

Not since Ally McBeal had I cared more about lawyers and their crazy shenanigans. But while that David E. Kelley worked the whimsy into courtrooms, Damages takes a slightly more terrifying and electric look at what happens behind close doors (mostly, in random alleys and under tables). From the first frame of the pilot you're hooked. But you stay for the great writing, editing and acting. Close and Byrne play to their strengths as Patty Hewes and her new associate Ellen Parsons, the former evoking the great crazy-ladies of Close's Oscar-nominated past and the former playing the ingenue (though as season 2 showed, us - not for long). With only two seasons under its belt I considered not placing it so high up, but its first season was so perfectly crafted and gripping that I couldn't not think of it as one of the greatest pieces of television I have seen this past decade.

Runners up:

Six Feet Under (a great cast, pitch-perfect dialogue and a somber and macabre mood sprinkled with dry humour made this a gem of a show - I'm sure it'll rank higher once I finish the entire series - confession: I'm only on season 2), Big Love (because this is what families are: a mixed-bag of crazy held together by the common filial bond of marriage(s)), Skins (showing that the Brits do it better - and sexier and edgier - this show gives us a glimpse of high school life without sanitizing it), Alias (sorry Zoe, I know this isn't the JJ. Abrams show you wanted me to shout out, I never truly watched Felicity) (not only for giving us Jennifer Garner, but for creating a fast-paced female centered show that rarely sacrificed storytelling for big bangs).