When I embarked upon the mission of finding the best TV moments of 2006, I had no idea what I was truly in for. After all, a lot can happen in a year of TV. With the recent fall season still fresh in our minds, it’s easy to forget the second half of last season or the summer shows. So this project took quite a bit of thought but with the help of YouTube, I was able to collect some of the greatest TV moments of 2006.
Before we get into this, I should mention that quite a few of the best TV moments this year involved people dying. Whether it was from nerve gas, a blood clot or an evil telekinetic guy, people were biting it left and right this year. Killing off a character can be somewhat gimmicky on the part of the writers if its not done right but I think overall there were some really great bucket-kicking moments this year. However, this year offered more than just great death scenes. I believe I found a good balance between death, cage sex and tomato fights to create a pretty well balanced list of memorable moments from this year’s most popular TV shows.
Here are some of the best TV moments of 2006:
‘24’
Season 5 of ‘24’ was a bloodbath. Maybe the writers thought Jack Bauer had too many trusted allies or perhaps they were just running out of things to do with the characters. The deaths of David Palmer, Tony Almeida and Michelle Dessler were tough for viewers as they were all extremely likable characters, but the saddest loss of the season was that of Edgar Stiles. The pudgy IT guy took a lot of crap from Chloe throughout the last few seasons of the show but the two had developed a sibling-ish friendship that was a source of comfort to viewers as there were so few “cute” moments in the series.
Edgar Stiles, we will miss your feeble attempts to stand up to Chloe, your New York accent that stood out among the generic accents of the rest of the cast and most of all that look of worried confusion you often had in times of stress.
We didn’t care about the random woman stuck outside the sealed room in CTU but when we saw Edgar and knew he didn’t have a chance against the nerve gas, our hearts broke a little.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’
An equally heartbreaking moment in television this year was in the season finale of ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ Izzie had accepted Denny’s marriage proposal and he was recovering from heart surgery when a blood clot made its way to his brain and killed him almost instantly. Moments like this can come across as cheesy if the writing and the acting don’t cut it but that was not the case in ‘Grey’s’ last season. Sure, most of us probably knew Denny wouldn’t live to get out of that hospital bed but seeing Izzie’s devastation, then watching Alex take care of her was a truly a tear-jerking moment. It also helped get that vomit taste out of my mouth after witnessing Meredith and Derek’s adulterous prom-themed romp session.
Let’s take a break from the sob-worthy death scenes for a minute and talk about an unlikely villain whose truly screwed-up side didn’t reveal itself until the season finale. I’m talking about the big bad from season 2 of ‘Veronica Mars’. His name. Is Cassidy! Cassidy came across as timid and sweet but in the final moments of the season, we learned that he really was a busy little beaver. Prior to jumping off the roof of the Neptune Grand, Beaver raped Veronica, caused a bus full of students to crash off a cliff, blew up a plane and earned millions of dollars in real estate, all while attending high school. The shock at learning that Beaver was the bad guy wasn’t what made the end of the season finale so memorable. It was the performances of Jason Dohring and Kristen Bell that earned the scene a spot on this list. I thought Beaver’s crazed speech was a tad over the top but the minute Logan showed up, the intensity of the scene went through the roof.
The season 2 finale of ‘The Office’ had an unexpected cliffhanger. At the end of the episode, Jim finally confessed his love for Pam. The sincerity of his approach is what made the scene and the kiss that followed one of the greatest moments in TV, this year. When the series picked up this fall, we saw the rest of the scene, which included more of the kiss and then Pam inevitably (but gently) rejecting Jim.
‘Entourage’
Summer of 2006 delivered a hearty helping of ‘Entourage’ on HBO. Vince’s brother Drama managed to steal more than a few scenes that season. The most memorable Drama-moment had to do with his method of ridding himself of his pre-film-shoot anxiety. When pacing around his trailer repeating “You are not a pu**y” over and over didn’t work, Drama found a better way to calm his nerves. Unfortunately (and hilariously), he left his microphone on and everyone outside his trailer, including Ed Burns, heard him talking dirty… to himself.
‘Big Brother’ and ‘The Amazing Race’
As reality TV has become such a hugely popular genre in television, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple great Reality TV moments this year. ‘Big Brother’ fans would agree that Janelle evicting Will was easily the best moment of the All Stars season. Unfortunately, watching the eviction ceremony play out, out of the context of the show just doesn’t do the moment justice so instead; I chose a clip from ‘The Amazing Race’. There were many disagreements between Rob and Kimberly throughout this season’s race but the most memorable one was easily the tomato pile scene. I feel a tad guilty for finding enjoyment in watching someone cry while her boyfriend screams at her but that’s Reality TV for you. Way to go Kim. Way to cry.
Between season 2.5 and season 3 of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ I could’ve found at least five great memorable scenes but for the sake of this article, I narrowed it down to one fantastic moment. The show delivered an amazing blend of intensity and visual awesomeness in the “Exodus” (part 2) episode. Part of the plan to rescue the humans off New Caprica involved getting enough Vipers into the atmosphere to fight off the Cylons. The only way to do this was for Galactica to jump into the planet’s upper atmosphere long enough to launch the Vipers. The sight of Galactica engulfed in flames and plummeting to the ground like a rock was phenomenal.
‘Lost’
There were two moments in season 3 of ‘Lost’ that I felt were worth mentioning. The first is Eko’s death. I want to say that it was memorable because it was so shocking but the truth of the matter is, I’m still frustrated by the whole thing. His death seemed to come out of nowhere and not knowing what the hell is up with that black cloud of smoke (that apparently has the power to beat a man to death) is preventing me from truly appreciating the shock factor of the scene.
The other memorable ‘Lost’ moment of the season was Sawyer and Kate’s steamy sex scene. I say “steamy” because the two have been living outdoors in cages for days (or was it weeks?). While it was nice to see them get all hot and heavy with each other, I couldn’t help but wonder just how smelly the whole thing would be if it were real. Nothing like the stench of sweat, dirt and fish biscuits to get the old mojo going.
‘Heroes’
The whole “Save the Cheerleader, Save The World” thing got run into the ground fast and hard this season and while it might’ve been enough to save Claire from the clutches of the evil Sylar, it wasn’t enough to save the other cheerleader. The scene in which Sylar mistakes Jackie for “the cheerleader” and proceeds to slice off the top of her head was both gruesome and horrifying but memorable nonetheless. The screaming, the splattered blood and Jackie’s final word “Run.” was shiver-inducing.
‘The Office’ (again)
I thought I’d end this list on a humorous note with some words of wisdom from the great Michael Scott (‘The Office’) regarding bros and hoes.
What are some of your favorite TV moments from 2006?
The “What To Watch” portion of the Clicker will return in 2007. TV Blend wishes you a Happy Holiday!
