Behold The 3rd Annual Octy Awards!
Here is a quick refresher on how this works: Over the next week(s) I’ll be awarding the prestigious “Octy!” to stuff in different catagoris. In past years these have been movies, music, TV, and videogames, though this year I might mix things up a bit. In each category I not only award an Octy! But also a “runner-up” award for whatever just-missed the #1 spot, as well as an “Honorable Mention” for something that I think deserves recognition. Lets get this show on the road!

The 2006 Octy! For Best in Television!
This is the easiest Octy decision I’ve ever made. The Runner-up goes to the 4th season of 24. 24 is an amazing and ground-breaking show that was awarded the very first Octy! For TV, and the 4th season changed things. No other show on TV gets me on the edge of the couch like 24, and there were a couple of episodes in this season where I actually jumped OFF the couch and cheered. Season 5 starts in a week, even if you’ve never watched an episode you need to tune-in this season. Trust me, and trust Jack.

This years Octy! Goes to the single best show that Television has seen in a decade. A show that breaks all the rules, that is so smart, and funny, and aware that it was doomed to fail. It has been cut-down just as it has peaked, and like Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix the passing is sad, but only momentarily, as the works left behind are so incredible you feel lucky that they were ever created in the first place. I’m talking of course about Arrested Development. I’m not sure what else I can say that I haven’t previously, or even what I need to say. Arrested Development does everything right, except, of course, find an audience. But I’m over bitching about its demise, and bitching about FOX’s handling of the show because the show is just that good. I’m thankful we got the episodes that we did, and I know that in its death, AD will live-on as the talent behind the show move on to new projects.

UPDATE:
I forgot to honorably mention Lost. We missed it when it first aired, but watched the season one DVDs a couple of months ago, and I have to say it really surpassed my expectations. Individual episodes are hit-and-miss, some revealing major plot points and featuring top-notch character development, while other episodes have neither. But there are certainly more good episodes that ho-hum ones, and there are enough F’ing awesome episodes to really get behind. The show is over-all well acted, and I haven’t had this much fun theorizing and trying to figure out all the clues since the heyday of the X-Files.