2006 was a good year for television, but then all years are good years for television. Nostalgia often makes us think that things were better way back when, but I wouldn't trade my hundreds of channels of digital cable for the three networks on the rabbit ears for anything. Even the somewhat obscure channels like The-N (South of Nowhere), GSN (High Stakes Poker), and IFC (Henry Rollins Show) manage to bring some good stuff to the table. Of course, things are never all rosey, but we'll get to that later. First, some of the best things about TV this past year.

NBC's handling of Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights - Many of us, myself included, are quick to jump on the networks when they dump a show just a few episodes in. So it's worth acknowledging that the network has been more than patient with these two shows. Many shows that have come before them have been blown right off the schedule for generating similar ratings. Studio 60 kicked off their season with ratings that declined week after week and, honestly, Friday Night Lights just never had any ratings to begin with. I really hope their patience pays off and audiences find these shows. They both deserve to see a second season.

If you are scrambling to do last minute holiday shopping and had your heart set on a $1500 teddy bear for someone special, you waited too long. The auction went and closed on you when you weren't looking. I wrote a while back about The-N's charity auction. It's in full swing now and one result in particular shocked me. The bear you see pictured, which was given to Spencer (Gabrielle Christian) by Ashley (Mandy Musgrave) on South of Nowhere has gone for $1520. What the deuce? No, I didn't forget a decimal point.

I could see that price if this was Trek, Buffy, X-Files, or some other show with a cult following. But this is South of Nowhere. It's hard enough just to find someone else that has seen the show. That's not to say it's a bad show, I never miss it, just that I never realized it had that kind of an audience. And the bear just barely edged out Aiden's (Matt Cohen) pants, which went for $1510. The bear is a nice collectible, but dang, that's a lot of cash. I think I'll stick with my plushy Ein from Cowboy Bebop and not spend the extra $1500.

(S01E10) Each week I am amazed at how they are able to keep so many characters so involved in each episode. While Lyla's ongoing struggle dominated the episode, we still managed to get some movement in the other stories as well. It was interesting how they went about telling the "It's different for girls." story from the title. While the bigger parts of the story were about Lyla and Julie, the real meaning of that title points much more to what we saw with Buddy and Eric.

Here are two men who spend their days in control, exerting authority. We see it with Buddy at the dealership, complete with his bluetooth headset, and with Eric in everything he does as a coach. But the minute the subject of their teenage daughters comes up, and there is a real issue to deal with, they both are at a loss. Floundering to try and do something, anything, without being able to step back and see the big picture. I thought the scene between Buddy and Britney's father was great. A humble man trying to do the right thing. So much story is conveyed in Buddy's crushed reaction. These last two weeks have really filled out the Buddy character. He's so much more interesting now that he's not the one trick sleazeball we first met.

I suspect I may be in the minority with this, but I watch a lot of stuff on The-N. I've seen more Degrassi, South of Nowhere, Beyond the Break, Instant Star, and Whistler than any 15 year old girl should. All the more disturbing because I am the furthest thing from a 15 year old girl.

If you share my weakness for teen drama, you might be interested in The-N's Give Some * Get Some Giveaway. Beginning today, items from many of their shows will be going up for auction. Day one features Lacey's surfboard from Beyond The Break (Natalie Ramsey pictured), Jude's silver space suit from Instant Star, Manny's spirit squad uniform from Degrassi, and Aiden's jeans from South Of Nowhere. All proceeds go to charity. That's the give. The get involves weekend giveaways of electronics, DVDs and other merchandise.

[ via tvguide.com ]