The annual Couch awards: And the golden Potato goes to …

By Casey Gillis

Published: June 11, 2008

We can all agree that the Writers’ Strike didn’t do this past TV season any favors.

Great new series, like “Pushing Daisies” and “Chuck,” had unusually short seasons, and many of the shows that did return after the strike felt rushed and incomplete.

When I sat down to write this column, it was hard to remember the beginning of the season and which shows originally captured my attention. But I dug deep, and here is what I thought was tops during the 2007-2008 TV season (tread carefully; spoilers lie ahead):

Best new comedy: “Pushing Daisies,” the charming, fairy tale-esque story of Ned, a pie maker who can bring the dead back to life.

As Ned, lead actor Lee Pace was the perfect mix of charm, sarcasm and wit, quickly cementing himself a spot on my never-ending list of TV boyfriends. The rest of the cast was great, too, especially Chi McBride as grumpy P.I. Emerson Cod.

Best new drama: “Gossip Girl,” the best teen drama to come along since “The O.C.”

Most reinvigorated show: “Survivor,” hands down. Two installments aired this year, and the “All-Star” spring edition, which pitted former cast mates against fans of the show, was one of the most exciting seasons ever and included four blindsides in a row, one of which ousted fan favorite Ozzy.

Funniest guy: I honestly can’t decide between “How I Met Your Mother’s” Neil Patrick Harris, who plays ladies’ man Barney, and “The Office’s” Rainn Wilson as stickler Dwight.

Funniest gal: Jennifer Esposito’s Andrea on “Samantha Who?” and Becki Newton’s Amanda on “Ugly Betty,” two of the snippiest, rhymes-with-witchiest women on television.

Biggest drama queen: Chandra Wilson on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
I barely even watched “Grey’s” this season. But whenever I tuned in, I could count on Wilson to make me laugh, cry, or both, with only a few well-delivered lines.

Biggest drama king: Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond on “Lost.” Des was at the center of one of the best episodes all season, a freaky, time-jumping tale that had him toggling back and forth between the island present and his past with true love Penny.

Honorable mentions go to “Moonlight” co-stars Alex O’Loughlin and Jason Dohring, two of the hottest vampires to hit TV since David Boreanaz on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and David Anders, who rocked it as Adam/Takezo Kensei on “Heroes.”

Best storyline: Dean going to Hell on “Supernatural.”
The tension built up all season long, as Dean and brother Sam continued to fight their regular monsters-of-the-week while plotting to get Dean out of his deal with the Crossroads Demon. All along, I never thought for a second that he and Sam would fail. But the writers actually went there, and the third season ended with the heartbreaking shot of Dean descending into Hell.

Worst storyline: Christina carrying Wilhelmina and Bradford’s baby on “Ugly Betty.”
Half the fun of this show is keeping up with whatever scheme Willie and sidekick Marc are up to, but their latest — sneakily getting a sample of Bradford’s sperm after his death, then blackmailing Christina into being the surrogate — just crossed the line.

Best finale: “The Office,” mainly because it looked like Michael had finally found his soulmate in new HR person Holly (Oscar nominee Amy Ryan). She laughed at his jokes and spoke back to him in Yoda-speak. If that isn’t love in Michael’s world, I don’t know what is.

Other highlights included Andy’s ill-conceived proposal to Angela, and the last, glorious shot, of Dwight and Angela getting hot and heavy in the darkened Dunder Mifflin office.

Most disappointing finale: “Bones,” which wrapped up its Gormagon serial killer storyline with the reveal that the seemingly harmless Zack was the murderer’s apprentice. I’m all for a big twist, but this one just wasn’t explained very well. I still don’t understand why he did it.

Best couple: Jin and Sun on “Lost.”
I cried my eyes out earlier this season when, in a flash-forward, Sun visited Jin’s grave with their baby.

The couple has been through so much together since they first got to the island. So to see him on the exploding freighter as Sun screamed and cried from a helicopter overhead in the season finale was devastating. I choose to believe that he survived somehow and will be back next season. The alternative is just too hard to deal with.

Best almost couple: “Gossip Girl’s” Chuck and Blair, who got together for all of two minutes at the van der Woodsen/Bass wedding. Their union looked to be short-lived, though, after Chuck’s father gave him a speech about the responsibilities that come with a relationship. Kudos to Ed Westwick for his performance in that scene. Without saying a word, we knew exactly what was going on in Chuck’s warped little mind.

Best reality couple: Ozzy and Amanda on “Survivor: Micronesia — Fans Vs. Favorites.”

I’ll still never understand why anyone would want to make out after x number of days without showering and brushing your teeth. But challenge dominator Ozzy and the doe-eyed Amanda were adorable. While Ozzy had me cringing during his bitter speech at the final tribal council, things got better when he declared he was falling for Amanda. I think I was smiling as broadly and cheesily as she was after he said it!

Best cast chemistry: “Supernatural” stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have such a good rapport that you’d think they were really brothers.

Best-looking cast: “Gossip Girl.” As if there were was any question. What girl doesn’t dream about having Serena’s flowing, golden locks and wardrobe?

Biggest dreamboat: I fell in love many times during this TV season. “Gossip Girl’s” Dan Humphrey, “Pushing Daisies’” Ned and “Ugly Betty’s” Gio are just a few of the guys who had me swooning.

But, of all the perfectly scripted TV characters, it was a reality star who captured my heart: “American Idol” winner David Cook.

When he first appeared on the show, David didn’t do much for me. He was sporting a weird, bangs-in-the-face hairdo and came off as arrogant after his critiques.

But as the season wore on, David began delivering inspired performance after inspired performance, wowing the judges, not to mention this girl. His renditions of Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello” and Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” are two of my favorite performances in “Idol” history.

Then Mr. Cook went and got his hair cut and grew a beard. He started taking good and bad critiques with equal grace, and seemed humbled by the whole experience. The guy just seems like the real deal: genuine, funny and grateful.

Seriously, David, you need to call me!

Show I’ll miss the most: There were no real high-profile cancellations this season, but I was irked that ABC got rid of the charming, if sometimes uneven, “Miss Guided.” It was a fresh, often clever series that deserved a second chance — and a second season.