The Most Valuable Players in Television

I have been noticing that certain actors continue to pop up in my favorite shows (what excellent taste they have in choosing their work!). Whether they play a main character in something, or just frequently appear as a guest star, I think they deserve some recognition:

Amy Acker- Most importantly, she played Winifred Burkle ("Fred") on Angel. Just a brainy Texan girl who got sucked into a vortex to another world, went a little crazy, and then joined Angel's demon-fighting crew. She holds the honor of making me cry more than any character I've ever seen. Her death in the Season 5 episode, "A Hole in the World," absolutely broke my heart. Wesley was destroyed, and so was I. Luckily, Amy got to stay on the show as the ancient god Illyria, who pretty much just used the characters as her playthings, but when she changed her appearance to look like Fred in order to comfort Wesley as he was dying, I wept all over again. After Angel, Amy showed off her bad side as Kelly Peyton in Season 5 of Alias. Ooooohh, she was mean. Then she made an appearance in an episode of How I Met Your Mother. Currently, she is playing the quiet, damaged Dr. Saunders on Dollhouse. Looking at her body of work, Amy Acker is clearly someone with amazing range. (P.S.- her first acting credit: 3 episodes of Wishbone. That is so cool.)

Adam Baldwin- I fell in love with him as Jayne on Firefly. Then I saw him on Day Break, the short-lived, Groundhog Day-meets-cop mystery show starring Taye Diggs. Then Chuck came on, with Baldwin playing John Casey the Ronald Reagan-lovin', tough guy who, along with Sarah, protects Chuck and the government secrets in his head. Last year, when I watched the entire series of Angel, he had a recurring role in Season 5 as the Senior Partner liaison at Wolfram & Hart. And, finally, several months ago as I was watching Bones, he guest-starred in one of my favorite episodes, "Two Bodies in the Lab." The man is definitely an MVP in my book.

Greg Grunberg- It's almost not fair to include him because, as the best friend of JJ Abrams since childhood, he has appeared in every JJ project. So that means I have liked him since Felicity as Sean, the lovable guy with very bad inventions. Then he played Vaughn's best friend, Agent Weiss, on Alias. They started using him a lot more in Season 3 when Sydney came back from her missing 2 years. She and Weiss became friends and went on missions together. Then he started dating her half-sister Nadia in Season 4 which was very cute. Grunberg then had a small role as the pilot of Oceanic 815 in LOST. He died a very gruesome death in about 20 seconds. Finally, he stepped outside of JJ's world as the telepathic Matt Parkman on Heroes. He is one of the only characters on that show who I have always seen as good. He doesn't always make the best decisions, but he always tries to do the right thing. That's more than I can say for anyone else.

Tricia Helfer- Besides an episode of CSI in 2002 and a couple of obscure independent movies, Tricia Helfer's first credit was Battlestar Galactica as the Cylon vixen, Number Six. Not too shabby, if you ask me. What puts her on this list is her stint as Michael's manipulative boss, Carla, in Season 2 of Burn Notice (although, we won't be seeing her anymore since Fiona used a sniper rifle on her in the finale), as well as her guest-starring role on tonight's episode of Chuck as an agent who tries to move in on Sarah's territory.

Zeljko Ivanek- This guy's IMDb page looks like it could be as long as Jack Nicholson's. His television credits include major roles in 24, Oz, Damages (for which he won an Emmy in 2008), and the current season of Heroes. That's not even getting into shows I like in which he appeared in 1 or 2 episodes: the John Adams miniseries, LOST, Bones, True Blood, House, Big Love, Crossing Jordan, and The West Wing. He is definitely doing something right.

Anne Dudek- In addition to her recurring roles on Mad Men (as Betty's gossiping friend, Francine), Big Love, and House (as Cutthroat B.), she was also a memorable guest-star on How I Met Your Mother as Ted's former girlfriend with whom he reconnects. When he breaks up with her on her birthday for the second time, she pummels him with her Krav Maga skillz. She appeared in several other shows, such as Bones, Judging Amy, Six Feet Under, Desperate Housewives, Charmed, and Psych.

