It's Season Wrap Up Time! Plus ABC Shows Us 'The Evidence' and More Stars Get 'Nip/Tuck'

**Sorry for the late edition guys. Blogger has been down since 1:30 p.m. (eastern) today! Grrr…**

It seems like it was just September, doesn't it? We were all filled with the excitement that a new television season brings. We had waited all summer for answers on some of the season's biggest cliffhangers, and we were anxious to see what new shows would stick and which would falter out the gate. Well, that promising TV season has now officially come and gone and it brought many amazing moments, but there were also the moments that didn't shine quite as bright. Today, in the wake of the last finale of a Pass the Remote favorite, it's time to take a look at the season's ups and downs with the 1st Annual Pass the Remote Season Review Awards. And the "winners" are...

MOST COPYCATTED TREND: Delving into the world of the supernatural proved to be a big mistake. After the freshman season success of Lost, most of the networks tried their hand at their own Lost look-alike. CBS had Threshold, NBC had Surface, ABC had Invasion and The WB had Supernatural. Out of those four, only Supernatural survived to spook us for another season. Even worse, only Invasion and Supernatural finished out a full season, leaving fans with more questions than answers. It seems that you can have too much of a good thing.

WORST NETWORK DECISION: There are so many to choose from that I don't know where to start! Everything from Fox's decision to pull Reunion before revealing the killer to NBC's mishandling of Scrubs to ABC's multiple Lost hiatuses could easily walk away with this category. But, the biggest network fumble of all goes to the new CW network. It isn't even on the air yet, and it has captured this year's crown for making an 11th hour decision to pick up the tired 7th Heaven over the critically acclaimed Everwood. I know it might seem like I'm biased because I'm a HUGE fan of the latter, but this mistake is so ridiculous that even non-Everwood fans are crying foul. Why pick up a show that already said goodbye and only has one season left over a show that has lots of life still to breathe? Oh, that's right - 7 million people watched the Heaven "series" finale. Perhaps because they thought, foolishly apparently, that the show was really going off the air.

BEST NETWORK DECISION: Fox's scheduling of its medical drama House after its hugely popular American Idol. House was already a bona fide hit after an impressive first season and first half of its second season. But, things really heated up when the network gave it the slot right after Idol's performance show on Tuesday nights. The show jumped up 29% in viewers this season over last, landing it on the Top 10 list consistently.

MOST IGNORED SHOW: Cold Case. It seems to get drowned out by its more flashy siblings the CSI trio and Without a Trace. It's a Top 20 show that wins its tough Sunday timeslot more weeks than not, but it still doesn't get the noise that other shows get. This season did bring its first TV Guide cover, but little else. Maybe it's the show's penchant for staying away from sweeps stunts and big name guest stars or the fact that it has always had "quiet" finales that don't bring about monumental changes. If this is the case, then I'm happy to let it take a back seat to its more ostentatious siblings because all buzz isn't necessarily good buzz.

BEST FANS: This one easily goes to Veronica Mars. This season, the show started out strong against Lost, but lost steam after UPN kept it off the air for an extended period of time during midseason. The show wound up on the bubble for renewal, but the "Never Say Die" fans made sure the show made the move to the new CW by organizing loads of campaigns. One campaign had a message-carrying airplane flying over both UPN's and the new CW's headquarters during rush hour traffic. The banner on the plane read "Renew Veronica Mars! CW 2006!" They even got the attention of star Kristen Bell who said, "I heard that a whole group of fans rented an airplane... And they flew it over the CW... Whose show does that? Our show! We have the best fans in the world." The campaigning paid off because Mars became the lowest rated show to get another season.

MOST OVERHYPED SHOW: Grey's Anatomy, especially after its Super Bowl airing. I've said before that I don't get the appeal of this show, but I understand that about 22 million of you do, so it deserves media attention. BUT, every time I turned on my television, glanced at the newsstand or tried to listen to the radio, it was EVERYWHERE! Not to mention the almost every-other-week TV Guide covers (Do we really need to know what Ellen Pompeo does every second of her day?). I get that the show's popular, but can't other deserving shows get some more coverage as well?

THE "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING" AWARD: Lilly Rush's hair. If you don't watch Cold Case, then you might not be aware that it's actually about a team of detectives who solve cases that have never been solved, so called "cold cases." I know it says it in the title, but most of the "hype" around this show has to do with the main character's hairstyle. From the moment it first premiered 3 seasons ago, star Kathryn Morris has endured endless scrutiny over her character's messy updo, so she and the show decided to take it down this season, more than likely believing that it would quell the hair storm. No such luck as the hype moved from her messy updo to her relaxed down style. It's particularly irksome for me because I feel that if she were male, her hair would never even enter into conversation. The whole "controversy" is a classic example of not pleasing everybody all the time, but it also seems that they can't win either way. Pass the Remote says that she looks good either way!

MOST ORIGINAL NEW SHOW: Prison Break. While everyone was trying to solve a supernatural themed mystery or the crime of the week, Michael Scofield was busy trying to get himself, his brother and a few of their closest co-conspirators out of jail free. It wasn't an easy task, but thankfully, Michael had the prison's blueprints tattooed onto his body. With a cast of interesting characters and plenty of suspense, Prison Break easily captures this year's most original crown. The only question is, where will they go next year now that the concept has somewhat changed? With originality like this, I don’t think it will disappoint.

