2009 Inside Pulse TV Awards

Features, Top Story

The votes are finally in and it’s time to reveal to you the winners of the 2009 IPTV Awards. Yes, we are 21 days into the 2010, but today is January 21, 2010 and there is some sort of numerological significance there. You see the only two numbers in 2010 that aren’t zero are 2 and 1. Today is January 21st and well that 2 and 1. Of course, you could just add the numbers together and get 3, but whatever. You came here to see who won, and it’s better a little late than never.

So here is how this all worked. Last month, I got together with 15 other Inside Pulse TV writers and gave them categories for which they would suggest nominees for. To be nominated, you had to be suggested by at least 3 writers. Some of these nominees were “no-brainers” and some just made it through to fill out the list of nominees. We wanted 5 nominees for each category, but some categories only had 3 or 4 suggested over and over again, so we made due with that.

Once the nominees were determined I then asked the Inside Pulse writers to give me their votes. No one knows who the other person voted for until now. All the votes are in, lets get to the nominees and winners of the 2009 IPTV Awards.


lost

Best Overall Storyline:

The island travels in time on Lost.

Russell plays everyone on Survivor like puppets and finds three immunity idols without any clues.

Carter’s Kidney Transplant, ER

Violet’s Attack/Lucas’ Birth, Private Practice

Meredith & Derek finding happiness after a Post-It, Grey’s Anatomy

Winner – The island travels in time on Lost

My Thoughts: This was the season long storyline for season 5 of Lost, and it clearly messed with all the minds of the fans. A lot of love for Russell from Survivor: Samoa, though. Him finding all of the immunity idols and being truly evil, yet someone that a lot people loved to hate was truly a remarkable feat. Still not enough to beat Lost.

greys-anatomy-john-doe

Best Twist or Turn in a Story or Season:

George is John Doe bus accident victim, Grey’s Anatomy

House checks into a clinic.

Tony Almeda is alive, 24

Locke dies and then comes back to life and then it turns out that he’s dead, Lost

Monk finding out why Trudy was killed/the daughter she didn’t know about, Monk

Season finale of Dexter

Winner – George is John Doe bus accident victim, Grey’s Anatomy

My Thoughts: A close vote between Grey’s and Lost. But out of all of these the only moment that I didn’t see coming and audible said “holy crap” was finding out that George got hit by a bus and that was how he was being written off the show. You don’t know if Locke is dead or not, but all the behind-the-scenes drama really added to the drama with Grey’s and that was such a great twist.

benjamin-linus

Best Villain/Charater You Hate the Most:

Sue Sylvester, Glee
Wilhemina Slater, Ugly Betty
Russell, Survivor
Ben Lynus, Lost
Simon Cowell, American Idol

Winner – Ben Lynus, Lost

My Thoughts: A close vote and surprise winner for me. Not that Ben isn’t the best and most evil villain on TV, but because Jane Lynch got so much support in the comedic actress award category later on. Still Ben deserved to win this award for everyone wanting to see him get what he deserves.

jim_halpert

Best Hero/Character You Root For the Most:

Jim Halpert, The Office
Eric, Entourage
Locke, Lost
Ted Mosby, How I Met Your Mother
Liz Lemon, 30 Rock

Winner – Jim Halpert, The Office

My Thoughts: The closest vote of them all. A dead heat between Jim, Eric, and Locke. Ultimately the edge goes to Jim, who has to deal with Michael and Dwight on a day-to-day basis. You can relate to Jim more and that gives him the edge.

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Best Catchphrase:

“Bazinga” (Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory)
“Legeni-wait for it-dary” – (Barney from How I Met Your Mother)
“The tribe has spoken (Jeff Probst from Survivor)
“That’s how Sue sees it” (Sue from Glee)
“That’s what she said” (Michael from The Office)

Winner – “That’s What She Said!” (Michael from The Office)

My Thoughts: The votes were pretty much spread out all over. 1 vote between all the nominees. But Michael Scott’s line gets repeated by everyone, including non-Office fans. That is why it wins and beats out Sue’s new line, and the cult favorite Sheldon.

house

Best Overall Character:

Gregory House, House
Sheldon, Big Bang Theory
Sue Sylvester, Glee
Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother
Chuck Bass, Gossip Girl

Winner – Gregory House, House

My Thoughts: A lot of love for second place Chuck Bass and a three-way tie for third with the others. But House wins, which isn’t surprising when you look at how much support it got for Hugh Laurie himself and the show in general later on.

khloe-kardashian-and-kourtney-kardashian

Worst New Show:

Jay Leno Show
More To Love
Khloe and Kourtney Take Miami
The Beautiful Life

Winner – Khloe and Kourtney Take Miami

My Thoughts: A dead heat. Almost a three-way tie winner with Jay Leno, More To Love, and Khloe and Kourtney. Jay might have been the run-away winner if we did the vote a month later with the Conan bumping. But a spin-off of the Keepin’ Up with the Kardashians was not needed. That show is overrated in my opinion anyways.

glee4

Best New Show:

Glee
Cougar Town
Modern Family
Flash Forward
Pawn Stars

Winner – Glee

My Thoughts: Another blow-out of sorts. Modern Family got a lot of well-deserved love, but Glee is an unstoppable machine. The most unique show to come along in years at just the right time when everyone wants to be a star.

jim-pam

Favorite On-Screen Couple:

Jordan/Jeff, Big Brother
Jim/Pam, The Office
Finn/Rachel, Glee
Alex/Izzie, Grey’s Anatomy
Eric Murphy and Sloane, Entourage

Winner – Jim and Pam on The Office

My Thoughts: Not really a surprise winner here. Some will be surprised to know that Eric and Sloane from Entourage finished second, though. Nowhere near Pam and Jim, though, who are the ULTIMATE couple on TV today.

Friday-Night-Lights

Best Teen Drama:

One Tree Hill
Gossip Girl
90210
Melrose Place
Friday Night Lights

Winner – Friday Night Lights

My Thoughts: Another toss up. Friday Night Lights ends up the winner here over Gossip Girl, though. They are two different types of shows. Gossip Girl pushes boundaries, while is Friday Night Lights is more “wholesome”, as much as teen dramas can be these days.

curb-your-enthusiasm-seinfeld

Best Episode:

“Sectionals” (Glee)
“Niagara” (The Office)
“Now or Never,” Grey’s Anatomy
“LaFleur” (Lost)
“Seinfeld” (Curb Your Enthusiasm)

Winner – “Seinfeld”, Curb Your Enthusiasm

My Thoughts: This was a close call between Curb and Lost. “LaFleur” was the episode where everyone (Oceanic 6 and those left on the island) reunited and led season 5 of Lost into a new direction. But 11 years in the making is hard to beat and that ultimately gave the “Seinfeld” episode a 1 vote edge.

more-to-love_l

Worst Reality Show:

For The Love of Ray J
Gene Simmons Family Jewels
More To Love

Winner – More To Love

My Thoughts: So many reality shows out there these days, and thus so many bad shows out there. Pretty much an even split between For The Love of Ray J and More To Love. So lets really call them co-worst reality shows. Both are said rip-offs of once popular reality shows. More To Love is supposed to be The Bachelor for bigger people. Ridiculous.

michael-jackson-neverland

Biggest TV News Story:

Michael Jackson’s Death
Paula Abdul leaving American Idol
Comcast takes over NBC
Leno Experiment on NBC
David Letterman extortion scandal

Winner – Michael Jackson’s Death

My Thoughts: This was another “no-brainer” award. The death of Michael Jackson got more votes that anyone. It was talked about for months and left a lasting impact. If the Tiger Woods story would have happened earlier in the year, it might have ended up on here. Although some will question if those two events are “TV News” or not.

the-office-wedding-pictures-jim-pam

Favorite “Heartfelt” Moment of the Year:

Jim/Pam wedding, (The Office)

Chuck finally says “I love you” to Blair, (Gossip Girl)

Alex/Izzie impromptu nuptials, (Grey’s Anatomy)

Juliet’s (possible) death scene (Lost)

Benton and Carter reunite on ER

Winner – Jim and Pam’s wedding on The Office

My Thoughts: This was a toss up between The Office and Lost. Juliet’s possibly death toyed with the emotions of many, but anyone who has watched The Office has waited for this moment to come, and it was done in the only way that could be done by The Office.

seinfeld-reunion-curb

Favorite Moment Overall of the Year:

Russell finds three immunity idols, saving his tribe from getting picked off one-by-one (Survivor)

Seinfeld reunion (Curb Your Enthusiasm)

“Forever” aisle dance at Pam/Jim’s Wedding (The Office)

Seeing Jacob on Lost

Lloyd leaves Ari only to go back to him when the agency is bought (Entourage)

Winner – Seinfeld Reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm

My Thoughts: A lot of support for all of these with a three-way tie for second between Survivor, The Office, and Lost. All three extremely popular shows of today, but they get upstaged by a return of arguably THE most popular show ever. 11 years in the making, Seinfeld fans got their reunion wish.

jane-lynch-glee

Best Comedic Actress:

Jenna Fischer, The Office
Jane Lynch, Glee
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother
Courtney Cox, Cougar Town
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

Winner – Jane Lynch, Glee

My Thoughts: This was a no contest. Lynch ran away with this vote. It looked like this would be a blow out, but Tina Fey did get a fair number of votes towards the end. Still there was no real competition for Lynch, and rightfully so.

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Best Dramatic Actress:

Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy
Evangeline Lily, Lost

Winner – Anna Paquin, True Blood

My Thoughts: Another close vote. Paquin edged out Oh in the end by a vote. This is a little surprising, since True Blood is not watched by as many people, but Oh has had better years in the past.

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Best Comedic Actor:

Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Steve Carrell, The Office
Rainn Wilson, The Office
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm

Winner – Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother

My Thoughts: Neil Patrick Harris was the clear winner here. Second place was pretty much evenly distributed among the others, but no one was close to Neil. Carrell and Wilson probably split The Office lover votes.

hugh_laurie_house_1420990c

Best Dramatic Actor:

Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Chris Meloni, Law & Order: SVU
Kiefer Sutherland, 24

Winner – Hugh Laurie, House

My Thoughts: Support for Hugh Laurie was double that of his nearest nominee. Chris Meloni and Michael C. Hall were neck-and-neck for second place. House i definitely the most watched show of the 5 here, so that’s likely what pushed him ahead of the rest.

S10SurvivorPalauCastaways450

Best Reality Show:

Survivor
American Idol
Top Chef
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance

Winner – Survivor

My Thoughts: Another close vote. Survivor beat out Top Chef by 1 vote as well. I think Survivor: Samoa, which just ended and had a great villain in Russell, really made this year a good year for Survivor. The winner from Tocantins in the Spring, J.T. Thomas really doesn’t get enough respect either.

564921982

Best Comedy:

How I Met Your Mother
The Office
30 Rock
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The Big Bang Theory

Winner – The Office

My Thoughts: This was an extremely close vote. In fact, The Office edged out How I Met Your Mother by 1 vote. I would give the edge to How I Met Your Mother last year, but The Office had a lot of great moments in the last few months, which is probably why it ended up winning. Philadelphia and Big Bang Theory are both underrated comedies, but no enough staffers watch those two comedies to push them to #1.

abc_lost_070521_ms

Best Drama:

Grey’s Anatomy
Lost
Dexter
House
True Blood

Winner – Lost

My Thoughts: Lost had double the amount of votes as the second place shows, which was actually a tie between House and Grey’s Anatomy. The fifth season of Lost was somewhat of a resurgence for this show. It brought enough fresh ideas to the table, and finally gave fans some answers at the same time. If we did this vote the same time in 2008/early 2009, I don’t think Lost would have won.


There you have it. The big winners were Lost and The Office, which shouldn’t surprise many. Survivor, Glee, House, and Curb Your Enthusiasm also got multiple awards, which might surprise a few people.

What do you think? Do you agree with our picks? Anyone who got snubbed? Let us know.

I'm not embarrassed to say that my favorite television show of all-time is The O.C. I live by the motto "you can't fight fate!" More importantly, I watch WAY too much television, but I do so for the benefit of everyone reading this now. So to my mom and my wife, I say thanks for reading! To everyone else that might stumble across this, remember TiVo should be your best friend!