Michelle Forbes- She had a big role in Season 2 of 24 (and she didn't even die! The recurring characters always die! Nobody is safe except for Jack and Chloe). Then she was in an episode of Alias, followed by a short but important role in Battlestar Galactica as the horrible Admiral Cain of the Pegasus. She has also had parts on Prison Break and In Treatment (neither of which I watch yet, but I plan on getting to them soon), and most recently I saw her in an episode of LOST and as the mysterious Maryann in True Blood, who I have read will play prominently into Season 2. She brings a certain intensity to every single thing I've seen her in. Very talented.

Dean Winters- I came to know him as the not-very-nice brother, Johnny, of the not-very-nice Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) on Rescue Me. Johnny was the cop to Tommy's firefighter. He became a bigger character in Season 3 when he started sleeping with Tommy's estranged wife, Janet, causing an understandable rift between the brothers. In addition, Winters was a series regular on Oz and has had a recurring role on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He also played Jason O'Mara's crook father in Life on Mars. And he was in one episode of Sex and the City as Carrie's "buddy."

Patrick Fischler- I had seen him in random things before I actually noticed him as the total jackass comedian, Jimmy Barrett, on Mad Men. He is also currently on LOST as Phil, one of Sawyer's security underlings- though I'm not sure how much longer he'll be around because Sawyer has taken him prisoner because he knows about Sawyer and Kate taking Young Ben to the Hostiles! He has also guest-starred in Pushing Daisies, Burn Notice, Bones, Angel (in one of my favorite episodes no less, "The Magic Bullet") , Veronica Mars, Drive, Monk, The West Wing, and Charmed.

Tony Hale- Not only is he an alumnus of Samford University from my hometown of Birmingham, AL, but he steals every scene he's in, whether it's as Buster, the "special" member of the Bluth family; Emmett, the no-nonsense Assistant Manager at the Buy More on Chuck; or the brain doctor hitting on amnesiac Christina Applegate on Samantha Who?

Mark Pellegrino- Abusive, drug-addicted ex-husband to Rita on Dexter. Thug on Burn Notice. Thug on Chuck. A couple episodes on Prison Break- probably a thug there, as well. But a couple of days ago, the surprising news that he would have an important part to play at the end of this season of LOST. Maybe he will be playing a thug, but I don't know. Something tells me we will see a new layer to this guy.

Swoosie Kurtz- She was Chuck's grumbling, one-eyed Aunt Lily on the whimsical Pushing Daisies. That was sadly (and wrongly) cancelled after only 2 seasons, so when creator Bryan Fuller returned to the producing staff of Heroes, he brought her in to do the episode that he was writing. She also guest-starred in an episode of Desperate Housewives recently, and she played John Locke's less than ideal mother on LOST a couple years ago.

********Ok, so I have tried to highlight some of the lesser-known actors who have made an impression on me. But this list would not be complete without a mention of these all-stars:

Alyson Hannigan- First and foremost, she stands out as Willow in Buffy. She's right up there with Wesley (a.k.a., Alexis Densiof, who in real life be her baby daddy!) and Cordelia in terms of character growth. Then, she had her recurring role on Veronica Mars as the attention-hungry Trina Echolls, followed by a starring role on How I Met Your Mother as Lily--kindergarden teacher and half of one of the cutest relationships ever, along with Jason Segel as Marshall. I heart Lilypad and Marshmallow. Those are three very different shows, and Hannigan plays them all wonderfully.

Mary McDonnell- Also from BSG, her Laura Roslin was one of the most complicated television characters I have ever seen. She evoked a lot of different emotions in me throughout the 4 seasons--love, hatred, frustration, pity, admiration--but my favorite thing about her will always be the care with which she kept the survival count on the whiteboard in her office of Colonial One. Before the Cylon attack, she was the Secretary of Education, and then suddenly, she had to step up and become Madam President. The lives of the human race were in her hands. I didn't always agree with her decisions, but the point is that she was making them, that she was handling the situation. Since filming the finale, McDonnell has already had a recurring role in Grey's Anatomy as a cardio surgeon with Asperger's Syndrome, and she is set to play a police captain who clashes with Brenda in The Closer.

Kyle Chandler- I adore this man. It's a freakin' crime that he hasn't gotten any awards for playing Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights. I mean, I'm neither a boy nor a football player and even I'm inspired by his locker room speeches and the way he guides those kids. He also had 4 very memorable episodes as "Bomb Squad Guy" on Grey's Anatomy. And way back in the days of PAXtv, I remember watching him on the show Early Edition. He starred as a guy who gets the next day's newspaper delivered to his door by an orange cat, and he becomes a begrudging hero who tries to help people by preventing bad things from happening.

Nathan Fillion- I adore this man, too. He was Captain Malcolm Reynolds on Firefly. The thing that I love most about Mal is how protective he is of his crew. It is so endearing. Nathan also came in at the end of Season 7 of Buffy as the wicked preacher Caleb who worked for the First. Then he had a show called Drive that was cancelled after only a few episodes. I've actually heard good things about it- not that I'm surprised, given that it was created by Tim Minear- so I plan on watching/enjoying this show at some point. And that brings us to now, with him starring as the childish but still endearing and intelligent novelist on Castle. I am happy to say that after 4 episodes, I am very pleased and liking it quite a bit. I don't think I'm just saying that because Nathan is in it. It's probably too early to tell, but so far I think Castle is very entertaining and interesting.

Note: Almost every single one of these people has appeared in episodes of ER, Law & Order, and CSI. Frankly, all actors have appeared in them. I wonder if there's some sort of obligation in the acting community to help those shows cast for the thousands of episodes they do.

Amy Acker, scene from Angel

Endings

I spent Spring Break at the beach with my family and, on Friday night, watched the final episode of Battlestar Galactica with my dad. When the final scene faded away into the credits (yeah, Ronald D. Moore!), I laid my head down and said, "That show was the closest to perfect of any in my life." To which my dad replied, "You must have never seen Bonanza." ................

Galactica split off from the fleet with a group of volunteers to go on a mission to rescue Hera from the Cylon Colony. A firefight ensued. Apollo, Starbuck, Helo, Athena, and a group of Rebel Cylon Centurions went to find Hera. Boomer made another monumental decision and brought Hera to them (she owed the Old Man), and then Athena shot her. Hera got away from her parents and started running, bringing the dreams of the Opera House

into play for the final time, with Roslin, Athena, Caprica Six, and Baltar all playing their roles. Baltar and Six brought her into the CIC of Galactica, where Admiral Adama and the Final Five were waiting. Cavil got hold of her and put a gun to her head, until Tigh offered to give him the secret to Cylon resurrection if he would release Hera and stop chasing the humans forever. It was Baltar's speech about angels and divine power that finally got Cavil to agree. To download the information about resurrection, Tigh, Ellen, Tory, Tyrol, and Anders each had to contribute part of the equation. They stuck their hands into the hybrid pool that Anders was hooked up to

and saw flashes of each other's memories. Including Tory's murder of Cally. Tyrol stopped the process when he pulled his hand out of the water and strangled Tory. The Cylons called "foul" and started attacking again. Admiral Adama told Starbuck to jump them out of there. They all knew that Galactica was collapsing in on herself and had one jump left, so wherever they went was where they would stay. Starbuck played the magic song, "All Along the Watchtower," on the FTL keyboard, and away they went. She had brought them to a planet. The new "Earth." The human fleet joined them there, and settlement began. The happiest endings went to the family- Helo, Athena, and Hera- and, surprisingly but beautifully, Baltar and Caprica Six, and Ellen and Tigh. They went off on their own to build their homes. Tyrol, fittingly, said that he had found an uninhabited area of Highlands where he was going live. Admiral Adama knew that Laura was fading away, so he said goodbye to his son, Apollo, and his honorary daughter, Starbuck, and took Laura away in a Raptor to find a place to build the cabin they had talked about back on New Caprica. She died while they were flying over a lake. He found a place on a hilltop and buried her. Presumably, he was going to build a cabin there and live out the rest of his days. Apollo decided that, now that the fighting and the search for a home had ended, he wasn't just going to settle down. He would explore the planet- climb mountains, swim oceans. And Starbuck disappeared. She said her destiny was complete, and she was just gone. This is open to interpretation, but I like to think that Baltar and Leoben were right about her when they said she was an angel. Flash forward 150,000 years, and this primitive Earth has become our Earth. Modern-day New York City. Head-Caprica Six and Head-Baltar are walking the streets, discussing the discovery of "Mitochondrial Eve" (aka, Hera), and the advancements in robotics. This has all happened before, but it doesn't necessarily have to happen the same

way.

