TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

2008: The Year Of The Strike And The Spark

ADVERTISEMENT

By WALT BELCHER wbelcher

@tampatrib.com

Published: December 25, 2008

As 2008 comes to a close, we look back at a year in which the biggest TV star was a senator from Illinois who became the first black man elected president.

Barack Obama tops a lot of lists, including this one. His rise to the White House topped all the fictional dramas this year.

And 2008 also was the year that a writers' strike, which started in 2007 and lasted 100 days, derailed many prime-time series.

AMC's dark period piece "Mad Men" won the Emmy for best drama. And Tina Fey's satire on the television industry, "30 Rock," got the Emmy for best comedy. Most critics, including me, agreed.

But the absolute best television experience I had in 2008 was watching HBO's brilliant, compelling, entertaining and educational miniseries "John Adams," starring Paul Giamatti.

Other things on TV that fascinated your friendly neighborhood couch potato in 2008:

•Love her or hate her, Sarah Palin, became an overnight pop culture icon after Sen. John McCain named her as his running mate. Just about everything the Alaska governor did became fodder for late-night comics.

•Tina Fey was already a favorite because "30 Rock," the comedy she created, co-writes, produces and stars in, is on my must-see list. But she soared to new heights by nailing a Palin impression, right down to that goofy "Fargo" accent.

•Famed wrestler Hulk Hogan couldn't stay off the tabloid TV shows as his personal life spun out of control, putting his status as a good guy in jeopardy.

Hogan and estranged wife Linda traded nasty accusations in a divorce battle. He was seen dating a woman who looks like his 20-year-old daughter, Brooke, and Linda started dating a 19-year-old pool cleaner. An audiotape of jailhouse conversations with his son, Nick Bollea, 17, also tarnished Hogan's image.

Nick served a few months in jail after pleading no contest to charges stemming from a car crash that left his friend, John Graziano, 22, in a "semi-conscious" state. Hogan was heard suggesting Graziano's fate might have been the result of being "a negative person."

•We lost good TV shows, such as "Eli Stone," "Pushing Daisies," "Dirty Sexy Money" (ABC) and "The Riches" (FX). Meanwhile, we had way too many reality shows thanks to the writers' strike.

•The salvation of Katie Couric was somewhat of a surprise. There were serious rumors that she would exit the CBS News anchor desk by 2009. But those stopped after some hard-hitting interviews with Palin and others. CBS still trails in the ratings but Couric seems safe for now.

•Tampa Bay Rays victories leading up to the World Series were thrilling to watch. The World Series was not so much fun.

•Ever since 2-year-old Caylee Anthony was reported missing in July, the media has been obsessed with the case. The Orlando child's remains were found and the child's mother, Casey, is in jail on first-degree murder charges.

•NBC giving Jay Leno a new 10 p.m. weeknight talk show was a shocker. It's like a Hail Mary pass for a network that once ruled the ratings.

•Tim Russert's death in June at age 58 of a heart attack touched a lot of people. I felt privileged to have interviewed him a few times over the years. The host of "Meet the Press" and NBC's Washington bureau chief, he was a robust, likeable guy who is still missed.

•On the local level, we lost longtime WTSP, Channel 10, meteorologist Dick Fletcher, who died in February after a stroke.

Other notable deaths in the world of TV: Bernie Mac, Jim McKay, Paul Newman, Suzanne Pleshette, Estelle Getty, Harvey Korman, Dick Martin, Robert Prosky, Sydney Pollack, Michael Crichton and Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

"Bad Santa," 8 p.m. Comedy Central

Billy Bob Thornton plays a low-life thief who poses as the worse Santa ever in this crude but oddly touching comedy.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT