Techtite Feature Article!

Techtite's First Annual 

Golden Otto Awards, 2001

(For 2000 entertainment)

Intro      Page 1      Page 2     Page 3

There wasn't too much offered in the new season schedule, though older shows did either improve/deteriorate enough for this list :

The "Lucky 7" Best of Television :

The Sopranos Take away the fact that season 2 began with kudos galore for this series, which led to a diverse menagerie of guest stars in just its second season (including Peter Bogdanovich, Alicia Witt, Janeane Garofalo, Frank Sinatra Jr., and many others). The truth is, this was a great season, that may even go down as its best. It may have lost to other dramas this season --in the Emmys and Golden Globes-- though not here. It may have had an "unlucky" 13 episodes in all, yet this was definitely one of the "Lucky 7" best shows last year!

CSI This freshman series, while only in its first year, proves to be an engrossing, novel idea in crime dramas. What is most amusing is its frank visualizations of how the crime scene investigators can discern a crime's time frame and methodology, with only the most paltry amount of evidence to work with. Oh yes; the way-cool location for the series --Las Vegas-- definitely helps!

Roswell. Sure, its second season has been disappointing so far; its first season, at the start of 2000, was not. Consider this my vote for "best show you're not watching"...especially if you're a Trekkie! Want to know what your favorite cast members from Star Trek: The Next Generation are doing these days? Jonathan "Commander Riker" Frakes is producer of this sci-fi teen drama. It may have lost most of its edge in season two, though it's season one (which ended in 2000) was top notch.

The Practice. What was once the "best show you're not watching" is now the show that you'd better be watching! Great acting, great scripts, and gripping court cases...enough said!

Buffy/Angel (a tie; these shows belong together) The vampire hours on Tuesday make WB a must-see, with Buffy leading the way in "Sunnydale," and Angel performing his undead "A-team" type duties in L.A. Great mix of dark humor and talented acting enhances these action-comedies. This season's fun only got better, with the return of a nasty streak in Spike (Buffy) and ex-vampiress, Darla (Angel).

The "DARN, why'd they cancel that?" Award: I'm not ashamed to admit it: I really miss The Pretender. Jarod would assimilate the role of whomever would help people in need, and help people as he escaped the secret agency that made him what he is. TNT will allegedly resolve that obnoxious cliffhanger in a cable TV movie. I sure hope so.

Survivor Sure, you hated it when Rich won. However, I never missed a single episode, did you? I doubt it; same thing for millions of viewers. This was the show to make summer worthwhile, especially with the Olympics not starting until September.

Spin City. Michael J Fox will be missed, though I sense that he would've felt even worse if the show he left behind fell like a rock, just because of his departure. After all, he is one of the producers! Bravo to Charlie Sheen, then, who had very big shoes to fill, and has taken over the role of "Deputy Mayor" admirably. Given his majority of dramatic roles, his comedic timing is even surprisingly good!

Dark Angel. Yeah, sure; Jessica Alba is easy on the eyes. However, the lackluster writing, as well as the show being created by James "King of the World" Cameron, make this show a disappointment that could've, should've, had that little extra "kick" to it all.

Dawson's Creek. Joey and Pacey are a saccharinely sweet couple, after hating each other for 3 seasons. Huh? Sounds like writers, with a complete loss of new ideas, are meekly caving in to the puppy love fantasies of the bubble gum teenzine crowd. what's worse, the resulting scripts seem written by the same 12 year olds they're intended to appease, and can be summarized with Hallmark-card simplicity: " I love you even when everyone hates you Pacey."..."I love you even if you're too dumb to get through high school, Pacey."..."I love you even when you went straight into a tropical storm on a sailboat like an imbecile, Pacey." Enough!

Big Brother The summer's "other" reality show on CBS showed that there was more to the fad than just a bunch of people put in odd circumstances. Seeing "chicken man" in a chicken suit upon the show's finale made things harder to watch than they already were.

The Michael Richards Show. I expected something more. I expected more laughs. I expected bigger pratfalls. I expected Kramer! 

...and last though not least (and as much as I hate to include it):

Friends. This sitcom used to really speak to me; now it seems to scream for me to change the channel. Chandler has never been more whiney. Monica has never been more bossy. As for Jennifer Anniston (Pitt), please, someone tell her the honeymoon's over, and get back into character! It may improve in 2001, though in Y2K it was pretty bad.