My other shows are entering the home stretch now. I am really excited to see what they have in store. Desperate Housewives is nearing the big finish and the conclusion of the Dave Williams storyline. Edie found out everything last week but she got electrocuted before she could tell anyone. Hmmm...a bit contrived. I'm not loving it right now, but last season's finale was pleasantly surprising so maybe the same could be said for this one. Chuck is seriously starting to escalate. Getting the Intersect out of his head is now a real possibility for Chuck, and he is working hard to find out how. Also, Ellie and Awesome's wedding will be soon which means MORE BRUCE BOXLEITNER!! LOST is, as always, full of shocking twists every week, and with only 7 episodes left, I hope my mind will continue to be blown as we approach the finale, entitled "The Incident." Dollhouse just hit the halfway mark for Season 1, with 6 episodes remaining. Several mysteries have been established while new ones are constantly being introduced (just how I like it, shows that get me hooked and don't let go), and basically everyone should be watching this show because it's awesome.

P.S.- I went back and watched the episode of The Office that I missed for Grey's Anatomy. It ended up being my favorite episode of the season, go figure. They have had a run of good episodes over the past month or so, but this one really stood out to me. The title of the episode was "New Boss," and Michael was having some issues adjusting to the guy who took the position that Jan and Ryan previously held. Played by Idris Elba of The Wire (Seriously, I've got to watch The Wire. I think I'll start this week.), Charles Miner does not stand for Michael's antics, he thinks Jim is a slacker, and he has a powerful effect on Kelly and Angela- "I could see our kids facing obstacles being half-black and half-Indian, but it's so worth it, you guys."

This is non-tv-related, but I just finished watching The Parent Trap. It was the best way I could think of to honor Natasha Richardson, to return to the first thing I saw her in, back when I was 10-years old. I teared up when she comes gliding down the stairs at the beginning to hug Lindsay Lohan. It really made me think about how much we value actors. They become part of our lives when we watch them in movies and television and on the stage- we relate to the characters they portray, they evoke emotions within us, and we hold onto the experience of watching them just as we do our own memories. We may not know the actors personally, but how to explain our feelings of sadness when one of them passes away? A fundamental part of this life is connecting with people, and of the best actors, it can certainly be said that we connect to them in a powerful way. We love them, as much as we can, for simply doing what they do, for showing us truths that make us think about life and the world. For Liam Neeson and his sons, and all of Natasha's family and friends, I pray that they would have comfort and peace.

A Few Thoughts

Aided by the fact that I had watched about 15 Booth/Brennan shipper videos this week, I was looking forward to tonight's Bones episode like crazy. And the payoff was A-MAZING. Granted, the case was a little predictable. I thought it was the chiropractor the second we saw him. But I was still hanging on every moment of this episode. Angela and Roxy broke up (Finally! That little homewrecker was standing in the way of my darling Hodgins being with the woman who is so clearly meant for him). Case in point: he consoled Angela with some wonderful storage closet lovin'. Now, I know they won't get back together/get married/have brilliant, artistic babies right away, but they're on the road. Time to rebuild their relationship one adorable moment at a time.

We also met a new intern tonight- nerdy but sweet Muslim guy. I am still enjoying the rotation of interns. I like certain things about each of them. Random fact guy is hilarious, as is depressed emo guy. And the blonde one is cute. I think we're due for another annoying-girl-that-nobody-likes episode, especially since she has been dating Sweets for a while and we need to see how things have progressed. I would say that I think showrunner Hart Hanson needs to pick a permanent intern, but I guess we all agree with Dr. Brennan that nobody could replace Zach. Why even try? Speaking of whom, I could not be more thrilled by the news that Eric Millegan and Ryan O'Neal will be reprising their roles as Zach and Max in the season finale.

