Vice President Joe Biden, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III are among the top government officials meeting with entertainment industry leaders Tuesday afternoon at the White House to discuss how best to fight piracy of intellectual property.
In its release detailing the meeting, the White House said the round-table discussion that Biden will lead is aimed at showcasing the Obama administration's "commitment to enforcing laws against the piracy of intellectual property."
Industry chiefs who are expected to be participating in the meeting are Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, Warner Bros. Entertainment CEO Barry Meyer, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker and Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton. Directors Guild President Taylor Hackford will also participate. Other government bigwigs scheduled to be at the table include Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan.
No word if Michaele and Tareq Salahi will also be dropping by.
-- Joe Flint
Watch this: The Top TV shows of 2009
The thought of coming up with a year-end Top 10 list gave me headaches for weeks.
I just could not whittle my favorite TV of the year down to 10 shows. I'm relieved, then, that my editors relented and let me expand my list to 15 choices.
Even that list was hard to compile. The past 12 months have offered an enormous array of enjoyable, exhilarating or challenging television, and a quick glance at my runners-up list offers a small indication of how rich the bounty was in 2009.
You'll no doubt disagree with some of my choices -- the point of lists, I often think, is to provoke lively disagreements. But I'm grateful that we have so much to argue about. The networks might be in a more cautious mode -- the evolving financial model of television, last year's strike and the current economic downturn have certainly put the squeeze on the industry in a variety of ways.
But the list below is proof that, whatever disasters have befallen the television industry in the last year or two, from a strike to a recession to Jay Leno, the art form has proved to be amazingly resilient. Lucky us.
Here's my list of the best television programs of 2009, in alphabetical order.
"The Big Bang Theory," CBS: For a while there, the phrase "traditional comedy" was starting to sound like an insult. And over the past decade or so, too many multi-camera comedies have trafficked in predictable writing and lazy characterization. Then along came "Big Bang Theory," which proved that excellent acting and a smart approach can make even the most traditional network comedies deeply satisfying. Consistency can indeed be overrated, but it's hard to come by in the comedy realm, and "The Big Bang Theory" gets major points for managing to induce smiles on a weekly basis. (My previous "Big Bang Theory" stories and reviews are here.) "Battlestar Galactica," Syfy: How many shows can tell stories with such intensity that you forget to breathe? "Battlestar Galactica" was one of those rare shows that regularly reached that fever pitch, in rock 'em, sock 'em battle sequences and during Season 4's chillingly brutal mutiny. But on its way out, this sensationally acted drama also supplied moments of almost unbearable tenderness and poignance. That battered old ship and the people who fought, suffered, loved and died on it won't be forgotten any time soon. So say we all. (My previous "Battlestar Galactica" stories and reviews are here.)
"Chuck," NBC: "Chuck" is not only a delightful collision of spy-movie conventions and pop-culture-saturated comedy, this scrappy show is also the poster child for the interactive age, in which a show's fans can help determine its fate. Smitten by the show's ridiculously entertaining second season, fans became "Chuck's" most impassioned advocates, and they savvily centered their "save our show" campaign on one of the NBC program's main sponsors. Their many creative gambits worked, which means that come Jan. 10, we'll get to see what retail clerk-turned-spy Chuck Bartowski (the talented Zachary Levi) can -- or can't -- do with his new-found fighting skills. (My previous "Chuck" stories and reviews are here.)
"Dollhouse," Fox: Perhaps it was appropriate for a drama that was all about the construction and deconstruction of identity, but few shows in recent memory had a harder time figuring out what to do with an intriguing premise (network meddling certainly didn't help in that regard). But "Dollhouse's" cleverness, its willing to take risks and its ability to create emotionally moving moments made sticking with the show's many gyrations worth it. Despite the difficulties "Dollhouse" had with its own identity, when this show was firing on all cylinders, its heady exploration of free will, personality memory was thought-provoking and even exhilarating at times. (My previous "Dollhouse" stories and reviews are here.) "Friday Night Lights," DirecTV and NBC: Few shows are more skilled at using silence. "FNL" recognizes that sometimes words aren't necessary and that life's big truths are often too hard to articulate anyway. One DirecTV episode that aired in November, starring Evanston's Zach Gilford, was an astonishingly moving depiction of the difficulty of expressing, let alone feeling, complicated emotions. During this time of economic uncertainty, innovative financing -- via a partnership between DirectTV and NBC -- means that we'll get a total of 5 seasons of this small-town drama. Thus "Friday Night Lights" is not only a miracle of organic, unforced filmmaking and acting, it's symbol of hope for the future of the TV industry. (My previous "Friday Night Lights" stories and reviews are here.)