MOST TIRED TREND: Crime shows. I know, I know I watch them - 4 of them to be exact, but we're definitely at that saturation point. This season, CBS rolled out another Jerry Bruckheimer crime drama, Close to Home, and it failed to find an audience on Tuesday nights. The network moved it to Fridays where it did much better and earned a second season, but TVGuide.com is reporting that the show will undergo some big changes over the summer because viewers aren't watching. Then there was NBC’s latest Dick Wolf crime show Conviction, which faltered in the ratings and wound up on the chopping block along with ABC’s entry The Evidence. There are certainly outstanding examples from the genre, but do we really need any more?

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST: Everwood. This season brought plenty of meaty story lines for the residents of this fictional Colorado town, and each actor handled his/hers beautifully. From top to bottom, Everwood had the strongest cast of the season. Whether it was Merrilyn Gann's Rose fretting over a possible cancer relapse or Gregory Smith's Ephram counseling a young piano prodigy or Sarah Drew's Hannah having her heart broken by her first love or Scott Wolf's Jake dealing with an addiction to prescription drugs to Debra Mooney's Edna secretly suffering after the loss of her second husband and everyone in between, the cast of Everwood never had a weak moment.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Scrubs' John C. McGinley. As Sacred Heart's cantankerous doctor with heart, McGinley's Dr. Perry Cox is one of the best reasons to watch this hilarious comedy. McGinley's deliverance is so well honed that it feels like only he could say the lines with as much comical punch. This season he had to take Perry through a rough time after losing three patients at once. McGinley never let the character lose his sarcastic edge, but he also made us very aware that he had let the deaths affect him too deeply to pull himself out. Without McGinley, the show would still be TV's best comedy, but with him, it sails to new levels.

MOST SHOCKING MOMENT: Michael shoots Ana Lucia and Libby on Lost. In a slow moving episode that seemed to sum up the entire series, the last few minutes drastically changed the landscape of the island and storytelling norms that we thought we had figured out. Suddenly, Michael took Ana Lucia's gun and proceeded to shoot and kill her as she sat on the couch in the hatch. Libby came in after hearing the shots, and she too took some bullets, which led to her death the following episode. Most viewers were so shocked that they simply sat there, mouth agape after the show faded to black. Whether you like the turn of events or not, you have to admit that it was good television and certainly the most shocking moment of the past season.

WORST KEPT SECRET: Vaughn's not dead on Alias. We knew for months that Vaughn was coming back to reunite with Sydney. It was even in the previews! Think how much better the scene in Tibet where we see Vaughn for the first time would have been if the cat hadn't been let out of the bag months earlier. The only surprise here was that Syd knew that her future husband wasn't six feet under. It's surprising that the twist got out because Alias is known for keeping secrets and surprising its viewers.

WORST SEASON FINALE: CSI, but only because of the closing scene. The rest of the 2-part finale was well done with the team rallying around Captain Brass after he was shot in a hostage situation. Luckily, he survived, but it wasn't enough to save this season's ender from the worst list. Pairing up Grissom and Sara was something that I always feared this show would do, and now that they have, I'm even more icked out over it than I thought I'd be. It has nothing to do with age, but rather, the way the characters have been written. Sara is always looking to Grissom for advice and help, like a father, and Grissom is always happy to lend a hand. I never saw them as romantic interests for each other because of their somewhat father/daughter relationship. And with the inference in TV Guide from the show's producers that things will heat up between Catherine and Warrick next season, it seems that they need to change the title to CSI: 90210. Bring back my crime drama!

BEST SEASON FINALE: This one goes to Lost. The 2-hour season send off managed to surprise (The plane crashed because Desmond didn't enter the numbers in time!!??), puzzle (Why where there two men monitoring magnetic activity on a ship in frigid weather?) and leave us hanging (What will happen to all the characters whose lives hang in the balance?). It was much more satisfying than last year's more-questions-than-answers season ender. Most of all, it was a gripping, riveting two hours of television that left me on the edge of my seat for days following.

So, there's a look at just some of this season's best and worst. Overall, it was a memorable season that brought us big changes to our favorite shows. It was also the curtain call for some long time favorites and some new ones as well. The network comedy was redefined by people like Earl and Chris. Many of us went digging for Bones or inside Criminal Minds, while others learned How I Met Your Mother and all about Grey’s Anatomy. Those famous housewives ended up just as Desperate, but more boring, and less of you decided that you needed to get Lost. But most of all, we were given well told stories and interesting characters that we’re all counting the days to get back to this fall. What did you think of the 2005-2006 TV season? Was it thrilling or chilling? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. And coming in one week, it’s the beginning of the summer-long countdown of this season’s best episodes! Which episodes of your favorite shows will make the list? What will be #1?? Tune in next Wednesday to see week 1 of the countdown!

QUICK CUTS

*ABC will air the remaining episodes of its now canceled crime drama The Evidence. There are four episodes that the network did not air while the show took over Invasion’s timeslot this spring. The first unaired episode will start this Saturday night at 10 p.m., with subsequent episodes the following Saturday nights. The move displaces reruns of Grey’s Anatomy that ABC had slated to fill the slot.

*FoxNews.com is reporting (via TVGuide.com) that Annabella Sciorra is leaving NBC’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent. The actress joined the crime drama last season along with Chris Noth, and the pair have been switching off episodes with series stars Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe NBC has not commented on the report.

*And finally, Larry Hagman, Kathleen Turner and Brooke Shields will guest star on the new season of FX’s Nip/Tuck. The announcement comes after news that actress Sanaa Lathan would be in a recurring role next season. Hagman will play Lathan’s wealthy husband in a recurring role as well. Turner will also get a recurring role. She’ll play a phone sex operator who’s concerned that her voice is failing her. Shields will guest star in the fourth season premiere only, but she’ll play Christian’s psychologist. The fourth season will kick off later this year on FX.

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