And, most importantly, tonight's episode laid the foundation for potential procreating between Booth and Bones. The news that the two of them were going to end up in bed together this season was announced many months ago. As tv-scoopers like Ausiello and Kristen have been finding out the details of this future encounter, we have learned that Bones starts thinking that she wants a child. And, logically speaking, Booth is a good genetic match for her because of their complementary traits. Well, I am of course excited to see all of this play out, and tonight was the beginning. The murder victim was a high school girl who had gotten pregnant. Most of the girls on her volleyball team had also gotten pregnant. They all had a vision in which they were free from the pressures of parents, school, and boys. By combining their money, they could simply find a house somewhere and raise their kids together. One kid in particular helped several of the girls achieve this dream. Played by Spencer Breslin, this boy thought he was scoring big because he had gotten 4 of the girls pregnant and didn't have to do anything else. So at the end of the episode, Bones and Booth are having a drink and talking about the responsibilities of parenthood. Booth realized that he needed to have a guy talk with the baby daddy and tell him that he has to be a man and take care of his children or he will be a loser his entire life (the conversation actually came off much sweeter). Meanwhile, Bones stood outside watching her wonderful, heroic partner, and you could see in her eyes that she realized something about him.

I must admit that, after Bones was over, I made a conscious decision to watch the new episode of Grey's Anatomy instead of The Office. I know, it's shameful. But...I really wanted to see the face transplant surgery that Sloan was doing. And, quite honestly, I am really into the storylines right now.

The series finale of Battlestar Galactica airs tomorrow, following episode 6 of Dollhouse, which is the one that Joss said will blow us away. Echo and Ballard come face-to-face for the first time! I'm so anxious I can hardly wait! And BSG, don't even get me started. It has been one frakking hell of a ride.

My Compliments to...

-Jeffrey Donovan, for his phenomenal performance in the Season 2 finale of Burn Notice, in particular, the last couple of scenes, on the boat with Victor and then in the helicopter with the guy responsible for blacklisting him.

-Matthew Rhys, for being the standout in the great 2-hour episode of Brothers & Sisters. There was powerful acting all around, but Kevin's scenes brought me to tears.

-Neil Patrick Harris, who is currently carrying How I Met Your Mother on his very funny shoulders.

-Edward James Olmos and everyone at Battlestar Galactica for creating the closest thing I have ever seen to a perfect series. In this last set of episodes, Admiral Adama has been a man with a broken heart- broken over the loss of Earth as a home for his people, over the betrayal of members of his crew, over the inevitable death over his beloved ship, Galactica, and his beloved woman, Laura Roslin- and Olmos has made me feel it all with him. My loyalty to "The Old Man" will never end.

-Jason O'Mara. Even though Life on Mars was not renewed for a second season, he did some amazing work on that show. I hope to see a lot more of him in the future, including a recurrence of his role on The Closer. I love me an especially twisted killer who can match wits with Brenda.

-The entire cast and crew of LOST. I probably sound like a broken record heaping praise on this show (I'm not biased, I promise, even though it's totes my fave), but Season 5 has been packed full of emotion, intricate island history, mind-blowing sci-fi, and just plain fantastic storytelling. The last 3 episodes especially, "316,"

"The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," and "LaFleur," have rocked the house. Special props go to Matthew Fox for making "316" one of the best episodes I've ever seen, Terry O'Quinn for making Locke more interesting than ever, and Josh Holloway and Elizabeth Mitchell for portraying this new relationship that I thought I would hate but actually have to admit that I love. I don't know if I'll ever let go of my attachment to the hotness that is Kate with Sawyer, but Juliet has such a calming effect on him that is so sweet. And, of course, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse always get the props for being television geniuses. Speaking of which....

-Joss Whedon and Co. for giving me my new obsession, Dollhouse, which is getting better with every episode.

-Conan O'Brien, for giving me something amazing to look forward to in June. I will actually start watching The Tonight Show for the host instead of just watching interviews with people that I like.

-Ellen Pompeo, for making me like Meredith Grey again for the first time since Season 1 or 2. She is now coming across as mature instead of whiny and annoying.

-David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. Not for anything specific, I just love them all the time. Same goes for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. Got some good news this week regarding Friday Night Lights, and I couldn't be happier.

And in other news, I am making a mental list of which shows I need to put on the short list to watch as soon as possible:

The rest of Season 1 of Life on Mars; A second chance for Season 1 of Fringe (apparently it has gotten reaaaaally good; The Big Bang Theory; House; Prison Break