"Lost," ABC: Oh "Lost." You do try my patience sometimes. Sure, there are "Lost" fans who love it when the island drama plunges heartily into time-travel and the resulting mind-bending math, but I am not in that camp. Still, I'd follow these characters anywhere, including down the time-travel rabbit hole (and it was pretty groovy when the show took viewers back to the '70s-era Dharma Initiative). During a season that could be a brain-bender, there were many pleasures to savor, including Josh Holloway getting to prove that he's much more than a pretty face attached to an attractive shirtless torso. (My previous "Lost" stories and reviews are here.) "Mad Men," AMC: "Mad Men" certainly likes to take its time and get all its ducks in row. Despite a slow start, however, the third season of this addictive drama provided plenty of jaw-dropping developments, and every one of them was grounded in the choices and dilemmas of these indelible characters, who continually search for and recoil from real connection. Fans have had no trouble making a connection with "Mad Men"; talking about it online the next day is half the fun with this complicated, alluring drama. (My previous "Mad Men" stories and reviews are here.)
"Modern Family," ABC: Remember all those stories about how comedy was dying on the broadcast networks? Whoops. The media may have spoken a bit too soon. Sure, "Modern Family" took one of the most tired TV genres -- the family sitcom -- and updated it with the hip "mock-umentary" format that shows like "The Office" made popular. But what makes "Modern Family" work is solid execution of the comedy basics. The characters feel real and lived-in, the performances by the top-notch cast are razor-sharp and the stories the show tells are inventive without being overly broad. Most important of all, this show has a heart as big as Fizbo the clown's shoes. This is a modern gem with old-fashioned appeal. (My original "Modern Family" review is here.) "Nurse Jackie," Showtime: "Sopranos" veteran Edie Falco was reason enough to watch this dark, provocative dramedy, but the show's able supporting cast stood toe-to-toe with Falco, and "Nurse Jackie" also offered an unsentimental yet compassionate depiction of the limits of caregiving. The empathic Falco, whose face said everything the reticent Jackie couldn't, made this deeply flawed nurse one of TV's most compelling new characters. (My previous "Nurse Jackie" stories and reviews are here.)
"Parks and Recreation," NBC: Television's most improved comedy is now the home of some of TV's most lovably weird characters. If nothing else (and "Parks" did a lot of things right in its second season), this show has given us the magic of Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), a man who knows what he likes, and he likes pretty, dark-haired women and breakfast foods.
"Party Down," Starz: This is what cable TV often does (and thank goodness): It takes a premise that feels played out and creates something fresh and entertaining from it. During the last decade or so, there have been dozens of shows set in the entertainment industry, but few have captured the scuffling at its lower reaches with both insider knowledge and bemused insight. "Party Down" was a shaggy, charming ensemble comedy that got better by the week, and its party-of-the-week format offered plenty of opportunities for the show's talented stars and guest actors to shine. (My previous "Party Down" stories and reviews are here.)
"Sons of Anarchy," FX: Even though "Anarchy" is right there in the motorcycle club's name, the characters in this biker drama adhered to a strict, well-defined code, yet still faced excruciating moral dilemmas. The brilliant second season of "Sons" was about a search for honor and the kind of brotherhood that goes beyond blood ties, and it offered virtuoso performances from Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, Charlie Hunnam, Maggie Siff and Ryan Hurst. (My previous "Sons of Anarchy" stories and reviews are here.) "Supernatural," CW: Shows in their fourth and fifth seasons -- especially genre shows -- usually fold in on themselves, becoming so dense with accumulated layers of mythology that newbies are rebuffed. But "Supernatural" keeps its mythology interesting without letting it become intimidating. And this thoughtfully crafted show got bolder and more creative in 2009, taking risks with its storytelling (How do you unleash Lucifer without veering into camp? "Supernatural" managed it) and coming up with hilarious and innovative episodes. Without a lot of fanfare or pretension, this show is asking interesting questions about the presence (or absence) of God while still supplying meaty genre stories, and "Supernatural's" cast features some of the most solidly talented and underrated actors on TV. (My previous "Supernatural" stories and reviews are here.)
"Torchwood: Children of Earth," BBC America: This five-part miniseries didn't exactly stick the landing; the final installment was a bit of a pell-mell mess. But the first few hours of "Children of Earth" were masterful and transfixing, and managed to create a tremendous level of suspense while asking pointed questions about power, secrets and the sacrifices people are willing to make to enforce the status quo. (My previous "Torchwood" stories and reviews are here.)
"True Blood," HBO: If this show were a fashion ensemble, Tim Gunn would call it a hot mess. Still, despite its flaws and its occasional forays into true ridiculousness, "True Blood" proved impossible to resist. It offered charismatic performances from Michelle Forbes, Nelsan Ellis, Ryan Kwanten, Allan Hyde and Alexander Skarsgård, among others, and it took all the old-fashioned pleasures of a melodramatic serial and sexed them up, Bon Temps-style. The result was a hurtling, hyper, sometimes hysterically funny vampire soap opera, one that was, on occasion, more than just a bloody good time. (My previous "True Blood" stories and reviews are here.)
Runners up:
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